Leaderboard

Unfortunately many of us don't realize this stuff until we're well into our career. The system will drop you faster than you can say integrity first. So much of the daily bullshit is completely unneeded. Honestly, how much time do you suppose the average officer blew formatting, or redoing, OPRs because white space is a mortal sin. How much of that data was inflated bullshit? How many TDY's/deployments were unneeded? How many jobs have you guys done in the AOR, that could have been done at home, or not done at all? I've know I've done a job at the deid, that could have easily been done from any SIPR terminal in the U.S (During rona, they in fact, did that same job remotely...so it clearly could be done). I had to justify why I couldn't have done a TDY via secure VTC, when I'm moving an F-16 to a depot facility. Why is that same shit not applied to jobs/deployments? Now, this isn't to say the service did do great things for me, because it truly did. I have great memories, I did some amazing flying, developed great skills, I have friends who have become family, and I'll hopefully get a decent pension/medical when I turn 60. But what young guys need to understand, is that the day your retire, you'll get your litho, maybe a medal, and nice pat on the back "thank you"...then the system will continue just fine without you.

Politicians and pundits having been calling for acquisition reform for decades. Having worked in that world I've seen only marginal changes, until yesterday. Hegeseth dropped a bomb on the system and wants to end the 8(a) contract system. If this happens it will shake up a lot of things in the "business." There is a simplified definition of 8(a) contracts below which basically states these are set aside contract for supposedly small disadvantaged businesses and tribes. What started as an effort to help groups like Indian tribes turned into a yet another way for people to make money doing nothing. Most of these contracts were awarded to companies in name only, owned by a wife with enough native American blood to qualify, a huge fee was taken then they subcontract it to another company or consulting firm. I dealt with several range management contracts that were exactly like this. I am not in favor of everything he has done but this is a good step towards reform and getting the most of the taxpayers dollars spent on defense. His full statement is below. "When President Trump appointed me as your Secretary of War, I made you a series of promises. I promised that every single one of your taxpayer dollars would go toward one thing and one thing only: building the most lethal fighting force on the planet. And I promised we would gut the corruptive, unconstitutional, non-merit-based DEI programs that have weakened our military and distracted us from our primary mission. And I promised we would hunt down the waste, the fraud, and the abuse that has run rampant in this department for decades, and to instead redirect that money to President Trump's America First priorities. Well, today we are once again taking action on these promises. We’re actually taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government, a program few people outside of Washington have ever heard of, that I hadn’t heard of. It’s called the 8(a) program. Now, if you're like me, you're asking yourself what is an 8(a)? It’s a great question. 8(a) refers to the Small Business Administration’s program to assist "small disadvantaged businesses owned by a socially disadvantaged individual or tribe." Providing these small businesses with opportunities is a laudable goal. But over the decades, as it happens, the 8(a) program has morphed into swamp code words for DEI race-based contracting. And here’s the worst part: in many, many instances, these socially disadvantaged businesses, they don't even do work. They take a 10%, 20%, sometimes 50% fee off the top and then pass the contract off to a giant consulting firm, commonly known as "Beltway Bandits." For decades, this program—8(a)—has been a breeding ground for fraud. And this administration is finally doing something about it. The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, recently exposed half a billion dollars in 8(a) fraud. Treasury, led by Secretary Bessent, found another quarter billion, and their investigation is just beginning. Treasury, Justice, and the Small Business Administration under Administrator Loeffler are all actively investigating their 8(a) contracts right now. Now, in the Pentagon, $100 million sole-source contracts go out the door to these 8(a) firms almost every day. One hundred million dollar sole-source contracts go out our door to these 8(a) firms almost every day without any competition or opportunity for anyone else to bid. The Department of War is required by law to do almost a hundred billion dollars’ worth of contracts per year with small businesses, including 8(a) firms. Seems 8(a) is quite important. But we're not required to pay enormous brokerage fees only to have these firms pass those contracts along to giant consulting companies, and we won't. We're not doing this anymore. So effective immediately, I’m ordering a line-by-line review of every small-business sole-source 8(a) contract that is over $20 million. And we’ll look at everything smaller than that too. The Department of War has the biggest chunk of 8(a) spending by far, ten times more than any other agency. So our cleanup, it’s going to be ten times tougher. It’s a two-stage mission. First, if a contract doesn’t make us more lethal, it’s gone. We have no room in our budget for wasteful DEI contracts that don’t help us win wars, period, full stop. Second, we’re doing away with these pass-through schemes. We’ll make sure that every small business getting a contract is the one actually doing the work, and not just some shell company funneling your money to a giant consulting firm. This approach is of course not meant to hurt small businesses, and that's not the point. America’s full of great, amazing small businesses. This is part of a larger effort to transform our acquisition ecosystem into one that makes sense for the threats we face in the 21st century. I gave a long speech about this back in November. Our goal is to spend your money to build our defense industrial base with businesses, large and small, that share our mission, not to line the pockets of Beltway fraudsters or to advance the agenda of DEI apologists. Only lethality, and we’re going to look at every single contract."

