u/DayFinancial8525

Hey there! I’m looking for some advice or even personal experience from folks who were prior service and joined a guard SFG unit later in life.

I was a Marine infantry officer with OEF combat experience and left active service in 2014 (honorable discharge, excellent fitness reports, and actually got career designated, but chose to decline it). I now live in Central North Carolina and from a geographic perspective I feel like it might be viable for me to join a guard unit close to home.

I have been in the corporate world for the last 10 years, have a family and three kids, and surprisingly I’m probably in better physical shape now than I was even back when I was on active duty (I got a bit out of shape after active duty and then had a second wind about five years ago… ruck frequently and probably would score a first class PFT if I ran a Marine Corps one today.)

Ideally, I would like to explore trying for SFAS, but generally would like to just get back to any unit, even if it is a support role (intel, civil affairs, etc). I also had DLPT for Urdu language, and could try to refresh my Farsi and take that test too, if it would help me. Also, I don’t feel like it’s a requirement for me to go back in as an officer. I’m totally open to going enlisted.

My biggest question is around my age, and general viability of even trying something like this. I’m also curious to understand what the drill and training commitments would be like given that my kids are still pretty young.

In some ways, I felt like I made the decision to leave the Marine Corps for the right reasons at the time, but I do feel like I left something on the table and I’ve been thinking about it for the last 10 years. I have met quite a few group guys through my work network and through some other networks where I live in North Carolina and was really impressed by the professionalism and culture. That is the main reason why I’m looking at group and not Marine reserve.

Finally, I’m also posting this as a sanity check. If this idea is totally ridiculous feel free to throw it back on my face!

I had a couple beers while doing some yard work today and decided to post this and see if others share similar sentiment.

I did a short time in the Corps (4 years, infantry officer) and my only deployment was a pretty kinetic Sangin deployment. It was tough. We had KIA/WIA (including a mass cas). At the same time I find myself missing that place. It’s not just the adrenaline of combat, but something about the land, the people, and the overall vibe.

Years have passed by now. I have my own family/kids now, really well-paying corporate job, etc. I feel like I shouldn’t be letting my mind wander back to that time, but it does. It’s like a little piece of me got left there or something. I often wish I could just forget about it altogether, or at least get my brain to not romanticize it anymore.

I do wonder if I’d feel the same if I did multiple pumps there, or if there would be a different feeling of closure if the country hadn’t collapsed the way it did? I’m also curious if vets who served in other combat zones (outside of Afghanistan) have similar nostalgia, or if Afghanistan pulls for a certain mystique since it has been a notorious battlefield for thousands of years?

Thought I’d share here. Feel free to roast me for being too sappy about this, or chime in if you’ve had similar thoughts. SF!

Advice? Marine Infantry Officer to 20th SFG? Age 39, 12 year service gap.