Toro

Good story, and good on you for sharing. Also good to see there was a pile-on to the SMSgt with a common "get a grip" theme.

Current gouge sent to me by an MC-12 pilot: ----------------- MC-12W's are stationed at Beale AFB, CA. I'm sure there are other threads that discuss the area, but suffice to say there is plenty to see and do. The cost of living is higher than most other places, but it's survivable. With San Fran and Tahoe close by, it's ideally situated for weekend excursions. Due to the housing market fallout, there are PLENTY of homes up for short sale or foreclosure. You can get a $600,000 home for $225,000 if you have the patience to wait. There are TWO MC-12W squadrons at Beale. The 489 RS is the training squadron, which also is deployable when necessary. All students rolling through the "one and done" tour will be attached to the 489th for training. The second squadron, the 427 RS, is a deploy-only squadron. Most folks PCSing from other MWS's are assigned to the 427th. This includes the recent slew of UPT studs. This is just a rough estimate, but I'd guess the 427th is inprocessing 5-7 people a week. The intent is to take the squadron, which was activated this spring with a skeleton crew, and have it full-up within a year. They are well on track to do so. The days of "one and done" are rapidly coming to a close. In addition to the UPT studs, we are also bringing in folks from other MWS's to fill the slots. They bring the experience that is necessary to round out the squadron. With all of that said, it should be clear by now that the Guard isn't taking over. There hasn't been ANY talk of that in months, but i still hear people mentioning the rumor. The Guard simply doesn't have the manpower or the resources to sustain the combat ops tempo we do. They did a great job building the program up from nothing, and sending folks downrange, but the active duty program is MUCH more robust. We graduate over 400 students a year. The current dwell is 1/1. As the 427th grows, the dwell rate will become much more tolerable. New graduates go downrange for anywhere for 6-7 months. The flow-thru guys then return to home station, while the permanent guys return to Beale and begin a 3 on/3off cycle. It's brutal, but WILL get better as the manning improves. You can expect 600+ combat hours during your 6-7 month tour. There's another rumor I've heard floating around that when Afghanistan winds down, the MC-12W will just disappear and the squadron will shut down. Again, that is false. Every COCOM has a standing request for MC-12W support. We simply can't get away from Afgh, right now. When/if this conflict winds down, there is plenty of other work to do. If we have a permissive environment, we'll be there...counterdrug, border patrol, you name it. The MC-12W is not a dead-end career ender. FAR FROM IT. Like any other squadron, if you work hard you will be rewarded. Since I've been involved with the program, I've seen multiple folks get selected for school slots, general's aides, TPS, etc. DO's move on to command, CC's move on to Vice Wing, etc. Every UPT stud who got the MC-12 with a "insert MWS here" follow-on were much better aviators after his/her experience downrange. For permanent party folks, it's a standard 3 year tour. No MQ-9 shenanigans here...we won't tell you 3 years, and keep you for 6. What other rumors have you heard floating out there? I'd like to squash them now while my ear is still to the ground. ----------------------

I went back through this thread after I linked it to a noob who tried to start a new MC-12 thread and found a lot of obvious chaff, which I have cleared out. If anybody with current info wants to PM me with which posts (give me a post #) are outdated, I'll remove those too. Other than that, steer clear of PMs on this (and most) topics. M2 hit on the OPSEC issue, the other is that there are other readers who might be interested in what you have to say - just put it in the thread.

Please please please please don't fuck this one up.

Not bad, but I think Bob Pardo one-upped them.

For fucks sake, stop being an idiot. They're slashing Space-A travel - the number of carriers will greatly decrease and therefore the number of flights will decrease. While the possibility of Space A remains, the overall ability to get a Space A flight will decrease. A lot less people able to travel = good deals going away. I have personally never taken Space A, and never plan to. Stop trolling.

Well, you see, traveling on Space Available flights is virtually free. Traveling via commercial airlines costs hundreds to thousands of dollars. So traveling Space-A can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars....which is a good deal. They're going to significantly cut back on Space A...a good deal. So this is a good deal that is going away. Did I go too fast for you?

