HiFlyer

From another aspect, something to think about: when you apply to the AD AF, you do so via a large administrative system that is interested in accessions, but the people you work with in the process have little to no personal interest in the eventual outcome. Not so when applying to ANG/AFRES units. You are applying to a specific unit (or units) with whom you will have to work and interact both professionally and socially for years, and potentially for decades. That fact adds some factors that applying to the AF doesn't normally include. Yes, its a military organization, but its also a bit like applying to a "country club", where social interaction and personal relationships are an immediate consideration (possibly even with family members, if you attend any gathering with members and their families). Think about your social skills a little and remember that every person you meet in the process, formal interviewers, guys in the waiting room or bar, family members you run into in the lobby, etc., all have a potential to make a formal or informal input about you to other members of the unit. Just a word to the wise...

Part of what the OP is missing is that an ANG unit is a bit like a Country Club. You don't move every few years, you stay (potentially) with the same people for decades, and its a social relationship as much as a military one. They have to want to live with you, and the club membership doesn't really give a damn about GPAs and college degrees.

Well, if their passport is still valid, they can certainly "re-enter" the country. That doesn't mean they are exempt from prosecution for illegal acts committed overseas or upon return if they are substantiated. If they can be associated with acts deemed in violation of U.S. law they may also have their passports revolked. Why complain about the FBI Director, he's only following U.S. public law. If you want to bitch to somebody, talk to Congress; they make the laws.

Not sure. There were a bunch of us arriving at that time (later 1973) because of a test program that they were using the old C-models to fly. There were probably at least a dozen guys, all going over to do their one ride in the Super D before flying the CT. I don't recall visiting the glider people on my visit.

Sorry, that was fall of 1973 for me. My memory isn't that good.

No, not just for fun, Spoo, although it certainly was fun! In the early to mid-seventies (until we left D-M in '76) all the new guys that hadn't flown some tail dragger went to Ryan Field to fly the Super D. It was about an hour flight with a quick trip up to fly it for five minutes and do some stalls, then into the pattern for about 40 minutes of landings to get the feel of a tail wheel landing and ground handling. I think it really helped when I got in the CT the first time. I tried to get them to do it when we got to Beale...they had the airplane at Yuba County airport and it was only about a $100 a ride. If we saved one extra training flight a year we'd have been money ahead. Alas, I guess because they didn't do it in the SR, we couldn't either.

Got them. Hydraulic, like the flaps, speed brakes, and brakes... The old C-models had a drag chute. No such animal on the S.

Yeah, but try landing without it, and the speed brakes, and most of the wheel brakes...makes for a long flare and roll-out!!

First, there are no "right" answers to these questions, and different people have different opinions. I'm sure you'll get several opinions. For me, the answer is that you are certainly boardering on "lateness". But, the rules for Active Duty and Reserve accessions are a bit more stringent than the Guard (who sometimes control their own future a bit more than the AD/AFRES system) so that may help you with a Guard application. As for the recruiter's suggestion, it may be somewhat valid for the Guard but not for AD/AFRES. Enlisting requires taking time out to go to Basic and your Tech School, and you don't have much time to waste. However, the real problem, as I see it, is that your graduation date is very close to the "drop dead" date for OTS and rated training dates. Enlisting only uses up more time that you will not be completing educational requirements, thus pushing your entry dates out farther into the future and making the situation more critical.. What you really need to do is figure out a way to speed up your college progression (don't take summer breaks, heavier class load, etc.). Graduation at 29 is really touchy...go for early 28 and you have a better chance. It's a tough situation with all the loads a family places on your time, but it's one thing that will improve your chances. The other thing, if you want to serve, is to look at the non-rated side, where the age limit expands to age 35. Not the desired aviation career, but it's something. Finally, if the Guard is your goal, find the Guard unit(s) you are interested in and start talking to them. Learn what they are looking for, what programs they offer, etc. Guard units are a "club", and you stay with the "club" for a long time. If they like you, they can make things happen that an AD or Reserve unit probably won't match.

Personally, I commanded three flying units (and Vice-Command of a fourth non-flying organization), two as O-5, two as O-6. I did it because I could help the mission, which I enjoyed, and it was fun. My incentive was to enjoy myself and mentor my new guys, not to make O-6 or general. I think the simple goal vice the "be the CSAF" goal, made the difference. If they wanted to fire me, so be it, I was still having fun.

Don't forget the Air Force Museum. If you're into aviation, its a pretty goot place to visit. Big, allow several hours.

Back in 1975 I was stationed at D-M and sitting in my BOQ. There were a couple of C-133s parked nearby on the NW ramp awaiting transfer to somewhere else (storage or scrapping, I suppose). They were chocked but not tied down, and empty of fuel and interior gear (very light!). We had a similar storm blow up with gusts well above 60 kts (some said near 80). I happened to be looking that direction and noticed the aircraft were actually nosing into the wind and going airborne. They lifted out of their chocks several feet into the air and started skipping backwards toward the main gate. They didn't roll, so I assume they had the brakes set. I called base ops and notified them, but their reply was "Screw them...nobody here is going out into that storm". They moved themselves about 50-100 feet backwards before the wind died. There wasn't any damage but it was really weird to watch.

This is very common. The defense industry sells their services (or in many cases sells YOUR services) to the govt, and the quality of their competitive proposals are scored by the acquisition authority. Part of that score is usually based on the quality of the people available to work the contract. Advanced degrees are a surrogate for estimating the quality of the proposed work force. Not only that, but when you're looking for a job, the industry tends to hire people at least partially based on their academic background because that's what they need to sell you to the gov't. In many cases, the actual area of the advanced degree is not particularly significant, just the fact that you have an advanced degree of some sort. In my company, our yearly resume update specifically focuses on past experience (military and civilian) and education/degrees and any recent upgrades to your academic records. If you think AAD pressure is unique to the AF, you are mistaken. Perhaps not as huge for the airline job, but for most of the defense contractor world here around the beltway (and all their "offsite" locations) it's an important square to fill to both get hired in the first place as well as staying employed as someone the company can sell to the customer.

