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Come on guys.... Are you really implying that pointy-nose types don't give a shit about the American flag because they do not wear it on their uniform? Face it - MAF and CAF are not the same. Yes, we all fly for God & country and all that... but does it really matter? MAF dudes wear the flag. Cool. CAF dude's don't. So what? There are a lot more things that we do differently, too. I'll go out on a limb and say I'm sure that we could all become better by exchanging some more plays out of our respective books. But a patch? Come on.... Quit feeding the trolls on this one, boys. You make us all look silly. And, in the end, shouldn't this thread be about bashing shoe clerks and their mindless changes to uniform regulations while we are out there hacking the mish?

I think the flying incompetence has a little more to do with the fact that the AF makes you focus more on PME and AAD rather than flying. Some of those really smart low-flying-time PME/AAD guys need all the additional SA TCAS can provide. Yes, our pilots are becoming a little more lazy and a little too dependent on technology instead of using it as an enhancement tool. It will only get worse as long as we continue to make rated officers focus on the wrong shit at the wrong time. But to stay on point...it isn't about being the best, most competent pilot anymore, but rather making sure you check those PME/AAD boxes so we don't get RIFd and we can make it to retirement before they change it...

This is like the "I love cats" lady. Did either one of them even LOOK at what they had just created before hitting send?

The one thing I liked at DLF was seeing the herbs to a flyup while we were perfectly legal in the MARSA pattern next door, clowns.

Except you aren't in combat sir, you are simply a REMF at OKAS. Those of us in combat will respectfully decline your offer to augment our warrior spirit with shameful frolicking.

Or safari..

And shuffle up and down the isles at the pace of a snail in line abreast formation with your wife.

ALR HIGH

Look on the OPM sight under special salary rate tables and look for table 0558. This is the GS-12 and GS-13 with 30% additional pay scale. Remember that ALL of your ART pay (minus the obvious healthcare deductions, 401K, etc.) are taxed as opposed to your 10 year Major pay which has a significant tax advantage. ARTs do get matching 401K though. As far as "double dipping," it is really no different than any other job that gives you paid leave. I can work 40 hrs per week and get paid for 40 hrs, or take some sort of leave (comp/credit/mil) and get "paid" my civilian salary on top of my military pay. I am still working the time or taking leave - nothing is truly free (except the 15 days of paid military leave each year). Some other civilian jobs have similar options. Double dipping is a misnomer. In reality, it is not getting paid twice for the same work - that is called dual compensation, is illegal, and is perhaps one of the FASTEST ways to lose a government job and go to prison. $450 for BCBS Federal is a little high (usually closer to $250-300), but that also depends on where you are in the country. Federal employees (including ARTs) are INELIGIBLE for Tricare Reserve Select (those who qualify for another gov't sponsored healthcare plan... yadda yadda) Buying back time... Good deal anyway you slice it. Caveat - you cannot take an AD retirement AND buy that time back. You CAN take a RESERVE retirement (i.e. 30 years of service with around 17 or 18 years worth of "points") AND take a civilian retirement that gives you credit for those points, but you cannot receive an AD annuity AND a FERS annuity that credits you the AD time. Best part up front with no buyback required = you get "credit" for your AD time towards your leave accrual rate (4, 6 or 8 hours leave per two week pay period) depending on your total time, which can accumulate up to 26 days paid vacation (not including weekends or federal holidays) per year. You can usually stretch that into about 6 or 7 weeks off per year if you plan correctly. Example 1 - AD person with 15 years AD time, and 15 years of civil service time = 30 years of civil service time with buyback program Example 2 - AD person with 25 years AD time, and 15 years of civil service time = AD annuity (immediately) and 15 year CS annuity upon reaching an eligible retirement age (depends on several factors - see OPM FERS retirement pamphlet for more info) Example 3 - ARC person with 25 years ANG/AFRC time (15 years of AD "points") and 15 years of civil service = AFRC/ANG annuity (age 60), 25 years based on IDT and AD time combined (15 years of points - new math, squirrelly, I know) + 30 year CS retirement with buyback. Bottom line = you cannot qualify for a full AD annuity/retirement AND count that time towards a simultaneous CS retirement. I think there is a way to convert your AD retirement to a Civil Service retirement by waiving the AD annuity, and thus being able to buy back all the AD time into CS time, but you'd have to contact the experts for that one. Here is a site with some good info. Adding an ARC retirement to a CS retirement is definitely the way to go if you are not really close to 20. The FERS retirement also assumes different criteria. For example, AD gets roughly 2.5% per year of service as an annuity, immediately. Civil Service gets 1%, 1.4%, or 1.7% (depending on career field and length of time in that career field) per year + matching TSP. 20 years AD = 50% base pay; 20 years federal Law Enforcement = roughly 34% base pay + TSP + SS; 30 years ART = roughly 34% base pay + TSP and Social Security at the appropriate ages. Hard to beat an AD annuity if you can get one. Do the math. ART is a good gig as far as civilian employment goes, but as you know everything has a cost/benefit.

I find sitting around here and screaming the USAF equivalent of "you kids get off my lawn!" incredibly constructive. I just can't wait for that first day when I can go to the Commissary as a retiree and buy 3 shopping carts full of carton cigarettes. Then I'll know I've really made it!

You silverbacks need something constructive to do.

MORALE with slash through is what I originally thought of here at our SQ level...I think that's the way to go

Getting Bin Laden What happened that night in Abbottabad

I am in complete support of the People for Eating Tasty Animals.

Copy, you've never flown a heavy. Noted.

Zing! You think of that while in your Pred trailer?

There is no such thing as a "good job declawing a cat." it is equivalent to cutting someone's fingers off at the first knuckle, and if you think they need to be declawed, perhaps you shouldn't have a indoor cat...put it outside and let it keep the claws.