Calling Net54 Retirees....tell us how Retirement has influenced your hobby activities

[tedzan]

James and Tony.....Thanks for your service to our Country.

I was a Radar Specialist in the Air Force in the early 1960's....stationed at a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in Maine. We had a squadron of B52 Bombers and F102 Fighter planes.
Oct 1962, when Russia threatened us with the "Cuban Missle Crisis", our Bombers and Fighter planes all went South (Florida and So. Carolina). It was an amazing site to watch all our
Aircraft leave the base.
The B52 bomber is an amazing piece of machinery. The first group of B52 bombers were built in 1952. Over 700 B52 bombers were originally built. I think about 80 are still in service.
I will never forget the excitement of being in the cockpit of one of these "big birds". I felt like Slim Pickens in the movie "Dr. Strangelove"

This is me when I was in Radar school (in Illinois, 1960). The last year of my 4-year service, I was re-assigned back to this Technical School to teach Electronics & Radar fundamentals.


.


Take care, guys.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by tedzan

James and Tony.....Thanks for your service to our Country.

I was a Radar Specialist in the Air Force in the early 1960's....stationed at a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in Maine. We had a squadron of B52 Bombers and F102 Fighter planes.
Oct 1962, when Russia threatened us with the "Cuban Missle Crisis", our Bombers and Fighter planes all went South (Florida and So. Carolina). It was an amazing site to watch all our
Aircraft leave the base.
The B52 bomber is an amazing piece of machinery. The first group of B52 bombers were built in 1952. Over 700 B52 bombers were originally built. I think about 80 are still in service.
I will never forget the excitement of being in the cockpit of one of these "big birds". I felt like Slim Pickens in the movie "Dr. Strangelove"

This is me when I was in Radar school (in Illinois, 1960). The last year of my 4-year service, I was re-assigned back to this Technical School to teach Electronics & Radar fundamentals.


.


Take care, guys.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Ted, thank you for your service and sharing your story!

Tony

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by tedzan

James and Tony.....Thanks for your service to our Country.

I was a Radar Specialist in the Air Force in the early 1960's....stationed at a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base in Maine. We had a squadron of B52 Bombers and F102 Fighter planes.
Oct 1962, when Russia threatened us with the "Cuban Missle Crisis", our Bombers and Fighter planes all went South (Florida and So. Carolina). It was an amazing site to watch all our
Aircraft leave the base.
The B52 bomber is an amazing piece of machinery. The first group of B52 bombers were built in 1952. Over 700 B52 bombers were originally built. I think about 80 are still in service.
I will never forget the excitement of being in the cockpit of one of these "big birds". I felt like Slim Pickens in the movie "Dr. Strangelove"

This is me when I was in Radar school (in Illinois, 1960). The last year of my 4-year service, I was re-assigned back to this Technical School to teach Electronics & Radar fundamentals.


.


Take care, guys.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Ted, did you go to radar school at Chanute AFB, Rantoul, Illinois? That is where I went to Weather Observer, Rawinsonde (upper air, weather balloons) and Weather Forecasting schools. The Air Force and the Navy go to weather schools together, to this day. Now they go to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi since Chanute closed.

And I am guessing you were stationed at Loring AFB in Maine? I went to forecasting school at Chanute with an Air Force sergeant named Dennis Flanagan, who was at Loring before coming to school at Chanute. He and I went to White Sox games at old Comiskey Park on weekends when we could. It was only 100 miles or so to Chicago from Rantoul up I-57.

The photo of me in the "Cracker Jacks" dress blues was taken at Chanute AFB in 1983. It is a real WW2 uniform, and I still have it. It is very dark blue wool, not black like today. The reason I am wearing my white hat like that is because that is how they wore them in WW2. The photo of me as an officer was made in San Diego not long before I retired in 2007.

Thank you for YOUR service.

[jingram058]

I guess I should say that, if anything, I am better off now that I am "retired" from the Navy. But I was better able to collect because the prices were way, way less.

