Love it, but don't like it..
This sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. You may notice from my name that I've been lucky enough to fly the mighty Hog and rain hate from the skies against our nation's enemies. From a senior-captain (O-3) active duty perspective I love my job and being in the military... proud to serve, God and Country, all the rah-rah stuff. I'm living my childhood dream. Pay is comfortable, medical care is awesome, wife, kid, dog, house, nice cars.
That being said, I'm exploring my options outside of the military, as are a lot of my peers. Deployment cycles suck. I missed two out of three Halloweens, Christmas, and New Years in a row. I could also get non-volunteered to go live in the middle of Kerplakistan in tent or plywood shack for a year. When I'm home, I work 12 hrs a day and have to go to the squadron on Sunday to prepare for the week. The paperwork to flying ratio is out of control. If flying the jet wasn't so fun, I'd have been out long ago. And here's the kicker.. at any given time, I could get assigned to a UAV, never to return to the cockpit. Scary stuff, man. That would put a damper on my lifetime flying plan.
Additionally, the Air Force is looking to kick people out. Not necessarily pilots, but lots of other career fields are getting the ax. Retiree pay / healthcare is a huge expense, and big blue is looking for ways to get you to not stay in. Reference the earlier comment about being prepared for the military to break your heart several times.
So, love it.. yes. Like it... no.