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Hacker

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Posts posted by Hacker

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hacker

    12 hours ago, schokie said:

    I remember it as well. I also remember laughing after I finished watching it. But probably not as much as Hacker laughed on the way to his FedEx interview.

    Turns out the rule of law is still a thing. Swift preemptive judgement aside. 

    Well, nobody I know laughs on the way *to* an airline interview.  I was scared shitless up to then.

    On the way home afterward after receiving a job offer?

    Yeah, that's a different thing entirely.

    • Like 1

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    33 minutes ago, Champ Kind said:


    Was it not an enlisted SARM troop that effectively caused the cleansing of every flying squadron the entire USAF several years ago?

     

    FIFY.

    FWIW, I wouldn't say that Jennifer Smith "caused" any of the shenanigans.  She has whatever right to complain about whatever she wants to complain about.

    It is the spineless senior AF leadership that capitulated to the demands of the PC warriors that caused The Purge.  They could have just as easily responded to TSgt Smith's Congressional complaint differently (although it would have required a warrior fortitude to over-ride the political pressures), and it wouldn't have happened at all.

    That same group fails to understand that they, even today, hold all the power to fix the trajectory of the AF toward the ditch.

    But, hey, if Mark Welsh says that his dad never sang dirty songs, and that means there's no historical tradition of it, then I guess we can just disregard these 50 years worth of songbooks I have copies of and flush heritage down the toilet at the altar of social justice.

    • Like 3
    • Upvote 2

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    28 minutes ago, av8tor55 said:

    So Kwast fired Velino for the same UPT shenanigans that have been happening since the inception of the Air Force? Guess what, the same $h!t happened when he was the 47th OG/CC 15 years ago, and he was a willing participant!

    This has been taking place for decades.

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hacker

    2 hours ago, BFM this said:

    Ironic pandering.

    Everything I’ve read indicates that the female student in question is straight pissed that leadership has taken it upon themselves to be offended on her behalf.

    ...can’t say that I would blame her.

    She is most certainly not who the PC leadership is pandering to.  They are more likely pandering to some non-existent politically correct standard monster that leadership is afraid is going to come gobble them up and get them fired.

    Asking a bunch of enlisted folks who are entirely unrelated to the events being discussed, about how they feel about actions that don't pertain to them in any way and which they didn't experience, is a nice touch and a great way to evaluate behavior, though.

    • Like 3
    • Upvote 4

    The new airline thread

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    If guys flying with PBS like it, then good on ya.

    I liked PBS when I was flying with it at the regionals, but having had a few years to compare it to line bidding the purple way, I am a solid "no" vote for PBS at FedEx.

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 1

    Flight Evaluation Board (FEB)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    11 hours ago, ThreeHoler said:

    If everyone is following 11-402 there are only a few situations where they can take your wings:

    “4.5.3. An FEB, or any subsequent authority in the FEB review process, may recommend the respondent be prohibited from wearing the aviation badge. This recommendation is appropriate only when: (a) An individual is disqualified for discrediting the badge through misconduct or willful violation of flying regulations or procedures, (b) fear of flying, © cowardice or refusal to fly in combat, or (d) when the aircrew member fails to become a productive member of the aircrew force through factors over which he or she has control to include attempts to resign from training, attempts to impose limits on rated/CEA service, and/or failure within rated/CEA specialty clearly due to lack of effort or motivation. If an FEB recommendation is to prohibit wearing the aviation badge, separation action according to AFI 36-3206, AFI 36-3208, or AFI 36-2209 as applicable should be considered with respect to the needs of the Air Force.”

    Realize that "taking someone's wings" and not continuing with aviation service are two totally separate outcomes.

    One has to do with what you wear on your uniform and what your AFSC reads in the system (and that's the one you're quoting).

    The other has to do with your ability to continue to fly as a crew member.

    Plenty of folks have been grounded by FEBs, but not had their wings taken.

