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spectre56

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Posts posted by spectre56

  1. Thread revival.

    I'm getting the run around here at XL. I start UPT in 6 months and currently wear glasses on occasion. I want to get on the SCL program so I talk to the flight doc. He says all I need to do is start wearing approved contacts as soon as possible and I will then be enrolled into the SCL program the first week of UPT when I get my FCII.

    So I go to optometry for my appointment to get a contact lens prescription and the receptionist tells me the doc can't see me for the SCL program because I need to have been wearing the contacts for 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO ARRIVING AT THE BASE. WTF? What does it matter when I arrived at the base? As long as my UPT start date is more than 6 months away then it shouldn't be a problem, right? Needless to say, she refused to let me see the doc.

    So what the hell do I have to do to get a contact lens prescription so that I can start wearing them?

    Take this for what it's worth, but I talked to a tech at optometry at my base and they said basically you go talk to the flight doc to get briefed up on the program and they send you to optometry to get a prescription. After that, you wear the contacts for a week and you're good to fly with them in. I asked the guy I was talking to if it was different for someone going to UPT in about 3 months: he said just come in for 1 week, 1 month and 3 or 6 month (I can't remember which) checkups and you should be fine. Remember, this is coming from a different base, so they may not know everything that's going on. The guy at optometry made it sound like it was fairly simple to get them...that concurs with others in my squadron that are on the program.

  2. I'd be the first to call the badge retarded, but how does it hurt aircrew heritage? It looks nothing like pilot or navigator wings, except that it has things coming out the sides. Nobody's ever going to mistake a comm guy for a pilot and a comm badge is never, ever going to ruin heritage unless they start giving out aircrew wings. The comm guys don't have to feel completely inferior (though it seems odd that they need a "wing-like" badge for that) to honor aircrew.

    But seriously, what the hell were they thinking? At least the stupid spwings don't look like a smooshed bug being electrocuted.

    They don't need a wing like badge to "feel adequate" or whatever...what's wrong with the badge that the comm guys have now? The problem with the space guys and comm guys and whomever else wants to change their current badge to wings is that it lessens the significance of hard earned pilot/nav/abm wings because everyone and their mother has a badge or wings on their chest.

    All this coming from a guy where aircrew/jumpers/scuba guys are the only ones with anything on their chest. My .02

    EDIT: I'm not saying other jobs like space and comm dudes aren't important

  3. Does anyone know when and how much FT cadets get paid? I thought it'd be right after we got back since I went to M2, but I guess not. I've read most of the posts on this forum but not all of them, so I apologize if this is posted elsewhere.

    It took a few weeks for me (a couple of years ago) and I got around 600 bucks.

  4. Your initial term of enlistment is for eight years from commissioning. Non-flying officers generally incur a 4-year active duty service commitment (ADSC), after which they can leave the military and spend 4 years in the IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve - doesn't drill but can be called up in case of major national emergency). If you incur additional active duty commitments than they can use up the rest of the 8 years in any combination. For example, a nav could spend 2 years in training, get winged, get a 6 year ADSC and serve all 8 years active.

    AFAIK your "enlisted" status in ROTC only really makes a difference if you are disenrolled and they make you go enlisted; since you are already in the system as an E-x assigned to the obligated reserve section (probably a file folder at ARPC), they can just issue orders calling you to active duty at BMT instead of trying to enlist/draft you.

    From how it was explained to me was, once you contracted (for non scholarship types) after field training, the two years (or however long you have until commission) between contracting and commissioning counted as 2 inactive years. You'd have to do 4 active once you commission and then another 2 inactive at the end. Course, this may have changed since when I went through.

    ROTC time doesn't count for any anything, even though you are "enlisted" while you are in it.

  5. Would it be beneficial to bring our logbooks? Mine is at my mom's house for some reason and I'll need her to send it if I'll need it. I don't mind keeping track of my hours on a piece of paper or something, but I didn't know if the IPs gave any endorsements or anything.

    They told us it doesn't matter either way, but there are a lot of us that did bring them and log the hours.

  6. quick question...this might have been answered somewhere but i cannot find it

    Say i enroll sophomore year, and do my AS100 and AS200 at the same time (double up). Would i still go to FT between my sophomore and junior year with everyone else and do the normal length FT?

    I am pretty positive that the way it goes, but i recently read something that said that you would do FT between junior and senior year. I just wanted someone to clear the up for me..thanks :beer:

    Unless things have changed in the last couple of years, I'd say you'll still go to FT after sophomore year. Where did you read about going another time?

  7. You could start out as a junior...you would have to start your masters to continue once you got your bachelor's.

    You would either start out as an AS100 or 200. If you start out as a 200, you would go to an extended (2 weeks) field training (if they're still doing that)...just learning about the military, customs and courtesies, etc.

    I wouldn't worry about the AFOQT. I liken it to an SAT with some aviation stuff thrown in there. Definitely study for it, but don't kill yourself doing so.

    Talk to the cadre to find out exactly what your options are and go from there. Or you could try OTS, which is extremely competitive to get into from what I hear.

  8. For those of you that drove to Pueblo. Did you get there the day before your inprocess date or did you just drive there ON your inprocess date. I know the website says report no EARLIER than 1000. So I guess as long as you weren't too far away, you could make that drive same day.

    Just remember, you have to show up in blues...you can't show up in civvies then ask to change. Me and my buddy are driving there and just staying the night in C Springs the night before we have to be there.

