HeloDude

Sorry bud, I have to raise the BS flag here just slightly. You say you would want an A-10 (if you had gone the 38 route) and that now your top two picks out of T-1's are a U-28 and an NSA. Well, from the majority of the drops I've read on here, your best chance for getting a U-28/NSA is out of 38's, not to mentio that A-10's obviously come out of 38's....but yet you say you made 38's your 3rd choice. Either your BS'ing yourself and everyone else reading this thread or you are completely oblivious to how the assignment process generally works out of UPT. Having said all that, good luck with getting the SOF aiframes...continue working hard and I'm sure something good will come your way.

Hacker, you're making it sound like this guy pulled a fast one on somebody and should have never went to the U-2. With the way AFPC is currently running business, you almost have to go out and find your own assignment and pull drug deals. If you're fortunate enough to have a good commander (becoming a little more rare these days) maybe he can fight for you to get the assignment you want, but even then, it appears it's becoming much more of a 'who you know' game with AFPC. Don't get me wrong, it has always somewhat been that way and I'm sure it will be partly that way until we're all chilling out with grey beards, but when a person busts their ass for 3-4 years and then are lumped together in the same boat with people who are coasting by, that's just wrong. Don't even get me started on how they're hosing dudes volunteering for 365's and are supposed to get 'preference'. I digress slightly, back to the original point. I applaud this dude for going out and getting a U-2 if that's what he really wanted. Most commanders would have probably just said 'well, I'll look into for you, but it's probably not going to happen blah blah blah'. He took it upon himself, did the leg work, maybe got some people to make some drug deals, and got his U-2. Besides, if the U-2 guys didn't want him, they could have always turned down his application.

I'd be surprised if this one does change. SOCOM never changed the rule on the 53 or on their MH-47's, etc. From what I understand, these units don't work for the Air Force per se, they work for SOCOM.

Hey guys. I know there have been posts made on different thread topics concerning the CV-22, so I figured we can start a new thread for new questions and information. Here are some questions I have if anybody has any info: When are they going to officially stand up an operational squadron at Cannon? I have been told by some 53 bubbas that the dates have been pushed back due to slow CV-22 production, etc. When the squadron at Hurlburt begins to be full up operational, what will their deployments be like? Will they similar to that of the 53 or maybe more to that of the the Talon types (for all I know these could be the same)? Not that it matters, but has AFSOC or SOCOM released any details cocerning females flying CV-22's? I know they were never allowed to fly 53's, but they have females on AC/MC-130's. Goes back to the question...is the CV-22 more of a helo or more of a fixed wing?

Reference Nole's post...

Overall I think those are great points. However, I think the original discussion was about getting an 'actual' fighter our of a T-38 drop. Now out of a T-38 drop, there might be one or two fighters, but there will probably also be bomber, a FAIP with no gurantee to a follow-on fighter, a U-28/NSA, and soon to be UAV's. So a person currently has a better chance of not getting a fighter directly out of 38's than getting one. As for the helo route, first off, currently you have a 99.69% chance of flying a helo/tilt rotor after graduating from Rucker. For the discussion about UAV's getting dropped to Rucker studs...I'd be suprised to see more than 1 or 2 a year if that. Helo manning, mainly amongst the 60 world is pretty bad, probably one of the worst manned in the entire Air Force. Until that manning improves, I doubt you'll see more than a couple UAV's going to the helo world. The reason a lot of 38 guys are getting anything but a fighter because there's a drawdown in the number of fighters available and an increase in UAV, etc. As much as people (including myself) hate to say it...AFPC has a reason why she does things. The reason is just seems pretty stupid and 69% of the time.

I feel it's necessary to add an additional, slightly different perspective on this post for all the newer guys on here. If your ultimate dream is to fly a fighter and everything else comes second to that, and after all the research of what they do (tons of time briefing and debriefing from what my buds tell me) and how the community is (a lot of eating their young, again, from what I hear from buds), then you should definitely try and go 38's. Just know that right now it seems as if only the top couple guys in each 38 track is getting a fighter right out of UPT and the UAV's are on their way. Most guys in phase II tend to change their minds at least once of what track they want to pursue...and I'll say that's a good thing. Guys just need to know that there's a lot more out there than getting a 'chance' to fly a fighter...heavies, 130's, helos...they all have their pros and cons, just like the fighters. One of my good buddies from Tweets once said (doubt he coined the phrase) "There is no such thing as bad tracks, just bad drops". Every track adds its own flavor and it's wise to learn as much as you can prior about what assignments can be dropped out of each track and what those assignments are really like. As for just going 38's to say if nothing else that you've flown a single seat supersonic 'trainer'...I think that's pretty . Pick the track that makes the most sense to you. You can lay everything you have on the line for a chance to fly a fighter, but the reality is that unless you're in the top few (if that), that's all you're going to get to say..."I got to fly a 38 for 6 months". Now, I'll caveat this by saying that there's nothing at all wrong with getting bombers or the PC-12's...but it's not that fighter you so desperately desired above everything else.