They should give Socialism a shot

Case in point, I went TDY to my first ops squadron a little over 4 years after I left it. Other than a nametag on the wall in the bar, there was zero visible evidence I was ever there. And honestly, while slightly humbling, that's the way it should be. Even as a commander, if you are truly irreplaceable, then you've failed.

Scott Adams has died. In honor, here's my favorite of his art.

Cruel and unusual

Genius

Looks like a war crime to me

If you think your unit (or larger organization) is fucked without you, you have been misled. Everyone is a replaceable cog, including every single black border pipe hitter. Take pride in the good things you accomplish in your career, work hard at what matters, but don’t think for a second you’re the lynch pin that holds the whole thing together - you’re not. Operate with that mentality and you’ll be much less stressed and happier.

Winning! Man caught on camera throwing dozens of poop bags on Bell LGBTQ center roof: ‘He knows who we are’ On Wednesday, workers at an LGBTQ center in Southeast Los Angeles removed 125 bags of dog poop from their awning. It’s happening at Mi SELA on Florence Avenue in the city of Bell. Eddie Martinez, executive director at the center, told KNX News’ Emily Valdez that security video shows that every morning, a man walks his dog in front of the center and throws a bag of dog poop onto the awning. “He knows who we are,” he said. “He looks at the cameras.” He said that because littering is not a crime, the police can’t arrest the guy... (full story at title link)

Personally I think the pain is coming in 24-48 hours.

Those traveling to wright patt today, just want to say good luck and pray all goes well tomorrow! Also, the AF Museum is amazing! There’s a KC10 there that I flew on around the world as a flight engineer…say hi to it for me please!

Uh... Those were the distraction. Not the goal.

Just want to let y'all know, one of my buddies received a RIP today with a RNLTD of 31 Aug to Laughlin and training starting in Oct. He may have gotten a RIP because of a humanitarian thing he's going through but just wanted to give y'all something to look forward to....look for those RIPs soon. I asked where did his RIP come from and he said his front office and probably because of the humanitarian thing.

That was amazing. Adding that to my movies review channels (pitch meetings, honest movie trailers, and the critical drinker).

And at the same time, they wonder half the country isn't listening to them since they're the "experts". Zero humility, zero accountability when they're wrong. And in the last 6 years they don't even seem capable of admitting that they were wrong, instead they double down on what is clearly stupidity. There was a point that doctors thought smoking was just fine. They admitted they were wrong and fixed it. If that were today, you'd have those same doctors recommending to smoke 3 packs a day.

Naw man, I think those dudes got sick of opposing view points and retreated to their safe spaces. Or they created burner accounts because they identify as being pussies.

I’d say it’s normal across the community. I wouldn’t classify it as whining per se, but more like the following when describing the majority of SEALs: Arrogant Self-centered Douche bag As always, I like to note there are great dudes out there in/from NSW, but they are the minority and not the average. Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s hard, to determine how an individual actually is from just listening to podcasts. You have to interact with them in person, or talk to trusted individuals who have interacted with them in person, to get a feel for the real person.

