JS

I think you are confusing how percentages work. No matter how many points you have, or if you are AD or ARC, a percentage reduction is still the same percentage. The absolute dollar value in discussion will obviously change, depending on how many years you have on AD, or how many points you have in the ARC, but the way I think about it is in percentages. Not sure if you are talking about something different, but your % deltas are all wrong according to how I learned math. AD Old System - 50% retirement AD BRS - 40% retirement This is a 20% reduction in retirement pay, not a 10% reduction. Put differently, 40 is equal to 80 percent of 50. Guard Old System (assume 10 years/3600 points) - 25% retirement Guard BRS System - 20% retirement This is a 20% reduction in retirement pay, not a 5% reduction. 20 is equal to 80 percent of 25. The absolute dollar amounts don't really matter for comparing the two because both are equal to a 20% pay cut in retirement, no matter how many years AD or points in the ARC you have. Plugging real numbers in, assume your high-3 is $100K annual salary AD Old System - $50K/year retirement AD BRS - $40K/year retirement - that's 20% less than $50K per year in retirement Guard Old System - $25K/year retirement Guard BRS - $20K/year retirement - this is 20% less than making $25K/year in retirement. I think we come to the same conclusion - if you are definitely staying for 20, stay in the old system, because you have to make up a 20% per year loss in retirement pay, which would be very difficult even with the TSP matching and years for your investments to grow. If you are definitely getting out before 20, do the BRS. If you're not sure, well, it's time to be decisive.

I think there was another thread about the regular IMA program, but here is my nickel summary. I am about 6 months into my new IMA job - CAT A with 48 IDTs plus annual tour. The deal I have with my boss is that it works out to where I owe them about two, 3-weeks stints per year. Last month, I did my PT test and physical at the local AFB on inactive duty days and only travel to the IMA job when there are big exercises, etc. The commitment seems pretty straightforward, and I get real pay, not just this points crap, for it. PM me if you want details on my job and my process to get into it. I'm about ready to start my 2nd 3-week gig next month, but so far so good. And it's a helluva lot easier than doing drill weekends and keeping up with flying currencies, etc.

They might be changing it based on some of the feedback, but the general structure last year was somewhat modeled after ACSC in residence. So really, there was usually only about an hour of so lecture/guest speaker, followed by 1-1.5 hours or so of seminar discussion. And then maybe there was a writing lab or something for an hour, but for the most part, you had large parts of the day to work on the National Security CBT module thing, work on the Applied National Security paper, or do the discussion board thing for the leadership class. Some of the extras included a field trip to Tuskegee field, which took up most the day, and also a mock initial commander's call speech that each person was to prepare. Some people said they were very busy at night and during their non-classroom time, while others whizzed through the CBT, min-ran the discussion board stuff, and threw together a passable paper (just like the rest of us work through the courses while at home). Some of the flights organized local trips to the beach, or did other outdoor stuff, and some flights got together for dinner/drinks a few times. The weekend was (sort of) free, depending on how much you put into the papers. So, really, you have to decide if you are that kind of person who likes listening to world renown speakers, many of whom have written several books/articles, talk about leadership, Syria, Islam, Russia, China, or whatever other speakers they can whip up. Do you value being in a room with a bunch of Reservists from different backgrounds - CAF/MAF, CE, personnel, legal, MX, etc - and having seminar discussions on the future of the AF, international affairs, and other ways to solve the worlds problems? Or would you rather just get the required classes done without any of the extra credit? I think some people had heartburn because they weren't really getting any "credit" for all of the extra stuff, because at the end of the day, they still had to complete the same 4 classes that their bros back home completed. If you are already motivated enough and have the time to be knocking out classes right now, I would probably say just get it done and don't hold back in order to do the ARCS thing. If you are kind of a procrastinator who would love to not start it until June anyway, then ARCS would serve as a great jump start to the program. Hope that helped.

The biggest thing about this course is that it does not replace the online classes, it only gets you on a pay status and forces you to complete 4 of the 11 (not including orientation) DL courses while at Maxwell. There were a lot of misconceptions about whether the class would somehow be in lieu of the DL classes, or somehow proficiency advance you through the online stuff. Most people really liked it, but some were very hung up on a bait-and-switch, or a "truth in lending" mindset when they realized that they still had to complete all of the same DL classes that the folks who don't attend ARCS had to do. But, of course, you get paid for it and you get lots of "enrichment" in the form of guest speakers, networking, help with papers, etc. I would say about 80% of the people thought it was well worth it, while 20% left with the mindset of "I could have just done the 4 classes from home." Both points are valid, it just depends on your situation and how you view PME, networking, etc. The 80% who liked it appreciated getting out of the office and out of the house to be able to focus and knock out more than 1/3 of ACSC while also pocketing 2 weeks of mandays, having beer with the bros, etc. I can elaborate more on details if you want.

