Right now military aviation is as overmanned as it has ever been, civilian aviation is still waiting the mythical pilot shortage, and most Flag and General officers are as political as any time in history plus they are overeducated dreamers. So they can demand from Pilots both Undergraduate and Masters Degrees from selective institutions, JPME, tours spent doing staff and volunteer work, and being part of numerous professional societies. Exactly like applying to FEDEX except Albie can't help you.

In my career I saw 3 distinct hiring waves. All were different in many ways but all were preceded by early outs both vol and nonvol, BRAC events, and demands for pilots to pass loyalty checks by taking non-flying tours.

2 years ago I heard a very senior officer talk about how his service had broken the code on pilot retention. I signed up for the FE written the next day.

The fight to stay in a cockpit is alive and well whether in or out of the Military. You just have to pick the ground you fight on.