Is your real name Francis or something? Most guys I know that know Albie still call him "Albie." My bro and I both have call signs that don't get used much these days. Of course, my dad is 62 and still insists on using his call sign to everyone outside the family. Still introduces himself with it. You'll have to let it go eventually, I think. In the meantime, good luck at IDE and the rest of your career - hopefully you can spend it flying fighters. I hope the next 10 years are as fun for you as the first 10 were. Somehow, I don't think they will be. Don't be reluctant to reevaluate at the 15 year mark, trading 5 years for the guard/reserve can still be a good deal! Personally, I was a WIC DG, I had an IDE slot and a slew of great PRF bullets. The one thing I didn't have was control over my future. I wanted to be an OG/CC someday, but came to the realization that I personally had very little impact on whether that happened or not. It all depended on who was in charge in the years leading up to DO, CC, SDE, DOG, etc etc. Was I one of the WG/CC's "boys" or not? Were the SQ/CCs I grew up with still around to help out? Did someone I supervised get a DUI, crash a plane, or harass someone? So many things can go wrong on the way and the longer I thought about it the more I got irritated. I couldn't believe I was even thinking about careerism when I should be focused on my family, the mission, my family, my buddies, my family, my deployments etc etc. I realized that I had lost the passion for it I once had and that it was time to go if I had other options. Went to the reserves, got hired with FDX (thank God), and haven't looked back.
On a related note, I spoke to a buddy who will find out his IDE location on Thursday. I guess they're telling AFSOC guys not to expect staff assignments after IDE but to expect a cockpit assignment, then maybe staff after that. Could screw some guys for the Commando Eagle list and/or LTC promotions. Are other commands being told the same thing?