Ha. But of course, you can just use :30 of your airline salary to pay for the most expensive room downtown instead of staying on base on the occasions that you need a place to stay in a military town. But that's another story. CH - what airline did you wind up with?

I do not believe this is accurate at all. As long as you have a valid flight physical on file with the HARM, they control the strings with flight pay and you should ALWAYS get your flight pay (assuming you met gates, etc. - the same gates game you played in active duty). Over the past decade in the Reserves, I have never heard of conditional flight pay, getting paid only when you fly, or any of that. I am well into my second year of not flying and still get ACIP - on IDTs, UTAs, AT, MPA, RPA, and every other status under the sun. The prorated part is correct, of course. So for each IDT period and for each AT day, you should get 1/30th of your ACIP monthly pay commensurate with your years in flying status. And he is correct in telling you to work with the HARM - they should get it turned back on. It would help if you had your current and previous 1042 or 2992 medical forms, or whatever they call it today. While you are at it, you may as well go in fully armed (could not resist the pun) when you meet with the ARM guys, so I would read AFI 11-401, especially Chapter 2 where it talks about Aviation Specialty Codes to at least be familiar with the terms and see if there are some hidden gremlins in there that might be what got your flight pay turned off. That reg is what they are going to quote as their bible in the HARM office. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Any update on this??? How the presentation to the generals at the end of the month go? Did you guys get any additional feedback??

Yup. For what it's worth, I have heard more than one doctor say they regret being a doctor, for various reasons, and wish they had been an airline pilot instead (no joke). I am yet to hear the opposite, although I am sure there are some out there with that opinion too.

So, is it illegal to drink in uniform or not? If it is, when in the past 15 years did that become a rule, because I sure did not know about it? Of course, it's been about 15 years since I read any "rules" that are not from the 11-series books.

Great post, but I have one minor correction - Lincoln didn't free shit. And he sure as hell didn't free any slaves during the US Civil War. He did make a political speech where he stated that slaves in a different sovereign nation, which happened to be at war with the USA, were "free." But after his speech, the result was the same - no slaves were freed anywhere, not in the Confederacy, not in the Union (Delaware), not in those in between states (Kentucky), and not even in the rebellious states or areas the Union had control of at the time of the speech (Tennessee, New Orleans, etc). I kind of equate this to if Obama were to give an emancipation proclamation that all slaves held by terrorist organizations in open conflict with the US, namely ISIS and the Taliban, are hereby freed. Not a single person in the Middle East or Afghanistan would really be affected. The 13th Amendment of the Constitution, ratified a few months after the war, officially outlawed slavery and "freed" the remaining slaves in states that had not previously banned slavery. But I digress.

Probably the opposite of this kind of wife.....

I would start networking for some sort of IMA job at the puzzle palace. They usually have a few advertised on the website, but word of mouth will get you a lot farther than that. I am not an expert on Washington DC IMA jobs, but I would be willing to bet my monthly paycheck that there are more part time, flexible IMA jobs up there at any given moment than you can count on all of your fingers and toes. You will probably just have to network and dig for them, because they won't all be listed on the website. But I would be willing to bet that a lot of gigs will give you a ton more flexibility with your days versus a regular reserve unit with set drill weekends, etc. You won't have any problem getting a good year since they already program you for 50+ points per year, so the money and military status time is already there in the IMA job for you to get your last 5 good years. Again, as others have said, your experience may vary, as each job and active duty supervisor can be totally different with regards to flexibility, etc.

So, are you looking to do 5.5 more years of active time to get a retirement? The IMA program itself is not going to get you that, but it will definitely open doors to other active duty gigs where you might be able to do a few months or a year or so of an active duty tour. But your IMA "bucket" of money only has enough money to pay for the stuff I was talking about in the above post. You might be better suited trying to find a full time AGR slot for 3 years and see if you can do that twice if they renew the slot. Cobbling together 5 years of MPA or RPA maydays might a challenge, but I know there are definitely lots of days out there depending on what you want to do and where you want to go.

