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The last couple pages of this thread show me why we have effed things up so badly as an AF, and can’t retain pilots. PIT is somewhat of an oasis from all the BS that is driving people away. Not that there’s not queep and BS, it’s just that so many pilots here don’t give a crap about playing the AF’s game. The result is a community that focuses on the mission, pushes back against stupid ideas, and shelves queep to the max extent possible. Isn’t that exactly what we want and what we have been bitching about not having? Instead of attempting to embrace that kind of climate in the rest of the AF, a lot of you guys are acting like petulant children shouting “no fair”. Make your communities “flying clubs” where you don’t give a shit about managing your career, instead of pushing to close ours to make you feel better about your community. Or do what I did, and come here and actually enjoy your life.

Heavens forbid there’s a good deal in the AD Air Force for IPs who have put in 15 plus years deploying or living at crappy UPT bases. I spent time as a PIT IP and when I was teaching PIT all the IPs had a ton of experience and were professionals who really cared about the students, regardless if they were passed over or ROAD. I learned a ton from them and haven’t worked with a better group of pilots since. I can’t imagine UPT bases creating a better IP. I’m sure there are some pros of turning PIT into UPT... but I think the cons out weigh the pros. When I was at PIT we proficiency advanced guys/gals appropriately, the students had time to focus on studying ie didn’t have another job in the sq, and when I was going through TI at my UPT base it took FOR..EV....ERRR because the students were behind the timeline and they had priority. You can try and make sure those things don’t happen if you get rid of PIT BUT all it takes is one IP getting sent to the wing or group before they are done with TI to make it the new norm. Or for student lines to take precedence over TI/IP Qual lines and before you know it all the “efficiencies” are lost. Also if this does happen who’s gonna have teaching this new TI/IP Qual program? I sure hope it’s the Sq’s best and brightest. You dont want some new-ish IP acting like a student and kill the crew. I say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Can I frame this and send it to you if Beto beats Cruz in November? 🍺 Speaking of MJ, don’t vote for her if you don’t like her policies, that’s fair enough. But good people can have a diverse array of political views. It shouldn’t be that she is “uneducated” or is a “rat” just because she is a Dem. If she’s legit a good person (and I don’t know, but seems that way), then she’s legit a good person, full stop, even if you disagree politically. I have several Republican friends who, if they ever ran, I would vote for over a hypothetical doucher entrenched Democratic incumbent who wasn’t doing the people’s work anymore. Not always an easy call when you differ substantially on policy, but leadership and character also matter in my book, and I will always give a good fair look to a fellow veteran regardless of party. Even my right-wing friends who I could not vote for are still good people, and I’d absolutely encourage them to get involved in leading the country. We need more good people in general and veterans in particular to step up and serve again. Food for thought.

Lol get real bro

Lotta pit IPs stroking each other. Jesus h.

I was sitting at the DFAC enjoying my 69th egg meal in a row (thanks night flying), when a heated conversation at an adjoining table started. These old timer reservist were going into detail about the numerous broken jets they were being asked to take with increasing regularity. The conversation was a life saver as it informed younger inexperienced AC's like myself at some of the possible issues with accepting these aircraft and becoming normalized in the new standard that was continuous creeping in. Back then generals and commanders all made plea's about the importance of our mission, the utter vital need for our aircraft and its mission etc. These old timers were derided by commanders and a few of the younger folks as being checked out, in it for themselves and angry that their flying club was interrupted by deployments and the war. Fast forward nearly 10 years later, and I am seeing the same #$%, and amazingly for the same War that back then was already well into its 7th year. We are being asked to do more with less, fly aircraft with faulty ejection systems, suspect o2 systems, electronics that have KNOWN common place failures that have resulted in substantial fumes. B1's recently had their own enjoyment with their system, KC-10s with egress rafts/slides and much more. But that is cool, your a brand new IP Captain that knows every thing has done every thing, and was raised up in this system that long ago normalized this bull #$% and now you don't know how otherwise to operate. You look at those fleeing for the Airlines or the Exits and either are reacting out of jealousy or anger that it wont be you any time soon, and rather than thank them for their service as they leave and perhaps learn something of their time in, you try to find fault with their decisions and pin every thing that is wrong on them and their attitude. Understand that those old timers at PIT have seen this same crap 3-4 times already, the revolving door of innovation, the joke being that there has been no innovation. I and every other PIT IP would LOVE to have UPT production done at Randolph, it would be a dream come true. My favorite assignment was my UPT base, the comrade and joy of teaching new pilots how to fly is the best. I hope you are right just for that reason alone. PIT isn't some magical beast, you can absolutely do the training elsewhere, but PIT acts as a geographical fence, on manning, sorties, support etc. Tearing down that fence (ask the 135 guys) never has produced anything short of a backlog and further capacity loss in the pipeline. If you think somehow you'll be able to produce an IP at a UPT base faster than at PIT your insane, especially once scaled up. Perhaps one or two you can jam through, but at some point very quickly you start to have to weigh UPT PFT vs your in house PIT, and those calculations always get jacked up. At any rate, don't take our lack of #$%^'s given for a literal statement. If they(we) really didn't care we wouldn't be complaining on this forum for one, wouldn't be pushing for better accountability of T-6 nation maintenance issues, and wouldn't be fighting (and failing =\) the reduction in syllabus and emphasis on production over retention. We are tired, and exasperated at how things are looking for all of our futures.