    Flight Evaluation Board (FEB)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    5 hours ago, di1630 said:

    What type of thing gets you FEB’d and booted at 19yrs?

    A very good question, because an innocent "oops" won't do it.

    Remember that the FEB process and the Board of Inquiry process (the "discharge board" that is responsible to decide to kick someone out) are two completely separate processes, with separate board members, and most importantly with very different criteria on which to evaluate the evidence in any particular case.

    But the big deal is that the two are not automatically linked, e.g. getting sent to an FEB does not automatically trigger a BOI, nor do the Convening Authorities in most FEBs I've seen also initiate a BOI without other additional circumstances in an officer's history that, combined with whatever the FEB was about, lead to questions about the officer's fitness for continued service.

    There are plenty of potential circumstances (in fact, probably the vast majority of them) where someone would be found unfit to continue aviation service by an FEB, but that whatever conduct led to that finding was not sufficient (or directly relevant) to not continuing service as an officer.

    Just as a couple examples I know of:

    - The case of an AETC IP who, on a cross country, did the ol' "flyby of your relatives house" act. That person was FEB'd and lost their wings, but was not sent to a discharge board, and went on to a Reserve job as a non-flyer.

    - The case of an ACC pilot who intentionally violated some flight rules by showboating in one of Uncle Sam's aircraft at low altitude while in a deployed location, was FEB'd and lost his wings, and went on to become an active duty intel officer without going to a BOI, either.

     

    Flight Evaluation Board (FEB)

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hacker

    8 hours ago, Sua Sponte said:

    I didn't go to jail, get a punitive discharge, had no legal fees, and kept all of my VA benefits. A prior Lt Col/C-17 guy I know paid $20K+ for a civilian attorney facing similar charges I was and got a dismissal (Officer equivalent of a Dishonorable Discharge), losing his career at 19 years and losing all of his VA benefits.

    One of us walked away in better shape than the other and the one in worst shape still owed $20K+ in attorney fees.

    YMMV

    My mileage does, hence my recommendation.

    I don't claim that I'm some oracle of the FEB process, or an attorney, but I do have a bit more insight into the process than your average pilot.  In addition to some other factors, I was also the FEB manager at an AETC Group and managed the cases of more than a dozen different FEBs and a few BOIs (discharge boards).  The differences in outcomes of those cases for respondents with civilian counsel vs those with ADCs was statistically significant. 

    Its great that it worked out for you, but your result more than likely had more to do with the circumstances of your case than the skill of your ADC.

    Flight Evaluation Board (FEB)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 11/26/2018 at 2:02 PM, Defnotapilot said:

    Going to an FEB soon. Thoughts? Advice?

    Your #1 action right now should be to find and hire a reputable civilian attorney to represent you at the FEB.  As said above, don't rely on your ADC.  Yes, it sucks to spend a big chunk of money on a civilian attorney, but if you intend to continue forward in a military flying career the cost is pretty small compared to what you could lose. 

    I have personally seen ADCs be positively eaten alive in the courtroom due to their inexperience dealing with the intricacies of aviation service.  On the other hand, I have also personally seen civilian attorneys run circles around SJAs in the courtroom and get wins for their clients.

    Remember, the FEB process is designed to protect and serve the AF, not you.  Very rarely will "justice" be served from the perspective of the respondent (e.g. you).

    The new airline thread

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted · Edited by Hacker

    On 11/29/2018 at 10:21 PM, soupafly06 said:

    This is probably a totally newb question but F it anyways.  I want to continue a post-AF career flying something but I'm an RPA driver and all of those hours in the container won't count for squat with the FAA or airlines.  Assuming I have my civilian certs (CFI, MEL, etc) but relatively low hours, what's the best path forward to the airlines?  I'm assuming the basics are build up to 1500 hours and then slog up through regionals and eventually to the majors just like everybody else but what has the timeline been like for those of you that have started at a regional to get picked up by a major carrier?  Would my RPA and military experience be a bit of a discriminator when it comes to hiring (assuming all other boxes are checked) or do they really mean nothing when it comes to the airlines?

