The Meaning of the Transition to Retirement at Midlife from Active Duty Military Service in the United States

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this hermeneutic, dialectic, phenomenological qualitative study was to describe among a sample of recently retired (within the past five years) United States military veterans, the experience of the transition to retirement at midlife from active duty (AD.) The secondary aim is to describe within this sample of recently retired military veteran’s, the meaning of health to their post military lifestyle. Background: The transition to retirement from AD military service to retirement is a unique transition occurring at midlife about which little is known. Veterans serving after 9/11/2001 are more likely to have deployed and to have deployed multiple times compared to other service eras, having unique effects on relationships, physical and mental health, and meaning of health. No research has been done to examine the experience and meaning of health of career AD veterans who served during eighteen years of continuous war. Method: This study was guided by Margaret Newman’s Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC) to explore the meaning of the transition to retirement and health among AD military veterans at midlife. Newman’s HEC guided data collection and analysis. Fourteen participants were recruited through purposive, criterion snowball sampling. Participants were individually interviewed about meaningful people and events in the military retirement and meaning of health. Rigor and trustworthiness were ensured by taking measures to support credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability. The researcher developed a narrative and diagram of meaningful events and relationships which was shared with each participant and reflected together on life patterning. Results: Fourteen participants consisting of men (n=10) and women (n=4) representing all branches of the military as well as officer and enlisted ranks participated in this study. The difficulty of finding a sense of purpose in retirement was common among participants. Participants also described becoming aware of health conditions after distrust of the healthcare system during their military careers. The experience of war was found to have effects on the entire family. Conclusion: Through HEC, a more complete understanding of the meaning of health and transition to retirement among active duty veterans was formed. Future research should focus on the unique populations of veterans including of combat veteran and women veterans.