Thanks for the great insight, everyone.

Sounds like a lot for me to think about.

What it is likely going to come down to for me is whether or not I think a military lifestyle, and all that comes with it, is going to be for me.

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-Crewdawg, I liked your suggestion of working for a regional and trying to get an ANG pilot slot silmultaneously....I'll probably shoot you a pm soon with some more questions about that.

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Is the difficulty of obtaining a pilot slot (transport or fighter) for a civilian trained pilot going to be such that it may not be worth the effort? Considering that I'll be facing competition from AD guys who know the gig already.

I only intend to fly (be it military or civilian)...so if I go for a pilot slot with the ANG and get washed out/dont get hired for one....am I forced to perform a job other than flying for the remainder of my enlistment term?

p.s. thanks everyone for entertaining my curiosity here....I'd like to be as well informed as possible.