I reached out to the board because I’m in a unit that deploys frequently and exercises even more frequently. Some of our Squadron’s leadership team is deploying in a few months and I’d be next in line to cover for them while they’re gone, but if I’m leaving at the same time as them then they need to start prepping someone else for that role. Sometimes it isn’t about impatience, but at this point my unit is being asked by MAJCOM for info and answers about what personnel we have available for XYZ. I’m not saying they need to tell us our specific assignments, but they did originally say we could get assignments as early as Jan 2026, then didn’t send out RIPs for MFSs until Jan 2026, which means none of us are likely to move in Jan. They said RIPs would come out 30-60 days after selection notification. That hasn’t happened either. They said to reach out if you hadn’t received an assignment by 1 Mar, but didn’t specify when they expected people to actually begin PCSing. Will people get an assignment notification on 28 Feb and be expected to PCS mid-March to start training in April? These are valid questions and I’m happy for the people who have the flexibility to not worry too much about timelines, but that info is extremely valuable for some people and not only for them personally, but also for their existing unit that is critically manned and being tasked left and right.

Gonna keep it real guys, unless you need to get exempted from the VML (which can probably be done through your current AFSC OAT), your career field wants you to PCS/A, or have a family emergency, it's probably not appropriate to email the UFT board. I get being frustrated about the 30-60 day window for RIPs closing but their email is explicit in that they ask if you do not get assignment info by 1 Mar 26 to then contact the org box. Asking for an update because we're at 60+ days is jumping the gun. The shutdown definitely didn't help organizing training dates for us and the other >930 rated accessions. Not saying it's morally right or fair, but honestly, part of the job is giving up some capacity to plan for the future to AFPC. I've never met a retiree who said they had perfect communication and heads-up for every transition in their career.

Eventually you realize that the entire organizational pressure to sacrifice is driven by nothing more than the unquenchable need for promotion and power of those working their way up towards the top. It's been a long fucking time since anything we were doing in the military actually mattered from the perspective of defending the Homeland. Sure, small operations here and there, but nothing that justifies the institutional insanity that everyone experienced while they were in. It's just a bunch of losers who desperately want to be generals. Even the "good dudes." Your personal and family life was meaningless to them because they didn't even care about their own. Flag officers. I still think there were some (rare) good O-6s.

There's also a lot of state-induced (and insurance-company induced) "You're not allowed to say that or recommend that because it's off script" imposed on the medical field. Not that I think that's its biggest problem, but it's certainly there.

Irony.

This 1000%. The biggest downside is that I'm now annoyed when I shoot guns that aren't threaded. Especially now being $200 cheaper, you can get an ok silencer for $500 and a good one for $1K. Your only regret is going to be that you didn't buy one earlier.

I’m not really sold on the software even being improved. I’ve met too many doctors who obviously can crush academics, but in the real world are pretty retarded and lack critical thought/ability to adapt off script. The medical community is right up there with big pharma in my book of “people I don’t trust.”

Sounds like me when the bride and I are watching TV. Drives her nuts.

yep, doing the same here!! By the way, not only does the license plate frequently change, the right rear brake light does the same!!

Yeah, the livery could be better. Dark grey like the A350 concept would work better with standard type for the US AIR FORCE or alternatively a MATS heritage livery…

That “Dr” went full waltz, you never go full waltz. the medical community is a laughing stock at this point.

I've wanted a suppressor for a while but just can't And for reasons that defy my meager intellectual abilities the DOJ keeps defending the NFA in court.

This beatdown was Freaking EPIC!

How about there’s a $4709 tax you have to pay to vote. Same thing Chris, you dipshit.

the Medicare fraud in MN which is a percentage of our GDP pisses me off

I'm rather surprised its that low. He's been in Congress a while (2019), so if he was really doing inside trading and Peolsi/Biden type stuff, I'd expect his net worth to be well north of $10M by now. Most guys can/should retire from the military with a net worth in the $1-3M range with zero outside help. Max out your and your wife's Roth IRA every year and put another 6-9% in the TSP and you have a good chance at just those three accounts putting you in that range at retirement, let alone years down the road. Obviously divorce or similar major life setbacks can crush that plan quickly.

Mike Durant's interview with Shawn Riley is awesome. I agree with @Lord Ratner about Shawn being whiny. I also find him quite shallow and repetitive in his opinions. Nevertheless, Durant comes of well informed, intelligent, and humble. He also talks about his time running for senator in Alabama. He at least appears to have taken his losses in stride and admits that it worked out best for him in the end, but politics is a dirty, expensive, soul-sucking game.

