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Ah, a life of meaning and purpose, felt so strongly by C-130 pilots dropping off and picking up the same pallets of water around the AOR for 4 months in a row, or by a fighter pilot starting their 4th hour of orbiting supporting a JTAR that the army forgot existed 9 months ago, or by the major spending 365 days away from his family building powerpoint slides that people glance at for seconds at a time, or the captain right in the middle of the IPUG who spent a weekend finishing up OPRs on his guys that don't even end up going in front of a board. This whole thread is a testament to the meaning and purpose the Air Force provides.

"I can't offer you the compensation that Delta Airlines can," Holmes said. "What we can offer you is a life of meaning and purpose. You know, while I had this week off from work, I had time to think about how my life was devoid of "meaning and purpose". Well, I better get going...I have a busy evening. Got to take the kids to soccer practice then scouts...in my brand new Porsche.

It's a good thing that I serve in a professional organization that only judges people on their merit and not the color of their skin...

They really are this stupid.

What an incredibly stupid thing to say as a general officer. “Needs to reflect” and “must change” are insane statements. Diversity for diversity’s sake gives zero benefit

He also said in his next sentence “I want you to feel like you are a part of a community … the squadron is the place where that community exists." Do you get the sense of community at whatever airline you’re at? I highly doubt it. But the hilarious part of all this to me is that we’ve all got a very lucrative skill set and the AF seems to be trying to do this on the cheap. I love the camaraderie and know that I will miss it. But the financial differences are just too great to turn them down for patriotism when there’s no will to actually end this boondoggle of a “war” we’re in.

Because "All Day" Ray will take...All Day.

...at low threat CAS. The bad part is you’ve treated your people so badly that all your experience has left, leaving you to relearn the same lessons over and over…the hard/expensive way. You have active duty OGs begging the Guard to send experienced FLIGHT LEADS (not just IPs), to come help with their upgrades. Yes, this is EXACLY it! Just the other day we were commenting about our diversity (or lack thereof) and how much it’s impacting the tactical prowess of the squadron! DUBYA TEE EFF!!! Yes, yes it is! But please, keep denying the big bonus for 1 year orders, it’s really helping the situation… Also, keep denying us full ACIP even though we, as part timers, maintain the same currencies and fly as much as a full timer/AD guy. Yes, I love “deploying” for over 4 months to go fly TRAINING lines on NON-contingency orders (blue pill 12301D vs red pill 12304B). Made even better by sending me to a location with terrible weather and terrible navaids causing us to cancel more than we fly. Why am I taking this massive pay cut again? SO MUCH MEANING!!! I love the insinuation that I get no meaning from my Delta job. On the contrary I quite enjoy the gig. I get people (to include mil charters) where they want to go and I fly with lots of great people, including lot of former mil guys. On my last trip, at the hotel bar I ran into a buddy from an Afghanistan deployment. We hit the town with both our crews and had a blast. The hotel bar is like a reunion every time I go and is always fun. The crazy part is none of us worry about if we’ll have to fight to get paid properly or if we’ll have to jump through hoop after hoop just to make shit function normally. Then we all get to go home and spend a metric fuck ton of time doing what we want to do with our 18-21 days off per month. Bonus, I also have shit ton more money to do the things I like to do with my awesome amount of free time. I’ll tell you what, I do get some meaning out of all this. Today I get to go give an incentive ride to a top-notch engine troop who is a longtime friend from my enlisted days. This will be the most meaningful thing I’ve done in a long time…and I “deployed” this year. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get ruined by a “higher priority," since the AD technically has TACON (or some kind of CON) of our jets for right now.

While I like magazines laden with scantily clad women, if there was a publication to convince my wife to smoke a doobie and chill the f*** out once in awhile, I'd approve of that, too.

They'll continue to make these statements, and I'll continue to give less and less of a fuck about what I do in the Air Force.

Holy shit, he actually said that. I suppose this means I should stop serving in order to reduce the number of white males in my squadron. Need to make room for a non-caucasian female.

Nope, but I’m sure it’s similar cluster there. The UPT bases and PIT are all rushing to set up VR right now, and not exactly working together to do it. In fact, they are competing with each other for resources. Each commander is invested in the innovation dick-measuring contest, and whoever gets VR done first wins. This is what happens under a dickless vacuum of leadership with vague guidance and a bunch of zealot CCs and DOs desperate for that next carrot in the AF pyramid scheme. I think SOS called it laissez faire leadership or something like that.

