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Azimuth

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Posts posted by Azimuth

  1. 3 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

    26 years and I would NOT do it again, but "MY" thoughts probably deserve an explanation.

    Did I have a blast flying, yes.  Did I have incredible life experiences, yes.  Did I serve with incredible people, yes.  Did I leave the organization hating what it was and what it did to me, yes.  There are truly some sick horrendous people in the senior ranks and it sickens me to see them in leadership positions where they have done real and lasting injury to families and careers.  That being said, those people exist in all walks of life and for most the rewards of flying offset the negative.

    I passed on Med School to go to UPT and there will always be a part of me that wonders how a walk down that life path would have turned out.  That being said, there is one thing I would not change and that is the relationships with the brothers and sisters I flew with.  I continue to mentor many of them to this day...but in all honesty, late at night with a glass of brown liquor and the perspective of age, I sometimes wonder if it was all a waste. 

    In the end I would recommend you follow your heart.  Don't live in fear of the experience of others, make your own path so you are not sitting on your porch one day wondering what could have been.

     

    The fact that people respect you, on and off this forum, for the insight, advice, and occasional "WTF are you doing/thinking" moment is a testament to your character of not only a leader, but as a man.  I don't know you personally, but a good old mentor of mine was an FE for you years ago and and said you're one of the "good ones."

    I'm not you, not even close, but if you positively affect the lives of this many people, then what service you did for our great country could never be considered a waste.

    • Upvote 2
  2. 14 hours ago, cragspider said:

    He might be. But the Herk community has had a rash of C-17 dudes that come over and start messing things up. Now the big question is to how can we stop this silly trend in AMC?

    Stop the PHOENIX programs.  The CAF doesn’t do it, why would the MAF do it?  Also keep people in their MDS’s.  However AMC, and really the entire MAF, has a boner over making C-17 guys in charge of everything, however they have limited command billets.  Which is why you see shitty people like Rat taking over a KC-135 Squadron and C-130 Wing for command as a career strart airlift guy.

    A running joke at Altus when I was there was if you’re the #1 tanker guy on base, you were really #15 on the base due to all the C-17 guys.

  3. 15 hours ago, Right Seat Driver said:

    You give Mardon too much credit.

    Mardon makes quality patches (or made). But it also depended on the squadron and how much they wanted to pay. All of my Mardon Fairchild patches would wrinkle after less than a year of flying and look like shit because they weren’t leather backed. When I taught at Altus all of their patches are were Mardon and leather backed and were great.

    Ramaworld patches looks like someone went to the old patch shop at Manas to have them made.

  4. 5 hours ago, dream big said:

    Those slides are cool and all but I missed the part where it addresses retention.  Can you imagine being the poor SOB Maj type stuck on the staff having to deal with this? 

     

    You mean the Maj who signed the bonus and doesn’t understand why his peers are bailing for a greener grass?

    He/She deserves to be stuck with this stuff.

  5. On 11/22/2017 at 4:38 PM, Ram said:

    Those Growler bros who drew the sky dick messed up in their message.

    Right away, it should have been a post on their social media:  "To show solidarity with the Movember movement, we did our part to raise awareness for men's health."

    BOOM - it's a movement.  Use the social welfare BS when it suits you.  At trial:  "WHAT?  YOU'RE AGAINST MEN'S HEALTH???  GENDERIST!!!"

     

    9B9857AB-1780-4BB4-AAFC-2FA2CAEDF335.jpeg

    • Like 2
  6. 51 minutes ago, extender10 said:

    AFAIK, one of the main issues holding the program back is the feedback/warning systems in place to prevent the boom from scratching up the receiver have been failing.  

    I'm curious how much of an issue this has been on legacy tankers that are somewhat less sophisticated... it seems like the kind of an issue that Boeing created for themselves.  

    Last I heard they’re making it color (current -46 system is in b&w). Nothing will replace being able to see the receiver with your own MKI. All the -135 needed was a system to wipe off the hydro fluid, anti-ice, de-ice fluid inflight and it would’ve been fine. 

    Boeing sucks. They hired Rat for Christ’s sake.

    • Like 2
  7. 1 hour ago, extender10 said:

    Anybody that can chime in on the boom-scraping issue? How commonplace is it in the legacy tankers? Do you think it's something that is a by product of the new hardware and camera system?

    Boom scraping? 

  8. The only people that don't think this program is garbage are the blue koolaid drinkers that are involved IOT&E program or some other directorate at AMC/AETC.

    "Yeah the AR system is in black and white because some doctors said you see better in black and white."

  9. 2 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:

    Being a commander is not a requirement. If you're not interested in performing all of the usual duties for all of your subordinates who are serving in lawful capacities, then just don't be a commander.

