Most commercial pilots are hired from flight schools. Officers have a 5 year commission, minimum. More than likely flight officers are in for 10-15 years becaus

Most commercial pilots are hired from flight schools. Officers have a 5 year commission, minimum. More than likely flight officers are in for 10-15 years because no way is the AF, Army, Marines, or Navy investing millions in training and not getting their moneys worth. And you can't simply quit the military for a better job. Commissions are in 3-5 year blocks (your re-up occurs during a recession? you're probably staying) and they can stop-loss you, or reactivate you, at anytime. Simply put, there are not enough flight officers discharging to meet civilian demand. They aren't getting $21K offers either. FAA changed the rules so that 1500hrs are required to be copilot. So new pilots are really glorified interns. Edit: Also, military flight training is highly competitive. You can get a commission and never log a single flight. Your career is at the behest of the military's needs. If they have a shortage of supply depot officers guess where you're headed.