Jaded

I thought that the point of the ride was deincentivizing solo studs from going supersonic during solo area rides.

I flew f-16s for 10 years. I'm off of active duty now, and even through rose covered glasses, I look back on my time like a prison sentence. It feels amazing to be "out." If you want to experience 85% of your life as a fighter pilot, go hang out at the DMV for 12 hours tomorrow.

Also, for those who are wondering, the "early" take rate is 3.3% lower than last year. Sounds like you guys are making up this whole retention problem. These statistics prove that everything is fine.

http://access.afpc.af.mil/vbinDMZ/broker.exe?_program=DEMOGPUB.default.sas&_service=pZ1pub1&_debug=0

How long does it usually take to resolve the lawsuit after the USAF screws up the bid process? For an organization that buys a lot of airplanes, we sure are bad at buying airplanes.

So is the workaround to just not sign a statement either way? " NOTE: Involuntary separation actions will be initiated by HQ AFPC on officers who fail to sign the statement within 60 days from public release. " It costs you what, $80,000 and 2.5 years of seniority to sign a piece of paper?

Do you get separation pay if you do not get continued? Sounds like a pretty good deal.

I thought Homestead would be an awesome place to live until I actually went there.

In the middle of FTU.

On the other hand - I totally disagree with the overall message from some of you guys. Prioritize your loved ones over your work. That still applies in pilot training. The divorce rate is significantly higher than the UPT washout rate.

I would say that the viper lacks certain capabilites that the f-4G had, but I would not consider it less capable anymore. That was definitely once true, but its systems have come a long way. From what I understand, the global hawk problems are more than technology challenges.

He should just edit his post, "I think I should be allowed to transition to fighters because I'm a good pilot. And stuff."

What is the "top qualified FAIP pool?"

LOL. Who said they balked because they didn't want to work the hours? They balked because it's dangerous to put guys through a even more shortened RTU. It's already a shadow of what it was just 10 years ago. Get some perspective before you bash on the guard. Talking about people "working for the better good" false on deaf ears when you're referring to a lot of people who've already served 10+ years on active duty.

What is a fighter pilot? Is it someone who has a 9 month B course? A 6 month B course? A 3 month B course? A 20 ride MQT? A 5 ride MQT? Flies 10 times a month? Flies 5 times a month? Do you think they're going to fix the problem or redefine the problem?

Why don't you think a recruiter would lie to you? They are incentivized to mislead you into signing up and there are no consequences for their dishonesty. The military is not some honor filled, chivalrous organization.

I have never heard of a difference in selectivity between the guard and reserves. Certain units are often more competitive but that has more to do with location than anything (IMO). There are some structural differences that make the organizations different, but they are similar enough that I would not use their parent organizations as a decision point at all. Apply to the units that fly the airplanes you want, and are in a location you want to live in. In my experience, there are good dudes (and a couple weirdos) in every squadron.

The real question is, what propaganda are they feeding cadets that makes them think this is a tough choice?

The FAIP comparison is an apt one - there were a ton of 11F FAIPs passed over in 2012 because they didn't have as much progression as their peers. FAIPs often get through MQT and are immediately put into BMC wing jobs. I don't think this would be any different.

I wouldn't call IFF/B-Course/MQT a "break." It was a good experience, but I worked my ass off.

Remember that hours are harder to come by in fighters. Make sure you have enough hours for your ATP before you volunteer.

You may already know this, but FedEx had 2 new hire indoc classes this month with 47 pilots in attendance. They plan to continue to hire at this rate for a while, and are putting lots of new hires in the 777. If you want to work for FedEx, there is no better time than right now. (sorry, this is totally unrelated to PME)

LOL. I'm just quoting this in case Iowa decides to delete it so other people can enjoy.

So if you get an VA loan, is there any reason to not immediately get an IRRRL?

That's not really how you should calculate it - the difference between airline pay and the 60k bonus is what's important. If, for instance, the difference was 60k you'd actually be *losing* between $1.9M and $8.5M using those same assumptions.