Saluki

RIP to the crew. Very tough to watch the video.

Unreal. This IMO, all stems from the lower promotion rates that were observed for UAV operators. Congress threw some pressure about it and this is the defense departments solution. Like most agree, they deserve recognition for great missions. However, this to me is a slap in the face for those who actually engage and are engaged by the enemy on the ground and do heroic things.

I used Joey "Gordo" Sanders in Jasper, AL. Great guy (retired F4 &135 guy). 3 flights, great in FBO accommodations, and great instruction from Mr. Ed. No issues. PM if anyone wants more detail. http://www.sandersaviation.com/

Ditto Flare. Once you hear, let me know.

Yes, the Marines have a Reseve Component. Rotor wing and Fixed Wing assets. I know of 2 AH/UH1 Reserve units, and I believe there are 2 Hornet units however I'm not as confident about the Hornets. There is a F5 Reserve unit at MCAS Yuma, but I believe it's for WTI (Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course) graduate only. As for AV8's, Prowler's, and C130's, unknown for Reserve units. As an AF dude, the above are based solely on WOM's I've heard over the years. My understanding from Marine dudes are that they are difficult to get into and they typically take dudes coming off Active Duty as for their hires. Hope this gives a least 6.9% insight.

Sweet. Thanks for the info. Getting all the queep in order for the Major's board coming up next year.

Anybody know what the duty afsc is during the period after UPT graduation and then as an IFF student?

Good question. "Stupid is as a stupid does" I guess. I always wanted that gold star for spelling but it was always outside of my reach (sts). 1 Gold star for you. Bad assumption on flying a Lockheed A/C. No soup for you on that one. Thanks for the info on Dobbins. Any more specifics on who to talk to there?

Anyone know of how to go about getting a 1000 hour and 2000 hour certificate from Locheed Martin? I know they exist and they come from someone at Locheed, but nobody here remembers or knows where to begin. Sure, I can find a 800 number out there somewhere, but if someone has some gouge on this process, I'd like to know about it. Cheers

Limited Experience Pilot/Total Force Absorption Program (LIMEX/TFAP)—Currently not in use This program is designed to shift some of the burden of creating experienced fighter pilots out of inexperienced ones (LIMEX) to the Air National Guard. Through this program, LIMEX pilots may be assigned to selected ANG units for a normal three year tour. After that tour, they will be assigned in a similar fashion as other pilots getting assignments from ops units. TFAP pilots will be attached to a CONUS ANG A-10 unit, and will periodically visit their active duty squadron. Wing leadership at the active duty unit will be involved in the OPR and assignment process. [Fighter Associate Program (FAP)—Currently active This program replaces the TFAP program mentioned above as it relates to AFRC (TFAP exists only for the ANG). The Active Associate units will be manned by one instructor pilot and up to three additional inexperienced pilots (B-Course graduates). The IP will act as a Flt CC and will mentor the two inexperienced pilots. The above is from the AFPC A-10 Aissgnments website. As a guy who did FAP, I can tell you there's no way to get one of these other than timing. Well, if you know your assignment guy/gal personnaly, he/she could maybe work it (sts) for you, but since the manning for these gigs is so small, it's tough. Bottom line for your question, TFAP is closed down for A-10 guys; FAP is open right now, but Whiteman is the only A-10 Combat Coded (aka take AD dudes) and they just got these new dude about a month ago. A bit fighter-centric, but that's what I know.

Rough 8 days for AETC and the AF as a whole. Here's to them.

A-10 pilots do not wear body armor. That's what the titanium tub is for.

Stationed at Whiteman right now. Warrensburg is pretty decent with all the necessities to get you by. Like already said, Pine St will fulfill any of your college chick desires, but don't expect anything like an ASU, USC, FSU, Penn State, etc, etc, etc. Lee's Summit is where a lot of guys live. It's a nice suburb of K.C. with lots of nice stores and development coming in everyday. The Plaze in downtown KC is about a hour and fifteen minute drive from Warrensburg. It is definetly the place to go for fun. Nice bars, restaurants, and more than enough eclectic shops to keep you busy. For the base, yeah, it's pretty small and doesn't really offer too much. It's probably one of the most secure and advanced bases militarily, but not much in the form of morale and welfare...aka the BX blows along with the food court and everything else in that God forsaken place over there. The commissary just got a face lift, so it's not to bad except it's like everything else here and it closes at 1800 or 1900 everyday. You can't even get a burger on this base after around 18-19. Here's the bottom line. This place is more geared for people with families and who are looking for a nice place to raise their kids. Middle Missouri is not a hot bed of action, adventure, and scandalous women, but you have to make the best of it. ATV riding, boating at the Ozarks, hunting, golfing, intramural sports, are things you better or better become interested in or it could be a long 3-5 years! I will say that KC Chiefs fans party harder than any other football fans I've seen! Going to a Chiefs game is a must while your here!