[Mark17]

It's been a bit of a Catch-22 situation for me. My last gig in IT ended June 2019 and I've basically been retired since. It's been great to relax, stay up late, sleep in late, not be concerned with commuting or work related issues, etc.

I've had a lot more time to grow my collection and it's been a lot of fun. In fact, I'm online for hours each day looking for stuff. Problem is, in order to keep growing my collection, and to be able to afford the really good stuff...... I've been thinking about going back to work.

[butchie_t]

Ted,

Gonna have to wait a bit longer for me to give you an answer. I am targeting Jan 2023 to retire. 6 years in the A.F. And 36+ years as a contractor for the A.F.

It just cannot get here quick enough for me.

Butch

[carlsonjok]

Originally Posted by Mark17

It's been a bit of a Catch-22 situation for me. My last gig in IT ended June 2019 and I've basically been retired since. It's been great to relax, stay up late, sleep in late, not be concerned with commuting or work related issues, etc.

I've had a lot more time to grow my collection and it's been a lot of fun. In fact, I'm online for hours each day looking for stuff. Problem is, in order to keep growing my collection, and to be able to afford the really good stuff...... I've been thinking about going back to work.

I'm at a sorta similar place. I am not retired, though I am only 5 to 10 years away. I'm a career supply chain professional and have spent the last 10 years doing sourcing and procurement in the oil and gas industry (midstream division.) My employer was bought out last year by a larger company and faced with the choice of moving to Houston or moving on, I chose the latter. My retention and severance have given me enough of a financial cushion to consider a change in direction.

I have been thinking about getting into consulting, but don't have the network to hang out a shingle. And I wasn't interested in the big accounting/consulting firms (PWC, EY, Deloitte) because they are generally sweatshops for young 'uns fresh out of B school. I'm in the process of getting aligned with RGP, which has an interesting business model. It is gig work, of a sort, but they actually do it on a W-2 basis and offer benefits. I know the plural of anecdote isn't data, but I just completed my background check application Friday morning and had a call that afternoon about a potential contract. It was pretty far away from my O&G experience (and I am still on retention for another month), so I demurred. But, it looks like a possible route to income while maintaining flexibility to take time off between assignments.

Lastly, I would note that they have a technology practice.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by jingram058

Ted, did you go to radar school at CThat is where I went to Weather Observer, Rawinsonde (upper air, weather balloons) and Weather Forecasting schools. The Air Force and the Navy go to weather schools together, to this day. Now they go to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi since Chanute closed.

And I am guessing you were stationed at Loring AFB in Maine? I went to forecasting school at Chanute with an Air Force sergeant named Dennis Flanagan, who was at Loring before coming to school at Chanute. He and I went to White Sox games at old Comiskey Park on weekends when we could. It was only 100 miles or so to Chicago from Rantoul up I-57.

The photo of me in the "Cracker Jacks" dress blues was taken at Chanute AFB in 1983. It is a real WW2 uniform, and I still have it. It is very dark blue wool, not black like today. The reason I am wearing my white hat like that is because that is how they wore them in WW2. The photo of me as an officer was made in San Diego not long before I retired in 2007.

Thank you for YOUR service.

James

You and I have a "double coincidence" here......

Ten months of my 1st year in the Air Force was going to Radar school in Rantoul (IL). The 2nd coincidence is my 1st tour of duty was associated with the Weather Service of the
Air Force.
I was stationed at Dow AFB in Bangor, Maine. I was responsible for operating....maintaining....repairing the Radar sets on this Strategic Air Command base that were associated
with the Weather Squadron. As a side consequence, I learned a lot about weather forecasting.
I am sure we could go on comparing notes regarding our Service that would fill several pages here. But, I will leave it with this......the smartest thing I did was enlist. The many
experiences, and meeting my wife in Maine has made it all worthwhile.

