SocialD

You're not necessarily leaving with nothing. You received skills/experience that landed you a CJO, hopefully with a legacy, which is a pretty amazing job. You also learned many skills that you probably don't even realize are skills because it's just normal amongst your peers in the military. Hopefully you also gained some great life experiences, friendships, etc... You should also be leaving with some TSP, so if you don't want to join the ANG/RES then you're not totally losing out there. If you want to join the ANG, the world is your oyster. Get into a squadron and seek opportunities outside of the base, we've had guys all over the place the last 10 years. We've sent IP's/FL's to overseas AD bases for 60-90 day stints. We've had a guy on MLOA from the airlines, in cush gig at USAFE for years. He keeps broadcasting other gigs that are available for the taking, shockingly no takers lol. We have another guy who just got back from Hickam, who only came home because he got a SQ/CC spot on base....his orders were indefinite. A few years ago they came around asking if anyone wanted to take three year orders at some pretty decent AD locations overseas (not today satan lol). Luck of the draw on getting "action," many of us are were in the same boat. I had a squadron mate who PCS'd to Luke a month before his squadron went to Desert Storm I. He then flew F-16 continuously, until 2015 and never once employed a weapon in combat. He had a 26 year career during near continuous combat operations and he only slung concrete at ranges in the U.S. We had an uncanny ability to end up in deployed locations during down times or where the ROE was so tight, we were just very expensive, high-speed cheerleaders. As to your job satisfaction, I understand that to an extent. It sucks to end up where you don't want to be, but as already stated, only you can control your attitude. As Rainman (don't say his name 2 more times lol) used to say, "bloom where you're planted." Frankly, I enjoyed my flying career in the military (Guard guy only because an mentor who was hosed by AD pushed me that way), but the more I learn, the more I get pissed about how many lives were lost (continue to be lost) and how much of our lives were wasted in the never ending quagmires. However, I have just learned to let it go, not worth dwelling on, life is too short! If you're the type that needs satisfaction from work, I have bad news, you probably won't find it flying 121. I find that work isn't where I want to seek satisfaction in life. I still strive for excellence and it's great to enjoy your job, but what I love about this gig is that it gives me an insane amount of time off, with plenty of money to do the things that really make me happy. I can work six days in a month and make more than I ever made as a 22 year LTC. That gives me plenty of time to go make up for lost time hanging family, flying my own planes and travel to places other than the green bean in yet another deployed shithole. Best of luck and thanks for attending my SocialDtalk.

Sadly, none of this surprises me. The more I learn, the more jaded I get toward our military/political leadership and what kept us in the never ending quagmires since 9/11. This is proof that no one is immune to the government trying to fuck you and make your life a living hell if you piss off the wrong person. It also puts a spotlight on the hypocrisy around the different spanks for different ranks. Never mind the unwillingness of people to do the right thing so as not to upset their careers. Here's hoping the current administration will fix this situation. Funny sidenote on the point they make about being "frozen" in the rank your retired/left the service. Our OG received a call from a FDX guy about a squadron mate who had the audacity to take MLOA during peak. The dude introduced himself as Maj Gen XXX and to our OG's credit, he made a point to let him know that his retired rank didn't mean shit, then prompted told him to go fuck himself, the MLOA was legit.

Agreed, that's pretty badass! Love to see peope pushing the limits. I'll keep flying my tailwheels where they belong... < 500 ft AGL.

Auburn-Georgia refs possibly suspended...

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the alumni has started passing the hat for the buyout lol. Lol, when I saw that, it cleared away any doubt that these refs were leaning toward Georgia. Not sure who should get fined more, the refs or Kirby.

Another weekend that hasn't disappointed yet. Franklin may be sent packing after yet another loss. Dude was booed out of the stadium. They probably already planted for sale signs in his yard. Man, these refs are trying their best to get Georgia a TD before half. Not even an Auburn fan, but WTF!

After only 40 years of service, what a quitter!

Who remembers the step test? It was a crowd favorite in the winter because we'd run outside down to some damn cold temps/wind chills.

All the pilots forced to be in this video were the last to say NOT IT. The ghost of Rainman lingers...never talk to the media!

Still doesn't know how to act in public...shocking.

Wait, your hats actually leave your desk or leg pocket?

I can't figure out why my insurance premiums keep going up.

Which means it's going to be a great time. Just don't make it a long time.

This. One of our pilots was a former cop. He said if he's asking to do any tests, it's just adding more evidence fort he case WHEN he arrests you after the tests. In my state, implied consent does not force you to submit to roadside breathalyzer. So you can say you want to go to the hospital for a blood draw or go down to the station to use a real breathalyzer machine. Ball walking on your FAA medical, but I could see how a case could be made that you're not refusing the test, just this test (as roadside units are known to be finicky). I'm not anti-vaccine, just anti-this-vaccine, type of thing lol.

So recently a buddy (Captain on my shop) was accused of being drunk by one his FAs. He found out when an ops guy stepped in the cockpit and asked him to step in the jet bridge. After a quick discussion, all of the 4 or 5 ops people were like clearly this dude isn't drunk. So much so that they said it was unfounded and were going to let him fly. Wanting to prove he wasn't drunk, he wanted a breathalyzer. However, after a call to the union, they said do NOT take a breathalyzer if they're calling you good. Reason being that if he hit a false positive, it would open up a can of worms he didn't want to deal with. Hadn't thought of it from that angle. Either way, he said fuck that, I'm not flying with this FA so remove him or me. He got to go home with pay from 4 day.