Get Out Of The Military!

Get Out Of The Military!
Whether you've been in for four years, planning on a career, or if your are retiring, here's some lessons learned about my transition.
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[@frederickmillar1148]

Man i can't believe your out 1SG! You've been inspiring throughout my military career. I hope you enjoy retirement. The Army is going to struggle to fill your shoes. Thank you for the guidance!

[@Peripatetic_Proletariat]

They won't try. They'll recruit a transgender.

[@slappy8941]

Your and you're are different words with different meanings.

[@migogang3598]

@@slappy8941that’s why he joined the military lol

[@oluwafunkeebenezer3090]

Congratulations 1SG(R)on your retirement. Thank you for your service ❤❤❤ Your board videos was so helpful. I won the Chef of the Month and the Quarterly Division board❤

[@sharkk2770]

Congratulations on your retirement Stoker! Not sure what your new plans are but with your experience, leadership abilities, work ethics,determination, badassary and over-all hell of a good guyness you can be anything you want. Best of luck to you and yours Sir. As always thank you for your service and all the good talks. Stay Stoked!

[@BillStoker]

Thanks amigo!!

[@TeeSoy572]

Thank you. Just over two years out from retirement. This wisdom is Gold!

[@BillStoker]

You got this!

[@novascotianinfj]

Friend of mine in the Canadian military got out of the army and retired several months ago. He notes many Canadians in Baltic States (more than they claim) and the preps for war with Russia.

[@5boysandamom]

Best of luck to you and your family on your retirement 🎉 #proudarmymom

[@EeZ3-808]

Really wish my son would take time and watch your videos. He’s recently gotten out of 101st and is really struggling adjusting to civilian life. It’s like pulling teeth just to get him to go to the VA. I can see he misses his old life but he was over the bullshit once he got into leadership positions. My dad… served in Vietnam… never wanted anything to do with the VA until the last year of his life. Like your dad, he also got shot and exposed to some nasty chemicals.

[@MagDumpMafia101]

When we get out we don’t think there’s anything physically or mentally wrong with us. It takes time to come to grips with it before we’ll get into the VA. Show your son this comment and let home know that it’s ok to get in there and get seen for what ever the problem is.

[@EeZ3-808]

@@MagDumpMafia101 thank you for your reply. It’s good to know people GENUINELY care!

[@sloppyfloppy79]

Screw the VA. There's a reason why I see personal, private doctors. I don't have to go to 12 different offices over 9 hours in the same building just to get a prescription of ibuprofen.

[@tomcreekdevil5967]

"We The People" Absolutely do owe our service personnel the proper health care and mental health care they need. I appreciate all of 1st. Sgt. Stokers videos. You, your family, and your father are in our prayers. That's not mere lip service either. We appreciate your videos.

[@ellacontawe9228]

Thank you for all the help. I passed my promotion board today because of all your videos and you. You were the first person I said thanks at least in my mind. I hope you enjoy your retirement. Thank you for your service!

[@patrick-ne1um]

I love your GSD. Looks so much like mine

[@itzelgomez5497]

Thank you for your videos and help with the boards! I passed my SOM board and headed to my promotion board! I hope you know how much you really have helped many people develop as leaders!

[@banzaii6285]

Congratulations Top!.... Georgia? was wondering what all that sweating was about 😆Welcome to the south, you're probably gonna miss the PNW weather. All the best on your new life!

[@marimarventura6920]

Thank you 1SG.Your videos inspired me a lot.I won the soldier of the month,soldier of the quarter and my P status.

[@BillStoker]

Congrats!!

[@tritonfit]

I like the unfiltered Stoker the best! Keep on rockin'!!!!!

[@BillStoker]

More to come!

[@Brent0331]

Great advice Bill. 👊🇺🇲

[@BillStoker]

🫡🥃

[@KirstenBayes]

Very best wishes for the new thing! Having had a good friend work to get care out of the VA for burn pit injury, definitely creating a paper trail is good. Its hard to battle both ill health and bureaucracy at the same time.

[@josephwarra5043]

Yup, after 20+ yrs, I hit the silk and booked on out.

[@MrHollywoodProductions]

Great video! Really appreciate the knowledge and insight!

[@renegadearms]

Awesome congrats, enjoy Georgia I’m staying Tn.

[@queen4life689]

Giving you your flowers 💐💐💐💐 Thank you Ret. 1SG

[@johnlewis4325]

TAP? Heard rumors of that, but wasn't a thing in my day. It's disheartening when I run into young guys. They are set up for success before they get out. The new GI Bill is unreal, and they all walk out with 70-100% VA. You nailed it on the head with the "not going to sick call". It just wasn't done, and we pay the price for that today.

[@ElGiggy]

Never going to forget when my entire platoon got pneumonia, platoon sergeant had us go for a run, we ran by the hospital and he said everyone except me go. He told me if he caught me at sick call or the hospital for it I was going to be screwed. Keep in mind I never went to sick call ever while I was in. Pretty cool, hated that guy.