My class did a Vegas night theme. We bought huge (3x5 Ft) playing cards for 5 card draw. After the best of 3 hands, the winning flight members got to go up individually to the slot machine and pull the handle. We had a powerpoint presentation with 3 different windows that would rotate different airplanes on it. Whenever the 3 lined up, that was your airplane. Pretty good assignment night theme....of course we were all so shit housed by then, it didn't really matter how we got our assignments! But fun for family, friends, and other classes.

"2" Sorry for the WAY-Late check-in, but I just got home from China Lake doing the threat thing out there. Anyhow, yes, I am the only A-10 FAP dude in the Air Force. I have a bunch of info in the MOA between ACC and AFRC that is sitting in front of me, but for space and interest sake, PM if anyone wants more info. Here's the big things though that may be of interest. First off, I am only aware of a Reserve component...aka, no Guard units are part of this program anymore. They used to be, but from my knowledge in the A-10 world, this proram is obsolete and currently not happening in our MWS. With that said, here's a direct quote from the MOA. "The goal of the Fighter Associate Program (FAP) is to improve the health of active duty fighter units by distributing the workload associated with the experiencing of new pilots and to improve the experience level in AD units." Translation = send the young INEX dudes to Reserve units which are way IP and EXP heavy, and send Reserve pilots to AD units which are way non-IP and INEX heavy. Somebody asked that direct question if Reserve components can go to AD units. The anwer is YES. I won't go into that though; if someone wants more on that, PM me. However, here is a list of AD units taking Reserve pilots. 388 FW Hill, 20 FW Shaw (x2), 33 FW Eglin, 1 FW Landley, 422 TES/414 CTS Nellis. For the places taking AD dudes, we have Hill ARB, Homestead ARS, Carswell ARS(NAS JRB Ft Worth) for F-16's. Keep in mind, these are for more than 1 pilot, PM for specific manning numbers. A-10 pilots could go to Whiteman AFB or New Orleans ARS, but now New Orleans is not an option since we are getting their jets in about a month. Real quick how it works. Everyone wants to know how to get this assignment. Timing, timing, timing. It's a once every 3 year opportunity and I haven't even been here a year so don't get your hopes up A-10 babies! I didn't know a General, come from a military family, wasn't the top stick and all that in RTU, I just got lucky, timed it perfectly and got this assignment. It's only open to LT's (INEX side) so you got that going for ya. Once you do get the beloved slot to a Reserve squadron, an active duty advisor (only requirement is to be an EXP IP), and 2 INEX wingmen are assigned OPCON (operational control) to that Reserve squadron (as of now, Whiteman is the only one available for A-10's). We are ADCON (administrativly controlled) by Davis-Monthan AFB, in Tucson. They are my "parent unit" where things like my OPR and other adminitrative queep goes through. What all that means is we train, deploy, participate in excercises, go TDY, etc, etc on Whiteman's behalf and bill. I have little to no contact with DM except whenever some paperwork thing is coming up. As far as flying goes, it's wonderful. I haven't missed RAP yet since I got here last year. Most AD squadrons can't say that. People here are wonderful! You know, you always here about that Air Force family stuff, but here it is a true reality! First names everywhere, getting together on the weekends, etc, etc, etc. I mean when you work with the same people for 5-25 years, a true bond is formed. That's why when something bad happens to guard/reserve units over in the AO's, there seems to be more cataclysmic effects to their units and local communities. These people are also employed in the local community and have lived there several years. To sum it up, here's my take. This assignment is great!!!! I get to fly my ass off, upgrades come extremely fast, and the squadron climate is better than perfect. There's no 0600 Friday morning Fun-Run's, no 1500 commander's calls, sleeves rolled up, flight suit zipped down, no give to the CFC or you're evil briefs every other day. The admin side is for the most part queep free and the true focus here is simply flying the jet and killing the targets. Couple downsides are that you are AD in a RES unit so expect to catch your fair share of comedic beatings in the bar, you probably will miss out on some LPA adventures at other another AD squadrons will have, and if you are a more professional airman minded dude (General wannabe) this would maybe not be the best place for you due to more limited chances to shine. No proof, just a wag by me. Lastly though, probably the biggest benefit for this program is that unless you are a true schmuck, you are getting the inside track on a future job to the Reserve world! I used to think AD for 20, but now when you have 25 airline guys running your world and you see the lifestyle that these guys and their families have, that decision gets much, much harder. WOW, this was easily my longest post EVER!

