Champ Kind
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Posts posted by Champ Kind
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"Much more money offered this year"...you mean the $35K vs $25K? After there were discussions of $60K? Because that's not "much more money" in the face of what the airlines are paying. And Delta won't send you to Afghanistan for a year to not fly planes.
He doesn't know.
Don't feed. -
Understood and I confess I don't know all the ins and outs of Guard service and the Airline rules. I brought it up from past experience seeing folks come back on active duty for a few years to get a full time retirement.
I'm pretty sure the two I knew of ~7 years ago were furloughed from their companies. -
1 hour ago, Runr6730 said:
This is the absolute definition of breaking faith with the men and women in uniform. As someone who extended his ADSC past his UPT commitment to ensure my children could reap the benefits of my service, there is no quicker way to force your people out than to break the promise you made to them.
From the article:
A draft of the legislation states the buy-in provision would go into effect one year after the bill is enacted and would apply to servicemembers who enlist on or after that date.
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2 hours ago, BashiChuni said:
and his execs started bitching that we were submitting TOO MANY and to chill out for a few weeks
Then they are little bitches and should be fired.
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Had to run by MPF one day and the door was closed for "training". However the door was unlocked so I decided I would just see what kind of "training" they were up to. Turns out they were all huddled around a laptop in the back watching some Hollywood movie. Then I realized why Non-rated retention was so freaking high.
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Did you a snap a pic? You could be on to something here... couple of images to go viral on social media and this could make the point for us versus the "ops vs support" sport bitching. -
Cells are the exception in the viper from my experience. Never have flown with one, and I I can count on one hand the dudes I know who do. Not saying it's a bad idea, just not common in some communities.
Single engine/single seat? I'd fly with two cell phones!
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Initially, I did fall asleep with my phone in my hand after popping a pain killer (DNIF). I won't post and do meds again.
I think a shot from the base ops bar of alcohol (once clear of DNIF) or a ketchup, mustard, and soy sauce mixture will help make amends due to my negligence I hope.
Break Break
You guys think the one to two year extensions will occur? I turned the bonus down and AFPC tried to tell me the bonus may be lower if I become eligible again. I didn't bite. All of my buddies flying for major airlines told me not to take the money. I am glad I listened and I definitely referenced some great information in this forum prior to making my decision. I would gladly accept a one to two year extension so I fall within my retirement window of 3 1/2 years. Asking me for 5 years is too much.
The bonus amount being lower if offered again after the FY of your ADSC expiration isn't new. The last couple of years the "Uncommitted eligible" bonus was a decent chunk less than the standard ARP. $15K/year for five years versus $25K/year for 5 years or to 20 YAS. -
We're seeing something similar base-wide here. We've got a few Lt Cols rapidly approaching 20 (mostly WSOs) aside from SQ/CC and SQ/DO positions. Which, aside from the obvious lack of experience in the squadrons, also creates a problem when it's time to pick the next round of DO/CC/DS/OGV chief positions. There just aren't enough Lt Cols in the LAR left to fill the leadership positions.
Then they'll give those positions to O-4s. The MAF is already doing it (DOs, at least). -
TO CLARIFY, they said the second assignment deal is if you have 18 years TOS, and the bonus contract would carry a 6-9 year ADSC.
And neither is approved. They got approval to look into each option by the Aircrew Crisis Task Force.
They are trying, desperately, to come up with ways to keep old dudes in past 20.
You mean attempting to convince guys to ignore the jackpot of luck and timing to forego an airline seniority number while simultaneously drawing military retirement pension and stay AD AF instead? Good luck with that.-
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3 hours ago, MDDieselPilot said:
http://federalnewsradio.com/air-force/2017/03/air-force-meeting-airlines-pilot-shortage-may/
QuoteQuote“What we found in the past — and we’ve been through this before because airlines have hired before — is quality of service is as important as quality of life. And quality of service is making sure that you’re given the opportunity to be the best you can be in your design, in your chosen occupation. Pilots who don’t fly, maintainers who’s don’t maintain, controllers who don’t control, will walk. And there’s not enough money in the Treasury to keep them in if we don’t need to give them the resources to be the best they can be. In my mind, readiness and morale are inexplicably linked. Where we have high readiness, we tend to have high moral because they’re given the opportunities to compete. Where we have low readiness, we have our lowest morale,” Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein told the Senate Armed Services Committee last September.
