AirGuardianC141747

Totally on board. There are many reasons to leave the military and one cannot specifically choose one in most cases. For myself, timing was everything, planning your exit strategy is key and you must do the best you can and always remember the best laid plans rarely if ever survive first contact. Planned a minimum of 3 years ahead, financial, medical, next career alignment, next landing pad, expected home purchase/taxes/higher cost possibilities, etc. Anything and everything you can think of. Save a minimum of 30-50K, more the better. Sold 2 motorcycles; I wish I hadn’t (just my favorite one) but that’s an unknown and we were more than prepared. Your second backup is your TSP in case of an emergency bailout which could possibly be required (It’s in the small print). If possible: Go Guard or Reserve for a much easier/mental state of transition period from Blue to Gray or whatever. You can hopefully secure your next career not job and move forward or dabble in alternate dream/passions that will quell that military servitude sense of accomplishment for God and Country. I agree it wasn’t easy moving on but there are certain times my current career allows me to mingle with our great soldiers and moving them and their war fighting equipment out of the same areas I flew before. Only now they compensate for it when I still would do it anyway, but it’s a nice additive. Sure, we still do CBT’s, but we get paid for that (It’s these little victories that makes things alright). In the end I definitely could have moved up to higher rank and leadership opportunities but sometimes you must know when it’s the most opportune time to leave the party and not be low hanging fruit. Things to consider: 1. Does the 2.5% jump in retirement pay incrementally out do your next career/Chapter 2 Life potential. (Basically are you wasting time or not). Plus if paid VA benefits immediately, that may out do any rank increase or longevity you plan on. Guessing. 2. Current value of your job or the pressures you are subjected too still worth it. Life on either side has its plus and minuses. 3. Family acclimation - Good and Bad 4. Remember, Big Blue is gone when you retire and your family is for life if it didn’t disintegrate before you left. 5. Face it, are you a career soldier which is great and I want you to succeed. Just accept the noble life you have chosen. Note: None of the places my wife and I intended to retire too are the same 24 years later. We have moved 3 times in 2 years after military retirement so not much there has changed. Blessed to have work which allows this.

Great info brabus, No issues in any other areas except for normal shooter lust, just haven’t ordered any air cans as of yet. Thx.

Cargo outfits have been able to secure new business rapidly due to the 2020 debacle. Far faster than any plan any of them had in play; therefore, their acceleration of hiring has been above and beyond normal induction/attrition. More aircraft being ordered, delivered or converted to include a few pulled back out of the desert this past year just to fill unprecedented demand. Belly freight that normally Pax carriers had fell to pure cargo assets literally swamping the landscape initially. FedEx was quick to secure several long term contracts with prior belly freight customers as did a few others. Pax carriers revitalized some of their assets to move cargo however they could. Even Amazon for the first time purchased 11 used 767 aircraft from Delta and Westjet above and beyond its current leasing strategy. They are slated for freighter conversion. We carry pax but not everyday fare based options, mostly charters and AMC. Our NFL has ratcheted down on schedule and our FedEx/UPS peak support is finalizing per seasonal requirements and AMC continues for now. Atlas will continue to hire (hired hundreds upon hundreds in 2020), especially with the available resources of much higher qualified candidates while the opportunity exists. Granted it’s always been harder to keep them with FedEx/UPS/Majors poaching them consistently and who could blame them. Just too easy - We hook’m, clean’m and fry’m then serve them to higher paying customers if you will. FedEx and others hire for longevity/expansion while we get some longevity some expansion but honestly attrition beyond retirements has been the primary issue it seems. We do have more demand as Atlas Air Worldwide holdings has recently placed an order for 4 more 747-8F’s to most likely finish the production line by the end of 2022. Good place to start, stay or move on to greener pastures that meet your needs. Come on in, the water is fine. Any Pax carrier folks out there care to share their hiring plans for 2021-22? This information will be a decent measure of the recovery of our economy.

