Leaderboard

Bunch of people sent me the link when I was flying today, it was rather surreal walking off the flight line watching the trailer for Top Gun 2. The original was really what made me want to be a pilot as a young kid. After a really fun flight today and seeing that trailer was a awesome feeling. I hope the movie is as awesomely cheesy and filled with sweet flying as the original, and that it inspires and sparks the dream of flight in some of today’s kids like it did me.

Another #MeToo thrown Hail Mary to inflict some partisan Trump derailment. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/senators-split-over-hearing-testimony-from-colonel-accusing-trumps-pick-for-militarys-no-2-officer-of-sexual-misconduct/2019/07/11/18b83d42-a420-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fb237498ddfb https://www.thedailybeast.com/air-force-clears-joint-chiefs-vice-chairman-nominee-john-hyten-of-sexual-misconduct So, some Army O-6 was fired and given a poor performance report by Hyten for duty related stuff and she claims she has “nothing to gain by coming forward.” Just the attempt to derail the career of the Commander who fired you, that’s all.

Hahaha no. You predate that and fit well within the BAMF group from other jets.

Top gun has to be the most unrealistic, inaccurate, and down right ridiculous aviation movie ever. I can’t wait to see it.

That’s a bit harsh, although maybe I’m in the 90% and this is how I find out 😬

Pawnman, did not expect PRF to be that good. Big blue 100% did you dirty. This, to me, illustrates 2 things: - the inflation of strats in circulation right now. #2/8 I/APZ is top 25 percent. If promotion rate is 71 percent, how is that not good enough for promotion? The answer is STRAT INFLATION out in the ranks. Awful 2. A lot of strats in middle of C Zone that aren’t among rank, peer group. Not saying that’s your fault, but it shows the important of CGO and O-4 strats vice position strats. In any case, this PRF from my time as an exec esp with a Super P I would’ve bet a lot of money would’ve been picked up. There must have been a ton of illegitimate Super Ps on the board this year and that diluted its power. It frustrates me you obviously have done a good job for our service for 14+ years, have checked all boxes, and they still did you wrong It also makes me nervous for my IPZ Next year. Hang in there amigo

Never give up hope. Keep your head down, do your work as best you can, and keep doing the right thing by those under your authority and influence (yes those are two different things). You can help those coming after you a LOT by going through what you’re going through. I say this from 2APZ to O-5. I PCS’d from where I got passed over, got a new SR who is worth his salt, and got a DP without even a full year in the seat. I’ve got a line number to O-5 now. Senior Raters know a good officer when they see one, and the current guidance is to promote good men/women. It’s all about attitude. Don’t give up, and definitely don’t draw your validation from the USAF’s bankrupt promotion system. You have a LOT more to offer. You’re not done yet. FF

As promised, here's a PRF that will NOT get you promoted. I have not talked to AFPC or the WG/CC yet, so further analysis pending.

Mavericks reaction to the Admiral...

The best part is the Admiral giving Maverick shit for just being an O-6.

So, wrt Gen Hyten and what he's currently going through, curious to hear your thoughts. Met him several times and always seemed like a solid guy. USAF's (seemingly comprehensive) investigation couldn't find anything inappropriate but it seems that his accuser is willing to testify before congress...

What about going to bombers instead of AFSOC?

Considering how great movie making has become in recent years, I am damn excited to see that movie. Navy jokes aside, Top Gun is the movie I grew up watching every single day, and I can’t wait to see the new one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lighten up Francis...nobody’s coming for your 401k

Based on my experience, I wouldn’t mess with coordinating a new separation date until you are actually approved. Who knows what would happen if you alter your 1288 and try to input it back into the system, it might start the whole process over again. It should be just a simple email/phone call to adjust dates once your package is approved. AFPC surprisingly was really responsive to moving separation dates and inputting unit line numbers for the guys in my unit once the PC approval was done.

Back to work on Monday. I've got nothing to hide, especially if it helps others avoid my fate. I don't know if they're just pretending to care or if they actually care, but I have more leadership calling and texting me about my career now that I've been passed over than I ever did leading into my 2 BPZ/1 BPZ/IPZ boards. Maybe if they'd shown that level of care and interest in my plans, my next duty title, next assignment a couple years ago, I'd be a Lt Col select now.

