Pitts, it is a personal decision, but I am going... Yes, the market for jobs is not the best. Yes, there is a ton of uncertainty out there. Yes, I will not have secure employment for the first time in my working career.

For me it came down to family and flying. I have enjoyed my military career and will miss landing on the carrier and more importantly, the people. I will not miss the two 7 month back-to-back deployments (with workups) that were separated by less than a year. I want to stay in the cockpit (I love to fly) and not work a desk at war college, fleet staff, or doing an augmentation in Iraq or Afghanistan (not flying).

The military has been a great place to grow as both an aviator and professional, but the time has come to pursue another option. I think everyone has a different take with legitimate reasons. If I had more to feed than just two, it might be a completely different story.

Best of luck!

3W