brabus

Sounds like a rumor started at a UPT base. I'm just saying all the word going around here is exactly the opposite of what you said. They're not closing multiple Viper squadrons and sending Vipers to the boneyard, just to buy some more vipers when they can just wait 4 yrs or so for the 35 to be operational. I'd love to be completely wrong and have what you said happen, but I'm just stating reality as it stands right now.

With the rate at which Viper squadrons are going away, I would think Viper UPT drops will never get back to what they were. I have a feeling we'll continue to see a drought for a while longer until AFPC realizes the "not enough fighter pilot" shit storm they're heading towards. Maybe it'll be like the late 90s all over again. Who knows.

Yeah, guess my mind thinks in bigger numbers. Either way, the guys still a dumbass.

I like how the guy accepts touching down with about 1300 ft remaining. Nice.

Non-existent. The state the guard unit is from pays the AF to put a dude through UPT-IFF-RTU. So, their slots are allocated separately from AD slots. Seems like every guard guy here at Luke starts here still a 2LT. The guard guy in my class hasn't even done any survival yet b/c he had very little break between UPT, IFF and RTU.

Completely agree. Waiting over a year to start IFF and then go to RTU sucked, but I'm so damn glad I waited. Anyone who even considers giving up their fighter b/c of a wait is making a big mistake (just IMO of course). It sucks sitting around a UPT base, but any wait will be worth it once you get to Luke, DM, etc.

It depends on the base. I was at Vance and it depended on the week, but you might fly once or you might fly 3-4 times (on a really good week). Sometimes they were front seat rides where you did most or all of the flying, sometimes they were backseat where you didn't touch the stick (sts) once...which made those rides 100% waste of time. Talking to my bros who were at Sheppard, sounds like they got screwed (sts) and hardly ever got to fly, and it would be a miracle if they actually got a front seat sortie. Some guys just took shitloads of leave and traveled, some guys worked on masters, etc. No kidding. IMO, that's the dumbest decision that guy will ever make in his life. It sucks that someone like that takes an A-10 slot, then just throws it away while other dudes would kill for that slot, but now don't get a shot at it.

Several guys have done that. One even gave up his A-10 for a Pred.

That's awesome. Man I wish we had these.

My class drop had 4 vipers in it. It was pretty standard to see 2-4 vipers every drop. That was right before the shit hit the fan and BIT became the standard for all of us.

One of our patches here is one of the initial 10. He doesn't even go to Eglin for another year or so. He said the plan right now is to start taking fighter dudes on the VML around early-mid 2014. He thinks it'll be at least a couple years of VML dudes before they start dropping them at UPT. So in his opinion, with no setbacks (and there will be), F-35s won't start dropping at UPT bases until 2016 or so. You can't plan anything more than 2 months down the road when it comes to the AF, but his opinion on the subjects holds more weight than any of ours, so I'd say it sounds pretty logical. So anyone with future hopes of flying the 35 should do their best and hope you get a viper or hog out of UPT (those will be the dudes who start going to the 35 at first...supposedly). I think the F-35 is envisioned to also replace the Strike Eagle, but that sounds very far down the road. Maybe Cap-10 or Toro can speak more to that.

My poor parents' house. So much NES-related violence.

Man, now I actually feel kind of bad for blimp folders. They get no respect because of us!

My bad, I didn't catch that this was in a dorm and he was written up by the school. I thought this was at his apartment and there were no citations given. In that case, I agree, he should say something. EDIT: It's probably possible he can petition the residents board (or whatever they call it) to get the citation removed from his record since it was his roommate's gig and he had nothing to do with it. When asked why he was there, simple...he freakin lives there, what other choice does he have? Just a thought.

Sounds like you're doing exactly what you should be doing. She sounds like the typical kid who won't even make it to commissioning, let alone a pilot slot. Don't think just b/c someone wins a few more gay ROTC awards than you do means the square root of fuck all when it comes down to pilot slots or commissioning. It's not like they actually count for any type of points or something towards a pilot slot. Don't sweat it, keep doing what you're doing and watch her crash and burn.

I think it's hilarious that chicks will believe shit like DART, but not that you're a pilot. I wonder why it's so unbelievable to be a pilot.

I'm not condoning not reporting an alcohol-related "incident," all I said was why the hell would you volunteer the info that your roommate had a beer pong tourney and you were in the presence of alcohol? Who gives a shit. There was NOT an incident. Now, had the cops showed up for a noise violation and your friend and his roommate got a ticket, then that's completely different. Why is this difficult to understand?

They've always done training reports, so that's not indicative of the existence of DG/SP. Maybe it might affect shoes, but ASBC matters zero to aircrew. No one is going to give a shit if you even went to ASBC, let alone how you did there.