You don't have to do all of your time all in one swoop. Depending on the unit and travel costs, you can break it up. There is an IMA guidebook somewhere with some more details, but they will usually only pay travel ONE time for your use of annual tour. And of course, just as a Traditional Reservist, you are on your own for any IDT training travel costs. So, just like a TR, you have the equivalent of one weekend per month, or 24 days (48 periods) per year to burn plus your annual tour of 12 days (this is for Category A IMA, Category B is 12 days/24 periods). So, in short, you are on the hook for 36 days per year, which can be done all at once or broken up, depending on the unit and your supervisor/scheduler. The big catch is that if you break it up into more little chunks, you will wind up paying more for transportation out of pocket if distance is an issue. Also, if you do all of your days in one chunk, you better be damn sure you have done all of your annual requirements while there (PT test, physical, training, CBTs, etc), because you will be SOL if you have to take a PT test 6 months down the road and you don't have any IDT or AT days left. And of course, since IMA jobs are usually tied to active duty units, there is usually no such thing as "drill weekends," which means most of your days will be done Mon-Fri. Most supervisors will let you burn a single period or two over the weekend for admin/CBT stuff, just to keep your lodging paid for by the IMA detachment. But a week of working your IMA job will likely only be 5 1/2 days of pay as opposed to 7 days of pay. Unless of course, you are in some exercise or in an office that works 7 days per week, then ignore my last sentence. IMAs, just like TRs, can whore themselves out and take on additional maydays in the form or RPA, MPA, or whatever days. Obviously you will deconflict with your IMA unit if you are going to take a longer MPA/RPA tour, as a lot of IMA jobs want you there for a specific exercise or time frame in order to maximize your usefulness and experience. nunya, I think I answered all of your questions, but just to summarize: no IMA jobs are really paid "full time" for any months. At best, you are paid "mostly full time" for 36 days if you shoot your entire wad of military days in one fell swoop. Of course, if you did an additional volunteer active duty tour, then you would be paid active duty for that amount of time. IMAs are typically not weekend warriors, TRs are the weekend warriors (unless you are like I was and did drill makeups during the week in order to preserve your weekends). Both IMAs and TRs are Reservists, and both are on the hook for 48 periods, plus Annual Tour each fiscal year in order to get a "good year." You will want to make all requests for IDT and active duty days well in advance - at least a month. And most people complain that working through the Detachment as opposed to their own unit orderly room can be a pain. This article might be worth a read: http://www.theboohers.org/my-start-as-an-ima-in-the-air-force/

I believe had they pulled the yoke back at all that the NVG case would have fallen down, thus clearing the obstruction. I see what you are saying - that they hardly would have noticed that the yoke was 2 inches aft already and they would not have noticed it - but I think it was just wedged against the MFD by the back of the yoke and would have fallen down had they initially pulled back on the yoke during the stall (like the Colgen guys did) and then let the pusher help them recover.

I can confirm that it has worked a few times with Amex. You are supposed to be on active duty to get it, but I periodically get emails from them saying that they did another review of my account and have waived annual fees. Most of the time I was not on AD but was a Reservist instead. Not sure where the section about the account has to have been opened before AD came from. An AD friend opened an Amex Platinum while on AD and then 4 years later wrote Amex and was given like $2K back in fees. Also, Amex has a special section in their Contact Us section specifically for SCRA. So you don't have to mention it or ask any questions like that web link says. Basically, under the "reasons why you are contacting us" section, there is a specific dropdown for SCRA relief request. The only thing is that sometimes it is hard to find that part of the website when you are logged into your Amex account. It shows up differently for me and for my friend, but you should be able to find the section in the Site Map. Much easier than calling in.

Wow, I would have bet a pabst blue ribbon can of beer that the view was from a predator while A-10s strafed from other directions. I guess I would have lost.

That's what I figured. Back in the day, each squadron had a custom solid colored PT shirt with the little OTS shield on front, but I guess we have to conform with big blue's standard crappy PT shirts now. Ha.

So I was looking for a light/laser thingy for my Walter P99 9mm pistol. I didn't realize it, but when I got it for a graduation present in 2004, it was "first gen." The second gen, which came out shortly thereafter has a picatinny rail, whereas mine does not. I dug pretty deep on the internet, even conversing with the two stores that used to sell a rail adapter for it. One store said that he hadn't seen those adapters in 8 years, and his only suggestion was for me to get a machinist to make a custom adapter. Anyone have any other suggestions??? Why would they make (even if just for a year) a rail with nothing that could attach to it?? Thanks.

Delta. Work there and fly for free (sort of).

Old post dig up - just curious if anyone has any opinions on this gun. I local guy wanted to sell one for less then $400 with the crimson laser and 3 clips, I think. Seemed like a good price, and I think I am going to get another small 380 to carry around.

