Originally Posted by
ColdUpHere
Folks coming from the military often have to wait several months (hundreds of seniority numbers) from when they were offered an Indoc date to when they can actually attend one based on their service commitments. In these cases, these people are finishing their commitment to their country...not to another airline. So RJ folks looking to come to a major aren't the only ones with timing challenges.
Apples to violins comparison. Especially for a military member who stays to become retirement eligible, he or she will walk away from the military with a pension that could easily be worth between $2M and $5M over a lifetime. That's certainly worth bypassing a couple hundred seniority numbers. I appreciate finishing the commitment to their country, but they're also finishing their commitment to a retirement that pays handsomely for 4 decades.
Military members who aren't immediately retirement eligible but will get a reserve retirement are still accruing retirement credit in the military, not to mention a paycheck and benefits that likely exceed regional F/O numbers by a lot.