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SocialD

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SocialD last won the day on January 31

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  1. Agree with Brabus, always a tough spot to be in. Circa 2013, my squadron had 10 or 11 refugees (nearly 1/3rd of the squadron) from 5 different squadrons being shut down. Off the top of my head, I think they shut down about 13ish fighter squadrons back then (or converted them). Lots of guys looking for new homes and a few of my buddies ended up just converting to non-fighter airframes due to a lack of will of moving or there just being no jobs/TX to be had. These young bucks need to cast a wide net if they want to have a good shot of finding a home in a fighter squadron. Off the top of my head, Atlantic City, New Orleans and Homestead appear to always be hiring. As Brabus said, TX spots might be the LIMFAC. If I were a young guy and I didn't have time for the Legacies, I'd grab a regional gig. Pay is damn nice right now, you'll stay flying and have non-rev bennies to jump around to all the bases easily. Hopefully, you'll get picked up at a Legacy and then can drop MLOA to convert to your next airframe. Or, just be thankful for the time you had in the jet, get to a legacy and enjoy making damn good money with lots of time off. It will never compare to a good, tight-knit fighter squadron, but you'll certainly not sacrifice as much. ...my 25 year old self would tell me to fuck off with that statement lol!
  2. No retiree hat, but I was wearing a sand colored waffle shirt lol.
  3. Lol this got me wondering so I checked out their pay. Unfortunately, the $100k bonus is for pilots with >950 hours 121 time. But for the current pay rates are pretty awesome. Orders dried up for a short time in 2012, so I went to Compass Airlines (no defunct) and started at $28/hr. Envoy newhires now start at $93/hr! My newhire pay at AAL was $52/hr and $91/hr at DAL. FYSA, I adjusted all these number for current day inflation. These kids are finishing college and walking straight into $100k/yr jobs...nuts. I wouldn't shy away from going to a places like envoy if you finished your career with no currency, or the legacies are not calling quite yet. With the slowdown in hiring, it's bound to happen to some. It's good money and you likely won't be there long. Apply everywhere, but if the legacies haven't called, I wouldn't hesitate to take a regional gig. I had a good time flying at my regional. I'd just recommend going to one where you don't have to commute. As someone who has recently retired, I can say you won't miss all the bullshit captainmorgan mention. I live under the pattern for my squadron and can watch SFO's from my back patio. I love to watch them, but I sure don't miss it, because I know all the stress/BS/sacrifice that goes along with that flying. They were night flying last night and when I heard the first burner light for takeoff, I raised my whiskey from my campfire in my backyard, while I was "working" (long call) at DAL...go get'em boys!
  4. Must not be that hungry if you're worried about it not being Halal.
  5. Damn, the incompetence of Boeing strikes again. Here's hoping its just temporary while Boeing unfucks themselves. The max delay is having a small impact on the hiring at DAL as well, although so is the 220/321NEO engine issues. This all probably just means that those of us on the 717 and maybe the 75/76 guys will get to stay in their fleets just a little bit longer. Already hearing the 76 retirement is being pushed back a few more years while all these aircraft issues get worked.
  6. Just verified with a buddy, they're still not getting paid correctly for flight pay without a follow up payment. Every paycard submitted gets one check with the old flight pay rate, then a second check follow to bring it up to the current rate. So maddening that this can't be figured out. Only impact DSGs...of course!
  7. SS is whole other level of fuckery. I full expect that I won't receive SS in anything close to it's current form, or even at all. I'm not even factoring it into my retirement planning. If I get it, then sweet, more 100LL cash...if we're still allowed to use 100LL in 25 years.