Absolutely not Rainman and with the "leg up" comment, I'm in no way saying I'm a shoe in for a job. But what I am saying is that I would be ahead of the pack as far as "Rushing" is concerned. Since I work here daily and fly and hang out with the guys and their families, that definitely would give me an advantage over another young LT or Capt coming in off the street. And as I just hit on, I'm not comparing myself to 2,000 hour guys walking into a unit. I'm comparing myself to if there was an en-mass (sp??) of you LT's and Capt's trying to palace chase out.

So I got my nice Air Force Times yesterday and as mentioned before on here, 4K over commissioned Lt's and young Capts, 11FX (Pilots) are like 1160 approx over filled, yada, yada, yada. Pilots don't need to worry though since they've put so much money into us and all that stuff.However, due to this force shaping, is palace chasing a more viable option for now guys only 20 months into their 10ADSC? Due you think AFPC is more prone to let us go? Is this something I should pre-emptivly attack by "asking the questions" or just ride it out and see what happens? I'm in a little different situation than most probably are as well. I'm an A-10 TFAPer (you know, the thing were I get to go pretend I don't know what AD is and life is great! J/K....but not really :cool: ). So I'm already kind of a leg up (sts) if it was to come to that. Before any "AD rocks" kinda people roll-in on me, I have no intention of necessarily voluntering for this palace chase program....unless the AF Gods deem me expendable in a year or 2 and I'm left out to dry. "Got anything dude?" (standard flight lead question after reaming (sts) you for an hour)

Hacker......that's one of the best eat my f*ing sh*t's I've ever seen!!!!!!! I could not imagine saying it any better in a more intelligent way!!

Not saying it's the hardest training and that no one can do it, just it is harder than it used to be. Many instructors and current IP's there all have said it is much more difficult now than when they went through. Expect 12 hour days early on through about the 1.5-2.0 month period, then 2-3 weeks of relaxing while getting Form 8's done. Then weapons, tactics, and a few other BS academics begin along with all the simulators and flights. In short, you will be busy a lot of the course, but you will still have a little time to golf some of the best courses in the country! Last thing - a lot of it depends on your FTU squadron as well. Dragons run a little different ship than the Lobo's and vice versa.

The B-course (what RTU/FTU is called for slang)calls for about 6-7 months with a reality of about 7-8. My first flight was the last day of August in 04 and my last flight there was the 4 of Mar this year. Like already posted, it is a PCS now and yes, it is an incredible time in a wonderful place!!! U of A's "scenery" is amazing.

