HeloDude

There is no 'local area' when taking a pass...the AFI strictly forbids it unless mission essential.

To answer your question, as to,what makes a 'good' officer, I and the others could almost write a book on the subject, and many actually have. It's not about 'being seen, not heard' and also,not adopting a 'Laissez-afire' style of leadership. Officership is about taking care of your people so that they can accomplish the mission. It's about understanding the mission, knowing how to inspire and motivate people, good judgement/decision making skills, on and on. Good leadership is truly an art form. This is not something I can explain in a post, and you don't worry about it right now. Learn to be a good follower first--which means being able to manage your time/tasks, understanding the task at hand, who to go to when you have questions and how to properly ask them, how to be dependable, and how to effectively work with others. This stuff might sound simple, but for a lot people (especially young adults) it is not. A commissioning source will give you the very basics of these tools needed to become an effective young officer and a very basic opportunity to practice them. In the end, you'll learn on the job--find officers you want emulate and do what they do, then see how it works, find other officers you want to further emulate and do what they do, rinse and repeat--find a mentor. Also, find some good older NCOs/SNCOs which actuary care about mentoring young officers and ask them questions/speak their advice. But I can't reiterate enough that you must become a good follower first...

My question is how can you do 75 push-ups and run a 6:40 mile and now can only do 1 pull-up? Back in the day with the old 5-event test (which was much harder). in ROTC/AFA, guys had to do at least 4 pull-ups to pass. Perhaps you're 6'5" and weigh 270lbs, but even then I would expect someone with the rest of those stats to do more pull-ups. Just struck me as odd. Either way, guys on here are giving you some good advice. As for what type of aircraft you want, sure it's fun to have far reaching goals--but at this point you should focus on goals that are more attainable at this point in life. Right now if you want to be an officer and potentially a pilot, focus your goals on getting into a commissioning source and figuring out how to do well in school and be a good cadet. I'm getting to be one of the older guys now, but I can still vividly recall how people were at my AFROTC freshman orientation day, most of who were talking about wanting to fly fighters--well a 1/3 of those people didn't go to field training, only half of those even eligible got pilot slots, a handful of those guys quit/washed out of UPT, so in the end maybe 2 or 3 of that original class of 50-60 became fighter pilots. Just some perspective for you if your only goal is to fly fighters...odds are (especially now) you won't. I know you're young and have aspirations (which is good) but the first to thing to start trying to learn is what it means to be in the military and more importantly an officer. Good luck and make sure to learn how to be a good follower/teammate along the way.

What's ironic and sad is that he was saved by SOF aircrew when got shot down. I know the guy who was the flight lead on that rescue, as well as some of the guys in the other aircraft--good dudes. But hey, he gives that squadron a bottle of Blue Label every year on the anniversary, so I guess it's cool.

It seems to world well for the IDF...

Sorry man, but life is about tough choices. As others have said, you won't be able to fly home often while in UPT...so if this hard to accept, then perhaps you should focus on your number one priority which appears to be your fiancé. Flying in the AF/Guard can be great, but it's no substitute for your family. Good luck.

Why not just marry her and bring her with you? Is her health situation that bad that she can't get the health services she needs at one of the local hospitals in a UPT town? What about asking to be stationed at Vance with the OKC hospitals not too reasonably far away? If you can't make one of these options work, then I suggest you stick with what matters most...

This is both pretty good and funny! Sadly, I'm guilty when it comes to much of this...

I was commenting on the pass portion of the post I was responding to.

Negative...there has to be legitimate mission reasons for this to be the case. Sometimes this applies, more often times this doesn't (don't forget, not all squadrons involve planes/ops type people).

Why would you just want the greatest IP promoted? Some of the best IP's are Capt's and Maj's...does this automatically equate to these IP's being good commanders? Some of these great IPs are average officers, at best. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the promotion 'system' (I definitely agree it can be approved upon), you are very foolish if you believe technical skill (i.e. being a sharp IP) should trump overall officership. Being good at your craft (i.e. a good pilot/IP) is only a piece of what makes this person a good officer/commander. So while being good at your technical skill should be weighed, it should not be weighed as much as your post suggests...it should be more of a binary question: Is this person a strong/solid pilot: Yes or No. So I guess I'm not in your 'most' category...and this is from someone who has worked for awesome commanders who were average to above average pilots, and who has also worked for commanders who were awesome pilots but below average officers/commanders.

