Harvey

I punched at the 10 year mark as a Flying TR with a palace chase commitment. After I had served my 18 month commitment I decided to stay mainly because I liked the people in the unit. I view staying in the reserve as another insurance policy. If you have a major economic downturn, furlough, medical disability; the security of the unit and the retirement pension is huge. If you have a major airline career with no bumps in the road, then gutting out 10 extra years in the reserves won’t be worth much more than the memories with the bros. The pension at 60 will be just some extra beer money compared to your 401K balance after a 30 year airline career.

SWA has an insurance option with $0 monthly premiums and a $2,500 yearly out of pocket max. The only catch is preventive care (physicals, immunizations) are not covered. After finding out that cash prices for preventative care can be really cheap, I dropped TRS, which has been working out great so far. Lots of good reasons to get an AD retirement, Tricare shouldn’t be one of them.

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.

I received final approval about 3 weeks from my proposed Sep date. I actually received a call from AFPC letting me know I was approved and asking me when I wanted the separation. date moved to since it was so close. I had already done TAPS and the medical appointments so I didn’t need to change the date in the end. Good luck, I know it’s stressful with everything up in the air

Thomas, sorry to hear about the denial, there seems to be no sure formula to getting approved, especially since it sounds like you had a solid case. i was fortunate to be one of the guys receiving approval today. C-17, 6 months off, intent to hire letter, recommend approval all the way up. Good luck to those still waiting....

Thanks for all the info dude

Thanks for the update. I met the board on 21 Mar. I'm surprised that the AFPC Palace Chase office doesn't have a better idea on when there should be movement from HAF. Is the delay this new total force board? New policy? Everyone on leave? I feel that a little explaination would at least cut down in the number of phone calls they have to field.

Call the Total Force Service Center, explain your situation to the call center and then ask to speak directly to the Palace Chase office. If you get the right person they will be able to give you some insight on what is going on with your package beyond what CMS is showing

So the Palace Chase shop told me a similar story, approved by the board in late March but SAF/PC is not releasing the signed letter and they claim to have no SA on why. I've had buddies get "tentative approval" from both the late Feb and Mar boards, so maybe this is a new process for people who Palace Chase with an endorsed 1288 by the ARC/ANG?

I know that they approved a guy last week who got to SAF/PC on the 19th so hopefully you are next

My application has been up at SAF since March 9th...still waiting. It seems like 5-7 weeks has been the average lately.

That checks, I've had a couple of buddies who received approvals with different terms than what was originally requested.

Congrats and thanks for the update! I'm asking for 6 months off as well, just got to SAF/PC last week. I submitted my app 4 months before the date that I'm looking to start terminal, and it looks like even with that kind of lead time it's still gonna be a tight timeline to be approved in time.

I do know a few guys who have done it. The basic jist has been that the assignments vary greatly after school, and it will be a crap shoot as far as what the functional will want to do with me coming back after staff. Most everyone seem like they were as happy as they could be as far as a staff job goes. You are right about the 11F restriction, they can't even do the ACSC PAS right now.

Ram, Thanks for the prospective. I talked to the PAS functional and he said that I would be in staff for 1 assignment and then back to my rated functional to be managed. Like you said, when I come back it's not necessarily going to be on my terms, and I'm starting to see that the huge lack of control I have over my path the next 10 years is part of what is making the airlines so appealing.

I'm heavily leaning towards bailing to the airlines in the near future, but I'm willing to at least look at what the AF will offer with the upcoming school matches If you were given ACSC-PAS when they announce the schools, would it be worth staying in for? I know everyone is different, but I'm just trying to get a read on the program. Thanks guys

So for C-17s, the number looks like it will be slightly over 50%, which surprises me as well, since I know very few people who talk about taking the bonus. I guess the sport bitching sessions around the squadron, where you start to wonder If there will be anyone left, doesn't necessarily translate into reality. Are the bulk of the '04 year group bonus takers already on staff?

Glitch, I'm a C-17 guy who is nearing the end of my 1st 10 years and I'm almost positive I will not be staying in the AF. That being said, I would absolutely do it all over again. There has been plenty of BS, but honestly all I can remember when I look back are the great friends I've made and the once in a lifetime experiences I've had. Hopefully you are polling some doctors as well. I only know a couple, but they constantly complain about managed care, insurance, and school debt. Every job is going to have its downsides I personally wouldn't try to do both. Choose one and try to never look back...

Ragged, . Did you tell the PT admins that you cramped up? You might have the option to get the test invalidated by your CC followed by a retest, but you have to act quickly, hopefully your failure was today. Unfortunately, this failure has the potential to have a much bigger impact on your career than it should. In the C-17 community, it would be really tough to not be at the bottom of the rack and stack when it comes time to hand out some crappy assignment, even if you avoid a referral OPR. Don't let this get you down though, if anything just focus on rocking your next course.

Here it is... updated on 9 May ARP 2016.pdf

C-17 functional is now advertising the opportunity for us to cross flow to the BUFF. I'm guessing pawnman was right about the amount of B-1 guys who are interested in crossing over.

Gazmo, Thanks for the summary. The paragraph above is the path I'm looking at. Problem is, I don't want to be a douche and walk away from an ART job if I get a call from a major 2 months after seperation. Also I understand that there is the possibility that there would not be a TR position to transition into if the TRs are fully manned in that unit. It seems like most units want a "handshake" year commitment from a new ART, which sounds like a reasonable request to me. Anyone hearing anything different? Sorry to continue the thread derail

The manning numbers are a function of the crew ratio reduction and being in the middle of closing 2 squadrons. The community is really inexperienced as well.

One one of my friends was just denied Palace Chase... Stats: 2006 C-17 with intent to hire letter Another interesting point is that we recently received an email from the functional stating the C-17 community is 130% manned so they are looking to get guys out to staff and other bills to reduce the numbers. With this in mind, maybe the Air Staff is seeing the Airline hiring wave and will be reluctant to approve guys further than a year out even in an "overmanned" community Thoughts?

Fellas, I did some research on the TEB issue with Palace Chase and this is what a very helpful NCOIC at TFSC was able to dig up for me. Check out AFI 36-2649: A13.18.8.6. A member who separates or is released from Armed Forces prior to completion of an agreed upon additional service commitment will have their transfer of benefits revoked by the DVA. Benefits already used by a dependent will be recouped by the DVA. However: A13.18.8.6.1. If the Airman was a member of the active component, the Airman may join a Selected Reserve unit (i.e., Palace Chase or Palace Front) and regain the authority to transfer benefits if the Airman agrees to serve at least the remaining length of time which was not served under the original agreement. Hope this helps