Getting out?

[Deuce130]

I equate the Air Force pilot bonus with the question "Will you accept 1 million bucks in lieu of watching your children grow up."

1 million bucks?? Where do I get that bonus???

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

1 million bucks?? Where do I get that bonus???

That was my point exactly. The bonus could be 10 million and it still would not have been worth it. You FedEx guys are a bit slow on the uptake.

 

[pilotyip]

Bonus Bonus, what is a bonus? lets see I was gone from home over four years in eleven years of active duty. I guess I did not spend adequate time with my kid. Before I knew he had gone off and joined the military to be a pilot. If only I had stayed home more I could have prevented him from pursuing this career. Thanks l'il'J for setting me straight, all these years I thought it was about service and not money.

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

About service and not money? What the he!! does that mean? For me, it came to family before service. I did my part and now its my kid's turn. The post 9/11 schedules are soemthing you may not understand Yip.

 

[psysicx]

Is it hard to make 0-6 in the CG?

 

[MaxTorque]

Cg

Hard to make O6 in CG?

Harder for some than others... It seems like aviators have to really screw up or leave to not make O4. It is a lot harder to make O5 because the command of an aircraft that sounded great as an O3 doesn't compare as well with what the ship drivers and ops ashore folks are doing as O4s plus the positions start to kneck down quite a bit. After O5, you pretty much need your masters, the right jobs, avoid stepping on your crank or the wrong boss, and a little luck for the next step. Other than that - piece of cake!

Sure, there is some politics, but I think it is a pretty fair system.

MaxT

 

[Flystr8]

All Military personnel, active or not, have my total support!!!!

 

[Flystr8]

To all of you who serve or did serve in the military I commend you for serving under the complete incompetence of GEORGE W.BUSH and our current government reps.

 

[qmaster3]

To all of you who serve or did serve in the military I commend you for serving under the complete incompetence of GEORGE W.BUSH and our current government reps.

We appreciate your commendation Flystr8. But while people are dying, and you aren't among the ranks. Never pass up the opportunity to shut the f#ck up.

 

[Hdawg]

Bonus Bonus, what is a bonus? lets see I was gone from home over four years in eleven years of active duty. I guess I did not spend adequate time with my kid. Before I knew he had gone off and joined the military to be a pilot. If only I had stayed home more I could have prevented him from pursuing this career. Thanks l'il'J for setting me straight, all these years I thought it was about service and not money.

Four years out of 11 wow!!! ...I was home 14 months out of the last 6 years. It is about service.... but all these anti-bonus guys probably gave up O4-O5 pay to make E3 pay I'm sure.

 

[K-Mart]

Four years out of 11 wow!!! ...I was home 14 months out of the last 6 years. It is about service.... but all these anti-bonus guys probably gave up O4-O5 pay to make E3 pay I'm sure.

That is funny!!

 

[Deuce130]

To all of you who serve or did serve in the military I commend you for serving under the complete incompetence of GEORGE W.BUSH and our current government reps.

Keep your thanks, hippy. You highlight your ignorance and backhanded compliments from you aren't needed. Save it for the non-aviation related board. Retard.

 

[Spyguy]

nice

I have to chime in on this one. 4 years out of 11, let me first say that the navy has changed greatly since the years that you have served. I was deployed 19 months out of the last 36. What did the navy have in store for me on my "Shore Tour"? Oh yeah how about what is referred to as an IA (Individual Augmentation). IA= S*cks Ass. The Navy in its infinite wisdom has rogered up to covering 35 percent of the support jobs in Afg and Iraq. Who takes it in the shorts? Not TAR or the reservists, nope the guys who have already spent more than a year in country. I just missed the last one, which was in Iraq for six months plus two weeks of training. The word we got today is that they are increasing to 18 months plus two months training. Remember this is all on your shore tour.

