Destination: Navy Reserve.

“I still wanted the challenge, excitement and fulfillment that serving my country and flying jets in the Navy gave me, so within two weeks of transitioning from Active Duty, I was in the Navy Reserve.” Jeff lists his growing family as the main motivator for making this move. “After 11 years Active and three cruises within six years, it was just time to settle down in one place,” he says.

In the Navy, Jeff served as a Lieutenant and an F/A-18 pilot. In the Navy Reserve, Jeff serves double-duty as an F/A-18 pilot and his squadron’s Public Affairs Officer. He has also been subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Commander.

Jeff admits that he didn’t know exactly what to expect in the Navy Reserve. “I think that my impression of the Reserve, especially early in my Navy career, was just ‘weekend warriors’ — that they didn’t do that much. But I have since learned that I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Jeff recalls a recent Navy Reserve assignment to illustrate his point. “I was made OIC (Officer In Charge) for a particular detachment of our squadron not too long ago, and I found that to be extremely rewarding. As OIC, I was pretty much responsible for everything the detachment was doing for that two-week period. I planned everything myself. I made sure all the pilots knew what their objectives were. I coordinated the airspace. And I scheduled all the target ranges and the low-level routes. I found all the responsibility and autonomy that I had to be very gratifying and not something I would have experienced if I was still on Active Duty.”

According to Jeff, the unique setup and structure of the Navy Reserve has afforded him many unexpected perks. Take flying, for example. Jeff says that he spends more time in the air now than he ever did when he was on Active Duty. This is because, upon transitioning from Active Duty (thanks, in large part, to his military background), Jeff was able to secure a highly sought-after captain’s position flying for a major transportation services company. And in the Reserve, because of their limited service time, Reservists receive priority over their Active Duty counterparts when it comes to flying time.

“Another surprising aspect about the Navy Reserve is the level of camaraderie I enjoy,” says Jeff. “Everyone hears about all the great bonds and friendships you make in the Navy, and it’s true, you do. But, in my time with the Navy Reserve, I’ve found the camaraderie that exists in our squadron is much greater than I ever experienced when I was Active.”

Again, this has to do with the unique makeup of the Navy Reserve. “In the Navy Reserve, people tend to stay together more,” Jeff explains. “So, even though we’re not together all the time, when we are together, it’s as a cohesive group. On the Active side, it seems people are moving in and out faster and not staying together as long.”

When Jeff is not spending time with his squadron, he enjoys spending it with his wife Laurie and their two kids, Brittany, 15, and Ashton, 7. In his spare time, Jeff says he likes to workout and take his family on minivacations, preferably to the beach.

Jeff lives on the West Coast.