This sounds to me more like an echo of Gen Welsh's attempted zing directed at Congress over CRs and sequestration. They are likening QoS/QoL to flying hours as an AF-level readiness discussion, not admin-queep vs. flying and instructing. The above quote still misses the mark as to the crux of the issue, unfortunately.
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15 hours ago, SurelySerious said:
I got an email in response to a ticket from an A1C asking me to justify why our NIPR computers should work by providing how many people use them, how often they deploy, how many pilots/officers we have, and what our squadron's mission is
Pretty sure it was probably a Russian hacker.
So we've got that going for us.Forward it to your Sq/CC and follow it up with a face-to-face so that he/she can ask the CS/CC "WTF"?
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Were these DUIs on or off base?
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Without getting into the officer vs enlisted beat-around-the-bush, not saying right or wrong, but name one ejection-seat aircraft that flys with enlisted dudes. I can't thinking off the top...
I would bet the farm this platform, if it happened at all, will be crewed by an officer pilot and officer CSO/WSO/whateverjust like the strike eagle, bone, buff, hornet, growler, etc.
Manning issues will either be overcome via time and money, or the fleet will be small, or some combination of the two .
So Es can't be trained to sit in (or more importantly be prepared to egress from) ejection seat aircraft? Can't operate in planes that fly fast? Pull Gs? I beg to differ.
I'm a huge fan of the prospect of USAF warrant officers, though. Either way, if neither of those options materialize, a GIB in these aircraft could bring life to what I consider the dying nav/CSO career field while aiding in mission execution. -
Any provision for people currently on the bonus to re-up to the new (admittedly pathetic) amount?
I recall people that signed the 5 year bonus were eligible to sign the 20 YAS bonus when it was newly offered. -
One night North of JBAD we were supporting a routine nightly DA from the bottom of an air stack 20 miles high. Upon infil the objective village came to life and a large group with small arms, RPGs, and recoilless rifles headed for the high ground surrounding the objective. We kept track of their movement with 25% of the capacity of one of our two sensors while supporting other tasks with the rest.
When the F-16 flight finally finished yo-yo ops and got both birds back onstation from JOKERing out prior to infil due to a 15min slip in the timeline, we talked them on. The group stopped and set up a fighting position in the terrain above the objective leading the GFC to decide to engage prior to entering the objective village. Friendlies were still several clicks away and the targets were in the middle of nowhere. As a result, and because it wasn't a critical or time sensitive engagement, the JTAC decided to throw a bone to the F-16s. A way to get them in the game as thanks for showing up night after night and watching in the background while we took care of the meaningful engagements.
In the process of 9-line coordination, the F-16s lost sight of the targets (which hadn't moved) and were unable to reacquire. We moved out, found them, and talked the F-16s back on. We then attempted to confirm basic fighter/gunship integration procedures to allow us to remain overhead at the time of strike, but it caused confusion on their part and the JTAC opted to push us off rather than spend the time to un it. The initial drop incapacitated 2 or 3 of about 15 and the re-attack turned into a shitshow that never left home plate after the F-16s lost tally again. After giving the targets a 5min headstart to run in a bomburst pattern off the original impact site the JTAC got fed up, aborted the re-attack, and called us back overhead.
Despite having been in BFE for the initial strike, the first round left the aircraft ~3 seconds after arriving overhead without aid of the assets that were supposed to have custody of the target. The remaining 12 or 13 spread all over the mountainside were cleaned up in 1/5 the time that it took for 9-line coordination on the initial strike, while the F-16s faded back into the background.
I knew right then how different our worlds were.