Just wanted to post a follow up now that I've closed and signed with Josh. He went above and beyond for a first time home buyer and always had time to explain little details and answer any question. True to your word, Marty, he quoted his best upfront and didn't play any games like the broker my real estate agent had me get a quote from. He also seamlessly helped us push back closing a few days with no fees when we ran into a problem right at the deadline. In addition, he wouldn't let the title company finalize their portion until he ensured that I was getting every penny of concessions that the sellers agreed to (the title company was trying to leave $400 on the table). I wouldn't hesitate to fully recommend Josh for anyone looking at a house in Arizona. I also had a great interaction with Amy at NBKC and wouldn't hesitate to use them in the future. It just came down to Josh beating their rate.

Absolutely to doing a 20yr VA loan! The benefit to amortizing it as a 20yr vs doing a 30yr and paying like a 20 is the interest savings. I just used a file I was working on with a loan amount of 328K. Interest rates are essentially the same between a 20 and 30yr VA so the only difference is the loan time frame. If you did a 20yr and never made an extra payment you'd pay 118,512 in interest. If you did a 30yr and paid it off in 20yrs you'd pay 160,695 in interest. It's a common misconception that just paying it off earlier will make a 30 like a 15 or a 30 like a 20, but that's not really the case because of the fixed amortization schedule for mortgages. The best way I describe it is for every extra payment you make you're paying the loan off backwards...you're paying payment 360, 359, 358, etc. Those payments save you virtually no interest because all the interest is front loaded. Will you save money if you pay off your house early...absolutely, but you'd save more if the loan was amortized over a shorter period of time for the start. 15yr and 20yr mortgages are a lot of extra money to commit to every month so many people do the 30yr and pay it like a 15 or 20...definitely not trying to talk anyone out of that...just a little education on how the math really works. Cheers! Jon Cell: 850-377-1114, jk@mythl.com

Logical, fact based, unemotional opinions backing arguments of substance over an issue that matters to the future of the USAF... Seems like an anomaly around here sometimes... FWIW, I'm an in-res IDE guy who followed on to ASG. Like others, I found the first year to be almost a complete waste. It gave me a sister-service networking opportunity and a chance to write - something I plan to do upon retirement. Other than that, I went to school to go to a second year of school. The real learning was in the second year, and made the entire experience worth it. Scoff what you will, this same model (two-years of mid-career PME) has been used for centuries by some of the most successful armed forces in history. We aren't inventing new ways to educate here... We are in fact lagging behind in that department in my opinion. We don't have it all figured out. In fact, the over-education of our officer corps as they proceed toward O-6 is a real topic of discussion... But there has to be a balance. Not everyone can depart the line for two years mid career. Not everyone should. Not everyone has the drive, brains, or desire to. That's not a bad thing. That's expectation management. But sending officers of 20+ years experience to just a little under three and a half years of schooling in their service is not overeducation IMHO -- ASBC (4 weeks), SOS (6 weeks), IDE (1 year), ASG (1 year), War College (1 year) - three years, spread out over the career, is nothing. Just my opinion. And realizing there's other things that pull dudes off the line for months/years -- WIC, TPS, JPME-II, Safety School, staff, etc -- I guess my question is, what's the alternative? Where do our officers get the education they need to be effective in the joint world? Because I'm telling you, the USAF is getting murdered in the joint environment. It should be our wheelhouse, and we suck at it - something that's still shocking to me given the quality of some of the dudes I was at school with. Short of throwing folks into the deep end and letting them sink or succeed on the job, the only prep for entry into that world is PME (of all forms, correspondence included) - comments on the quality of that prep aside. These aren't things I knew about or cared about on the line. They are things that I touch daily now, in a joint and service-headquarters level environment in which there is far too little understanding of history, theory, politics, and doctrine to go around. That speaks directly to the quality and breadth (read: civilian schools and PME) of our education programs... You're on to something when you talk about broadening/diversifying the school experience. But there is an element of quantity that has to come into play as well - because flying the line forever isn't an option yet, and if you're going to go to staff anyway I'd rather have you be trained and educated at the staff than not. Spears accepted willingly. Cheers, Chuck --spelling edits