Landfill

If there was, I totally got screwed. But to answer your question, no, there is not a signing bonus.

From an inside perspective it looks the opposite OP. We have a steady trickle in of new guys from the pipeline but I havnt seen any new guys crossing from a manned aircraft in over a year. There is a lot of talk about down sizing after we leave Afghanistan. Of course most of that is RUMINT, but i doubt there is still that much of a gap. RPAs are going to stay for sure, but like most everyone else pointed out, this aircraft cant really do anything until air superiority is achieved and we move into an occupation role. I fully expect myself to be watching Somali pirates in boats for hours on end once we leave OEF.

Those numbers you listed above are definitely innacurate. The cost is much higher.

Cant speak for the Beta guys I signed a 6 years ADSC that starts after our 18x undergrad.

Keydet, where are you stationed right now?

We all signed up to be Air Force Officers so quit bitching and do your job.

Im here at Holloman as a B course student as well for the 9's. Your timeline is about right. Just know that even though you will be at Randolph before IFS and during RIQ and RFC, there may be waiting time before you start each portion. I arrived at Randolph in September of '11 and didnt go to IFS until Jan '12. Then had waiting time after RFC and now Im at Holloman. And yes you can get 9's right out of randolph, thats what I am doing right now.

I have the same codes on different days, the 2 month one is IFS. The short one my cadre werent totally sure but from last years RPA guys they said it might be a medical day or something like that. By the way, dont rule out ASBC yet, there are a lot of people going to ASBC this year especially RPA guys.

EAD dates: 12 June - DOC 30 Sept - EAD now I gotta go find a job and maybe get some hours under my belt

Well I finally got done with my flight physical. Had to go back 3 times because they kept "forgetting" to do parts of the physical, apparently because it is a little bit different than regular flight physicals. I just cant understand why they dont just have a little checklist that says what tests need to be done. Anyways thats over with, passed the eye tests despite my depth perception. I can answer any questions about that if anyone has any, my depth sucks really bad because of my astigmatism. So has anyone heard any updates on when or where training will be? I had a few friends go through who commissioned last year and tons of them got washed out at IFS because apparently the RPA version is way longer/harder? Is there a master list of all the bases that will host RPAs? Last I heard it was Creech, Holloman, and possibly Whiteman. Just curious if anyone has any new info.

Ladies, ladies, chill... This is a forum where varied opinions are welcome and hopefully our combined knowledge can lead to a better understanding of whatever subject we are discussing. No need to start attacking anyone personally. Some people like RPA's, others dont like them but acknowledge there usefulness, and others flat out think they should all be scrapped. Post your opinion, discuss it, list your reasoning and sources, then drop it.

Got RPA as well, Cadre told me right before Christmas as a "holiday present". I would love to have flown real aircraft but this is a great route for those of us who are not medically qualified. For me its the night vision/depth perception. Really excited to get into this career field. I was going to be cyber warfare which was also cool, but now Im stoked. Stats: GPA: 3.6 AFOQT: Pilot 79 Nav 77 PCSM: 87 PFA:86 Hours: 0

Well there is no official class rank rule to scholarships but think of it this way... If someone else with the same GPA and PFA scores is competing for the scholarship against you and the cadre think he/she is a better cadet (ie. class ranking) then they will get the scholarship.