Yea.. Gen Holmes is pretty far detached from most of us. He's a dyed in the wool military dude who doesn't compute that not everyone wants what he has. In Jan '18, I heard him try to convince a bunch of WIC dudes to stay in with the reasoning that they would get great experiences on 365 deployments that they wouldn't otherwise get...

Hello, In 2017 I got a pilot slot as an ROTC cadet, went to medical screening and was medically qualified. Later that year, I had a bad sinus infection. My doctor said I might have mild chronic sinitus and recommended sinus surgery. I advised SG of the situation and was DQ'd from all rated duties with mention that I could be evaluated in one year after the surgery and attempt to overturn the DQ. I was reassigned to a different AFSC. I recently commissioned and will EAD in two weeks (although I still don't have my orders haha). I had a CT scan last week that shows I would be good to go as per the AFCENT waiver guide (showing ostea of sinuses to be patent, relieved, etc.) The tech even noted that pre-surgery CT shows minimal inflammation at most, and the operative report comments that all sinuses looked very healthy on the day of surgery. It seems the chronic sinitus was very minor in the first place. Now I just need to find out how to attempt an overturn. I have come to learn that one does not simply call up the AETC SG and ask questions. The one-year post surgery mark is coming up in two months and so far I have not been able to get a clear answer from any AD personnel (Det NCOs) on how to go about being evaluated and pursuing an overturn. It seems nobody has much experience with the process. I have searched various AFIs and could find no reference. Does anyone have experience with this process? Assuming I am medically qualified, it seems that getting through to the right channels might be my LIMFAC here, as I have found no information on it so far. Thank you to anyone who has any experience or advice.

@dotonfire, there definitely is. If my old, non-prior service, ass can get one at 36, it’s certainly not impossible to make happen. Good luck with the continued push!

Returning next week, re-starting Tech until his training date. Ugh...can't say I have a great opinion of her work. Can't see how things would get worse when she finally pulls the lever for good.

*cue the “don’t speculate on the cause of the crash” crowd in 3,2,1......

4...stop hitting 3!

“The composition of flight squadrons needs to reflect the entire U.S. population, he said. Squadrons today, particularly fighter squadrons, are still mostly composed of white males, something that must change to reflect the country's demographics, he added.” ....Yepp, this is why pilots are leaving the Air Force, too many white males!! YGBFSM

I also noted this quote.......... "We have asked them to do a lot over 25 years," said Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command. He spoke during a panel addressing the service's pilot shortage at the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber conference. HEAD!! who said head?!?!................. Speaking of community, remember when it was killed? Quote from a few previous bros, "I used to do these things and sing these songs, but now I forbid you!"

So, lets say they manage to get through all those hurdles without a FWA or contracting complaint and getting slammed. When it breaks...who's going to fix it. And when this shithead CC leaves...is it going to stay in place? I love it when I'm busy doing my cyber stuff and my CC tells me to learn how to formation fly a civ T-6 on my "other" time, without OG or MX assistance. Strongly encourage a FWA call...

Maybe. But a dismissal is a felony equivalent in civilian employment circles. So even for regionals it's probably a stretch; the regionals have plenty of low time applicants with clean criminal records. This cat is marked. Nobody in the civilian world gets confinement for consensual sex. So it's not an even playing field, when it comes to UCMJ adjudications versus the civilian criminal law landscape. I am of the opinion his sentence was an overreach. And to keep it in the BUFF family: Kelly Flynn (ugh, beer word) got a straight up pass for doing the same fucking thing in 1997, while arguing sexist bias towards her as an affirmative defense for her bored fucketry in Minot, and the lack of hands or work ethic as a short-stint Buff co-pilot (IOW, the golden key defense, STANDARD). Walked away from a court martial outright, and into a layup general discharge, which allowed her into ASA and the eventual UPS job she's been riding on since 2005, her name legally changed of course. Nevermind the fact she got zero confinement for her equal disregard for the almighty UCMJ. The civilians at the time absolutely sided with her in her quest to decry the anachronisms of the "patriarchal military justice system". But this cat does the same thing 20 years later, even making a similar UCI argument on appeal no less, and this is all of a sudden blasphemy? I can't stand that hypocrisy. Look, I don't personally know this cat, but what they did to him punishment wise is bullshit. Hell, give him confinement as the price for pulling that insubordinate sexual stunt (beats a barrel roll in a Q400 I suppose). But the dismissal (dishonorable equivalent for officer) was flagrant. Different spanks for different genitals. Equality my ass. The SQ/CC in question was a straight up POS, and ruined the careers of other young men who actually didn't do anything but be falsely accused by the spouses of bitter SNAPs who didn't get their dream assignment. Not a good track record for DLF on this front.

