General Discussion

https://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20140430/NEWS/304300047/

When in the hell are we going to actually protect our own country? N4T Investigators: Rogue Mexican Army troops crossing the line There are about 28,500 US military personnel in South Korea right now assisting in deterrance and defense of the 15th largest economy in the world that also has the 6th largest military (by AD personnel) with a 2.9 million reserve force and we have almost no US military actually stationed on and tasked to defend the southern border. Can we get at least half of that on our border? One can dream though...

https://m.kcra.com/news/plane-crashes-at-travis-afb-air-show-in-fairfield/25806746 Apparently this was the performer: https://www.eddieandreiniairshows.com

This thread was inevitable.... Please keep content relative to year.

Alright, I know I'm about to offend some very respectable people here, and I'm sure there's much more to it than someone in my position could possibly know, but this has been bugging me for a while. As seen in articles like this one: https://www.airforcem...-the-Table.aspx, the AF considered divesting either the B-1 or the A-10. My question to all the Strategic-Level gurus is: If they could save just as much money by cutting the fleet of B-1s, then why would they ever consider cutting the A-10? Here's the reasoning from my perspective, (an Apache pilot who has worked with F-15Es, Vipers, A-10s, and B-1s on real missions in Afghanistan): The B-1 is an awesome…

Andrews eyed for new Air Force operations headquarters

https://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20140515/CAREERS/305150044/Air-Force-offer-3-years-off-airmen-start-families Apparently the Navy has been doing this since 2012. I get that they will supposedly get "reset" in a new year group but won't it still be obvious when you have a 3 yr gap in OPR/EPRs?

How should we properly manage a lump sum check this sumer/fall? I'm expecting my CY14 AGI to be through the roof, so I'm switching the rest of this year's TSP contributions from Roth to Traditional. This should lower my taxable income by about 10K ($17,500 total max allowable Roth and Traditional TSP allowed this year, not counting combat pay contributions). What are some other moves to lower taxable income when expecting a lump sum? Also, where are some of the better places to park the separation payment, besides hookers and blow? Does anyone recommend a particular Vanguard fund or something similar?

Per the VSP thread, I agree it's a good idea. Post all your FY14 & 15 VSP/TERA/PC/seperations lessons learned here. The intent seems to be so that guys can speak somewhat directly to those leaders staying in so they in turn can better create an environment where buckets of experienced guys aren't trying to leave at the first opportunity. I'm getting out soon (non-VSP or PC unfortunately) and will post my own contributions when I'm not on my phone.

Can anyone say with any authority how much having a type rating helps when interviewing for an airline? Before I drop 6-9 thousand on a B737 or A320 when there is a good chance I may not be assigned to said type, does it really add that much to my military background in Strike Eagles?

(All posts concerning SGT Bergdah's release have been moved to this thread) Sounds like US Army POW Sgt Bergdahl has been released by the Taliban?

Another air show crash. Pilot didn't make it. https://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/01/pilot-47-dies-in-crash-at-air-show/

Saw some interesting bits in the new 2015 NDAA just passed by the House and now going to the Senate. These changes are almost definitely going to be signed into law by the President. The number of AD Enlisted Aides in the entire DOD will be restricted to 300 (current level) OR double the number of AD O-10's plus one each for the number of O-9's, whichever is less. So currently there are around 300 Enlisted Aides for the 165 O-9's and O-10's, but that will shrink to around 245. There are currently about 80 Air Force Enlisted Aides. If our portion remains consistent, that should shrink to about 67, or 13 people doing a real job again in FY15. Non-AD (retirees, depen…

https://news.yahoo.com/obama-us-boost-military-presence-143134755.html So are we pivoting to the Pacific and then back to Europe? I'm confused...

Just looking for peoples insights and commentary from a more involved group than the retired hacks that flood John Q's message board with stories from the 80's. https://www.facebook.com/jqpublic The most recent/popular article is about Altus' OG/CC requiring mandatory blues this following monday for a DUI that occurred at the front gate this past friday night. To my knowledge, this was the fourth DUI in the OG this month, and these are from cadre for the FTU. Thoughts on the blues being "punishment" vs "a refocus on professionalism"? And the best way to approach from a leadership perspective to actually get people to follow and preventing DUI's? At this point it'…

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27785769

https://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-designer-of-the-f-16-explains-why-the-f-35-is-such-1591828468

Just a question for those of you in the know. How often does the USAF still lease training platforms for the flying qualities portion of the curriculum? I know the Calspan Lear 24 makes a living there, but was wondering: what other type of aircraft are used in this role?

https://www.armytimes.com/article/20140620/BENEFITS06/306200073/Service-members-can-now-register-burn-pit-list direct link: https://veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov/AHBurnPitRegistry/index.html#page/home though it's still "Loading" for me after 10 minutes... ETA: I hit refresh and it loaded immediately

So didn't find this anywhere else but am curious if anyone knows the answer to this question: Do T-38 (or T-1) compete against every other base for assignments? I only ask because I hear that the scoring is different between Columbus and other bases. At Columbus we grade phase 3 checkrides as upgrades, meaning a 12G (a good score for us) means that we got 12 Es on the whole gradesheet. This differs from our T-6 checkrides that downgrade, meaning a 12G is ok, everything but 12 are Es. I have heard that other bases do it the other way around (T-6 are upgrades and T-38s are downgrades). I am curious if we compete against every base if this is screwing us at Colum…

This just released... No injuries. I can't even imagine what it would be like sitting in the cockpit when that happens. No training or experience could prepare you for such a crazy situation like this when you're just chilling, parked at 0 knots. to these tow pilots.

BBC docu.that speaks for itself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hqbHAzja-k

ATD-X makes its first appearance as Tokyo's warplane plans advance A little bit more on Japan's home brew fighter. Timeline for IOC is a ways off but I am sure Japan could speed that up if things got even more tense in their neighborhood.

Initial report of TB among illegal immigrant minors at Lackland https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/07/07/immigration-crisis-tuberculosis-spreading-at-camps/ Not for a iron fist response, a lot of them are young kids in a very vulnerable spot but this is a turning point - we're going to control who comes in and stays or not. This latest crisis makes me think we don't need a pivot to Asia but a pivot to Central America.

Anyone know the correlation between transiting an IRS approved CZTE area and logging AFTO 781 combat or combat support time? I recently overflew the Red Sea but didn't land in any of the usual AOR locales. Do I get to log this? I asked the SARM folks but they fed me a line about having to takeoff or land at an airfield in the combat zone. They also said there was a list of approved ICAOs but couldn't produce the list when I asked for it (big surprise!). I know their takeoff/landing line is bullshit since I've logged tons of combat time while overflying Iraq on the way from ETAR to OTBH or vice versa.