Dan just did a big long podcast with Andy Stumpf covering the recent controversy. The short version is that his "insider trading" is measured in the low tens of thousands and had no inside element to it. Shawn Ryan is a bit of a whiny bitch for a Navy SEAL. Or maybe not, if that's normal for them. But Crenshaw goes over that too and what Ryan was calling a threat was pretty clearly not. I'm hard-pressed to find someone in Congress I like more than Dan Crenshaw. You don't often find someone with the experience he has, electability, and the willingness to subject himself to many recorded long-form discussions about detailed policy issues. I think the bigger issue is that we are just at a phase where the population expects something that is not possible from politicians.

He's been in office long enough now for people to notice that he as qualities they don't like...aka he's human and now has a spotlight on him. Some guys apparently bite off on the trope of insider trading, or that he had some big-name somebody perform for free at a party, or that he's has a less than cordial relationship with Shawn Ryan, or something stupid like that. Personally I find it completely asinine when dudes get hugely emotional about their opinions about people whom they've never met, have had no interactions with, and are completely unaffected by. I don't have a problem with the dude, whom I've never met. I listen to his podcast, apply critical thinking, and learn stuff I didn't know before. But hey, adulting is hard. P.S. My guess on the trading is pretty much every congressman just applies to the Pelosi index and prospers. But it's not insider trading as literally every word they say is written down in public record and posted almost immediately on congress.gov. Convenient for me to follow? absolutely not, but illegal? No.

The embassy shut down in 2019, with the same recommendation to US citizens at the time. If an American is still living in Venezuela, I question their intelligence and/or motive. This announcement by DoS is not earth shattering. Parallel topic - did we just remove someone who is replaced by someone who does nothing different WRT cartels, energy, etc. I don’t envy the current lady, she’s in between the cartel/regime and getting another massive American ass whooping.

Indiana -7.5. That's pretty wild for a team that was 3-9 two years ago.

And young guys should take notice. Don't sacrifice your forever family for an organization that will drop you without a second thought. Work hard at your trade. Take care of your people. But remember none of your AF leadership will attend your funeral. It's not personal, it's just business. Treat it accordingly.

Yup While I don’t agree with the premise the AF is apparently taking in a long term policy, that is to divest itself of all training aircraft save the T-7, I get why certain parts of the brain trust are advocating for that as there is only so much money, personnel, facilities, time and attention you can devote to training till while OTEing for ops. With that in mind and trying to meet the other side in the middle, both the CAF and MAF could use their ARC associated wings to build out new capabilities that still meet operational requirements but also serve as expanded training capabilities before new pilots report to their assignments. For the CAF, I’d argue for a light fight version of the T-7 with homeland defense, aggressor, training & exercise support as the raison d’etre(s). For the MAF, I’d argue for a reasonable fleet of transport category aircraft, probably replacing some older Herc and 135 tails. Adding airlift capability to the AF for regular personnel movement, light cargo, aero medical airlift, etc. Season and prepare new MAF bound pilots there before reporting to their FTU. There are costs and consequences to those ideas but you either want a strong pilot culture or not. You fly, train and focus on operating better than other Air Forces or not. You allocate the resources to build better aviators or not. I’m also not saying that those COAs are the only ways either but in a general sense an institution must have the honesty and character to change course when previous choices aren’t working as well as they thought they would. It must also think a bit creatively when resources are scarce, as Churchill said “Gentlemen, we have run out of money; now we have to think“ Think creatively, reasonably but also not timidly. The end goal is always a well trained, reasonably experienced and tested pilot graduate.

By "fixed" you mean pushed more basic training on the FTUs? We cut an entire phase out of UPT to "fix" it.

