Would I be a fool to get out of the military?

[jmeitrem]

I feel like I just need to vent a little, but this is a serious question of mine. This month I enter the home stretch of my 4 year enlistment in the Air Force. With 6 months to go I am scrambling each day trying to determine my options, and tossing and turning each night weighing the pros and cons. I don't see myself doing 20 years, but with over 1/3 of Americans not in the work force I need to decide what would be best for my wife and I. Luckily we don't have any children yet, so that provides a certain amount of freedom.

On one hand:
We'd love to go back to Michigan and be closer to our families, and I'd like to finish my degree at CMU.

On the other:
I love the gauranteed paycheck and the free health coverage.

It's not that I dislike my job, I'm just not a big fan of the military lifestyle. Also, I'm seeing retraining applications being canceled left and right so if I stay in I'd likely be stuck here.

I thought about Palace Fronting to Air Guard to get the best of both worlds, but that depends on if there is a job opening in Battle Creek, MI that I wouldn't mind doing. Right now there is a Finance job open that I would love! But...who knows if that will be an option in 6 months.

So the question remains: Would I be a fool to give up a guaranteed paycheck to try my chances on the outside?

Luckily my job allows a certain amount of downtime for studying, and CLEPs/DSSTs are my escape from the difficult decisions that lie ahead...