So who got ATIS on your RTB?-
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5 hours ago, Ho Lee Fuk said:
If you hold the low rank in the group (i.e. Lt in the CGO group, Maj in the FGO group), the strat is stronger if it's against the group because, as stated, it implies that you are outperforming officers of a higher rank. The opposite is true if you hold the higher rank. If you're a Lt Col, a Lt Col strat is generally stronger than an FGO strat .....you're supposed to be outperforming Majors, so using a FGO strat for a Lt Col can give the impression that the rater is trying to make the strat look better by using a larger denominator. Obviously there are exceptions.....if your rater rates on 10 Majs and you, the Lt Col, the only way he can strat you is in relation to FGOs.
The best strat for a Major is both strats. A push line that reads "#1/15 Majs; #2/21 FGOs," is a legal, albeit roundabout way, to strat a Major against Lt Col's. Board members know to read that line as "This guy is the best Major in the squadron, AND he's outperforming 5 out of the 6 Lt Col's in the squadron." They will probably assume the Lt Col he's ranked behind is the DO if it's not explicitly stated, which it can be.
This. Depending on where this strat is being placed (PRF or OPR), it could also be beneficial for the rater (or SR in the case of a PRF) to be even more blunt versus making the board "figure it out". I've seen it worded this way before: "1/X FGOs, ahead of X Lt Cols...."
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We purchased a house in Abilene about 6 years ago. During that time, the oil market out west around Midland boomed and that had a very positive effect on Abilene real estate. It was already a strong market to begin with. Stay within your means and you can get a great house in the area.
As far as "BRACability", I find it unlikely. Very strong support from elected officials, one of only two B-1 bases, and the 317th (C-130J tenant unit) is becoming a wing vs its current organizational structure of an airlift group. Any other current or more recent Dyess bros feel free to correct me.-
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I'm sure someone smarter than me, but to where does the $69/night we spend at "Air Force Inns" go?
My understanding is that lodging falls under the FSS, which falls under the base MSG. That's what every receipt I get says, at least.
Unless it is going to a for-profit company that has some sort of scheme set up with the AF to provide exactly what their contract says they have to provide for lodging (and not one bit more), then why do we pay for on-base lodging at all? Seems like gov't money just recirculating through the budgetary system.
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22 minutes ago, ClearedHot said:
a guy I used to respect...of course he was a Nav.
Wait, what?
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Fascinating discussion.
Question for the RPA guys and airline guys: how much labor cost savings could we really expect in a single-pilot commercial model considering the duty day rules that would inevitably change and the fact that those central ground control/monitoring stations being discussed would have to be staffed by trained pilots, yes?
Someone else earlier in the thread made a great point... airlines are recapitalizing as we speak. This is all probably a moot point for 30ish years until they squeeze every ounce of life out of these new airplanes they are getting (reference the lifespan of the Mad Dogs still flying around).
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Army already does this for helo pilot training.
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1 hour ago, the g-man said:
Yeah all you need to remember is the month of your physical last year. Shoot for that month next year, if you don't hit it, don't fret you still have 3 months to get that shit done. I'm not gonna bend over backwards to re-do the PHA schedule so you don't lose flight pay in 3 days. The people who have signed up at the proper time are getting it done. I'm not in the business of ing them to un you. You get the next available slot.
It's the same pity I have on people who wait until the last week before their flying eval comes due to try and get it done.
Clearly I'm a salty former-scheduler.
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Bad-ass alert.
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Then there is some miscommunication between leadership (this is my shocked face). The Wing/CC direction at HRT was basically "I can't force everyone to wear OCPs every day but I strongly suggest you start." That sounds like a push towards everyone in OCPs to me, but again, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a difference in directives among senior leadership
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Does anyone there still wear the green flight suit? I don't see why we couldn't wear either in garrison. The win will be to scrap the ABU in favor of OCP. -
New 36-2903 Guidance Memorandum
2-Piece OCP flight suits are now authorized with MAJCOM/A3 approval.
The A2CU is a functional uniform and is not intended for wear when another uniform is more appropriate.
^
Shoe clerks (with and without aviation experience) will focus on the bolded statement above. Good luck.
What should the Air Force be if it is so broken now?
in General Discussion
Posted
Seconded.