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Disclaimer up front - I'm not one of the "great ones," so really, WTF do I know? You said you appreciate the flight level perspective. I can give you the Wing level perspective, having been at AMC's largest wing for almost 5 years with jobs at the OG and Wg levels: The great dudes aren't getting out because it's hard. They are getting out because they are capable of recognizing the zugzwang. The great dudes that I've known see right through the box checking bullshit and call it for what it is: a system doomed for failure. I know a guy that somehow came out as a select without a single credit hour of Master's work done. Subsequently, he was told he had to do IDE correspondence and get a box checking Masters or he'd miss out on IDE "opportunities" and end up at ACSC on the 3rd look. He obligingly started TUI and dropped after one semester because it was a ridiculous waste of time. He's now a reservist and a Southwest pilot. That is just one story of dozens (just those who I personally know) where the ridiculous nature of the AF queep are driving dudes out the door. As has been pointed out on here many times, this system is a self-feeding fire. You can't hope to get into a position to change it without getting burnt along the way. None of the great ones are afraid of hard work, but most are smart enough to recognize a losing hand and fold before betting the house.

Logically you would not be able to complete correspondence to be competitive for residence if you are barred from doing both... You would either complete correspondence early and eliminate yourself from the potential of residence or you wait until midnight after your last look to register and try to complete it before all of your non-selected peers. Things will not improve by changing the rules, they will improve when it is no longer a game.

What about the top 20% who are fleeing at their first opportunity? Are they "non-conformists" as well? I hope that's not really what you meant... having senior managers who value conformity is a troubling thought. As for promoting by AFSC... been saying that for years. At a minimum, rated and non-rated promotions should be separate through the O-5 level. FEFs part of promotion packages. AADs not just masked, but eliminated from tracking by any AF system until you pin on O-5. Officers ineligible for TA. Simple fixes that would get a lot of fence sitters to re-think their plans. This sounds a lot like the "have you thought about service before self?" line people get on their way out the door. Even the most promising CSAF in a generation hasn't been able to fix a lot of this service's problems... but sure, stay in and play the game and maybe you can change things in 10-15 years.

Almost correct: 28 of the 32 remaining airframes were built in the 80's (the last being delivered in 1989). The other four were built in the 1968 build. In any case, it's irrelevant: - the airframes have 50,000 more hours of life on them. - the "stuff" that does the ISR mission is somewhat "modular"... i.e. there is a ton of "new stuff" on the jet, in the from of MULTI-INT "stuff". -- yes, it's true! The sensors on the U-2 are from the 21st century! Stop focusing on the airframe as the only piece of the equation!! Oh... and no need to do a bunch of flight testing and integration with said sensors: we've already proven they work on the U-2. Good luck with the RQ-4! And watch out for the icing.

Perhaps we should change the name of this thread to "New PME in-competence."

I agree that much of the complaints that fly around this board are born of bitterness and self-inflation. That said...it doesn't mean the system is grand, and I can assure you the bureaucracy does not need your defense. Your quote above isn't a challenge at all; the system is all the notification they need. The challenge is getting the 21st percentile to internalize the difference between themselves and the 20th percentile before the system notifies them of such 8-9 (10 recently) years down the road (sounds like you have a system in place to do that, the majority do not). The real challenge is getting young CGOs to internalize what being in the top 20 percent of the world's greatest Air Force should actually mean (there is more than enough GO shenanigans to know that we need to course correct to some extent). I assure you that it is certainly a difficult pill to swallow as the 21st through 25th percentile press through the next years into O-5, as the top 20 percent stovepipe into year long academics (to precious to muster in any fashion for the 21st percentile), then a staff tour (where they gain some worldly view of military operations unknowable to 21st plus percentile) only to roll back in on top of the 21st percentile as directors and commanders inspite of their performance in any those roles while "away". Grand indeed... There is plenty of room for bitterness (as well as ego, to some extent) that is both legit and understandable within the current construct, it's just not always expressed in the most productive fashions...and certainly not with all of the facts. I, personally, revel in the successes of all of my peers I know whom were school selects. I knew who they were before I ever saw the list, although there were a few surprising ommissions. I can find satisfaction in their success, and I can continue to contribute in the roles I am lucky enough to find...I do not doubt that I will ultimately influence the next generation of AF Officers more than some of them ever will. I will also hand hold that new CC as he takes his new job and promptly goes head under water to ensure he succeeds. The system is not grand, rather than defend it as "right more often than its wrong", lets just make it better. AFSO21, right? Bendy

