Leaderboard

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/14/airman-died-after-his-chute-opened-while-he-was-still-plane-says-new-report.html/amp "In addition to improper parachute assembly, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command said deficiencies and lapses in judgment across the community contributed to the accident. The command "prioritized operations over in-garrison training and predictable deployment scheduling, resulting in stressed units across the command and leaders accepting unnecessary risk for the sake of mission completion," according to a news release accompanying the report." W--T--F--??? I feel like that is a cop out by Slife. Was he really going to promote the next squadron commander who said he had no troops to deploy to a billet because they were tired and didn't have predictable schedules? Yeah ok mate ...

That's funny to hear. When I was in UPT 100 years ago, all the guys that didn't get 38's but wanted to be fighter pilots said "my new plan is to volunteer for the U-2 to get 38 qual'd then cross train to fighters". Even as a 2LT I thought that sounded like a lot of what-if's, maybe's and certainly a bunch of work just to get a shot at it. Maybe those guys shouldn't have gotten a 24U on their contact check in tweets. (actual numbers from a friend of mine who told me this was his plan). I've always told guys that we need good people everywhere. I truly believe that, you need to be able to trust the tanker to be on time (haha), the cargo dudes to get our crap to theater, the chopper dudes to come get your ass in bad guy land if need be, the bomber guys to put themselves through 20+ hour sorties to lay down major hate and the fighter guys to pull G's and kill stuff when we're given the chance, etc, etc, etc. Many of us didn't get what we thought we wanted; in many of those cases it turned out great anyway. One thing that has always struck me funny are the guys that put 38 training on a pedestal as if it's this huge obstacle and once you have flown the 38 for a few months that makes you a shoe-in fighter pilot. The 38 was a pain in the ass to fly when I was a 2LT but it wasn't because it was difficult, it was because I was a 2LT. It's underpowered, under-winged and old as shit but it's what we all flew so there's some commonality there. Many guys that have rushed our unit have talked about how they are "sure they can get through the 38 program now" as a Captain or Major after flying some other MDS. It must be a different optic from the T-1 trained side. (at least for some people) I dunno. My major hangup with old guys/gals learning new stuff is that we all learn better when we are young. After we're taught "the way" of our first MDS, we consider that gospel (for the most part) and anything else we think as non-standard. It's a natural way of thinking but puts you behind the curve when you have all those built-up walls to tear down. In my experience with re-trained fighter pilots; it's a tougher road than most think it will be and it's almost always the things they never thought would be hard that end up being the nail in the coffin of those that don't make it. Before everyone goes ape-$h!t, some do and become awesome fighter pilots.

RPAs have a specific mission they are very good at, loiter forever, track asshole x, kill asshole x without taking out the entire city block, in a permissive environment . Occasionally they execute other mission sets like CSAR, CAS, etc, and the community has evolved so much in 10 years with new TTPs and toys it generally goes well. Couple major issues with RPAs for this mission. They can’t land anywhere. You need a GCS, and some solutions are out there for quick site set up, but what happens when FARP site A gets rained out at the last minute and you have to flex to B. Man power ain’t there to support having alternates, and tearing down and putting up the infrastructure is a couple day project. Comms. If you flown in the stack with a RPA you appreciate why you don’t want them to be TAC-A. Their radios suck, a lot of lag, only 1 or 2. Most of this is limited by current SATCOM limitations. Lost link. Happens more frequently than most probably know, Do you really want your light attack aircraft getting a 9 line for CAS and then loose satcom link rendering it useless? I’ve spent a assignment in RPAs. The are a great tool, lethal as Fuck when employed correctly, I really don’t think they are a great answer for light attack, at least where we are with current technology. Get a king air or light turbo type aircraft, strap some cameras, as many PGMs as you can hold and some data links and call it day.

Had to have lost the lottery during the last Bagrapalooza. I'm sure he earned it, but PA certainly didn't help tell the story and likely is setting him up for a ton of online hate.

I don't have numbers to back it up, but just by my experience we have a record low 90 day lookback overall for fighters combined with a record low total experience. That in and of itself is something to be very concerned about. Even the first assignment guy who deployed twice and may have 800 hours, how many sorties does that equal for him when half that time was spent in a in a CAP or a wheel? Deployed experience is good for a pilot, but one deployed 6 hr sortie doesn't always replace the 4 sorties the same hours would represent, especially if that sortie was 6 hours of turning while doing very little. Then take the average first assignment dude who probably has less than 200 hours (or the brand new guy who just showed up from the B-course with all of 69 hours) and fly him at half the RAP rate for a couple months due to this near standdown for COVID while many of the experienced IPs have jumped ship and you have a recipe for disaster.

That's not due to healthcare costs, its due to personal choice. I'll be for universal healthcare when everyone has to take a fitness test and do a body comp test.

I like Glenfarclas FYI.

It's referring to the "Air Force regulation" which tells me that's a copypaste from previous years probably. Plus I know for a fact that Vermont used to do age waivers (and even advertised it) so I'd say go for it for sure.

2. Another avenue of thought, if this doesn’t work out, in 30 years, do you think you’d always wonder “what if,” if you don’t send in a packet? Remove all doubt and apply. The worst thing that happens is you get told “no,” but then at least you know for sure and you didn’t leave your potential future up to an assumption.

All good stuff, but the former Wg/CC also made some questionable civilian hiring decisions. Huggy, care to comment?

@goodflightcowboy @Metalhead731 @mp5g @admdelta @Wagyu I appreciate all of you a lot, and I will definitely be following your advice. In short, I think I was just over-thinking this, and I appreciate the course-correction from y'all. Thanks again, and all the best to each of you!

I agree! Like Mover said; make them tell you no!

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky - Michael Scott

Absolutely man, always get your application in front of a unit you would want to join, even if you think you're a long shot. I don't know much about the age waiver process, but I was applying to boards 12 months before I graduated college. Odds are, you don't get an interview, but if you do you'll be happy you applied. That's my 0.02 anyway.

So, you're saying that it might be a little too early to blame UPT 2.5 for this?

This is great. Woketards showing their biases when they harass and mistake a man of asian descent who is on their same leftist team: https://www.redstate.com/bonchie/2020/07/15/watch-portland-antifa-accost-asian-man-but-its-not-the-one-they-think/ Fuck your "revolution" you pampered whining self-entitled stupid emotionally malformed little shits.

Since when did O-4 AD retirement become such an indignity? Don't answer that, I'm being rhetorical (as a career reservist enroute to one 😄). #winning #atleastihavechicken

Nah, just need another SII and safety video.

That about describes the mental status of most WSOs, physically present in the airframe or not, so it’s been demonstrated at multiple RF vuls. Shots fired!

I called them up today, it sounds like they're going through packages right now and might send out interview notifications next week. Good to see someone else applying in Sioux Falls!

The 83 ERQS are only PJs now. They ride on Army CH-47s.

Sooch (former U-2 squadron commander) flies again: https://www.space.com/virigin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-2nd-glide-flight-spaceport-america.html

It’s cause AFSOC/acc/Air Force doesn’t really want it. AFSOC blows their load on gunships. ACC is fighter mafia. And the Air Force is incompetent. Look at the history and and origin of the U-28. It wasn’t any Air Force types pushing that rope. And look how AFSOC/Air Force treat that platform. There’s your answer for light attack. Itll continue to be the red-headed step child

https://www.dm.af.mil/Media/Article-View/Article/2273690/ecg-airman-receives-purple-heart/