three_bags_full said:
The more I think about it, Gold, the more I disagree with your initial post.
It doesn't matter who's employed where, how old he/she is.
Take this scenario, for example:
You're an SE at a small paper and one of your reporters tells you he's interviewing with some large metro.
Do you chuckle while he's in the room?
I don't think so.
No, that would be wrong to chuckle if you said you were interested in joining the armed forces. And I didn't mean to say anything to upset you; I wanted to make the point that revenge is a wasted sentiment.
If you told me, I would probably be a double take and ask if you were sure. I might try to talk you out of it - the military is different because you would be in the line of fire and you could get killed. That's why I say the military is different. Also, professionally, the people in the military are supposed to follow authority (I know it's not that simple and it has to be legitimate orders) and journalists are supposed to question authority (that's not that simple either, as too often there is blind acceptance of authority statements).
I think if somebody told a supervisor they were going to become a Catholic priest, I think the reaction would be "Oh, they won't stick with it." It would be hard to imagine somebody willing to go on another path, especially one with less of a prospect for earning better money.
I mean, there are people who don't like police officers and might attack them, but most people support and respect police officers. With the military, part of the object is that the goal is to kill each other. I know people fight in war to protect freedom, their homeland, etc. But it doesn't mean people don't worry about people they know. You sound committed to being an Army aviator judging from the posts, and I wish you good luck and safe journeys.
My father is a World War II navy veteran and when a military recruiter contacted my brother, my father told the recruiter not to call and told my brother never believe anything a recruiter said. That is not an unreasonable thing to say.
As for telling somebody you are applying at another paper, I say never to do that because it is never in your interest to tell your supervisor you want to get a better job. I've said that on other threads.