Leaderboard

My favorite:

Day 1 of a two week trip to Davis-Monthan, I'm first out the gate, and roll onto the runway as the sun is cresting the horizon (TDY squadrons lose the BMGR scheduling war). The controller says, "time to wake up the complainers, cleared for takeoff..." Turns out a PW229, makes A LOT of noise on a cold, calm, quiet Tucson morning. Within 20 minutes of our first takeoffs (8-ship), we have numerous noise complaints. After talking with the DM folks, they say the biggest complainers are former milItary. "...I was in 20 years and I know how they're supposed to fly..." I think they said in the 2 weeks we were there, they had more noise complaints than the previous 6-9 months. One of the great things about being at a stand alone Guard squadron is the locals love us! I stopped at a coffee ship on my way to work and had someone walk up a say they had a complaint! He says, you don't fly low enough, fast enough or loud enough over my house...then he buys my coffee. Small town, hard working, blue collar Americans...gotta love them!

I honestly don't know how anyone who has dealt with the Med Group thinks government-run health care is a step in the right direction.

Ram, Something that I think the reserves does very well is take the long view on things - they'll gladly sacrifice training opportunities for quality of life sometimes because they know they have to keep guys around for 10+ years. Your philosophy: It sounds great and probably maximizes the short term combat capability of a squadron. However, These types of priorities drive people out of the service completely and created the situation we're in today. The unintended consequences of your list read like this: 1. No cross countries, low levels, or taking students up to 50,000 feet. All gas must be used for maximum training. 2. Commitment is measured by metrics like time spent at the squadron, at squadron events, and early PME/masters completion. No slack will be given to those who "self select" themselves as non competitive. 3. Debrief until crew rest for the next day to catch all of the lessons. Friday pilot meetings begin at the end of the last debrief and last until every person has had a chance to tell us everything they possibly can. I know you didn't necessarily mean any of what I wrote, but I would suggest that you are not the first soon-to-be DO with that sort of philosophy, and look where that's got us. The paradigm needs to shift from crushing people for short term goals to creating a sustainable method to maintain a healthy fighter force. I do not think your path is the way.

I call bullshit. I can't imagine anybody booing for a flight being delayed due to this. What more likely happened is that the Captain announced the flight was going to be delayed but didn't specify the reason, and the father ran with some sort of agenda. The father ranting about Donald Trump at the end doesn't help his credibility.

Hey folks, don't confuse my sarcastic and pessimistic posts for the voice of a dude who's going to give up and watch the house burn down around him. (Although it's probably easy to think that way...which is why I'm writing again.) Take my posts and combine them with the knowledge that I took the bonus and plan to stay until 20+ to try my best to keep my little corner of the USAF as lethal and relevant as I can. I still think that we're the best airpower organization the world has ever seen, and I still think we can beat any challenger. I'm just concerned about the margins, which I see as shrinking by the second. We are a volunteer service. That means that, while you're still wearing that uniform, you have no choice but to go out and do your 100% to keep the organization successful and ensure YOUR personal corner of the USAF is lethal and relevant. You are bound by that duty, and it's the expectation of ALL of our citizens (crazy SJWs, red-hat wearing Trump fanatics, and everyone in between) that you're out there every day EARNING the right to hear "thank you for your service." The CAF is in for a hard decade...and I think it's already started. I won't question the decision of anyone who decides to stay or anyone who decides to leave...it's their choice. But those of you who decide to stand shoulder to shoulder with me and the rest of us CAF bros: We're going to have to work. Hard. 1. Every single training sortie needs to be maximized. 2. No slack for those who don't show their commitment in their daily effort. 3. Every teachable moment has to be caught, and those lessons need to be TALKED ABOUT in the squadron. 4. Guys with leaves and eagles on their shoulders need to screen the BS from those with bars. Young LTs and Capts need time in the vault/sim/jet as much as possible. Take the resources we are given, find a way forward, and work hard to produce the very best you can with those resources. That's our job. We need to keep voicing our complaints to "the Bobs" around the USAF so they know not everything is rainbows, unicorns, and sprinkles...but that's secondary to our #1 concern: KILL AND SURVIVE. Bitching on the internet, like all other forms of sport-bitching, is not only fun, it's your God-given right as servicemember. Throwing your hands in the air and yelling that the sky is falling -- if you're not giving 100%+ and working your ass off to be lethal -- is the biggest SNAP-bullshit act you could possibly commit. Those newly joining, about to join, or aspiring to join the CAF: Get ready to work. You're not the reason for this problem, but we don't have time for any bullshit. Be prepared.

