I need some advice

[Guardian]

Agree with duck. Standard.

 

Plus don’t waffle. Blood in the water. You will get eaten alive. Do it or don’t do it. Don’t regret your decision. And don’t ask a virtual room full of people their options that you don’t really care about. You are the one that matters. Do your soul searching and make a decision. Right or wrong. And press forward. Life’s to short to know the latest and greatest excel formula. But non vol drone or pilot in some random airplane is going to generate some stories and some stuff that hardly anyone else could or does do. So again why are you asking us? We are kind of biased.

 

Edit: forgot to mention this post was brought to you in part by tequila.

[Clark Griswold]

Do it.

I can't imagine saying no if I were in your shoes. 

I can still remember my tweet solo, first flight as the A code, etc... all the bullshit you will have to put up with is worth it.

Edited February 4, 2018 by Clark Griswold

[Hodor]

Do it. There are gunna be hard days where you're doing BS, but then you're flying in formation at 50' on starry night in the NTTR or hacking the mission down range. 

[Seriously]

On 2/3/2018 at 4:14 PM, Buzzkillington said:

I think I just had a bad streak of threads that I came across where it seemed like literally 75%+ people were saying how they regretted doing it. I'm ready to go into this 100% but just wanted to get some outside perspectives from people who have already made a living out of it. Seems like the consensus is that it's a stupid question to even ask...

It's fun to bitch. There are some legitimate gripes, but I don't know a single pilot pining for a finance job.

[ClearedHot]

26 years and I would NOT do it again, but "MY" thoughts probably deserve an explanation.

Did I have a blast flying, yes.  Did I have incredible life experiences, yes.  Did I serve with incredible people, yes.  Did I leave the organization hating what it was and what it did to me, yes.  There are truly some sick horrendous people in the senior ranks and it sickens me to see them in leadership positions where they have done real and lasting injury to families and careers.  That being said, those people exist in all walks of life and for most the rewards of flying offset the negative.

I passed on Med School to go to UPT and there will always be a part of me that wonders how a walk down that life path would have turned out.  That being said, there is one thing I would not change and that is the relationships with the brothers and sisters I flew with.  I continue to mentor many of them to this day...but in all honesty, late at night with a glass of brown liquor and the perspective of age, I sometimes wonder if it was all a waste. 

In the end I would recommend you follow your heart.  Don't live in fear of the experience of others, make your own path so you are not sitting on your porch one day wondering what could have been.

 

[Hacker]

Don't be a pussy.  Do it.

"Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great World War Two?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.'"

 

[Pancake]

Go Guard.

Foster professional agility. Advance in parallel careers (civ and ANG) through your 20s, 30s, and 40s. Fly mil and begin progressing in the civilian sector simultaneously. Don’t get caught in the trap of having to start fresh in the civ world 10-20 years behind your peers.

One day you’ll hang up your mil wings and rely on your civilian accomplishments to continue building wealth and living to your full potential. Better to have 20 years of civ accomplishments/progression at 45 years old than being the FNG as a middle-aged man. The active duty path includes a point in the journey where you return to “Go,” and essentially professionally start from scratch (typically the transition to civ life at mil retirement). That’s why airline pilot is such a popular follow on (especially now, as the hiring/retirement/profitability stars have aligned)... institutionally, it’s a lot like being a mil pilot.

I took the active duty route. Enlisted, USAFA, pilot, Guard. If I could do it again, I would have enlisted in the Guard, gone to college, and applied everywhere to become a pilot, meanwhile pursuing a career in law. The satisfaction of a mil career far out shines the flaws of the organization. I have a civ job, but am currently on long term mil orders. Pure flying is (has become) a job (I sometimes wonder if I still enjoy flying). The mission, leadership opportunities, and commaraderie set this job apart from the rest. And you can find just as much of that (or more) in the Guard, as compared to active duty.

The guys living the “best” life, IMO, are the part-timers who found the balance early in their mil careers and have squeezed the most out of both... and not all are airline guys.

Good luck!

Edited February 4, 2018 by Pancake

[Azimuth]

3 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

26 years and I would NOT do it again, but "MY" thoughts probably deserve an explanation.

Did I have a blast flying, yes.  Did I have incredible life experiences, yes.  Did I serve with incredible people, yes.  Did I leave the organization hating what it was and what it did to me, yes.  There are truly some sick horrendous people in the senior ranks and it sickens me to see them in leadership positions where they have done real and lasting injury to families and careers.  That being said, those people exist in all walks of life and for most the rewards of flying offset the negative.

I passed on Med School to go to UPT and there will always be a part of me that wonders how a walk down that life path would have turned out.  That being said, there is one thing I would not change and that is the relationships with the brothers and sisters I flew with.  I continue to mentor many of them to this day...but in all honesty, late at night with a glass of brown liquor and the perspective of age, I sometimes wonder if it was all a waste. 

In the end I would recommend you follow your heart.  Don't live in fear of the experience of others, make your own path so you are not sitting on your porch one day wondering what could have been.

 

The fact that people respect you, on and off this forum, for the insight, advice, and occasional "WTF are you doing/thinking" moment is a testament to your character of not only a leader, but as a man.  I don't know you personally, but a good old mentor of mine was an FE for you years ago and and said you're one of the "good ones."