Say what you want about the Air Force, the Marines TOTALLY get it. Marine's failed suicide led to jail, court martial, and bad-conduct discharge Got it Marines? PTSD be damned - if you're going to do it, you'd better do it right the first time.

What? This isn't the first time somebody landed at the wrong airport? No shit? It has happened, and will continue to happen. The only reason this is being discussed is because it was an impressive mistake that was caught it on video and it made the news.

More good deals going away Expanding Space-A eligibility would 'adversely affect' troops

New job for NCO who complained about insignia The AF Crimes won't show the whole article because I refuse to pay, but here's the first couple sentences: I am curious as to what the "but rather..." after the end of that quote is.

I haven't read the full accident investigation, but I have read the full safety investigation. There is zero mention of those towers.

Cheaper, too.

Another WTF...the winner of the AF-CGO of the year, "individually dedicating over 1500 volunteer hours and completing a master’s degree." Even if she volunteered EVERY single day of the year, that would still require more than four hours a day. I don't know what kind of job has that much free time, but it must be nice.

No it won't

Even though this article just came out, the HYT notifications came out last year, so this shouldn't be news to anybody. To be clear, this doesn't change the requirements for making grade, and it doesn't cut the number of folks getting promoted, it simply gives the boot to those who have been in a grade for an extended period of time. The OP's article doesn't mention it, but here's what it does: Not a bad call, IMO. This forces our enlisted folks to buckle down, get through their CDCs, and take their testing seriously (enlisted testing and promotion is completely different than officers). Should somebody be able to spend 20 years in the Air Force and only make it to the rank of SSgt?

It's not worded clearly in the article ("the F-15E’s electronic attitude director indicator...was not on the cockpit’s display"), but they're talking about the MPCD (multi-purpose color display). The pilot has three displays - two green MPDs and an MPCD. All the screens can be programmed to scroll through different displays using HOTAS, but the MPCD has a safety feature where, if you've been on a screen for more than 5" and you start to scroll, the first screen to come up is the ADI (even if not programmed). It's a safety feature for this exact situation so you don't have to fumble for an ADI since Strike Eagle guys don't use the HUD for recoveries, they use the MPCD. The article is saying that he didn't pull up the ADI on his MPCD.

A long time ago as the UDM, I remember that the ART program would throw up flags when folks were scheduled to PCS within (I think) three months of returning from deployment - the commander needed to approve. The reg you want is AFPD 10-4, but it doesn't specify anything about a return time with relation to PCS. The closest it has is "10.3. Assignment Process. The USAF assignment process will be managed to coincide with the AEF battle rhythm to the maximum extent possible. The assignment process will formally track AEF deployments on individual personnel records and provide visibility of individuals to all commanders." In case you haven't already done so, work with your commander.

Here's the post you referred to. It's been a while and I don't remember the individual's name, but my situation had extenuating circumstances - I was in Saudi with a PCS to Germany, but I was trying to get my family there prior to my PCS date because I had minimal time to get a house before I had to turn right back around and go TDY again after I arrived. The question I was responding to was also referring to an overseas PCS. I don't know that you would have the backing to plead your case, but you could try. As mentioned, you need to clarify whether you want on or off base housing (you will only get BAH for off base housing). Off-base you can get a house. Most times the housing office wants you to check in before you sign a lease, but if you contact them and explain your situation, they should be able to give you their newcomer's brief over the phone. If you're looking for on-base, you can put your info into their system to get on the waiting list, and you will have a higher priority when you show up (as opposed to somebody who just shows up wanting a house).

Not sure how current it is, but here's some info.

Valid. Most uncontrolled fields are <8K, so guys like me can't comprehend why/how you would land there.

Exactly. I'm not talking about accidentally landing at an uncontrolled field, and I'm not talking about landing on a dirt strip in dirka-dirka stan. I'm talking about filing to and landing at an uncontrolled CONUS field - the subject of this thread.

For what? Zombie apocalypse? Valid if you live somewhere that is prone to natural disasters, but otherwise, no. Definitely not "months" worth of anything. I've previously lived on the East Coast and was ready for hurricanes. Now I'm in Tornado Alley and have enough stuff to keep us going for a week or so.