I'd say that over the past few years especially, helos and 130's have always been pretty popular. This whole UAV scare is just the icing on the cake for guys who want to fly low.

Dude, all I have to say is WTF. As I've stated before, you appear to be a great person and all, and I truly admire your desire to serve, but you're talking mostly nonsense at this point as far as Big Blue is concerned. I think you have more than enough info and opinions from this post by now. I suggest that the moderators add their points and then close this thread. Diminishing returns is definitely starting to settle in. ...unless people just think it's funny to hear the poor guy talk about how he thinks the Air Force should spend money installing cameras in work places so the CC has the option to 'observe' everything that's going on (if he wishes to do so). Heck if that happens then we might actually have to start doing 'work' when we're at our desks.

I agree with 99.69% of what camolet has said. Dude, you sound like a great a person, but the Air Force isn't the place for you, or any military service organization for that matter. If I can't count on someone 110% of the time (exception of being ill or a current extreme family situation), then I don't want to serve with them. All of us on this board who have been in the military has been called into work on one of our days off...I gurantee it. The Air Force has been dealt some serious cutbacks in people the past few years and taking in someone who can not be 'called' on the phone during a recall (whether for an excercise or a legit recall) is purely unsat. I've knows guys in my squadron who have gotten LOC's for not answering their phones on a saturday morning during a phone recall excercise...why should you get a free pass and they don't? Oh, and on a side note, unless you're having a direct conversation abour religion (ie you and your buds sitting down talking about your different religous views for fun, etc), don't quote the bible. You're going to find that people will like/respect you for who you are and how you act...you don't need to quote the bible to prove your point. Again, this is coming from a devout Catholic. If you're rotc det hasn't sat you down to explain all of this to you, they are doing you a great disservice. I would ask the CC or the E with the most amount of stripes to sit down with you and tell you what they think, straight up, no sugar-coating. Now, having said all of this, it doesn't mean you can't 'serve' your country in other ways. There are plenty of government civilian/contractor jobs that work in intel, comm, etc and I'm sure they'd be happy to use your expertise if that's what you can provide...and they can probably be more accomodating to your situation. Best of luck man.

Dude, not to be negative, but I think you'll be in for a rude awakening if you hope you can have certain relgious holidays off, etc. I'm a pretty devout Roman Catholic, try to attend mass every weekend, and there have been many times I haven't been able to go due to TDY's, flying on holy days, etc. However it doesn't interfere with my personal relationship with God because I'm not tryping to skip out of anything...it's just that my duty in the Air Force comes before me getting to go to mass. You can always see if your sup or cc will let you trade certain days off for weekends or something like that, but you can't 'expect' them too, especially if you're in a high demand job. At best you can hope for a pass on non-weekend holy days to be off or put in for leave, but that's about it. And it's not just against religious days...I once flew with a guy when I was the scheduler and he would be asked not to fly on certain days when it was his kid's birthday. Now as the scheduler I could maybe help him out, but if I needed him to fly, he was flying. He disagreed once and I told him that unless he was on a pass, on leave, or at a legitimate appointment, if he didn't want to fly, he had to go through the DO. For the meal part, I doubt it will be too hard, but again I've never had to worry about what I could eat (except meat on Fridays during Lent). I used to fly with someone who was a vegan and it didn't seem to be too big of a problem. Maybe I'll ask one of the TCN's at the DVAC here at dinner if they have kosher meals...on second thought, maybe I won't, but if I hear something I'll let you know. As for the girls thing, dude, you do what you have to do. Most people are going to be pretty cool with you, but you'll come across 'that guy' who maybe just jokes with everyone or doesn't know your situation and might poke fun at you. Just be a good sport about it, tell him what your situation is, and there shouldn't be much of a problem. Just know that everyone gives people a little bit of crap for some things...just how we let of steam. The most pressing issue I have with the whole thing is the wanting days off part. The US military is setup primarily around Christianity when it comes to religion and with that, the majoirty of the Air Force works around the Mon-Fri standard work schedule (unless it's 24 hr ops) and everyone is expected to follow that schedule. If you're not going to be able to adjust to that, I'd strongly reconsider your desire to be in the Air Force. A squadron can't be changing things around all the time to help just one guy out. Hope this helps bud, and best of luck in whatever you choose to do.