I just waited over a year for a TFCS waiver in the Guard 😂 Granted, I am over even the new 8 year limit, but still...good to know Big Blue at least recognizes how f-ed up this process is. Glad to see less bureaucracy and more blanket approvals for things that make sense. IMHO anyone with enough commissioned service time to meet the ADSC for whatever wings they’re trying to earn should be allowed to proceed without needing waivers or anything. The AF doesn’t know they have you beyond that point anyways. Example: Capt Snuffy, prior AMB with 9 years, going to UPT. Still has plenty of time to serve out a full 10 year ADSC before hitting the TFCS limit of 28 years unless you make O6. RPA/CSO/AMB are only 6 year AFSCs, so the aperture is even wider. What percentage of these waivers are ever denied? If we do all this sick dance to just rubber stamp everyone because we’re dying for aviators...can we just eliminate the dick dancing part??

Has anybody looked into the feasibility of “interning” at a flying job?

dang it i've been trolled. i'm out.

not a whole lot evidently

Probably fucked up an ELP...flying canceled, UPT will be all sims until further notice. Also, might as well skip IFF while we’re at it.

"Captain Hill chose to raise his hand and show up to the United States Air Force. When he did that there’s an expectation that he follow those core values and I think of it as this box of core values; the integrity, service and the excellence. He stepped into that box and he cannot step outside of that box without punishment." STS

welp this is awkward

DLF when @HuggyU2 was there:

huggy, we know you have fond memories of the place. That's great. I did my time at DLF as both a single and a family man. And the latter almost didn't happen, thanks to that place. The Lost Decade affected us all, not just airline folks. So let's keep things in perspective. I don't think it's a matter of sympathy, but I can tell you categorically that assignment was a hard inflection point in both my personal and professional life. This isn't just about FAIP pussy grabbing on the weekends or some other sophomoric shit, it's about a lot of other opportunity costs that affect the direction of a household in ways I would expect a family man to understand. I also have it as fact I did a much longer consecutive stint than you did at the place, so I'm qualified to call bullshit on the implication the place is devoid of opportunity costs. Which is another way of saying: Anybody can hold their breath for 3.5 years (PCS outprocessing pussyfooting around don't count). It's not the end of the world, I don't disagree, but let's not be so dismissive the legitimate costs that the place carries on folks with other life circumstances. That's all I'm saying.

Whatever, losers. I was in Del Rio for 4 years... long before the internet. Long before Tinder (thankfully). There were the guys back then that bitched about "being in the middle of nowhere" and couldn't seem to get over it. And there were the guys that realized the environment they were in was not downtown Manhattan. And those guys had smart, hot girlfriends. OK... a few weren't that smart... but I digress. In any case, Del Rio is larger than it was when I was there. And so is Uvalde. What's your excuse for not having a great date this weekend? Make some effort if it is so important to you. I'm not going to bore you with stories from long ago, but honestly... you're getting no sympathy from me. Boo-fuckin-hoo.

^great question....was wondering this same thing myself

Honestly its more about the larger issue of kicking non tactical training to the FTU, which means either the basic skill is ball washed quickly so they can learn the tactics (which is the primary reason they're at FTU), or a lot of time is spent on the basics and the new kid is shit at the tactics. Either way is a significant burden on the CAF. I had to FO through the weather as a young guy, and it was not perfect, but it worked out. Many years later I did it in combat with a running, but significantly reduced thrust engine. There were a couple other precautionary ones also. So in 10 years, I've had two no shitters in worse than VFR around the flagpole training and a couple less serious ones. The risk is only rising as the viper gets older, so i dont buy the "but what are the chances!" argument. Looking back I'm glad I had all of that baseline training that undoubtedly helped me get through that. While unmeasurable, I know there would have been an increased chance of death or forced ejection (due to fucked up FO pattern) if I had the reduced level of training received by young guys today.

This attitude kills me. So when are they expected to recover the aircraft with a serious EP? T-6's? T-38's? F-16's? When does it become "real"? I love how farmer bob getting his PPL has a higher expectation of emergency landings than USAF pilot training.

Isn't the Air Force trying to grow it's way out of a pilot shortage? No, don't get up. I'll show myself out...

I knew it. Griswold was just a cover!

I like this discussion. I feel like love and sexual relationships are a personal issue. Serving in the military is a professional thing. It is unfair to punish someone for their actions in their personal life. Just because people are married doesn't mean they love each other. Not all men can stay in love with one woman for the rest of their life. As long as their personal relationships are not affecting their military competency, I think military personnel should not be punished. But what do I know?