Well this sucks...

[Jumper Bones]

There's nothing worse than separating from the service due to circumstances (AF being overmanned and whittling down personnel), having a horrid and cataclysmic disaster befall the world, knowing that it's going to involve your unit and area of work, but sitting there watching your friends deploy while you sit at home on terminal leave, knowing that your phone won't be ringing because your time is up, despite your wanting to help.

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My time just came up, and due to the AF's whittling down on personnel I wasn't able to re-enlist. However, I got a job (in a new trade) with a Reserve unit, that is activated for the next two years. My first day with them is in two weeks, meanwhile I *have* to burn my leave off. Also, since it's a new career that I have to be trained in, I'm not deployable to help out until I've completed all my training, which will take another 4-6 months minimum. So stupid. Even if I had sold my leave back and continued to work my current job until my separation date, I wouldn't be deployable for this crisis since I'd have to come home in two weeks (DOS is 15 Jan).

Those were some of my friends going on those planes, and if I was still in and not separating I'd be on those planes myself.

So instead, I'm sitting here watching it all unfold from my couch.

[truth]

It's snowing, go skiing.

[Jumper Bones]

It's snowing, go skiing.

good call.

[iceman]

What happened with the pilot training?

[Jumper Bones]

that's the holy grail. Hopefully it comes next.

I'm retraining into my new job (loadmaster) to earn a spot in the reserve flying squadrons here. They like to send their own to pilot training instead of outsiders. So I'll do this for a couple years, hopefully then they'll still like me and will send me off.

Also, since I haven't done math of any sort (short of juggling fuel limits for fuel tanks) since high school, this job should get me into that frame of mind. Pilot training is very, very intense...there's another mag, CascadeCrudSkier, going through it right now.

[Schmear]

It's snowing, go skiing.

But the thing is, it isn't in Washington.