There is at least a 1% chance mad dog will walk the pentagon halls with a fire hose just blasting weaklings out the windows. Probably a 99% chance status quo is maintained. But that 1% is highly attractive! And no matter how it turns out, I doubt he'll spend energy on crafting the right tranny integration policy while we're losing wars everywhere, which is certainly how the past few years have looked.

Dude, come on... That doesn't pass the bullshit litmus test. The politicians say, "Oh how wonderful, Obamacare gave healthcare to an additional 20M people that couldn't afford it!" How?! We're always talking about how healthcare workers are overworked and underpaid, resulting in less people joining the healthcare field which just exacerbates the issue... Did I miss something or did Obama literally pull a bunch of qualified healthcare workers that don't require sleep out of his ass? If you live in the US and the phrase "government mandated healthcare" doesn't scare you, you've probably said the phrase "feel the Bern!" about a million times in the past year and/or cried on national television with a piece of duct tape covering your mouth that reads "silenced by the DNC"

A picture of Trump made up of pictures of crying liberals...best picture of him yet Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Shame we can't get a squadron or two in to share Miramar with the Marines...they seem to get by just fine buzzing Hornets around San Diego daily.

So we both agree that maintaining combat capability at our current levels is critical. I'm good with that. I even think we agree with the how, but - as you said - we are talking past each other. Imagine: 1. CGOs being left to be the tactical experts they need to be. 2. FGOs making sure CGOs have the resources they need and are free of bullshit so the CGOs can do their jobs. We need both. I was focusing on the CGO side, and you're making sure we don't forget about #2. Again - I'm good with that. I think the fact that both #1 and #2 above have been mis-managed are our biggest CFs in this DFP. Pilots ARE our biggest asset, and the young guys feel like their time has been wasted by distractions that have held them back from being the tactical mofo CGOs they want to be. You said it yourself above: Masters degrees, bake sales, christmas parties...etc...that's not why guys have signed 10 years of their lives away to wear wings. They wanted wings because they want to WIN and wanted to be on a winning team. This is half of the manning problem. You're talking about the other half: Burn out. You can't change the fact that military life is hard, but treating manpower like it's some easily-replenishable resource (you know, the way A1 manages manpower...poorly) is killing us. You can't buy a CAF IP with 10 years of experience or just re-recruit one. There is a price for a CAF IP with 10 years of experience. A1 thinks that price is $25K/year for 9 years. I disagree. The price is a 10 year wait to replace that CAF IP. Our problems aren't going away until we recognize that we need to let dudes be tactical AND also be cognizant of the fact that they can find happiness elsewhere, should dissatisfaction with active duty grow too large.

Ram, I've been to that commander's call before. I understand the message you are trying to send to the young guys. Rather than just throwing more spears while we continue to talk past each other, let me just suggest an alternative message that OGs and commanders should be telling their guys: "You guys are our biggest asset. Preserving the future human capital of the air force is our highest priority. Maximize your time with your family - the USAF will get its fair share of your time. We are here to remove obstacles that make your home or work life more difficult than it needs to be." You'll have the tactical pilots you express a desire for because you will actually have IPs with more than 10 years of service. The USAF won't need to shorten b courses or send 2 year FLs to IFF. The unintended consequences of this "tactical proficiency first!" strategy is a CF in this whole DFP. Your lack of "pedigree" (lol) is why I have some faith that you can tread a different path. Don't fall into the same trap that your predecessors have fallen into.

