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I wanted to be an Air Force pilot my entire life and if you asked anyone that knew me back in AFROTC they would tell you I would stay in for a full career. However once I got into the "real" Air Force I found the focus in C-17s to be about anything but flying. I was never talked to by management about my last tactical approach but about how I was an "embarrassment" for not having my zippers zipped to the appropriate length etc. Thinking that it must be an AMC thing I headed over to T-6s to see if the grass was greener. However it was anything but. Regardless of how hard I worked as a USEM or Chief of Programming I was given second class treatment by our fighter centric management who were the castoffs from the F-15 community. Fear, sarcasm, and intimidation are their tactics in managing a squadron as I came to find out. They looked after their bro network and literally couldn't care about any of my goals or desires to become A PIT instructor FCF pilot you name it. The kicker was my squadron commander directly lied to my face about how I was not selected for 2+2 because of time on station when in reality he never pushed my application beyond the squadron level. I wish the next assignment would mean an improvement however seeing the calibre of the people the Air Force Deems fit for command leads me to believe that VSP is the best option for me The Air Force has helped me out as an aviator in so many ways but it's time to move on with a new phase of my life where I decide who I want to work for, where I want to live and how I wish to live.

I'll bite, even though I might have a few contrary opinions. The Air Force didn't drive me out with their micro or macro personnel decisions, management actions or culture changes. I chose to get out because I'm ready re-assert control of where I live and where I spend each night, plain and simple. Flying has been fun at times and monotonous at others, but in the end, the benefits of a flying career don't outweigh the costs for me personally. As far as the Air Force queep, I fully expect to find a new but different set of queep at whatever company eventually hires me. I don't believe the grass is really greener on any particular lawn, just different shades of green. The Air Force at least makes a rough attempt to establish a meritocracy, and gets it right a lot. (Flame on) There's a plethora of individual examples of the system not working, but in my decade in the Air Force, I never saw a suggestion for a better ranking system that truly made sense across the board. Objectively and subjectively grading people simultaneously is damn near impossible, but differentiation has to occur somehow. Unlike the civilian world, I wasn't looked down upon because I didn't go to an Ivy League college out of high school. I also never had to put up with the douche-bag son of the company president who's untouchable or the insufferable hot chick who's sleeping her way up the ladder. There's bullshit everywhere. The trick is to mentally rise above the mess and still perform. I finally saw the light on my path about a year ago when I was thinking about the book The Five Love Languages. Since BODN is a macho-centric forum, I'll spare everyone the intricate details, but if you really want to learn more about how you personally relate to others, read the book. My top three methods of connection required me to be in the presence of the other people who meant something to me. So I finally realized I would be an idiot to pursue a civilian aviation career or continue in the military, as I'm guaranteed to be absent from "home" and the people I care for at least half of my life in either pursuit. Why would I knowingly accept a situation where I know I personally don't thrive? So in the end I gave up my promotion and school slot and I'm punching. I'm studying for the GMAT now and I'll go to the highest tier business school that will admit me and then I'm moving back to my home state. I'll still be running just as hard as I was in uniform, just in different directions and I'll have the backing of a community that remains stable. I'll finally mentally stretch out and form real roots. Can't wait... In closing, I actually don't understand all of the "congratulations" people are passing around. I'm glad those who got VSP got what they wanted, but we haven't "accomplished" anything more than those who didn't get VSP. We got lucky. Lucky that big blue needs to downsize now and lucky that our names were picked from the hat. As much as I'm excited to control my own destiny again, I also can't shake the feeling that I'm quitting and leaving my country's service before my agreed-upon obligation is fulfilled. I will accomplish something someday (hopefully soon) that warrants a "congratulations" but I don't feel like accepting the VSP falls into that category. (again, flame on)

I'll give it a go. Hopefully this post is pretty succinct. There's a lot of stuff I don't like/agree with about our USAF, but in reality I'm mainly getting out for two reasons: 1) I'm not the type of person that likes to stagnate in life, but if there was one word that I could use to describe my USAF "career", it would in fact be "stagnation". I can't honestly look at myself in the mirror and say that I'm okay with my sub-mediocre career and let the next 13 years of my life be wasted just to make it to retirement. 2) I want control of my life again. My biggest takeaway from my time in the military is that our time on this planet is in fact limited and it is precious, so don't waste it. As much as I actually am running for the exit, I am proud to have been a part of the operational arm of this organization and thankful that I was able to make direct contributions to some of the biggest events in our time... but I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter of my life.

