Lord Ratner
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Posts posted by Lord Ratner
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I honestly feel pity and not disdain for these college kids. When they depart their "safe spaces" after graduation to enter the real world, life is going to fist them.
18 year olds don't come to these views on their own.
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"According to those facts, the warnings couldn’t possibly have been issued in the time the jets were in Turkish territory. Unless Turkish air controllers can speak impossibly fast, issuing ten warnings in seven seconds seems kinda improbable. Physics 2, Turkey 0. "
The warnings were going on for several minutes prior to them crossing the border. Credibility killed X 2
I was stumped on the gravity explanation, so I agree that's a cred killer, but not the radio calls. If you've done any flying around Turkey you know they aren't the most honest controllers with their airspace boundaries.
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Don't usually agree with Chris Matthews but this is right on the money.
[url=https://www.youtube.com/embed/a8wuPlIBR8w?feature=oembed]
That is the last thing I expected him to say. It's nice to see the pre-2008 Chris Matthews return, even if only for a minute.
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Hoping to revive this topic if there are any FAIPs out there now. My question is, could I track helos, do my Phase 3, come back to FAIP T-6 at Vance and then head to my first duty station as a helo driver? I know this would be a round-a-bout way to get there, but looking at family complications as well.
Thanks!
Never seen or heard of it
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Why not? It's not an uncommon second assignment for MWS guys.
Because FAIP is thought of as an alpha tour. Going from FAIP to transient UAV pilot would mean they have zero experience in a normal community on their third tour.
Unless they are planning to permanently assign FAIPs to UAVs... Which would be truly brutal.
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This guy could get 100+ years in prison.
I guess it is way worse than what Bergdahl did...
We are quite successfully criminalizing human interaction.
On the flip side, this shows that SAPR training works in some respects. Teach a bunch of 18 and 19 year olds that uncomfortable, unpleasant, or unwanted interactions are actually "violence" and "assault," and they will believe it. The pendulum is already swinging the other way in the college world, the military should follow soon enough.
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She had become an American citizen and expressed being ashamed of that fact after the first Republican debate. She could have said she hated Republicans or Conservatives or politicians but threw the whole country under the bus. The irony of this is that she became a US citizen to avoid higher taxes as a British citizen.
Sounds about right. She pretends for a living, why should anything she says make sense?
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The best movies are ones which pull you in and you forget you are watching a film. Does anyone else find epic levels of stupid commentary or behavior prevent being able to watch a film because, in your mind, the actor is a nut job or idiot? Emily Blunt and Tarantino are the two most recent examples. Thoughts?
What did blunt do?
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Movie Reviewer.
Are you making a living, middle class wage off of it?
If so, good on you. I've always wondered how hard that would be to get into. One of the only downsides to being stationed overseas is the access (and price) to the movies.
For what it's worth, your post about the movie lost me with all the parenthesis and "Oscar-nominated" add ins. Expected for an IMDB plot summary, but not a no-shit review from a human. Also, there is no such thing as an astonishing cast, unless they managed to resurrect Ghandi or George Washington to be in it.
/unsolicitedfeedback
Good on you for getting into that gig. I'm jealous.
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Actually, I've been a member and poster on Base Ops for 10+ years. It was only under a different user name--which I changed after retirement and my new gig.
What's the new gig?
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"Sicario" movie review...
Intense! A two-hour adrenaline rush that will invoke a fight or flight response from most viewers. This drug cartel story isn’t ripped from today’s headlines. No, it’s bigger than that. Much bigger. “Sicario” is an electrifying action thriller that enlightens and educates us on the violent crime that already exists—and operates—inside our southern border.
Emily Blunt (“Edge of Tomorrow”) plays a naïve FBI agent and tops off a superb cast that includes Academy Award winner Benicio del Toro (“Traffic”, 2000) as a government consultant, and Oscar-nominated Josh Brolin (for 2008’s “Milk”) as the leader of a U.S. clandestine unit. The trio meet along the blurred desert border of corruption, deception and hitmen to fight drug lords and a jurisdiction system that still tilts in favor of the criminal minds.
The frustrated Blunt wants to play by the rule of law. Except the only U.S. move left is to flip the game board upside down--creating chaos and noise in a cartel family monopoly.
An astonishing cast and script is bookended by a spectacular music score. A heart-pounding film experience on the frontlines, where rules get thrown aside without apology or trepidation. “Sicario” is not about curbing the drug war by the time the credits roll. It’s about savvy street smarts and keen instincts necessary in a dangerous environment where nothing is as it appears to be. One of the best films of 2015.
