Do you veterans miss the military?

[Gorilla]

Be nice, now. We can rag on the hooey that made many of us punch out, but let's not rag on each other.

Basset, I was an IP in the 434th in 1989. Did you go through the Red Devils? Man, we had some fun. Every day, when the beer light went on, it was into the squadron bar for some cold ones, some dice action.. NO PC BS. If you weren't with the 434th, I'm sure I ran into you at the O-club. We had some memorable nights there stomping the Eagle guys across the street in crud - AFTER stomping them 4V4 in a CT sortie.

I don't miss the BFM, the great folks, flying fighters over exotic locations, or serving my country one bit...:crying:

What I certainly miss is the chance to attend countless briefings on sexual assualt prevention, suicide prevention, drunk driving prevention, homosexual tolerance and understanding, computer security, mandatory wing commander calls, and of other mindless events that wasted countless heartbeats I could have spent flying, studying in the vault, or viewing the pornography that became banished from most places around 1992.:angryfire

And there it is, all the reasons I bailed. That crap was coming on strong in 1991. About 6 months after I left, the first women were at Holloman in LIFT, on their way to F-15's and F-16's. I called a bud and asked him how it was going with the females. He summed it up well... "You can't say F--K anymore, and the women cry during the debrief." Ouch.

While I didn't get to do combat, my boys from Eglin cleaned the skies well in GW1. I was proud and ready to do battle with hordes of commies during the Reagen era, and I couldn't have picked a better decade to do it. We had a great mix of old school personalities still flying (SEA vets), plenty of money for training, a mission-ready status of 98%+ It was all good.

I guess if I do think hard enough about it, I made a good call, but my selective memory is in full swing and I do miss it all.

 

[737ski]

Be nice, now. We can rag on the hooey that made many of us punch out, but let's not rag on each other.

So, you don't consider our "sister" pilots "each other". Well, thank goodness, you're gone. Times have changed my friend. Not all good pilots are dudes... I've had the pleasure of flying with some of the best & worst of AF's female pilots--so judge them as individuals, not as a group... Welcome to the 21st century, caveman!

 

[Huggyu2]

Gorilla,
Your first post was very well done.
In '92, when I came up for the bonus, I remember sitting outside the Alconbury CBPO for about an hour with the paperwork in hand: should I stay or should I go? I was overseas, hadn't prep'd on how to go to the civilian world, had a baby on the way, and finally signed up for 7 more years.
I got out in Mar '00.
In July '01, I decided I missed the U-2 community so much that I started the process to go back in. By the time 9/11 hit, I was already working through the paperwork, and was back on active duty 19 Nov 01.
I'm loving it.
Yes, we can all complain about this, or that,... that's part of BEING in the military. You can't have one without the other. I wish we could, but we can't. With all its warts, I'll take it.
I can now retire any day I want. But I'm sticking around.

Had I been in the CONUS and a bit more savvy back in '92, I'd have certainly gotten out.

 

[Laughing_Jakal]

My twin bro flies Shadows....and I tell ya, he's the freakin' worst of the bunch. Can't tell him anything.

Yeah.....well I couldn't tell him anything either.....good thing for nepotism huh?

 

[Kaman]

Hey Guys,
I find myself doing alot of head shaking while working within the dregs of the airline industry. The regional airlines. Unfortunately, I don't get the opportunity to fly with any military aviators here. We only have a couple and I have enjoyed talking with them. It is a challenge flying a turboprop in the Northeast into LGA and typically with a low-time F/O makes it even more a challenge. I try to encourage them to all go fly in the military and see what real flying is all about.
When I grew up all my heros were either sports or military pilots. Ted Williams being an elite member of that list because he was a Marine officer and pilot in WWII and Korea. He gave up the best years of his career to serve in the military. These guys and gals coming out of these "puppy pilot mills" are short-changing the crap out of themselves.
I am eternally grateful to the really good officers and pilots I flew with that taught me how to think/decide/act with precision. I could go on and on about all the jacked up crap that I see in the airline world on a daily basis. However, most of you see it in your jobs also.
It has got to the point where I hardly ever talk about my Navy time with anyone that I fly with anymore. They wouldn't really understand and I get tired of hearing, "How can you go to sea for 6 months?" Well, it was my job for one thing and Naval Aviation is the most important thing I've ever done short of being my little girl's Daddy.
What keeps me going and what always kept me going in the military was to NEVER let down the people in my crew and more importantly to live up to the duty and sacrifice of all the military members in the past that made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation.

Regards,

ex-Navy Rotorhead and USAF brat

 

[AlbieF15]

Well, from another perspective....

We all know flying rocked. Serving our nation with great guys and gals was a blessing. But...

I got sick of moving every 3 years...I'm a farm kid at heart and wanted to settle down somewhere eventually...

I got tired of being a FIGHTER PILOT, and nothing else. I used to kayak, ride horses, SCUBA dive, sail, hunt, fish, fly GA, play the drums, etc etc. For over 12 years I flew fighters on active duty with its upgrades, SOF tours, OPRs, flight commander duties, and resulting loooong work days--then slept in catching up on Saturdays (when I wasn't deployed). Now I'm rediscovering some of the other parts of "me" that had to be put on a back shelf.

I got tired of constantly being worried about the next assignment, OPR, bad deal TDY, etc etc.

