Military Academy=Military Service?

Yeah, you could retire in the Marines at 20 years as well, just not FULL retirement like you mentioned. It took about 30 reserve years to get the full retirement with benefits. (Just like most other corporate jobs) I was raised as an AF brat, so I was used to the constant moving. I was fortunate enough that since my dad was a high trained officer, we didn't move around quite as often. (Usually 6 years or so) We lived in Florida (Satellite Beach) while he was stationed with NASA, then West Virginia while he was stationed in Washington. Eventually we moved to Charleston, SC where he retired. Funny story there, he wanted to transfer to Charleston, SC when he was a Captain (He went to AF Academy in Colorado) but they kept saying no. So he resigned his commission, moved us to SC, then ENLISTED and worked his way back up to Tech-sgt. When he hit his 20 years and retired, he retired at his highest rank attained, so he has the retirement pay/benefits of a Captain. Even his retirement base sticker for his car is officer-blue.