Ask for the weight tickets you provided back, copy them on the nearest copier, and then provide two sets of weight tickets (one for the PPM and one for the TDY enroute). If he won't accept it, take it up with his supervisor. Press it higher if you're still not satisfied with the answer and you'll eventually get someone who can tell this asshat to stop being a douche. I would hope that anyone in a uniform who has done a TDY enroute will sympathize with you. -9-

Well, he's been taking money from Northrop Grumman and staying quiet. The U-2 isn't competing with the inferior-in-every-way Global Hawk; Lockheed is competing with Northrop. Luckily, Lockheed still likes the U-2 program and the millions of dollars of sensors they build for it. Hopefully they are pulling the right strings. And this is why I think the U-2 stands a better chance of survival than the A-10 and KC-10, two jets whose replacements are being sold by the same company that owns them. Boeing wants the KC-10 gone (try searching for the KC-10 factsheet on Boeings website) just like Lockheed wants the A-10 gone (Lockheed's A-10 page just mentions avionics upgrades and the brochure link is broken). The only thing keeping A-10s and KC-10s around is their mission effectiveness.

Well... except for the fact that every one of them that I know who was a continued pilot and applied when the window was opened has already been denied TERA. Apparently there is one of those pilot shortage things going on... cue Butters.

Question: why did it take a RIF [currently on hold] to require SR strats from #1 to #last? Instead, I have to guess if my push line is good, bad, or if my rather is just an idiot and doesn't know how to strat/push people. I know [with decent confidence] that I fall somewhere between the top 20% and bottom 20%...but I don't know fuckall beyond that broad range...I'd love to know where I really stand WRT my peers.

Many here on this forum have a false sense of the quality of officers we promote in the top 20% (school selects to Maj), and BPZ to Lt Col. Many argue that only party planners, burger flippers, box checkers and execs get the good paper and strats. The top 20% records I've seen, including hundreds at the last Lt Col MLR, had instructor, evaluator, combat, weapons school, command and DG at FTUs. The exec only, careerist officer is easily spotted and appropriately dinged. Strats are not the most important discriminator. Most of the criticism rattled off here at BODN describes the great pilot with golden hands, long mustache, high combat time and natural leadership abilities that gets screwed by the shoe commander who values early PME completion and bake sales over skill in the jet or ability to lead a crew. Bullshit. The harsh reality is that there are a large number of ing squared away operators who dominate the top 20% and knock out mediocre, non-conformist crybabies who rationalize their low strats and weak push lines with an overinflated sense of how good they think they are in the jet or with a crew or how effective they think they will be in the joint, staff or senior leader world. From what I've seen at boards, MLRs and thousands of records and PRFs, the bottom 15-20% are the no shit bottom. Nothing personal, I'm sure there are good people below the line, but you have to draw the line somewhere and we tend to get it right much more often than we get it wrong. We value job performance and we document it in the formal record. The biggest challenge is telling the top 20-50% crowd they aren't as talented as they think they are. Do your ing PME, in time and stop encouraging young officers to blow it off because you think it is stupid. We should promote by AFSC. LAF grouping doesn't meet our specific leadership requirements. No need I compare a comptroller squadron commander to a flight lead. If we do this, more good pilots will be passed over and will miss the school cutoff, but we will promote experience we need. Fire away, I appreciate the no holds barred honesty and flight level perspective. Edit for gramer

It's actually already included in the BAH rate. It's not a seperate reimbursement.

Works great on low levels. Dial up trucker common when approaching any major road. Light burners crossing road at night and wait for the ensuing commentary. I've been described variously as a 4 ship of F-18s, a stealth and a UFO.

Shack. Like I've told people at the office: I'm not angry at the AF. I'm angry that the institution I've spent my entire adult life in, the one that is supposed to exemplify 'excellence in all we do', should be executing at this level (/holds hand over head/) but is acting like it is down here (/holds hand down by junk/). I want the service that I've sacrificed for to operate at the same level it has expected me to operate at.

"In addition, the monthly BAH check provided to about 1 million service members will be cut further by eliminating the stipend for renters insurance that for years has been a key component in calculating BAH." -af times http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Docs/perdiem/BAH-Primer.pdf

Should somebody tell Hagel all the 50-year-old U2s were retired years ago? The current ones were built in the '80s...