  9. I'm not a cross-towner, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night! No, seriously...all your instructors and your commander will know that you are a cross-towner and should keep that in mind. That being said, help out as much as you can and demonstrate that you want to be there and want a pilot slot. The cadre will see the effort you put in and rank you accordingly (along with gpa, etc.), because they won't give it to you just because they feel sorry for you for driving an hour to LLab. Good luck!

  10. During the investigation my senior year, I got calls from people I hadn't seen since freshman year of high school that were contacted by the OPM guys. During the interviews with people you put down, they even get the names of other people who know you and interview them as well to provide a cross-check on you hiding any bad references.

    To add to that, when they were doing my investigation, the guy came to my apartment and knocked on everyone's doors who lived around me (I don't know anybody) and left business cards for them to call him about me. One of my neighbors saw me and asked if I was in trouble with the law. Nope, just going back into the military!

  11. Obviously never been on a navy ship but what is spraying up towards the rear of the vessel?...It almost looks like they are trying to spray the jet.

    Think that's either something on the lens of the camera or the window of the plane.

    Unless the Ruskies were trying to develop some sort of spider web defense.............

  12. I asked my cadre and they are not too sure either. If there is anyone that has done/knows when and how you apply for an educational delay please tell me.

    If I can find this website after .69 seconds of searching, i'm sure you can find much more.

    Google is a wonderful thing...learn it, live it, love it.

  13. I haven't seen it yet, but somebody at work today said the ex-Marine dude, can't remember his name, but between the Marines and American Gladiator, he was a gay porn star. If that's true, that is hilarious.

    I think you're talking about "Militia". I didn't catch that he was a Marine, but it makes sense since every time they showed him he was saluting. Ugh.

  14. piss poor if you ask me... they could have done a lot better with this

    I agree.

    "Wolf" was amusing to watch only because he howled every time they said his name :rainbow: .

    I almost fell asleep watching the first two women attempt the eliminator, weak. The second set of women (the former Marine and the body builder) were pretty impressive, though.

    Maybe Hulk Hogan could say "brother" a few more times. :rock:

  15. If any of you are familiar with the Dallas area, this is about on par for Garland. Pathetic

    (on a side note, this is the same city where the cops will turn on their lights to go through an intersection, then turn them right back off!)

  16. The events are:

    WS-1/1A: Swim a couple laps of each stroke to measure comfort in the water

    WS-2*: 100 yard continuous swim test 1 length each breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke, crawl, 5 minute prone float, step off 12 foot tower into pool

    WS-3: Tread water 2 minutes/prone float 3 minutes in bathing suit

    WS-4: WS-3 with flight suit and boots

    WS-5: WS-4 plus survival vest and gloves

    WS-6: WS-5 plus flight helmet

    WS-7: Step off 12 foot tower and swim 15 yards underwater (abandon ship drill)

    WS-8*: 200 yard continuous swim in bathing suit 2 lengths each breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke, crawl, 75 yard swim in full flight gear from WS-6 1 length each breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke

    WS-9*: 1 mile (36 laps) in flight suits <80:00 without backstroke or floating on your back

    The starred events are the ones you can get a pink sheet for failing, the other ones they will generally remediate you during extra instruction after academics.

    I did all this stuff when going through enlisted aircrew school down there (right after USMC boot camp), and, while not extremely difficult for the most part, if you're not a strong swimmer...start practicing. I had trouble with WS-6...I don't know if they do it differently for officers, but we were in the pool all day doing this stuff, and if you couldn't do it after a certain amount of remediation, you got rolled to the next class.

    Most of it is pretty easy, but don't take it for granted. And the mile swim is just boring.

  17. Where does everyone get this stuff from? The PPL will help you and your major in school does also play a role..

    It's possible that i'm wrong, but I highly doubt that this is true. In our class of 9, 4 of us got pilot slots...none of us had PPL, only 2 of us had any hours (less than 5), and our majors are criminal justice, public administration, and 2 sociology majors. So, in our case (i'll bet most, if not all other dets also), those other factors most likely did not play a part in our selection.

    "The pilot

    production requirement is applied to produce an initial cut line. The selection board then reviews

    the list considering all information presented. It may accept the rank-ordered list as presented or

    adjust the ordering on the basis of selection criteria independent of the COM score (e.g., ROTC

    detachment, gender, race/ethnicity, previous flying experience, field training awards, academic

    major)."

    Note that it says MAY. I wonder how much extra work that puts on the board. I think they have this process fairly streamlined (could be way off here), and to throw gender and race and all that in there...I just see EEO knocking on the door. Just my very uneducated take on that.

    If you (original poster) are that close to a PPL, go for it as long as it won't break the bank. It can do nothing but help you in the quest for a pilot slot and wings down the road.

    If for whatever reason you don't get picked up for a pilot slot, you still have that PPL

    That might be the bottom line.

  18. This is from an Army ROTC source but I don't see why they would be any different than an Air Force ROTC Detachment.

    "ADMINISTRATIVE

    5-1 Cadet Status.

    a. Under existing law, ROTC cadets are not subject to UCMJ "

    And that is coming from a source on http://www.rotc.usaac.army.mil so its not just hearsay. I found some similar things on ROTC websites but figured those might not be as reliable since you never know if it was written by a Cadet or not.

    Hey, your right. Found the AF one here.

    Attachment 2, paragraph 6

    Although I am enlisted in the Obligated Reserve Section (ORS) of the USAF Reserve, I am regarded as a civilian under the military justice system, so long as I retain my cadet status, and as such, am not subject to the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

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