Isn't there one just outside the Tweet MOA's at Laughlin at like 14,000' that makes the Emeregency Safe Alt for Del Rio some insanely high altitude for that area?

Conversation with a girl I knew about flying N model Huey's Me: We have 2 engines Her: No you don't, you have one Me: No, we have 2 Her: Look up top, there's only one prop thingy' Me: Hmmm, and the other day I could have swore I started 2 engines Or a good airshow conversation: Kid: Does this thing have any guns on it? My friend (while flexing and pointing to her biceps): Just the ones I take on the helicopter with me

Man do I love bombs...especially a splendid pair like those.

There's been talk about replacing the N models for a quite while. I know what has been thrown around here was to replace the N models with the Huey 2's. Unfortunately I'd be willing to bet that the N model will be hanging around for a while for this main reason: They don't deploy, and for what we use them for, they work. As for the discussion of what will replace the 60...I'm thinking the 101 (which would be my first choice for the reasons already noted). In my opinion, if the Air Force was all about purchasing 47's with the idea that they will also be used as a SOF platform, then they would have never moved all the CSAR units back into ACC.

I'm a fan of using 'Mannequin salesman' (borrowed from one of my FE's...thanks James ). When they ask you to explain, just give them a silly mannequin pose. Just be prepared to be able to bullsh*t their questions. For example, once in Destin, I told a girl I was a 'rodeo clown' and she then asked me what circuit I was in. My response "Ummm...the main one'. Needless to say she wasn't too impressed.

Where do I get me one a dem' ?? Ahh, I'm just joking....but seriously...

Let me help you out in understanding how a few things work...it's cool, you're casual and just learning. -On the T-1 side for the drop, you get a list of airframes and bases that are available to ALL of the UPT bases for that specific class. For example, if the drop initially contained a C-21 to Wright Patt, the class at Laughlin might never see it because it got dropped to a guy at Vance in the same class. The 38 guys just list and rank all possible airframes and obviously where you go is determined by where the FTU is located, ie Viper selectees go to Luke for FTU and will get their follow on base from there. As for the the Corpus and Helo side, you pretty much get told what's available in terms of aircraft and bases and you just rank them as such. -As for the timeline at UPT, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet if you're casual at a UPT base but here it goes: You track roughly 6 months after starting UPT, drop 3 weeks before graduation, graduate about a year after starting UPT, and as for when arriving at your next base for follow on training...that all depends on what you dropped (ie fighter guys have to go to IFF, FAIP's go to PIT, 135 guys go to Altus, etc), when you can get to those bases for initial qual, as well as when you can come here for Survival, yadda yadda yadda. -As for choosing an assignment, I'd say look at the mission first and foremost. If you love your mission, then you'll be happy regardless of where you get sent because you're truly enjoying what you do. However, if you hate the idea of flying an E-3 but love the idea of living in Oklahoma City, well then you'll only going to be as happy as what you're personal life can give you from living in Oklahoma City, not to mention you'll probably be deployed/TDY most of the time anyway. Also, just because you can get a KC-135 to Mildenhall your first assignment doesn't mean you won't get stuck at Grand Forks your next assignment, something else to consider. Hope this helps you and some of the younger guys out in getting a feel for how things work. Also, don't forget the most important thing...you're going to probably end up loving whatever aircraft you get, so don't sweat it.

All helicopters use flight engineers...and believe me, I'm VERY glad to have them.

Dude, if it's just a laptop, bring it anyway. Nellis had a wireless lobby at their new billeting building...glad to know money is being spent correctly ;) .

Round Metal Object

I've always heard you have 30 seconds to produce an RMO. Go out with your FE's enough times and you'll learn to start carrying it

From what I hear and know about guys getting 'significant' combat time, you have to talk to the AFSOC type guys if you want to get a big picture of what it's like. I'd be willing to bet that hour for hour, they get shot at plenty more often than most fighter guys do. But then again, I'm just a Huey driver, what do I know. [ 25. April 2006, 14:14: Message edited by: HeloDude ]

I'd be cautious about sticking all of my investments/savings in a 'tax option' Roth IRA/TSP. Don't get me wrong, I max out my ROTH every year, however, you do want some liquidable savings let's say for an emegergency, someone in your family needs quick money, etc. I put this portion of my savings in taxable mutual funds and money market accounts. If you have all of your savings in an IRA or in TSP, if you try and make early withdrawls, you pay penalities.

Would they release any of the Herk guys to fly a C-12 assignment when they're so undermanned? (so I hear). There are some overmanned airframes I would think that would be better able to release some pilots to fill C-12 tours. Just my thought.