Hey guys! As I'm guessing the youngest A-10 pilot on here, (100.7 hours and growing everyday during MQT)I feel it is my civic duty to at least post on here. The A-10 is an Amazing aircraft! It was my first choice out of pilot training, but it was a tough decision to make. Now, I couldn't be happier! To directly answer some questions. First off, yes the A-10 is "more hands on" if you are looking at it from a flying perspective. What I mean is that we are pretty much the only VFR fighter out here. No autopilot BS! Not that the others don't EVER fly VFR, but they really don't, according to my fellow LT bros. At DM, we took IFR, cancelled about 4-5 minutes into the flight and went VFR the rest of the sortie. Here at Whiteman, we are VFR from the start; Takeoff to Touchdown.... and it's great!!!! Bombing and strafing - simply the coolest things I've ever done in a plane! With our new IFC, our bombing passes and scores are amazingly accurate! The "bet" just gets harder and harder to win...but for us young guys, we have a chance now since all the OFA's are used to HARS bombing, which for those who don't know, it's simply old, but VERY VERY reliable technology. Us new guys, we've had XBox and Playstation preparing us for years for the "green stuff". Here at Whiteman, we are scheduled to get our new MFD's this fall already. I may be wrong here, but I know we are one of the very first units to get them, if not the first. In case some are wondering, Whiteman DOES have A-10's. The 303 Fighter Squadron (part of the 442 Fighter Wing). It is a reserve unit, but I am active duty who got luckier than hell getting assigned here with the reserve's for 3 years!!!! Lastly, as a young A-10 pilot, I can tell you this community is simply awesome! All the dudes have taken care of me, feed me, helped me out with "life shit" and about anything else you can think of. If getting as close as you can to the action in a fighter/attack airplane is your gig, then come our way! Don't let any Eagle or Viper guy tell you we are a second rate fighter. Talk to the dudes who are the real badasses (those on the ground) and they will tell you the Hawg reigns supreme! I can't wait til the day I get a call from some bros in the mud who need some CAS like no one's business and I get to roll in and display the awesome power of the best fighter ever made, IMHO! By the way, I have a BFM sortie tomorrow?????? For you Viper guys, I just had to say that to prove we do practice it... it just sounds funny like when you guys are doing a "CAS sortie". Later. Oh yeah, I'm chuking any spears here, I love all the jets. They all have their purpose, but I'd be remissed if I didn't claim mine to be king of the hill!

Great stories guys, but this one may take the cake. So there I was a young stud at Sheppard in Feb of 03. Class 0403 just hitting the flightline. Everyone knows about the international thing there and this afternoon a Dutch IP and a Belgium student are taking to the skies over north Texas. Being about the 3 or 4 ride for the Stud, the IP is ever so slightly begginning to think his "kids" are at least getting the basic premise of ground ops. So here we are using the north facing runway and the Belgium taxi's out to the runway no problem. That's when it all went wrong. In case you are wondering, yes, this student got cleared for takeoff, final was clear, he was on top of everything.....except which way the runway in use faced!!! IP sensing this and in the true spirit of training young pilots, laughs his ass off quietly inside while this student turns directly onto the runway....facing the overrun of the opposite runway! Talk about freaking hilarius to see a little Tweet taxi out onto the runway and turn and face the overrun of the opposite runway in use!! ENJJPT IP, you should remember this guy. He was the first Belgium ever to not make it through the program. The Hawg's kicking ass and taking names and I'm loving it bro! You coming to the airshow? Let me know. I still cannot stop laughing picturing that damn Tweet facing the overrun!!

rumblefish_2 is right on. I'm currently at A-10 RTU with both those dudes he spoke of. The C-130 guy is pretty amazing having went through T-44's for 130's, getting over 2,200 hours in that airplane, then learning to fly a 38 in 15 flights and pass IFF! Same with my Cobra Marine bro. I know the 130 guy just worked with Willa Grove and kept showing up there and he finally got hired. These dudes are not typical though. Both had extensive airmanship with LOTS of combat time. Don't laugh at the 130 dude cause I know from many conversations that he has seen more combat than I thought possible from a 130. Just really wanted to chim in since I know both those dudes. rumblefish_2, don't piss of Acid up there at SPS and tell Roche hello down in stan eval for me!

At Sheppard, you are in flightsuits from day you get there if you want. I graduated in May 02, went to Sheppard in June 02 and wore flightsuits from the second day I was there until, well now during IFF. If your thinking about the timing, yep, I was casual here for 8 months prior to starting ENJJPT and wore a bag every single day and definetly during pilot training. I think this is still how things are done, but I think that's just at Sheppard.

Great info about ENJJPT. As a recent grad of ENJJPT, all the info you have on there is pretty accurate. The only slight bit that may confuse some is where you mention merit ranking on there and talk about heavies. Unless things change this year, there is NO OPPORTUNITY to fly a cargo plane out of here. A student here recently hung up her pilot dreams when they (ENJJPT leadership) would not let her fly a RC-135 with her husband after she graduated (assuming she would have made it). She approached then within about a month of starting Tweets and they still would not let her out of the "Fighter committment" those studs here have. Kinda crapy, but this program is designed to create a fighter pilot, even though that doesn't always happen. Anyway, great site man and keep up the great work on here!!!!!!