The RegAF was a lot more fun 10+ years ago. In this day and age, it's all about "promote or die". Most guys who love flying are honestly tired of it. The few "golden boys" that like playing the game seem to enjoy it. And FWIW, if you're at a staff gig with USAF guys, they were mostly likely golden boys at their last flying gig. They won't let us low-life flying professionals into those staff jobs (and I didn't want to go there anyways). To each their own...I'm having fun in the Reserves.

New guys going on active duty in the AF can still do fine, they just need to have a different expectation. In other words, don't expect to make flying the #1 priority, even as a LT. All those books and movies about USAF pilots from the 1980s, 90s and even early 2000s are no longer an accurate representation of RegAF life. That's my take on almost 13 years of active duty.