I don't know about the politics, but i do know that large urban centers with dense populations are generally tougher to convince that their property values won't suffer by being in proximity to an air base/live range. It turns out that if you put loud, supersonic airplanes in sparsely populated areas and drop bombs in the middle of the "wasteland", noise complaints are minimized and poorer states get an influx of money. I hear the navy has nice bases though. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

что ебать?

There's a boring, effortless, and family-taxing way of maximizing training given the resources we have. There are also ways to keep the CAF FHP exciting, well-organized, and inclusive of innovative training opportunities without putting undue cost on the lives of the bros in the SQ. It's up to the SQ leadership to find a way to keep the training maximized while not exhausting the bros. The F-16 is a fantastic weapon system, but it is useless without an outstanding aviator sitting in that ACES-II. Call it the human weapon system, if you will. You gotta realize who I'm writing to in this thread...the thread about assignment night drops. Lots of young LTs and Capts here...moreso than the other threads. Too much negativity and doom/gloom, and they don't know how to temper it with experience. Know your audience. So yeah, I totally understand where you're coming from, and I know that your post is not a spear at me. That said, I don't understand where you got your 3 points from what I said, and I'll discuss why I disagree one by one. 1. I never said no XC, LOWAT, or 50k space rides. Everyone has instrument beans, LOWAT, and red-air sorties they need to accomplish. XC can be done. Obviously we're not talking about a squadron $100,000 hamburger party once a month, but there are good deals that can be found. I've seen it done several different ways, and here are a few: Airshow static displays, out-and-backs to other bases to verify their ability to catch/service/turn jets for contingencies, training done on the way to a TDY at an outbase for some dissimilar A/A. LOWAT is a no-brainer. And anyone who's ever been fragged for the HFF while flying red-air doesn't have a hair on their ass if they're not going to 45k+ and seeing how fast they can go (within ops limits). It can be done. Seeing yourself on the schedule for an instrument ride or red-air doesn't mean you just sigh and accept that it's going to be a boring sortie. FLs and IPs leading those rides need to be pushing their formations to ensure they're getting learning out of the sortie, instead of just being radar reflectors. Wingmen need to demand the same out of their FL and IPs. 2. In all my talk about putting KILLING AND SURVIVING as the #1 priority (and I also said that the FGOs need to screen the BS from the dudes with bars on their shoulders), I don't know how in the hell you plucked "masters/PME/bullshit events/etc" from my words. I know you're a smart man, but this was a hiccup in your reading comprehension. Effort put toward KILLING AND SURVIVING needs to be recognized. FGOs around the squadron are the ones who need to demonstrate this balance to the younger pups. Getting promoted can be important, but I'm sure my wife and kids would rather have me hit a merge as a Major and live to RTB than die as a Lt Col. All of us need to realize that our own personal lethality and survivability is gained via a finite amount of man-hours and effort. Spend it carefully. Show others how they need to spend theirs. 3. Not every day needs to feel like an episode of 24. No one can live like that long-term. Friday night pilot meetings before a roll call can be great if they're led well. We don't need to have everyone give a 36' recap of their weeks' sorties to the peanut gallery. What we NEED are regular pilot meetings with lessons learned. What we NEED are bros on upgrade rides writing down their DFPs and associated fvck-ups/attaboys so others can learn from THEIR experience. MQT/FLUG/IPUG aren't just for the upgradee...EVERYONE needs to be able to learn from the spent resources. I've seen it done really well with a book of lessons learned kept in the vault. Good patches know what I'm talking about. Finally, don't speak too soon about me becoming a DO. I'm neither an HPO or a Patch, and CAF DO jobs go to those dudes so they can get ready to be CAF SQ/CCs. Maybe there are bros out there like me, but they think that being some attached FGO somewhere means that they can't affect anything in the CAF. WRONG. The young guys will listen. Your voice might not be as loud or as frequent as the DO or the CC, but you need to be there speaking all the same. 1. Don't be invisible. Be in the vault as much as you can. Just because you're not scheduled to teach academics doesn't mean you can't be there to answer questions, grab some pens, and impart some knowledge. 2. Your AFSC says PILOT, not Wing (INSERT ATTACHED JOB HERE). Take that for what it's worth. 3. Don't suck in the jet. It's harder when you're attached, but if you need extra sim time or study opportunities, you need to take care of you. The young guys won't listen if you're not credible. That's entirely within your control.

