i gotta be honest, a big part of what I'm looking for in going back to the military is things like....hey dude, get your ass up let's go on a 5 miler before class or.....let's fucking watch Top Gun Maverick while deployed on a carrier....or looking forward to giving each other's our call signs.....is not so much about the money or the flying part, but the brotherhood you join.....when I was enlisted we always had a tight group together in the avionics shop...but it was always interesting seeing the other groups, like the chiefs at drinking outside of the goat locker in Bahrain after a long shift, or all the officers (all pilots and fos since I was in a squadron) getting together as well
like minded people are often hard to find as a civilian