     

    You will be eligible for a Restricted ATP at 750 hours assuming you went to SUPT.

    From there the Regionals will take you where you need and want to go.  They’ll even take you non-current and non-recent.

    • Upvote 1

    Commanders are dropping like flies this year

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    18 minutes ago, MooseClub said:

    I would hope none of us are ever surprised at how different the “real world” is from the AF.   

    On the contrary, my experience is that most career mil guys (not reservists/guardsmen) are surprised by a number of things in the outside professional world after they leave the insular military world.

    • Upvote 1

    Commanders are dropping like flies this year

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    24 minutes ago, hindsight2020 said:

    At the end of the day, the only people who need to believe you in post af life is your wife, your mother, and your airline hiring board. The rest is ballwash. Lol

    The really interesting part of that is how different the "real world" take is compared to what we see and find important in the USAF fishbowl.

    I know of guys currently at the major airlines with some pretty massive career-ending black marks on their military records, and whom I know for certain didn't omit those things from their airline applications.

    Commanders are dropping like flies this year

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    22 hours ago, Sua Sponte said:

    Why wasn’t he charged with assault consumed by a battery (Art 128)? If an A1C gets that charged for touching a girl’s ass certainly an Lt Col who’s a Sq/CC would get charged for trying to choke a dude in a bar.

    Regarding the "news" reports on the leak of the T-Bird CC's CDI, I will say (from *very* personal experience) that testimony, conclusions, and recommendations from CDIs can very much not reflect what actually occurred in a given situation.  In the situation I'm referring to, the accused chose to not speak to the Investigator without representation from an attorney, and the Investigator finished the CDI without ever actually going back and speaking to the accused with the attorney present.  Thus, only one side of the story was presented to the CC...and later formal proceedings showed that what was in the CDI was, indeed, only one side of the story.

    I don't have any personal knowledge of this particular CDI, or what Ex-T-Bird#1's actions actually were, but I'd say to be cautious in what you believe to be true with just the CDI info that has been leaked.

    To me, the fact that T-Bird#1 wasn't relieved of command until well after these events took place, and after the season completed successfully, speaks a lot louder than anything reported in the CDI and makes me question the validity of several of the things that are being reported.

    As was mentioned in the quote above, if an obvious physical battery took place, why was nothing done right away, and why didn't T-Bird #1 receive any type of punishment out of the whole situation?  Maybe...just maybe...things didn't occur exactly the way someone told the Investigator it did?

    So, I recommend taking all this info in with as much skepticism as is warranted by the circumstances.

    • Like 3
    • Upvote 4

    Blue Skies and Tailwinds Hook

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Hacker

    I've had a hard time coming up with what to say about Hook.

    Nothing I seem to write is fitting enough, so I'll just say blue skies and tailwinds on your flight west, brother Hook.  It was an honor and a pleasure to be your friend, squadronmate, and fellow aviator.

    • Like 3

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    20 minutes ago, YoungnDumb said:

    Just a young and dumb guy's thoughts but it seems like the AF deals with a lot of paralysis thru analysis and a lack of people willing to pull the trigger and accept the consequences, either good or bad, on solutions, i.e. we know we have a problem but we need to do 69 surveys on it and once we dream up a solution no one is willing to sign off on it as they're afraid of the consequences.  

    Part and parcel with one of the cancers that has been growing in AF leadership over the last 10-15 years: nobody wants to make a decision, lest their superior disagree with that decision and it reflect poorly on them.

    So, we have raised an entire generation of "leaders" (really "managers") who have to "run it up the chain" for absolutely every decision.

    And this attitude is reflected, now, by the superiors themselves, who expect this kind of "mother, may I" out of their subordinates.

    The grand result is that nobody is really empowered to make any decision, and few commanders have the balls to just make a decision <gasp> and risk their bosses not liking it.

    • Like 3
    • Upvote 4
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