For me, leaving the military was an easy and almost required choice. The system for analyzing performance, position, and growth is extremely bureaucratic. I won't go into the many pros/cons with this, but can say that if you're someone with a high growth ceiling than you're going to feel very stifled and inflexible.
Simply put, the military did not allow me to grow into my potential at the speed that I could both add value and succeed for the military and myself. I received many promotions (E5 in 2yrs) and decorations. I went through 3 combat tours in 4 years (way above average).
I was accepted by a university near the end of my 4 years and promptly exited stage left.