I was trying to guess what numb nuts was quoting a movie trailer without reading the username. Figured Huggy had just discovered Movie Phone and was trying to impress us with his cinema knowledge.
Are spammers really making forum accounts now just to post adverts?
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So you think the guy who is the mission commander for a 100 aircraft, led the planning and/or the actual mission execution isn't utilizing multiple types of leadership skills? This is MDS agnostic, but being a mission commander (100 was a large example, but the point still stands for the guy running 20-30 assets) in training and combat is a huge leadership role and by far shadows a lot of other "leadership" roles out there. Budha made great points above.
Absolutely. My point isn't that flying is devoid of any leadership, but that the idea that what makes one a great leader at the tactical level necessarily translates to being great at the organizational level, is flawed.
Look at Welsh. Seemingly a great leader at the wing-and-below level (according to others, I was not around in those days), but not making a huge dent at the top.
Sure, I'd love to have AF leaders from the squadron up who are shit-hot in the jet and organizational wizards. I'd choose that guy ten out of ten. But wherever they are, we can't seem to find them. And the military system of job-jumping and hole-filling doesn't lend itself to identifying and positioning those officers who have the skills and experience to manage massive organizations. There's a reason airlines aren't run by pilots and sports teams aren't run by the best athletes. Of course, we like to argue that the military is too different to the civilian world to compare, but the pilots that lead the AF have to deal with cyber, maintenance, acquisitions, space, finance, etc. All areas which they are not tactical experts.
I think a squadron commander of a flying squadron should be a flying expert, because the squadron is narrowly focused on that task, and it matters to the majority of the people under him/her. I'd rather have my Group/Wing and above leadership allow me to focus on being a flying expert while they deal with the actual purpose of their position.
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That's so.. strange. Does the early eligible get more money? You'd think they'd throw more at the on the fence/more experienced (even if only a year) guys who didn't take the other ones.
I guess more people could wait it out then for more cash.. but you'd get an easy crop for 365's and the like. Unless I'm thinking stupid, which is always possible.
Thanks for the info!
You only get more money if you are taking the "9" (long bonus) year bonus instead of the five (short bonus). The short bonus is five years from signing. So you get $125k no matter what. The long bonus is until 20 years of aviation service. Depending on when AFPC gets the bonus out and how long the process takes, it could be 6-12 months between your initial ADSC ending and starting the bonus (either one). By doing the early eligible program you avoid this delay and your new commitment starts immediately after your initial ADSC expires.
For the short bonus that means taking the early option will reduce your mandatory AD time by whatever the processing delay is for the on-time bonus. But since damn near everyone who takes the short bonus stays until retirement, this isn't as big a deal.
For the long bonus your earliest retirement date won't change since it is based on when you started flying, not a set time after signing the bonus paperwork. But by signing early your bonus starts immediately after the initial ADSC ends, instead of 6-12 months later, and you get bonus money for those months.
So TL;DR: For the short bonus, early eligibles can get an earlier separation date. For the long bonus, early eligibles get more money.
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I think we agree more than you thinkI fundamentally disagree.
What would you say the highly transferable skill set is?A CEO can move from industry to industry because large portions of what big corporations do is independent of their field. It's not that a CEO possesses some sort of magical universal leadership skill. It's that they have a deep, highly transferable skill set in corporate management and happen to be good leaders to boot.
You think the CEO deals with payroll and recruiting of unskilled labor?They may not be the best riveter, but he/she better damn well know what riveters do, how to get that riveter paid, attract and train other good riveters, and manage the supply chain to provide them with rivets.
I'll bite. How does a combat sortie in a fighting falcon impart organizational leadership skills?Leadership without action or other skills means you are at best qualified to be the Vice President of your local Toast Masters Club.I would also say that flying... particularly in combat as part of a team... is better leadership development than most things.
Wing commanders aren't really the ones tagged to be in the lead aircraft of a 50-ship bomber formation. That's the sq/cc job, right?There is, however, a separate issue of learning to navigate the Air Force bureaucracy. Unfortunately, that's a fundamental skill required for serving effectively at higher ranks. Don't conflate leadership and rank.I do agree with you that there is a point where flying talent matters less, but I think the line should be higher than you put it. Through the Wing/CC, leaders need to be reasonably proficient and at least solidly above average as aircrew (pilots, navs, whatever). I have no desire to pretend to be the leader of a unit I can't take into combat... period. " Good luck, boys! I signed your high-risk ORM and I'll write some mean Single Mission Air Medals for you if... er... when you get back!" said Robin Olds never
Are you implying that one cannot be a good leader without being a good pilot? That leaves quite a few career fields out of luckBut starting at the DO-level, I see how quickly everything else drowns out flying and how after a few years, our "leaders" just aren't proficient enough to do it any more. They make the reasonable and responsible decision to let go of flying except during training lines with high illumination and an instructor at the controls. It is not their fault. It is how we've chosen to make things work. It is, however, bullshit.
