Azimuth Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I just got a AFPC robot email at work talking about a new SNCO only commissioning program to rated officer. Dunno if they're waiving the age thing because I don't know too many SNCO's under 30 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HU&W Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I just got a AFPC robot email at work talking about a new SNCO only commissioning program to rated officer. Dunno if they're waiving the age thing because I don't know too many SNCO's under 30 years old.Yes (rumint is that it's waived to 35ish). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TnkrToad Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Pentagon to increase CAPs from 61 to 90 by 2019 Getting them to not operate under the organic asset model will absolutely be interesting.So, the article says that the increase will be met with "the Army contributing as many as 16 and the military's Special Forces Command pitching in with as many as four." I assume Special Forces Command is SOCOM . . . which means either the 160th or AFSOC--which (last I checked) belong to the Army and Air Force, respectively. I assume the 160th won't add an additional 4 CAPs beyond whatever it provides now, especially if it continues to operate under the same organic model it currently employs--which would mean AFSOC will get to take on that additional requirement. Some thoughts:- The Army's plan to expand its RPA fleet by 16 CAPs within 4 years will demonstrate how invalid the organic model is. They'll destroy their RPA community if they keep them forward-deployed in theater, collocated with their users. Hopefully they'll "see the light" and move toward the Air Force distributed ops model . . . of course, if they go with the distributed ops model, then they'll largely invalidate their excuse for maintaining their own, separate RPA fleet.- SOCOM's plan to provide an additional 4 CAPs within 4 years indicates that AFSOC will get the "opportunity" to grow its RPA fleet even more. The 160th won't cover the additional 4 CAPs SOCOM has promised, so the Air Force won't get a break from COCOM requirements--they'll just shift the requirement from ACC RPAs to AFSOC RPAs. The reduction in Air Force CAPs will be more shell game than reality - The plan to have contractors provide 10 more CAPs seems equally suspect; most likely the operators for those CAPs will be prior-mil folks, enticed away from the service by better pay & QOL in the civil sector. Even if the Air Force grows its RPA community numerically, it'll be awfully difficult to grow its experience base--at least in the near termI'm spitballing with all the above--I know little beyond what the article says and prior discussions on this board--but the DoD's math just doesn't add up. Anybody have additional insight into how the RPA expansion plan might realistically work? Is anyone optimistic that the Army will finally get a clue and abandon the organic support model?TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guineapigfury Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I wouldn't worry about the contractors pulling dudes away. Guys would be leaving whether those good deals are there or not. Not being a USAF RPA pilot is the cake, contractor money is the icing on that cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Do contractors have better hours? I see lots of flying jobs out of Creech. Some without Pred time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champ Kind Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Do contractors have better hours? I see lots of flying jobs out of Creech. Some without Pred time.So now you're a drone fan boy? Once again, say quals. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyguy2181 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Looking for info; headed to Holloman to train in the MQ-1 (Sept - Jan). - Any good things to do while I'm there? Is the airport still open? Can I take glider lessons while I'm there?- I imagine lots of free time to travel/explore. Any must see towns, national parks, hiking trails, etc?- Anything feedback for the training course? base? lodging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKinnear Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) Looking for info... The info in the FTU thread (http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/18898-rpa-school-at-holloman/ is still fairly accurate Edited August 24, 2015 by GKinnear 'cuz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaddebate Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 (edited) The Medical Standards Directory (MSD) recently updated and fully created an independent RPA category. Previously FCIIU generally was only considered or pursued as a back-up following waiver denial for other higher categories (FCI, IA, or IIX). It can now be more easily screened and pursued individually by local MTF's, and most importantly waivers will be easier to delineate and pursue for solely FCIIU applicants.Basically this marks a change to accommodate more RPA applicants. I imagine this is just further cultural shift towards the RPA community and to more quickly disposition borderline pilot exams and push more folks to RPA than a simple, universal DQ in some instances. Edited September 1, 2015 by deaddebate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matmacwc Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) So now you're a drone fan boy? Once again, say quals.Not gonna happen, civilian all the way is my guess, thus the contracting question. Or......TIMMMMAAAAYYYYYY Edited September 2, 2015 by matmacwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ThatGuy Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 (edited) Does anyone have any good gouge on places to live in Grand Forks? I am single, pinning on O-4 in December, and I have a dog. Additionally, I have two vehicles (Tundra & Accord) I know I will need to plug in during the winter months. I noticed some apartments have heated underground parking for this reason. The housing management office sent me links to Cardinal Point apartments and Oxford Realty. A rental home would be nice for my dog but I'm not trying to have to shovel snow.Also, which internet provider is the best? I'm going to have to ditch my DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket and stream it online if I live in an apartment more than likely. Edited October 20, 2015 by slick999 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/drone-pilot-book-213263 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKinnear Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 The Navy may be getting rid of the X-47, but this is still a leap forward in the RPA's development.X-47B UCAV AARs w/Omega Tanker DARPA is also looking into RPA-to-RPA, Manned-to-RPA, and RPA-to-Manned AAR solutionsDARPA