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As a WIC/SQ CC I flew as much as humanly possible, often at the expense of my family. I discussed with my family before becoming the DO, they already knew the importance of relevance and competency and the agreed to support me. I also valued the relationship with the Ops Squadrons and as were were colocated I often flew basic qual rides with new students going through RTU which I found very rewarding. Being a CC was the highlight of my career, it was also the realization that I was on an island. Many things happen with people behind the scenes and often you can't share that with the masses. I made several VERY unpopular decisions, one nearly causes a revolt by my WIC instructors, but they didn't have all the data and I couldn't tell them. One thing I did notice was experience provided a base that didn't require me to fly 4-5 days a week. Not trying to brag, but I returned to fly twice and both times had an extensive requal syllabus presented. Both times I proficiency advanced through about half of the syllabus, I even "out-shot" evaluator who challenged my on my checkride. Personally, I felt comfortable after five rides, things came back very quickly. My real focus was on tech, tactics and procedure changes that occurred while I was off at school/staff. As a Wing/CV I flew at least one day a week, I forced the staff to build a brick wall around that item on my calendar, often it meant I would work another 12 hours after a 10-12 hour mission plan, fly, debreif cycle, but it was completely worth it.

All good until you are in the 1% like me. While I am retired and a little older, I am not in any of the risk groups...no underlying heath concerns and it fucking humbled me. Guessing it is because I have A negative blood type. Truth be told I was scared. My pulse ox went below 90% and I was in a world of hurt. Perhaps even more concerning, I had to fight the dochebag military doctors for actual meds. I asked for therapeutics five days after the symptoms began and the reply was "take tylenol and cough drops." After 10 days when my pulse ox dropped to 88% dropped my ICU nurse sister stepped in and went mid-evil so I could get some real help. She had to explain when she wanted me on certain meds to the doctor. When I recovered and had a follow up with the doctor she changed her tune and told me I was her "test case"... I've already reached back to the base with that little gem. Seriously, I hope none of you get it.

got it covid sucks. i really do get it guys. i'm not wanting to get it. but risk reward here come on...if i were a small business owner i would be PISSED that i'm going BANKRUPT and losing EVERYTHING to this. beyond pissed. everyone of you who advocate for keeping things locked down is living off a government paycheck every two weeks...easy for you to say.

***Sorry, slow morning for me with no work, just realized what a long rant this is... You could say I’m on roughly the same page as Swamp Yankee. Regarding the EO on ethics for Trump vs Biden, you mean the one Trump rescinded just before leaving office? https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/20/958710562/trump-revokes-administration-ethics-rules-on-his-way-out-the-door I seem to remember him using almost identical versions to Clinton and Obama used. https://www.npr.org/2017/01/28/512201631/trumps-executive-order-on-ethics-pulls-word-for-word-from-obama-clinton I’ve already discussed my thoughts on climate accords. Not a fan of how it binds the US unfairly and once again, makes the US carry the lion’s share of the responsibility, but I am a fan of us doing something to address it. Ideally, I’d like to see us stay out of it on the principle of division of responsibility, but support it on the principle of “something has to be done” while working towards concrete steps. Similarly on the WHO. I think it was a good call to point out their numerous problems on many subjects. I also think it is ultimately smart to rejoin. Maybe they’ve gotten the scare they need to start acting in an even and fair way across the board. I have my doubts, but time will tell. I would have preferred a caveat be added to his rejoining making sure it was with the expectation that they hold the line... I’m on the fence about the pipeline. I agree with you mostly, but the tree hugger side of me is torn. Not necessarily a rational way to think about it, but the climate issues we face and the climate change deniers out there piss me off more than I should allow... Sorry. Most of your other points feel ( I know, using the word “feel” is dangerous in a political discussion) like the typical political answers regarding any topic out there. “Yes, but...” saying you’re open minded and unbiased, but really, it’s similar to the points Swamp Yankee has been making about the so-called liberal personalities out there that do nothing but slam the left. Begrudgingly acknowledging one tiny point or aspect so you can say, “see, I’m open-minded!” while digging in deeper on everything else. Your last paragraph is a perfect example of this. “The only positive things... However...” I’m often just as guilty as most, but I think my disdain for both sides gives me some clarity, at least right now. I hate the left equally to the right, honestly. Give it some time for the Trump effect to wear off (hopefully it does) and I’ll be attacking the hypocrisy coming out of their mouths too. I’m not saying it’s not happening right now, just that the noise coming from the right in this moment is so loud, it’s hard to hear the noise coming from the left. Politics is just one massive scenario of the pot calling the kettle black over and over again. Us Monday morning quarterbacks and internet experts are often no different. You know, it’s odd, they say you typically get more conservative the older you get. I have found that to be different in my case, still conservative, but definitely more open to social issues than I ever used to be. I feel like service in the AF has done that, helping the people that I’ve commanded has been a bigger eye opener than anything else. I remember listening to Sean Hannity back in 2003, and Bill O’Reilly, and even Rush Limbaugh. I used to think they were smart, on top of things, people. I have either changed a lot, or they have because I think they’re horrible people now, out for their own ratings much more than they believe in any of the garbage they spout. I still don’t like any of the personalities on the left (Don Lemon in particular is such a drama king I can’t stand him even when he’s making a valid point), but they don’t inspire the disgust those three do. BL: I bet the difference between you and I, ideologically, is so small as to not matter in the big scheme of things. I appreciate when I get called out for being off-target vs a valid shot.

