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Simply put, the Air Force does a great job of marketing itself. I'm sure NAT/GEO has a pretty good editing team as well. Having flown dustoff in both big RC's our pedro counterparts flew a pretty small portion of the missions. Not sure if that has changed. Pedro's participation in the mission has put some pressure on the Army to possibly change the way we do things in medevac. And I'm talking more than removing red crosses and making all 68W( flight medics) EMT-P, which is already happening. Regardless of who's flying the mission, these guys are doing some pretty amazing stuff. I made it a point to never look back. A little Vicks under the nose does wonders as well. Unfortunately the guys in the back, be it medic, PJ, gunner, Crew Cheif or Flight Engineer don't have that choice. And I know that what they see weighs heavy on all of them. I'm happy to see someone from the community getting their well desrved props.

Don't forget the salary/BAH/BAS/etc that we pay each of these airmen. If the organizations they leave behind while "on tour" can survive without them, one could argue that elimination of TiB could be simultaneously be paired with the insta-RIF of those 69-ish TiB members without ANY impact upon the mission at all. We're easily talking about $10M+ per year. Can that help at least one CAF squadron stay CMR? How about putting that funding toward a US-only Red Flag? We are literally mortgaging the future of air superiority in favor of a high-school-grade jazz band/drama club. YGBSM.

Yup, you're going to hell.

I certainly would not have devoted the time and effort for my online MBA if the AF didn't force me to. Even if the AF told me it was required for promotion, but I was going to pay for it myself, I would have mulled over my options for quite some time before committing myself to $10K + out of pocket for a chance to be slightly more competitive than my peers on a promotion board with an 80%+ selection rate. Further, if the Air Force wanted me to get a real degree, with a real time investment, they would create opportunities for it. Even with TA paying for my online school, I still took the easiest route I could. Why? The Air Force already pulls me away from my family enough with deployments, TDYs, early morning and late night flights/SOF/Top 3, OREs/ORIs, working weekends to prepare for said OREs/ORIs, the list goes on. I wasn't going to give the Air Force even MORE of my time by committing to a program that would require hours every night to complete. I was not about to tell my daughter "Sorry, I haven't seen you in three days, but I can't play right now because I have to write a 20 page thesis". If I want to invest my time, money, and effort in a real master's, having a BS online MBA won't stop that. But it does put the check in the box in the fastest manner possible. If the Air Force values education, they'll stop making it a box to check and invest in actual educational options.

Sen Dianne Feinstein concedes defeat as Sen Harry Reid withdraws assault weapons ban.

Suggested response if you are ever in a similar situation "Man, bet you are happy that being gay is legal now!"

At my base where I passed over last year, no AAD = P. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

Are you two in third grade? Jesus fucking Christ.

Traitor

But General Allardice said that it didn't matter how low the morale got or if we chose to get out, that he would find other people to replace us! Douche.

No. There is a difference between getting something for doing something and getting something for being something. What you are talking about is the expectation that people have that they will get something, free healthcare, welfare, etc for just being an American citizen. Or worse, just being located in the United States. The 'entitlement generation' expects to get something for nothing. TA, as badly as it has been implemented and with all the previously discussed negative effects, is part of something called a total compensation package. Compensation is something you get in return for something you do. Our military compensation package includes numerous compensatory benefits above our arguably low base pay (especially for our junior enlisted). Some of those benefits are occasional use, and some are more valuable than others. This is no different than most decent jobs. Removing expected benefits from the total compensation package is indeed a pay cut and should be viewed as nothing else. It's disgusting that compensation to military for doing their JOB is politically optional when extending similar entitlements to people who do NOTHING but apply for them is mandatory.

If I had an OTS slot and was pending completion of my degree, I would let nothing stop me from completing it. Sure, it sucks. It sucks like when you're getting ready to reenlist and your bonus goes from $80K to zero. It sucks when you miss promotion by 1 point when you would have gotten it the year before or after. It sucks when you want a specific plane that doesn't show up in your drop. It sucks when you get RIF'd a few months after you volunteer for VSP and get turned down. It sucks when you deploy to a place with no internet numerous times and have to keep dropping your final masters class, and then get passed for major for not having a masters. Lots of things happen in the military that are out of our control, and they suck. That doesn't mean that when the bad stuff happens you just give up and stop progressing. You pick you self up, make a few small sacrifices now, and go to work. I certainly hope the 6-9 OTS selects who need a few more classes will figure it out. Or they won't.

This is dead on. Remember socialism is for the people and not the socialists. This is extremely typical of a progressive society. When the expansionary government does not get its way, it inflicts pain on the people to make the case for more government. While this action is grotesque at the macro level, I am also sick and tired of even so-called conservative military people wrapping themselves in a patriotic flag and saying "cut everyone else's program but don't touch mine because I've served"...Seriously, stop giving yourself so much credit..You are most likely not George Washington. Also, please stop posting snarky facebook posts about reinstating TA or having me sign some dumbass petition. The way I look at it, this is a grand opportunity for the Air Force to rethink its galactically moronic position on education. Furthermore, it will punish for profit "diploma hot dog stands" for using governmnt treasure to peddle their fraudulent product.

I'm not sure what Air Force you have been in for the past decade or so, but it certainly wasn't the same one I've been in! I would have LOVED to gotten a real masters from a real school where you actually go to class with real professors... the only problem is that most real schools don't let you be absent from 90% of their classes and still let you pass. I called Harvard Business School... not sure their online MBA will be coming anytime soon. I have no idea what your background is as an aviator, but you are not even close to the target on this one. Of all of us who got our useless masters degrees from Embry Riddle... how many do you think would have got a masters at all if it wasn't a requirement for advancement? I guarantee that if they hadn't made this stupid AAD requirement to get promoted a few years ago there would be a bunch of Officers on here right now saying, "Man, sucks for the E's that they cut TA!" We aren't a part of the problem, we're a result of the problem. Taking TA away may not get rid of the promotion requirement right away, but it will soon enough... otherwise they won't have anyone to promote. I'd say the vast majority of those out there getting these useless degrees were just playing the game because TA was paying for it anyway. Might be easy for me to say now because I already have my tax payer useless degree paid with TA, but if you told me back then that I had to pay for it out of pocket or use my GI Bill I certainly wouldn't have a masters degree right now, but if I did it most certainly wouldn't have been from Embry Riddle Online!!!

I stand by my earlier assertion. This smacks of cutting a program that people will get vocal about and call their congresscritters and complain that they "DO SOMETHING!" Nothing more.

Cool story bro...

Well that sucks for anyone not within 18 credits of finishing their degree, since the Air Force insists officers must have a masters to be competitive. That said it will be interesting to see how big of a factor this is when all the 10 year commitment guys start the mass exodus. I wonder what Touro, TUI, Trident or whatever they call themselves these days is going to do when the money dries up, but not like it matters from what I hear they are going to lose their accreditation anyway. I just think it is another case of a waste of government money as they made money while the TA lasted, but since they are for profit institution I imagine when the profit goes away so will they. Makes one wonder what the fall out will be for people who hold degrees from a school that lost its accreditation and then went out of business.