ViperStud

Didn't find exact answer and the VA website is vague, talking about "military service" while not specifying AD or guard. I'm contemplating separating and joining the guard. I have not transferred benefits to the Frau yet (with eyes on giving them to kid once we have one) so will I be able to transfer benefits after I separate and serve an adsc in the guard? Anyone done this?

Anyone else have sky cops writing municipal tickets on base? Buddy got pulled over on base and was given a township citation for 7 mph over. So much for just telling your CC the sky cops got you, now it hits your license and can potentially make your insurance premiums go up. Apparently this was an agreement made to give sky cops some jurisdiction in town and real cops jurisdiction on base, but that's all rumor as far as I can tell. Who is the "leader" that thought this is a good idea. Way to take care of your people and solve problems at the lowest level.

So CMSgt Cody visited the 'Died last week. Words from a retard O-6 about prepping for the visit: "this is a two-star equivalent event." I get that there is protocol but what a fvcking dipshit. Hey Col, he's actually an E-9 equivalent.

Rumor from CC, claims its from a source at the puzzle palace in DC. Combo of A-10, F-15 and staff cuts would delete a lot of rated positions and "fix the glitch" of a pilot shortage. With no shortage, they have talked about no bonus this year. A lot of moving parts, like when do the plans get released, when does the bonus announcement come out, etc. Interesting that a year after it goes up, it goes away. Nothing certain by a long shot, just talk. I can't believe AFPC would want to deal with a bunch of free agents with opportunities on the outside in the coming years. Even butters admits the hiring boom is here.

With a war, civ casualties making the news, a security agreement we want signed, rocket attacks, etc - it's good to see the idiotic leadership out here is spending brain bytes in the right place. He was fine til the last line. This chief actually had some street cred, but in one line exposes himself as an insecure pilot-hating shoe clerk. You're right light switch dick, Robin Olds is rolling over in his grave looking at what the AF has become. To: XXX EOG/ALL Subject: Mustaches For the men.... I typically do not use the "EOG all" distro as a means to communicate, but feel compelled to on this one. I am confident most (if not all) of you know what 36-2903 has to say about mustaches, but in case you didn't...the attached should provide clarity. We (the EOG) have received some negative attention on this one as of late, thus my engagement. If you're staying at BASE X please comply w/ the standards; if you're going to BASE Y...best to start off on the right foot. It's not BGen Olds' AF anymore.... V/r, Chief XXXXXXX, CMSgt, USAF Superintendent, XXX Expeditionary Operations Group

And liquid, before you quote me to point out that the Hobag Miley thing was controversial and over the top...I get it. My point is this - who arbitrarily decides where the line is? Every channel on TV routinely has women in bikinis, fashion crap with tight clothes and language that is borderline offensive. Society as a whole has said that these things are acceptable, especially if the context is legit. Has anyone ever really complained when they saw a family/couple picture on the beach together? So, which moron in the AF gets to arbitrarily decide that socially acceptable norms are now taboo and contribute to sexual harassment? The answer is that no one should. Common sense should prevail and someone should have the balls to say enough is enough with the PC bullshit. Unfortunately, we promote box-checkers who are afraid of their own shadows and they would be terrified to make such a call, even if they know in their heart of hearts they are just being weak. Liquid, your story about Camera Shy is proof that this describes you to a T.

Or maybe a dude just has a picture of his Frau from their honeymoon, one of te happiest times of his life. Or maybe it's from his wedding and she was showing a little cleavage. Gasp - God forbid. Liquid, why does it have to be more complicated than that? It's standard to have pics of your family, but now you are saying it's only ok if I have pics of sports teams and everything else in my life. You've gone full retard when you argue that such a picture is offensive when you can turn on CBS and see some ho like Miley Cyrus fornicate on stage. But yeah, it's my honeymoon (not a bikini, but with a little cleavage) picture that's the problem. You're a fvcking idiot.

