Welcome aboard! I just retired from USAF a couple months ago -- I've been hired by AirTran (standing by in the "pool" for a class date). At the moment, very few, if any, Major airlines are hiring. That could change tomorrow, or it could go on for who knows how long.

I will say one thing, though ... it is REALLY nice knowing that I have a paycheck coming in every month no matter what!

I would definitely say that, unless you can find a Guard/Reserve job where you can GUARANTEE that you will get your active duty retirement right away (not wait until 60), you should strongly consider hanging in there until 20. Get your tickets done if you haven't already -- you might want to go ahead and get a First Class medical just to make sure you can (and to give you some time to fix any issues that might come up). You can just let it lapse into a second class and renew later if you want, but it is much easier to keep a first class ticket than it is to get one.

Can you stay at the base where you are currently stationed until you hit 20? I assume you are currently flying ...

Anyway, good luck with the decisionmaking!