"Can", not "will". "Probably" is also another red flag. I'll say this to every ROTC kid out there...if there is no official police/school official involvement, then there is ZERO reason to say anything to anyone. I don't care if the cops talked to you, if they didn't arrest you or give you some sort of citation, then you're a complete idiot if you say anything about it to your Det. I don't give a shit if you have the "coolest" Col ever. It is NEVER a good idea to say something when you don't need to. Never pass the opportunity to STFU is great advice that also applies to life outside the flying world.

I'm more familiar with the west side (look at Kapalua to Kaanapali on googlemaps and that's the general area I always have stayed at). Airport Beach is a great reef for all levels of experienced divers. Being that you're new to diving, I'd highly recommend doing that dive a few times. I actually got certified there back in 99. I've seen everything there from the usual fish to huge eels, 2 manta rays (though that was on a deep dive w/ scooters), large squid (really cool to see in the ocean), octupus, turtles, etc. It's a great reef that you can stay at 20 FT or venture out further, depending on your comfort level. If anything, you guys could take a day down there, do a dive then have lunch on the beach, then do one more and get back to the North side for some pool time and dinner. It's the best dive for new divers, yet one that will be a good dive for very experienced divers...you don't have to worry about your husband being bored. Just watch the current and make sure you guys go against the current on the first 1/2 and drift w/ it the 2nd 1/2. Also look into Lanai boat trips. All the dive shops will have some kind of 2 tank dive deal...boat leaving at 7am, come back at 3pm or something like that. However, plan this one early on in the week if possible b/c if the swells are too much there, the boat will go somewhere else b/c the vis will suck. You want to give yourself the option to reschedule for a day or two later (which most dive shops should be fine with since you're paying for Lanai). Great diving there as well and offers some really cool stuff (such as caverns with a lot of reef sharks) that you may not be into as a new diver (depending on how "aggressive" in nature you are), but I'm sure your husband would love. Talk to dive masters at the local shops for more detailed info. One more great boat trip option is a boat trip that goes by Turtle Town. It's in about 75 ft of water with tons of green turtles. It was awesome to be around so many. I'd only seen two or three at a time before this dive and ended up seeing 20+ at a time here. Really cool and definitely worth it.

Bingo. I understand what tengu is saying, but I'd say ROTC is really just a big game. I'm not saying it to mean do everything and climb over everyone else to get a pilot slot, thus being "that guy," but there's a whole lot of gay when it comes to ROTC and you have to learn to suck it up, smile and nod and get to the end goal. The end definitely justifies the gayness of the means. Crosstown or not, be involved "enough" so cadre's not wondering "who's that guy?" when you're applying for pilot, but have a life outside ROTC and don't be the guy who lives at the DET/ROTC events 24/7. There's a middle ground in everything...be that guy.

Another comment on the dive thing...Maui and Lanai have great diving. I've also heard Kauai is very good, but never been myself. Maybe it's possible to fly to Maui for 2 days...dive one day, fly back the next? Not sure what your budget is, but it'd be worth it if you can afford it. If you're very new to diving, then Electric Beach on Oahu might be fine for you, but it's pretty crappy when you've been elsewhere.

The diving off Oahu is disappointing. I've dove a lot of places and Oahu is definitely the worst place I've gone. HOWEVER, there is a corsair wreck from the Pearl Harbor attack you can dive. That was really cool and I'm glad I did it. I'd definitely recommend doing the corsair wreck, but don't even waste your time anywhere else. I have heard Hanauma isn't bad, but don't know personally. If you want to dive, use Aaron's Dive Shop (https://www.hawaii-scuba.com/). They had decently better rates than anywhere else (including the company the military has a "deal" with) and were great guys to dive with. If I ever go back and decide to dive the corsair again, I'll definitely use them.

Dumb. Just like war said..STFU. If even on the very slim chance cadre saw him in a picture around beer bottles, who cares? It doesn't show him drinking and it's not his fault his roommate (civilian I'm assuming) held a beer pong tourney. This is college for fucks sake, why is everyone so damn scared about drinking beer nowadays?

This is a very misleading and somewhat false statement. Good for you that you like engineering and have that as a backup. Really, that's great. However, in today's world, millions of people work in jobs that have little if nothing to do with their college degree. Most places of business (minus specialized ones such as medicine, law, engineering) only care that you have a degree, not what it's in. My wife has a degree in international affairs. She worked as a writer/editor for the last couple years and now is working for the federal court. Her degree has nothing to do with either job. Each employer only cared that she had a college degree. She also makes more money than I do. Bottom line, engineering is only one degree that will not get you better places or more money just b/c it's an engineering degree. I'm not saying it's a bad degree, but it's not something that a person should do b/c they think it gives them a better backup. It simply does not...unless engineering is something said person actually enjoys and wants to do. Many of us have no interest in that stuff, therefore it'd be stupid to do it as a major.