If you've been away from your family, friends, and fishing for a year would you extend to stay away even longer. We were just asked who wants to extend and stay here longer with the new unit replacing us. I put my name down mostly because of the extra money I mean an extra 3 months comes out to a little over 12grand more iv made and 6g of that into savings. Its not definite but if the opportunity arises my name is at the top of the list I jumped at the offer while everyone else is still thinking about it. I think but not sure but if I get it and I'm here in February I can reenlist for the 10,000 bonus tax free I dont want to reenlist but I may just for the job security. So if you were in my situation would you make the same decision as me I mean i did get to go home for a week in a half last month it wasn't how I expected it to turn out but its still better then nothing.

I think you ought to ask your wife amd kids lol. If you could use the money and she's cool with it, game on. But you and I both know deployments are ROUGH on families. Money can't buy time spent with your kids.

We had discused it when I was home last month we kinda dropped the ball a little at first with saving and paying off debts and this is kinda a way to balance it back out to how we had hoped cuz were a little behind what my plans were. Her and I both kinda went on a spending spree at first nothing stupid she furnished the house with some new things and got the kids new clothes I, I went crazy on ebay, the flea market, and TW lol. I do miss my wife and kids a ton but at the same token I know by staying longer means I can provide more for them in the long run.

After 28 year of service I'll provide you this -

Don't know if you plan on being a career man but for me, it's was about timing.

If the family unit was stable and I could manage it, I preferred to be deployed while the children were pre-teen in age.

In fact, I would attempt to deployed more while they were younger so that I could be around a bit more when they were in Jr High and High school. Didn't always work out but if I was will to take it on the chin a little, the assignment officers were willing to hook me up on the next tour. Give a little - get a little.

Learning to drive, peer pressure, dating, and curfews, etc: all good times and evolutions I wanted to be a part of.

The money is nice but you can't put a price on being there.

Something to think about.

A-Jay

You might use your bonus or whatever you save to pay off your debt, but chances are that you're just going to run your debt up again. I'd choose time with my kids over time with the wife. It's cold to say but kids are important. Wives come and go, but kids need their parent(s).

How is your relationship with the wife? Remember, you can't predict the future or the feelings of another. You might bust your behind over seas to make the extra money, but half belongs to your wife who might pack her things and bail when you get back, leaving you with half the debt and only half your bonus.

The only sure bet is your kids.

I'm not in the military or your situation, but I'd probably reinlist if I was single and no kids. I'd more than likely stay home and not reinlist if I had kids, especially young ones.

A-Jay that's actually some of the reasoning I did also yes I wish i was there to see them have there first words or walk like the baby and toddler stuff but at the same time there young enough they wont really know the difference either they just know I'm "working" as we explain it to my 3 year old. Timing as well were at a point where the military is changing especially guard and reserve units instead of 2 week long AT's there gonna make them 7-12wk and then 1 or 2 day drills threw out the month rather then the current 2-7days each month and 2 weeks each summer. Who knows what our stance will be in the middle east as well in 2-4 years I personally think we will be in another conflict withing that time. If I reenlist is also timed perfectly with a huge chunk like 60% they said of the NCO's in my company are retiring or getting out then opening a lot of NCO slots right when I will be able to take one and I have enough points to be on top of the STAP list. So i could use that as a bargaining chip to reenlist as most the senior E4s do.

Bassn I know the kids are never gonna change like you said the wife deal is all un foreseeable future I could go one way and it goes the other. If I was single and no kids my military career would be WAY WAY WAY different I would of went active or volunteered for every deployment possible and every school I could I turned down both air assault and airborne because they conflicted with my wedding date. Same goes for other hooah schools didn't try or turned down because I wanted to be there for my kids. All that comes up though with reenlisting just means more time spent away and more schools to turn down or accept this time around idk but I have a till Feb2014 to reenlist though.

Sounds like you're already kind of thinking you should stay a little longer so that's what I'd probably do. You're giving something up either way and like you said as much as it sucks being away from your family you're there to be able to provide for them and having extra money makes it a lot easier. Just make sure that if you stay you put some of that extra money away and calm the unneeded extra spending down with the money that doesn't go into savings.

Sounds like you're already kind of thinking you should stay a little longer so that's what I'd probably do. You're giving something up either way and like you said as much as it sucks being away from your family you're there to be able to provide for them and having extra money makes it a lot easier. Just make sure that if you stay you put some of that extra money away and calm the unneeded extra spending down with the money that doesn't go into savings.

Yeah we don't do any unnecessary spending now even what we did at first wast on frivolous stuff other then the 300 I spent on tackle everything she spent was stuff we needed kids clothes, new mattress, new pots and pans, a grill, a small tv for the kids room, and a tread mill. we put away 500 every 2 weeks then what ever is "extra" at the end of the month gets put into savings as well its usually between 1500-2000 a month the past few months now that we got the things we needed. Christmas is coming so it might dip a little bit she said something like 100 out of every paycheck towards gifts. Its still not definite but anything can happen. The reenlistment used to be out of my head there was no way I was going to reenlist but now I'm considering it again and if I will stay infantry or reclass to a mechanic or even crew chief on a helicopter crew iv considered to iv been talking with a few here for a few reasons one is I want there job and 2 I get to go for rides in birds when we make some "crack deals" lol.

Just make sure it's YOUR choice with whatever choice you make. Good luck and keep your head down.