In my experience being in the MAF for 16 years (excluding FTU time), Sq/CC’s rarely flew because a lot of them were PHOENIX products and what community they commanded in wasn’t the community they “grew up” in. A majority of them were poor flyers to begin. I had a Sq/CC tell me once he didn’t feel “comfortable” instructing in the KC-135 compared to his time in the C-130, so he’d rather just be an evaluator. I reminded him he’d done two flying assignments in the KC-135 and left the C-130 after one assignment. Thankfully, that dipshit is an OG/CC now.

I've had and I do NOT advocate shutting everything down. I believe we can use mitigation to protect those most at risk and be prepared to help the not at risk groups when and if they get it. Yes we have needlessly crushed many small businesses and we need a better strategy, but the strategy is not FU to the 1%.

Exactly right. I only hear advocacy for lockdowns from those who are financially protected from the impacts. Additionally, I am unconvinced lockdowns are effective and unfortunately reasonable debate is impossible.

Wait ... what’s the overall mortality rate again? What about for military aged folks? Children?

I start with investments, I've built wealth and want to protect it. I had three numbers when I first started. The first number was the lowest number I needed to retire, we could be careful, manage our spending and cover our expenses no issues. We hit that many years ago. The second number was living at our current quality of life now but not having to work. I have raised that number over the years as we have raised our standard of living, we keep acquiring toys and some of them (airplane/RV), are expensive. I have a very nice retirement as a 26 year O-6, my wife works and makes a great salary, I work and am over compensated for my capability, we also have a side business that brings in about $10,000 a month in passive income. I won't into specific numbers but I am forced to make quarterly tax payments of $15,000 in addition to our withholding and still have to make a huge tax payment every April...I know tough problem to have. We hit the second number several years ago. My third number was to be stupid rich and I never really thought it possible, but it is. Sorry for the long section on investments but I grew up poor and it really shaped me. The rest of the reading is loosely related because all of these policies and actions by the different political parties really impact where I put my money. I use Morgan Stanley as my wealth manager and they have a host of products I sort through each morning. CNBC has a great pre-market snapshot which also links to great articles about trends and emerging opportunities. The Motley Fool has a nice daily summary, but also has a lot of fluff and hidden advertisements. I also use Market Watch which is a great tool to get down in the weeds of investing should you so choose. I used to have a bridge between investments and the news and would read daily articles in the Economist, but they completely jumped the shark in the last two years and went full retard political which is truly sad because they have some great analysts. Around 0600 the Early Bird hits my email, it used to be so much better but still provides a summary of the previous day and the overnight actions in the defense industry. You can sign up, it is free. Next I look at BBC, like most they are biased but they also provide a world view. I think taking a few minutes to see how the rest of the world views us is very important. Keeping the previous theme in mind next I go to Al Jazeera which has excellent coverage on some things. Most days I cycle in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. I work most of the day and that requires other reading, some of it technical, most of it more strategic. As part of my job I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the Federal budget. While not a lobbyist, for several years I have been going to the hill as an expert on a few key areas and technologies. During the week I cycle through Foxnews/CNN/ABC/CBS/NBC for an update, while we make dinner. My son is very active in sports so while he is practicing most nights I tend to read to pass the time. I have about 10 books going right now, a great one written by a good friend called When The Tempest Gathers I am purposely reading the book slowly and a bit at a time. Last week I finished Oliver North's new book The Rifleman, Admiral McRaven's book Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations and Rum Curious which is a great book about the origins of Rum and a tasting guide which I found very useful...I also learned some things about the rum market and actually changed an investment because of it. This week I started a re-read of the classic The Odyssey by Homer. The classics are important and were used to frame the thinking of the founders of our country.