[@cameroncollins6651]

Passed my board today thank you very much 1SG

[@davidc8527]

I retired 9 years ago after 28 years of service, the most important thing is your Family, next finding your tribe/squad of folks that are like minded makes it somewhat easier, have a hobby and enjoy life thats my take, the VA get started on it early find an advocate or rep submit your stuff so its done when you come off the books......Gratz at your retirement 🍺🍺🍺

[@semperfortisjiujitsu]

Very well said and sound advice.

[@anthonyroberts2678]

I had a toxic platoon sergeant that told me he hated me personally!!

[@virtuallyreal5339]

Thank you so much 1st SGT. I know a lot of us don't like to be thanked, because we might think "im doing this because I have to, not for you, don't thank me", but I think you're doing this because you care, and you don't have to do this (vlogs). So thank you 1st SGT

[@BillStoker]

🥃🇺🇸🫡

[@AntiFederalist58]

Top, I wish that I had somebody like you as a First Sergeant. I didn't claim anything while I was in. I got my 214 a year before you enlisted. Damn, I feel old.

[@joeylandry4933]

My dad served from the 50’s through the 80’s and only once went on sick leave for a emergency hernia operation in Korea. When I served in the 80’s, sick leave was for slackers and we self medicated a lot of stuff that really needed antibiotics. The last thing I ever wanted to do was ask my platoon sergeant to go on sick leave. I finally had to do that once for strep throat and I felt bad for doing that.

[@pulldeauxduck2480]

You can die from that

[@tomcatt998]

I'm 67 & retired,, if i hadda known it would be this much fun i would've retired year's ago.. ENJOY IT 👍

[@kebrun4484]

Congrats on the big R.

[@Doug_Dimmadome]

I went to medical for shoulder issues and many other things they kept saying its not that bad without ordering an mri. It turns out both my shoulders had slap tears that i had to work with. Many many other reasons including that is the reason i tell people not to join

[@donwest600]

Times have changed greatly, while I was in the last place you wanted to be was on light duty for anything. It was viewed as trying to get out of things. When getting out employers were allowed to ask about your military status active, reserve. A reserve status could keep you unemployed. They could also ask about previous injuries. Which could keep you unemployed as well. You did not want any type of disability attached to you. Today most of those issues are gone. But one that is not gone is how time in service and job experience in a civilian mind set don't go together, you will say I have this experience they don't understand it so it's not transferable. Be patient set a good example your experience will show with your actions unless you were just some shit bird.

[@normandothegreat]

I was listening, 9:50. I didn't expect a test to see if we were really listening 😏👍

[@brentwentfishing]

Look at that change of scenery! 😁 How about that Georgia humidity, Bill? 🤣 I'm looking forward to the path this channel will take going forward!

[@BillStoker]

Up on the mountains, it’s not so bad.

[@brentwentfishing]

@@BillStoker I was just snickering about the workout the shemagh went through...😎

[@BillStoker]

🤣

[@sanskritmantra1113]

well it looks like you have taken the step to the rest of your life.. ive bene retired from the millitary since 1988 35 years i immediately went into over the road truck driving it was perfect for me i needed that time alone and driving all pover the us gave that time to me. ive been retired from trucking for over 3.5 years and since i did the same thing as a truck driver as i did as a soldier i learned to live with medical problems and suffer thru it. my bacck is messed up big time and i spend most pof ,my time im my room i live in a extended stay hotel which after living in the cab of a truck for 32 years is darn great.. i dont feel like a prisoner i can go anywhere i want i just dont want because its a hassle and m iserable im fine here.. if you are going to make the transition then i say LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS!!! dont think of travel all over the world unl;ess you plan to become a truck driver or a merchant marine learn to be grateful for what you have it makes each day more pleasant.. i have everything i need and much of what i want. so you are probably going thru a bit of identity crisis now itll pass as long as you get on with the new part of your life.

[@BillStoker]

🫡🇺🇸

[@sanskritmantra1113]

sorry im not a techie what is the 3 boxes meaning?@@BillStoker

[@KirstenBayes]

​@@sanskritmantra1113Stoker used a couple of symbols that might not be on your phone/PC (so appear as boxes): a salute and a flag.

[@realghostactual]