Wow, thanks Mr. Buffett!🙄

FIFY. Yeah, of course we don't want them anywhere near it...I'm just pointing out the massive fail that is IT in the AF. If there was money on the line we'd have competent dedicated IT support who would make shit happen, and do it correctly...unfortunately this is the government so the people out there with skin in the game are the ones who have to take care of themselves. I've been through PIT twice, most recently a year ago, and it was a vastly different environment than the first time circa 2011. There were O-5s scheduling in the flights, 9-3 everyday, total good deal. Now not so much, you won't find an IP just sitting in the flight room, they're either flying, briefing, debriefing, or sitting ops sup/SOF...or they're attached staff....or most recently being the lowest paid AF IT techs making VR sims. Dudes are pulling 12 hr days, double/triple turning, and generally trying to keep the system alive and the product good. Is doing PIT at UPT bases doable...sure, but it still requires time, money, resources, and people. At the end of the day all this boils down to is the AF has and will continue to lower standards to make more pilots because that is what makes the spreadsheet turn green.

Why would they? It might be happening but, just to remind everyone here, it's the exception, not the rule. So, unless your application is really awesome, most unit's probably aren't going to pursue one. Scores really aren't enough on their own, either. When we get 100 applications, I would say at least half of them have really good scores. So now I need to find another way to pick 12 or so people to invite to an interview. So I read through maybe the top 20 or so based on scores, GPA, maybe some other factors, and really try to figure out what kind of person you are by reading your cover letter, your letters of recommendation, and seeing what you have accomplished over the years. Then, we'll narrow it down to a dozen people or so and send out invites. My best advice is to try and find a way to make your application stand out and grab my attention. I honestly dont care how it's prepared but it should be neat and orderly, but no need to spend much money on it. It sucks when reading through the top 20 applications and they all read the same. Good scores, good GPA, and guess what? All letters of recommendation sound the same. When reading your cover letter, I honestly don't care what you type about why you want to fly with us. It could all just be bullshit that you just researched online the night before. I think it'd be awesome to see a cover letter, in bullet format, telling me about all the cool things you have done, the stuff the doesn't have a place on a resume. The stories you would tell your bros over a beer. And don't be a douche. These are all random thoughts after having a few beers. I encourage everyone to keep applying, no matter the odds. Age waivers are not common and I wouldn't expect a Squadron to be willing to work one, but you never know. You're application is really going to have to stand out and even then it's still a long shot. Use this information to make the best decision you can if you want to get in this business. Maybe the UPT ship has sailed, but there are other options out there that can still be pretty cool.

I see a lot more complaining about the product of PIT than the “flying club”. The issue is those that don’t care and are ROAD don’t necessarily produce the product the UPT based need. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other thing to consider with FF. With one account you can have it loaded on three devices, so I have it on my phone as a backup in case my iPad overheats/breaks/runs out of battery.

Report to Congress on How to Create a U.S. Space Force (finally, some "official" details covering this Space Force stuff); https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/IF10950.pdf

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/08/30/woman-claims-united-airlines-paid-her-75-hush-money-after-man-masturbated-next-to-her-for-hours.html Really? For "hours"? Sounds... impressive.