  8. It's like when our FSS NCOIC came to brief squadron leadership on the new OPR system (already ram dumped the name). She made it a few slides in and said, we really don't know what's going on because this system is terrible and noone seems to be able to answer our questions. OG just laughed and thanked her for her honestly. We backburned it and continued to process OPR's like we always had via e-mail, while the AF unfucked it. Then I retired...thankfully. Lol called it. When that passed that, I told the guys they'd be lucky to see it before 2024, if ever. I was certain I wouldn't see it before retirement. Are they even paying the correct DSG flight pay right now? Or are you still receiving catchup payments because they "can't code the system" or that "the new pay system will be rolled out in Jan of 2020 to fix it all?" 2020 is not a typo, that is when I was told (in 2018) that it would all be fixed and why they wouldn't spend time fixing the current system. Loved getting 6 paychecks a month lol. Agreed, some are probably banking on it. Then you'll get to listen to those who stayed have their "I told you so" moment, as if they they were the smartest people in the room all along. I've seen this song and dance before. Fortunately for me, I never had to come back for orders because whatever happened, I can easily survive at DSG pay...that's a great feeling of freedom. Damn I sound bitter and jaded lol. I'll admit to the latter, but not so much the former. It's just hard not to laugh/cry because you see the cycle repeat itself over and over again. Promises, broken promises, promises, broken promises. It's why when I left I told my guys to always take care of themselves and their families first, because at the end of your career, they're the ones that will be there. The AF will pat you on the back, you'll be replaced that day, the machine will go on and you'll mostly be forgotten in short order. [/rant] But I'm seriously pulling for you guys, you've earned it and truly deserve it. Though I know the likely outcome, if it is ever implemented, here's hoping they're forced to back pay ya'll for this.
  9. Was this the bonus they tried rolling out 6-9 years ago that required you to not be in a service commitment, but also not over 15 years of service? I remember when that rolled out and all us DSG's were geeked about it, until we saw the requirements. Many of us were prior-E's (or O's) and were out of luck due to our >15 YOS. We combed the squadron and figured out that only two of our 15ish DSG we're eligible, and one of them was only eligible for another 6 months because he was about to hit 15 YOS. What a joke. Then to make it worse, I think they screwed up and either didn't actually have the money, or recouped it later due to a funding issue. I can't really recall all the details because I stopped caring after I saw the requirements.
  10. This is my stance as well, which often means I write a big check. A friend just said they were fined (block 38 of 1040) for not paying enough. His view was that he made more using that money elsewhere, so he'll pay the fine, even if we all know the fine is bullshit.
  11. Ya, I meant for that to go above his head, but your last paragraph hits on that point, so it's might just be moot. Either way, best of luck, hopefully he's being moved to a position where he can't do anymore damage. Not that a dude like this would ever go to an airline, but I know of a squadron that successfully blackballed a dude from all his top choice airlines because he was just such a toxic boss, especially toward part-timers/airline guys. He apparently had a CJO in hand at a Legacy and ended up having it pulled. Unfortunately this type of grass roots effects aren't as successful with Generals as they're just too far entrenched and will always find a cush contractor gig after service.
  12. WUT? If I were an OG or above, and I had a SQ/CC that handed out more than a one CC directed Q3s, I'd be wanting some explanations. More than a few and I'm probably setting aside a day to go through them all with the SQ/CC. 34!?!?! I'd probably removed the guy because clearly he doesn't know how to lead. In my entire career, I know of exactly one Q3 that happened while I was in the squadron. That was during the B-Course where a dude Q-3'd his first form 8 ride for some serious buffoonery on ground ops. ...ended up being a patch, so it didn't hurt him too bad. I've never seen a single command directed Q-3, though I know of one case that warranted one lol. Anyway, this doesn't sound like a guy I'd want in charge of our future AF leaders. This sounds like a great time for a community wide "dear boss" letter. The last thing we need is his style influencing USAFA cadets and permeating throughout the AF. This is a great time for all you dudes about to bail from service to start a grass roots movement and make one more positive impact on the AF. You're always allowed to talk to your congressman.
  13. Minute 8+10, the guy at the bottom makes a comment that nails it. "Once you've tasted the free life...it's tough to go back." It didn't help that the last 3 or 4 deployments felt like a complete waste of my life, which includes my last trip to Afghanistan about 6 months before the pull out. ROE so tight that there really wasn't even a reason for us to be in the air. Why am I going to hang it out there if you're not going to let me do my what I'm good at and force me to watch the bad guys do bad things to good guys? Totally jaded me right at the end. I can't imagine going back simply because I love the amount of free time to spend time with my family, friends, fly for fun, go on unplanned vacations or maybe got make some extra pay at a daily rate of 6x my mil pay. My only regret is that I didn't go as soon as I hit my 20. If you're on the fence and contemplating the jump, do it, I highly doubt you'll regret it.
  14. Just Brabus with his stockpile of tens of thousands of dollars worth of bullets and his assault knife building cabal!
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