Magnum

ANG/RES ARP released. AGR bonus, no part timer bonus.

I'm not so sure that the memo really has any impact. In my case (Viper guy), it seemed like SAF listened to the porch's recommendation. My letter said that granting PC would give me the opportunity to continue to serve while giving my family the stability we need. I also mentioned that the unit hiring me desired a report date ASAP. I requested 5.69 months off my UPT commitment, and 9 months off my total commitment (GI Bill transfer). My case had a unique twist that forced me to work with the AFPC PC office more than the average dude. He let it slip that he can generally "adjust" the approved PC date by up to 60 days.

Palace Chase approved! K11F3H, requested a total of 8.5 months off my ADSC. 5.5 months off UPT ADSC and 3 off GI Bill transfer.

Yes. Palace chase application submitted...we'll see. In the past 6 months my squadron has seen 4 dudes either PC or just separate. In fact, since getting to my current squadron, I think I've seen 2 dudes take an assignment.

Proof that our senior leaders are idiots. Or at least badly misinformed. The airlines isn't the only industry hiring pilots. So just recently the F-16 porch had to non-vol 8 dudes out of cycle to Kunsan and lost a couple dudes from 7 day opt because of it. What does that tell you? The only reason the USAF is in good hands is because there are awesome dudes / dudettes busting their asses to get the J-O-B done regardless of all the B.S. You are out of touch.

Its on mypers. Portal has the link. Search for fighter assignments or fighter bills.

False. They have the power to change the little stuff that adds to the list of reasons to leave active duty. Friday patches / t-shirts and other traditions building everyone's morale could be a good start. Next, stop worrying about hurting someone's feelings by admitting that not everyone is a warrior and remind them that their job is to support the warriors. Fix the promotion system - when solid 11F's aren't making O-4 in a huge shortage, that's a leadership problem. There are tons of these little annoyances that build up a case for bolting and most of them can be fixed at low levels of leadership. Rebuilding a culture that truly focuses on accomplishing the true mission would help make the decision to leave a little bit tougher.

I think we now know who helped Iran develop their Stealth fighter.

Option B would be better...if the gov't actually did the analysis to determine the trash removal was no longer affordable. The problem is, the government hasn't done this in 4 or 5 years (ie pass a budget). When people default on debt, creditors come after them, assets are liquidated and bills are paid. After that pain, those people have the opportunity to repeat their poor decisions of the past or learn and change. I'm not advocating creating pain for the country if there are other options. But the way we are going, some generation(s) of Americans will have to feel the pain. I think its only fair that those affected are the ones that created the poor situation. Continually raising the debt ceiling without having a balanced spending plan does cause us to incur more national debt. Since we have been running a deficit each year, and since we haven't passed a budget, the continuing resolution keeps us at a deficit each year a budget fails to pass. Right now, the debt ceiling is the only thing keeping the debt in check. Yes the debt ceiling affects bills due. Why would the spenders ever want to pass a budget if they could always count on a C.R. to keep spending at the same levels?

Its this kind of thinking that makes me hope we do fall off the cliff. That would let EVERYONE feel some of the pain from out of control spending. I find it amazing that you see this as Dem's vs Rep's. If the republicans conceded completely to the dem's, guess what? We would still have massive and uncontrollable debt. I also find it amazing that you are so confident that it would be the republicans sending us over the cliff even when most have already agreed to tax increases. How are Conservatives not caving in to the liberal demands of no spending cuts somehow the GOP's fault? Concessions work both ways, Rep's agrees to some taxes, Dem's agree to cuts. Republicans aren't trying to win a symbolic victory like you think, they are attempting to be responsible and save the country from massive debt and continued deficits. Personally, I think all taxes should be increased slightly and sweeping cuts get made nearly across the board. Or maybe...and I'm just throwing this out there...we start with a balanced budget! Maybe all conservatives should just say "fuc-k it" and stop trying to be the responsible ones in this country. Just let the US continue to spiral into deeper debt and roll the bones! Edit: Fuc-k, I can't say ######

Interesting. So you think the republicans are wrong for attempting to put together a sustainable financial plan? The national debt has increased $6T over the past 4 years. Obama's plan calls for $1.6T in new taxes over the next 10 years as well as increased stimulus. Something doesn't add up here. Please explain to me how this plan would be better for the economy?

Funny this chart recommends all of the suggested cuts go to either green stuff or international stuff. Only one section says it should pay down the national debt. In my opinion, it should read something like this: $20B: Mx nukes or pay down .125% of debt $74.4B: Cost overruns or pay down .465% of debt $1.65B: 7 more F-35's or pay down .0103% of debt $5B: R&D or pay down .03125% of debt $90M: 1 Osprey or pay down .00056% of debt $15B: Health care or pay down .093% of debt $4.5B: Nuke research or pay down .028% of debt $2.6B: Sub or pay down .01625% of debt I'm ok with cutting the defense budget a bit as long as everything else gets cut and the money stays in the country.

