Changing/Switching airframes

[di1630 965]

In all my years here I've never seen any of my squadron commanders come back so visibly stressed from a meeting with a GP/CC than they do now every time they come back from meeting with said GP/CC.

Pooooooooorrrrrrrr leadership trying to make their mark.

Also known as a USAF fast burner.

Reference 6-9 years of "what's wrong with the USAF" thread.


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[Stitch 202]

On 9/5/2016 at 11:49 AM, pawnman said:

Lasers move faster than missiles.

Naw, lasers are just a space based AAA system.  The Empire uses the Big Blue new weapons system procurement model; they have "SAMs" but the missiles are still in the test/development phase awaiting a software update that will be ready "in only a few years".  In the mean time, "TAMI'd" Tie Fighter pilots are reassigned to Tatooine...  

[pawnman 1,695]

On 9/10/2016 at 8:29 AM, WheelsOff said:

Echoing Allardice's words...that's exactly the threat my previous Gp/CC issued to me and the other instructors in the room during our instructor cert if we failed to keep up with the queep/admin part of being an instructor. What a cancer. 

On the flip side, the Wing king was a total bro...."I know all you guys are jumping ship to go to the airlines...let me know what I can do to help get you guys to stay. We need you"

You can put a real quick stop to that by a show of solidarity among the instructors.

"Why haven't we graduated any MQT students?" "Well, sir, you pulled the instructor certifications from 50% of the instructors".

[RTB 313]

4 hours ago, pawnman said:

"Why haven't we graduated any MQT students?" "Well, sir, you pulled the instructor certifications from 50% of the instructors".

That happened?

[pawnman 1,695]

3 hours ago, RTB said:

That happened?

No...I'm saying that's what should happen when a GP/CC tells you, during the instructor cert, "If you don't want to be here, get out, I can find a hundred other people who want your job".

[Duck 1,561]

No...I'm saying that's what should happen when a GP/CC tells you, during the instructor cert, "If you don't want to be here, get out, I can find a hundred other people who want your job".

Approve our palace chases and we will...


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[RTB 313]

5 hours ago, pawnman said:

No...I'm saying that's what should happen when a GP/CC tells you, during the instructor cert, "If you don't want to be here, get out, I can find a hundred other people who want your job".

Copy.  I'm slow.

[WheelsOff 67]

11 hours ago, pawnman said:

No...I'm saying that's what should happen when a GP/CC tells you, during the instructor cert, "If you don't want to be here, get out, I can find a hundred other people who want your job".

I agree, but this wasn't at the schoolhouse. 

[Danger41 1,191]

Not knowing anything about this situation, but all the IP's out there know how frustrating it is to give syllabus ride 2 after some chode IP in the sq pencil whips the first gradesheet, gives you nothing that the student has to work on, or just marks everything up to MIF by clicking "quick complete". 

However, as Capt Nobody in the AF, I'd be pretty disillusioned if my gp/cc told me that.

[pawnman 1,695]

On 9/15/2016 at 9:36 PM, WheelsOff said:

I agree, but this wasn't at the schoolhouse. 

"Man, we can't keep anyone current for night A/R"  

"Why can't we schedule these flight lead sorties?"

"We're having a really hard time getting people through FIC, I don't understand why."

[PitchTrimmer 5]

Has anyone heard anything about the MAF to CAF thing lately?  It went from an email, then dudes meeting with O-6's a week later, and now crickets.

[Azimuth 457]

On 11/14/2016 at 11:00 PM, PitchTrimmer said:

Has anyone heard anything about the MAF to CAF thing lately?  It went from an email, then dudes meeting with O-6's a week later, and now crickets.

Enjoy your BUFF.

[Duck 1,561]

This whole thing was a MAF driven tasker to gauge interest. It hadn't been approved by anyone of any importance. The earliest they were projecting, if it even happens, would be 2017. In the meantime they are flooding the FTUs with brand new 2Lts who have a 10 year prison sentence with no possibility of parole.


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[PitchTrimmer 5]

47 minutes ago, Duck said:

This whole thing was a MAF driven tasker to gauge interest. It hadn't been approved by anyone of any importance. The earliest they were projecting, if it even happens, would be 2017. In the meantime they are flooding the FTUs with brand new 2Lts who have a 10 year prison sentence with no possibility of parole.


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Gotcha thanks.  Didn't know it was started by the MAF.

[viper154 312]

2 hours ago, Azimuth said:

Enjoy your BUFF.

I would happily trade my RPA for a buff. And they are laying waste to stuff in places like a boss right now. 

[Duck 1,561]

They are about to find out there is a pending MAF shortage too. But don't tell the Generals, they still think morale is "Pretty darn good".


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[jazzdude 418]

They already know the MAF shortage is coming...

[ThreeHoler 814]

They already know the MAF shortage is coming...

They already know the MAF shortage is here.

Panic at the disco (Pentagon)!


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[LookieRookie 248]

AFPC rated assignments had a plan to send 4 11M T-38 UPT instructors to cross flow into fighters (since they don't need 38 spin up). AETC/A3 non-concurred though due to no backfill plan.

The 4 MAF dudes weren't selected yet.

 

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by LookieRookie
Clarified my post

[Danger41 1,191]

8 hours ago, LookieRookie said:

AFPC rated assignments had a plan to send 4 11M T-38 UPT instructors to IFF. AETC/A3 non-concurred though due to no backfill plan.

The 4 MAF dudes weren't selected yet.

