DO NOT RISK, FOR ANOTHER ENLISTMENT, EVERYTHING THAT YOU SPENT 20 YEARS TO EARN.
Rinse, Repeat. Retire from the military the day you are retirement eligible.
As a member of General Officer Personal Staff for over eight years, and as the NCOIC of the 82d’s IG Office and the Assistance and Investigations NCOIC - don’t let one “Awe Sh*t” whip out a 1000 Ataboy’s! I saw too many NCO’s leave with nothing for mistake made because they were reenlistment ineligible thus not making 20-years, or someone over 20 get popped for something stupid like a relation with a subordinate, black marketing, etc.
If you’ve already retired - no matter how much you loved the military, do not return as a service member. There are plently of ways a command can make you Civil Service, even on board a ship, plane or dune-buggy - you just have to agree to take all the shots and your ID Card will give you a corresponding POW rank if captured, e.g., if you are a GS-11 your grade will be LTC. Most senior NCO’s are eligible for GS-11/12. Imagine getting captured and out ranking the guy on active duty commanding the ship;)
I heard of a CSM who tried cocaine for the first time at a party during his Terminal Leave. He went in to out-process a few days later, and whaddya know, his number came up for urinalysis. All his decades of service down the tubes, no retirement. Should he have tried coke? Heck no. But all those years, gone...
And then there was the Lt Col who got popped on urinalysis for prescription pain killers. They’d been prescribed for her, legit. But she took some after the prescription had expired. Again, busted out, no retirement...