spent 10 years as an HH-60G pilot. 3 ops assignments in a row, though I didn't get out for that reason, it was the 7 deployments that went with those 3 ops assignments. Would have had at least one more but for a medical issue shortly before we were supposed to go out the door. I was fine with that ops tempo until the last month of the 7th deployment, and suddenly, in that last 30 days, it was like I hit a wall. I was tired of being there, getting shot at, living in a mod/b-hut with 6 of my closest friends. I just got burned out in a community with an extremely high ops tempo. Then at the end I had a couple years of not deploying and I realized just how much the USAF sucked away from me. I was tired of the queep, the bullshit that went along with it, deploying, getting shot at, losing friends, and ready to have some control over my life. So when my ADSC expired, I decided to punch. 12 years, 5 months, and 28 days. Clean break, no IRR or anything. 7 weeks ago I walked back into the squadron as a contract FCF pilot and Qual IP, and it's been an awesome feeling. I get to come into work every day and my primary job is to FLY (though it is a little feast or famine), and I don't have to worry about all the AD crap. A part of me is still proud that I'm indirectly contributing to the mission. It's like a great weight was lifted from my shoulders, and I highly recommend it.

The first amendment only guarantees you won't go to jail or face legal repercussions for saying things. It doesn't mean you won't be judged, sometimes harshly, by the rest of the world and potentially face retribution from them. You can still call black people the "n-word" without going for jail. Hell, you can even grab 10 of your closest buddies and their kids and go to a funeral of an army private who died in Iraq. Then, you can picket outside of said funeral with signs saying he deserved to die, is a "######," and god hates him, and your speech will be protected 8-1 by the Supreme Court. You just can't do it without having almost everyone around you think you are a piece of shit. Sometimes, cops screw up and arrest people without legal basis. The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that desecrating flags was legal in Texas vs Johnson, and I assure you they would rule it again.

Chuck: thats a good idea, but since I got approved, I have had 50+ Air Force members congratulate me, including my Sq/CC and DO. I had ONE person ask me why I wanted to get out. I think people know whats wrong.

Fellas - thoughts: A lot of you are leaving - a lot of you are IPs and highly qualified for leadership or other positions of significance in the company.... We all know that Sr. Leadership gets fed certain amounts of info, or reads info posted here. It's a way to get the pulse... I'd suggest starting a thread with the intent of stating, in plain English, your numbered reasons for wanting to voluntarily leave the force. Do not let it get out of control. Do not stoop to a ritual bitch-fest. Keep the snark and sarcasm to a minimum. Keep your egos in check and write calmly for the rest of us(them) to see. Maybe your true message (vote with your feet) can be heard by someone who will someday make a difference. I'd like to talk to each of you, but there is more to be gained from the group as a mosaic. Please consider the above. Cheers! Chuck

Will require pics of ATM & picnic table to know if this was justifiable....

In other words, you want to restrict another human's freedoms for your own selfish greed. So it's ok for me to stop you from coming into my city looking for a job because I'm protecting my available resources.

Really? Conversation heard everywhere: "Where did you commission? The Academy. What squad were you in?" Instant bro club in a lot of places. And hot chick sleeping up the ladder? Seen it more than once. Just a lengthier process...and the liberal use of the word hot.

Sigh...the forrest for the trees...you're excuses don't negate the fact that their 1st amendment was completely trampled on I feel like your first post and your reply to my post are on contradicting "sides" of the 1st amendment issue

1. You can't be forced to resign. Sure there was pressure, but he wasn't fired. Hence no violation by the gov. 2. The NBA is a private corporation, not a government entity. No violation of rights. 3. Hate speech is protected.

Just delete the "%C2%A0" at the end of his link. TLDR version of the story- James O'Keefe gives us another edited video to show things out of context and Americans being greedy to finance a film.