hispeed7721

I don't remember anyone leaving the 4th to go to other airframes. That's only been the past 5-6 years, so probably not impossible but I wouldn't count on it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agree. It's just weird seeing someone other than Christian Bale as Batman. He set the bar ridiculously high IMO most definitely Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At CBM you should be able to live off base day 1 if you're married. Even single guys only live in the dorms for a super short time, if at all, before being allowed to go off base Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can't get the PDF to attach, but here is the memo that was sent out All, ! PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE E-MAIL! (Printable pdf attached) Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) again part of T-1 assignments - As you may already be aware, remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) are again a part of the T-1 assignment process. This morning the wing commander discussed the upcoming change to assignments with the next two graduating classes starting with Class 15-13. See the Request section at the end for student and IP intent going forward. Situation: With the 18x RPA career field not at full capacity to reach manning requirements to fulfill current demands, the Air Force is in the process of re-posturing itself for enduring RPA operations. The decision has been made by the Chief of Staff to once again continue supplying rated pilots from UPT to fulfill RPA assignments. For the next year starting with the upcoming 15-13 class, there will be 2 RPA slots per assignable graduation class at each base (Columbus, Vance, and Laughlin) for a total of 6 RPAs per assignment class. These two assignments will be primarily sourced from T-1s due to fighter cockpit manning. While T-1s are the primary source, the exact ratio of T-1s to T-38s is unknown at this time. Airframes: The Air Force flies three types of RPAs-the MQ-1 (Predator), the MQ-9 (Reaper) and the larger RQ-4 (Global Hawk). For the upcoming RPA assignments it is expected that the majority will be MQ-9s. The upcoming distribution for 15-13 will be 6 MQ-9s with 5 going to Creech and 1 going to Ellsworth. It is unknown if Columbus will get the Ellsworth location. Expect both locations to be on the drop sheets for 15-13. Future for Manned Airframe Assignment: An official memo is currently being staffed to explain the details above, but more importantly it will document the opportunity for UPT students who get this assignment the ability to transition to a manned cockpit if desired at the end of their RPA tour. As always the devil is in the details and we hope to have more information as the memo and program details unfold. Background and Considerations: Please see below for a brief summary of RPA reality and where we have been. Experience: Airmanship, decision-making and judgment only come with experience and RPA duty allows immediate real-world combat experience. The RPA MQT process is accomplished on actual combat sorties with actual weapons over actual friendlies and actual enemy. Experience employing weapons, integrating with ground forces, and handling emergencies start from day one. We are now at the point where RPA pilots are getting the most combat experience of anyone. RPA pilots fly more than three times as many hours per year as traditional pilots. The Predator alone flew the third most hours of any Air Force weapon system last year. Impact and unique stressors: Ask anyone who has flown RPAs and there's a pride associated with flying them. Pilots get excited to contribute to a relevant, consequential mission almost from day one. It is undeniable that the RPA platform has a real, beneficial impact for deployed troops. Things are a little more personal in an RPA than in an aircraft that's up for just a few hours. But because of this there are unique stresses to flying an RPA. Life may be air conditioned and at home station, but unlike deployments where you come back home, as an RPA pilot you are always in theatre and then back home all in the same day. The lack of transition time between an up close personal mission and regular life takes some adjustment. Bottom line though, they love what they do, they love being a part of it. Rapid CAP expansion and Manning: The challenge is usually not the mission but because of the reduced manning the community has seen. As with any airframe the average load cannot go down unless they get healthier manning. It is no mystery that the Air Force has rapidly expanded its use of RPAs in the last decade to support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Beyond the traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability to analyze evolving battlefield conditions, the MQ-1 and the MQ-9 have been outfitted with missiles to strike targets, with equipment to designate targets for manned aircraft by laser, and with sensors to locate the positions of improvised explosive devices and moving insurgents, among other missions. As seen in the attached figure, demand has continued to increase and as such has outstripped the best laid plans to create and replace RPA pilots and thus the need to assign our UPT graduates to RPAs. Timeline and how we got here: With the increased mission scope, the rate of CAP increase turned steeper in 2007. In 2007 those who wanted to return to flying more traditional manned aircraft were required to stay in their RPA assignments for longer than a typical Air Force assignment. In 2008 these actions included lengthening the assignments of manned-aircraft pilots in RPA squadrons and then extending those assignments indefinitely. In 2009, the Air Force began assigning manned-aircraft training graduates to RPA assignments as their first assignment after completing Undergraduate Pilot Training. In 2010 the Air Force established an RPA pilot career field with a separate set of training requirements. These officers are qualified only to fly RPAs and are not qualified on Air Force manned aircraft. This is not the case with our graduates and again they will be offered the opportunity to come back to manned cockpits in the future. In 2011, the Air Force permanently recategorized around 475 manned-aircraft pilots who were generally serving at the ranks of major and lieutenant colonel to serve as permanent RPA pilots. Additional manned-aircraft pilots have been permanently recategorized as RPA pilots since 2011, and Air Force documentation shows a total of 545 recategorized manned-aircraft pilots. So realize it is not just limited to these UPT classes even those in their MWS careers are moving over to RPAs. Also, the RPA-only pilots are now coming up to the end of their initial commitment this year, and many will need to be replaced. The bottom line is that RPA duty is here to stay and has for the past 6-8 years been intricately tied with Pilot assignments both from UPT and from MWS and is not a new phenomenon. Request: While assignment of UPT students to RPA duty started in 2009 and is not new, it is a new reality for the upcoming classes, so I request that both IPs and students be mindful of that. As most of us with many years of experience can attest, there is no standard path to what you want or can get in an Air Force career. Pilots in the past have been deferred or banked from pilot training becoming MX or supply officers to await training. Most every officer has received a duty position they knew nothing about or initially wanted that ended up being the most rewarding career position they ever had. The 19th Air Force Commander, General Hecker stated that his time at Creech was the most rewarding time of his career and that includes stints in the F-15C and F-22. In light of that, please refrain from spreading or creating false assumptions about RPA duty. It is not any IP or students job to entrench any misguided perceptions that may exist. Anyone with experience or firsthand knowledge with the airframes feel free to share that as desired as we would with any airframe, but I would ask that as Alleycat professionals we would not speculate or spread unverified information as this program takes shape. Questions: As always if anyone has any questions or concerns please let us know and we will try to address them as best we can and promise to provide the full extent of available information as soon as we have it. Please funnel them through your respective flight commander and we will pass them up the chain. Additional details received over the comings weeks/months will be passed on as we receive the information. Several questions were asked this morning that are all still unknowns: Unknown - If RPA career is chosen and opportunity to switch to manned cockpit is not taken, does this remove the opportunity of "aviation continuation pay," a benefit of up to $25,000 a year that's currently restricted to manned aircraft pilots only. Unknown - Will the pilot commitment change if we are switched to an unmanned RPA career field or will the 10 year UPT commitment remain unchanged. Unknown - Are we considered temporary RPA pilots or since this is a first assignment are we considered permanent RPA pilots? Will our AFSC change to 18X and at what point? Current distribution can be seen below but actual designation is currently unknown. Unknown - How long does one tour consist of, are we talking 2,3,4 or maybe 6 years? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Luck, chance, hopes and dreams Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The ANG at Meridian, MS flies them...PM me a .mil or something and I'll pass it to my friends down there Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not currently happening, but might/will be coming back soon according to some friends in places to be in the know Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

