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That chick is hot.

Well...the radar scope is less than 2 feet away. I'm sure that counts. Doesn't it?

I'll take the contrarian point of view here. Is your personal morale tied to air conditioning? Let me ask it this way...would you trade jobs with those guys because they worked shorter hours in air conditioning at an "easy" job? Serious question. Would you expect that your morale would be higher or lower than it is now if you worked "in a cooler typing inventory" instead of in an airplane? Fellas, some jobs just suck regardless of temperature. Having morale in some of these jobs would be challenging to put it mildly, especially when so far removed from the tip of the spear. Operators don't get their morale from comfort. We get it from being able to see the j-o-b get done from up close. We get to see the actual fruits of our labor most of the time. These kids do not. They are far from home for long periods of time as well. Maybe not as much as you. But they get less pay, zero glory and don't get to see any results from their work. So yes, I would say their morale is probably pretty shitty...all so you could have a nice cooler full of cold drinks in the middle of a war. Whenever you want to shit on someone else and how easy their job is compared to yours, ask yourself this: would YOU want to do that job? If the answer is "no" then just be thankful you don't have to...and that someone else is willing to do it.

I was at Salem in 2006...went to eat chow after a long day flying the C-130 up north and a NCO sat across from us and he told us he's glad he's at a base that has Herks to deliver supplies. Our FE asked him "you think those airplanes are here to supply Salem?" And he did a "uh, yeah...why. What are they here for?" He had a different perspective that day after realizing we existed to supply the bases in Iraq, and he was there to support the airplanes taking off north, not the other way around. I also remember getting food at the grab-n-go at the Deid one day while we stopped through. It was about 115-120F outside, and our flight suits were soaked through from sweat. That was in 2005 when 18 hour FDPs were the norm. We were all taken back when we walked into the place to fill up the cooler...inside this room (which was cold since two walk-in coolers were on either side) there were several airmen inputting what we took from the cooler and doing whatever queep they needed to do...and above them was a banner that said "Our Morale Suffers So Yours Doesn't". Hmmm...work 8-12 hours in a cooler typing inventory, or spend 18 hours flying in a loud E-model Herk in 115 degree heat...huh. Seems like they definitely were taking one for the team. And for our finance warrior, at Dyess aircrew deployed 120 on then 120 off for years on end. Most people left there with 4-5 four month deployments in a three year tour. They took a "break" from deploying so they could do career enhancement things like SOS or instructor pilot school...but again, they were still TDY and not at home. I was a common joke to claim Dyess was your TDY location and down range was your real home. I spent 12 years on active duty. Two years were spent on casual status and training, so really only 10 years were spent in the real AF. Despite spending 5 of those years as a schoolhouse instructor with AETC and a fairly cush job flying Learjets for 3 years (only one deployment that tour) I still managed to deploy for a total of 30 months. And that's deployments...add in more for various TDYs I've been on...and I'd argue that's LOW for most Herk pilots. I'd argue that most people here don't hate non-rated officers. They just can't stand the disconnect that exists between rated and non-rated. Such as over hearing non-rated people bitch that the aircrew at deployed base X only work every other day, not realizing that we work from show time to engine shut down 16-18 hours in a hot, loud airplane...by the time post flight paperwork is done, you've worked 20+ hours and your are wasted. Plus we were flying around the clock...show on Monday at 1600 for an 18 hour mission, then on Wednesday you show at 1800 for another 18 hour mission...Friday is a 2100 show for yet another 16-18 hour flight...get the picture? Then we hear the kids who work 0730-1600 in an air conditioned trailer/building bitch about how we have it easy... I have more examples...we all do...of this disconnect. I'll save the story about my SOS job brief assignment where several non-rated types critiqued me saying I was too technical, claiming that most people in the AF might not know about this "C-130" that I speak of...but as others have said, you can further this disconnect or you can be part of a solution and learn about the core missions of our service. And no, finance is not a core mission...

Q-3

Well did he win?!?!

I'm going to venture to say that with an accountability date of Feb, the damage was already done on your PRF. I doubt a school house TR would have changed much if you had a P on your PRF. The FTU has 60 days from the grad date to submit the TR to AFPC and I've seen it take as long as 30 more to end up in the individual's record. And this comment about someone washing back making them not as good as someone who breezed through couldn't be further from the truth. There are people who struggle at the FTU because something else may be going on outside their control. The goal is to help them get through the program, to include washing them back if needed. As a Lt going through the pipeline, you are not privy to all the information that is going on with troubled students, so don't even begin to think you are automatically better than them.

It's sorta douchey to like your own post. Technique Only

I am much more concerned with the 24 y/o kid out of the ATP factory landing my CRJ in the weather (god forbid hand-flying) than a DC-9 with suspect seats flown by some old military retiree.

And on that day, throughout all the land, not a single fuck was given.