to your point on going to sick call, when i first got to my established unit (i was moved around the 10th mtn alot until i was set with a unit that needed numbers for deployment where i spent the rest of my career in that unit), it was SORTA frowned upon going to sick call and you got the "Sick Call Ranger" name on you. BUT, at the same time, you were yelled at if you DIDN'T go if it was something serious. My unit was VERY open to discussion on how things should be done (mind you I was an 11B in a rifle company) and our leadership was VERY good. So we said "We need to get rid of the stigma if a dude is hurt and legit has to go to sick call!" Stigma removed. You went to sick call? No one looked at you different. You were hurt, get that shit looked at so it can be fixed and you can continue to perform as a soldier in the Infantry. It was also VERY important for guys getting out that if you had something going on that wasn't fixed and kept lingering, you need documentation to get that disability from the VA or good-fucking-luck. Lessons learned the hard way that thank god were passed down to me. At the same time, Squad Leaders and PSGs had nearly zero nutrition and fitness education. I remember a SL of mine would make us run nearly every day. He was so big on running. We did 7-10 miles a day. Our PLT medic pulled him aside and told him "if you keep making these guys run like this, theyre gonna get hurt and have to go to sick call eventually. Theyll start dropping like flies" He told him to fuck off and we kept doing it, and what happeend? First guy dropped out and rolled an ankle. 30 day profile. I was second where my right knee felt fucked up. 30 day profile. Then another guy until he got the picture he was hurting us and not helping. I get what he wanted and we all did. He wanted us to be better runners...but had zero education on how to achieve that goal and he had 75% of a squad who couldnt go to the field or do anythign for at the very least an entire month. Once you go into a leadership position and are one to run PT - it should be MANDATORY you attended a 1 month health, fitness, and nutrition course to keep your guys healthy and dont stress them to the point of injury. Human bodies arent indestructible. Health and fitness education has come SUCH a long way, i saw SF picking up on it...but big army as we know is always a decade behind on anything. Having a plan getting out is crucial to your point. If you don't have a plan, youre better off staying in. 10 months before I got out, I already had my plan set in stone and I have been on that track since. Guys I saw with no plan get out? I dont even know where they are today. Some Ive heard of being homeless, some I heard of getting in loads of trouble with the law, staying in was probably best off for them until they had a plan. Saving my leave for terminal leave was my savior because school started BEFORE my ETS date. Saving up on that leave to get my self up, get an apartment, get everything ready for school, it worked out perfectly. I had a plan. Its so important to have a plan. Best of luck to you brotha!

[@virtuallyreal5339]

That's a good dog.

[@BlueJayWaters]

Really wish I had an NCO like you at my command Stoker. I fucked myself by not going to medical, even after becoming a Corpsman, simply cos I wanted to prove I could keep up. Especially cos I was putting in a packet to go through C-school. My command forced me out, and all of my injuries became impossible to prove they happened in service. Zero disability percentage, no access to veteran benefits. Just an honorable through JAG, and a busted body that makes me feel 41 at 31.

[@danieldigiuseppe7912]

I did the same shit man.

[@d.l.hemmingway3758]

I only made it to Corporal, but I had to battle Weigh Control for part of that. I finally made it, but in 1992 I should have stayed in until I either reached my 20 years in in 2000 or my thirty years in in 2010 had I stuck to my original plan. Instead I followed down a path that I should not have tread and got out in 1992 after 12 years in. I stayed out for 6 years and 6 months and reenlisted on 13 July 1998 and stayed in until 12 January 2002 with a 6 month extension on the three year enlistment. I will say that since the G W Bush years I have not suggested to anyone asking me about enlisting the Active, Guard or Reserve to do so. Ever since the GWOT (Global War On Terror) started the military has strayed from Protecting and Defending the Constitution from All Enemies Foreign and Domestic and has strayed into areas where the legality of its orders have become fuzzy if not entirely blurry.

[@d.l.hemmingway3758]

FYI my career spanned the 12 years from 13 January 1980 to 12 January 1992 and from 13 July 1998 to 12 January 2002.

[@d.l.hemmingway3758]

There was a medical issue in 2001 that basically spelled the end of my career.

[@jennant34982]

1SG did you retire already?

[@BillStoker]

SMA said if I wanna beard I gotta get out 😂

[@jennant34982]

@@BillStoker hahahhaah I got it 1SG I did not know and I saw it in another video, congratulation and well deserved. I was reading in the coments and you helped a lot of soldiers in their promotion boards including myself when I was in. Thank you for being such a great leader 1SG. Time ago I read something from a SSG that I treasure it in my heart and never forget " Passionate Leaders breed Passionate followers who turn into Passionate Leaders" I salute you 1SG🫡 HOOAHHH!!!!

[@harrisonwilkinson4986]

When I got out in 2011 I had no real plan other than “find a job and go to school.” It didn’t work and that is why I am now back in the Army.

[@johnmiller1925]

So you're no longer in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state you're in Georgia now?

[@BillStoker]

I am!

[@johnmiller1925]

I was enjoying you being over here in the Pacific Northwest because I'm from Salem Oregon but that's okay I'll still continue to watch you and I enjoy all your videos I'm learning a lot and I'm going to continue to do so why such the big move for a better-paying job? Just curious

[@BillStoker]

Retired and moving towards fam.

[@mervmartin2112]

The Military is an organization built to teach you how to use the organization. :-D And Get A Haircut!!!!! lol Seriously the hair and beard are just fine. Don't forget the temp agencies. Labor Ready is grunt work, but gets you a paycheck

[@Pompomgrenade]

Thanks for serving in protection of the Nation and welcome, to the goofy civilian world...

[@badboy1028]

What kind of backwards messaging is this

[@delanymccarthy]

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