Leaderboard

Sorry, I didn't mean America can't afford it financially, I mean America can't afford to have a weakened Air Force. The AF can't increase the bonus. Only Congress can. The AF shot for 60k, which in my opinion is pretty amazing, and they got stomped. We are a pretty (reasonably) cynical group here, but now we think Congress will just open the purse? That's the most optimistic sh*t I've ever heard in my life. Trust me, the day Congress allows the bonus or flight pay to compete with the airlines will be two fiscal year after there's no one left to pay it to. Your arguments are too ideal, IMO. Of course the AF can work on QoL AND money, but they won't. You know it, I know it. Now that the bonus went up I fully expect the true believers to use this as an excuse to wait a year or two and see how it affects retention, while more people leave. Maybe another "round table" or two, but no real action. I think there are a lot of leaders, way more than we realized, who find the concept of making changes to the AF to make people happy morally repugnant. They "dealt with it," so we should too. Now they can point to the bonus, which isn't enough, and say "See? We did what you asked, now stop complaining." I could be wrong, obviously. But I'm trying to think of a solution in the context of what's possible. And in the interest of full realism, no, I do not expect the AF, or Congress to get it right. I think there will be hearings about the pilot crisis that will go something like this: DC: Where are the pilots? AF: Let's give the bonus some time *Pilots leave* DC: Where are the pilots? AF: We're making changes we think will fix it. DC: What about stop loss? AF: We don't think stop loss is the right answer for this issue [after they thought it was for a while, of course] *Pilots leave, missions visibly (CNN) suffer* DC: Where are the pilots? AF: Our changes didn't have the planned effect. DC: What a about stop loss? AF: We don't think stop loss is the right answer for this issue DC: We disagree, do a stop loss AF: ok *Stop loss goes for six months or so, then makes headlines* DC: Are you people crazy why are we still stop-lossing our heroes?!?! AF: *blinking on CSPAN* ...But you said-- DC: End the stop loss! AF: ok *Pilots leave. Hollow force. Period of struggle* *Major attack, war, terrorist event, etc* *Americans step up, old hats return, patriotism and country music result in massive military spending, AF is reborn* Rinse and repeat

I just got my pay stub for May. I'm a 3rd year NB FO at a mAAjor. Line holder bidding about 75%. I made $22,579.40 with the 16% DC. That's prob more than the COS made in May. Caveat...I had a week of vacation and still flew a little more than normal. The fact that fuckhead Fingers thinks he has standing to negotiate my fucking pay after I served 10 years pisses me off to no end. It should piss you off too. The disconnect is unreal. Fuck off Fingers. For all of you even looking at the fence much less sitting on it, NOW is the time to get out.

I'll just say that I got a real interesting look at this from the airline side. Apparently the CSAF in the meeting asked the airlines to pay their pilots less so it's not as enticing for AF pilots to leave. I don't know if he just implied that or came right out and asked, but his request was NOT received well at all. There is no doubt in my mind that senior AF leadership will screw over the pilots. They are only looking to solve the problem in a way that will be good for big blue. If that means screwing all of over then they will do it. PULL THE HANDLES NOW IF YOU CAN.

The AF has ZERO credibility in DC. That is the reason why you aren't getting your fat bonus. If you actually think that congress listens to Capt Bagodonuts who says "it ain't about the money" then I would say you overestimate how much they even care. However the AF has been the spoiled money-grubbing, temper tantrum throwing red headed stepchild since the whole RPA resistant, F-22 love affair(maybe further back than that, but this comes to mind first for me). Now think about all the other shitty things that have come to light on Capitol Hill that is resultant of Big Blue... MC-12 fight with the Army then subsequently divesting the mission, TAMI-21, attempting to forcibly separate 17-year majors after they had been previously continued, RIFing just 3 years ago, followed by an epic pilot shortage, the acquisition process of the F-35 and even worse the KC-X boondoggle... not to even mention all the freaking dipshit Colonels and Generals (and Capts) we keep firing for doing seriously stupid $hit. The AFs word means dirt. They have asked for money so much that congress is getting sick of it. So if you want to blame someone for messing up the bonus, don't look at your peers, look at upper management. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Anybody else finding it ironic he signed the post RT?

Friend of a friend, who is in DC as AF Fellow attended the meeting between USAF and Airlines. His words "it was a horse abortion"; the USAF viewpoint was not looked upon with any type of sympathy. The overall gist was, we are commercial business who's goal is to make $ for our stockholders and company. I guess United was the most vocal in their displeasure. Statements like "you have mismanaged your pilots for over a decade". So I don't think it went like leadership was hoping...

Yawn...Just another night at work. For the record the only time I used tracer rounds was for training or a firepower demo and only in the 40MM. We used to use 105MM Willy Pete rounds for training which were developed as a marking and fire starting round.. I had one rupture shortly out of the tube on a day training line, now THAT was a tracer. If you want some real gunship action check out the video below, rocking the 25MM on the AC-130U starts at 00:45. The video title is misleading, actually a combination of several types of gunships shooting. If you check out 04:15 you will see the MK-44 30MM Chain Gun that is on the AC-130W and AC-130J. The new AC-130J actually has a 30MM, a 105MM, AGM-176 Griffin Missiles, GBU-39 SDB, AGM-114 Hellfire, and at some point in the future a variant of the HEL.