We are interviewing again. Two students start flying this week. Interested? Here's the official message that went out through AFPC: WANTED: Exceptional pilots ready to fly, fight, and win from the stratosphere wherever and whenever America needs flexible, versatile, and survivable reconnaissance and other effects on behalf of the Joint Force. Must meet, uphold, and demand uncompromising standards in an unforgiving environment, give effort worthy of the U-2’s history, and sacrifice worthy of America’s future. Flawlessly execute the U-2’s final fight, without regret. The 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB is accepting applications for a limited number of highly qualified and exceptionally motivated officers to join the selectively-manned cadre of U-2 pilots. At this time, U-2 operations are extended through FY26. Applicants must have 36 months TOS by RNLTD to be eligible to apply. Deadline to apply is 28 Feb 26. 1. PILOT APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS 1a. Minimum Flying Requirements*: • Possess at least 1200 rated hours (do not include student, civilian, or OTHER time) OR • 800 rated hours in a single-pilot type trainer aircraft such as T-6, T-34, T-37, T-38, T-45, etc OR • 500 hours in fighter type aircraft AND • At least 500 hours in fixed wing aircraft • At least 12 months or 400 hours as Pilot-in-Command (PIC), whichever is greater *** If you do not meet any of these requirements, reach out to the U-2 Recruiter and we may be able to work with you on a case-by-case basis*** 1b. Physical Requirements IAW AFI 48-123 V3: • Standing Height: 64” – 77” • Sitting Height: 34” – 40” (>38” will require cockpit fit test) • Buttocks to Knee: < 27” • IAW 1-U2RS-1 Weight: 126 – 238lbs 1c. Other Requirements: • Positive Professional Military Image/Passing PT Score • Possess a SECRET clearance • Possess or be eligible for TS/SCI clearance 1d. 9 RW/U-2S recruiting highly desires (in addition to above requirements): • MWS/AETC Instructor Pilot hours • Evaluator Pilot experience • Clean Flight Evaluation History (exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis) 2. PROCESS Act now – we’re racking and stacking applications for the next round of U-2 interviews. Before submitting an application, contact the U-2 Recruiting office at DSN 368-3010, commercial (530) 634-3010 or e-mail to U2Recruiting@us.af.mil. Prepare an application package containing the following required documents: • Letter of Recommendation from your Wing Commander or equivalent • Letter stating your PCS availability date and confirmation of assignment release by your Air Force Personnel Center functional • This is in addition to the Wing/CC letter and can be accomplished with a digitally signed e-mail from your core functional stating “You are released to apply for the U-2 Program for hire in FY 26” • Interview Package Summary of Documents • Letter: “I would like to fly the U-2 because…” (Explain why you want to fly the U-2 and why you would be an asset to this program. 1-3 paragraphs will normally suffice) • Official Photo (Torso, Color or Black and White, 5x7 or Larger) • Copies of all OPR/OPBs and any AF Form 475s (Annual performance reports and Education and Training Reports) • Individual Fitness Test Summary • 1 Page Officer SURF • Copy of AF Form 942. Highlight any Q-2 or Q-3 ratings in yellow. • Copies of all AF Form 8s to include reverse sides. Highlight all downgrades, discrepancies, re-training, failed evaluations, commendables, in yellow. • Flying History Report • MyVector/Talent Marketplace – Select 1st Choice Assignment preference Core AFSC 11R • "Anthropometric data" - Standard Form 600, or just a memo from Flight Medicine listing your: standing height, sitting height, buttocks-to-knee length Send the Application via DoD Safe: Please send documents to Maj Gray “Utah” Kaempf (gray.kaempf.1@us.af.mil), Lt Col Jeff “PESO” Monsalve (jeff.monsalve.2@us.af.mil), Vincent Lopez (vincent.lopez.8@us.af.mil). We will review your application as soon as it arrives and notify you of our decision within 2-6 weeks. If you haven’t heard something by then, please contact us. 3. SCREENING If selected for an interview you will come to Beale TDY for approximately 10-14 days. Your ability to enter the program will be assessed after Week One and after each of the three Acceptance Flights (AF). Week One: • Interviews with Squadron and Group leadership • Mission orientation • Mobile (chase car) rides • Flight physical • Egress Training • Many hours of briefing for your U-2 Sorties • U-2 full pressure suit sizing check Week Two: • AF-1 – 2.5 hour sortie consisting of flight characteristics, maneuvers, descent for an ILS and multiple patterns and landings • AF-2 – 2.5 hour sortie pattern only that consists of an instrument approach followed by normal, no-flap and simulated flame out patterns and landings • AF-3 – 2.0 hour sortie nearly identical to AF-2 however the pilot that drove the chase car on the first two sorties will fly and the pilot that flew the first two sorties will mobile. At the end of this sortie, determination will be made as to whether or not you will be offered a U-2 assignment. 4. POINTS OF CONTACT/MISCELLANEOUS POC Information: 1 RS/DOR POC: Maj Gray “UTAH” Kaempf DSN 368-3010 Commercial (530) 634-3010 U2Recruiting@us.af.mil

Heard that same thing back in 2021...