My .02, Duke. I'm a retired USAF and legacy (cough) airline pilot. As you can easily discern on this forum, the airline industry is in turmoil right now. Hell, I was furloughed after over 11 years, but chose to retire (again at age 54) instead. You're what, 32 maybe 33 years old now? If you opt to suck it up and retire as a LtCol/Col, you'll have (assuming a normal life expectancy) a fairly nice (like $1.5 mil) 401K that you start drawing one month after you get out...a comfortable stipend to tide you over during the tough times. And, who knows, maybe by that time there will be some stability on the outside. You'll still be very competitive, and with the large numbers of retirements pending at the airlines over that period, a hiring phase like the one I experienced in the late 80s may happen. This is all conjecture, of course, and you have to do whatever you feel is best. But, there has to be more incentive to stay in than just a bonus (ha, in my day it was the leather jacket...) so weigh your options carefully. Listen to what others, even those above you have to say. I was a fighter squadron commander, I talked to lots of guys who were putting in their DOS. Some, I tried like crazy to get 'em to stay in...and some did. Others, I hopped-up, shook their hand, wished them well at airline-X, and went to the club with the rest of my boys to celebrate our luck in the fact that those types were leaving. Which of those guys are you? Just food for thought.