I've seen several analyses from multiple sources. Almost every single one is not accounting for items that are huge factors. Airline profit sharing, 401K contributions and per diem etc. Additionally, when you earn a military retirement you get your money in small monthly increments. Correct me if I'm wrong here but there isn't much of a correction for inflation either. So, your retirement dollars from a military pension are worth less and less each passing year. Compare that to airline pay where you end up getting large chunks of money each year (~$200-$400K) that you can really leverage into investments. I personally think that I can make those dollars go further than a military pension that dwindles in value yearly. I'm going into the reserves too and plan on earning a pension that way so I'll be getting something from the government still. Just later on. (Age 59) Factor in the b.s. and political games and AD loses big time. Hence, why everyone is leaving. Are we really having this argument? The fact that so many people are bailing is enough proof in my opinion as to what the smart choice is.

Yup. In the AC-130H we had two 20MMs up front and they were loud, especially when you shot them both at once. One of the best things about the 20MM was all the gun gases swirling around in the plane. The crew entrance door on the H model was modified to hold a low-light TV sensor, an illuminator (only visible on NVGs), and a laser for rangefinding and designating targets. As a result it was open to the slipstream of the aircraft. The weapons troops always kept the 20MM barrels oiled up to fight off corrosion. When you fired the 20MMs the oil on the barrels would burn off and combine with the gun gases, then it would come ripping into the aircraft. Because of the airflow from the open crew entry door, the mixture would flow right up the stairs into the cockpit, bounce off the roof and curl down in between your face and the HUD...it was fucking awesome and one of the few things I miss about being in the AF.

Ha, it's sad how true that is for TRs. The pay system is so fucked up. We literally have guys who schedule paid admin days every couple of months to resolve inevitable pay issues.

We talked about it at KCVS, given the state of affairs. I said 500K, after taxes, to stay at Cannon. Per year. 300K after taxes even if you got me to Hurby. I then outlined, based on nominal cost to train a new "pilot" (new CP) to replace me, that offering a bonus bringing pay to 300K a year for IP/EPs would actually save the Air Force money. To my knowledge, no one listened. I'm voting with my feet. Please allow me to illustrate with a slightly modified quote from Braveheart: "You've been so busy squabbling for the scraps from [the Air Force's] table that you've missed your God-given right to something better!"

Ask Holder?

Hoss quotes this forum's rumor about the airline meeting not going well and asks for clarification. That post is deleted by the mods and called "deliberate misinformation" and "fake news." Hoss is given a snarky (imo) "thank you for your service" by the other mod and removed from the group because the rules state fighter pilots lose their eligibility when they retire. That's exactly how it went down.

Story time!

Pretty much...Takeoff! Aileron roll! F**k yeah! But...I will say it looks like a better thrust to weight if it can climb like that after takeoff.

It's definitely possible to schedule the TBAS yourself. I took it at an AFROTC detachment (but I don't think all detachments have the equipment). There's a list of locations and contact info here: https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/Testing Locations.pdf

That's B.S. that she's limiting you like that. There should be no reason for you to apply only pilot. I'd tell her that you feel like you have a shot and if you don't get picked up the first couple rounds then you're willing to add more positions. It's her job to move your application forward and seems pretty shallow for her to not want to help you out despite your goals. I'd tell her straight up about your plans and ask for her help, not her permission. If she's still insistent, then maybe look for another recruiter in a different town. As for taking the test without the recruiter, I'm not sure. There's got to be a way though.

It's almost like when a commodity (pilots) are in short supply, you have to pay more to secure them...

Poor argument. Yours is a false dichotomy. The AF doesn't have to choose between QoL and money. They can and should work on both. Also, you say America can't afford to increase the bonus. Well, if they triple the bonus from last year to $75k for 9 years, that's $675k. Depending on airframe, it costs between 4-15 times that much to replace that pilot, not to mention the 10 years of experience. In truth, the American people can't afford to lose experienced pilots. I understand that some who take the bonus would take it anyway. However, if the AF wants to retain talent, they have to increase the bonus to level where it will firmly be a part of the decision for all but the most jaded. At some point, money talks. And the nice thing is, the AF can work on the QoL issues at the same time.

ClearedHot?

Spending 8-10 years as an O-6 maneuvering for O-7 sounds like the shittiest deal going.

Separating at 10 years, and working a normal career at a legacy until 65 is worth approx 5.1 million dollars, and you'll spend around 3,580 days at work. Same parameters with retiring at 20 years, normal military progression, including a $35k bonus per year, normal military retirement, AND starting at the airlines in retirement nets you $4.9 million at age 65. Oh, and you'll spend 4,328 days at work. All told, you're giving up $200,000 to spend almost 800 additional days away from your family,not including deployments. *Calculations based on legacy pay rates for a 737 FO that becomes a capt at 5 years, with Airline Pilot Central #'s.

Precursor to modern AR... FICON Project and "Tom Tom" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FICON_project Pre-contact and contact are at about 4:30.

Why did they take afpilotjobs.com off, I really loved that site. I wonder how much bogidope.com paid them.

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 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.

Too bad they couldn't get a better announcer, though. They got some no name local.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Completely mindless and fairly funny.

Deadpool 2 teaser. Fuck yeah. Edit: Turn down the fucking volume for fucking language if you're at fucking work. Loser.

Hi Guys! So I'm in the process of applying to units as well. I was annoyed with the fact that I had to go to guardreservejobs plus many of the specific units websites. So I created a script that goes to all the websites and brings them all into one. This will save a lot of time to keep all of us from going to each individual units webpage. Yes a lot of jobs do get posted to guardreservejobs but not all. I missed out on a few because I thought that was the one stop shop. Check out my website when you get a chance! www.afpilotjobs.com it's still very much in work and I'm still working on some things but for now it's fairly up to date with some current job listings. If you have any questions or find any issues feel free to email me at afpilotjobs@gmail.com. Good luck to all out there applying!