Originally Posted by MoosePileit

Minor thread redirect/unhijack. Retention rates- sounds like the mid 90s. STOP LOSS happened in that time period, that was my point for a consideration. No new history, just repetitions. Plenty of clowns are also history buffs, or at least have heard or seen the cycles.

One thing to consider is also age 65. The old math based on age 60 rules that showed you were ALWAYS better to separate and goto the airlines by a certain age rather than stick it 20 years for an active duty retirement won't apply, I think. W/ age 65 allowing you to still slog longer in the airlines after a retirement around age 43 from the military- it may actually pay off to retire from AD- anyone figure that out? I had pondered it only long enough to realize it was time to go for me, regardless of dollars.

Second minor issue is we're in the 2 year gap where the AF went from 8 year SUPT commitments to 10 year indentured servitude (Congress calls it that)- there should be a downturn in those able to get out, and the SUPT machine was just getting on speed also back when the 10 years started- there are lots of AD AF folks w/ a few years left on their committment and in front of them are those that took the bonus to stay in or have either just separated at the end of 8 years or left on some 12 step program.

That AFTimes article was just about the retention bonus takers and doesn't actually paint an accurate picture.

Either way, it'll be an interesting ride- just be on the one that suits you better.