Gun Control is very tricky. Definitely could institute some sort of common sense measures whatever they may be. No expert by any means although many initiatives are a gateway drug to further action. But in the end if you believe there is absolutely no threat of gun confiscation, history has proven you wrong. To paraphrase Lloyd Christmas, I am telling you there’s a chance. However miNute, it’s the same reason you have a CCL. Buyback is gun confiscation, or you could just mandatory register your items making it easier to go door to door, granted plenty of states/counties becoming sanctuary areas as each second passes. Nothing was accomplished rapidly prior to the Trump administration. It’s the whole boiling frog routine. Now things are moving quickly and once you start chipping away like a boxer’s first eye cut, the bleeding won’t stop and it always gets worse from there. Venezuela at least offered some great appliances before tyranny set in. 2020 has proven you should have the right to protect yourself all by itself. Imagine how much greater the threat might have been if there was absolutely no fear entering certain areas. Virginias flag alone tells you why the 2nd amendment exists. Goddess of virtue with a sword/Lance and stepping on the chest King of England mind you, his crown having fallen to the wayside. "Sic semper tyrannis“ written below...

Very Great points jazzdude: Regarding the subset of voters I mentioned you are correct, maybe we trust a proven system whatever that might be which I guess I only alluded too. America as a whole has voted for a very long time centuries now without such mail in ballots as a predominant measure, it has just been a rushed measure with this current state of affairs. Standing in long lines losing pay with skin in the game, bad bosses and not getting paid for your time being American that’s nothing new if you have been voting for quite awhile now as your civic duty. I can only account for over 3 decades of voting and how it has changed significantly for the worse with the technology available for the best. With your voter accountability ideas it should be attainable. Side note - $15 an hour pay might help so many have that going for them which is nice. Not arguing whether $15 is a good/bad thing, we as the consumer will pay no matter what as it will be handed down to us. Closing the economy for voting, even if true for a few weeks it’s hardly a real deal breaker compared to 2020 as the litmus test. The American economy is still being crushed into this year with constant closings aside from the protesting/riots/1st Amendment tamp down, etc. Businesses have already burned and continue to struggle with folks hurting out there as we live among the non-government paycheck entrepreneurs, small businesses, etc. As a nation we have yet to feel and reel from the impacts going forward to include the debt accrued into $30 Trillion plus now. Your Voter ID definitely has great merit and I hope to get there beyond signatures, voter registration, ID etc. (never said just signature match, I would have included heartbeat if it mattered 🙂 Your 2 factor authentication would be the best course of action. My statement was a pure assessment that we basically have absolutely nothing so how will trust be earned again. Your way sounds good. Time to research at home definitely is more of a comfort driven statement, I like it. Being informed is paramount. I already do the same it’s just homework, but I have drilled down my notes in hand when I actually show up to vote as we do not have the premiere system that you mentioned yet. When we do, I’m there dude/just like you = good stuff. Regarding Trump and current events. At least at the bare minimum we get to see all the snakes that normally reside in the tall grass. A lot of them are out in the open and blatantly revealed themselves and their agendas within BOTH parties, Presidents current/past, Senators, Governors, Mayors, Police Chiefs, etc. Definitely an easier and safer life to blindly walk the path down the middle of the tall grass. Easier for them to strike from their comfort zone, but now the grass has been lit on fire. Free Speech / Gun Control at the forefront. It’s not coming it’s already here with the 1st Amendment being crossed rampantly and trigger control a close 2nd. Crush 1, then number 2 and so on. Parler, YouTube restrictions , Go Daddy now, granted plenty of other websites have been attacked/shutdown/restricted by the DOJ for the good of society, but these Free Speech sites seem to be at the forefront currently (not by DOJ, but Big Tech). Anyone can be on the list now. Search parties are rolling and not to save a life mind you, but to control it.

While it’s not Cherry right now, it’s still a charmed life retrospectively. Food for thought: If you were born in 1900 and lived til you were 75... You have first hand knowledge of WWI, Russian Revolution/Communism, Great Depression, WWII, Holocaust, Korean War, Cold War/Nuclear rise of Nations, Civil Rights Movement, Viet Nam, Cuban Missile Crisis, Space Race, Woodstock, Oil Crisis... etc. Many of those would tend to put a real damper on things and some uplifted/matured our nation. Definitely missed a few more notable events. What lies ahead? Especially without current plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, transportation, logistics, medical, emergency services, THE INTERNET/Worldwide Web of Truth, Lies and Deceit, etc. Can you even imagine. *Not a Boomer by the way, just raised by the greatest generation who had a late start problem = me.