RPA tests Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 As long as DARPA can figure out how to shark fin the UAV's vertical stab on the tanker out of a cloud bank so the receivers stay popeye, we won't be able to tell the difference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaddebate Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I don't read this thread much. Was this ever posted before?http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA608598Anybody seen this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guineapigfury Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I remember taking the survey and have seen the presentation put together based on the results of the follow up survey in 2014. TLDR: Overwork and shift work lead to lack of sleep. The new data used manned platforms as control variables and discovered that flying RPAs for the Air Force tends to result in declining physical and mental health, obesity, sleep deprivation, binge drinking, reliance on absurd amounts of caffeine to get through the work day (5+ energy drinks daily), reliance on OTC sleep aids, divorce, low morale, and depression. However, PTSD remains rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawman Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I remember taking the survey and have seen the presentation put together based on the results of the follow up survey in 2014. TLDR: Overwork and shift work lead to lack of sleep. The new data used manned platforms as control variables and discovered that flying RPAs for the Air Force tends to result in declining physical and mental health, obesity, sleep deprivation, binge drinking, reliance on absurd amounts of caffeine to get through the work day (5+ energy drinks daily), reliance on OTC sleep aids, divorce, low morale, and depression. However, PTSD remains rare.So similar to every non deployed service member ever...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcola Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 flying RPAs for the Air Force tends to result in declining physical and mental health, obesity, sleep deprivation, binge drinking, reliance on absurd amounts of caffeine to get through the work day (5+ energy drinks daily), reliance on OTC sleep aids, divorce, low morale, and depression. However, PTSD remains rare.FIFY. (Strikethrough "RPAs" for those of you viewing on the baseops app.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM this Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 So similar to every non deployed service member ever...Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkWhile a lot of your contributions are salient and well thought out, at other times you're clearly out of your element. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawman Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 While a lot of your contributions are salient and well thought out, at other times you're clearly out of your element.Bro it was a joke as to the negative trends in the lifestyle required by military service (missing meals, drinking rip it's every day, eating high carb processed crap full of sodium and going to bed because of ops cycle, etc) not a stab at the drone community to "suck it up."I don't know how many more different types of surveys and trackers (PDHRA, GAT, this one, etc) military leadership is going to need to do to understand the same conclusion... In general Military living is bad for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guineapigfury Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I'll see if I can get my hands on the slides, but what I was trying to communicate was this: RPA crews have been compared to other aircraft crews (AWACS & C-17) in a scientifically valid way and have significantly worse health/life outcomes when controlling for all other variables (Age, Rank, O/E, Gender, Marital Status, etc). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 This seems like potentially a big deal: http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2015/November 2015/November 12 2015/Major-RPA-Restructure-Coming.aspx"Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh will announce a major restructure of the remotely piloted aircraft career field's force structure and basing by "early next week," Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Tuesday. Speaking with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Carlisle said USAF recently wrapped up a month-long assessment by a team of 50 people visiting RPA sites and talking to those in the career field. They recommended the Air Force "open up some new locations" for RPA operations because of the austerity at some of the facilities where RPA mission control elements are based now, especially Creech AFB, Nev. Additionally, Carlisle said, "We could ... move them to different parts of the world, to get different time slots as well," presumably so RPA operators don't have to work as much off-cycle from the locations where they live. Airmen in RPAs want three things, Carlisle said: time to spend with family, to go to schools, to have "different jobs," and to take vacation, etc; a "strategic plan for the enterprise," meaning insight into where the MQ-9 Reaper mission is going and the different roles it could fill in the future; and to know that "we're listening to them. And we are." Carlisle said it's not well understood outside of the RPA community that the enterprise has been in "surge mode for 15 years" with no letup in expansion or demand, and it's still not clear how big the RPA enterprise is going to get." 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guineapigfury Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 CSAF will be at Holloman next week, I'll update if he has any good news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaff Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 RUMINT is that team of 50 recommended a 4 month on 8 month off AEF cycle to match deployed type ops tempo with other MWSs. Allegedly Holloman will meet the output requirements for that sometime in the next 1-2 years.I also hear that 80% of said team was not aircrew. Maybe finance and MPF have secured a way to make themselves less accessible to shift worker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guineapigfury Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 RUMINT is that team of 50 recommended a 4 month on 8 month off AEF cycle to match deployed type ops tempo with other MWSs. Allegedly Holloman will meet the output requirements for that sometime in the next 1-2 years.I also hear that 80% of said team was not aircrew. Maybe finance and MPF have secured a way to make themselves less accessible to shift worker.Great, now all we need to do is triple RPA manning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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