General Discussion

Just wondering if there's a potential VSP in 2012; any word out there???

Has anyone who took the 2nd round of VSP in 2014 heard about what needs to be done to receive a VSP W2? Most of those in the 2nd offering received that pay in Jan 2015, therefore it was not reflected on our final Active Duty W2. I still have a MyPay access password, but it does not list VSP W2's in the schedule.

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?

Did anyone here go to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg? I'm thinking of transferring and I want to know how ROTC/life is there.

So isn anyone else's W-2's messed up? I don't even have one. I have heard of other people who only can get their 2003 W-2. Now remember this is AFTER 14 Jan, so they should be up. Any ideas?

Looking to get in touch with some AWAC folks. I may be relocating with my civilian job and would like to talk to someone about opportunities in the Reserve unit at Tinker. If there are any AWAC folks on here PM me. Thanks.

It is just rhetoric and...ugh..."saber-rattling" but ya never know! Warmongers unite! China-USN Incident https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/09...ational-waters/ Chonger https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506843,00.html Iran https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506813,00.html

NATO Is Acting Like It’s 1985 ‘Maskirovka’ Is Russian Secret War Good articles on next-gen warfare as practiced by the Russians. Question comes to mind: Can we do the same to them in areas that they tenuously control or destabilize their allies the same way? If so legally, then morally? Thoughts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/obama-authorizes-national-guard-reserves-ebola-fight-n227336

@argstarted the other thread about Gunships in Desert Storm and I recommended a war stories thread because I’m sure this group has some good ones. I’ll kick it off. Decmeber 2, 2014 Nangahar, Afghanistan Flying Draco out of Bagram and a raid comes down that we’re going to support and run the stack for. We weren’t doing hits every night but by dumb luck, I’d been on a few as we rolled through the schedule. As some of you know, they’re usually a bit hectic at first when the helo lands and then it’s pretty chill as they make callouts and not much would happen so that was what I expected. We brief up, get out there, get everyone checked in and ready to go. We had 2…

Gotta love politics (and fear tactics) in action... Cheers! M2

At the end of your commitment for flying for the Air Force, do you think it was worth it? What were some of the other career paths you considered? What was the peak experience of your career? Right now I am a premed who has a good shot of getting into med school. But I think I would always regret it if I didn't go for a UPT slot and try to fly for the military.

I'm trying to write a couple LOEs and it's been a while. I've gone on e-publishing and can't seem to find the AF Form 77. Has it been replaced by something else? Is there any other way to write a letter of evaluation?

Saw this video origially on military.com and was wondering if a C-5 guy knew if this plane was damaged from this amphibious takeoff? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUx5wTV4XVk

I'm in the market for a new watch and for those of you who have been through UPT, would you suggest a watch that has an E6B function? Is it more advantageous than than fumbling around with that gargantuan wizz-wheel in the airplane?

Those old plastic sleeves get pretty bad with revisions to the point that you can no longer read the writing through the ink residue that is worn off the previous revision. Further more, my checklist weighs more than my ipad and otterbox combo... I've seen a few units with some water proof / tear proof checklists pages that you can write on with a pencil, no smearing, etc. Those checklists were about 1/4 the weight. Anyone know about these? who prints this sort of thing? Thanks in advance

The course at Pensacola is Parachute Water Survival SV-86-A Fairchild's water surviavl is a different course. SV-90-A is non-parachute water survival and also dunker (For whirly crews). Most likely, you'll go to Pensacola as an aircrew member. PD

I believe the appropriate radio call would be: "Tower, Key Lime Air, ....whoops" DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- A Frontier Airlines jet attempting to land Friday at Denver International Airport came within 50 feet of a smaller charter plane that had inadvertently entered the runway, federal aviation officials said. The Frontier crew spotted the Key Lime Air plane in time, aborted the landing and continued flying until it could land the jetliner a short time later, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Frontier and Key Lime officials declined to comment. Neither the airlines nor the investigators would say how many passengers were on the two planes. The Nation…

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal jury rejected the death penalty for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday and decided he must spend life in prison for his role in the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. After seven days of deliberation, the nine men and three women rebuffed the government's appeal for death for the only person charged in this country in the four suicide jetliner hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. Three jurors decided Moussaoui had only limited knowledge of the Sept. 11 plot and three described his role in the attacks as minor, if he had…

I was recently updating an article I wrote on pointy nose weaponeering a few years back. I interviewed the RAF equivalent of a FWIC IWSO for the article, and he talked in some depth about teaching his studs to manually calculate fusing, impact angles, penetration depths, impact speed etc. Of course, theere are also computers that can do all this stuff, but I suppose that the RAF wants to make sure that its FWIC studs don't forget how to do it the old fashioned way. Anyway, it got me to thinking about some stuff I was told about the mission planning software used by USAF strike pilots and WSOs. I was told that you could input, say, a command bunker into the computer,…

Quick question....I was an enlisted aircrew member and I am off to AMS in the near future and then off to UPT. I read AFI 36-2903 and all it says about wings is that they are mandatory. Do I wear them on my service dress before I earn my Pilot's wing's or are they a no-go?

Two sides to every story, but...

I am trying to put together a list for an acquaintance who is selling their house near Randolph due to a job relocation. They wanted to know if there are any web sites specifically targeting military personnel looking to buy a home. I've heard of Military Homes For Sale and Military By Owner, but after that point I am out of Schlitz. Can anyone suggest any others? By the way, I've got no gouge on this particular home; but if anyone is interested I can get some contact info for ya! Thanks! M2

Is anybody else able to use the e4l webmail right now? https://web.mail.us.af.mil/owa or https://scottapc.mail.us.af.mil/owa/

When all the men in a wedding party are wearing mess dress, is it rude/inappropriate/in poor taste to display all your medals if you have more than the groom?