Every country historically goes thru true culture shift or growth pains if you will due to economic, military, political aspirations, technology gains, etc. - Dictatorship, Authoritarian, Communism, Socialism, Birth of Democracy, Revolution, Civil War, Civil Rights, Civil Disobedience, etc. list goes on and on. Pick your starting point or ending point as many are born and their destiny is either cut short or end up where we are today. Every empire if you will has grown to its peak and then slowly or rapidly rescinds its title due to many shifts within itself or outside overtake. Future and shaping of this country has been on an ever changing path long ago before cancel culture, PC, renaming of sports teams, BLM, Antifa, those “rebel flags” (GA as an example changed their flag numerous times nearly 2 decades ago), Boomer/Snowflake/Woke/Shaming classifications somehow being perceived as a revolutionary idea of challenging the status quo or being Avant-garde - while Race/Gender/Hate crimes/Human trafficking has been an issue since the beginning of time; therefore, no generation on this forum was the first to experience any of this as it’s a cyclic hot spot in nature and a worldwide topic. An amazing desperation of labeling to further BOTH sides narrative and once again nothing new as we all are wary of having that flair pinned on our lapels. So now everyone is either Racist, Communist, Socialist or even a Nazi when heads don’t align just to get a rise or tamper down opposing fields of view. It’s a blatant use of hitting the F Button before the other side so as not to be on the defensive and be offensive (pun intended). No doubt it still exists and unfortunately will always exist. We still live in a somewhat free environment, it’s not Utopia and never will be although it’s not disgraceful to try no matter what your viewpoint may be and that is America from the beginning. Many declare they will leave this country if their needs/wants aren’t met having never stepped foot beyond our borders while thousands flock to it which is undeniable. These are the major landscapes/continental drift of changes versus minor forest for the trees myopic type statements that are really only at the 10,000ft level vs the historical data of greater than two centuries at the 30,000ft level. Citizens of countries have traded their freedoms (including the right to vote, the most sacred of freedoms) to remain comfortable, not ruffle feathers, coexist at all cost which may lead to eventual oppression. We have been living in comfort and robust technology for us keyboard warriors to bleed to each other and now Big Tech seeks to silence those not assimilated beyond an “unverified stolen election” - pure conjecture, perhaps. Obviously an accepted outcome, but it has highlighted a grand awakening ideas far beyond a single election and further consequential events that are heading our way as a nation. Good, Bad, Ugly time will tell. Focusing on just one tree (there are many now): All I ask going forward is that every confirmed American citizen; however that can be accomplished, (those contributing to our nation via taxation, marriage license, some sort of accountable credentials/traceable with consequences attached, etc.) show up to the polls (Post-Pandemic I guess) in body and true American spirit and vote with some sort of signatory/voter registration card/ID with a well regulated vote counting method/technology (Last part is tougher). No mail-in ballots accepted unless vetted for those with disabilities/unable to participate in person same credentials required and of course well monitored absentee ballots military or those American working/chilling citizens abroad. While we do have a lot of the above it just needs to be uniform across the board with no last minute changes prior to election. *The American voter when given the opportunity to vote must have skin in the game. Even standing in a long line is really minimal effort. If you can remember sitting in a DMV without such a thing as a cell phone to bide your time. Everything is switching electronically, but this probably should stay in person. Granted several states have been doing this well so I can be definitely be wrong, especially when our own financial movements are largely electronic. Granted, I have already been hacked twice in 2020 but that’s life. Nothing is sacred it seems and many use this easy highway to garner something from nothing. No skin in the game. Pick at it as you will, totally fair game (not that anyone needs a green light here), call it as you see it, grammar, insult, shaming of some type it seems we can always add more, or even the drive by Boomer/Nazi/WTF, etc. This is the greatness of having even minimal voice that can be heard, debunked, cancelled, discarded, etc. We all have opinions and experiences and together with a bar napkin we can save our world with changes of course. Wishing us all the best in 2021 wherever you may be! Definitely will apologize for wasting space, but while on layover what else am I going to do.