CSAF said at AFA, and told the MAJCOM CCs Corona South, SOS in residence will be the norm. If you can't go due to ops deferments, etc you will be required to complete the correspondence course. He said you will be allowed to complete SOS in correspondence if you can't go in residence. He also said you will not be allowed to do IDE in correspondence and residence. If you are a select, you will be blocked from enrolling in correspondence. He did not address the issue of candidates completing correspondence in order to be competitive for residence. I clearly understood his intent that appropriate PME, either residence or correspondence, was required for promotion to Maj, Lt Col and Col. I have heard no discussion about delaying PME until the last look. I assume early (but within eligibility window) completion will be more favorable than completion at the very end of the window, but I have not seen the specifics. Bottom line, get your PME done I you want to get promoted. AAD is not required now (his words), but CSAF said he will put out policy to keep boards and senior raters from considering AAD for promotion prior to the Col board. He said AAD was personal development and should not be considered for professional development or advancement. He said you can get one prior to the Col board during IDE, either in residence or correspondence, or get one on your own. He said job performance should be the most important factor in promotions. Hopefully he will put out the policy soon, we have been talking about it for long enough.

Where did you get that, and how can we get one?

I know, crazy talk! Mine was earned. I was going to write a defense of my community, but after a dozen years of being good enough for our receivers to consider us 'admin' I really don't feel the need anymore. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Confirm tanker dude?

I believe this would be the one? From: Sondecker George R IV C3C USAFA To: XXXXXXXX xxx FS/Casual Subject: Cadet Request for F-15 ride Lt. XXXXXXXXXXXXX, I am a cadet at the Air Force Academy trying to arrange a flight with the xxxrd Fighter Wing between 21 December and 5 January. I have my Secret Clearance and Physiological Training Card and can coordinate any AOC approval or necessary medical clearance (Form 1042). My presence does not impose any limitations on the mission; Im just along for the ride. Any further guidance or authorization you can provide on this matter is much appreciated. Email is the best way to contact me, but my cell phone number is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Thank you for your time and consideration. Very Respectfully, C3C George R. Sondecker IV CS-20 Tough Twenty Trolls United States Air Force Academy From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 2dLt xxx FS/Casual Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 5:01 PM To: XXXXXXXXX Maj xxx FS/ADO; Subject: RE: Cadet request for F-15 ride Heres the guy who keeps calling up and bugging the scheduling shop about getting a flight. From: XXXXXXXXX Maj Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:09 PM To: Sondecker George R IV C3C USAFA Subject: RE: Cadet request for F-15 ride Youve got some brass balls on you, cadet fourth class George Sondecker HIV (seriouslyis that your real name, lose that IV crap, it just sounds stupid). Let's break down your message and maybe we can educate you on a thing or two. Im a cadet at the Air Force Academy. This message should be over right here. Period dot. Cadets dont troll for rides, they EARN them through the proper channels just like everybody else. Weve got a long list of maintainers who have earned awards through this wing to get incentive rides. These guys bust their asses in the freezing cold and blistering heat and only the lucky few get the privilege of having a ride. Name me three things you think youve done to earn a Strike Eagle ride. Seriously. And by the way, Ive read about all the hard work here - http://www.gdsalumni.blogspot.com/. And I quote The learning curve was very steep this past year as I learned about military culture and doctrine in a pretty stressful environment. Brother, you have no idea what a stressful environment is. trying to arrange a flight with the xxxrd Fighter Wing Sweet mother of pearl, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. We are the xxxrd Fighter Squadron, and we are a division of the xxth Fighter Wing. If you want to snivel a ride from us, you ought to at least get your facts straight. This is the foreshadowing of your ignorance, lets continue. I have my Secret Clearance Your secret clearance doesnt mean f*** all to us. You think were going to take you up on a tactical sortie? You think were going to let you sit in on classified briefings? You think were going to hang out and talk tactics with you? YGBFSM. and Physiological Training Card Your physiological training card doesnt mean f*** all to us. Remember all those hard working maintainers I mentioned earlier? Not one of them has a physiological training card - dont try to impress us with that crap. and can coordinate any AOC approval Last time I checked, the AOC didnt run the flying schedule of the 4th FW or coordination of our incentive flights. Apparently youre not familiar with chain of command and proper channels. Let me tell you what this does NOT consist of; it does NOT consist of going VFR direct to the 333rd Fighter Squadron scheduling shop and bothering our hard working schedulers. This consists of you talking to your commander, your commander talking to our commander, somebody in between giving the approval, and then in the middle of your pipe dream you will be denied your flight. My presence does not impose any limitations on the mission; Im just along for the ride. You couldnt be more wrong. What exactly is it you think we do here? Do you know anything about the F-15E? Do you know anything about xxxxxxxxxx? Do you know anything about the xxxrd? Since it would seem the answer to all of the above is a blatant No, Ill clue you in. In the F-15E, while we do have two seats, the second seat is not an empty seat that only gets occupied when goobs like yourself call up looking for a ride. Its a seat for qualified aircrew we call them Weapon System Officers. He is an essential part of our mission and we dont give him the boot for guys who are looking to bum a ride. Also, the xxxrd is a Formal Training Unit. That means that we train young pilots and WSOs, so to give you a ride, we would either have to boot a student WSO in aforementioned formal course, or an instructor WSO trying to teach said student WSO. Get the picture? Any further guidance or authorization you can provide on this matter is much appreciated. and Im spent - Hopefully this will serve as all the guidance you need. Gents, if there is something I have left out of this mentoring session with young cadet third class citizen Sondecker the HIV, please feel free to chime in. Maj XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Chief of Stan/Eval, xxxrd FS

