An unrecognized career path? Retire at 0-5 or 0-6, and then go on to have an impact

I was having lunch with
a smart Navy captain recently and we began talking about all the people who
have served 20 or more years, left as Army or Marine lieutenant colonels and
Navy captains and then gone on, in "retirement," to have a much greater impact
on the shape or uses of the U.S. military than they did while in uniform. In
the course of 30 seconds, these names were mentioned:

Lt.
Col. Andrew Krepinevich

Capt. Jan van
Tol

Lt.
Col. John Nagl

Col.
Tom Ehrhard

Col. Bob Work (my other new boss,
by the way)

Col.
John Collins (three
full careers, the third
perhaps the most influential)

These are just the
ones that came immediately to mind. I am sure there are many more. (Your
nominations welcome.) Their commonality is three-fold, I think: First, they
were independent thinkers. Second, they had the best interests of their
services in mind, even at the expense of further promotion. (That is, they did
their duty.) Third, as the Navy captain said, "they knew when to get off the
merry-go-round." After all, everyone who lives gets told to leave the military
eventually. Why not go when you still have ideas and the energy to develop
them?  

So, as a friend points
out, the lesson seems to be that if you want to be a CEO, leave the military as
a lieutenant or captain. But if you want to affect the shape and strategy of
the U.S. military, leave as a smart, hard-working, well-read, well-educated
0-6.