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@tac airlifter hey man, I'm in a similar boat with a couple CJOs and separating this fall. I've been planning for this and amassed a big leave total since we were allowed with the COVID overages. I'm planning over a hundred days of terminal, but right now it's biting me in the ass because I can't get orders in a timely manner. If I'm lucky I'll have them less than 30 days before starting terminal. I was wondering if something like indoc on personal leave was possible, but figured I'd have to do that form allowing me to have a second job. How'd you get that all to work out? DM me if you'd rather message off the public forum. Thanks in advance.

I would say you're right that we need to show the allies we're serious, lest they think we're just using them as a shield. If we're so serious about supplying military aid to them, we can't let their supply lines be cut. Which I think is a real possibility from the Southern Front where it seems the Russians have had the most success. If they succeed in cutting Ukraine in two with the force from the north all of our aid isn't going to make a difference to all those forces that got cut off. That I think is how the Russians salvage this. Link up in the middle and starve out half of Ukraines forces. An air umbrella could prevent that. But given the heightened state of Russia's nuclear forces. We'd definitely be escalating and that carries an enormous risk. We have to decide if we're willing to let Ukraine devolve into siege tactics which implies way more humanitarian suffering. I think if our administration sees that they make risk getting involved further, but at that point it might be too late for the air umbrella you suggest to have any effect, other than just pissing the Russians off more.

I had similar thoughts as well. Then expanding on those thoughts: 1. How long are Georgia and Ukraine going to hold onto the hope that they get to join NATO? They've both fought wars against Russia, propped up by Western support. How long before they come to the conclusion we're using them for cannon fodder against are adversary? I mean our support vs an actual Russian invasion, I still think we come out ahead as the system of beliefs they'd rather align with. But if you've got any fence sitters, how long before they become disenfranchised and say screw America? I mean Georgia had one of the biggest contingents in Afghanistan, in an attempt to show NATO they were serious. Hell they were in Iraq with us too and had to be flown out of Iraq to go defend their own country against Russia. After a decade of that, and we still haven't let them in NATO, because we don't want to piss off the Russians primarily. Vice actually did a short video about similar thoughts. Say what you want about their lean or bias, they into places most news companies will not send people. 2. And then the second thought, maybe now is the time Georgia attempt to take back South Ossetia and Abkhazia? Russia's probably never been more distracted?

2.

Yeah arming is easy for sure , I’ve done it deployed when AFEs no where to be found. I’m sure that’s against their AFI too. But for one, it’s a waste of my time opening and closing safes when I’ve got more important things to do. And Two, if anyone loses something or fails to secure something properly on their way out the door it’s going to be me or my 30 other ACs taking blame. I think we’ll have top cover for sure, but it’s another thing getting piled on the backs of the crews. Stuff like this is how finance, comm, and CSS pulled out of squadrons in the first place.

Is anyone else’s AFE personnel getting out of the aircrew arming business? Apparently they changed their AFI and during a UEI received downgrades because having some one on call 24/7 negatively affected their QOL. Something about the hours they had to come in to issue recover the weapons from us was just too much for them. Never mind that if you’re issuing me a weapon at 0400 I still have 16 hours to go. Next, SF flicked the booger saying issuing M9s to aircrew would negatively impact base security somehow. So now We’ve been told ACs and above are going to get clearing barrel qual’d and access to the safe with all our M9s. We’ll be responsible for issuing the entire crew weapons. And I’m supposed to find time for this on my 2+15 show which is already eaten up by fights with: GTIMS, Air Force computers/network speeds, printers, AFE issuing NVGs, the list goes on. But our crews hardly have time to review their mission products and brief before needing to step to the plane. As it is I’d say most don’t brief and give the products cursory review at best. I mean why do we even have support airman anymore?

We haven't even talked about the fact that by the time they offer this to you, you've already had to check the box on a bunch of the dumb BS jobs that are driving people out in the first place. Thinking things like group/wing exec jobs, RAs or DTS monkeys. No commander in his right mind is going to let some Lt/Capt get off saying he wants on the technical track so he's not doing the exec gig. So at the point you're eligible for this you've already been groomed like its not going to happen. Oh and if you read carefully they say you'll still be able to come back and command if you want to out of this track, so I'm sure that's gotta be code for you'll still need ACSC in correspondence "just in case" If they want this to work they've got to start way earlier than majors and with less ADSC tied to the end of it.

“2”

Yeah, I spent most of my Friday working with a contracting officer at USAFE working on forms and some contracting computer system. Thinking that a CAC would equal base access. Now I'm trying to figure out what forms SF is telling me they need to send back to their corporate headquarters in TX to be sent to some German office in Stuttgart to come back here to finally give them base access. While our security manager bends over backwards to figure out how to get their company to load information that should have been in JPAS already. I get if they these are fully up to speed the potential is to make our lives much easier, but in the meantime its me learning more about contracting than I ever needed to know. This exactly, the one contractor is about to get shackled with so many additional duties theres no way in hell they'll ever get them all done. Remember those records management and ITEC additional duties that were supposed to die...c

Just looking to see if any one else has gotten contractors from Decypher to tackle additional duties? The background story is: my squadron's rumor mill said that there was a contract written and the Ops Group would get some contractors to take care of the unkillable additional duties. Theory being this would free up bodies for the flying schedule. Word was that if they actually showed up they would be parceled out among the OG and we might get 1, with no timeline given. Well, 1 March rolls around and we get phone call at 0800 telling us all 3 rumored contractors are showing up today for our squadron, get ready. These guys show up after lunch without anything. No CAC's, no email accounts, hell 1 didn't even have base access. The contract (we found it) specifies that all this was supposed to be set up before hand and they were to even show up with secret clearance through JPAS in order to begin helping the squadron. Contract specifies a UDM, scheduler, and program manager as their duties. But without any of their basics being taken care of we're now scrambling around trying to figure out what type of paperwork it takes to get someone a CAC card, plugging contractors into JPAS, and figuring out how to get someone base access despite the fact that they now have CACs (solved that one). Wing info sec has had a fit that they are even in the building shadowing their offices, and we're talking 2-3 weeks before they could even begin to be cleared by them to do work. That's if everything with JPAS and OPM goes perfectly. Nevermind, OPM is more than a year behind on background checks. Basically these queep rangers have created a bunch of extra work. I think the idea is good to provide some unflying continuity to the offices that need it, and to eat some additional duties. However, its pretty bad that the air force is so over-queeped and undermanned that contractors were the solution. What's more the knee jerk of throwing unqualified bodies into the gap would some how make less work, never mind the glaring breach of the contract. I don't blame the 3 who showed up by any means they simply signed up to do a job (their all prior military). This is textbook good idea, poor execution. Is anyone else's units experiencing this, or solved the issues already? Thanks for the rant, and advice if anyone has it.

Regarding the C-27s completely agree we screwed the Army on that one. At least the Army got some of them back, and is using them. They’ve got 2-3 at Yuma they use for MFF. Talked to one of their loadmaster equivalents, sounds like they get tasked all the time for lift requirements too. Seems like the Army learned and cut the Air Force out where they can.

Mass, I actually had a personnelist asking me why as a pilot we needed them, and where that comes from because she had to be the bearer of this state department bad news. At first I thought it would be obvious for a mobility base why I'd need it. But at least she was trying to understand what problems it was going to cause, and why she'd need to find a way to fix them. So I'll at least give her credit. Anyways yeah I have heard that rumor too.

Anyone have any gouge on places in the Anchorage area? I have a decent chunk of leave set aside and will be visiting family in the area mid July time frame.