Elwood
For what its worth, I would stay in to feed your habit. There is some very good advice offered to you on this thread. As the industry is still in a lull at this stage and maybe for a while longer, my view would be to stay in if only 3 years. You will only be 31 which is still a pup in my eyes
Like another said, don't sit behind a desk - you can become an ATC or stay with aircrew as, what do they call them now, Air Tacticians or Air Combat officers. This will keep your mind stimulated, current and close to the action while you advance yourself in the civilian world. You will need a steady income to do all this. A GA job will not fall into your lap, and it would be hard yakka unless money is not an issue for you.
The 3 years will fly by and I have met plenty of Navies in my time that have done this very same thing and have done well out of it - and they had a ROS of 8 years.
In your enthusiasm, you don't want to be caught with your pants down - think logically about it all. I was in your shoes 40 years ago, and went back to a regular civilian job while paying my way. Took me 3 years but I did not owe a thing to anybody and the school I trained with offered me my first instructing job, and I went on from there. Those days the pressure was really on for the young & pretty to make it into an airline job, over 30 was considered way too old. Its a different ball game now where plenty of pilots flying now in very good jobs started learning to fly at age 30. So give it some thought - don't throw away the RAAF just yet. Stay in aircrew if you can. PM me if you wish....
Good Luck.