So many Puppeteers control this old worn out puppet that it’s inevitable the “Harris/Biden” yard sign will come true. That will be a whole whipsaw in itself = U R correct. Let’s just say there were no shenanigans regarding the election itself and everything was pure, fair and balanced. In the end, regardless of who you voted for or what you believe in = Every Other Person thinks the Opposite of You/Me. Traveling thru a lot of these Lockdown states = we know better than you draconian measures and self righteous “do as I say not as I do” Governor's/Mayors paints quite the picture. In the beginning nobody knew anything, everyone is looking thru 20/20 hindsight and there is really no excuse for where we are headed. Time will tell and the herds are coming to this life of opportunity. Hopefully the directions of travel doesn’t reverse flow with Americans anytime soon. Once again it’s a 50/50 nation at Best!

Apologies Clark. It’s definitely a good idea to weigh in future ops/costs and how it will affect future generations. We are well beyond any recovery anytime soon or possibly a point of no return. Only time will tell.

Passing a National Debt of of $27 Trillion now should curb some enthusiasm (doesn’t seem so does it) and a more realistic system of checks and balances reviewing the validity of National Interests internally and externally has been needed for decades. 5,600 page Relief Package makes me wonder how many copies were printed. Some sarcasm there, but 5,600 pages...really... Can’t pay for everything or everyone with nothing. We are already on the losing side of this equation and as said before - Your grandkids kids will still be paying for this debacle of lack of oversight, common sense and National Treachery.

Nuclear umbrella good stuff, but with hyper velocity at the forefront of research/implementation with nothing to catch it or see it in time for anything we must just keep on keeping on. Plenty of “practice targets” around. Besides, Israel will take care of a few things behind the scenes while the Giants lurk around in the background. They always have.

True, most of the fleets were parked just over 6 months like that initially, but thankfully quite a bit have been brought back on line except for the ones that were to be slated for the chopping block within a few years anyway. Iron is laying around more sporadically than before but still very much around. Heavies are where it hurts regarding international movement. They are still very much stacked in clusters overseas. Good review of how bad it really was. Domestic heals a lot faster although what are we at currently - 40% perhaps, have we past 50% consistently? This will take some time and the world has changed a few things around to survive.

Big Joe has many ideas although many not his own. Merely a Puppet with so many strings attached and those are as mentioned the true “players.” Follow the lines back to their sources. Biden here before but we need not tempt Harris. Big K is totally something else stay fit Big Joe. 1440 days will pass then and it will be interesting to say the least.

Whatever the outcome, for those “ridin with Biden”, just keep him fit for duty/alive and Harris out. Ensure there are always O2 Bottles nearby, copy of the Declaration of Independence, wife not sister by his side, 2 masks nearby and the White House cellar at the ready, etc., etc., etc. Plenty of time for irregularities to show themselves if they hold true.That’s the bottom line. Stay fit for duty/upright Big Joe.

Nice, gave or were taxed by your wife... hahaha, pretty much the same here but mine does the finances so I wouldn’t have known anyway had she not told me. I just continent hop and see the various ways countries/governments are dealing with all this. Distance yourselves, mask up, Clampdown, freedom with just reduced clustering, bam lockdown, Mask/distance/takeout only regulations, bam lockdown again, hotel keys that work only once. Snitch on your neighbor having Thanksgiving - next pill to swallow = no sending gifts/virus. How ridiculous/draconian can we go remains to be seen. Vaccine or not it is just another way to die on the list of many others and just another learning curve to surmount.

Gun Prices through the roof so I can’t really just pick and choose anymore just for fun. Bought iron at the end of Oct for a want not a need, got lucky as the same Metal is now $500 at the minimum more less than a month later. Good thing most of us have always left a store with at least a box of ammo every time and the Czar administration that started in 2008 forced the rest to gather their needs vs wants keeping gun companies in the black. Once again the threat awakens. So many first time buyers on Gunbroker it’s lunacy but with much warranted fear.