    It would be pandemonium amongst the ranks if the first gay commander only signed certs for gay spouses, and they would be rightly upset.

    The old Dover OG is gay.  He said that he never held it against someone, officially, when people would make comments against gay and lesbians.  However he said he made sure to remember all their names.

    • Like 1
  10. 21 hours ago, DirtyFlightSuit said:

    old STUS/CC at Vance AFB was offered a similar option when faced with graduation and wouldn't let a student provide a rose to her partner.  He also caved.    Woulda rather him get fired then would have saved us all from having to deal with him the year or two after...

    The old STUS/CC at Vance drew dicks on my checklist one flight in the KC-135 when I left my checklist on the Nav table.  So I find this 10% truth hard (sts) to believe.

  11. On 11/12/2017 at 10:51 AM, dream big said:

    Because as much as some leadership preach about 360 degree feedback, none of it exists in the USAF.  You are promoted purely on how well your OPRs and PRFs are written in the eyes of those above you who were successful in that same process.  Heck, even with the 100% to Major our Wing King still made everyone go through the PRF process; that’s how much they value paperwork.  So, in essence, you can be a class A D-bag and still get promoted really far. 

    Yeah, the 360 degree feedback is bullshit too.  The currently douchebag that’s the 89th Command Chief had to do the 360 degree feedback and sent it to his “friends” to give him feedback.  Surprisingly enough no one that either didn’t like him, had worked for him, never received it.  Everything can be skewed in life and the Air Force would rather have professional “skewers of data” than addressing actual problems and telling douche bags they can’t be leaders.

  12. On 11/12/2017 at 11:04 AM, Lawman said:

    Important note...

    He’s not a Sgt. He never really was a Sgt. He was promoted retroactively and was actually an E-3 when he deserted.

    But now he’s private again.

    Actually, he was a Sergeant, and he’s still a Sergeant since the demotion takes place 14-days after the sentence and/or when the Convening Authority takes action (which will never be before 14-days in a General Court Martial).

  13. 11 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:
    16 hours ago, iceman said:
    Yeah, I guess for lower level retail jobs and working fast food they might ask.  For jobs an actual adult would want, not so much.

    So an adult job... Like the airlines?

    I know one pilot, who was convicted in a court martial for drugs, flying for Kalitta and one who was Art 15'd for prescription drug use flying for FedEx.  Southwest, Delta, and Apple didn't give two shits what my discharge was.  Outside of filling out the block on "Protected Veteran" they never asked anything else.

  14. On 11/3/2017 at 12:47 PM, Homestar said:

    Does a dishonorable discharge have to be reported on job applications like a felony conviction would?  Does the civilian world even know or care what it takes to get a dishonorable discharge?

    Depends on what it's for.  A lot of people claim that a dishonorable is an automatic felony, that depends on a lot of factors and where you decide to live.  Of course murder would be unanimous for a felony if adjudged in a court martial with a dishonorable because of what it was for.  However Bergdahl was convicted of Military Only Offenses, some states would consider the offense of what he was convicted of and care, some wouldn't.

    Either way what happens next, unless he waives it, is the discharge is not executed.  He still has to wait for possible clemency from the Convening Authority (most likely won't happen), and since the offense were committed before 2013, when the UCMJ changed, the Convening Authority has the authority to disapprove the punitive discharge.  While he's waiting for that he'll use any leave that he has, and be paid, until 14-days later when the demotion takes place (or the Convening Authority acts before, which probably won't happen).

    After his leave is exhausted, he'll be placed in appellate leave status which is a unpaid status.  He won't work, but he'll still be eligible for Tricare.  He's waiting for the Army Appellate Court (ACCA) to review his case since he was sentenced to a punitive discharge, which takes about a year.  If they affirm his conviction he can appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) to hear his case, and possibly overturn what the ACCA and Convening Authority approved.  If the CAAF affirm his conviction he can appeal to the Supreme Court via a Write of Certiorari, however the Supreme Court has a history of not wanting to hear a lot of military trials since their decisions could possibly change the Manual for Court Martial/UCMJ, which are written by Congress and the President.

    A lot the JAG's feel that this was the right decision, as do I.  Trump's comments as a candidate were stupid, but not technically Unlawful Command Influence (UCI).  However affirming and talking about it the day prior to court martial starting, as the President, was very ignorant.  Regardless of how one feels, if a Military Judge has to go on the record and hear and make a decision on the President's comments, that's never a good thing.  Of course Trump's comments weren't going to affect the Military Judge, however the fact he considered it during sentencing means it was a mitigating factor for sentencing.  And we all know him deserting led to his captivity, however he was still captive for five year in terrible condition.  That was also another mitigation factor in sentencing.  

    I think a punitive discharge, no confinement was the right call for a sentence.  However Trump's comments are going to create a ton of appellate issues.

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