Interesting. Either this guy is making more stuff up or PA once again doesn't know jack. Again, Nellis' first flag of FY13 is 13-2 in January.

Hate to break it but there is no Red Flag in October as the article claims.

BFM this, Here's what it boils down to. Like many have said, there is a fighter pilot shortage but not in the cockpit - in the shitty jobs no one wants. The Air Force has projections on how many people will bail vs sign the bonus vs just continue as is. So they are left with the decision of making a new fighter pilot with about 2-3x the resources it takes to bring one back from a non fighter assignment. If they choose the B-course, their fighter pilot shortage becomes smaller. If they choose the TX-course, their shortage remains the same. I seriously doubt that their separation numbers factor in morale over the last couple years. Not to mention the fact that we only recently hit the start of 10 year dudes being able to bail. I'm willing to bet that their projections are skewed which is why they think throwing more B-courses into the mix will fix the problem. So now we build a new fighter pilot only to let one walk out the door. Besides non-flying staff manning shortages, they are also looking at pilot requirements to fill the F-35. There is a pretty substantial shortage there as well, but they probably don't need to worry about that for at least another 6-9 years. If it ever does come on line in the numbers originally projected, there will probably be some good motivation across the board to stay in.

Something to keep in mind is that at Trident, all of the classes are 4 credits. That means each class will cost $200 out of pocket. As an esteemed graduate of that fine institution, I would not have paid 1 cent for any of their "classes." I understand wanting to check the container but there are other schools that actually teach for not much more than the rate per class at Trident.

First of all, I don't know a single fighter pilot that is reaching their commitment and not either getting out completely or transitioning to the ANG / Reserve. Of course, that's not to say there aren't people staying in, just none that I know of. Additionally, the only people I know who drink the blue kool-aid are douche bags. Kool-aid drinkers of the past have been promoting themselves for years which is why we find ourselves in a mis-managed Air Force with no traditions, no morale, and without the foresight to realize that the wars of today may not be the same as the wars of tomorrow. As for your filling the gaps comment, do you really want less than stellar civilians flying in the USAF? I like to think that combat pilots are the top 1% for a reason. Please refrain from any Occupy Air Force comments... By the way, Ram is right on. If you haven't seen the emerging / already here threat, it's pretty eye opening. The training advantage we have been accustom to in the past is becoming marginalized as is our equipment.

Go to AF portal. They have a document on here for your MAJCOM HUP rep. I called the ACC guy a couple weeks ago and just got the disk in the mail. The program is definitely still on. Send me a PM if you're in ACC.

The division at wired.com. According to the picture in that article, apparently at least 1 of the aircraft will be a Mig-21.

Solution: Put a bar code below the receptacle and a bar code scanner on the boom. No more passing tails, no more missed bills. Edit: Shit, I should save this for AFSO 21...

"The common denominator in all this since September 2006 has been four-star Gen. Gary North, the most-feared and hated man in the U.S. Air Force since the brutal reign of Merrill McPeake." This article just lost all credibility.

Out of all the bad ideas I've heard in fixing the fighter issue, sending dudes to the Aggressors right away is the worst. Not because of experience or whatever else but because that is going to kill someone. If you send a new wingman to the Aggressors right out of the B-course, they will absolutely require a TX before they go to their first ops unit. Why? Because 60% of the B-crs is A/G and the Aggressors fly 0% A/G, TGP, CAS, OPSAT. All of the skills that new wingman learned will atrophy and need to be relearned. So then there's the option of not wasting a B-crs slot and send them from UPT to the Aggressors. Great idea. There's a reason why AGSM is such a high emphasis item at the school house. It's because GLOC happens a to a lot of new students. So now we will send inexperienced dudes to clean Vipers that only fly A/A? Or maybe we'll send them through a modified B-crs and kick them out the door. They can't instruct BFM, let alone fly it proficiently. They won't have a clue what is happening on the blue side of a Red Flag to influence the learning. Red air isn't hard to fly, but it's the SA to stay safe in an LFE and the experience to facilitate blue learning why the Aggressors take experienced dudes.

I love the way the Air Force/gov't thinks. - Lets BRAC 2 squadrons at Luke, the fighter pilot shortage won't hit for years. - Lets move 2 squadrons from Luke to Holloman thereby cutting production by 25-30%, the fighter pilot shortage won't hit for years. - Lets RIF a bunch of dudes, the shortage won't hit for years. - Shit! We're a few years from a huge shortage, who let this happen!?

Lights were turned off years ago. Everyone has been using their tactical zipper flashlight to see 6" in front of them.

So where the hell are they going to find 400 fighters to cut? If this is actually true, I bet this is the start of the F-35 reduction.