Bring back the email! Bring back the email! Any idea what that cadork is doing now?

I'll take that one. Ready? Here goes... You have got to be fucking shitting me. There are so many dissimilarities between what this idiot did and what I wrote that it's ridiculous. I'd be glad to spell them all out for you if you care to PM me, but the most important is that I told a cadet directly what everybody else was thinking and bitching about, and my email went "viral" before "viral" even existed. This idiot posted multiple "joking" images to social media accounts that directly contradicted the core function of her duties to properly respect and honor fallen military members. If you think those two are even remotely in the same ball park, you need some calibration.

"Citibank KC-46 brought to you by Doritos." Funding issues solved.

If I had more down-votes left today I would apply them to every single one of your post on this topic. You've folded flags at a funeral in -20 weather. That sucks, but I think the family of the veteran in the casket would trade you any day of the week. If that soldier can't buck-up, and perform under temporary personal discomfort, she needs to move into another line of work. Voluntary or otherwise. My opinion of your posts is that you handled mostly veterans from WWII, Korea, etc. Nothing from the OEF/OIF. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I'll second Fuzz's experience (or any AMC aircrew). Standing in formation at the ramp of a C-17 watching a 4yo son cry for his Dad, not understanding why he can't see his father, and being consoled by his grandparents because his mom is sobbing, being physically held up by another family member...its gut wrenching. Then having to do it ll over 5min later for the second casket, only this time it's his mother. She has her arms outstretched, calling her son's name and his is being restrained by family to keep her from running into the flight line. Those memories are three years old, and some of my last in AMC. To this day it makes want to do two things; 1) hug my kids and never let them go and 2) deliver instant, explosive justice on terrorist shitheads. I'm generally all about arguing both sides, but you've picked the wrong horse to back and need to let it go.

Thanks to b1bhandler and others for your comments and they are most appreciated. As a member of the MARS phone patch net and seeing the recent comments, I thought I would provide some accurate information on the current net. We are members of the Air Force MARS program. Sprint used to provide phone cards but has pretty much quit them and as the current ones run out many are not renewed. However, the majority of the stations have unlimited nationwide calling and one or two have international calling capabilities. DSN is always available. We are not supposed to mention frequencies, but since they are already posted on here 13927.0 is the primary frequency and 7633.5 is secondary. Many of the stations monitor both these frequencies at the same time. First call should be on the primary and then try secondary if no one responds. If it is felt that better communication can be accomplished on one of the other frequencies then the operator will request you move but normally the 4, 11, 20 and 27 are not regularly monitored. Calling and operation information is on the websites mentioned. The members of the net appreciates your service and it is an honor to be able to help you. Regards, Richard/AFA6BU

Sweet, monkey's off the AF's back for a hot minute.

Marry it.

I propose LRF for the test bed.

If he ever goes blind at the push in the future, at least we know he'll make the right call.