Leaderboard

Even with all the queep and other stuff that have been repeatedly mentioned on here, this is my biggest gripe about the AF. The continuous inability to properly resource us to do out jobs and I'm not talking MC rates etc. I'm talking about small stuff that forces us to jump through our ass to figure out how to do our job because nobody knows how the hell to get the one program suite we need to do it. Other things like the continuous daily struggle to get computers or printers to work which suck hours of productivity each day. Flying around the world with no international cell phone unless I want to pay for it on my plan out of pocket and having to rack up international charges from my hotel room which the JTR doesn't reimburse. Better yet, when technology like ADS pucks or GPS moving maps on iPads which provide crews with an significant boost in SA are just now being appproved for use if you want to go pay out of pocket again. There a lot of big problems with the AF but those are to be expected in any organization, its the small things that add up in a daily basis. /rant off

The one hole in your long post is that without the pilot/flying/operations side of the Air Force, there is no Air Force ....regardless of how good capt snuffy is at leading his 200 CE troops or running an mpf. If there's no tip of the spear left, then all you have is a shaft.

Happy Memorial Day fuckers. Tammy Archuletta, Mark Graziano, Mike Dodson, Bruiser Bryant and all the others I didn't know well.

Persistence in queep. How many times you're willing repeat a quiz or activity that adds nothing to the mission, but advances your career. *correspondence

Got my Rivots for 50% off with a code from Danner rep at a conference. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

We do a terrible job teaching/giving pilots opportunities to lead. I am firmly against a Tech/lead track. I think a dual track system would only further breed problems from those on the "leadership" track. I know this is not going to be popular, but I think we get rid of a vast majority of Officer AFSCs. Mx officer should be a pilot, support should be a pilot, both LEADING the enlisted who are doing the j-o-b. How many times have you tried to get something done at MPF/Finance and eventually talk to the OIC, just to get some BS excuse which you know is just that Officer "protecting" her airmen? Imagine if it was a Pilot who was the OIC and he was once in your squadron. "Hey bro, your boy, Amn Snuffy told me he couldn't process my new cac because they were about to close and it would have pushed him past his 4pm exit time" After seeing what little my SOS buddies were actually doing, I realized that this was pretty much the way forward. Most hadn't been deployed and their biggest challenges were how to organize the next CGO Club Social. This would be a way to expand the "flying" opportunities while developing pilots and leaders who actually understand the plight (Mx) or laziness (some career fields come to mind, you can find them leaving base at 3pm on Tuesday) of our enlisted. I'm interested in what you guys think. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

I completely agree that just because you're a pilot doesn't mean you are a good leader and deserve promotion. Even a MC doesn't mean you should get auto promoted. Conversely, because you are a MSG guy in "charge" of 300 airmen doesn't mean you're a good officer. It means that's what you were assigned to do. I like the idea of separate promotion boards simply because it aggravates me to no end when clowns with multiple Q-3's but make great excel trackers get promoted/selected for school when the ace of the base who is a great leader but has been kept in the squadron to help the war fighting aspect go well get shit on.

Argh...I knew this wouldn't go well nor would I do a good job of asking the question, but to your point: IF the board sees finance officer leading a flight of 10-15 accountants and you flying as #1 in a 4-ship, what does it see? A leader vs. a technician. Just a quick, probably not very accurate example, but I am desperately trying not to get lost in minutiae or get out-lawyered. Concept vs. details. I am not agreeing with the premise of all things are equal, but if the underlying concept of a promotion board is "potential for leadership" and not "potential to become a mission commander" then one of those things is at a disadvantage. Hence the board results you are seeing. So how do you fix that? Promote by AFSC? Put it in the ADSC that along with the 10 year, soon to be more, commitment for UPT, you WILL get promoted at the appropriate time, i.e., guarantee promotion? Does it matter about that outstanding, but non-rated officer who busts his ass to support the mission, but he gets passed over yet a dirtbag (and there are those in the cockpit - see Rhatigan, et al threads) makes it? Something just not right to me about that scenario, but that's just me.

I was waiting for the second half of the story, where you removed him from the SQ/All emails and he berated you for not keeping him in the loop.

Not that I need to explain any moderator actions on here, but just to get the facts straight I did not "delete" Ho Lee Fuk's post but simply hid it pending a moderator/admin review. I extended the courtesy to let him know that, and he goes fucking ballistic about it. I strongly suspect he may have been someone that has been previously banned from this forum. If not, he can join that individual (who still regularly monitors BaseOps and posts his opinions about it in his "blog") in bitching about how things are run here. I honestly couldn't care any less...