COVID19 brought some slowdown to the new airliners being produced such as the 797 (2 seats, but engineered for 1) and the Airbus pilotless vehicles if you will. Airbus flew several sorties recently, but with Pilots Monitoring of course, but it’s the initiative/research that is a solid endeavor going forward. Not saying we will be 0 pilot required any time soon, but the technology to cut the pilot force nearly in half within a decade was possible. 4 long haul pilots to 2 (1 asleep, 1 monitoring), 2 pilots to 1 same scenario. The MAX is back so at least they have new life longevity and of course Cargo will be the guinea pigs if this pilot reduction method is tested. 10 years was possible but doubtful with so much iron laying around the system to draw from, within 20 years definitely a higher probability. 2 worthless cents, but look around your Big Stupid Shutdown Cities: Plenty of hopeful graphs show 1% gains weekly on APC, but a guess is that it will plateau much earlier than we hope and never attain pre-COVID19 levels due to businesses having shutdown, consolidated or migrated to technology based initiatives. So many Big offices for sale, rent, empty with leases to pay, plumbing, electricity, janitorial, parking, insurance, etc with people at home creating their own work schedules who have managed to survive this debacle. Leisure and Holiday travel has its merits as people love their selfies around the world fulfilling their need to actually experience life as they have watched it go by for the past 9 months. Sure, Thanksgiving is having it’s boom hopefully right now but that’s domestically and maybe just a tad more than 50% of the travelers last year. Internationally you can just count years for that revival to be nearly what it was formerly. 22 year United FO great friend of mine could have chosen the Airbus running through Baltimore and several other hops daily, but chose the 73 for less hops, easier runs despite the cramped quarters. He was a 787 FO enjoying international once a week perhaps and now heading back to the salt mines - his words not mine. Unfortunately this has been 1 step forward 5 steps back for many. Once again just 2 worthless cents having come off a trip through Nashville, Los Angeles, Korea, China, Alaska and back to Chicago in 5 days. Next month Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, Korea, China ground hog day - not much has changed I imagine. It’s amazing to see aircraft at many cities all over mothballed and lying in wait for 6 months so far. A380s as an example may just have only one ferry flight left in them when able or just Can (cannibal) Birds at best.

Would like to reiterate what many have said already. Don’t quit your current job as it puts food on the table and a roof over your heads. Get selected, make it thru all the training, etc. and still believe it’s your passion = fantastic. Do not pass the physical, UPT, etc and you may be in a much more vulnerable situation than ever before. Definitely take the gamble if it’s truly in you and don’t give up. Timing and having options reigns King. Nothing more Dangerous than a Man with Options. *Burned out at age 26 is kind of early to be burned out of most anything. Granted, it’s better to figure out your path earlier the better.

So true. Superb Packaging would be great, but if the product alone is superb than I will continue to drink the awesome Cool Aid despite its packaging to be blunt. Function before fashion, always. Not always easy to be Fashionable and Functional.

Flea - was there a mention of Company name, Batch number, etc or whatever needs to be included so y’all could check your wallets real quick? No use by dates? Don’t know if that was a thing I cannot recall, but being married for decades will do that to ya... That’s some crazy stuff.

Never said Face to Face will all go away. You are all definitely correct it can’t be matched on any or many terms and the face to face in discussion was actually traveling somewhere and not across the street to Finance or your local cable/satellite complaint departments. Here is the rub: When has anything like this ever happened like these 6 months now going on 7... Reprogrammed and cost cutting on extreme measures. Totally obvious why Zoom/Skype/Face Time, etc, etc, in business never took off earlier I thought = The World was FORCED into it. Just let me know if/when has it ever become a requirement like now. Has it been ever forced upon you like this? It will eventually loosened its grip and things will flow more and more back to face to face on the business side. Wouldn’t you agree the most important contracts will demand face to face, then others incrementally no doubt as mentioned before. I hope your right and even better than 90% of preCOVID levels will be attained. That would be awesome and definitely what everyone is shooting for, but once again everyone here chose technology prior to this debacle and now we were forced. There have been more losses than wins, more real estate closures than Grand Openings list goes on and on. Definitely business will thrive again no doubt, but to be at the previous levels or greater will take longer than most are willing to believe. Like nature finds a way, businesses that are surviving are finding their way. Seems easier to fall than climb for the most part. Full Recovery by 2022, 23, 24, who knows. Here’s for having a far better 2021. At least it won’t be hard to beat for the majority. Bottom line, it’s just a single perspective and if I am totally wrong and I want to be wrong, we all WIN BIG and I prefer it.

