Greetings fellow aviators, aspiring aviators, enthusiasts, and those simply passing through. As a full-time airline pilot for a major US carrier and a part-time mobility pilot for the US Air Force, I am convinced of one thing: there is no other job (or pair of jobs) I’d rather have. The fortuitous nature of my situation …
The National Guard and Reserve components of the military offer outstanding opportunities for pilots like you and me to serve our country. While they provide many opportunities for a pilot to do full-time work, most Guard/Reserve pilots serve on a part-time basis. I have long argued that the Guard and Reserve offer the ideal career …
The potential of receiving a pension is one of the many benefits of a career in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Understanding the reserve retirement system and figuring out your final retirement pay can be a challenge. BogiDope is here to help with a quick 30,000 ft over-view of reserve retirement and …
Last week we covered some of the benefits and perils of social media for pilots who are trying to land a dream job at a Guard or Reserve unit, airline, or other flying operation. While a lot of social media platforms are at best neutral forces in your efforts, one of them has the potential …
Thanks to Social Media our world is connected like never before. It helps friends and family stay in touch more easily, holds businesses and governments more accountable than ever, produces an endless stream of cat memes to make us laugh, and has even helped overthrow tyrants. For all the good it does, though, Social Media …
When I got sent to Hurlburt Field, FL, in late 2007, I bought a house. Then the housing bubble popped and our house was worth far less than we owed on it. That house spent many years as a rental property after we moved away because we couldn’t afford to sell it. A couple years …
I don’t hold back when people ask me the best way to become a military pilot. The Ultimate Military Pilot Career Path is to get hired directly by a Guard or Reserve unit and let them send you to UPT. Ideally, you should enlist with one of those units as soon as you’re old enough …
Welcome back, dear BogiDope readers, for the final installment in our series about VA Disability. Here’s a quick review of what we’ve covered so far: In Part 1, we noted that VA Disability is a standard part of the military service contract each of us signs. We didn’t write that contract or decide on the …
Thus far in our series on VA Disability, we’ve looked at two main points. First, a VA Disability rating is something the US Government expects to pay you because they plan to put a lot of wear and tear on your body during your service. Knowing this, we looked at the requirements for getting an …
Welcome back to Part 2 of our series about VA Disability benefits. If you haven’t seen it already, go back and read Part 1 for important context before you dig in here! In Part 1, we looked at why each and every pilot in the military is expendable. The government acknowledges this and planned to …
