ClearedHot

Networking starts with what type of Bro you were on active duty. I am FAR from perfect but always tried to take care of everyone around me and be a team player. I mentored and helped people whether they were career types of one tour and out. In short, I did my best not to be a douche. When I dropped my papers I told a few folks who put the word out for me. My suggestion would be to call your friends, tell them you are getting out and ask for input. You will be shocked at the positions that are out there and word of mouth and reputation drives the key jobs.

It was meant to serve as an example an if you believe you have a 95% chance of failure, you will likely fail. For the record, my BOSS separated a few years ago as an O-3.

Harder than someone flying the line at a major, but some of that is self-imposed. I've never been afraid of hard work and my days in the WIC probably ruined me for life... I am in the middle of a surge period, some of it is seasonal and they rest is being driven by tremendous growth of my company. I have a three day weekend every other week but the last two months have been a LOT of travel. I can see the slowdown on the horizon and we shut down for a week at Christmas, plus I have still have almost a month of vacation to use. Working harder in the short-term was factored in to my calculus, work a bit harder for 3-5 years then be done, every person is different but I've seen to many people work until they are 65 and be physically unable to enjoy the fruits of their life-long labor.

Every person has a unique situation and at the end of the day I strongly encourage each person to follow the path that provides the most happiness and satisfaction to both you AND your family. Honestly I did not put as much thought into the “after” plan as I should have. I’ve invested well and don’t need to work, but as I got closer I decided I still wanted to avoid becoming a sloth and do something meaningful, at least for a few years. I hit the button a year in advance and the airline gig was really heating up, with over 4,000 hours TT and 2500+ IP time I thought it was a no-brainer, I could work part-time make decent cash and have the travel benefit for my family. I obviously have many bros at Delta and Fedex and they shared the good and the bad, so I decided to make that plan A. My plan had two basic flaws that were mistakes on my part, not insurmountable, but still limitations I needed to overcome. 1. I had been sitting at a desk for the last two years NOT flying. 2. I had not completed my ATP and now had to do the ATP/CTP course. I started flying private again and signed up for the CTP deal (what a complete waste), and built my application on airline apps. I hit the apply button with the written complete and provided updates with the CTP complete, new hours flown and finally added my ATP practical two weeks after my retirement ceremony. When I hit the last update button with the ATP complete I thought, “ok the phone will ring any day now”…it did not. Luckily I talked to a lot of folks (including Rainman), and I had a plan B that I was also working. There are MANY resources for vets and Rainman walked me through several I had never heard of which, one really really helped (http://www.acp-usa.org/). In very short order I was contacted about several positions, I had not applied to any of them, all word of mouth through my network. I made it to the final two for a very senior job and was a bit relieved when I did not get it (location). Over the course of a month I interviewed with several major defense contractors, with Google, with one of the largest food production companies, and with a major university. I don’t want this to turn into a dissertation but I learned some valuable lessons. 1. Industry is STARVED for leadership. 2. Industry professes to love Vets but in reality they are very concerned about them. Many think every Vet has PTSD. 3. Most jobs come from contacts and networking. 4. Industry has all the same problems and BS the military has. As a SQ/CC, Grp/CC, Wg/CC I had to deal with DUIs, Rapes, theft and other buffoonery. I have encountered many of the same issues at my current level in Industry. After a flurry of interviews things went quiet for a while which was EXTREMELY frustrating. Industry hiring moves at a glacial pace and I began to contemplate outright retirement. I was REALLY shocked the airlines hadn’t called and am honestly still somewhat perplexed by that fact. I have since learned how important recency is to the majors, I get it they are the pros, but it does not make sense to me. When I returned to fly as a O-5 it took two weeks to requal. When I returned as an O-6 I was scheduled for 10 rides, I did three rides and proficiency advanced to my checkride as a mission IP. I was flying civilian but still had less than 100 hours in the last six months…oh well it is their ball and their game, they get to make the rules. Four months later I got the call from Delta, over nine months after I first hit apply. The next day I got a call from a company I interviewed with early on…the made me an offer (turns out they were waiting for a senior dude to say yes and he didn’t know he had to say yes.) I sat down with my family and we had some long deliberations. Every situation is different and my family was tired of me being gone all the time. My son was established in school so taking a position with Delta was going to mean commuting and sitting reserve in a crash pad for at least a year. I must say after going through all the asspain it was not easy to call Delta and say "no thanks!" In the end I was able to parlay the industry position into a remote position working from my house. My company flies me to the home office once a month and I generally leave on Monday morning and return Friday night. The other travel has ramped up a bit but some of that is seasonal, some was unexpected because our company is GROWING, and the rest is self-imposed. I ended up starting at about 7-8 year airline pay, well over that with my annual bonus which means I can do this for a few years and walk away with another chunk of $ to add to my portfolio. We bought a few new toys but I have managed to save every penny of my retirement check. It was not a simple choice but it works for me and most importantly my family.

Totally fake, picture show an annular eclipse, the eclipse on Monday was a total. Cool Photshop though.

I don't respect McCain AT ALL, because I know his roommate from the Hanoi Hilton.

Sort of...

6.9 times more if you were a pilot. Sorry brother we have not done the ACJ test folks justice, hoping that changes.

A lot of focus on the Nukes and Missiles but that is not the issue, at least in my pea brain. With moderate effort we could take out his nuclear sites and the missiles, it is the 18,000 artillery pieces with in close proximity of Seoul (a city of 10 million), that is the real tactical problem. I would love to be the parked in a SCAR orbit just south of the 38th coordinating with dumb trucks full of SDB and CBU pushing through every five minutes.

You wouldn't laugh if you'd stood patrol with a million Chicoms poised to cross the Yalu...

I went to SOS (under protest), 60 days after I pinned on O-3...Being the most "junior" guy there I actually had to pull CQ duty one weekend to sign people in and out. If the A-10 pilot's Wing/CC has any sack he would elevate this until he was told to pound sand by SECAF. I know someone on the board knows the SOS/CC, please tell him to pull the bottom of his ears as hard as possible until he hears a loud popping sound.

"It Depends"...the selection process is some sort of voodoo magic. As a sitting SQ/CC I had three non-selects picked up for IDE in one year, two were at their second look, and two went on to ASG.

FYSA (sorry if I am telling you things you already know), I inquired last year and they had already used all their FY16 grant funds. They got their FY17 funds a few months ago and sent me a notice, I applied immediately. When I called they told me they typically have enough funds to complete 30-40 projects in my area, they were hoping for more this year. They also have two separate programs. One to harden older homes built before 2002 and another (shutter gap), for newer homes that don't have shutters. My house is only 10 years old and was built way above code but I don't have shutters. Depending on your needs and age of your home you may be able to move up the list by pursing only shutter gap.

I'm retired now so I hope all you assholes get off my lawn and move to Destin.