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I think this is the most important factor. We could stay here and I'd be in base for both jobs, but moving to where the wife's family & friend network lives also puts me in base for the airline job and a few hour drive from the Reserve squadron. I've met enough dudes that have picked up orders cool places I think I'll be able to find some cool gigs myself, if I feel inclined. I like reading folks' bios...checks out, lots of GOs did IDE/SDE in-correspondence. I'm 36, I think I COULD get an AD retirement if I hustle and string something together. Not sure how much that juice is worth the squeeze...it'll be nice going back to a legacy. Thanks for the advice!

best officer i ever served with

Nothing from my wing yet, either. I assume it'll be pushed in June/July, especially since the application due date is pushed to October

If only you knew how many times I've argued exactly what you're arguing. But being effective at your job does not require you to fantasize false applications of the law of war or embarrass yourself or the service by proving you slept through LOAC and sniffed glue before taking your oath. You don't need to kill non-combatants to be tough. You don't need targeting to be convenient or unconstrained. Which is good, since it isn't, and that can't be interpreted away.

The details of my life are quite inconsequential. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring, we would make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty typical really. When I was in the Air Force, I wasn't supposed to talk about it because we don't do that. When I was out of the Air Force, I wasn't supposed to talk about it because I wasn't in it, so what did I know. It's a great recipe for zero discussion about anything, leading to decelerated learning, a sludged OODA loop, and the exact institutional entropy we've watched unfold under "leadership" that made the same noises you do. Very few people have combat experience. But everyone is eligible to care about it and discuss it. Better to judge the substance of an argument than get caught up in who is making it. Or worse yet, cultivate unwarranted doubt about their credibility to marginalize them and avoid contending with the substance altogether. When you attempt that with me, it tells me you're Winchester. You have nothing else effective to argue. That makes me feel better about the merits of what I've argued. Not a lot better, because hey, it's you. But a little. So thanks for that. But as a bonus, yes, I have plenty of experience downrange. 500 hours in the air, a tour on the ground, and many instances of TF integration as a planner. Commanding a squadron in combat and bringing them home safely was the cherry on top. I don't need any of that to the sort gnat shit from the pepper in your BS, but it doesn't hurt.

When stationed in Europe, we usually just bought the full car insurance from the rental place. Guys with little experience driving in small parking garages and such equals scraped up vehicles. We would turn in vehicles with huge gouges up the sides and the rental employees would look pissed but didn't charge us extra. The no extra paperwork at the end was nice, especially when as many guys were in it as BQQips mom and no one remembered who scratched it up.

Or more importantly put your arse in harm's way, dodging missiles and AAA while interpreting said ROE with the 6,000 mile screwdriver chirping in your ear because they have a soda-straw view of your fight from one sensor and obviously know better.

They certainly are. Have you actually done anything in war? How much ROE have you written? From what you’ve argued, I’d say the honest answers to those questions is somewhere between none and a very close to none.

America didn't forget annihilation strategy, collective punishment, or burning down the village to save it. We did all that in Vietnam and it went really well. Love the soldier hate the war. Hate the lawyer, love the law. Despite the seismography of your philosophical brain detonation, the law defies you by continuing to exist. It binds us. It's a pain in the ass, but that's the point. Because absent limits, the enmity and vitriol of war careen into oblivion, eventually destroying whatever we were fighting to protect. I got that from Clausewitz. Or maybe it was a Cracker Jack box. With my margarita habit, there can be no way of knowing.

In a just world, lawyers wouldn't exist, and they certainly wouldn't be involved in combat. Combat is supposed to be brutal beyond the pale to the point that anywhere a combatant hides is a valid target until there are no more targets or until the enemy gives up. America seemed to have forgotten that fact somewhere right around 1946. Somewhere along the line we decided to be "nice" when we use military force, which is how you end up with a military doing 'nation building'...the complete opposite of it's function.

Ok ok ok, my bad, I thought that you might have been trolling before but now I see the bit. Still not up to the standard of general Chang back in the heyday, but I should have caught on earlier all the same. Bravo! 😂🤣

Because exchanges about important stuff should fit onto the back of a bubble gum wrapper to make life easier for dilettantes. This is a surface-skimming debate. If you can't chew sirloin, good luck with the rare rump steak of a real debate. What's that you say? You were merely pretending to care? Well, in the immortal words of Felix Barbosa, "you grew balls, now you have to wear them."

