Sure about that? I'd politely beg to differ and say that the real PNG flying was done by the 20 something kid in the 206 or Bongo van. You blokes were just tourists.

Why does someone have to always turn every thread into military v civil...

C'mon mate, whip it out and lets have a look. :ugh:

Swings, green grass, 6 of one......

MSBS
 

MSBS is now a closed scheme
Anyone joining after 2016 is on a standard accumulation scheme ie almost identical to most civil employers. Albeit some slight difference on contribution rates

Slezy9

probably for one of three reasons:

1. they are stirring the pot, or

2. (most likely) they don't know, they don't know, or

3. they're trolls and can safely be ignored (not that you'd get any people like that on pprune).

Chronic Snoozer has probably got it right

Stating the 'bleeding' obvious, there are good (and some not so good) pilots, jobs, conditions, 'everywhere'

regards
layman

There is a fair bit of nostalgic thought here about the RAAF with lament about even leaving in the first place. There was a pretty good reason to leave back then and I can confirm that the good old days are well and truly gone.
The ADF wasn’t the place you joined and your life outlook had changed….. since then I can confirm that the two have likely diverged even further.

Add to this less flying, ROSOs for captaincy, significantly lower pay(25-30%) since the 2009 pay determination all whilst maintaining the same flying standards.... not to mention longer ROSOs and IMPS on sign up ……unless you are female where it is only one year (the good women I know hate this because it utterly devalues their hard work!).

As a side note I know guys who had received their letter of offer one day apart leading to a 25-30% pay difference.... the irony is the guy who is on the poorer pay finished course first and is now in a position with far more responsibility..... yet another nail in the coffin for a lot of people.

There is good reason guys/girls are leaving - knowing your schedule more than 24 hours out, spending less time away (but flying more), actually having career progression, not being posted continually, partners can only take so much.
Guys and girls I know are near burnt out before they even reach the Sqns.
…..Or you could just take a cadetdship with a guaranteed job at the end, significant less work, significantly less stress, certainty for your family, no prospect of a desk job, all whilst being on the seniority list.

As a closing remark to those who wish they never left..... the ADF is different now and it wouldn't be very hard to get back in at all with the new SERCAT system, so the option is there to put your toe back it......... DO IT, I dare you! You'd would be the fortunate ones by being on the Fly scheme AND MSBS ……..or even OASS.

Professional Amatuer

Very interesting comments. I do hear guys saying its not like it used to be. But I know that when I joined in the 80s, guys were saying its not like it was in the 70s. So maybe its just a continual decline. But one's tolerance to rubbish changes over the years, in some ways it improves, and in some ways it declines. I know back in my junior officer days, if I had to sit in a class room all day and listen to some bluntie pissing on about EEO, OH&S, gender equality, white ribbons, etc etc, I would have been whining like a hungry cat. Nowadays I'd be sitting up the back half asleep saying if you want to pay me good money to sit here and listen to this ****, well that's fine by me.

I'm sure I'm deluded and have the rose colored glasses firmly in place - but there's two realities for me, 1. I don't live near a base and I ain't moving again, and 2. Too many warnings about how its changed for me to ignore.

I think all of my vintage and before must sit happy with the fact that we were so lucky to be in when we were and enjoy the fact that we really had soooooo much fun

Don't forget the suicide prevention lectures, Rodney!

Maybe be the RAAF needs to realise that not everyone who wants to fly their aircraft wants to be a future one star. Some people just want a job, rather than a career. I would have been SNCO pilot if they had have let me.

WOFF pilot, how good would that be... :cool:

Defence hasn't really sold service as a career for a long time. It's just a job to them too. https://airforce.defencejobs.gov.au/?ci=0 They realize most people don't want to join up for ever now, and advertise accordingly

Same retention problems here with RAF. Last year or two British Airways for example, had a large recruitment progaramme 300 plus. Any military transport pilots joining with heavy jet experience (zero flight time requirements after sim) joined direct onto 744/787/777/A380..FJ etc onto A320 requiring Base Training.