CBM 15-11 Japan f15 c17 ang c17 res x 2 c130 ang kc135 ang Kc135 McConnell rc135 offitt kc135 Fairchild f15e Seymour Johnson kc135 Fairchild Ac130 Hurlburt japan f2 t6 faip cbm C17 travis f15c c17 Charleston x2 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100% agree. I loved the movie. It is impossible to recreate the feelings the original inspired on opening night, but Jurassic World came darn close. This was the only thing in the movie that gave me a little pause. I don't think it was too far stretched, it just seemed like a total reversal from Jurassic Park where the raptor was absolutely feared and there was nothing you could do. But it was a really cool concept that I don't think is out of the realm of possibility within the movies' universe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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And why is there ZERO posting of Vance drops? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To a liberal, this phrase is synonymous with fact Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I can't wait to see this. Hopefully "cooming soon" means it will be soooner rather than later. And thank goodness we don't have cars that bleed here like in the clip Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dave Lissy Miss you buddy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah the oil system working is no big deal Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They are not approved unless specifically on a Acceptance of Risk letter signed by your MAJCOM, which has to be resigned and updated every FY. All of Rescue wears them because they've been thrown on the above mentioned AoR letter. They are not blanket approved for flight across the AF, unless something has changed in the past 6-9 months that I missed (totally possible) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

CBM 15-09 T38 C17 MS ANG Kc135 NE ANG F15S Saudi x 2 F15C T6 FAIP T38 FAIP F22 T1 Kc135 AZ ANG C130h res Kc135 x 2 C5 res Kc10 Res Kc10 E3 C130J x 3 C5 C17 x 3 T1 FAIP Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And was also a Reservist, not AD Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For how bad it is regularly, I can only imagine how awful the part that (mostly) no one sees has become Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's because "killing people and breaking their stuff" isn't the concern of the upper echelons of the military anymore. We just have to make sure we aren't quibbling about appeasing every minority group, and doing whatever we can to stop all the rapist pilots. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fake, but not wrong Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Because that's what "equality" actually means...change the standard to achieve an equal result Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why does there need to be any kind of forced expansion for certain demographics? If more qualified minority and female applicants want to attend UPT and make it through, then that's great. But there's no reason to forcibly increase said ratios just so we can say there's lots of female/minority pilots. Lets just focus on how many pilots there are, regardless of gender/race/etc Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk