guineapigfury

Bitcoin.

I started at almost 28. I was in pretty good shape and that helped. UPT will wear you down physically due to the long hours. It's harder to recover as you get older, so show up as fit as you can manage and then do your best to maintain.

I got the J&J vaccine in March as well. I felt fine the day of the shot, then crappy the next two days. I'd describe it as like a normal flu shot, but twice as bad.

I can't speak for retirements, but when I separated after being twice passed over for Major, I was able to separate in one month. The local MPF said that was the minimum, but didn't provide any source document. That worked for me, so I didn't ask any follow-up questions. If you're separating via declining continuation, this counts as an involuntary separation (just without the extra pay), so your separation is processed via a different route. The approval authority for voluntary officer separations is the SECAF, for involuntary officer separations it's some random Staff Sergeant at AFPC. If you're trying to get out fast and you're told to apply for separation via Virtual MPF, you're heading down the wrong road. That's what happened to me and it delayed my approval for separation. I had TAPS and my separation physical complete beforehand, the rest of outprocessing the Air Force took about a day and a half other than my final out. Total time from being approved for separation to finishing my final out was approximately 69 hours. The only drawback to my fast outprocessing was I left the base without a copy of my medical records, which they mailed to me a couple of weeks later on a CD.

I will second the recommendation for Google Fi. It's pricey, but works everywhere I've been internationally.

Continuation will be offered or not offered following you getting passed over the second time. When you hold that continuation letter, you are now in possession of a Get Out Of Jail Free card. You are 100% free to decline continuation. I had two+ years left on UPT ADSC and it wasn't a factor. I also had some ADSC for transferring some of my GI Bill to my now exwife and that wasn't a factor either. If someone is telling you that you are "required to accept continuation" they don't know what they are talking about. Please see the two files below for what I got in 2016. Continuation Fact Sheet.pdf

When I was passed over for Major, I got my continuation offer letter from the CC the day after being notified. When he told me the day before the official release of the list, he already knew I'd be offered continuation but the paper work lagged a bit. YMMV.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Office Space is the most accurate film about the Air Force ever made.

If I had the money prior to joining the Air Force (I didn't), I would have spent it on getting an instrument rating. Much of what you're going to do in UPT is completely different from what you'd do in civilian flying. What doesn't change ... an ILS approach is an ILS approach. Knowing the concepts before starting UPT would be a big help IMO. We had a guy who was a CFII and he cruised right through the instrument phase (and everything else). I cannot even comprehend showing up to UPT with literally no flight time. Just my two cents as a guy who showed up to UPT with a PPL.

I flew MQ-9s and killed people. I saw an entire spectrum of reactions. Some people handle it without issue, some people break down crying in the debrief, some people go home and drink too much, one dude passed out when it was time to shoot. You never know what you're going to get from someone until it happens. The people who approached the task of killing as just another job to excel at seemed to have the least problems. That's the approach I took and would recommend. It is not a job for the squeamish. I saw heads and limbs blown off, injured dudes flopping around trailing their guts behind them and shit like that. What the view looks like from other planes I can't tell you.

I'd recommend buying an AFOQT study guide or 2, then taking the AFOQT. It won't cost you much, and an hour of study per night for a week or two should be more than enough prep time. The practice tests in the study guides will be a great help to you.

I can't speak for the fighter or F-35 specific stuff, but if go-arounds were a bean, people would have to log them. That might diminish the reluctance of folks to go around in a borderline situation, since they'd have the face-saving option of rehacking currency.

The major party POTUS candidates have been especially bad the last two elections. I'm a third party guy, but I'd take any of the major party candidates from the previous 3 decades over Trump, Hillary or Biden.

We had a guy in my class hook all four checkrides in the T-6 and still graduate. You can do this. I struggled as well and just chairflew everything with the cockpit printout in front of me (radio calls, where I was turning, what my visual reference was, what pitch and power settings, what switches I was flipping, etc.). If you have to think in flight, you're going to struggle. Practice the basics until you can do them from muscle memory. That's what worked for me. If you're in UPT, then you're talented enough to graduate. You can do this. Don't quit.

As yet another divorced pilot chiming in on this thread: DO.NOT.GET.MARRIED. I've literally never met a man who regretted staying single.

They probably have the same name as the one poor IPZ person with a DP who didn't get promoted. Luck is a skill.

I know someone who got one of those (n+1)/n strats. He earned it.

I think they "randomly" select people who can waste a couple hours without affecting the flying schedule. I remember being on casual status prior to UPT and having to go pee in a cup three times in one two week period, including back to back days. Either I was just available, or someone was spreading lies about me. Same thing happened at my first base after UPT. I don't get tested for over a year, go DNIF and get tested twice in a week again.

We haven't had a draft in decades, we should save some money and skip this debate by scrapping our draft registration system.

I've been tagged to do one. I got a 10 minute powerpoint presentation and then a 15 minute discussion with the JAG. I did get some support and advice during the investigation, so that helped.

I declined continuation in 2016. I separated one month later, so there is some flexibility on DOS. If you're looking to get out fast, follow up with your MPF to make sure that they are processing you correctly as an involuntary separation. These go much faster. Voluntary separations for officers have to go to the SECAF and through associated wickets along the way. The approval authority for involuntary separations for officers is some random E-5 at AFPC.

The second I opened the email on my first deployment telling me I was going to MQ-9s I completely gave up on my career.

You'll need a current passport and an FAA class 2 medical or better. I emailed in my most recent form 8, ITS, IDS & FHR and that was pretty much it for records. Clearance requirements are going to vary. Most places, but not all, require a commercial pilot's license. I chose deployed LR because I was current and qualed in the MQ-9 and hadn't flown a manned aircraft in years. Plus this pays better. Most companies ask for 3-4 month deployments, and there are often opportunities to extend or quick turn. There's a lot of turnover. While deployed, I work a normal 9ish hour shift with a reasonable amount of downtime between flights. 7 days a week sucks, but you get used to it.

I'm a single late 30s dude with no kids, debt or pension. My retirement number is 2 mil with a house paid off. That should generate 80-100k per year, which is plenty.