You look great in your Navy uniforms.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[SyrNy1960]

One of the great things about being in the military is being able to travel and be stationed in different places. I grew up in New York and have always been a huge New York Yankee fan and collector. I have always been a player collector, so being stationed in different places, I found myself watching teams and following players that I normally wouldn't have. When I was in Texas, I watched the Texas Rangers a lot. I liked Juan Gonzalez, as he was a pure power hitter, and I started to collect his cards and memorabilia. Hence, this picture shows just how much my Juan Gonzalez collection grew. I even had the opportunity to meet the Texas Rangers Owner, Tom Hicks, when he visited our squadron. Before ebay, the Navy gave me many opportunities to visit local cards shops and shows in other states, giving me more opportunity to find stuff I wouldn't normally have been able to find at home. Now retired, I have more time to search for memorabilia and also focus more on my collection.

[brunswickreeves]

Any USAF Net54s stationed in Aviano, Italy in late 70s/early 80s, or in Ellsworth, SD in the mid 80s?

[butchie_t]

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

Any USAF Net54s stationed in Aviano, Italy in late 70s/early 80s, or in Ellsworth, SD in the mid 80s?

A bit further north for me. Why not, Minot AFB. I worked on the comm equipment in the launch control facilities from 81 - 86.

B. T.

[Exhibitman]

You Boomers are going to be the last generation that can really plan a retirement. Us Gen Xers, not so much. By the time we came up, traditional pensions and defined retirement benefits were all but extinct. We've been forced into the equities markets and they've crapped the bed several times since I started working, which has really messed with planning. Most of us cannot afford to retire on any sort of schedule. If things fall out just right for me, I might be able to quit when I am able to get on Medicare and Social Security. If not, I will have to work until the end of whatever boom-bust cycle we are in at the time.

I intend to unwind my collection when I retire as a way of generating cash flow and having some fun.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

You Boomers are going to be the last generation that can really plan a retirement. Us Gen Xers, not so much. By the time we came up, traditional pensions and defined retirement benefits were all but extinct. We've been forced into the equities markets and they've crapped the bed several times since I started working, which has really messed with planning. Most of us cannot afford to retire on any sort of schedule. If things fall out just right for me, I might be able to quit when I am able to get on Medicare and Social Security. If not, I will have to work until the end of whatever boom-bust cycle we are in at the time.

I intend to unwind my collection when I retire as a way of generating cash flow and having some fun.

I've got no pension or defined benefits except $1500 in social security. Also, my 401k has been in a money market the past 10 years drawing close to zero interest, because I was burned badly in the 2008-9 meltdown and that reserve is something I cannot risk. So I don't agree with your thesis.

The key is to make more than you spend, and save for the sake of saving. Develop side revenue streams, like buying/selling cards, maybe get an inexpensive house, cabin, or boat or two and rent them out, or get a few wooded acres in a rural area and spend your weekends having fun cutting and splitting firewood to sell.

A side business or two not only adds to your savings, and provides tax benefits, but it also means your retirement can also include having that extra income rolling in. My retirement, for example, includes rental income from a couple properties I've been able to pick up over the past 20 years, some modest hobby income, and some assorted small, safe ventures.

It's easier to save a dollar than to make one, so if you're looking forward to your retirement, keep in mind, if you can figure out a way to save just one dollar a day (simple, right?) that's $365 dollars a year, or $3,650 per decade. Get a cheaper phone service, cancel TV cable or streaming services you can live without, buy used cars and furniture instead of new, and so on.

If I was suddenly 35 years old again, I assure you, I could count on being retired at 60. But you have to want long-term fiscal security more than current gratification.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Mark17

I've got no pension or defined benefits except $1500 in social security. Also, my 401k has been in a money market the past 10 years drawing close to zero interest, because I was burned badly in the 2008-9 meltdown and that reserve is something I cannot risk. So I don't agree with your thesis.

The key is to make more than you spend, and save for the sake of saving. Develop side revenue streams, like buying/selling cards, maybe get an inexpensive house, cabin, or boat or two and rent them out, or get a few wooded acres in a rural area and spend your weekends having fun cutting and splitting firewood to sell.

A side business or two not only adds to your savings, and provides tax benefits, but it also means your retirement can also include having that extra income rolling in. My retirement, for example, includes rental income from a couple properties I've been able to pick up over the past 20 years, some modest hobby income, and some assorted small, safe ventures.