You can keep your bonus and all your crap about service. I volunteered for just about everything that came my way in the fleet, but my wife and I decided to wait and have kids on my shore tour, which appears to be going away very quickly. My service is up in a couple of years and I will be leaving as quickly as I can drop a letter. To sum it up, it all equals quality of life and generally the navy doesn't have it for family and I don't feel that the retirement pay or benefits are worth it.

 

[payola]

I got out because the future looked alot less fun than my past.

You know, the typical "Gotta make everyone an O-6" carreer path. Less flying the line, more BS desk jobs supervising whiny Es or, even worse, civilian secretaries.

Just so ya know, that's why a lot of those "whiny E's" get out...officers whining and being lazy and selfish. "Ooh, I don't get to fly today, I lead such a pathetic existence." When someone enlists in the armed forces, they take an oath saying that they will obey the orders "of the officers appointed over me". Taking orders from someone who considers enlisted men/women a burden and who thinks that anything except sitting in the cockpit to be "BS desk jobs"...I'll pass, thanks.


I never took that oath lightly. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, though...

 

[Shaggy 135 Guy]

I had mixed reasons for getting out as early as I did. While I had a great time and met some great people flying on active duty, I didn't like the direction I saw things heading...at least not where I was. We had too many pilots in my unit, and as a result no one was doing much flying. The C-21 is a great airplane, and a terrific assignment for someone with a family. But I was worried about what would happen after the C-21. Most mobility pilots (who make up the majority of pilots in the Air Force) are gone as much as if not more than they are home. The Guard gives me the best of both worlds.

That said, I would still recommend trying for a flight slot if it's something you want. The quality of the people you will work with and the job stability are second to none. Good luck.

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

Just so ya know, that's why a lot of those "whiny E's" get out...officers whining and being lazy and selfish. "Ooh, I don't get to fly today, I lead such a pathetic existence." When someone enlists in the armed forces, they take an oath saying that they will obey the orders "of the officers appointed over me". Taking orders from someone who considers enlisted men/women a burden and who thinks that anything except sitting in the cockpit to be "BS desk jobs"...I'll pass, thanks.


I never took that oath lightly. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, though...

Of course you did not take the oath lightly...you were/are a Marine. USAF enlisted are not in the same universe as enlisted Marines. USAF E's are the largest drain of resources in the US government (with some obvious exceptions being enlisted aircrew, SOC, and medical) MSG enlisted are pathetic and we could do better with minimum wage civies.

 

[boomlrd]

I agree with all of the leadership comments on here, I was an "E" aircrew member, fun while it lasted but it is alot better not having to be a yesman now. Another thing, if you go in, don't enlist unless you like being a robot. Good experience, makes me cherish what I have now, but I would never do it again. A$$Kissers get promoted, good guys get out.

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

boomlrd--That's the smartest thing you have posted on here ever.

 

[Vingus]

Boy, it sure does seem like I've offended some people with my "Whiny E's" comment.

Sorry. That was a generalization and was not true of many Es.

I went into the Air Force to be a military pilot. You can say what you want to "AF officer first", but I just wanted to fly. I don't apologize for that.

I guess I really didn't want the drama associated with the desk jobs that took me away from the cockpit. Yea, I did whine a bit when I sat as squadron scheduler and watched all my buddies flying close to 125 hrs a month during the Kosovo conflict while I flew about 8. But that's life and crappy timing.

The best decision I made was when I showed up to my last squadron. I told the boss on day 3 that I was getting out and didn't need to be groomed to be an AF leader. That took balls, but it kept me flying the line. Lots of my peers felt the same way, but had to talk out both sides of their mouth to "keep their options open." I didn't feel that way.

I generally had a good time in the AD AF, but when my commitment was up, it was time for me to move on.

No regrets.

 

[qmaster3]

USAF E's are the largest drain of resources in the US government (with some obvious exceptions being enlisted aircrew, SOC, and medical) MSG enlisted are pathetic and we could do better with minimum wage civies.

"There are no bad regiments, there are only bad officers."
--Field Marshall Lord Slim