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You're complaining?!?

See RSD’s reply above. i don’t believe everyone should get promoted just because they are a pilot, but it speaks volumes that pilots aren’t getting promoted at the highest rate if they so desperately need them, especially experienced pilots.

Update on changing Separation date once approved for PC: After talking with the hiring Guard unit to determine the earliest swearing-in date they could support (to prevent a break-in service) I had my ISR request that date which was approximately 2 1/2 weeks from my approval date. AFPC denied the request and stated the earliest they could support was 30 days from approval. I then e-mailed the AFPC Palace Chase Team (they are surprisingly responsive once you get approved, good luck getting any response while your awaiting adjudication) requesting inside 30 days. The minimum 30 days is theoretically to benefit the member as to not jam them up with out-processing, TMO, medical, VA etc. In my case I had already accomplished most of those items so I provided that justification and stated my out-going and incoming Commanders approved the earlier date and they granted the request for inside 30 days. Good luck to all, standing by for any questions or if I can help guide anyone through the process.

Fixed it for you

As always, my timing is impeccable.

Not to worry, with the BOne on it’s ass there will be plenty of staff jobs for those dudes soon. Problem solved. Chuck

I bet Mav smashes Monica AKA Pilot Trainee 2 thus his terminal O-6 rank... Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Living here is great. There will be enough gouge from your unit to help cover most of your questions. I'll throw my two cents in for a few of em. 1. Power. Don't worry about using the transformers with regards to $. They will make certain appliances like hair driers and hair clippers scream louder than a cat in heat. Not an electrician/engineer but probably something with the Hz? Anything that is dual voltage is GTG with an adapter, most TVs and computers these days are dual power. 2. When looking for a house, not all villages have cell signal. The lack of reliable cell coverage is one of the most frustrating things here in the UK. Use this site to see what is available where you live: https://www.signalchecker.co.uk/ 3A. Housing. Timing and luck! I found a 2600sq/ft place that is well inside O4 OHA on pure luck. Also, ask around for letting agencies to avoid. There are some real a-holes out there. Most people are spread between Bury St Edmonds, Redlodge/Newmarket, Cambridge, and Ely. Pros and Cons to all. Ask around your unit. Go check them out yourself to see if the drive is something you want to do. Each drive is 'unique.' When you do find a place...you are certainly not stuck in it. I've had many friends move while they are here for various reasons. Obviously it is out of your own pocket to move. 3B. If you go into TLF here heads up. The housing office gets really pushy with their policies. I.E. they only give you 30 days in TLF and then you HAVE to go into base housing (which could be at Lakenheath or Feltwell) or an off base TLF. Pro-tip...if you sign up for an off base TLF, it is essentially a rental property. Your overseas entitlements will start when you go into it. I did it...started that extra cash flow early. Folks in your squadron should help you out with this gouge. 4. We drive all over the UK in our LHD vehicle. Doesn't bother us a bit....you just learn to adapt and overcome. Sometimes it helps on narrow streets because you can get SUPER close to parked cars. We have two RHD cars as well. Beaters are fun. Our technique was to go cheap and dispose when they break. My $900 special is still going strong after a year! There are some cheap rental companies right off base that will get you through while you search for a car. Other things to think about: Banking You cannot pay rent/utility/ect with US based banks...unless you are pulling heaps of cash every month. You'll have to get a British account when you get here. This could be through Community Bank on base, through an actual British bank, or through some non-standard banking such as Transferwise & Monzo. PM me if you want more gouge on this subject. Travel Easy and cheap. Flew to/from Scotland for $30 round trip recently. Almost all of western Europe is within a 3 hour flight. Pets Are you bringing pets? There is a process. PM if so. Side notes: Once you do find a place, don't expect anything to happen quickly with utilities, cable/internet, ect. My example: I signed up on line for a cable/internet provider. Had to wait two weeks for the setup appointment. When they came, they found that some of the wiring in the phone lines was bad....despite it being this particular company's equipment...the technician was not allowed to work on the lines. So we had to make another appointment for the 'line guy' to come out...another week delay. I could not make another setup appointment until the work was done. So another week long wait. Took a damn month. Everything here has a 'scheme' which is just British for "we are going to charge you more money for no reason."

