Mission Planning
Advance preparation is the key to a successful retirement.
By Col. Warren S. Lacy, USA-Ret.

Seems like we’re always preparing for our next mission. Throughout our careers we planned for training exercises, professional education, and family activities. During combat, we crafted detailed operation plans.

We all know the chances of following a plan exactly are pretty slim—in fact, has any combat operation ever worked out precisely as plotted? Yet, the staff wrote detailed operation plans that considered the situation, the mission, its execution, and all the critical administrative and logistics issues. Planning forces you to define the elements of success and to devise strategies to accomplish them.

So, how does this relate to the current issue of Military Officer? As you might know, September is our annual retirement special issue. As we looked this year at what articles to include and how to organize them, we considered that retirement was a mission every one of us eventually will tackle. It’s the ultimate mission, for which we work our entire lives. And we want to approach it totally prepared to enjoy what should be a rewarding, enjoyable phase of life. But a successful retirement doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of detailed prior planning.

Several of this month’s feature stories tackle issues you might want to consider as you prepare for retirement. Of course, the first step in any planning exercise is to define your objectives. In the case of retirement, how do you envision your new life?

When people ask Col. Glenn Pribus, USAF-Ret., how he likes retirement, he tells them, “It’s fine now, but I flunked the first year.” Our story on page 56 explores experiences of retirees such as Pribus, who wasn’t prepared for changes in his “way of life,” what retirement life was like on a daily basis, and how to deal with it. 

One of the more important aspects of retirement is financial planning. For this reason, we publish a standing column and frequent articles about personal finance. This month, we take a look at the question of home ownership after retirement (page 46). 

Another key to successful retirement is staying healthy in order to reap the benefits of your hard work. “Is it really possible to plan for that?” you ask. Most certainly, according to Col. Roger Landry, USAF- Ret. In the story on page 80, Landry, formerly a flight surgeon, discusses recent findings about aging and health. He explains that newly published studies indicate how we age depends less on our parents and more on the choices we make every day. 

Wrapping up our retirement series, we look at “unretirement” (page 66). What if, after retiring, you decide it’s not your cup of tea? Never fear. At least 25 percent of all current retirees have gone back to work, and that number is climbing.

No matter what stage of career you’re in, it’s never too early—or too late—to plan your next mission. We hope our stories stimulate your thoughts!