brabus

No idea, but I do think he still was at least somewhat recently based on younger guys knowing him. Makes sense, I don’t think anyone would know him unless they were a student or IP at Luke.

F-35 aggressors help train to problems of TODAY, not just 10 years from now. The training gap is even more significant for 5th gen and this move greatly closes that gap.

Never met 4 Quarts at Luke?

Over 139 days triggers a PCS vs. TDY. Two ways around that are either have a specific waiver for that course (i.e. WIC) or have at least a 30 day break in formal courses, at which point you can be TDY up to 179 days. An example for the latter would be a couple months of TX, break, then AC qual course, totaling no more than 179 days. This was years ago, but I stayed on base during an extended TDY while getting BAH for the PDS my family lived at. One note is if you leave the Navy and move your family to Mildenhall, but DON’T sign into base prior to going to Altus, you will require SAF approval to receive Mildenhall OHA. This is an MFR request routed up the chain. The easiest answer is sign into Mildenhall (e.g. complete the PCS), then go TDY. If you go TDY enroute and stash your family in some other place (not Altus) you will have to do the MFR request to get their local BAH. Otherwise you will receive the “standard” rate, which is not that great.

The news needs to get 4 Quarts on the horn ASAP for some expert commentary.

Why? These are the current day threats (let alone near future capes). Just because they present a far more difficult problem doesn't justify us not doing it. Pretending SU-30s with C/D/Archer is a realistic baseline is laughable. That's like the Chinese training to an F-16 A-model in relative comparison. Time to solve the hard problem, not run away from it and solve the easy problem, then beat our chests about how great we are.

Read the JTR carefully on the section regarding HHG storage and self-procurement. I have in the past been reimbursed for 3 years of self-procured storage (car and HHG). Of course they will only reimburse you up to govt rate and it's important you provide copies of any agreements signed with the storage place, as well as all receipts.

It is cost prohibitive to upgrade 2B jets, so they’re stuck at that s/w. We badly need 5th gen aggressors. This is actually a great 2-birds-with-one-stone play. No raptors were made perma-NMC by Michael. We need every raptor we can get doing the combat or training mission.

Know several fighter bros who went through Cobra Kai in Wichita Falls with great things to say about them. Maybe not the cheapest option, but sounds like a place that understands where fighter guys are coming from/going and will get you what you need.

Networked data sharing is the future, and there is a lot of momentum behind it. You are right, we will not need a bunch of large airframe C2ISR in the future. Not to say it won't still have a place, but the paradigm is certainly shifting.

PIlot's points are valid...you can't have your cake and eat it too. Even after more than a decade of flying fighters, I still have 30 years of dragging bags through an airport ahead (knock on wood). Seniority is "everything," but let those numbers sink in. In the grand scheme of things, would 42 years of the airlines (vs 30) be worth not having 12 years of military flying? Intangible opportunity costs/gains may be worth a lot to some, and none to others. To each their own, there is no right or wrong answer.

G650...this problem has already been somewhat solved, just need the AF to commit. Replace big wing ISR, EC-130, etc. with G650s - higher density to meet the demand with more capability. Throw in some wedge tails to replace the E-3s. Its ridiculous we haven't done this yet.

I've talked to several bros who have been asked by OG and or WG/CC about not taking bonuses...they all say the general reaction is surprise. In 2019, leadership is still "surprised" a $15-35K bonus isn't worth shit to us.

Wing CC: "Why would you not sign this bonus, you're leaving $35K on the table!" Pilot: "I grossed $35K last month in my other job" Wing CC: "....fuck"

ROTC is definitely your best chance at a pilot slot. I've never met a single regional guy and thought, "I bet that guy had a better time slogging it through the regionals than flying military aircraft all around the world and doing some awesome shit with bros who will be life long friends."

Keep in mind it is not a one-size-fits-all game. Every unit will be different in how they weight certain aspects of a candidate, and for that matter, the same unit will differ between boards based on who's on the board that particular year. Hundreds of people apply for many fighter boards, so every point counts and it behooves everyone to max effort tests, but in the end some boards will care more/less than others on specific scores.

Those are great things, make sure they're are on your app. Bottom line, things like that display you are physically competitive, have experience competing as part of a team, and care about the success of others and not just your own (the volunteer hunter education part helps demonstrate that). Have a plan to find work in a civilian career field post-college, but keep up the Guard job hunt. We also want to know you have an ability to support yourself on the civilian side if/when full time orders aren't available.

Aggressors isn't a retainment tool - no offense to my bros who do that mission, but most fighter pilots aren't clawing at the doors to do it, especially under the current environment. That said, your point of an ARC unit is more appealing because there are fighter pilots who want to stay connected to tac aviation, but only do so not on AD/as a part time gig. The contract side of the house has provided that in a significantly better manner than the ARC could ever do...ever. It will take monumental organizational change (i.e. never going to happen) for the AD to get back to doing a fighter aggressor program like it had in the 70s-80s. So, this is one place where I think contractor work is by far the best direction for this program and we should just shove money at them over the next 20+ years instead of trying to "save" money and completely fucking up the whole thing ourselves (I also say this having zero personal connection to any contract ADAIR).

GPA is awesome, PCSM is great, AFOQT is pretty good...any sports, volunteering, etc? Especially in fighters, most want to see a person who's more than just really good at school, though that part certainly helps your app get a closer look. You're young, so you have plenty of time, which is a great thing. Honestly you'll probably be beat out by guys a few years older who have a more "well rounded" app and maybe a couple years of post-college work experience, but I think that will only hold true for a short while as you mature, get some post-college work experience, etc. Don't be discouraged by this, just expect to not make it on the first try, but keep at it, as I think you have a good shot at getting interviews in the next couple years.

M29s are shit...the block 30 Vipers are better aggressors (capability, safety, reliability, parts availability, etc.) ADAIR needs a major facelift, and it needs to be well beyond our current aggressor fleet or any old Soviet jets sitting around various places in the world.

Each unit is different...matt's is one perspective. The other perspective is visiting gives you and us an opportunity to interact and determine if this is worth going forward on (i.e. official interview). But to Matt's point, this visit should be accompanied by your resume/package (sts), because that absolutely matters and bad enough scores, GPA, etc. can absolutely tank your chances of an interview, no matter how good of a dude you may be in person.

For the next 6-9 years, I don’t think finding a full time position in the ARC will be that hard. When the airlines stop hiring maybe it’ll go back to the old days of having to kill your own mom to get one, but those days are over...for now. At your age, I highly recommend pursuing the ARC...nothing wrong with going fighters in UPT as a guard guy (and I say that as a previous AD guy who didn’t go to ENJJPT and had to compete for 38s and a fighter assignment).

That's how fighters have generally done it since I started flying over 10 years ago. We "spin up" for a deployment X months out, and the rest of the non-spin up/non-deployment time is spent training for the other missions/scenarios.

Agreed that’s a CF, but not the RC of the retention problem. HPOs are leaving in droves as well.

The AF can't incentivize the folks who will command if they stay, that's how fucked they are.