Dude don't even get me started. If I ever have to deal with comm and falcon view on the same day again I may jump out the window

Echo all the above. I applied to 50 fighter boards and did 7 interviews before I got hired. Keep applying if you want it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am 28, applying to as many ANG UPT boards as possible. TBAS 57, 82 Flight Hours with PPL. AFOQT 78 pilot GPA 3.35 BS in Global Business, Arizona State. Looking C130 units or KC135. What are my chances?

They also use LDO's a lot for support jobs. LDO's are former enlisted who were good at their support specific job, got promoted, maybe even without a degree, and lead support functions up to the O-4 ish level. No future of command but fill a niche in areas that a full-up O, or especially a pilot, might not be ideal for.

Checks. If a rated officer can lead crew comm or AFE troops in the OSS, he can lead maintainers or finance folks. ... Which reminds me, whatever happened to our old inside source, Finance_Guy?

Sport bitching about 11F vs 11R aside, whatever, I guess my main things in suggesting AFSC typed boards are this: 1) the records will be more apples-to-apples than when you have entirely different career fields with board members reading between the lines 2) it makes it more straightforward to promote the AFSC that you know you need X number of '0Y 11FZ. 3) if we're not putting any non-rated dude in charge of the flying sq, ops group, flying wing, or flying MAJCOM, why are we competing against non-rated officers anywhere below 0-6?

I wouldn't say it's completely worthless. It helped me hone some crazy PDF ctrl+F skills.

My OPs Group hired a contractor to manage CFPS/FV on our computers instead of Comm.

I got in with worse. You're fine man. If they say no they'd tell you why anyway. There are plenty of units in your neck of the woods. Get your apps in and rush the unit. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I do worry about this. I don't see separate boards helping the situation. Really, the AF just needs to promote all pilots, unless an individual has royally F'ed something up. Young CGOs in my community are seeing non-operators outperforming 11X/12X types. It's just another reason to get out ASAP. Dudes don't trust the AF to reward them for their choice to stay.

5 people in one room? Sounds like a fire code violation...

Yeah, mine is an attorney, so between taking another bar exam and trying to find legal work in the UPT towns, there's just no way she's moving with me until after graduation.

Congrats man!

I got hired by a fighter unit recently--my dream for as long as I can remember. I visited the unit prior to applying and showed genuine interest in the unit, the area, the current pilots' histories and end goals, etc. I was social, but drank without making an ass out of myself. I'm a happy dude, so drinking and hanging out with people who are very accomplished at something I've cared about being successful at my entire life was awesome. I didn't kiss ass, and I wasn't a dick to the other guys interviewing/rushing. As far as the interview goes, I'm pretty sure I gave some good answers because I got some laughs and some nods, but I think it all came down to showing them who you are and what your approach to getting through pilot training is. They want your answer, so don't try to be someone you're not or someone you think they want. Use good judgment, STFU, and all that stuff you've heard before. Getting the phone call was awesome! Getting hired is by far the greatest accomplishment of my life. I'm incredibly honored that a bunch of awesome guys got together and said "Yeah, we like this guy enough to include him in our inner circle. We think he comes from good stock, we think he can go the distance, and he just fits in with who/what we are." With all that said, I'm still blown away that I have the opportunity to pursue my dream job, but now I've switched my focus to kicking ass during training and getting through the pipeline as quickly as possible so I can be useful to my unit. Anyway, sorry for the long read, but I hope it gives you guys/gals something to look forward to. Stay positive, and feel free to PM me so we don't further derail the thread.

Maybe I'm just trying to rationalize here but generally, in the RPA world, passed over O-4s become perma line flying IP/EP/Top 3 with generally fewer additional duties. To me it seems pretty close to the professional pilot path a lot of us have been longing for. While I will greatly miss the chance to command my own squadron, I for one look forward to not having to play the Air Force's "you should do X if you eventually want to have a chance at doing Y" games anymore.

Mods, can we put this retarded conversation about an LT measuring his wife's legitimacy via credit score where it belongs - in the WTF thread?