No, the "plan" is the end of FY15, not end of FY 14, so its 15 months. Perhaps a slight extention for the Yokota guys to get new J aircraft/crews in place. At least, thats the info from the active C-130 unit at Peterson co-located with the Reserve (or Guard?). Of course, that's the "plan"...we'll have to see how the "plan" sorts out after Congress gets done with the FY 15 budget. So far both the House and Senate authorization committees have played havoc with the AF plans.

My favorite BX story came from Osan. I was looking for some good socks for running and there was a particular brand/style that they had carried that were really good. I couldn't find any for a while...just cheap, thin crap. I asked the manager when they'd get the good socks in and he replied they stopped carrying that style. Why?, I asked. He replied, "Well, they sold so fast that they were hard to keep in stock, so we stopped ordering them." I was dumbfounded at the answer...the man was clearly a true marketing specialist! On the other hand, maybe it was returning from Osan. We were in Hawaii and stopped by the BX where we found a display of Waterford crystal tagged at $3.50 a piece. I knew the normal price was about $35 each, because my wife had recently bought a few replacement wine glasses...they mis-marked them by a decimal point. The department manager was walking by and I pointed out the error. He didn't even bother to check and said "Well, that's what they're marked, so that's what I sell them for." My wife promptly bought 48 pieces for $168, instead of the $1680 it should have cost.

According to a late news report, he went to get a leave request form and the guy behind the desk told him to come back tomorrow. He didn't wait...

Right now all AD rated and non-rated boards are suspended UFN...no additional boards officially scheduled for this year or FY15 either. There are rumors that they may hold one or two boards later in the year, but the sources of those rumors are tough to tie down. Virtually every such rumor source is so far identified as "...a guy in my squadron said...", but no hard source beyond that. Personally, I think that until Congress and the DoD finish tight-roping around the FY15 budget, nothing much will change The only other push may come if the previous select pool (14OT01 & 02) starts to get used up. That may cause them to hold a board to enable OTS to keep its doors open (maybe late summer or early fall?). So, not true, but not absolutely impossible either. They need to start the process pretty soon if they want to hold the board this FY. It takes about four-five months minimum to schedule, advertise, accept applications, prep and hold a board, and announce results. That's about April or May to start the ball rolling for an Aug-Sept (FY14) board.

Probably thinking of the old "ASBC" course, a month long post-OTS course on "how the AF goes to war". It was cancelled in 2012 or so, but it's still in some of the unrevised instructions.

This ought to stir things up in the FAA for a while... (Article from 7 Mar NY Times): Commercial Drones Are Completely Legal, a Federal Judge Ruled March 6, 2014 // 06:51 PM EST For the moment, commercial drones are, unequivocally, legal in American skies after a federal judge has ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration has not made any legally binding rules against it. The judge dismissed the FAA’s case against Raphael Pirker, the first (and only) person the agency has tried to fine for flying a drone commercially. The agency has repeatedly claimed that flying a drone for commercial purposes is illegal and has said that there’s “no gray area” in the law. The latter now appears to be true, but it hasn’t gone the way the FAA would have hoped. Patrick Geraghty, a judge with the National Transportation Safety Board, ruled that there are no laws against flying a drone commercially. The FAA attempted to fine the 29-year-old Pirker $10,000 after he used a drone to film a commercial at the University of Virginia. Pirker and his lawyer, Brendan Schulman, fought the case, saying that the FAA has never regulated model aircraft and that it’s entire basis for making them “illegal,” a 2007 policy notice, was not legally binding. The FAA has never undertaken the required public notice necessary to make an official regulation. Geraghty agreed: The FAA “has not issued an enforceable Federal Acquisition Regulation regulatory rule governing model aircraft operation; has historically exempted model aircraft from the statutory FAR definitions of ‘aircraft’ by relegating model aircraft operations to voluntary compliance with the guidance expressed in [the 2007 policy notice], Respondent’s model aircraft operation was not subject to FAR regulation and enforcement.” What this means, at least for now, is that you can go fly your drone and charge whatever the hell you want to do it. Beer delivery drones are legal, and so is everything else. It also means that all those companies that have been harassed by the FAA have, at least for the moment, nothing to worry about. The FAA could potentially try to establish an emergency rule, but it’s unclear how long that will take or whether they’ll do it. The FAA did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Just for reference, the last several times I was at BWI over the past year there were aircrew coming and going in their bags. I don't know what the official "rules" are, but all the military were in either ABUs or flight suits.

This reminds my of one of my former Sqdn Ops Officers many years ago. I walked by his desk one Friday and he was taking the 12-15 inches of paper out of his inbox and tossing it in the wastebasket. I asked him what he was doing and he explained that it was mostly BS and a waste of time. If something was really important he'd get a call in a day or two and he'd have plenty of time then to deal with it (since he wasn't wasting time on the other BS). Seemed to work well for him.

no, no, maybe, no

Probably, but I can't recall off the top of my head. In those days (1969-70) that was a fairly common activity and not too many stand out as something that immediately comes to mind. I think I posted a couple more a few years ago. I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow so I'm a little too busy to post much right now.

Why not??? I recall being diverted to a platoon under attack one night. I was out of ordnance, but at the platoon leader's request I made a low pass to get their heads down, then two more dropping an empty fuel tank and two empty LAU-79 s (7 shot 2.75" rocket pod). The bad guys sneaking through the grass got up and ran away, ending the attack. Not rocks, but close. Is this not a CAS activity???