People who are still "in" exhibit a certain amount of reticence about leaving, a mixture of some remaining loyalty, not wanting to admit defeat, still enjoying some of the job, unsure what they will do when they leave, risk aversion, etc........
True. I've done over 28 years now and the last 13 years have been pretty fantastic, apart from a couple of months at the end of my last tour in MB. Yes, I bitch and moan about some of the administrivia (warning, don't get me started) but when I look at my current package and my next posting (ignore this 'assignment' Americanism nonsense) I am quietly pleased with myself. OK, I've got the CEA golden handcuffs, but the luxury apartment in London, unbelievable training and education opportunities, the pretty damned good pension (AFPS 75, albeit) and a soon-to-be job that I've aspired for, for over 10 years, yes I am a happy bunny. And let's not forget the life-long frineds that my wife and I have made.
Things I don't like? (See, I warned you)
Massive reduction of GYH travel for those who are INVOLSEP; massive reduction in London Weighting (per se), near-criminal reduction in LOA, bonkers rules in Germany (who'd have thought almost 70 years after the end of WWII, there'd still be a British Military Government still in Germany?), a procurement system that makes my eyes bleed and wallet shrink, a promotion and career 'management' system that (still) only recognises personnel who stick rigidly to a well-worn (and rather boring) path; as a corollary, the career risks taken by stepping away from the Light Blue/Mainstream careers and being referred to in the perjorative sense as the 'diaspora'. The accumulated risk from a vast range of change programmes that is delivered to the men and women on the shop floor or in the cockpit (and in spite of this being identified and high-lighted in H-C report, nowt has been done to reduce this turbulence and increased risk); the painfully short corporate memory of the Air Staff and Air Command.
But otherwise happy to stay in until they kick me out. With my Zimmer frame.