Surprised no one has replied yet with their careers. You've got a lot of regulars here (Flieger, ChristCorp, TPG, DS, and a bunch of others) who can give lots of perspective on what they did, and what they loved / hated. In fact, there are a few threads out there on this particular forum (Life after the Academy) that go into these issues which you can do a search for.
But anyways, here's my quick down-low:
- Grad from ROTC as a 2d Lt in the AF (a long time ago, when a major in what we would call "Classics" today was called "current events"
), off to Nav school (Mather AFB, Sacramento, CA (now closed)) for 9 months. Hard work, every day an evaluation. But Loved it! Selected to fly F-111s
- Went to Survival Schools (Land (mostly hated, especially SERE and being in charge of the damn bunny
) and Water (a blast!), then off to Lead-In Fighter Training (2 months ar Alamagordo, NM. Location: out-in-the-middle-of-no-where
. Flying: some of the most fun I ever had in my life. Loved, Loved, LOVED it!
Family: Brand new newlywed (Pima), still in the early "were young and newly married" phase, so she didn't mind the location so much. First few dinners with her cooking as a married couple? Interesting, didn't know you could burn water.
- F-111 transition course (7 months at Mt Home AFB, Idaho) Flying: loved it as well. Low levels through the Snake Canyon!
Location: Oh-oh! As East-coasters and suburbanites from NJ, Pima (and I) not liking two middle-of-no-where tours so far. Starting to question "what have we gotten into?" a little bit. Pima's cooking getting better, especially potatoes.
- First Ops tour: F-111s at RAF Upper Heyford, England. Loved it! Every part (flying, travel in Europe, family, friends)! Despite being in England, Pima's cooking vastly improves, bringing up the local's average. Saw all of Europe, and some not so fun parts of the Middle East. Left there a young Capt with a wife, two small kids, and lots of great memories.
- Since the F-111s were being retired (so i couldn't go ops-to-ops) I took an "out-of cockpit" assignment: Air Liaison Officer, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg. The job: pretty cool, very proud of my time with the Army. Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes? Ok, and added to my sense of machismo, but every time I exited the plane, I went with a shout of "What the heck am I doing here?"
Added one more family member, and Pima added some BBQ recipes. It was all worth it because...
- Transition to F-15E (4 months at Seymour Johnson AFB for transition course, then picking up the brood to drive to: Elmendorf AFB Alaska. LOVED IT, LOVED IT LOVED IT!
My favorite place (and Pima's) by far. Had the best time flying (dog-fighting next to Mt. McKinley, how cool!), made the best of friends (who still remain best friends today), had a great family life. Would have retired there in a heart-beat, but it was just too far from Pima's and my families. Oh well, maybe in a few years. Only downside, lot's of TDYs to Korea, with one 5 month deployment to Kwang Ju AB (which had next to nothing on it except our squadron buildings, barracks, and chow hall. Weren't even allowed on the economy for the first 3 months). Left there a Major
- Ops-to-Ops back to Seymour Johnson. Started getting more responsibility / work at the higher level , even had a Wing job in the Weapons and Tactics shop. Meant I had to start telling the schedulers "Sorry, can't fly tomorrow, gotta work on something"
Deployed a couple of times to the sandbox again. Getting shot at? Bad Ju-Ju. Shooting back? Better. Pima's cooking? Close to perfect. Me? Getting older, and heavier from Pima's cooking. OK tour, would have been more fun as a young pup flying my butt off, but what tour wouldn't?
- One year, Ft Leavenworth. No, not for a bad reason!
Went to the Army's Command and General Staff College. Called it my "sabbatical from the real military". Home everyday by 2, able to coach little league and soccer. Played A TON of golf (badly). Family down time: great! Being away from flying: not so much. Pima's cooking: still great. My weight? Back to perhaps the best shape of my life because I had so much time to do PT (which I did everyday to impress the Army guys in my class. They hated that I had the 3rd highest PT score behind the SF guy and the Ranger guy!)
- The Pentagon. 3 "interesting" years. Can't say I hated it, can't say I loved it. Working under pressure can't begin to describe the day. Learned a lot about the "big picture" (and how to speak to a General so as not to make yourself look like an idiot). Family loved it. I missed the flying, but I worked with a great bunch of guys. Left there a Lt Col.
- Back to Seymour for another tour of flying the F-15E. Couldn't take the smile of my face with a crow bar when I first got there! ("They're letting me FLY again!") There for a year when they offered me a command. But, it would have meant moving 3 more times in three more years, and most likely staying another 3 years after to retire as an O-6 with three years in grade (to make O-6 retirement pay). Family was happy, and the kids were in HS, so I turned it down, and spent the next 3 years in one place, flying what I loved to fly, when I wanted to fly. Left the cockpit on a Thursday, Raised my right hand in retirement the next day, and moved on to my retirement career in DC.
Overall, would I do it again? In a heart-beat, twice on Sundays. I've led a blessed and happy life, have a wonderful family, made life long friends, and I got to live my childhood dream. And how many out there working at Prudential, Ford, or IBM can say that?
BTW, Pima's cooking still rocks, I still am fighting to keep off the weight, and I miss the flying terribly. But life remains good, and I always have the memories of things done, people met, and Sunsets over the Alaskan Range while I'm going Mach-snot on the deck chasing red air!