New POTUS not in office even a week and........ here we fucking go..... https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/01/al-qaeda-gaining-strength-in-afghanistan-u-s-treasury-says.php?fbclid=IwAR2VdaBmWS3xTQk6Uh9W15jbV1q6USWtmRuU235LvnvFgEWhLAac04huwUw

I read prolifically, have since I was a kid which has really helped me in the stock market, currently buying a new airplane as a result. Also, I care about my country and the issues. I think when the mainstream media shifted from print to TV and Digital the depth of stories and understanding began to shrink until today when they rush through every 30 second story and knowledgeable people who are interviewed never get more than a minute to talk. In reality news today is about the sensational topic and a brief "Tik Tok/Snapchat cursory summary"

I have no issue with teaching science and yes I believe climate change is a legitimate concern. The problem is the accord doesn't mandate education the science, instead it mandates education on how to protest. I truly hope this doesn't turn into the evolution versus creationism argument.

I think this will be the fuze that really kicks off the next hiring spree -- not just at DAL, but industry-wide due to numerous places offering or incentivizing early retirements during COVID. There's a lot of pent-up demand that is hiding under COVID fears and governmental restrictions. What remains to be seen is if how rapidly that demand is allowed to translate into ticket sales.

Negative. This was all passed via email however in an earlier email, the POC said that they do not give out quota numbers until the list is released however pilot slots were a bit down due to COVID but not as bad as they thought it would be. I have seen in previous boards that once the list is signed and the release date is publicized, they have responded to questions with generalized stats "we had 200 slots and 300 applicants, most slots were pilot". Hopefully things move quicker than expected and we can find out next week

At the end of the day it really comes down to what you want to do. If you want to continue flying by yourself while waiting for UPT to start then go for it and finish your PPL and keep flying. When you graduate UPT you will be able to take the Military Competency Exam and end up with a Commercial rating (and other ratings) all paid for by the Air Force. Basically, if you're concerned about losing money with your training, let me tell you that you didn't because you did exactly what the unit asked. You don't have control of the circumstances that prevented you from finishing your PPL. Backtracking a little bit, IFT IMHO is a fantastic foundation for what's to come in UPT. The way you learn to fly the military way without risk of it affecting your MASS is great, and again, paid for by big blue. Just my humble 2 cents

I’d let the AF train me.

I would also say it depends on whether we are talking AD or ARC. Reserve/Guard CC's tend to participate more in the flying schedule; at least in the tanker world.

I don't agree with his wishing away COVID-19 approach, but the reality of the government response was not that as Biden has learned. Tweaking on the margins is fine, but we need some serious effort on the supply chain and the way the states are administering the vaccine. Are you serious on the Ethics EO? You seem intelligent and I am not trying to insult you but have you actually read what the Trump EO did and what this "undoes?" Trump's ethics pledge EO actually tightened restrictions. His EO put a five year ban on things like lobbying to an agency the person worked for and a ban for those in the executive branch that basically said they could not lobby the executive branch for the remainder of the administration. Also, he closed the "Shadow Lobbying" loophole that Obama put in place. Here is an excerpt from a 2017 assessment of Trump's Ethics EO - "Because the five-year post-employment ban applies to behind-the-scenes activities in support of lobbying, the employment prospects for administration officials will be significantly more limited than in the past. The Pledge appears to prevent hiring a former Trump political appointee to serve as a strategic advisor for government affairs, even if that person operates in a manner that does not require registering as a lobbyist. The five-year post-employment ban also appears to bar other types of behind-the-scenes work in support of lobbying, such as research, drafting leave-behind documents, and creating issue scorecards." One thing that both Obama’s and Trump’s Ethics Pledges contain is a prohibition on gifts from lobbyists — the Executive Order bars appointees from accepting gifts from registered lobbyists and organizations that employ them. Realistically Biden just loosened the rules and in total I don't think that was very well thought out or a good thing.

Currently, the only 230 modifications that might address conservatives’ current concerns about private sector content control are those by Hawley (Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act) and Gozar (Stop Censorship Act) Both are highly troubling. Hawley’s in particular calls for companies content moderation teams to be declared politically neutral by a bipartisan commission. This is Soviet-style propaganda control that is completely orthogonal to the Constitution. I’m also tired of the “social platform as utility argument”. If you really want this, then be prepared for government subsidies since taking this approach restricts the ability of these platforms to manage their businesses. Don’t like how the current platforms are controlling content? Get private investors to support your development of an alternative. Plenty of conservatives with such means.

I would think it depends wildly on the airframe. I have familiarity in the upt and bomber world. In UPT squadrons, commanders get tagged for 89 rides virtually non-stop so this forces them to fly a decent amount. Additionally they're usually an evaluator and do a lot of the IP form 8s. In the bomber world sq/ccs are usually high time guys (often patches) with most of the LOX checked off. So they fly a lot simply by virtue of their numerous quals. The biggest flying time drop offs I see is when people move to the OSS or up to the group/wing. Other communities are probably different though.

It's almost like the demographics lining up for the shot are precisely the demographics it's currently being offered to...

