nolandaman
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Posts posted by nolandaman
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Any of the three AC's coming to the W?
I believe one of them was.
Sucks for them but man, pretty much no one has room to complain too much. Of the 21 assignments given out, 16 of them I'd rate pretty highly based on knowing dudes sitting in all those places and airframes. Not sure what those guys wanted but hopefully people will be pleasantly surprised...
I think more than anything people were just really surprised. We had people that wanted Buffs and RC-135's which are generally available if you want them. The Buff guys ended up getting AC-130's so they are excited about a great airframe, just surprised that they didn't get Buffs.
I'm curious what the five airframes or places are that you wouldn't rate highly?
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It was actually a pretty disappointing drop for a lot of people. There were quite a few that ended up with something that wasn't even on their list.
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12-08 Drop
2x U-28
1x C-130
5x RC-135
1x KC-135
3x F-15E
3x EC-130
2x B-1
2x MC-130
1x B-52
I may have missed one or two, my kids wouldn't sit still surprise, surprise.
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I think they are very much ballpark numbers. If you look at some of the platforms the projected average is staying pretty consistent. I would guess those numbers vary as the people in each platform change including washouts and such. It is definitely not the number of aircraft in the inventory as it makes no sense with the numbers for some of the aircraft.
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The other option for taking the AFOQT/TBAS is to find somewhere that will let you take it. As was mentioned ROTC units sometimes have availability, but being a Marine, you do have access to bases, and the AFOQT is often available on bases that you can just call and sign up for. I seem to remember a website that listed all of the different testing locations for the AFOQT and TBAS. I took the AFOQT at Randolph and the TBAS at the ROTC Det at University of North Texas. I set them both up by myself because my recruiter was useless, and I was majorly crunched for time.
In terms of pilot selection, it is similar to the Marine Corps, in that the Marine Corps will guarantee a flying slot before you leave for OCS. The Air Force assigns all jobs before going to OTS, but the Marine Corps only assigns pilots.
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'Merica (aka class 12-07) drop:
B-1
F-15 X3
JSTARS
C-130 (Res)
RC-135
B-52 X4
U-28 X3
AC-130 x2 (one nav, one ewo, both Cannon)
MC-130J (Cannon)
C-130 x2(Guard)
C-130 x5 (including one to Elmo and one to Yakota)
AWACS
LC-130 (Guard)
HC-130 (Me, Moody)
Many people got their top choices or close to it. To my knowledge only the JSTARS guy was disappointed.
I heard that one of the Buff guys wasn't too happy about it either. It was a nice drop for you guys though. I really liked how you did it. I am just hoping that the lack of Bones recently means there will be more for me in 12-10.
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You can take the TBAS and AFOQT whenever you want, but make sure you look over some study guides so that at the very least you know what to expect.
As was mentioned you put down what positions you are interested in, and then if you are selected they offer you a slot in your order of preference. If pilot is the only option you put down and you get selected high enough that they still have pilot slots, then you are in. There are more posts than you would ever care to read on the site mentioned about the selection process and how it works.
You sound like you would be as competitive as anyone, but do remember it is very competitive so there is no way to know for sure.
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I missed half of the drop last night, but the rough numbers for Class 12-06 were:
1xKC-135
3xAC-130U Hurlburt
1xAC-130H Cannon
4xB-52 barksdale
1xMC-130W Cannon
1xU-28
1XJSTARS
1xRC-135
3xF-15E
1xHC130 (guard)
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I would totally agree that finding somewhere in between would be a major pain, and you just don't want to add any pain to your time here. Most of the time you could deal with it, but when you have a brief that starts at 0530, or earlier when you get to the flightline, and take into account having to finish getting everything ready before the event, I certainly wouldn't want to add another half an hour to that. On the other side when you are at work studying until 9 or so at night another half an hour home just makes your day that much longer.
Sacred Heart Hospital here in Pensacola is a pretty good hospital, and for how short you are going to be here I would think it would suffice. We had a briefing from a guy from their ER and it shounds like they get some pretty serious trauma cases in there.
Ultimately you have to do what is best for your family, so good on you for trying to figure out what is going to work ahead of time instead of just getting here and having it be a mess.
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It is nice to see everything stabilize a little more. Obviously there will always be peaks and valleys, but they really seem to have leveled out. Everyone looked like they were really happy with their drop, so that is always good.
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12-05 Drop
5x C-130 (1 ANG)
1x AC-130U EWO
1x AWACS
4x B-52
3x U28
1x JSTAR
2x B-1
4x RC-135
1x MC-130P
3x F-15E
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1
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Does the U-28 normally get selected by the top of the class?
One guy that was top of the class picked an RC-135. Every person is very different with what they want and why they want it. If you want a B-52 you will probably get it. That being said, it depends on the drop, and your class as well. My class has a ton of people that want B-1's but I know other classes where no one wants it. Luck of the draw. Do your best, and make your intentions known and it will all work out.
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Nav or EWO on the ECs and MCs?
The EC was one of each, and I don't remember on the MC. I know one was to Japan though.
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12-04 Drop:
F-15E- 4
B-52- 4
C-130- 5 (1 ANG)
MC-130- 2
AWACS- 1
U-28- 2
RC-135- 1
B-1- 1
EC-130- 2
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Can anyone help me out with the usual time given between leaving OTS and the Pcola RNLTD? I'm prior E heading to OTS late Feb '12.
Reason being... I'm still trying to sell my house (anybody heading to The Rock? Got a house for ya). Debating on whether to take leave enroute to OTS and setup the family at Pensacola then go to OTS, or get the family set up after OTS. Thoughts?
Don't expect anything more than a day because of the short distance. I know some people did the move beforehand, and some after. They were really great with us in terms of taking leave, or simply having time to get all moved in and settled. I don't think there is quite as much time as there used to be, but you should have plenty of time after if you don't want to mess with it before.
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From what I was told about the memos for F-15E's, they had a bunch of people washing out for various reasons at the centrifuge/FTU/etc and then saying they didn't even want the 15 in the first place. They needed to fill back up some of those slots and the memo was simply to help get a better gauge of what people wanted and why. It wasn't just because someone wanted their ego stroked.
For most of us the IP's are the only introduction we have to any community so what they say and do is what we are left to judge the community on. Occasionally they bring airframes in and you get a real chance to see it and ask the crew questions, but that is rare. When they brought the B-1 in it totally reaffirmed everything I thought and made me want it that much more. I would venture to guess that watching briefs on other airframes would increase my interest there as well.
Unfortunately many of the IPs have been teaching for long enough that they aren't even up to date on what the community is like now in terms of deployments and such. For some airframes we get tons of good info and for others nothing. You have to make your decisions based on the information you have, even if it is outdated or even inaccurate.
Surprisingly many students take no time to even try and find other information so they are even more likely to be misguided.
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You will absolutely, no doubt be here for more than a year. The CSO training itself is 11 months, at least three weeks for IFS, Water Survival, and count on a few months of casual time in between each. I will be right at a year and half when I graduate.
As for after training, don't count on much time, but some people are here for awhile. I talked to one person today who will be here until November so it is not impossible to have a little time afterwards as well.
Palace Chase info
in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves
Posted
Palace Chase approved. Just waiting on the 1288 and medical clearance to get submitted to AFPC, but it has been the weekend.
12M, 10 months off initial ADSC and 12 months off PCS ADSC. Approvals all the way up with an intent to hire letter. Squadron is divesting the last of my airframe on Active Duty. Got through AFPC in about a month with final approval in 10 weeks total. Kicked back the first time due to DEROS issues.