Dude, I know that feeling! Good luck!
Yeah, its crazy the differences between services. They are paying AF officers to get out early and lowering promotion standards for Army officers.
On Terminal Leave :)
- Thread starter thestaton
- Start date
Dude, I know that feeling! Good luck!
Yeah, its crazy the differences between services. They are paying AF officers to get out early and lowering promotion standards for Army officers.
thestaton
New Member
The crazy thing, they are paying O's to get out. However they are starting UIF's on airmen and forcing them to get out over something as silly as not showing up to the gym.
We have had 2 guys get UIF's for not going to a "fun run". Next thing they know they where getting kicked out.
I was in disbelief to be honest.
Wow.
In the Army they raised the approval authority to the DIVISION commander level to kick people out for PT failures, overweights, etc, in order to retain more soldiers. As a company commander it really tied my hands trying to get rid of my dirtbags because it wasn't easy getting anything to the Division Commander.
LAFF
New Member
I've had 1Lt and new Captains leave and get jobs at NRO, NSA, and CIA in the past 12 - 18 months as contractors and GS types. The contractors are paying these guys 150K+ for their satellite / intel skill set and security clearance. I respect the ones that went CIA for obvious reasons.
1 guy is leaving in April - he had a full ride to MIT for his MS...He spent his 1st two years in the AF as a grad student, spent one year at satellite school in Vandenberg, and 6 months operational only to walk out the door at the 1st chance...Timing is everything...I've got a few OTS buddies going to the Army after they got force-shaped.
-LAFF
HeyEng
Well-Known Member
Oh terminal leave...it sounds so nice. But retirement in Mar 2013? I have so FAR to go!!! Ughhh! Please tell me the last 6 years will fly by as quick as the first 14! I would have punched out in 2001, but we know what happened there, so throwing away that retirement would be stupid. If only hiring stays this brisk in 2013! I love the AF...hurry up and wait! 
Fly4Pay
New Member
Oh terminal leave...it sounds so nice. But retirement in Mar 2013? I have so FAR to go!!! Ughhh! Please tell me the last 6 years will fly by as quick as the first 14! I would have punched out in 2001, but we know what happened there, so throwing away that retirement would be stupid. If only hiring stays this brisk in 2013! I love the AF...hurry up and wait!
I was in the same boat as you about 6 or 7 years ago. I was gonna get out, not to fly, but to do software development (my educational background). Then a wise old retired TSgt pulled me aside and said, "yeah, you could get out now and make big bucks. BUT... if you stay six more years, you get a paycheck for the rest of your life even if all you do is lay around on the couch and eat Cheetos. To get that kind of money from an annuity, you'd have to put a LOT of money away for those six years, and I don't think you'd be able to make THAT much."
So.... I stayed in. Good thing, too, cause the tech bubble burst about 6 months after I'd have gotten out. You think airline guys are having trouble getting hired, well, you shoulda seen techies in 2001-2005 (starting to get a BIT better now).
That retirement check is gonna be the only thing that makes it palatable to live on the first couple of years of FO pay. After that, all is well, but till then it would have been a LOT of PBJ and Ramen noodles!
Stick with it--it's DEFINITELY worth it!
Helodriver27
Well-Known Member
Congrats to all that are getting out and thanks for your service.
Up in Norfolk, Tommy and Rumble would play this song for guys on their last day of terminal:
twenty, twenty, twenty four hours to go oh oh oh!
Those guys are funny as hell! 3 1/2 more months...Our new CO won't even give terminal. I would have started mine May 19th, but instead have to suck it up. We're going to be gone pretty much till July, so I have to take re-imbursement:/ Sucks. Good luck out there!
HeyEng
Well-Known Member
You know Fly4Pay, I couldn't agree more. The retirement isn't great, but it is a helluva lot better that what 90% of companies give you today. I have figured if I live to be around 70, that retirement is worth almost $ 2 million. So, staying around for a few more years is a no-brainer. The starting pay for the FOs is still horrible, so all you folks getting hired now need to start working on that so I can make fat cash, have ALL the ladies, fly the coolest jet ever...man what a life....and I expect that and then some all with 100TT and 5 ME! 
Fly4Pay
New Member
OK, that's a crock. I hope whoever your CO's boss is remembers this when your CO is ready to get out (what goes around comes around). I understand getting the mission done (heck, after 20 years, I BETTER), but you have to take care of your people and give them what they deserve as well.
Are you Army? And is this CO a company level, battalion, or higher commander?