Azimuth, you everyone beer for posting that picture. Good riddance! You might as well have posted a picture of this guy. (DISCLAIMER: If you were in the 41 AS in the 2008-2009 time frame, don't click that link, you already know who it is.) FF

Pretty sure active duty has already said man power study. We moved CSSs to the group back in 06 at Spangdahlem as a test. Of course though we probably have no record of it either. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So the draft outline for the script for Top Gun 2 has leaked (probably Trump and/or Russians. Same thing, right?): "TOP GUN 2: This Time It's Non-Gender Specific" Having been caught up in the 'Fat Leonard' supply scandal, former Rear Admiral, now Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell is given his final assignment as the Commanding Officer, Naval Fighter Weapons School, Miramar Naval Air Station, California. Having been the number two graduate of his class in 1986, 'Maverick's' has unique insight into what the daring young aviators have to face in flying their high-performance, stomach-churning aerial chargers in modern air combat. SCENE 1: 'Maverick' is shown being given a ticket by the Shore Patrol after he was caught driving his Lexus on the flight line road trying to keep up with an F-18 doing touch-and-goes, exceeding the station's 25 mph speed limit by nearly 8 mph. SCENE 2: 'Maverick' puts the auditorium at ease to welcome the Class of 2017B. The roster includes three women, a two-dude married couple, one undeclared person, and four heterosexual men; one black, one Hispanic, one Asian, one White. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Top Gun. I am Captain Maverick Mitchell and I want...yes? What is it, lieutenant?" "Sir, you only welcomed the ladies - which is a very patriarchacal thing to do - and the men - which just demonstrates their historic privilege. But you didn't include the zir. I am offended and have uploaded your comments to youtube. I assume I will be receiving an apology from the Department of the Navy and you after the press conference with Gloria Allred?" SCENE 3: Operations Officer Holly 'Diaper' Nowak briefing the class for a mission: "Today, you are scheduled for a 4v4 DACT - Hornets against the 3rd generation contract air. Unfortunately, the MC rate won't support it, so "Snowflake" and "Cis-G" you two will go fly a BFM. The rest of you can knock out some of your CBTs." SCENE 4: Having sweated their way through the CBTs, the 2017B class makes its way over to the Miramar All-Ranks Club where the SARC and Alcohol Prevention offices check their IDs at the door, carefully noting their data, and placing their CAC cards in the file to be retrieved on the way out, after the mandatory breathalyzer and room sweep checking for sexual assault victims. Finally making their way to the near-empty bar, as the Isley Brothers "You've lost that lovin' feelin'" begins to blare from the speakers, the four heterosexual men are accosted by the irate school instructor that looks remarkably like Kelly McGillis. But not the hot, wild-haired Kelly. No this the haggish, yet with an Adam's apple, Kelly who instantly begins to berate them for building the modern world. SCENE 5: Meanwhile, in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, the despot that rules that arid, worthless land gases and kills his citizens. Despite it having absolutely no strategic value to the United States, the President, fully backed by the hawks in Congress dependent upon the defense contractors in their districts, sends a short-manned carrier battle group to the region. Why it's short-manned, especially in pilots, is never questioned. Class 2017B receives its orders to man, er, person-up the carrier's flight department despite not having worked up or being current in carrier operations. Stepping into their F-35Cs, they find out that "this helmet is too heavy." This ejection seat is "too tall." But this all-seeing, all-knowing fighter is "just right." Flying an Alpha strike (not your father's Vietnam Alpha strike of 50 jets), this one has four F-35s and two UCAVs, our class of heroes flies into the double-digit SAM rings where they all synch their Blueteeth to some Starbuck's selected folk-rock tunes and proceed to ISR the hell out of the dirt. They return to the boat, all take the three wire, shut down. And hand in their separation papers since they each got a call from major airline. AND CUT...

Like brick said, "both sides pretty much suck". Can't pump up your deportation numbers if you discourage illegal border-crossing to begin with. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/05/17/deportations-under-president-trump-undocumented-immigrants/101786264/ Highlights: -Arrests up 38% -Arrests of those with immigration violations tripled (a couple months under Trump compared against a couple months under Obama, possibly taken to look Trump look better) -"Under Obama, undocumented immigrants had to be a gang member, convicted of a felony, or convicted of several misdemeanors to be deemed a deportation priority"... Trump actually calls crossing the border illegally what it is... A crime. No more "noncriminal" illegal border crossers (exactly as stupid as it sounds) -"Under Obama, ICE agents who were conducting raids or seeking specific individuals could generally not arrest other undocumented immigrants they encountered along the way." Again, Trump doesn't care about Obama's PC fine print. -Deportations are 12% less than Obamas, primarily because illegal border crossings (easy and fast deportations) have dropped 67%

Is there any reason we do anything anymore? Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

If you do that, you're almost guaranteed to be promoted.

Too bad we can't go back to these. Speed lacing and the possibility of cowboy boots on non-flying days would be nice.

