I'm an active duty Army guy who will hang on for a few more years before retiring. I'm currently at ~1,250TT and ~450FW (all ME turbine) and can resonably expect about 300 to 400 more FW hours before I hang it up. I knocked out the ATP-CTP and written last summer, but won't be able to do the ATP checkride for another couple years due to assignment changes.

Soutwest is my target airline and I wonder if the hive mind here can provide any advice as to whether or not it might be more advantageous to knock out as many things as I can while on active duty, or if it might be smart to hold off on the ATP check so I would still qualify for D225 when I do retire.

Obviously, hiring three or so years from now is impossible to predict, but since I keep seeing how D225 cadets are the only ones moving through the pipeline, I'm starting to wonder if NOT having the full ATP might give me a leg up when the time comes (weird as that might be).

Appreciate any thoughts and thanks!