How about dropping an LGB downrange with your laser off, then not saying anything about it until a week later when you have a pilot meeting and tell everyone that the next guy to screw up is getting sent home. What a joke. http://www.kunsan.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=14721

You know it. Fvck that guy. Also, SNL confirmed it should have been "such a cork soaker" to get by the mods. How appropriate a thread, Dbags like him are exactly what's wrong with the Air Force.

Translation - you don't know anyone that openly admits to having a Q3. There is a lot more blood out there than you realize, even in ACC. For a lot of dudes it's either a wake-up call or just a shitty sortie. They recover from it and move on with life, often it gets buried and later commanders don't even know. I've seen several, but never for something so BS as a wedding ring, ipad charge or improperly verbalized checklist item that was performed correctly. If I tried to Q3 a dude for said offense, my CC would stare at me like I had a pair of tits hanging from my cranium. Maybe that's the real difference between communities. I've had only one boss that would be such a cork soaker. Don't worry though, he's a full bird now riding his wife's coattails on the fast track. Edit: such, not suck. Though he does suck

My CC and OG, as well as some of their peers, seem to think there is a silver lining to the school thing. The end result is that there will be more non-residence guys filling CC billets. In the end, this favors the concept of having your best leaders get a shot at being a CC. Overachievers will still do well, but the guys that are really sharp and didn't get selected for school on their O-4 board might have more opportunities because there will be fewer IDE grads to pass around to the staff/CC billets. I'm not sure how much I buy it: too many moving parts to really guess what the end result of fewer school slots will be. I'm a candidate and I think I would have had a great shot at school next year in my third look under normal circumstances. Obviously now it's a longshot. I still like my chances at O-5 if I stay in, regardless of school attendance. If I am a CC then great, if not and I end up being a crusty old O-5 (or even O-4) at 20 years and I will do everything in my power to make sure the young dudes grow up in the mold of a true fighter pilot. Maybe I'm missing something, but the fewer school slots (and "guaranteed" promotion that goes along with it) doesn't really change the math for me too much. Neither does the increased money. I'm still not sold 100% either way. Hopefully I end up with an assignment next summer as expected and I will make a decision based on all the data I have at the time. I'm staring at 8 more years (probably a Korea and two other assignments in some order) that will probably keep me in a fighter cockpit. That piece is way more important to me than going to school.

I haven't looked at the raw numbers - I'll take your word for it. No surprise though that the chosen ones are signing. Still, it's worth it for the AF to pay that money because an individual targeting of people by their specific circumstances would alienate more than it would keep, especially if the geniuses at AFPC are the ones trying to make the decision on who to target. You're spot-on with the idea that guaranteed flying is an incentive. That would probably be a huge incentive for the heavy guys because being current when you leave is kind of important. I'm willing to bet that is how it is going to work out for the fighter guys that sign for the next year or two. If you're a burner and want to make rank, then you will go to school/staff and learn how to put it in your mouth. If you are an average fighter guy and sign, you are probably going to stay in the (or a) cockpit for the vast majority of that time. I know there are naysayers out there and I am as cynical as the next guy but the facts (at least in the Viper) are: we haven't sent dudes to UAVs in forever & they have a pipeline now, very few ALO assignments, you don't go to staff without school, we don't even have enough dudes to fill UPT billets so if we end up with extra bodies it's not like they are getting sent to basket weaving academy. You pretty much have to pursue an assignment out of a cockpit to get one right now. YMMV by the airframe you fly, but the multirole guys (Viper and Mudhen drivers) are looking good if you want to stay in a cockpit. Raptors are obviously safe. JSF guys are actually overmanned right now but I bet that will change if deliveries stay on schedule. A-10 guys and F-15C guys should be worried. I think it sucks from a national defense perspective, but Welsh has basically thrown down that single-mission aircraft are the first to get chopped. I just hope that if it does happen the Eagles go to the guard. Not having those bubbas around is a risk this country cannot take with the MR rate of the Raptor. And that's coming from a Viper driver.

