Not trying to be mean....

[Benhuntn]

Mil guys you gotta hate'em

 

[AdlerDriver]

There’s another aspect to this discussion:
Mil pilots can’t always align the planets to get out/retire/switch from full time Guard to part-time at the exact time the airlines are hiring. The military is a great profession for a pilot but most will find themselves at the end of their career, retired in their mid-40s looking for work. If that happens to be during a hiring lull with the airlines, he’s hosed (assuming he wants to fly civilian). So some have had to jump when they have a chance to grab a job they’ll (hopefully) be able to do until they’re 60 (?65 – whatever). That chance may come when they have several years left to fulfill the requirements for a full 20 year military pension. That pension won’t pay all the bills (not even close) so he’s going to need something else and a job at Fedex/SWA/wherever is a great opportunity to begin a second career.

I know several guys who got out, got a line number, maybe finished probation and then went on mil leave to finish their 20 years. In this day and age, are you going to fault them or call that “milking the system”? That pension may be the only thing they can count on down the line at the rate things are going. You want that mil pilot and his family to pass that up because a side benefit of this plan happens to be returning with better seniority or missing out on a few Christmas’ in the crash pad?

Chances are, with the ops temp as it is, he’s probably missing Christmas or Thanksgiving anyway. His “crash pad” happens to be a tent, alert shack or something similar. Not to mention the threat is a lot higher while deployed than a overfilled pad, an AM call from skeds or walking in on a roommate rubbing one out with Miss September (GAWD - I still have uke: nightmares). Bogus mil leave around the holidays is BS. It’s also not done by most. The guys that boast about doing it lack as much smarts as they do integrity. Those few force the rest of us to have to defend what should really require no defense at all.

 

[Networ-King]

well said adler....

And it was miss october and I already apologized about that a thousand times.

 

[Huck]

That pension may be the only thing they can count on down the line

My uncle just retired after 20 years at UAL, and he's living off his military pension and the scraps from the UAL debacle....

We all thought he was nuts, taking a helo slot in the ARMY guard after getting hired at UAL. He spent how ever many months in Mother Rucker learning helos (he was a C-130 pilot in Viet Nam before that). But the AF Guard wouldn't take him, and he wanted his pension. Look at where he'd be without it.

 

[V1cutsrfun]

Ok, what is up with all of the miltary folks getting great avation jobs and then going on miltary leave? It's great that you protecting our country, but don't you think your milking the system? I've ran into so many miltary guy's that keep going back to active duty for 3 and 4 tours, just so when they come back there senroity number is great or they hold out for bigger iron. I've been seening this for some time and I just don't get it. Why are you doing this?

I'm all for the miltary, I tried and didn't get in. Very long stroy. I'm not dogging anyone or any branch, I'm just wondering is it just me? I've asked some of the miltary guy's and they say just so they can get a kick butt schedual. That is just for the wrong reasons.

Well...I can't believe this. On Thanksgiving weekend I'm reading this?!!?!??!

Ok, so they gained some senority, I'll gladly give a higher quality of life to those that serve so that I my kids may have freedom.

Do us all a favor, go rent the box set of Band of Brothers and in particular watch the episodes on the Bastogne, or better known as The Battle of the Bulge. A higher quality of life for our (thankfully) returning service men and women abroad is just a small payback for living in a tent on the other side of the world, away from their spouses and children, under constant threats of attack and loss of life.

Perhaps a little graditude on Thanksgiving weekend would be in order.

To all that serve....Welcome home.:beer: We all owe a huge debt of graditude.

If you can read this thank a teacher....If you read it in English, Thank a Vet.

V1

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

For me, drill pay was the only thing that kept me solvent during my first year at Trans States. I do still take as much military leave as I can because I like it and it pays 2-3 times as much as my "real" job. I'm sorry if that doesn't meet with your approval. If you're really upset, you could lobby congress to get the law changed...

When are you coming back to CIV line flying? When you can hold Capt and log PIC?

To the other 99% Armed Forces, thank you for your service... !!


Let's also recall the Air Line Pilots of North American, ATA and the like, including DHL crew that took a hit, who are flying our troops to from the "conflict areas"

 

[mach zero]

Let's also recall the Air Line Pilots of North American, ATA and the like, including DHL crew that took a hit, who are flying our troops to from the "conflict areas"[/quote]

Yep...make that multiple hits on ATA birds. I know I saw the pictures and talked to multiple fellow ATA pilots that have taken fire.

 

[AdlerDriver]

When are you coming back to CIV line flying? When you can hold Capt and log PIC?

To the other 99% Armed Forces, thank you for your service... !!


Let's also recall the Air Line Pilots of North American, ATA and the like, including DHL crew that took a hit, who are flying our troops to from the "conflict areas"

I’m having a little trouble why you have a problem with this. The first year pay at Trans States was/is probably a joke. Why should this guy subject himself to that if he has a choice? Just because others don't have the same choice, he has to eat sh!t too? If he's using bogus mil leave to avoid holiday duty, that's one thing. If he's making a choice to replace X number of Trans States work days with days at his Guard unit because the money's better, he likes it and oh, BTW he HAS to in order to stay current and fulfill his requirements - why is that a problem? He is fortunate to have a Guard job and the U.S. is fortunate to have folks like him willing to sacrifice when/if he's called on. If he can get some more $$ out of the deal, well - that's just a side benefit of his service. No one MADE the new hires at Trans States get hired there and accept the wages. They could have joined the military and had the same choices as this guy you're b!tching about. Life ain't fair but it generally works out about right. We all end up paying dues one way or the other. It might be combat, deployments, family separation, etc or it might be low wages, slugging it out as a CFI, single pilot freight - you name it. Whatever "dues" you feel this guy has avoided paying has been more than settled up with his past and future service.

Let's also recall the Air Line Pilots of North American, ATA and the like, including DHL crew that took a hit, who are flying our troops to from the "conflict areas"

Yep...make that multiple hits on ATA birds. I know I saw the pictures and talked to multiple fellow ATA pilots that have taken fire.

This whole thing makes me scratch my head. Delivering people or boxes to someplace in a civilian aircraft that's getting shot at is ludicrous. The FIRST time an ATA aircraft got shot at should have been the last. If they're continuing to fly in the face of actual fire then they are stupid. That's not something to be held up as some kind of trophy. If the threat is that high then the aircraft should be flown into a low threat area and whatever they're carrying transported via other means. The troops on board don't deserve to die on their way to the battle because some idiot pilot doesn't have the common sense to wave the BS flag on the issue of flying somewhere where he and his passengers are going to be shot at.
We're not talking about an F-16 supporting troops in contact or delivering a PGM to a high priority target. It's a frickin' airliner. If ATA jets continue to come back with holes in them, then we have an absolutely laughable example of poor ORM (operational risk management). There's no way the ends justify the means.

 

[Scrapdog]

Adler - extremely well put.

 

[Whine Lover]

Amen.

To the People who defend this Country:

THANK YOU.

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I understand the intent of the question originally posed. Nevertheless, it is a ridiculous query.

Go ahead and do the same thing that you would question others for ...I will praise you much more than I would EVER try to denigrate you.

YKW