Greetings ladies and Gentlemen. I have a ton of questions and I hope all of you will chime in and offer some answers, guidance and suggestions. Right now I am currently in the Army and I will retire in about 12 to 18 months. I am a Sergeant First Class (E-7) and I am essentially a Network Engineer with all of the necessary certifications to retire from the Army and make fantastic money. However, I want to fly. I live on Camp Humphreys in South Korea, right next to the Airfield and I watch pilots flying helicopter and fixed wing aircraft all day and all night. That's what I want to do with the rest of my life. I have a few hours of flight time and I have enjoyed every second of my measly 37 hours of training. I don't have a family and I've been through four combat tours, three hardship tours, and two humanitarian tours, so quality of life won't be an issue as long as I get to snowboard in the winter and ride my gixxer in the summer. I'll be retired, so low pay in the short term won't be an issue. I am willing to fly anytime and anyplace. I have read “The Truth About the Profession” by John Smith and I even wrote him an e-mail asking to clarify his positions; he wrote back and gave me some wonderful insights into the airline industry. I remain unperturbed by the bad and the ugly.

So here's the plan: Finish my PPL this summer and spend the remaining time I have left in the Army building to at least 100 hrs (with the Osan Aero Club hopefully). When I begin my transition leave/TDY to retire I will go to ATP. I chose ATP because of their 100 day PPL thru CFI/CFII/MEI program with 275 hr. I'll have 130 days of leave and TDY so I will still be paid while training. Here where it gets complicated: because I want to be a dual rated pilot I intend to got to Hillsboro Aviation in Portland and Portland Community College to do my helicopter add ons using my GI Bill. While there I will also be a fixed-wing CFI/CFII/MEI part time in the mean time to build time (alliteration aside...). If everything works out the way I plan, when I am finished at PCC I should have 1500 TT with all of the other minimums to be hired and be debt free. BTW feel free to troubleshoot this plan. It is at this point that I am not sure what to do next. Meaning, do I go the Airline route and start flying for a regional, or do I go to a part 135 operation, or do I go into law enforcement as federal, state, or local? I know there are pros and cons in every decision and that the economy might make some of my decisions for me. My ultimate goal is not necessarily to become a big bird captain at a legacy (though that would be nice), but to fly for a living, however meager it may be. I have spent time combing through this forum and I have found some general answers to general questions and those spawned some specific questions I have not found answers for yet. I am looking for “food for thought” so to speak. I know that the answers to my questions will be highly dependent on the individual and his or her circumstances, but that’s what I'm looking for; individual experiences. In any case, here are my questions:

For a regional F/O:
How much time do you spend on reserve vs. actually flying in the first and second years? Do you get to fly the the 75 hrs. per month I've read about? Is it more or less time flying?

For a regional Captain:
How long did you spend as a F/O before you became a Captain? When you were an F/O did you start with the minimum times required or did you have more or less? Has the quality of life stabilized enough for you to consider staying with a regional for the remainder of your career?

For Major/Legacy/LCC Captains and F/O's:
How long were you at a regional before you earned a F/O seat? What do you think got you the job? i.e. Total time, time on type, networking, good looks with a refreshing personality, or some combination of factors? How much time did you spend as a F/O before you became a Captain?

For part 135, corporate, charter, or anyone else not law enforcement or Airlines, both fixed-wing and/or rotor:
I have read about what Airnet does, the hours their pilots keep, the pay their Captains receive, and how long until I could reasonably expect to earn a Captains seat with them. Does anyone have any personal experiences they would like to share about Airnet or similar operations? For everyone else, what do you do?Do you like what you do? Are you just building time to get to a major or is this your career? Do you think your quality of life is better where you are than at an Airline?

Are there any dual rated pilots flying both fixed-wing and rotor for the same company? What does your company do? How much of each do you do?

For law enforcement pilots:
If you fly for the local police department did you absolutely have to spend time as a beat cop before you could fly? Are there any PD's that don't require beat cop/ ground trooper time?

If you are/were a CBP pilot how do you like your job? Did you get the job with the minimum required hours posted on USAJobs.gov or did you have more or less time? Did you have more rotor time than fixed-wing? Do you think veterans preference helped you get the job?

I asked these questions because of my age and the uncertainty of the economy. I don't think I have enough time to jump around from job to job before committing to a path. I am leaning towards a path that leads to the majors.

Any information, or advice you give will be appreciated.
Thank You in advance for any and all input.