“In what other scenarios would one be committed to the ANG, but not doing the thing they initially signed up to do?” - BigBlueSky Medical School perhaps? It normally incurs a 4 year commitment after residency. Granted certain specialties may incur more. For them it’s basically a 1 for 1 ratio of support given if you will. 1, 2, 3... years of schooling incurs 1, 2, 3... years of commitment evenly. Plus Bonuses and stipends may apply. What about Law school? While not a scholarship, there is the “Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) to officers on active duty.” Dentist falls into the medical criteria I presume. None of the above have the UPT commitment of approximately 1 year of training = 10 years of useable servitude. Their physical qualifications are not as stringent either so they are much easier to keep within their profession as support personnel, or if they were unable to finish or pass their training/qualification early on, they could sub category into many of the opportunities the military has to offer is my guess. Either way, time served for the military to get their money back vs the individual paying for whatever training they received is most likely a no-go for the individual anyway. Otherwise these individuals would obviously have just paid the bill or incurred the loan from the start as civilians like most airline types have done. USAF Aerospace and Operational Physiology (AOP) is there to keep pilots up and running as a front line asset. They vetted your physical prowess at the beginning and put the cash up front into you, so it’s pennies to keep you airborne for a long time. Normally you are recategorized into another AFSC (profession) and you serve your time out. Granted, the need for pilots is a cyclic event so we have seen folks released early which happened decades ago due to drawdown. Right now the Military is hemorrhaging pilots/airlines are soaking them up, but then again - if your rated, but not flying due to lack of MDS qualification do you fall into the Flying Class 1 Physical requirements for actual flying pilots? It’s not like you accrue OFDA/gate months which very very basically means - the more months you fly the more months or years you can serve in a non-flying position and keep your flight pay going. As far as disqualifying events. Heart attack, Stroke, Psychosis, failing your PT test 3, 4, 5 times - I don’t know, but it’s probably drastic. They prefer to fix you up as if you were the 6 million dollar man. If they can’t like having MS which if I recall one of my friends had later on during his flying career, he was released and it was a long time before he managed to finalize the FAA medical and now flies for American fortunately. And do you require a Flying Class 1 as you are not on flight status??? I would post on the medical forum to be sure. Weird example: we had a female fully qualified pilot who became apprehensive to flying. Several of us instructed/flew missions with her and she was a good enough pilot but it became just too much. Flew about 2-3 years with us and she transitioned to our medical squadron at our ANG unit where she found her niche somewhere in the management section of it all. We sent her back for some schooling to validate the transition. Her new AFSC training commitment runs concurrent and not consecutively so Pilot commitment will be the shackle.

I’m sorry, let me rephrase that. I wonder if this will continue the excellent work of Jennifer’s topless scenes... Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

That checks. First priority goes to IDE grads. I can’t believe I actually got a staff assignment. Rated Staff is being capped at 65%. At least in AFSOC we are having a tough time. We’re not even filling primary HHQ evaluator / training positions due to this. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wrong--some guys are getting "chosen" to go to staff, just not the ones who aren't. Reference my post from last week.

Looks like a standard issue dependapotamus easily spotted at you local BX, commissary, shopette, etc...