All I can say is that the way I was treated during TI at the UPT base was absolute garbage. No shit I think it took 2.5 months. Literally, getting on the schedule once a week. I had plenty to do at my own squadron; if it's not a priority for them it wasn't gonna be for me either as a hired gun. Complete afterthought. But I was absolutely shocked, I almost went back to the -6 in disgust (which is funny, went through 38 PIT so quick I was still current for a local checkout in the 6 if I had wanted to LOL). It was not a priority at all to get the TI guys through. OTOH, I certed at PIT in two weeks to include inprocessing. I always found that ironic in the context of the accusation of PIT being a halfway house for rent-seekers. Plenty of people hussling when I got here. Granted, a lot of running around in the VR side of the squadron, but that wasn't their fault. Those were just the marching orders of the month. I'm not defending the merits of in-house PIT versus not. I really could give zero fvcks about that, as the "help". Is it really about this though? Or is it like @Lifer sugests, that this is really about a "good location schadenfreude" type of thing? Fwiw, I'd have no quarrel teaching UPT at RND. i enjoyed the mission set. If it wasn't for the location, I would have kept doing it. The idea of getting to do it here is actually something I may look forward to. Intl UPT would suck only because I don't agree with many of our political alliances, so I feel my talent would be wasted/would be half-hearted. I'm not saying I'd turn into an Oskar Schindler, but you know, "consider the effort you're gonna put into this oligarchic, misogynist chain smoking POS" type of thing LOL. At any rate, I'd much prefer life in the RCP to be completely honest.

Please, do go on about this loosing money...

This discussion really reminds me of this scene from the movie “Moneyball” “You guys are talking the same old good body nonsense like we’re selling jeans.” From several sources that I trust, PIT needs a big overhaul or needs to go away. While some of that may be sour grapes, my experience tells me that a place full of passed over Majors and ROAD O-5’s leads to some serious stagnation.

Big Daddy for Mayor!! As long as he campaigns with his smoked bologna with cheese and jalapeños.

Does this have anything to do with the Earth being flat? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You might be the “best” person in the world, but if you support murdering babies in the womb and allowing anyone and everyone to pour over our southern border and be welcomed with open arms, I could never vote for you. It says something about your morals. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My theory is that it all boils down to a generational issue with leadership. Our current senior leaders and fossilized bureaucracy didn't grow up with technology however they have been exposed it enough and have seen its benefits over the last 20 years. When it comes to the execution and what kind of skills and resources are required, they're clueless for the most part. They understand that they pay Lock Mart or NG or Boeing some astronomical amount of money and years later something magical appears on the battlefield This magical thing is proprietary and doesn't talk to anything else it wasn't paid to talk to. Pretty soon we need a new magical thing and so the cycle continues. They're just starting to figure out that the pace and quality of commercial industry has outpaced the defense industry and there's a LOT of things that can be done on the small scale with COTS tech and so the new word of the day is "Innovation"! Everybody innovate! Perfect example: Electronic Flight Bags. Let's use a tablet to replace paper FLIP...makes perfect sense. The tablet brings exponential capability to the cockpit vs. a paper FLIP book, but it also comes with exponential support requirements. It takes a couple airmen to order the FLIP, open the boxes, and stock in on a shelf. To support an EFB program, it takes hardware, it takes software, it takes management of said hardware and software, it takes a network infrastructure, and it takes smart skilled people to properly configure, deploy and sustain it all. And oh by the way the local comm squadron has/wants nothing to do with it...so fail there. I listened to Goldfien talk on the WarontheRocks podcast...he was raving about how we can use inexpensive off the shelf simulators to help pilots chairfly. I'm thinking to myself, dude we had this 10 years ago! A guy in my UPT class built his own T-38 sim in his house....and here we are just now figuring this out. Better late than never, but the bottom line IMHO is we're headed full speed ahead in a direction the Bobs don't understand, and the technical knowledge and support requirements for this "innovation" is more so than ever, and will require us as a service to rethink our IT model...putting IT specialists back in the units, shit canning NIPR, leveraging the cloud, putting contractors in place to execute the innovation at the direction of the green bags....that's how we'll be successful.

You've kicked out particles in each burn (equal and opposite reaction). While the aircraft velocity is back to zero those particles still have mass and velocity.

Toughest job in the AF, teaching people to fly in RCPs and talk while doing it.