FourFans

He's gunning for Bendy's drunken poster status.

I've seen high-tech training produce excellent results. C-130J kids go to the assault zone from the left seat on day one in the real airplane. They can do that because the sims are awesome, and the HUD is an incredible tool. It took 500-700 hours to get to that same spot in the E/H model. High-tech training CAN really produce better results. What it CAN'T do is condition a student with a culture of excellence and training focus like we old guys received during our 2+ years in the UPT pipeline. Tech skills can be achieved quickly. Professional aviators will ALWAYS take experience and time to build. 6 months and 30 hours in a real plane are not enough to build an aware student who knows how to safely operate in and around a jet. This will only put more pressure on undermanned FTUs...where the IPs are getting distracted by "retention initiatives" like backdoor ADSCs and ever-changing Bonuses that may, or may not be a better deal than before (read that fine print). These are all combining to set up a whole generation of students and IPs for failure. However, I have no doubt that these kids will rise to the occasion and prove their worth and amazing talent. We did. So will they. Just because they're set up to fail doesn't mean they'll fail. It just means they'll have to overcome tougher odds, which will produce stronger character. These kids (the ones that survive) will be just fine. Regardless, I can't escape the feeling that Big Blue is seriously undercutting the quality of its pilots in every possible way right now. The sad part is that the older generation is now the AO's inside Big Blue, and that some of us who were line pilots have now endorsed the boss's signature on the stupidity we're seeing emerge. Someone needs to stand on the boss's desk and tell Caesar he's naked.

I'll leave this right here: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/07/25/how-officers-are-promoted-will-get-its-biggest-overhaul-in-decades-heres-what-that-means-for-the-military/ TL, DR: Up or out might go away for career specialists (I would hope that read 'pilots'), and some shiny pennies might get promoted even faster. However... It'll be interesting to see if Big Blue embraces this, as it could really help retention, if they flex it right in combination with significant increases in monetary incentives. If Big Blue doesn't embrace this (most likely course IMO), I think we'll see just how hard a stand Blue's bureaucratic hubris can take again positive change.

I love Bendy pearls of wisdom. I'm keeping this one.

You're old enough to drink, you're on this forum, and you didn't know tankers were AMC. Much to learn have you. I recommend less output and more input.

Then I work with a lot of people that should never get sick.

Do not take the bonus if you are a pilot.

This is no joke. Mobility is a key part of that. Recent large scale exercise took international senior leaders though the concept of employing the one thing that the US can do that no-one else can match: global mobility married to global strike. Put lots mobility assets loaded with max grunt in a part of the A2AD where bad guys aren't expecting it, and you've got a whole new ball game. The world knows we can do this. No one can match it. If you think you can be a passive part of the mobility team and still meet those expectations, think again. The USAF mobility world needs to embrace empowered leadership, and the line guys need to step up their proactivity. The first few sentences of the video below describes EXACTLY what I hear when someone spouts off passive crap like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmdLcyES_Q

This is a thing? Happening in the USAF? UFB

Shack. If you're on a team but don't know or care how the rest of the team functions and what their strengths and weaknesses are, how you can help them, and how you can not hinder them, then you shouldn't be a part of the team. A dialed in tanker dude with the SA to listen in on the right frequency can anticipate how a fight, engagement, or event is going, and then coordinate and place his asset where it's needed before he's asked to do so, thereby empowering the receivers to focus on more important things. Quite frankly, the rest of the force doesn't care how well you're able to keep your airplane alive. We care about your ability to anticipate the need for your effect, and insert yourself appropriately so that the rest of the team can function better. I know that because I'm a herk dude. No one cares how well I defend my airplane against an SA-blah. They care that I know how and when to effectively integrate what I bring to the fight without placing undue burden on the rest of the team. Know how to carry your own weight and deliver your effect to the highest standard expected by your user. It is never someone else's job to figure out how you should be doing yours.

ugh Let's just say the this administration makes being a US dude assigned in NATO right now...interesting. Everyone is glossing over the fact that the US has majorly stepped up not only its exercises in and with NATO countries, but also it's financial and military inputs directly into the Eastern European region. It's all open source, but people are just too eager to see how badly Trump said something or what protocol he spoiled yesterday to notice that the administration he's a part of is pumping some serious support into this part of the world. There is a serious point here. All the border countries have anteed up, while those on the other side of the 'buffer zone' created by those countries haven't. Are we on the same team or not? Any student of history can see exactly where this is going, with or without all the Putin-Trump crap.

I'll second this. Loan shop around. Marty's team is outstanding. Not only excellent rates, but integrity throughout in the process. Highly recommend them!

Weird. I thought that normally tracked you to Eagles...

Yet somehow we're expected to think that getting this socialized TRICARE system for life is a major benefit of making it to 20 years?

wilco. I was being lazy. thanks.

New functional. Seems to sincerely care.

AFI 36-3207 is where you're looking for all this. I honestly couldn't find the specific verbiage that says apply no earlier than 12 month prior to DOS...but I didn't look too hard. AF FORM 780 is what it looks like you fill out, and it looks like you'll have to read 36-3207 in order to fill that out correctly. BREAK BREAK Found this fun bit in 36-3203 Does that mean if I separate and go to the reserves with 10 years of AD time between 28 Jan 08 and separation, and then close out my retirement in the reserves, I can get my reserve retirement at 50 (because I spent 10 years AD after 2008 before going to the reserves)? I didn't see anything in there saying I had to serve that AD time FROM the reserves...unless the verbiage "on an order to active duty pursuant to 10 USC §12301(d)" excludes that. This could make the reserves an even better option.

Nailed it. I got notified side channel from the functional because I made so much noise. Still waiting on official notification and the RIP.

Point of order: Bendy IS a diva. Snickers won't help.

Did anyone else have to re-read that closely to notice the 's?

Quiet you! Directly off their website: Ain't a single word in there about airplanes or pilots. Didn't a previous Commandant recently site the reason for getting rid of the doolie year and recognition was that the purpose of the academy is the prepare cadets to operate inside of the USAF bureaucracy or somesuch? It would seem USAFA has no focus on preparing or producing pilot candidates nor does it instill a warrior ethos. Hopefully some aggression still slip into the training somehow. P.S. I was in the cadet program that ran the sims when we switched from the old (as in vacuum tubes, speeder springs, oxford commas, and flyweights 'old') tweet sims to the T-6 ones back in the 2002 time frame. The T-6 sims were, and are, highly capable of helping dudes get ready for UPT.

I'm right there with you. I'm leaning toward accepting it as it allows me to time my exit. But that works for my unique situation of being within 19 months of my ADSC right now. Being forced to separate in the spring of 2019 only compresses any of my separation/retirement plans. If denying continuation allows you to bail on a significant ADSC, that's a pretty sweet ace to have in your hand. Play it wisely. The private sector, while lucrative, is unforgiving to the unprepared.

Spoiler Alert: They'll spin and report it in whatever way most soften the fact that people are leaving.

This is all I keep seeing...

Humble, compassionate, and un-selfish. Clearly the man we want leading tomorrow's Air Force. "Streamlined Gp awards process; 69 manhours saved! Definitely Promote"