@Lifer Advice on... -Would should I start the process to get medically approved to separate? -Any other Limfacs that I’m missing? I imagine this is the most appropriate and generic place for advice on the matter: being medically prepared for separation. This is not specifically about a Medical Separation/Retirement via Medical Evaluation Board (MEB)/Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) although many lines cross all the way through to the VA. These are just the cliff note items I would've started thinking about sooner rather than later in hindsight loosely in this order also. 1) (Realistically) figure out your end game for your known medical situation/record. Do you have a 9-5 lined up and don't care? Do you want to go Guard/Reserve/other branch? Do you want to attempt a medical separation/retirement? Are you going to need an FAA medical post separation/retirement? With your end game in mind... 2) Go to records and get a PRINTED copy IMMEDIATELY (yes records are electronic now but ask to have them printed). Once in hand READ every page back and front. The goal here is to get to know your record and know what AF Medicine has thought of you throughout your career. You want to have more than a general "who, what, when, where and why" of your history in black and white without a doctor filtering it. But what are you looking for... 3) Research (depending on your end game). But the overarching research topic pertains to Veteran Service Officer/Offices (VSOs). They are not all created equal and some have better track records with the VA than others but researching them can help no matter your end game. If you don't have the time to sift through thousands of sheets of your medical record a VSO will aide in that but I understood them to do this so they could make a subsequent claim to the VA. Regardless they know what they're looking for regarding follow on VA claims. 3)a. Do you have a 9-5 lined up and don't care? I recommend caring. Even if private healthcare is basically in hand knowing your military record thoroughly now can pay dividends if things that happened while in service get more severe and you want to take it to the VA. Keep in touch with a VSO should the need arise to file your claim. 3)b. Do you want to go Guard/Reserve/other branch? The biggest issue with this option in today's deploy or get out climate is meeting deployability standards which feeds into Retention Standards. The Medical Standards Directory (MSD) gives the cliff notes on retainability and waiverablity for the different classes of military physicals. Also 48-123 (or at least it was) was a good starting point regarding AF medical standards. DoD instructions related to medical standards will also factor into this. 3)c. Do you want to attempt a medical separation/retirement? For this the deploy or get out climate could work in your favor. If you do not meet deployability standards you theoretically do not meet Retention Standards and should be entered into the MEB/IDES per the black and white of the 48-123. The Medical Standards Directory (MSD) is a great resource along with 36-3212 and 32-2110. Various DoD instructions govern this also readily available on the google. Oh and probably the biggest help for this is pebforums.com. There are literally decades of data related to MEBs on there along with very experienced moderators who can help in a professional capacity with representation. 3)d. Are you going to need an FAA medical post separation/retirement? All i know via the interwebs was some dudes had their FAA medicals pulled for Military Medical issues that they did not disclose on initial applications. I don't know the specifics as to how the FAA got wind of the issues but I think there was a thread on BO at one time with more specifics. All this to say for dudes needing an FAA medical post service accomplishing item 2 will get you in know on your medical history written by medical professionals. Also when I applied, the FAA wanted additional data on my condition and I was able to pull lab results over my years of service that resulted in the FAA granting me my medical. I've since renewed it without issue. 4) Cross-Check. Apply your research regarding your situation to you record in hand. Is there anything in your record that would prevent you from achieving your end game or perhaps make your case/VA claim? Tab it out, know where it is, know what it says, know who said it and at what time etc. This leads to the next item... 5) Applicability/Waiverability. It's more research as to how to make your case for your end game. Regardless whether you need a waiver or want something to be applicable what you're researching here is PRECEDENT. For those wanting to continue serving the Air Force Waiver Guide is a treasure trove of information of condition waived/metrics/tolerances etc. I do not know if the FAA has a published repository of granted waivers for conditions. The VA website has a rather robust database of claims/appeals/outcomes etc. Proving your case with the VA with the published data and a solid VSO is very possible granted your history backs up your claim within reason. 6) Fight's on. Regardless of what you want out of your current and/former medical situations go after it. Much of MEB/IDES/VA fights are more a matter of legality rather than medical "expertise." Meaning the systems are a CYA for the DoD. The onus is on you the member to make your case rather than the entity correct their finding. A private lawyer is highly recommended based on my experiences. With regards to attaining an AF waiver to continue with the ANG/AFR I've heard having the right flight doc align with you opinion COULD get you in the door and the subsequent waiver...but this is all hearsay. I have not met anyone yet that was "broken" from big blue and gained by the ANG/AFR, although on BO it is much easier for rated in this regard. 7) I HIGHLY recommend the last item you do right before dropping off you CaC is pick up yet ANOTHER PRINTED copy of your medical record. The items above could be years in the making with subsequent entries from the last printed copy. Make sure to get your request in with Records so they have ample time to print it before your final out. If you attempt to acquire your printed medical record through the VA post separation it can take 6-9 months before you receive that copy. 7)a. Ditto for Dental. They'll say your xray is your history. That's fine and dandy but I had them PRINT a copy of my entire dental record. It's not official as the original in your folder is kept and retired but the copy gives you something in hand to take to you next provider. ***BREAK for Dependents BREAK*** 1) Same as item 7 above. Get your spouses and kids records request for a PRINTED copy for pick up as close to your final out as possible. Of course records will say "oh just have their new doctor request it from us." Yeah...fool me once jokes on you, fool me twice...we know how that goes. Fun fact: you cannot request your spouses record they need to go in person to fill out the form. You as the sponsor can request records for your dependents under 18 i believe. Also if you have children you're probably already tracking that the Immunization record could be the most important document in your young off springs life. I requested multiple copies directly from Immunizations in addition to what was in the entire printed record. 2) Double down with Dental if were fortunate enough to have a dependent be seen on base. ---END--- Healthcare and the subsequent medical fallout from my service has been my biggest worry not only for my personal health but for my families mental, emotional, and financial health also. I hope this sheds some light on what you have to look forward to. Just remember you're not alone, there's someone out there who has gone through it before. Shaka brah.

It is hollywood so should be an easy write. Trump finally admits that he is a KGB operative planted in his family when he was a baby and recently activated to rule the USA. There is obviously much turmoil and Hillary agrees (of course for the good of the nation only) to ascend to be President in an emergency session of Congress that throws out the constitutional chain of command and line of succession bypassing everyone. Meanwhile Russia has been plotting with Cuba and Venezuela to finally end capitalism and the evil of free will and individual freedoms in general. Bernie, AOC, Booker, and a few others align with Venezuela which results in the entire Northeast and West coast voting (they again fell for the ... you can keep your freedoms if you want them) to join the new Socialist World Government. Most Naval forces in CA evacuated but because of a minor coup by high ranking military leaders in the West some forces remain behind with questionable allegiance to either side of the now split USA.