Originally Posted by Chuckie

Just to add a counterpoint to this douchenozzle's posts, just so y'all don't think that all "fighter guys" who "escaped" from AS/VX share the same pathetic opinions as Work4life.

I flew at VX for two years, and loved it. I liked the people I flew with, and they (with a few exceptions) were very skilled and competent pilots. Nothing is farther from the truth to say that these guys are "undesirable" or unworthy. I've been humbled plenty of times in the cockpit by these guys that Work4life thinks are scraping the bottom of the pilot gene pool.

In a parallel universe, VX would not have been bought by AS and I'd still be there. And I'd still be happy, too. It was a great place to work. I made it clear in my interview that I wasn't looking at VX as a stepping stone, and that was the truth. But now that AS makes everyone wear a white shirt and a tie, I'm glad I made the jump (that was a joke). After the contentious last summer with contract negotiations and arbitration, I updated my apps last fall and got picked up by a legacy. I'm happy where I am now, and yes my "career" is probably going to be much better where I am. At the very least, I can drive to work now where I was commuting in to SFO before. That alone was worth the jump. But I still miss where I was and the people I worked with.

But I hold no delusions of self-grandeur that Work4life has that makes me any better than the pilots I left at VX/AS for greener pastures. I'm just fortunate to have been given the opportunity to move on. Others may choose not to due to their own reasons, and yes some may not be able to go somewhere else because of a skeleton or two in their closets. We are all dealt a different hand at the poker game of life.....some are able to play crappy cards well, others not so much, and some get lucky and don't have to do much except collect the chips at the end. I had the military/fighter/instructor/SEFE/leadership boxes to check off, and perhaps that was the tipping point for me. I was fortunate. None of that qualifies me to stomp on the d**ks of anyone I put in my rear view mirror.

I never really got to know the folks on the AS side of the house, but I'm sure you guys are (for the most part) great folks who share the same concerns as the VX guys over what kind of crap sandwich the company is going to serve up on a dish for you next. Best of luck to all of you!