Can the Police, Military, etc, force the recently retired back into service?

A lot of movies I’ve watched lately that star former police detectives, retired military commanders and all that jazz seems to have them forced back into service against their will, or they’re given some kind of ultimatum if they don’t rejoin for that one special assignment. (Sure, a few movies have them begged, pleaded or convinced in a friendly way, but I’m not wondering about those).

Can that really happen, or is that just a Hollywood trope?