Originally Posted by
PerfInit
Unfulfilled flying high tech military hardware, and leading a squadron?
This points to a much bigger issue that perhaps bailing to the airlines may not “fix” it for you. Is it about the money? You are experiencing “mid- career” burnout. It is understandable. But I can say with absolute certainty that an airline career will feel exactly the same to you after doing it for 10+ years. Granted you are not getting “shot at”, but 121 flying becomes very boring, routine and mundane after a while, just like everything else. I agree with others here who recommend sticking it out for a full retirement. You will not realize the value of those benefits until much later in life.
Most jobs will get a bit "stale" over time, unless you're doing something creative about which you have great passion. Most folks don't even have the talent for that level of creativity, ie cutting edge stuff.
Normally I would be a great advocate of getting the retirement too, but at this point in time any professional aviator should carefully consider the risk vs. reward of airlines, due to projected opportunity. Nobody can stay on AD forever (except maybe General Mattis), and airlines are usually a great place to hang out. Fuel for the fire... you can still get the retirement (effective when you most need it) in the reserves.