Clarifying why I took so much mil leave-
Thanks for all the feedback.
To clarify, I did not intend to be on mil leave for over a year. I took the regional job because flying at my reserve unit was scarce at the time for a copilot. However, immediately after I took the job, a number of things happened:
1. Selected for Aircraft Commander upgrade = 1.5 months of orders plus more opportunities to fly since scheduling can use an AC easier than a copilot
2. Active Duty needed help with their taskings and asked for help from the reserves - another 2 months of orders
3. multiple deployments that I volunteered for (total of 5 months of orders)
Finally, I talked to the chief pilot and tried to get consolidated before all of these back to back orders went into effect, but no luck. He said they couldn't give me a line to help with consolidation before the military orders began.
All that being said, I can easily see how DAL or anyone else won't want to hear my excuses (even though it's the truth).