Actually liked M2’s choice of Fat Kids Country movie reference better than the super bad sequel attempt of Red Dawn. Horrible. Initially the enemy was Big Red Virus Country wasn’t it, before political pressure changed the paint schemes. Correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been awhile. Maybe Red Dawn III will be Big Red this go around.... too soon...

Some more very well laid out points. I hope your right and I too believe it will come back just not near the levels it was preCovid. Leisure travel when the doors open, definitely a spike if people haven’t spent their extra income/resources during this virus just to stay afloat. Visiting relatives domestically will launch, international travel is totally restricted and no doubt a spike will be seen but it will take awhile and definitely plateau eventually below preCovid as unfortunately elders have decreased, a ton of business loss and now our older generations including myself (still no Facebook though) have become waaaay more savy on social media tools due to necessity and not curiosity. Medical has almost done a 180 on the normal visitation/in house patient care. Doctors forced to do eScripts(3% usage rate before shutdown, 95%+ now)) vs the human touch provided by thousands upon thousands of care workers who traveled before. My neighbor was one of the M-Fri every week travelers... Not a trip since this began... Businesses have learned more ways to conduct sales than ever before as they were forced assimilate and not the usual fat cutting measures done by the bean counters. This was a bean counters wet dream, now the Boss has been listening definitely more so. Nothing seems to be able to replace face to face and that will get back out there but doubtful it will ever be like it was. The entire world has just been reprogrammed from out-and-about to solitary confinement including simple ideas as face coverings - Reprogrammed. I would be itching to travel as well but the economics/Boss will decide what travel is really necessary and what can be done over the net with monumental cost savings such as air fare, hotel, rental car (they are hoping to survive), per-diem, etc. Big contracts only most likely. Travelers these past few months have been the bargain basement shoppers to include traveling with garbage bags, it’s insane and can’t believe I saw it several times. These aren’t the travelers we’re looking for, but beggars can’t be choosers. Being reliable and consistent is everything in this industry. Japan specifically indicated 1 year domestic at best, 3 years internationally at best was their forecast for basic profitability/survivability without cuts and initial growth. It’s all a crap shoot really as time will tell. Loads are tight here due to consolidation/less flights as everywhere else. Brick and mortar has and will continue to disappear. No Building costs, insurance, taxes, cleaning requirements, electricity/water bills, etc, etc, etc. Telecommute is boring for some totally agree, but many especially the younger groups seem to thrive on it. Totally makes sense if you structure your work patterns during the day and not be enslaved to a cubicle or office. Execute your day with an ear piece has been the norm so much more than before. It’s Freedom for many depending on your situation, lifestyle, mentality. Definitely reprogrammed in so many ways, good, bad and the ugly. It’s seems to be a long haul. *Just my take as I travel around and scan the environment on board aircraft and in the cities with all the for rent/for sale signs, nothing more. Totally 1 cent look.

Agree as well, very well thought out. Here’s to us hoping for the best and everyone out there feeling this pain industry wise. Stay strong.

Totally agree with you. My 9/11 statement was regarding the swing back to the air cargo worlds front doors for jobs. And I emphasized the reshaping of the industry with “quite a bit.” So now that you’re being very frank with graphs I will readjust accordingly and be more against the norm as most believe it would have clicked back by now or at least by Christmas. As your graphs indicate it’s basically still horrible. Vaccine or not it won’t snap back quickly at all. International flying is toast for 2-3 years and that’s not predicting pre-COVID levels that’s just a head above water survival rate and holding a profit and not booming. This will hurt much longer then initial thoughts.