The purpose is to do both - keep pilots in for raw numbers and to target specific pilot groups. Raw numbers are good because too many fliers is better than too few - we've been manning 11F billets at staff with 11X guys for a while and it will only get more intense as 11M types start going back to UPT to fly T-38s. They are obviously targeting certain groups as well by offering an extra $100K to fighter guys that 11Ms will not get. My point about the 20% number was not that only that percentage of golden-boys (school selects, aka the only ones going to school) will sign the bonus; my point was that basically all of them will - and that is probably about 20% of the bonus eligibles. Someone earlier shacked it - an additional 10% will stay in regardless because they lack the initiative/skillset to succeed on the outside. Another ~20% wouldn't sign no matter what was offered (within reason) because they are pissed at active duty. By my math that leaves about half of the people that are generally happy and have had good assignments (kind of where I'm at) or really are on the fence about staying in because they know there are other opportunities in the aviation world that would keep them happy (I often find myself in this position too). That ~50% is who they are targeting and it's exactly why the 11F bonus is higher right now - because they are short on them for the forseeable future so they need a higher take rate. So they end up paying roughly 30% of eligibles (golden boys plus bottom 10%) as a simple cost of doing business. Why - because although I bet the numbers above are pretty accurate, there is overlap. I know several school selects who are not just ass-kissers, they are genuine good dudes and are punching to join the guard or pursue other goals in life. There are also bottom feeders that are pissed at the AF and want out. There are also some on-the-fence types that luck out with timing and find out their next assignment (and thus get a good look at their future AF prospects) right before they have to sign the bonus. Good assignment means they say; bad assignment means they punch, even if they had been leaning the other way for a while. Because of all those variables, it's impossible for AFPC to target individuals and say "that dude is going to stay in without a bonus because he is going to school." All they can do is look at a spreadsheet and say "oh shit we are way short on 11Fs we need to give them more money, STAT!" Oh and by the way it essentially IS a career aviator program - if I sign it will keep me to 21 years. Maybe I retire as an O-5, maybe plus/minus one rank from there, but the nine YAS is no coincidence. Your other ideas are fodder for sport-bitching sessions but not much more. AAD for two years paid time at a civvie university plus the ~year on the backside to get you back to IP status is a poor return on investment for the AF unless they start getting way more desperate. Homesteading dudes would only make the other bases an even worse deal - with guys homesteading at Hurbie, more AFSOC dudes will punch because they know there will be fewer billets out of Cannon every VML. It creates second/third order problems for the have-nots. Good deal incentive = interesting. That being said, a non-current type rating (by the time you can get out) probably isn't going to be worth it for most dudes. Those Gulfstream and Global jobs are not a dime a dozen on the outside so most guys will end up flying for the airlines anyway and either being sent to CAE/FlightSafety by their carrier or picking up a ~9K$ B737 type to go to Southwest. In the end it still all comes down to money. AFPC is powerless to address issues like ops tempo, morale, which bases remain open, rampant careerism and the bad leadership that results from it. That's for guys like Welsh (still waiting on that vector...) and our civilian leadership (haven't even passed a budget in 4 years...) to fix - don't hold your breath. The only thing AFPC can realistically do is throw money at the problem. And eventually it will work. Everyone has a price, all that's left to do is negotiate.

Guard/res opportunities plus the fact that our community was ground zero for the great PC witch hunt by a bunch of dickless leadership. Several canned FS/CCs later it's not surprising that F-16 guys are the last ones to sign on the dotted line. The community morale is in the shitter maybe even moreso than the average 11F. But they are getting the numbers they need. The bonus is all about those sitting on the fence and my observation is that they got a lot of them. They don't care about overpaying the ~20% of kool-aid drinkers because that's a necessary evil that is tied to getting the fence sitters to sign. Combine that with basically banning viper guys from UPT/ALO types of queep and the machine keeps on ticking.

When is the draft?

Wow...just wow. You are applying SAPR logic: straight line from profanity to rapist. We all saw the slide. Maybe Slick wrote it. Dude stop taking yourself so seriously, no one else does.

