...I bet most people who continue after their commitment are not...balancing all those things, and I doubt that "serving my country" is number 1 on the list...
I would be wary of making such declarative statements, I know plenty of folks who have continued to serve past their initial commitment whose primary stated reason was patriotic.
...Oh by the way, what percentage of NON-RETIREES who go to the show are STILL serving their country as a reservist or guardsman...probably about 90%.
Again, a pretty declarative statement that may or may not be accurate. I've also known plenty of airline pilots who have walked away from the reserves to include quite a few from the VR's a few years ago after they became eligible for MOB's. I would also hazard a guess that if ~90% of the folks who were eligible to be a drilling reservist were actually in the reserves they wouldn't have their current manning issues, which are especially acute for aviators.
...Sounds like you CAN be well compensated and serve your country. The military could learn something from that.
You can, and we are. In no way can the military come close to currently matching the airlines or Wall Street for pay and it would lose that race if it tried.
...And NOT serving your country doesn't mean you aren't a patriot.
I've never said or implied that, but the suggestion that flying for the airline is somehow comparable to serving you country in the military is a bit of a stretch to say the least.
Let me also add...Active Duty folks have no idea what a PITA it is to be a reservist. You are sacrificing your family time, money etc to drill. In a lot of ways it is harder than being on AD. You have all the requirements, and none of the support...in addition to having a full time job. So don't be all high and might about "serving your country"
I've been a drilling reservist for 11 years now and by no means has my reserve time been anywhere as time consuming or as challenging as my active duty time, unless you count the two years I spent on active duty as a reservist. It can be a challenge at times, especially with the work/life/reserve balance, but I've known plenty from all sorts of circumstances who make it work pretty well. For this that don't, they have done their part already.
As for disparaging the reserves, I haven't seen it here or in real life.