Why Did You Stay

[FUSEPLUG]

17 hours ago, SocialD said:

 I stuck around becuase I enjoyed the flying, the people, and it was fun...up until it wasn't. 

That phenomena is real. Happens at a different point for everyone, but it usually happens.

[tac airlifter]

I stayed 21 years because people were great and mission was awesome; I wouldn’t have stayed if we weren’t at war.  Although the war was managed poorly and much was wasted, we were killing terrible people and I’m convinced my 20s and 30s were spent doing tasks worth my best efforts.  That’s very cool and rare in life.  

[polcat]

Honestly, it was a goal to make it to retirement. Fortunately, I had fantastic assignments and pretty much got to go where I wanted, even ended up with a pretty sweet gig as an exchange officer with the Canadians despite it being non-flying. My most rewarding job was also the most challenging and exhausting, I loved the people and the Herk mission, but I was burnt out and ready to move on. Yes, the grass is greener with the airlines, but it's a different shade if you catch my drift. I definitely don't regret staying in for 20 years.

[SocialD]

12 hours ago, Chicken said:

If you told me I can go do gunships in Afghanistan tomorrow I would..  and I'd do it for free.

 

Not under the ROE we had at the end...unless you really like watching ANA/ANP get rolled by the Taliban and being unable to do anything about it.  

 

4 hours ago, slc said:

Was never an argument.  The contrast between camaraderie and sense of mission accomplishment was my point.  Of course the airlines are a better QOL for a family/raising kids long term, no denying that.

 

I was specifically referencing camaraderie.  Sense of mission accomplishment just wasn't there for this guy.  The flying was cool and I did some cool stuff for sure, I'll never discount that.  It's just that none of that was used on any of our deployments....[bad] luck of the draw I suppose.  

 

1 hour ago, tac airlifter said:

I stayed 21 years because people were great and mission was awesome; I wouldn’t have stayed if we weren’t at war.  Although the war was managed poorly and much was wasted, we were killing terrible people and I’m convinced my 20s and 30s were spent doing tasks worth my best efforts.  That’s very cool and rare in life.  

 

Up to a point, I believe that was true.  Toward the end, I couldn't help but think we were now just killing (or not) the product of our own doing.  The proverbial self licking ice cream cone.  

[JeremiahWeed]

3 hours ago, SocialD said:

Up to a point, I believe that was true.  Toward the end, I couldn't help but think we were now just killing (or not) the product of our own doing.  The proverbial self licking ice cream cone.  

Isn't that just falling into the common attitude that "if we only understood them better and found common ground we would all get along"?  There is an extreme faction of a particular middle eastern religion that wants us all dead and wants to take over our country and wipe any record of our existence off the planet.  We have no ability to affect that one way or the other.  So, the premise that we have anything to do with the actions or goals of those on the other side of that war or the current less obvious war is ludicrous in my opinion.  Their end game remains unchanged regardless of what we may or may not do.

[Chicken]

7 hours ago, SocialD said:

 

Not under the ROE we had at the end...unless you really like watching ANA/ANP get rolled by the Taliban and being unable to do anything about it.  

 

Fair.  I'll take Sept to Dec 2019 ROE..

[SocialD]

20 hours ago, JeremiahWeed said:

Isn't that just falling into the common attitude that "if we only understood them better and found common ground we would all get along"?  There is an extreme faction of a particular middle eastern religion that wants us all dead and wants to take over our country and wipe any record of our existence off the planet.  We have no ability to affect that one way or the other.  So, the premise that we have anything to do with the actions or goals of those on the other side of that war or the current less obvious war is ludicrous in my opinion.  Their end game remains unchanged regardless of what we may or may not do.

 

Only if you view ALL of it that way, which I do not.  I agree that there are plenty of the types you mention, I just question how many of those Afghanis fighting us were only doing so because we had killed their fathers/grandfathers (not to mention Mothers/sisters/siblings) and/or the fact that we were simply occupiers in their land.  I can tell you that if you invaded my land, occupied it for decades, killed some of my family, and/or randomly schwacked a neighbor with a hellfire, I'd vow to kill as many of you as I could as well (wolverine style).  I'll concede that we may have stopped some attacks on American soil, then again, maybe not.  Did we really gain anything by sticking around A-stan after we got OBL?  It truly felt like we just played the world largest game of 'next man up," as we killed the top guys, then their replacements, then their replacement, etc...  

 

Probably a discussion for another thread, sorry to hijack the thread.

[Bigred]

I stayed because I love military flying and deploying. The pay isn’t airline pay but it’s comfortable. The only reason I’m gonna hit the retirement button is because my airframe is likely going away and after 20 years of never leaving the cockpit, I’ll be dammed if I’m going to a staff.