Just curious what the OTs are using for PT t-shirts these days. Back in the day, that OTS shoppette would have the last generation workout shirts on sale every once in a while for a good price, but I didn't see any OTS emblemed PT shirts there the other day.

I would research the crap out of your situation and read a lot on it. Education is key with all the choices out there. Nolo books and the IRS pamphlets on small business deductions and s-corp, LLC, sole prop, etc. make great learning materials. I agree with most of what Dupe says in that a sole prop is best for personals services, but a lot of it depends on what kind of business you are doing. Tonka, I don't think you mentioned what kind of work. Like said above - if you have people working for you and you are building stuff or something, corporation or LLC might be good. If you are just moonlighting while collecting "consulting" fees, a sole prop is a much better and cheaper bet. A LOT of this depends on the type of work. But Dupe is right, most people think an LLC gives them and their personal assets immunity from all wrongdoing in their industry - it sure as fuck doesn't. Get insurance or get in writing that you are covered under your parent company's policy either way, whatever you are doing. When you say you are getting paid by W-9, I assume you mean you filled out a W-9 and are getting paid via 1099-MISC from your employer??? Either way, if you pass a certain threshold of tax you will owe at the end of the year, you need to do the quarterly pre-payment thing. Read up on it. But right now you should be receiving checks from your company and then a single 1099 at the end of the year, right? And the W-9 was a one time form that you filled out, right?? My experience is that I spoke with two accountants before my first business - one was very liberal and laid back, the other was a "rule follower" to the T. Taxes and the IRS operate in all kinds of shades of gray. With the small amounts of money involved (10s of thousand, at most) and the basic nature of a lot of my work ("consulting fees"), I wanted to take a very liberal approach to deductions and so on, while operating a little closer to the gray edge. I am not saying to break the law, but I was the kind of guy who deducted most mileage and lunch expenses while discussing my business with colleagues to try and develop new business, if you catch my drift. Anyway, I went with the liberal thinking accountant. After doing all the legwork and record keeping, I brought him all the paperwork and he did my taxes (LLC) for maybe $300 or so. For my own learning, I went ahead and typed my numbers into a free online tax software and compared the 1040 and Sched C I generated to what I paid him $300 to do, and they were the same. So I have been doing my own taxes since then. Also, my state charged a few hundred to set up the LLC, and I also have to file a Business Privilege Tax each year, even when operating at a loss or if the business is idle (while deployed). I think the min is like $200/year or something. In other words, an LLC has costs associated with it in my state - even if you are not using it. Ultimately, I switched to a sole proprietorship due to its simplicity and that it is totally free. The main reason why I do my own taxes is not to avoid the $1000 or so of accounting, lawyer, and business privilege taxes each year, but more to keep myself educated and keep my finger close to the pulse of the tax rules that affect me. There are a lot of deductions you can take, and nobody will know your situation better than you. I just use the internet to research deeper accounting questions I have, and have no problem with doing my own taxes each year. Also, as I think others mentioned, with corporations you have to technically hold annual meetings, take minutes, and account for money that stays in the corporation each year. The record keeping is much more burdensome than the sole prop or LLC because any money made in the sole prop or LLC goes straight to your personal 1040 income tax statement each year. Not so with a corporation. In short, if your business is just a simple one-time 1099 at the end of the year, you can probably get by with running it through as a sole prop or LLC (after doing your quarterly estimated tax payments) without having to set up and maintain a corporation. But again, a lot depends on the type of work and type of money involved. My personal situation: for a few years I did some software stuff on the side and had the LLC. After letting it fall by the wayside and then sit idle while deployed, I got tired of paying the annual taxes and ultimately dissolved the LLC (for $150). I still got hit with one more year of the state "privilege" tax, however. After that, I worked in the sim and then some other overseas 1099 stuff. That all just was listed as income under "JS Aviation Consulting," which is a sole prop. I add the 1099 under the income section of Turbo Tax, I deduct all my meals, mileage, cell phone, computer, and office expenses under the business expenses Sched C of Turbo Tax, and my overall tax bill is much less at the end of the year. Again, I was teaching in the sim and then working for a bigger company overseas that I was covered under, so I saw no need to form a corporation or LLC, but your situation might be different. For me, the corp and LLC just added more paperwork and complicated things without adding any benefit. But then again, I did my own taxes and research, which you might not have time to do. Anyway, let me know if you have any other questions, and I would be curious if you could post here what kind of work you were doing and maybe we could make better suggestions.

http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/the-9-scariest-things-that-china-could-do-with-the-opm-security-clearance-data/

Like you said - the US is not a democracy, nor are any of the Western European nations. It is the republic here that is failing, like all republics before it.