Love it or hate it, the military becomes a way of life, and so it was for some
27 years. Not surprisingly, there were some competing tensions in deciding to
leave and pursue a doctorate at a time when many of my military peers were
consolidating careers or contemplating semi-retirement. Disenchantment with
a policy decision was the immediate catalyst to my decision to leave and take up
a career opportunity in academe, wherein completing a PhD became obligatory.
Having said this, starting a PhD was by no means a de facto choice; rather, it was
the prime attractor in an otherwise unknown and relatively underpaid vocational
choice.