Look, I don't want to come down too hard on you Man. Before I got into the military myself, I was palpably bitter towards military pilots. I was working just as hard as they were, it seemed. College valedictorian, professional, motivated. But it seemed like the military guys had an automatic Major airline job just as soon as they left the service. Indeed, back then, the problem a lot of military pilots had was trying to decide which Major Airline job offer to accept. I was so discouraged, I almost quit flying to go to law school.

Then I got into the military, and realized I wasn't being reasonable or fair. And especially nowadays, military guys really don't have an advantage. Like I said, half the guys in my UPS class were civilian, and those guys are studs. D. Yarger, a civilian in my class, is the finest 747 pilot on the planet, and taught me more about that plane than all other instructors put together.

We're all on the same team here. At UPS, there are no distinctions between military and civilian pilots. They are ALL top-tier aviators, equally respected.

Good luck. I wish you success wherever you seek it, UPS or otherwise.