Originally Posted by
crewdawg
It always makes me laugh when we're TDY to an AD base (or some Guard bases that act like they're AD) and after work is over, one of us brings up the airlines in conversation. You see the young guys basically stop talking and the leadership get angry. Leadership is naive if they think ALL of their LTs and Capts want to be the next patch, the next planner of the Christmas party or the next WG/CC. It amazes me to see that my AD friends are having to secretly go get their ATPs. I guess i've just never understood the dynamic.
Although we wear the same uniforms and fly the same equipment, the guard/reserves and active duty are two entirely different animals. The competition is so tough these days on AD, that a guy "thinking" about getting out or the appearance of that, may be the difference between your #1 and #2 on a FITREP. To go one step further, if a guy on his first set of orders makes it known that their plan is to get out, you can kiss competitive orders goodbye. Why waste, a patch or a good set of competitive orders on a dude with one foot out the door?
There are plenty of guys who join the guard/reserves with the intent of going to the airlines and it's just more accepted on that side. Makes sense considering half the pilots are in the airlines already. That's the way it's been for a long time and the way it will be for quite a while. Not that I agree with it, just the way it is.