brabus

Totally worth it - I never considered any other path. I've about had it with all the bullshit and my bag of fucks to give is about empty, but I'd still make the same decision if I rewound the clock 11 years. Despite the negatives, there are a lot of great things about flying in the AF. But, everyone's experience is different and time/luck/who your leadership is all matters and can make or break an assignment being an awesome or an assignment being a prison sentence as Jaded pointed out.

A break from queep, the BS, etc. and true ability to focus on tactics/the job you actually care about. Not a break from working long hours, stress, etc. Seen several TAMI guys return to fly, FAIPs, etc. get shoved into BMC jobs shortly after MQT. Also seen the same thing with previous fighter dudes who went non-flying for an assignment (ALO, etc.) It didn't happen to everyone in that boat, but it happened to a lot. I don't think that's right, but that's reality at least in some places and I've seen it happen enough to warrant my skepticism. But like I caveated, there certainly will be those who avoid this crap, but it's also not right to lead prospective dudes in this situation into a false sense that if they crossflow, they can expect multiple fighter assignments, they'll be an IP in 3 years only working in the fighter squadron the entire assignment, etc. And yes, there is certainly a bit of skepticism on my part in general just based off of general AF shenanigans and a consistent track record of fucking people over. Completely agree! My intent was just to add some info so guys go eyes wide open into this with a some realistic expectations. I don't think any of this should stop a dude from trying, but at least he knows what he's possibly getting himself into. Never know what someone's family desires are, are they willing to sign extra ADSC for this, etc. Face value this is a no brainer, but there are legitimate things to consider before blindly jumping in.

I agree with everyone here saying dudes should go for it if flying a fighter/bomber is what they've always wanted. But, the "negative" queep job/career stuff laid out here will most likely be reality for the majority. Doesn't matter if they don't give a shit about strats, that's not going to be enough to keep them flying and out of non-fighter/bomber flying gigs, staff, guess who's going to suck up the random deployment to ballsjerkistan, etc. Bottom line, they'll be competing on the VML with peers who are lightyears ahead of them - its not rocket science to see they'll most likely get the left overs. Dudes considering this crossover should be prepared for only one assignment while being at the OSS/Wing damn near the entire time. And for those who it works out for and they continue on in the CAF/avoid the avalanche of bullshit, great for them, but that should not be the expectation going in. On another plus side, IFF/B-Course/MQT will give them a solid 1-1.5 years of nearly zero queep and only focused on tactics, which will certainly be a welcomed break.

Best case they'll fill random ADO and attached job "commiserate with rank," barely maintain BMC, and overall have marginal utility to the CAF...until they're use to fill 11F staff after their one fighter assignment. Unfortunately I think their BMC flying rate/60 hrs of queep a week will marginalize their previous "air experience" when compared to the LTs who fly twice as much. None of this will be their fault personally, but will be the fault of big blue at large who can't manage people worth a shit. But, on the plus side for them personally, they're flying fighters for a few years even if it does include a lot of queep suck to go with it.

Not that easy any more Champ - you can't even sign up for correspondence until your third look as a select. Which is awesome when you see bros get forced to school who don't want it on X look as clearly stated on their 3849. But, we shouldn't be surprised the AF doesn't give a shit about what a person wants.

Good points, but still consider the difference in Es based on community just as it similarly applies to Os based on community. I know and work with several Es who have no issue saying "fuck you sir, you're wrong," debrief just as well as a fighter pilot, have the exact same viewpoints/actions regarding stupid rules, etc. Now will those type of dudes end up being the Es flying RPAs, who knows...but they do exist. That said, I have seeing nothing but horrible performance from E RPA operators, but it's also the Army and a completely different program. So, my hopeful assumption is the AF program would set up Es for far better success than the Army currently does. EDIT: By E RPA operators I mean from the pilot/mission commander perspective, not specifically from the sensor operator perspective (though the Army SOs are still pretty bad).

The JTR has something in there about early/separate dependent travel. It does require approval at some level, but I don't remember what that level is. You'll have to make a good argument as to why your family needs to travel prior to you...because you bought a house probably won't fly, but I guess anything is worth a shot. Regarding the possible TDY en-route, the AF will send your family with you TDY...if you want them to go straight to Nellis while you go to SOS, you will only receive transient BAH (~1200/mo or something like that) UNLESS you either in-process Nellis, then go TDY from there (i.e. not an enroute TDY), or a SAF waiver is required to receive Nellis BAH (prior to you in-processing...i.e. while you're TDY enroute at SOS).

Go on...