No shit. Slick, I bet 6-9 bucks you are his GMBL exec and work on your gag reflex at least twice a week. Maybe he's a good dude maybe not, but I have news for you: no one makes WG/CC these days without at least putting it in their mouth for a little bit. AMF is right, WG/CCs have 100% control over who gets the guaranteed promotion (DPs vs Ps) so any gripe about AADs being a go/no-go starts with him. No one cares enough to contact your WG/CC to call him out, what planet do you live on? Did you have the balls to contact Gen Schwartz to call BS on Blues Mondays and the importance of AADs, challenging him with "words and evidence" to support your claims? No, you didn't. Worse yet, maybe all your evidence made you think that stuff was a good idea... BLUF, stop acting like such a .

Get over yourself dude. The reality is that most (not all) students in the T-38 still want pointy-nosed jets. The last two drops at my base had 6/8 and 6/7 fighters respectively and guess what? The bottom studs in each class got the non-fighters. No one is dogging the U-28. I know just some of what it does and the mission is awesome. The fact remains though, the overwhelming majority of students still rank their assignments like this: fighters first, FAIP second, mix of bombers/AFSOC third. I talk to them all the time about their dream sheets, and they do mention Clovistan and deployment rates as a factor, especially if they are married. I know two AFSOC guys very well and they both have their "how I ended up not getting a fighter" stories. Yes, they both love what they do. In time, egos heal and true pilots bloom where they are planted, so everyone ends up convinced that THEIR airframe is the best in the AF. That being said, everyone "earns" their assignments. UPT is the most non-bullshit, non-political, non-PME/AAD environment we have left. It's simple order of merit, and if you finish on the bottom you will probably get what's left over

Must defend 2nd place. I'm in.

Dude I will be nice, but just for one post. First, stop whining about traveling a lot and working long hours. You're not going to earn any sympathy here. I'm sure your travels don't routinely bring you to JATWISH. Second, don't plan on swapping airframes. You will need to get helos out of UPT. Airframe swaps are very rare and typically happen as a result of taking command of a mixed group/wing or going to a special school like TPS. Even then - way down the road and rare. Third, guard/res units will not cater to you. There are far more people interested than there are openings. You need to apply, show up and hang out with them and get an in. They have the luxury of choosing members from a lot of qualified applicants. You are the one doing the legwork. Drop the attitude and requests for respect. That kind of thin skin will not go far in the flying world.

Dudes we do not want FEFs part of the rack and stack process. I've been chief of Stan/Eval in two squadrons and I can tell you there is some blood in FEFs and it might surprise you who has it. There are above average pilots with Q2/3s in their records and total limfacs with Q1 no hits all day every day. I've had CCs want to fly dudes with specific FEs to either get them exposure or to set a dude up for success. I am what I consider a very big picture and objective FE but there are a lot of others with agendas. A past CC flew with his golden boy and have him an EQ on an average ride, but who is going to question it? Be careful what you wish for. I'd rather have leadership be able to assess their pilots based on day-to-day observations rather than check rides a previous bases that may have had an agenda behind them. Check rides are just a snapshot anyway, not aleays a valid overall assessment of a pilot's skill.

For the 11F thing - anyone know what happens for 11F types that are doing a UPT gig or something else that you perform by having a different duty AFSC. I mean UPT instructors are 11Ts technically, does that mean they don't get the 11F deal if they're at a UPT gig at the time?

Devils advocate could say they will send the bonus signers to RPAs because those dudes can't opt out. Why send a free agent to a bad deal when they can punch and you burn several 11Fs just to get one taker? They can send one dude with a 7-year bonus commitment to the bad deal and get two full assignments out of him. That's what scares me.

Actually it's more difficult to shit out a 2K hour flight examiner than it is a squadron UPC or secretary. The military is forced to pay people by grade/time so incentives are the only way to retain people with skill sets that are actually in demand. It's not about being fair and telling everyone they're special, nor should it be. And I'm dating a GS who is scheduled to be furloughed so I have an incentive to call BS. It's not BS.

At this point I've gotta figure the only reason it's been held up this long is because there ARE changes. It would be stupid for such a delay if nothing were changing at all. Almost as stupid as cutting people then stop-lossing them a year or two later. Our leadership is above that kind of buffoonery.