Leaderboard

Shacked it. Let us also not forget that some people are against Trump’s ideas because they are fueled by their desire for him to fail. Look at Black Caucasus members like Lewis and Sheila Jackson Lee, they flat out admitted they didn’t vote for Trump’s criminal justice reform because they didn’t want him to succeed, even though the left has been asking for this for decades.

Guard. Because I wouldn't want to be relocated around the world on a whim working the long hours of indentured servitude during the slow motion collapse of a failing bureaucratic nightmare for 12 years without the ability to also pursue a career that doesn't devalue your intelligence, skills, and self-worth.

While your O6 probably values you (getting strats on 1ABZ is hard enough), he has come to the realization that the AF is not going to promote you. Now he Hs to ply the game and use you as a denominator r for the next batch of O4s getting towards promotion. Unless you want it, give someone else your leadership spot and do something you love. You can also mentor them and aid in their duties, while not having to be THE GUY... assuming you enjoy that mission. You will likely be selectively continued to 24 years. As long as you and your bosses have the expectations set, this could be enjoyable to some extent. I’m not saying to go to your boss and say, “I don’t GAS”... but say that you want others to have the leadership opportunities to benefit their career and you be more of a support role.

Saw that. Since we don't have to rebuild the wall every year, monthly changes in border crossing won't be an issue. But this has nothing to do with efficacy or numbers. You're not stupid, you know a wall would work, just like you know a whole slew of solutions would work. You don't want illegal immigration curbed, plain and simple. It's not like it makes you unique. Best as I can tell from actual conversations with liberal friends (not internet), it's a largely unfocused sense of empathy and Western guilt that fuels the response we see today. "I don't know what I'm for, I just know I'm not for that [the wall, deportations, eVerify, national guard on the border, etc]." Ultimately I blame conservatives. They've allowed an alternate history to propagate that paints the triumphs of the post-enlightenment West as solely the result of exploiting other cultures and societies. Howard Zimm has the most egregious example of this in his book. Until conservatives can unify and explain how capitalism, cultural assimilation, individualism, free speech, the second amendment, low minimum wages, blah blah blah, actually benefit the very people that liberals seek to protect, there will be no progress.

Guard x 1000

I got mine back today. This is my 2APZ and my leadership has officially given up on me. Got a P with a “Def Promote”, SQ/CC and SDE push and no strats. My 1APZ had a Group strat as a header and 2 Wing strats in the push line. My 2APZ (written by the same organization and O-6 as last year) has no strats at all. This is my second year in a boarded position and I was told my performance hadn’t dropped at all and I was doing better than my first year. However, people with better records joined the Group in the last 7 months and they got strated above me, so I lost all of my strats. I asked if my leadership understood how this would make my OPR look and the message it would send to my next rater and they said yes, they understood and it is what it is. When I asked how I was supposed to improve my record if my current year work performance counted for so little all I git was a shrug. At the end of the day I know I will never get promoted and I have already accepted continuation. Unfortunately, I am struggling to GAS about the work I am currently doing and I know it is likely that the next job I go to will have even less of an operational impact. But, as a senior leader told me after a discussion about my PRF, at least I don’t have to worry about following a specific track to success, because I can do whatever I want!

How it should be... If the boss wants a guy to be a CC then offer an in res. Min running an online course just to get a promotion/show you care/being a company man clearly falls under “what’s wrong with the AF”

Dude. It doesn’t matter. The only reason to go to that is if you want to. Don’t do something that you don’t really want to at this stage in your life. If you want what it brings then try to go in res. If you don’t want it or don’t care then it’s gut check time. You have to start thinking about what you want to do and if you are ok separating or retiring as a major. If you are then why all of the stress over something you don’t even want?

Reducing illegal immigration by 33% would be a pretty massive improvement.

I can't do a decent job explaining it but i'll try. First let me say I have an inclination toward cynicism. Be it innate or just bitterness over organizational failures I've seen in the AF. My bullshit detector for insincere platitudes and pep-talks is always on high gain. I also know that the SWA culture is often derided as a "cultish" by outsiders. It kinda is, but I'm buying it. It all goes back to Herb. He knew most everyone's names, he hugged and even kissed all his employees, dudes included. Yeah I know, sounds gay. He drank, smoked, and threw wild parties. He was serious about cutting through the B.S. and making airplanes fly. His philosophy was "Take care of the employees first, and the customers will come." Herb is gone and SWA is a big airline now with big airline problems. Many aspects of the old SWA culture has dwindled, but a lot of it still exists. I won't go into everything, but there's books written on it and it's Fortune magazine's 11th most admired company in the world, behind #10 FedEx, and I can see why. Here's just a few things. When I walk in the pilot lounge to check in for my trip, I get a hug from the ladies in the base coordinator office. If the Chief or Asst. is walking thru, he'll stop, handshake, crack a joke and visit. I often get hats, pins, cards, and other things in the mail for no good reason. All the company communications emphasize real positives. FAs often bring snacks, we often buy ops agents and gate agents coffee, new Captain upgrades typically serve hot dog lunches in the lounge one day. SWA throws big parties several times a year. The header of every paycheck says "Deposits made possible by your Southwest Customers." Maybe all this exists at other airlines too, I don't know. I just know I like where I'm at and I'm over 10 years in. I could just show up and get a paycheck for flying airplanes, and there are many pilots who do, but it's a heck of a lot more fun if there's an over-arching atmosphere of fun and positivity. And it doesn't feel fake when the company has the numbers to prove it's success. I know that all sounds touchy-feely and it probably doesn't count for much when most people just want to get paid big bucks as quick as possible for working as little as possible. But once you've experienced it, it counts for something.

Ah, so terrorists and leftists agree on the importance of walls. Interesting. And if illegal crossers have the training and resources of DEVGRU, then I guess we better just give up now.

T-7A Retainer