What does this mean? Th board doesn't directly decide who gets promoted with school and who doesn't...it just scored the PRF's and AFPC gives the top X number of PRF's selects with school based off how many there's to go it that year. So why would a senior rater not make the PRF the best it can look?

Actually, previous flying in a different branch of the military does matter to big blue.

in your example it would be kind of hard to get a DP from a guy who doesn't have a DP to give...would have to get a DP from an aggregate source. But I get the joke...

How many Maj's in the zone are at a wing? I don't think it's as many as you think... But to answer your question, it's because of what an IPZ O-4 does at a staff job vs what an IPZ O-4 does at a Wing. Think about it--guys at the staff are working with teams on major policy decisions, major programs (i.e. A5R for MAJCOM requirements/acquisitions), etc. These same guys are also showing that they can do things outside a typical ops unit...which is required of many O-5's. On the other hand, Majors IPZ at a Wing are typically either an ADO, in OGV, Wing plans, Safety, or (if they're one of the sharpest) the one of the two Majors working as a Wing Exec. Which resume sounds more impressive as an officer? Where would you rather get a 'P'--working in a squadron or for an OG or WG/CC or working for a GO working on large programs that touch much more than just a Wing? Now of course the board looks at your entire record, so if you have a strong record and are working at a Wing, then you could very well be just fine...in fact, you'll probably get one of the few DP's the Wing CC can give. But most of those jobs I listed above at the Wing can be (and sometimes are) filled by a senior Captain...doing the work of a senior Captain doesn't help an O-4 get promoted. This is just my $.02, and I'm sure you can find someone who disagrees/gives a different opinion.

If increased pay (via increases in flight pay and bonus) are an issue for Capt/Maj X, then my suggestion is for that individual to get out at the initial commitment and go to the airlines--just an objective observation/suggestion without any emotions. I think it's becoming more clear today than ever (at least in recent times)--you either want to stay in the AF or you don't. Neither decision is necessarily right or wrong, just personal preference. It just makes the decision much easier when there are better job opportunities (i.e. airlines are hiring) on the outside.

For O-5? I don't think so... Does Learjetter want to weigh in?

Everything matters and can make the difference in a PRF. Guys who are getting promoted to O-5 with a 'P' are more likely working at a staff type job for a GO vs working at some Wing.

And the AF is almost getting ready to the point where I can decide whether I want to be a man or a woman!

Thread revival...Does anyone have this watch, and if so what are your thoughts? What kind of watches are most of you guys wearing today? I have been wearing a cheap digital watch from the BX for several years now (even recently paid another $10 for a new one just to have a new band) and it does what I need it to do, especially since I always have an iphone in the pocket...but lately the wife has been suggesting that I get something better. My problem is that I've always been a bit of a minimalist when it comes to these things and don't know what the hell I want, even with months of on and off again research. The wife also suggests I get two new watches since I like digital watches for when I am flying/working out and could use a decent looking analog watch for getting dressed up. I've looked at the Tisot T-Touch watches several times but am not sure if it would make sense spending that much money if it's not what I'm really into. I'm not into getting a Breitlng or anything too classy and am definitely into functionality, but only if it makes sense (i.e. I don't care if it has a heart rate monitor because I probably wouldn't use it). In general, I'd be willing to spend $1-2K if it was exactly what I wanted. So yeah, I'm pretty indecisive on watches...thoughts?

Huey's and 60's out of Rucker...no way! Haha

Is it 'too fast' in general, or just 'too fast' this year for guys who just recently got selected for promotion to Major? Because it's the same timeline for X year group vs 1st look at IDE as it was for me several years ago...just under 10 years total time in service when applying for your first look.

So I'm always intrigued by the new innovations in the world of firearms, and this is the latest one to somewhat peak my interest. Apparently Franklin Armory has developed a trigger for the AR-15 that will also fire a round when the trigger is released. Here are two videos (second one is somewhat cheesy) from their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijOcT1u5eJU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAhsoTJ6ps

But sadly you will need a permit to openly carry a pistol in Texas.

That's what happens when their state residents elect progressive politicians.