I know plenty of patches who are great dudes and either already in leadership positions or definitely heading that way, all without any ballwash jobs on the resume (i.e. exec). Even if a lot of OG/WG CCs hold that #1 strat for the exec, the patch is still going somewhere as #2/3 out of 169, so who cares. It unfortunately sounds like some communities still don't understand how to best utilize their WOs; the CAF does a lot of stupid shit too, but WO utilization is something the MAF, etc. needs to take a page out of the CAF's book on. The fact that I can't even talk to one face-face from a certain community while deployed, and have to email a bro back in the states for questions/discussion is fucking outrageous.

I've only seen one fighter patch be an exec. I'm sure it's happened more than that one guy, but it's safe to say such a thing is extremely rare. That is insane 1/2 of the execs you've seen have been patches, what a colossal waste of expertise/knowledge.

At minimum, why doesn't wash out rate rise 20% then? Or are you guys "behind the scenes" unable to wash people out because the bobs won't let you?

Vipers have the highest number of remotes out of any AF flying community...maybe A-10s are equal at this point with their drawdown (percentage-wise). I know guys who have avoided those, but the vast majority of dudes who do 2+ assignments in the Viper will see Korea, many see it twice when they go back to be a DO or CC. But, that's not to scare anyone, Korea was a blast and one of the best times of my life...that I never want to do again. However, I hear Osan is pretty much a "normal" assignment at this point, and even Kunsan has wives living there (not that way when I was there). So, I don't think it's such a bad thing. 2-3 years on a non-remote. Google the bases, there's a bunch. A lot of Viper dudes have transitioned to the F-35 and that continues to be a likely place to end up. You have to do well, they are by no means taking the average guy at this point - looking at your #1/2 guy on the VML who goes...as a general statement.

Flying fighters (F-16 for me) is awesome. I've done incredible things I would never had the opportunity to do anywhere else. The flying part: Flying A-B is nothing more than a means to an end...the end being tactically employing the aircraft. Flying the jet is easy, employing it well is difficult. If you want to fly around the world and stay in 69 countries before your first assignment is up, this is not the place. If you want to have "chill" time while flying, fighters are not what you're looking for. That said, I have flown all over this world (for a fighter guy anyways), had countless badass TDYs, and employed weapons in the best (i.e. TDYs) and worst parts of this world. The squadron camaraderie, even under the iron fist of the past few years, is second to none. Squadron life: Can vary a lot depending on leadership, as I'm sure the same is true in just about every walk of life. I have been fortunate to have great leadership, so my general experiences have been very positive. I know guys who were/are miserable because they have shitty leadership. Luck and timing matters. In the CAF, I'd say the average guy works 12 hrs day, 5 days a week. It's not uncommon to come in on the weekend to do 2-6 hrs of mission planning for a Mon sortie (because everyone was too hammered or didn't give a shit on Fri afternoon after academics and pilot meetings). However, that's personal choice; dudes could get it done on Fri and have the whole weekend off. You're expected to work your ass off on the tactical side to be a good fighter pilot, but there is still all of the BS that has to get done. You will have a lot to balance, but it is doable and the reward of flying the mission is worth it...at least for a while. If you go to other assignments such as teach B-Course, test, etc. life can ease up a bit and you're not necessarily working 60+ hr weeks...those are good "break for the family" assignments. Family life: It seems in general we are not on the road nearly as much has the AMC/AFSOC bros. But, depending on what's going on the squadron, those 12+ hr days can lead to a lot of missed dinners with the family, etc. There was about a 4 month period (no TDY, no deployment) where I didn't see my first kid 5 days a week because I left for work before he woke up and came home after he went to bed...I made the weekend family time. Overall, in my time flying fighters, I've been gone roughly 50% of the time (TDYs or deployed). Some guys hit more or less, but I'd say 50% is about the average. Overall for my family personally, we prefer longer time away with less frequency. Other communities do less time away, but far more frequently. That may work out better for other's family situation. Overall, I absolutely recommend dudes look into fighters. I think the best analogy I can think of is it's like playing team sports - very competitive (in a good way), you're very close with the bros (work and leisure), and you fly the jet/work together to win. Or you lose, but you learn and get better so when the big game kicks off, you're ready. It's a constant challenge that I personally would be bored without.

My gut feeling is that would be a huge problem. I have friends who sat outside the vault for 6+ months because their brother owned property in South America or they had lived in China at one point as a kid (as in YEARS before even entering the military). When they ask the question, "do you have any interests in a foreign country?" he has to answer yes, big red flag for the investigators, even though it's something as innocent as flying for Korean Air. It may not be insurmountable, but it almost certainly will be a massive headache and at best case. I think if he wants both airlines and guard, he needs to stick with an American company.

