Vortex Thing, you were going fine right up to the point where you said:
I have no desire to work for free but if that is what it takes, I simply agree that I think it is worth it
Working for free is
never justifiable. I hope that one day you will come to see that. Had you had military people working alongside you in Iraq, Afgahanistan etc. who gaily declared, 'This is such fun, I'd even pay HMG for the job', you'd have rightly dismissed them as crazy. Well, now here you are declaring you'd work for free and you want to be understood by those you may be working with? Get real!
Listen and understand this: you have no
right to a flying job. You have certainly have no
right to undermine the Ts & Cs that I and my colleagues have worked hard to attain and protect. You will eventually want my job (or that of people like me); you will need to learn a thing or two about loyalty to those you work
with as opposed to those you work
for before you will find yourself acceptable within this field. I'm surprised that your military time hasn't taught you that.
You no longer work in an environment where your superiors have your best interests at heart. You now have to fight for everything you get. Rolling over and presenting your arse for a shafting may turn you on, but it screws everyone else as well.
Scroggs