I wasn’t the original person you were calling out. I was simply pointing out how absurd it was to complain about the “record amount” of EOs he’s signed one week into his term. Let’s see if he holds pace, then it is significant, otherwise it’s simply one guy trying to undo all the crap he feels was done poorly by the guy who left things a mess. Some I agree with, some are pandering to the left, and some are stupid, and will probably suck for the country. Since you’re so big on keeping track, how many last second things did Trump try to do on his way out, seemingly to simply create work for the next admin?

I’m willing to bet that after the vaccine gets fda approval it becomes mandatory like the flu shot.

Vito is spot on: it was a "different time". In my opinion, a lot of the folks that washed out in my class (DLF 86-05) would have graduated UPT just a few years later. We started with 63, and graduated 42... exactly 33% washout rate. And that was not uncharacteristic. Having been a FAIP during the 86-89 timeframe, I saw the worst of it, and then it began to trail off a little before I left. We saw a few losses in the T-38, but that burden fell mainly on the T-37 IP's. As a PIT IP from 93-96, I didn't have first hand knowledge, but it was generally well known that the washout rate was quite low. I can't recall specifics anymore, but I remember "leadership" mandating that pilots make it through training. Like I stated... a lot of students that washed out would have become USAF pilots had they gone through UPT just a few years later.

Jesus h Christ how many times does this need to be explained here. Getting a vaccine isn't just about protecting yourself. I'm glad you're in a low risk demographic. Hooray for you. Your risk is probably comparable to the flu or possibly even lower for certain age groups. But getting the vaccine isn't all about you. There are people out there who for one reason or another can't get vaccines. Maybe it's an access problem or maybe they have a medical condition that prevents it. When you get vaccinated you not only protect yourself but you also bring us one step closer to herd immunity.. protecting other people too. The fact that you're ignoring this part tells me you're either extremely selfish or being deliberately obtuse.

This won't kill any of the big social media platforms, by their own doing and dopamine fueled tactics they have become too far ingrained our daily lives. I try to avoid thinking like the old fart that I am and look outside the container. 57% of Melienials get their news from Social Media platforms...these tech oligarchs have control on the information and put up huge barriers to entry for competitors. The only thing that seems to break that model is when something become super trendy or "hot." Tik Tok is a good example...also an example that is COMPLETELY compromised by the Chinese. I don't want the government deciding what we can or can't see, what we can or can't post but something has to change. I lean towards breaking the monopolies that are Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Amazon...yes I know it is a very slippery slope. Regardless, fundamental changes have to be made to 230.

..comparable to the flu. And transmission rates are far far higher than the flu. Which is why this has been significantly deadlier in terms of total numbers. The military requires you to be vaccinated for every year and no one has a conniption, so what exactly is the issue here.

But that might be seen as racist and xenophobic!

Therein lies the problem, the vast majority of politicians advocating gun control are not operating in good faith. They are just moving the ball down the field towards their goal of eliminating the 2A.

Update: AFPC did brief the CC but has some adjustments before the list can be signed and finalized. Still estimating week of 15-19 FEB as public release so week of 8-12 FEB will be commander release. Once the AFPC commander signs, they will update the Rated Assignments page to reflect the official release date. Happy Monday!

They might be able to make it harder, but they can’t make it any longer ....

say again, coming in broken

Weav, well said. The Air Force likes to live its life one quarter mile at a time. With rated retention staying high due to COVID effects on the private sector, they may not have to produce as many new rated members in FY21 to meet the current demand. Now how that looks in the long-run in a post-vaccine world and once the airlines pick back up is TBD. I’ve spoken with a few people with insight to the personnel world, and they didn’t think the number of slots would be significantly cut, but we’re all in the dark until the PSDM drops. I emailed the org box last week and they’re still expecting a mid-Feb release date. They are going to update the portal page once the date gets nailed down. Last year’s results came out on Wednesday, November 6, with a similar timeline. So we are starting to get close to the window.

The internet is weird. And it’s only going to get weirder as we get older. Imagine responding directly to one of Robin Olds’ forum posts bitching about finance.

This thread started when my oldest kid was 4 1/2 and I was a T-1 student. He commissions in May. Your math checks.

UPT studs right now were 5-6 years old when this thread was started. Damn we are old.

Copy. Extremely selfish. Hate to break it to you but wearing a mask and getting a shot to hold a pandemic at bay are not violations of your personal rights. They're basic acts of human decency that you can easily do to protect your fellow countrymen. But if caring about the welfare of other people isn't really your thing I'll appeal to the selfishness side: doing both of those things is the fastest way to get to go back to normal so your hypothetical business can flourish. Maybe the 'make America great again' crowd could take a page out of the greatest generation's book and realize that cooperating to protect your fellow Americans isn't the gubment trying to take your rights. It's just the decent thing to do. and not sure why you keep bringing up lockdowns. I too think they're mostly retarded, but it's entirely unrelated to what we're talking about. Masking and vaccines have science, common sense, and history all backing them up.