"fast pass" gets you shot down. When there's a SA-6+ threat, that becomes the priority. The dudes on the ground will have to live with organic fires until SAM threat suppressed/destroyed (assuming it can't be avoided). We have defined "high threat" CAS for years as SA-6/8/AAA (maybe 15). That's hard enough; the idea we'll do effective CAS (within a reasonable ALR) in anything beyond that is borderline ludicrous at the current state. These threats have to be neutralized before we can honestly say CAS is an option. Stealth is not the savior in this problem either.

I'm sure there will be plenty of places who nobody will go to when there isn't the mad rush/availability isn't an issue at the good ones. Can't say it enough times, Memphis is legit - they're already super affordable/great price right now during the ATP rush, so could be even a greater savings a few months after the rush. That said, even if they didn't lower their prices, it's still a great deal and completely worth it compared to either shitty places or perhaps good places, but ones that charge way too much.

Fly an RPA instead of sit SOF/Top 3, why not. Its surprising this hasn't happened yet. I doubt the burn out would happen if it was only a few days per month and theres still real flying to be had. Too good of a solution, the ANG might, but AD will continue to insist on taking the worst possible COAs.

Heard from more than person Bob is a terrible DPE - if anyone goes there, reschedule checkrides until you don't have Bob.

Fat Amy = F-35...they're the fat chick, they know it, so they call themselves out on it before you can. I actually heard it first from an F-35 guy, so you know it's legit when they jokingly call themselves that!

Below is purely based on past discussions/ideas, hopefully someone else on here is close to the program and can confirm/deny and/or add info... A major intent is to maintain the CAS/Sandy culture in the AF; we do not want said culture and the dedication to said missions to die when the Hawg goes away (whenever that is). Think of it as the AF's idea of maintaining a "CAS/Sandy heart beat" and not letting it shrivel to "just another mission set" the Viper, Strike or Fat Amy does. Additional plans are to move the Viper FAC(A) school house there from Luke, as well as start up a Sandy school house (whenever the mission officially transfers from A-10 to F-X). Always a potential for A-29 type aircraft to someday be added to the inventory, and this group would be an ideal location. Perhaps in the sunset of the Hawg, we'll see only 1-2 squadrons remaining and they'll be moved to Nellis to be a part of this group until the end...maybe. In addition to the air side, this will be a central place for the JTAC community to maintain/develop their side of the mission in an environment that is focused all on that, and not like it is currently where a lot of JTACs are holding signs on the side of the road saying, "will go TDY to random ranges for controls." That's the very general idea of it - hopefully someone else has more current, in depth knowledge to pass on.

Know a few guys who bailed at 18 yrs - they're doing great and enjoying life. Money isn't everything, job/life satisfaction matters a lot more to many of us.

I've done what Nunya said on about 6-9 TDYs since this "contract lodging" thing started. In every case, I got the standard non-A (base lodging did not book me at a different hotel...can't imagine any AF lodging putting any amount of effort into "helping" you by booking rooms elsewhere on your behalf). Instead of using any of the hotel options in DTS, I made reservations myself at where I wanted to stay, ensured the room rate did not go beyond the max lodging allowed for the area, and filed my voucher for max lodging rate/night, attached non-A...done. If I'm reading your post correctly, you already have a non-A letter - this is all a non-issue; don't need to talk to lodging again. By the way, there's a provision in the JTR that says you can make reservations for "groups" outside of DTS. Additionally, even if you were to make a reservation only for yourself (i.e. not a group), the JTR says you can NEVER be punished in form of non payment AND it "at worst" recommends your CC write you a strongly worded letter (i.e. nothing will happen unless you have the worst SQ/CC in the AF). Don't have time to look the reference up, but it's in there. I do a shitload of TDY travel, so this comes from a lot of experience.

I'm with Pawnman - don't care where you're at for 6 months, if you're gone that long, you better be accomplishing something real. Gone 6 months for "training" makes the separation from family/home extra lame. I hope the B-1 bros don't have to do what the B-52 dudes did...which is "deploy" to Guam consistently for 6 months at a time. Guam is awesome in TDY doses, not for spending your third 6 month rotation at away from family.

Having a ULN and Space-R are not synonymous. Logically it would seem that way, but the AF doesn't use logic. Space-R is everyone who doesn't have a ULN. Ops tested several times recently.

I've only heard the term "space required" used around a deployed AOR....essentially the same thing as "space available" anywhere else. They're both "standy by" in airline speak, you show 69 hours before your flight, and every passenger terminal has a different SOP regarding required paperwork, stamps, etc. Commercial is a million times better if that's an option.