So--I don't go to the bar after a great mission with my airline cohorts, but then again--I've learnd some fascinating stuff from some of them too. Guy I know at FedEx built an awesome house out of concrete. Another gal owns a horse ranch (a lot nicer than mine!). I could go on and on--point is I've learned a lot from some folks with pure civilian background and had a great time learning from them too.

I never went to the airlines to get excited about the flying--but I still enjoy the challenges of flying a smooth, safe flight with a nice touchdown at the end. What I LOVE about my airline job are some things I never had in the military, like:

Days off. I get them. I don't have to ask anyone--just drop, move, or trade trips or bid around the days you want. You don't get that day 1 as a new hire, but it comes...and its awesome. No leave requests--and no dumping work on your bros when take some time off for yourself.

Travel. I don't have pass rights like the legacy/pax guys, but I think thats a great perk. The jumpseat, however, has been very nice and a real magic carpet.

Community. I'm in one now! I'm a church committee member, a regular supporter of some local events, and a local business owner. When I was on active duty, I was an F-15 IP, and it was GREAT. The ANG let me spread my wings in other areas, though, and now that my flying days are done I'm still involved and doing some things besides flying fighters that I am proud of and enjoy. I get to be a bit more multi-dimensional.

Money. I get more now. Granted, I got hired by a great company, and I have an entreprenurial spirit and have done some things besides my airline job along the way. I wasn't poor as an active duty major, but these days I have some things I used to dream about--a horse farm and a plane to share with my family. No disrespect to the active duty retirees out there--many have done VERY well and could buy and sell me--but the fact is my income now is a lot better than it was active duty, and as a result I get to do some things I used to dream of doing with my kids.

So--forgive me on this--when I go to work I ain't lookin' for the adventure, comraderie, or excitement I used to get flying F-15s. I go to work to take care of a family and chase some new dreams. And--no kidding--I thank God every day I got a job that has so much flexibility and so many perks that I can carve out a pretty neat life. We all have to step back sometime, but my back told me I was done at 20 and would get no more. That's fine--I think really it was a message for me to spend more time with family and less at the base.

All this means I don't pine for a military captain or another fighter bro as S/O when I go on a trip--I don't care. I'm so darn glad to be here I'm gonna have a great time with anyone who wants to come along. Flying for a living has some drawbacks, but I cannot think of a single job (okay--maybe a porn star or rock musician) where you can have so much fun if you do it right.

 

[LeonPhelps]

Laughing Jakal, you have Harry Shadow confused with someone else. I flew with you when I was a JaKal, and I flew with Harry as a nightwing...Harry is da bomb!!! And he is even more of a ladies man than good ole' Leon Phelps!! Yeah, I couldn't agree with Deuce any more...I think he and I had that EXACT conversation...second ten years of military just ain't the same as the first. You can miss the military, but you'll be missing what you had in the first ten years...but not the second, unless you are a queep monster, as Magnum would put it. I'll never say never, because if I'm on the streets tomorrow...I'd gladly go back to active duty, but just wouldn't expect to enjoy it as much. That having been said, for now...life in the airlines AND in the guard/reserve is a sweet combo of civilian, military, no queep, lots of flying...but, who knows? Maybe the flying itself will get boring someday, but for now I still get giddy thinking about my corporate job before(which was a good one by corporate standards), and how I actually get paid to fly around in an airplane...and not worry about my TPS report cover sheets.

 

[highsky]

I have, arguably, the Holy Grail of the airline jobs now.

Yes, I miss the military.

Here's what I miss:

I miss doing something for the world and my country that matters.

I miss being in charge of multimillion dollar national assets flying around the world with my close friends.

I miss being "stuck" for six days straight in exotic locations when the airplane breaks.

I miss the strength of unity feeling I get when I'm driving on a U.S. Milit
ary Base, its 1600L, the Taps/Colors sound, and I need to pull off to the side of the road to reflect about my country.

Here's what I don't miss:

The childish backroom politics. The posturing. The backstabbing. The career maneuverning, the soap opera.

...Unfortunately, that's what this the situation has become.

Sad. Our national security is what should be paramount, unfortuately; the reality is, the PC and ass-kissing is what prevails.

 

[Kaman]

Well said, highsky... It used to be different too when I was a kid, we used to not only stop, but also get out of the car too. At least thats what my Dad and/or Mom had us do. I don't miss the "sand box" or the "NAG" all that much...However, I do miss the PI and having a San Miguel and some Lumpia overlooking beautiful Subi Bay at sunset.

 

[Deuce130]

My twin bro flies Shadows....and I tell ya, he's the freakin' worst of the bunch. Can't tell him anything.

What a freakin' coincidence! I've got a twin bro who flies Raptors. I usually don't tell anyone I'm related to a fighter pilot, though. Whenever I'm forced to admit it, I just shrug and laugh nervously. And then repeatedly reassure them that I'm not anything like him. I still remember the night he went from flying 100 million dollar fighters to 350 million dollar fighters...I thought he'd never shut up about it.

I'll never regret leaving AD. I've got a beautiful wife and now TWO beautiful daughters (one is now 8 days old and pretty as her sister) and am really excited about the future. Moving to Memfrika next week and I pumped about the time off I'll have to spend time with my family and find new things to do. Like Albie said, it's time to be more than just a C-130 pilot.