It's easier to save a dollar than to make one, so if you're looking forward to your retirement, keep in mind, if you can figure out a way to save just one dollar a day (simple, right?) that's $365 dollars a year, or $3,650 per decade. Get a cheaper phone service, cancel TV cable or streaming services you can live without, buy used cars and furniture instead of new, and so on.

If I was suddenly 35 years old again, I assure you, I could count on being retired at 60. But you have to want long-term fiscal security more than current gratification.

Yeah...I am going to sort of disagree with you there. Your buck a day with another buck a day compounded over 30 years at 3.15% (the average Treasury interest over the last 30 years) is the princely sum of $18,575.51. It is a drop in the bucket. In the United States, assisted living costs an average of $4,300 per month, according to the 2020 Genworth Financial Cost of Care Survey. For the mathematically challenged, that is $51,600 a year. Your dollar a day nest egg vanishes in four months. You either have to sock away far more money, work much longer, or you have to chase a higher ROI. That means equities, and they've crapped out multiple times since I started working. The last crash punched a ten-year hole in our retirement (it took ten years for the inflation-adjusted value of our portfolio to return to where it was in 2007). The average time in assisted living is 28 months; the average long-term care insurance runs three years. It covers 40%-60% of costs. And did I mention health care inflation, which vastly outstripped regular inflation over the last two decades. Even an inflation rider on a long-term care policy will be overrun unless you pay (through the nose) for an indexed rider. Take the typical 3% rider and you are losing 1% a year to inflation even in normal times. Skilled nursing, the next stage of care, averages over 150% of what assisted living does. My father, who passed away recently, spent nearly a year in assisted living at $6,000 a month plus all life expenses, then two months in a skilled nursing facility at $9,750 a month. And if you or your spouse need dementia care, well, throw another 25% or more onto the number. My mother is in dementia care at $8,000 a month. Between the two of them they were chewing through your $18,000 nest egg every month. Now, go to a region where most people actually live and the cost is even higher. But wait, how about that long term care insurance? Sure, price it out. My wife and i just got it (mid-fifties). 3% inflation rider. We are going to invest $6K a year just to pay for a policy that is likely to pay about 40% of the monthly costs of assisted living 30 years from now. That's another $180K to account for. But if you run out of money the government will take care of you, right? Wrong! That safety net has been shredded since 1980. I live in Cali, which has one of the more generous care packages. You must first be truly destitute then you can apply. But try finding a Medicaid facility that isn't a hell-hole and you will find a waiting list stretching 6-12 months.

Here's a suggestion: before making blithe pronouncements about it merely being a process of wanting it more, try actually pricing out what you are likely to need in terms of goods and services if you become one of the millions of infirm elderly, then back into the actual savings numbers to cover that downside so as not to be a burden to your children. The result will shock you.

I do agree with starting early and being disciplined though. I am so happy that I religiously saved into my IRA and SEPP in the 1990s instead of buying more vintage baseball cards. Er, wait...

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by 3arod13

One of the great things about being in the military is being able to travel and be stationed in different places. I grew up in New York and have always been a huge New York Yankee fan and collector. I have always been a player collector, so being stationed in different places, I found myself watching teams and following players that I normally wouldn't have. When I was in Texas, I watched the Texas Rangers a lot. I liked Juan Gonzalez, as he was a pure power hitter, and I started to collect his cards and memorabilia. Hence, this picture shows just how much my Juan Gonzalez collection grew. I even had the opportunity to meet the Texas Rangers Owner, Tom Hicks, when he visited our squadron. Before ebay, the Navy gave me many opportunities to visit local cards shops and shows in other states, giving me more opportunity to find stuff I wouldn't normally have been able to find at home. Now retired, I have more time to search for memorabilia and also focus more on my collection.

I am with you about Juan Gonzalez. I always liked him. One of the few modern era guys who would have fit in back in 50s, 60s, or 70s. Great collection, sir, looks fantastic!