I am sure many have done better than me at UPT and many have also done worse, so FWIW here is the advice from an "old" ANG Captain that got tankers on track select night: You have got to want to be there! I know this sounds stupid, but you would be amazed at how quickly the "new" wears off and people start b1tching about UPT. The same thing happens right before assignment night - people forget just how lucky they are to be flying ANYTHING in the AF. Thus, you get someone literally CRYING IN PUBLIC about getting an A-10 instead of an F-15. WTF!? Anyway, I digress. You must be willing to put in the work. That means generally no Halo marathons, no drunken parties during the week, and no constant jabbering to your girlfriend who is 1200 miles away. At least during the week. I'll get to weekends later. Remember why you are at UPT - to learn to fly AF airplanes. There is only a finite amount of time in the day, and if you don't prioritize it well (see my examples above) you won't do well at UPT. You have to be consistent with your work ethic. There are TONS of things that need to be done on a daily basis. Academic exams, EPQs, stand-up, briefings, plus usually 2 or 3 actual flights per day. Toss a checkride in every few weeks just for fun. In order to keep everything straight, you MUST keep your nose to the grind stone. For me, I spent at least 2 hours a night studying (except Friday and Saturday). I would get home, spend 1-2 hours with the wife (eat dinner, walk the dog, f*ck, whatever) then study for 2 hours, shower, and go to bed at 10pm. Up at 5am and repeat. EVERY NIGHT. For the entire year. There is no shortage of things to study, so you must study/read something every night just to keep up. If not, you will get behind quickly and the pace of UPT is such that once you're in a hole in one area it is very difficult to recover (to the point where you do well vs. just getting by). I will caveat this by saying that you need to study and work hard, but don't panic about it. There were many nights that involved a few beers while chair flying! Gotta keep it real. CHAIR FLY - CHAIR FLY - CHAIR FLY. I can't stress that enough. As the SRO of my class, I was fortunate enough to be one of the 'go-to' guys when folks had trouble. I was always amazed that guys would tell me "Yeah, I know the procedures for a no-flap straight in" but when I would sit them down in my living room and say "Talk me through it - in excruciating detail. I want to know every single thing you are going to do...every switch, radio call, where you're looking, etc." and they could not do it! They would miss steps, forget checklists, or not know the radio calls. If you can't chair fly a mission at ground speed zero, you will never be able to do it at 200 knots with an IP staring you down. As a side note, helping others chair fly is one of the best ways to study, IMHO. If you can teach it to others, it shows you have a command of the information. Again, there is a never ending amoung of information to cover so you had better chair fly every night (esp. in T-1s when you're shooting 6-8 different approaches every flight. Lots of details to remember, and the more you know before you step to the jet the better you will do in the air.) There's an old saying that goes something like "Never let the airplane go somewhere you mind hasn't been to 5 minutes prior". Chair flying gives you the ability to rehearse everything the day prior. Sure, things will go wrong or change, but if you've practiced the "perfect mission" 3-4 times before, you'll be able to focus on the changes and not get wrapped up worrying about the basic profile. The ability to remain calm and excel when the profile changes is one of the things that will set you apart from the rest of the class. Perhaps some of our FAIP mafia on here can comments on that...but in my experience, that was the case. Anyone should be able to fly the profile as briefed. But how people react when the feces hits the rotating oscillator is when you find out how they really perform, IMHO. Balance. You must balance the day to day stress of UPT with your life. For me, I would stop worrying about UPT stuff on Friday after our last event. Party it up at the club, drive to San Antonio, whatever. We'd go boating, travel, or BBQ on Saturdays and Sundays until about 5pm. Then it was time to eat dinner and hit the books again to get ready for Monday. Use the weekends to catch up on your life...spend extra time with the girlfriend/wife/kids, go do whatever you do for fun. The people that never let UPT go soon self-destructed. Those are just a few things you can do to improve your chances. It's true that natural ability plays some part in success, but it's more mental than anything else. You can learn the monkey skills of actually flying the airplane. It's keeping your SA and being able to answer IPs questions that is the real b1tch - and the part of the equation you have direct control over by studying/chair flying. You will never hook a ride for a firm landing [hand-eye stuff] but you certainly will if you bust out of the MOA [brain power stuff]. That's where work ethic, consistency, and attitude come into play. I know some folks reading this will say, "He's full of sh*t! Everyone has GOT to study! Everyone has GOT to chair fly!" You'd be surprised how many people I knew that spent 0 time outside of the flight room studying. And they all got what they deserved on assignment night. Whew. Guess I got off on a rant there. Sorry if I was long winded, but that's my perspective.