They're not disagreeing with me. If they think a house automatically becomes a valid target when a combatant shelters there, they're disagreeing with the law. In a just world, they be disbarred for incompetence or, if the advice given was knowingly unlawful, tried as war criminals. Lucky for them, we're not in a just world.

Any updates on drops?

This checks, just have everything ready to go. They will probably ask for things last minute. Have some people you really trust look over your paperwork.

FE as a 1LT is CRAZY. hot damn.

Nope, not yet. I was trying to find out the exact same thing. At least to my knowledge. I did talk to the execs and they said they'd let me know when they want deliverables. I'm expecting sometime soon as the stuff for the application was due around June last year. I'm currently on a TDY so it's been hard to get face to face time with anyone at the squadron. From what I know, (last year) the execs wanted people to write their personal statements and have medical, PCSM, etc squared away so the CC could start working on their LOR and push that towards the group level for the Group CC LOR. From there I think your package goes to the wing and onward, but I'm not sure either!

My first time applying, a 1st Lt and put on Captain in the fall. I am an MQ-9 Evaluator pilot. I got all my quals quickly and have amassed close to 1700 hours in the plane between my enlisted time as a sensor operator and as a pilot. I become a Ops Sup/MCC as a 2d Lt, then became an IP a couple months after I put on 1st Lt. Now as an FE and putting on Capt in fall, I am beyond grateful to have my wife’s support with this. See below my information. PCSM: 96 AFOQT Pilot: 86 PPL and flying on a monthly basis LOR is my from my previous OG/CC who just retired and knew me well and still mentors me to this day. Personal letter is oriented around proven, trusted leadership track record, consistent high performance, leading and serving others and leveraging my unmanned experience to better manned. Highly strated IP in squadron 1/21 Lts DG OTS/IQT 2024 JrCGO OTY and 2025 IP OTY I serve as my squadrons Chief of safety and a graduated flight safety officer “S” coded. I have been fortunate to have been an IO on a class B too. Also a joint LNO aboard the Roosevelt for a major AF/Navy Exercise. I am hopeful for this year, this is my first time applying and do not need any waivers for medical or age. Happy to connect with anyone on here to share more specifics about my app. I have got a lot of mentorship on this process, make sure leadership is captured. Good luck to everyone!

We need about 300% more Growlers…but yeah, let’s burn some on airshows for no good reason. Dumbasses. Glad they’re all alive.

Thanks for creating the Cliff's notes. My eyes started to glaze over after the first paragraph. I felt like Boomer6 when he sees more than three syllables without a space between them 😂🤣

GTCC rental car insurance coverage is not as robust as it seams. Anything OCONUS is probably not covered. And if you need a vehicle for more than 30 days, CONUS or OCONUS, get a new contract at day 30. Or insist on government provided crew transportation, or put the rental burden on the agency controlling your mission requirement. Fortunately I have not witnessed a situation above that involved injury, but have witnessed damage. You do not want to be involved in any flavor of GTCC rental claim, CONUS or OCONUS.

Military, weather, social programs.

Another airline guy checking in here and honestly the only thing that makes an overnight suck is if it’s too short. I hate getting into a cool vibrant city getting put up in the airport hotel. Time for my 6900th shitty hotel burger and fries.. After staying in pretty much every major city in the country multiple times I can confidently say they’re all great. They all also have their rough parts. Use common sense and avoid the rough parts. If you can’t find a way to have a good time on an overnight in LA or SF with some of the best food and bar scenes in the country idk if you can be helped. It’s not that scary guys avoid skid row and the tenderloin and enjoy the rest of these massive awesome diverse cities. On the subject of bodily functions I’ve seen more bachelorette puke on the sidewalks of broadway, 6th, and bourbon than I have human shits in all liberal cities combined. By a factor of ten. Go have a good time and stop letting Fox News convince you these places are scary

The weather and insane social benefits like free dental care for illegals. Spencer Pratt is making waves and his commercials are funny as hell!

Shifting back to a more tactical discussion it appears the Saudis and UAE are VERY upset by the latest attacks from Iran. Pakistan has now joined the Saudis and there is talk of a ground incursion into Iraq to target the threat vector directed at the Kingdom. Saudi has recalled 50,000 reservists. Pakistan has deployed a squadron of fighters and thousands of troops to the Kingdom...next few days are going to be interesting.