I had two, one active duty dude that was a couple states away and my unit had one to coordinate everything,

2 I had to say that which is painfully obvious to a Demo-drone who could not grasp the fact that money doesn't actually grow on trees. Every health insurance policy that is government supplied or subsidized is a wealth transference device to some degree, I am not even saying that as a pejorative but just as a simple fact that libs can't / won't admit. If that fact could come honestly into the public conversation (or what's left of it in the civic society wasteland) the other fact, that people who make less money will not have the same approximate lifestyle as someone who makes much more money, this even includes healthcare, regardless if it pisses libs off or not. If you make 30k per year you won't have the same healthcare as someone who makes 300k per year, if we try to totally even out society in this area (and others) because we are uncomfortable with disparities in lifestyle, we'll wreck the place. Ref: USSR, Venezuela, NK, Cuba, etc...

Right. First off, they're expanding Medicaid, not Medicare. Medicare is for old folks. Medicaid is for poor people. However, I digress. You do realize that the states bear a significant burden by expanding it, right? I can't tell you how many times I heard Democratic lawmakers in my state say "but it's free money". Bullshit, there's no such thing. The Federal Government pays 100% of the expansion for the first year and then it tapers off, putting significant costs on the state in the long run. Kentucky and Ohio are great examples, the poor bastards agreed to do it and budgeted the costs out to 2022. Then, miraculously their costs more than doubled. Illinois? Their Medicaid costs are now four times the original predictions. It's classic bait and switch, a year of costs covered for a lifetime of debts. In my state, thank God we had the sense to say "fvck off" and put that money in a rainy day fund. After the hurricane this year, that wisdom saved lives and homes. Literally.

I would happily trade my RPA for a buff. And they are laying waste to stuff in places like a boss right now.

The ghost of steve jobs autocorrected "conventional" to "convention" and I failed to proof read which took the wind out of my witty comment. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I went though survival school 100 years ago and we had a Lt Col flyer in our class...he had just returned to fly from a staff tour and was about to take command...curing the "audit" they discovered his record did not reflect attending Survival School so they made him go back and do it again. He was MISERABLE and made each once of us promise we would make a hundred copies of the grad cert and mail one to everyone we knew for safe keeping.

This is a shameless plug for a team I am a part of called US Military Endurance sports. I fly with a lot of guys who I later find out are sports enthusiasts and have never heard of our group. One of the immediate benefits of being part of the team are the discounts such as: -52.5% off Rudy Project -50% off Honey Stinger -40% of Schwalbe tubes and tires -50% off Orange Seal (better than Stans) -50% off Black Diamond (winter is coming!) -20% off Scott bikes Im just highlighting the title sponsors but we have over 30 that offer amazing deals to members. Also there are focus events around the country the team pays for such as the Hincapie Gran Fondo, a race reimbursement program, and highly discounted training camps throughout the year (our next one is in March in Tucson). We have coaches and nutritionists on staff as well as regular webinars on everything from training to diets. If you decide to join please let the staff know I referred you and they will expedite the app and I can get you on the internal FB page as well as some other member only sites. Let me know if you have any questions Bart Boma