So join the Navy.

 

With the exception of the folks, who came in late in the Carter era and lived through the Reagan era, it only gets worse.

I was able to see the last of the great J.O.C. nights at Mather in 88-89.

I sat the second to last week of alert in the fall of 91, and watched SAC die in May of 92 when McPeak was chief of staff.

I saw the last of the days in ATC/AETC where there was practically unlimited weekend flying for those who wanted it. Take the gas cards and go. You just had to not work more than 14 days in a row.

I remember when bomber and tanker co pilots had an ACE program with jets and not C 12s, oh those did not last long.

I watched the AETC bases slowly cut back weekend hours for airfields from open on Saturday and Sunday 0800-1800 local, to Sunday only for three hours to catch off station returns.

Now most bases are closed for transients and trainers all weekend unless it is real world OBO.

The Auger at Randolph is now dead on Friday nights. Find a club at a non UPT base that is ever busy or fun any more, is it out there?

There was a time when you could belong to the O club without being forced to have another credit card you did not want.

The only thing open on many bases past 9pm is the Shoppette. past 10pm and lodging office is all you have for snacks and beer.

The flight docs used to make appointments and would see your family, now it is just you and only at sick call.

I watched TAMI 21 take newly minted aviators away from assignments they busted their butts to get only to be told you may never see that MWS again.

This is just my list of minor annoyances and observations over 26 years.

But here is what I do know. With the current fiscal budget situation and the number of planes we are not buying. Today's AF will be the good old days for the young folks who survive this draw down and stay in.

Just my .02

 

True - but I'm also not making wide sweeping statements about how everyone in the USAF wants to stay in for 20 either.
I said there were people who were happy.
It seems that some of you are actually angry at the fact that not EVERYONE hates AD or the USAF.

I've said it before in other threads, I'm very sorry that your personal experience, and your views of your service, are so poor. I would be upset with the situation if I had experienced some of what is bantered around this forum too.
I saw many of things that tweetdrvr saw too; and no....I don't know of any "good" weekend hot spots left (Auger Inn, Pensacola, Oceana, Key West, as far as the clubs go at least)
But good on you thrust - at least you knew the guys I was talking about are not staff guys.

 

I've got a few friends at AIS. Most are going to apply for TERA or the VSP. I'm sure there are some who want to stay in but it appears even at AIS/AFFSA people are planning their exit.

I won't tell people to not go RegAF, but they need to know what to expect. As for the opinions of many here and on Baseops, it's not just a small band of whiners on internet forums. I know plenty who are staying in, but I also know a lot of guys and gals who are going to jump ship as soon as they can. The landscape of the USAF has changed considerably, and some people don't like what they see.

 

Every single one of my active duty AMC buddies I talk to is getting out at 10 years, airline job or not. They just want OUT.

One guy I know has a folder in his outlook called "1,000 reasons" where he files away every ridiculous email he gets about Running shoe color, sock length, assignment threats, snitch programs, reflective belts, fuel savings etc. He browses it every time he gets the inkling to stay in.

 

The landscape of our country has changed considerably and many don't like what they see, but as in similar conditions, apathy rules and the ones left standing are in charge. People have always 'jumped ship' from the military when the times are *good* on the outside and for pilots that mainly means the legacy airlines are hiring, and people tend to stay when times are lean - the last decade plus being a good example. The *feel* of the military is changing - throughout. There will be holdouts, but eventually they will succumb too.

surfnski - tell your friend to start his file for whatever civilian job he gets too. The military isn't the sole source of stupidity (see snarge's thread on hats at UniCal as a small symptom of a much larger problem).

 

I never said make AD a career. With budget cuts it's getting harder and harder to bum. Since a majority of pilots fly on the outside is it really better to suffer at a regional than deal with the queep?

 

With the ADSC, you're locked in for a while. Whether flying with the ANG or AFRC and doing the regional thing would be better than the RegAF is a matter of perspective. For some, getting on AD and then winding up in the RPA dungeon isn't too great. I'd say for most flying manned aircraft, the first 6-8 years on AD isn't too bad, though the promotion queep is starting to make it down to even the LT level.

 

I enjoy my active duty job, being a pilot, I don't enjoy all the additional duties that become a much bigger time sink than your core job. The other problem with active duty, as has been stated, is that it's far from guaranteed that someone who likes to fly will be able to stay in for 20 years. 5-10 years ago you might have been able to stay away from staff assignments, make major, not make Lt Col and stay till 20, but those days are long gone. If you want to stay for 20 you have to make Lt Col, which means fighting for stats on your OPR by taking on more additional duties like organizing the Holiday Party and all the other un-official requirements to make it there. Unfortunately most don't figure out that the 20 is not guaranteed until they've got 12+ years in, and they missed the first chance to get out and into the guard.

The guard and reserves are a little nicer than active duty because your unit knows you better than AFPC knows it's active duty members. You also get to choose (usually) your deployments and also where you want to live. Every organization has it's problems and the grass isn't always greener, just like that famous motivational poster of a super hot chick, with the caption: "Somewhere, some dude is tired of putting up with her $hit"

 

Completely agree with this all.