I think having MAF guys train upt 38's is a great idea. It's well within their abilities. However, making them be IFF instructors is a bad idea. They could pick up the basics of rate fights, jinks, setups, etc, but they would have no credibility with their peers or the students. Same thing if was a C-17 guy going through airdrop school and some Viper guy shows up to teach me how--I'd scoff him big time.

[LookieRookie 248]

4 minutes ago, Danger41 said:

I think having MAF guys train upt 38's is a great idea. It's well within their abilities. However, making them be IFF instructors is a bad idea. They could pick up the basics of rate fights, jinks, setups, etc, but they would have no credibility with their peers or the students. Same thing if was a C-17 guy going through airdrop school and some Viper guy shows up to teach me how--I'd scoff him big time.

I should have clarified. The plan was for them to cross flow into fighters. They could just go straight into IFF as studs.

Edited November 19, 2016 by LookieRookie

[Danger41 1,191]

Ahhh, okay. That sounds like a good idea.  Until 5 years from now when these 10,000 fighter guys have to go fly C-17's and tankers.

[Disco_Nav963 197]

21 hours ago, inward_eye said:

My first post after lurking for 4+ years. For those selected to crossflow from the MAF to bombers, what should they expect after a 3-4 year assignment? Staff? UPT? Another ops tour? I imagine they would be in a similar situation like FAIPs entering into their first MWS. Would they be too "old" for special programs such as WIC and Striker Vista? What do you think are the drawbacks to this opportunity? 

Depends on how young you are when you make the switch... My instinct is that Striker Vista is most likely out, but WIC is a distinct possibility. I crossflowed from 12R to B-52s as a 1st year Captain and graduated the B-52 WIC as an O-4 select in the second-to-last class I could have applied for without a waiver for >10 years TAFCSD. Those waivers tend to be hard to get for WSOs but can be had for Pilots/EWOs because fewer tend to apply in the first place. (e.g. In 16A only 3 of the 4 pilot slots were filled; in 16B only 1 of the 2 EWO slots was.) I personally know a pilot who went as an O-4 on a waiver after an ALO tour. (I also know at least four B-52 patches that were FAIPs, including my current DO and a guy from my class.) You should probably finish MQT before you start worrying about USAFWS, but I will say it greatly helps your chances of avoiding an ALFA tour and staying in the community if your leadership considers you a WIC candidate.

Pros: Drop bombs, kill bad guys, when not killing bad guys from the Deid spend time in the tropical paradise of Guam. 

Cons: Ops tempo... because AFGSC made a conscious decision to trade manning (crew ratio) for upgrades a few years ago, it feels like we chase our tails a lot (deployments, BAAD missions, mini-deployments, nuke exercises, WSEPs, etc) and we're always only one or two DNIF WSOs/EWOs away from mission failure. 6 month deployments are too long (see ops tempo above, 6 months of Deid ops is exhausting... and bad for proficiency at nuke, conventional standoff, for-realsies interdiction, and maritime; 6 months of Guam feels like "Why am I away from my family for 6 months to do training and BAAD-type missions I can do from home?"... and also bad for EWO proficiency due to shitty threat replication).

It Depends: Basing (stronger community at Minot, but much more remote; units are less tight at KBAD, but very easy to get to Dallas, Little Rock, New Orleans, or Memphis on the weekend). Nuke mission (I love it and I'm proud to do it; other people are "F--- these exercises and f--- PRP"). 

Drawbacks: If you make the switch too late, always the chance that you won't be sufficiently "one of us" to your SR to have a shot at school or even a DP. (IMO you'd want to start the FTU NLT 2.69 years before your Major's board to have ~2 years in the ops squadron beforehand.) If you already have a good thing going in your current community, staying there is path of least resistance.

I say go for it... This shit is too much fun not to.

[08Dawg 189]

On 3/1/2017 at 2:05 PM, inward_eye said:

My first post after lurking for 4+ years. For those selected to crossflow from the MAF to bombers, what should they expect after a 3-4 year assignment? Staff? UPT? Another ops tour? I imagine they would be in a similar situation like FAIPs entering into their first MWS. Would they be too "old" for special programs such as WIC and Striker Vista? What do you think are the drawbacks to this opportunity? 

Although we only just put through our first two Bone-to-Buff Striker Vista guys, I get the sense they were "could've easily gone to WIC but still on a command track" types, so that's likely out.  Both our guys pinned on major while at the FTU, too, to give you a sense of where they were in the timeline.  I'd expect to stick around.  After hemorrhaging IPs/ACs the last couple of years to back fill 11F white jet bills, nobody is going anywhere this spring/summer.  We're seriously hurting on manning all across the board.   If you want to stick around and fly, it should be pretty easy. 

[pawnman 1,695]

On 3/1/2017 at 2:05 PM, inward_eye said:

My first post after lurking for 4+ years. For those selected to crossflow from the MAF to bombers, what should they expect after a 3-4 year assignment? Staff? UPT? Another ops tour? I imagine they would be in a similar situation like FAIPs entering into their first MWS. Would they be too "old" for special programs such as WIC and Striker Vista? What do you think are the drawbacks to this opportunity? 

Everything Disco_Nav said about BUFFs applies to Bones as well.   We're also undermanned and looking for more pilots and WSOs.  As far as I know, we haven't had problems filling our WIC classes, but that's going to start changing as we take more and more late-to-rate folks and folks who flew something else (so far mostly FAIPs and MC-12 folks, but I anticipate some other options as the fighter pilot shortage puts the squeeze on rated manning across the board).  Bonus - Rapid City is a way better place to live than Minot, and you won't have to deal with PRP or nukes.