"You don't need to be a good pilot to be a good leader," is a lie a shitty pilot once told to keep their career on track. Unfortunately, someone who didn't understand the difference between "leader" and "administrative wonk" believed them.
Now, we've forgotten what we've lost.We will remember someday.
I have seen very little connection between leadership and flying. Admiration, respect, sure. But running an organization of hundreds is not in the same realm... At least that's what I think
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It blows my fückin mind that some reserve squadron actually hired that shithead. But when did he lose his mind and go beyond full AF retard? I don't even know where to begin to find an answer to that.
I know a few commanders who were "total bros" when they were captains and majors, then went full crazy when given command. And I know more than a few captains who are great dudes, but I worry about what they will be like as commanders.
Leadership is hard, if it weren't for the fact I have virtually zero chance of command, I'd be worried about myself being in power as well. Unfortunately the pilot world doesn't rate and promote based on leadership abilities and experience. Since there are too many officers and not enough leadership positions, we use program management and education as discriminators.
But what most of us want, a return to a flying focus, doesn't enhance leadership ability either. I think there is a huge credibility boost a squadron commander gains from being proficient in the jet, but at the group and above level I don't think flying ability helps any more than being an exec or getting DG at SOS.
I don't know the right answer, but there is a reason civilian corporations hire CEOs and presidents from outside the company. Ford doesn't need the best design engineer or riveter at the helm. Leadership is a skill unto itself, and it cannot be nurtured or measured through other actions and skills.
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I've been told by those who sat on the recent O5 board that AFPAK hands was consistently ignored, and the packages (and associated LtCol hopefuls) suffered for it.
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AFPAK Hands is the only reason needed to not take the bonus. The fact they are giving it to 06 year group dudes now is probably evidence that they are losing too many people to 3/7 day opts.
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I heard the plane was underwater for at least 45 minutes before reappearing on radar...
#thetruthisoutthere
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I call shenanigans. They are creating an entirely new aircraft from different 767 variants, but the bulkhead would have been too much?The story I've heard is that the rear pressure bulkhead on the 767 would have to be redesigned/moved in order to accommodate a conventional boom pod. This is supposedly more cost prohibitive than designing and producing the virtual boom station. Actually seems reasonable to me.
I'll bet if you factor in maintenance costs for the vastly more complicated new system, like every single other new system on the -46, it'll end up costing much much more.
But who cares? It's what we have now. And since we can't afford enough of them, we'll have real boom pods for decades to come
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That's interesting. The Italian and Japanese booms I spoke with and the IThey all speak of great things with the AAR system on the KC-46, and I would take their recommendations without a second thought.
KC-767 universally disliked the digital boom pod.
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This seems like something we've complained about here. If the numbers don't look good, redefine "good"
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/16/army-survey-morale/24897455/
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Congrats! What reg did you use to prove them wrong?I just 7-day opted an assignment with 19 months remaining on my UPT ADSC. I didn't want to incur the CONUS PCS ADSC of 24 months. My DOS was set the day after my UPT ADSC expires!
Everyone from the Group/CC on down, to include the assignments guy at AFPC was adamant I couldn't 7-day opt....but I did!
Assignment cancelled and told to remain in place to finish out my ADSC.
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Yes.So, you did see there was the option to take $25K/5 years or $25K/20 YAS, right?
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I don't know dude, these days, a jet could carry 690,000 lbs of cargo and pregnant patients while strafing terrorists and sitting nuke alert, but still be on the chopping block because it's 1.) already built and 2.) only exists in 2 or fewer congressional districts. The cost-effectiveness and operational ability of airframes isn't what drives Congress, to a point.
The MQ/AC/KF-5B Joint Everything Stealth Aircraft. No more pipelines, universally assignable maintainers, pilots never have to deploy, and JTACs could complete their training on an iPhone.
Promotion and PRF Information
in General Discussion
Posted
I disagree on one point. Not getting promoted does not mean the same thing and reneging on the contract (even if that is the end goal). You don't need to get promoted for the AF to keep you in, they can continue you should they choose. Forcing promotion on someone who doesn't want it is silly, and only an organization that habitually mismanages personnel through stubbornness and inexperience could fail to recognize that.
If you don't want people with bright futures sabotaging their careers, ask yourself why the system is making them that way, and fix it. Or don't. The nice thing about the military is that very, very few leaders are ever truly accountable for their organizational management decisions.