I'm not you, not even close, but if you positively affect the lives of this many people, then what service you did for our great country could never be considered a waste.

[HU&W]

Throughout your career, you'll face a number of key choices from which there is no return.  I can say with confidence that I have no regrets for any choice I've made that was based on what I love or who I love.  The only ones I wish I could take back were ALL centered on 'what will this do for my career?'  Follow your passion, and take care of the people that are close to you.

[xaarman]

It’s 11 years of your life. I have zero regrets doing it. There is no comparing it to the civilian world, military flying is one of the most awesome things on the planet.

Now I have zero regrets leaving it, but very glad I did it  

And then you can go back to your finance job... if you want to. 

[brabus]

[#41]

If you go, go Guard/Reserve. We come from similar backgrounds and it has been incredible so far. Certainly stressful and full of bureaucratic crap but that’s same thing different day from civilian work.

[FourFans]

ClearedHot said it best: Follow your heart. 

You will have doubts.  Don't sweat someone else's experience. 

This is your journey, choose to fully engage in it.

[Naviguesser]

If you want to fly, do it.  Flying is the best job in the world.  Everyone I know has had good days, bad days, and days where we've wondered if we've made the right life choices, but no one has regretted it.

Sport bitching is just part of being aircrew!

[Blue]

On 2/2/2018 at 10:02 PM, Buzzkillington said:

That caused me to apply for a pilot slot, as it's something that I've always wanted to do and offers a meaning to life that I don't think I'd find in many other places. 

Just to back up a bit--how much flying have you done?  0 hours?  100?  PPL?

[tac airlifter]

Great advice here. 

FWIW, my only "ragret" is staying beyond initial commitment.  Staff is super lame.

 

[skibum]

I don't know what all the whining is about. Almost 30 years so far of living like fvcking rock star. Make sure you go Hercs because it's hard to get a pallet of Makhong back from Thailand in anything else.

[Buzzkillington]

8 hours ago, Blue said:

Just to back up a bit--how much flying have you done?  0 hours?  100?  PPL?

I have 80+ hours and a PPL. 

[Royal]

Before you sign the dotted line for your AD UPT slot, take the time to reach out to every single Guard/Reserve unit that you can. It would be worth waiting another 12-18 months to ensure you have autonomy over your life for the next decade. Additionally, you'd be able to keep the civilian job you have, take Mil leave, and then go back to it when you're done with your seasoning orders. The risk of foregoing your civilian career only to end up in a UAV should be a legitimate concern. Attenuate said risk by getting yourself a Guard/Reserve flying job. 90% of the paperwork battle has already been fought if you were awarded an AD position; capitalize on the AF's need for pilots and call your own shots. 

[gearhog]

here's the best way to arrive at a decision:

- ask your boss for some additional work, 12 hour days, a sketchy network connection, and a pay cut.

- schedule eight flying lessons in one month (middle of the day or middle of the night is fine)

- randomly cancel one for a meeting, cancel two for maintenance, one for weather, then cancel three more because your last one is an unexpected two week cross-country (TDY) during your daughter's birthday to a motel 6 (DoD lodging).  rental cars are not authorized.

- use your free time to think about all the additional work piling up while jogging in a circle around the motel or by reading Clauswitz and Boyd.

- during the flight home, as you swoop and soar on laughter silvered wings, reflect upon the majesty of flight as you log 3 more multi-engine jet PIC hours for that Delta job that's only 12 short years away.

- land and retrieve your non-vol deployment letter to the desert in your office mailbox and retrieve the divorce papers from your home mailbox.

- drink heavily.

if you can do all that and feel good about it, you'll know the path is right for you.

Edited February 6, 2018 by torqued

[billy pilgrim]

I am not 100% sure what you're looking for, but I would say go to UPT.  There is a lot of sport bitching on baseops so take everything on here with a grain of salt.

If you spend a decade flying jets in the AF you'll likely end up with more memorable experiences than most people will have in their entire lives.  That part has been awesome.

Either way - good luck!

[GDAL]

3 minutes ago, billy pilgrim said:

I am not 100% sure what you're looking for, but I would say go to UPT.  There is a lot of sport bitching on baseops so take everything on here with a grain of salt.

If you spend a decade flying jets in the AF you'll likely end up with more memorable experiences than most people will have in their entire lives.  That part has been awesome.

Either way - good luck!

More than just "a grain of salt" on here.

[dream big]

On 2/5/2018 at 7:32 PM, skibum said:

I don't know what all the whining is about. Almost 30 years so far of living like fvcking rock star. Make sure you go Hercs because it's hard to get a pallet of Makhong back from Thailand in anything else.

Or kegs of longboard from Hickman/ Alaskan from Elmo! Also hard to cruise low level up the Mekong river in Vietnam in a regional jet.  

[Steve C]

I was willing to trade my mom to the taliban for a chance to fly fighters.  

[Broke]

I've got a 60% rating from the VA, my back has hurt every waking minute of the last 6 years, my last commander on active duty made my life miserable (on purpose), but I'd regret it daily if I hadn't done it. 1,500 hours in 3 different helicopters, 55 combat missions, 12 combat saves and 6 civil rescues all made it worthwhile. And it gave me the KSEs to get a sweet reserve gig and a very well compensated contractor job.