I've been away for a few weeks and had the pleasure of reading this entire thread in one sitting. So, I'm going to threadjack it back to the original topic and post my sanitized resignation letter below, which has already been received by PERS. I'm an O-4 in a dissociated sea tour, selected for OP DH and turned it down. Until a few months ago, I thought I was staying in. While on the boat away from my family, I realized what the next decade would look like for both family and career and made a rapid, about-face decision to go civilian and SELRES. Some snippets from the letter:
"...we do not play to win; we play to avoid losing."
"The one-size-fits-all, golden path sacrifices quality for breadth in a misguided attempt to prepare every line officer for command. "
"The necessary changes would be an uphill battle that would include amending or repealing the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act."
"Give Commanding Officers discretion to interview and hire officers who apply to work for them."
"...we do not play to win; we play to avoid losing."
"The one-size-fits-all, golden path sacrifices quality for breadth in a misguided attempt to prepare every line officer for command. "
"The necessary changes would be an uphill battle that would include amending or repealing the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act."
"Give Commanding Officers discretion to interview and hire officers who apply to work for them."