Agreed Rickair,

If you are in the club with a Flag, anything is possible, proven by some of the most inept aviators that miracles can happen if you know the right folks, maybe even get promoted to 0-6+.

Most are not and most end up begging for orders to get close to 20 and then of course you have to beg from the civil service leadership to approve you to do these orders and they just love a brother or sister that is stomping on an active duty retirement while they are getting furloughed or no raises in the civil service system with one continuing resolution after another. It aint easy or fair, but hey, step up to the plate and swing the bat.

For the average guy with average connections, an active duty retirement is next to impossible without a return to active duty gig or landing in the big pot of gold at an AOC/HQ/Pentagon or actually working in a unit with a high utilization rate, hmmmm, wonder what those are?

It aint an easy road to travel AFSoar, especially at 17.5 in, but some have and made it, they probably had a four wheel drive vehicle though to handle some of the off road parts and a support team rescue them every now and then. What you driving my friend and how long you want to stay behind the wheel? Better have a spare parts store somewhere on speed dial as well.

While sleeping under the blanket of active duty, they are not going to rip that blanket away in the middle of the night, they may make you find a new bed for a year, but you still in the club getting closer and closer to lifetime benefits, heck in six months those benefits can not be taken from you by law. When you become a reservist, blankets are passed out based on preference and friendships, you may be good for a while, what happens when the new Wing CC or OG shows up with a different agenda and your bro passing out blankets has no more to pass out? Well, you get left in the cold waiting for the spare parts store to open up to reconfigure your ride. That can take a while...