Magellan

My thoughts are your head is telling you what all the rest of us are already thinking and saying. Dump this chick, run like hell, and never look back. Otherwise you wouldn't have sought our advice and posted here. Your heart on the other hand is telling you she is worth it, you want to spend the rest of your life with her, and you don't know that would be able to live with yourself if you don't give love a chance. Well if you follow your head you may look back and wonder what if, and it will sting a little. But you will be a pilot you will be making decent pay, and you will have tons of career opportunities. Oh and most of the decent women out there that can handle being married to a military member find those things to be positive attributes. And if you follow your heart. You will be divorced within a few years when the "LOVE" fades, and it will be because you weren't realistic. Then in your head will be thinking man I should have dumped that chick, ran like hell, and never looked back. Except now you may have pissed away your career, she has taken off with half your shit, and maybe even your kids if you two ended up having any. Oh and the decent women out there won't find any of that shit attractive. That said it is your decision to make. Think with your head or think with your heart.

If you really want to learn/do some important stuff before starting UPT that will be 100% useful. I would taking care of the following 3 things. 1. Investing. TSP, Roth IRAs, allotments, etc. get smart on ALL this stuff and put a plan in place to start saving money now. Best advice I ever got was to set 100% of my incentive pay(flight pay) into TSP 6 months before I even started getting flight pay. Now it is all going towards retirement, as well as maxing my ROTH IRA, and I don't miss a penny of it. Even doing all that I am still able to buy as much beer as any other Lt. out there. 2. Education. Knock out 3 or 4(or more) masters classes while you are on casual most places give you a 7 year window to complete the degree, or at least embry riddle does and they have an office at every AFB I have ever heard of. Also, get smart on the post 9/11 GI bill. This is a huge benefit that if used well could be worth over $100,000 of education for either you, your spouse, or one of your kids. 3. Get in shape if you aren't already. If you are only in semi-decent shape now odds are you will be in horrible shape towards the end of phase 3. That said my squadron DO said yesterday, "We will not graduate a student that can't pass a PT test." Make damn sure you aren't that guy/gal. My first week at ASBC I saw a girl get sent home for not passing the PT test...how will that affect her down the road I don't know...but I am sure it didn't help her any. Just my $.02 but I see tons of my peers who aren't doing those above three things, and those three things are what will put you heads and shoulders above your peers in both your career and life in general.

How does someone set themselves to get picked up for AFIT to get a masters degree? I have read the AFIT webiste and the information on the process itself etc, but I am looking for a no BS answer from guys that have been around squadrons and seen guys who got picked up for it. Mainly I want to know if I am currently working on finishing up my MAS from embry riddle before I make Captain did I just screw myself, because I already have a masters and therefore don't need another one? Is AFIT one of those things you need to make known you want and if you do well when you apply your higher ups will try and hook you up if they think you are worth the effort, etc. Also, on what kind of a time frame do they look to send guys to that program. Sr. Captain with SOS knocked out? After you make Major, but before you go to ACSC? Any information would be very useful.