Hacker15e

Well, I think you will pretty much have your pick, to be honest. It is a buyer's market, and you are a highly desirable pilot for a regional to hire (if you do your part and prepare for the interviews, obviously). I totally agree with @Otterbox that time at a regional will get you to the show faster than an ISR/contractor gig.

Flying for a regional doesn't have to suck. I retired non-current, spent just over a year flying for a regional, and moved on to a career airline this year. I actually really enjoyed the time I flew at my regional -- I tell folks, "I liked every day except payday." You'll learn a ton about civilian and 121 flying, and if you have the right attitude, it can be a fun time. Adapting to a multi-pilot, rigidly scripted CRM environment can be an adjustment for a fighter dude, especially, and a regional is basically a stigma-free environment to get that professional development that will pay big dividends at your career airline. I really enjoyed the Captains and FAs I flew with, and had plenty of fun on the road. Mostly, I learned that I really enjoyed the airline lifestyle and the freedom it allows compared to the military life. There is real life beyond Big Blue, and it is good!

Your going-in argument is going to have to include you being emotionally and financially prepared for 12-24 months of flying at a regional before a better offer at a "career destination" comes along. It may very well occur much faster than that, but if you're prepared for a 2-year tour you won't be disappointed if it takes that long. Even for guys with hot resumes, there is a long lead time between application, interview, and starting class at a major airline job, so you may be flying at a regional for a while while that process proceeds for you.

Second, realize that your priorities in a regional job are going to be different than most straight civilian dudes going to the regionals. You want to get in, get 121 training/R-ATP/type rating on your resume, and get your hours up over the 1,500 hour unrestricted ATP hump, and later continue to build total time. It is a (hopefully) short-term proposition that has a good long-term prospect as a backup.

So, I'd look at these three things, in this order:
1. Commute/junior bases
2. Upgrade times
3. Pay/bonuses

Commute: In my opinion, the #1 quality of life impact for a short-termer at the regionals like you. Commutes aren't *necessarily* that much of a hassle, but they can be a total nightmare if the circumstances are wrong. Most importantly, over time they represent time away from home that you are not paid for. Where are you planning on living? Look at the junior bases for each of the regionals and see what's close to where you are living. I'd avoid a 2-leg commute like the plague, and look for a city pair that has maybe 5-10 flights between them per day, preferably on more than one airline. An easy commute can substantially make your life less painful. A tough commute can make an otherwise good job miserable.

Now, for these next two, some folks might disagree. There are good arguments for pay to be more important than upgrades, too, but in my opinion you are at a regional for the *experience* and not the money, and thus the priority I present:

Upgrade times: Every fighter pilot knows that every gameplan needs a "plan B", and upgrading to Captain is your Plan B in the unlikely event you don't get the call from a career airline in two years. Unfortunately, The PIC time offered by upgrading to Captain at a regional might matter to your resume. You are oh-so-close to that magic number of 1,000 hours of multi-engine PIC as it sits. I'm not sure if that will be a show-stopper; FedEx this year dropped the 1K TPIC as a requirement (but it is still highly desired) and reports say SWA is on the verge of dropping its TPIC requirement, too. Plus, Captain pay at the regionals is generally financially sustainable over time (especially if augmented by mil retirement). If you have to be stuck at a regional, not continuing to dig your family into a financial hole is obviously desirable. The point, here, is to have a quick-ish upgrade time in your back pocket, just in case.

Pay/bonuses: What's great is that you will have a military retirement to bolster your income, so pay shouldn't be as vital as it might to a guy who doesn't have that extra 3K/month rolling in. You'll have to look at each airline's bonus agreements; some of them require you to be there for year after year to get the full amount. The good news is that as the pilot supply situation gets more dire for the regionals, these bonuses are likely to increase at places that currently have them, or be added at airlines that don't have them. In my opinion, the pay is worth considering, but only should be a go/no-go item between airlines that otherwise evenly matched in terms of commute and upgrade.

X-factor: Flow agreements or preferred-interview programs. In my opinion, these are sucker bets for a military-trained and experienced pilot. You won't have any problem eventually getting hired at a legacy, so don't fall for the "you never have to interview again!" hype; you are not really the target audience for the benefits of a flow agreement. Still, it is a perfectly valid "plan C" for if all else falls through with your career plans.