Depending on your answers I might be able to help you out.
GatorFC
Well-Known Member
Hey Chinook, he (FutrLftSeat82) PM'd me before. I'm pretty sure he's Navy serving on an amphib ship. So, his CO's going to be a Captain (O-6 type).
Now, if you've got interservice pull over a ship's CO maybe you should reconsider that Airnet job and set your sights on that Chairman JCS position.
Helodriver27
Well-Known Member
Hey Chinook, he (FutrLftSeat82) PM'd me before. I'm pretty sure he's Navy serving on an amphib ship. So, his CO's going to be a Captain (O-6 type).
Now, if you've got interservice pull over a ship's CO maybe you should reconsider that Airnet job and set your sights on that Chairman JCS position.
Yep, GatorFC nailed it. He's an O-6. He's got this thing in his head that the Navy owes you nothing...unless you're re-enlisting/retiring. Even if they're your days...it makes no difference. We've got an E-6 in our department that's been in for 16 years, and is being admin-sep't, has 60 days on the books, and he's only getting a week. It's to the point now with this guy, that we can't even take leave if we pull into port somewhere...IN THE UNITED STATES. And people seriously ask me why I'm getting out. I'm nice and usually just tell them I can't wait to start flying...:rawk: ...I shouldn't talk down on the 'old man'. That makes me a bad "shipmate"...(I hate that word, lmao)...He is of course my superior...
SibePilot311
New Member
Hope terminal goes well. I must admit that my time ended up being incredibly stressful...some for personal reasons, but a lot due to the transition. Most of the folks I knew went the contractor route or bounced around for a while between jobs that were not what they wanted. I'd hoped to avoid that, and did, but ended up with a cross-country move on top of everything else going on at that time. The route the others took created a smoother transition that just lasted longer as they "figured out what they really wanted to do". Mine was much more concentrated.
I guess the worst part was that I had all these great plans for the leave, but ended up moving/working instead! I'd planned either a bike trip to Alaska or along the Continental Divide. Not sure when I will ever have that much time in a block again.
I guess the worst part was that I had all these great plans for the leave, but ended up moving/working instead! I'd planned either a bike trip to Alaska or along the Continental Divide. Not sure when I will ever have that much time in a block again.
H46Bubba
Well-Known Member
Yep, GatorFC nailed it. He's an O-6. He's got this thing in his head that the Navy owes you nothing...unless you're re-enlisting/retiring. Even if they're your days...it makes no difference. We've got an E-6 in our department that's been in for 16 years, and is being admin-sep't, has 60 days on the books, and he's only getting a week. It's to the point now with this guy, that we can't even take leave if we pull into port somewhere...IN THE UNITED STATES. And people seriously ask me why I'm getting out. I'm nice and usually just tell them I can't wait to start flying...:rawk: ...I shouldn't talk down on the 'old man'. That makes me a bad "shipmate"...(I hate that word, lmao)...He is of course my superior...
IMHO that the PO1 is going to get paid for those leave days that he can't use. That's a month and a half of pay. The Captain is the Captain, he has the right to do prevent people from taking leave. It sucks but it's the Navy! I'm surprised that leave chits are going up to the Captain. as long as it gets approved by the LPO, CPO and DIVO, the Department head is the final approving authority. That's a Navy reg! Now if the DH denies it, it has to go to the X.O. and C.O.
surreal1221
Well-Known Member
Started terminal leave this past Saturday. . . w00t
Already started the VONAPP through the VA, but I was wondering. . . already got some guidance from USMC-SGT about it but . . . when you guys are applying to start you Education benefits from the VA, do you send a copy of your DD 214 worksheet or wait until you get the actual 214 in the mail in a month to two months AFTER you have seperated?
Already started the VONAPP through the VA, but I was wondering. . . already got some guidance from USMC-SGT about it but . . . when you guys are applying to start you Education benefits from the VA, do you send a copy of your DD 214 worksheet or wait until you get the actual 214 in the mail in a month to two months AFTER you have seperated?
H46Bubba
Well-Known Member
Two months to get your DD-214!
I had my original and all my copies in my hand the day I bid farewell. Once you're out you'll have to use your DD-214.Velocipede
New Member
My CO did the same thing to me. He wouldn't let me out 3 weeks early for an airline class date even though I had 6 weeks of leave on the books. Instead of being #1 in that F/O class, I was #3 in the F/E class 3 months later. Cost me about 10 seniority numbers. That haunts me every month when the bids come out.