Who: DOD flunkie living in Hawaii (windward Oahu).

When: Made 1K for the first time this year. Have made 1P since 2005--I was overseas in Japan (Okinawa) then.

Where: Nothing too exciting this year. Several trips to east coast (DC/Quantico). Almost monthly trips to San Diego (Camp Pendleton/Carlsbad). A few outlying trips to Korea. Once to MKE and LGA. I've got about 125K BIS miles for 2009. Did not get any double EQM credit; I pretty much earned it all the hard way this year.

Why: I hate sitting in the office, and I need to see my "constituency" through face-to-face visits. There are better choices to places where I tend to fly (e.g., Hawaiian Air, ANA, Korean Air, Midwest) but I am getting to know some of the UA HNL-based crews and feel a sense of duty to stay true to United after the past 5 years. In addition, I have loyalty to the Star Alliance product, overall, and the lounges. For the most part, being a 1K is not a bad perk. I get on Flyer Talk for numerous reasons: (1) To see what the hell is going on; (2) Find out any trends WRT Mileage Plus and Hilton; and (3) There is always some adventure story posted that I can either relate to or say "damn, I'm glad that wasn't me."

What: I am getting ready to retire from the DOD and seek a real job in the private sector. I really don't know where travel will take me and to what extent, but I expect it to be more of the same.