hispeed7721

Foreflight is the way to go, for personal or EFB use. If you're really cheap, you can just sign up for the free trial with Foreflight under a new email address every 60 days and never pay a dime. I'm not sure who pays for our subscriptions (I'm almost certain it is NOT the squadron), but our flyers all have full Foreflight subscriptions with open ended expirations. I use my military supplied subscription on my personal iPad, no issues.

Luck and timing are 80% of everything in the AF. There are times when flight/CC's can work a special deal for the #1 guy, but don't count on that. Go into it not expecting to get what you want, work your @ss off, make it known that you want to go 60s (make sure you're not going overboard with it), and maybe it will work out. Maybe it won't. But put in the effort so that if it doesn't work, it's because of the system and not because you didn't do your part Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

AFAIK, every non-CAF assignment will have the post-FTU location on drop night

As far as the plane goes - a buddy in my class who is a civilian crop duster had 2 planes stashed at GTR in Columbus during UPT and we utilized them frequently, mostly to fly to Biloxi on weekends and hit the casino. 11F hit the nail on the head for training - expectation management. Mainly yours, in that you should expect her to break up with you while you're gone. If you think it's going to happen and it doesn't, you win.

Landing in the wrong place will do that I guess

They may not knowingly lie, but one thing I've seen multiple recruiters do is tell a potential candidate something they "know" is true when in fact the truth is the complete opposite, just out of sheer ignorance and laziness to actually verify what they're telling the candidate.

Current AC-U time is an average of 2.5 years. It totally depends on the individual, as it could be significantly quicker or longer though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know if they ship but most of the squadrons at HRT use a local shop called Lookin Good in Stitches. They are relatively quick and do great work. It might be worth calling them to see if they'd ship to you Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Christmas came early this year... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had almost the exact same issue...$10 at Home Depot and some patience work perfectly. The biggest piece of advice if you're going to do it yourself...make sure you are constantly backing out the tap and clearing any fouling out or there's a good chance you can snap the tap. And if that happens you're completely SOL. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm pretty sure the AF killed the Pensacola water survival program so you don't even have to worry about that. BLUF : swimming is the last thing you need to worry about. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What the actual f*ck? SOS at home went from a few weeks to a year?! shouldn't it mirror in-res...how in the world do they justify correspondence being 10 times as long as in-res Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agree with pbar. I know FE's who've used the port to smoke out of, but other than the ANG (maybe reserve?) Herc guys that do Antarctica stuff I don't know that anyone would even know where to start with cel nav. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 6th was doing hiring tours around all the UPT bases within the past year or so...they said they are mostly interested in guys with IP/EP time, but that wasn't a deal breaker. A buddy of mine just got picked up following an IP gig at CBM with them. If you want PM me your .mil and I'll get you in contact with him

I have to agree with WTFAF. And I think a big part of it is the course timeline being cut in half. It's awesome if the senior AU leadership really is finally starting to lean in the correct direction, but that's definitely a new development. When I was there several years ago the discussion in the flight room was great (over half our flight was flyers) and our flight/cc was a reservist who I wish could have been a group or wing/cc on AD. But outside the flight room was some of the worst and most disillusioned leadership I've ever seen firsthand Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not in the habit of quoting myself, but I can't stress this enough. You can't know how the spectrum of applicants is made up year to year. If there's something that you can realistically control, then you have to decide the cost/benefit of it (more flying hours for example). Is it worth $3000 to get more hours and add 5 points to your PCSM? If you don't get selected are you going to wonder if that's the reason why? That's something only you can answer. And in the end remember - timing and luck are 90% of everything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Go online and check to see how much your PCSM will change with more flight time. Years ago the algorithm got changed to weigh flight time significantly more, so you might be able to bring it up (STS) quite a bit. Hopefully you kept a log of your IFS flying because that counts, so there's a free 14 (or however much it is now) hours to add Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This. Your application may be very competitive this board and not even close to competitive the next one. Better to try and get told no than not try and be left wondering what might have been.

I've seen multiple squadrons use a wall covered in felt or something similar the velcro will grab onto. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For the OTS Rated Board, you should be good to only apply for what you actually want, although I've never been involved with this board so I can only go off anecdotal data from others. For the Active Duty Rated Board, I believe the rules changed that if you decline any position offered, you can't reapply. It's been years since I was involved with this board, so make sure to QC it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It depends if you are talking about the Active Duty Rated Board or an OTS Rated Board. The former is for guys that are already officers with an AFSC in the AF. The latter is for guys that are not in the AF (or are enlisted) and are trying to get picked up for OTS. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

AC130U 1. Ops Tempo/Deployment It changes from time to time, I've seen it as slow as 1:2 (3 month deployments) but currently the longest dwell is 1:1 (4 month deployments) and multiple guys are on dwell waivers. Deployments are pretty good when we're doing what we're designed for. There's a lot of times recently where we just get used as a dual sensor ISR and that sucks. 2. Lifestyle/ Family Stability There are people/families who absolutely love it and others who absolutely hate it. My family and I are fortunate to be the former. There will be a decent amount of both day/night flying at home and the opportunity to be home or gone a decent amount depending on your personal priorities. In my experience the squadron is willing to work with you for big events to make sure you're home. 3. Community morale Much better than some communities, but there will always be people who think it's the worst place in the AF. The squadron is like the older brother who beats on you but will kill anyone who isn't family and looks at you the wrong way. 4. Advancements & Future of the airframe There are always exceptions, but once you're in AFSOC, don't expect to leave. For some that's a blessing, for others it's a sentence. You can probably count the number of gunship guys that have gone back to white jet tours on one hand. There have been a handful of guys who have made moves to other AFSOC airframes, if that's your thing. I am not the kind of person who is looking to be a commander of any kind, so I don't keep track of people who are. But I can say if you're willing to climb on the backs of others to climb the ranks, it probably won't be a very enjoyable time for you. Future of the airframe - the gunship will be around for a long time. The U won't. As soon as they figure out the AC-J dick dance, the U is on the way out. That was supposed to be FY17, but obviously we're still a couple years out from that. 5. Preferred PCS locations There's only one. So if you like the beach and fresh seafood, you're in luck. If you like Cannon, go to the W because the old transition from Hurlburt to Cannon (or vice versa) is quickly going away as the J comes up. There's still a few guys that go back and forth but any new guys will likely avoid it until the J is solid at both locations, and that will be several years in the making. There isn't a single airframe that is always awesome, but the gunship comes pretty close. Much like what Danger said - if you pick based on mission, you'll like what you get. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My last TS re-up was in October and it only showed up in vMPF about 2 weeks ago Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Like every single one, at the same time. In copious amounts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What...the...f•ck... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk