Originally Posted by JohnBurke

I've worked for half a dozen or so veteran owned operations in which the owners refused to hire any more military, because they'd had such bad experiences. One operator, owned and run by career military, had seven mil guys hired, put through Flight Safety at company expense, and not one of them showed up for work. They took the type, and ran. That was it. It's that kind of behavior that leads operators to institute training bonds and contracts or some operators to start charging for training.

It doesn't matter if it's a regional airline, or a corporate flight department. There are training costs associated with bringing a pilot on board. That pilot who comes aboard and accepts the training and type rating (a costly enhancement to his resume and an addition to his pilot certification that has a value), has filled a slot in a training class. If he doesn't intend to stay, or runs when he sees the next shiny airplane or. brass ring, means he filled a slot that a more reliable, honest pilot with more integrity, could have filled, instead. Now that training time has been wasted, a new pilot must be interviewed and hired, and brought aboard, and a new class assigned. It may take months to fill the original slot, because the original pilot has bailed.

If one is to argue that there's no training contract, therefore that pilot has no obligation to remain, it's tantamount to begging for a training contract, and at the same time quite literally saying, "I'll only be honest and show an element of integrity if you force me." If it's suggested that only those pilots with a hiring bonus should show integrity, it's tantamount to saying that one doesn't need to be honest or show integrity without extra pay. It implies that the training and type rating have no value.

Military pilots should well understand that the training comes with an obligation. Every military pilot has had such an obligation, and a contract, not free to simply walk away. That the airline doesn't require it doesn't mean that the pilot should feel free to simply walk away, having accepted the training, the resume enhancement, and the job.

If you aren't willing to stay and put in some time and effort, don't waste everyone's time and take the training under false pretenses. That applies regardless of whether one comes from a military track, or a civil one.