flygirl135

I'm assuming that you're an officer in the Air Force. Isn't it illegal to take another job while on terminal leave? I'm pretty sure enlisted are allowed to, but offers aren't. In any case: apply ASAP and don't lie about your availability date. They will hire you and allow you to defer if they want you.

rickair7777

It's quite common for folks to start their next career on term leave. It's never illegal to have another job while serving in the military, whether on leave or just after hours.

It would be a violation of law or policy to...

Have a job with a conflict of interest with your military duties.

Have a job that interferes with your military duties (a commander could in some circumstances make a blanket determination that any outside employment would interfere with unit readiness).

Have a job which does not reflect well on the military (ie stripper).

On terminal leave, the first two are N/A, and while airline pilots are not as highly regarded as they once were it is still a barely respectable enough profession so as not to bring discredit on the military service.

Tolpin

Thanks all for the sage advice! So, based on all of this it is wise to submit my applications to the majors before I submit my application to retire from the Air Force. I currently have 60 days of leave saved that I plan on using for terminal. However if I get a training date before I'm able to use 60 days of terminal leave I plan on simply selling those back to the Air Force. Less than ideal as it will decrease my retirement earnings, but that such a small amount I think well worth the cost of making a smooth transition.

WARich

Why sell back? Just take leave and go to training, problem solved.

HuggyU2

I think you've confused the issue. An early training date means you can be on terminal leave while you are in training. Don't sell back the leave.

Do you not have any other pilots in your squadron that have recently retired, and that are coming up on retirement with you? I ask because this type of information is prevalent in every squadron I know of. Of course, your situation may be different. But make sure you ask around. There should be a ton of info in your hallways.

John Carr

Sigh.......

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/mi...11-update.html

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/hi...e-corners.html

Tolpin

I work at the Pentagon so don't have guys in the squadron going through this... Ya know I work with a bunch of personnel folks... They continue to give me the wrong advice. Just read through their regs and am finding what you guys say to be true. This just adds to the reason I'm leaving.

John Carr

Are you going to have a currency issue????????

Lurking

No the JER is specific on this Off Duty Employment requests (AF 3902 for you AF types) for work while on terminal leave shall be approved unless such employment is prohibited elsewhere in the JER. Make sure you do one of these. If something happens while you are on terminal working for the airlines this will protect your AD LOD.

PRS Guitars

It sounds like he will, unfortunately being surrounded by shoe clerks, it sounds like he hasn't received any good guidance and probably doesn't realize it.

OP,

Start reading through the threads linked above. I think you'll find that you have a lot of work ahead of you. It takes hours to fill out an app, and that's after you've collected all the nescassary information, addresses, transcripts, FAA class 1 medical, radio permit, sorted through your hours, etc.

If you haven't flown in over a year, I'd pretty much count on going to a regional for a year or so. You'll also want to get interview prep, and dig up old connections for letters of recommendation. Getting an airline job is nearly a job in and of itself, I spent many hours per day, researching, and prepping. We're not at the point yet (probably never will be) that you'll get called in just for having a military background and a pulse.

You are overly worried about the timing of your retirement vs training start date. You need to prioritize getting hired first...