SocialD

I have great faith in our military. They'll get shit done if they're given the keys to the car with little to no cuffs. I do not trust my government to give them that freedom. In the days of live feeds, precision everything, our leaders unnecessarily hamper our efforts. Make it fast, make it violent, get in and get out. Given the opportunity, that's what we do best.

Except you had to wear a scarf... 🤣

A better question is which ones aren't? Then stay away from those squadrons.

Thanks for the reminder, forgot to conduct an inspection on my FO yesterday...won't forget it today!

LOL what fence did we keep them within? Looks like all we've done is create more wolves and spread them all over the ME and Africa. We probably created a few more when we abandoned them like a crazy ex in the middle of the night. Sure we haven't had another 9/11 or WTC bombing yet...until we do. At a cost that we have yet to fully understand. I guess we could have kept them going indefinitely, that seemed to be working swimmingly. It's an easy argument to make because "nothing happened," but we'll never know if nothing would have happened anyway. These wars have weakened us big time, both is manpower, money, etc... We have a service that fewer and fewer want to go into and we have an aged/tired force, and we have less money to sustain it. I won't get into specifics on here, but there are some major issues that are on our doorstep that are huge deals, with no good/quick fix. I won't say their sacrifice was for nothing, especially those in the beginning. I will say shame on our leaders for not letting our military do their thing, quickly and violently and getting out. Hindering us when we could have had OBL early on and not closing up shop when we did get him. Both times I was there, we were so fucking hindered by ROE, that I know we got people killed due to our own self imposed handcuffs. All to avoid "creating more terrorist." As if what we were doing wasn't already doing that by being there. When your EA is a star with a team of scared JAGs, that need a feed and get to dictate the weapon used...we're fucked. I know, I know...I "can't see the big picture." Funny enough, if you pushed back and asked what that big picture was, or heck, even asked something as simple as what are our objectives, you could never get a clear answer.

Is anyone really surprised? When the people who send us away from our families to endure untold hardships, have absolutely zero accountability, it's amazing that there is still any accountability at the lower levels. Things like this are why is why I scoffed shit like GTC "misuse" forms, especially when their per-diem more than covered the expense, but the location was "flagged" (not a strip joint). Apparently someone higher up didn't like my level of sarcasm in my reports...oh well. Sorry, I have more important things to deal with. Glad I'm retired and done with that bullshit.

I think most people are calm about this, most realize they're likely not going to be picking up a rifle. However, even if it is a gig sitting in AOC at Ramstein, sipping Hefeweizen, I still don't want to go. I've given enough of my life on activations that were a complete waste of time/money. Now if you tell me it's a nice backwater assignment to a small, Mediterranean coastal town, that I can bring the lady... Then I could be coaxed into being OK with being called out of retirement. LOL jk, I'd still pass if able. Life is finally damn good right now, with plenty of time to do the shit I really want to do. If I wanted to go to Europe and drink their beer, I'd go on a vacation.

I know you're trolling, but the bolded line is perfectly timed! Well done. LOL.

Oh boy, does he blow up that forum with all his anti-Biden, anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia stuff as well? Dude is non-stop on our DAL internal forum.

If I were called back, my paycut alone would pretty much equal my O-5 pay (assuming I get flight pay)....so a 45% - 50% paycut for me. Which coincidentally would be my percentage of motivation to work a staff gig in EUCOM 🤣.

...and if you fail? Wonder if they make these guys do OPRs? That could be fun...I'm here, I show up on time, most days. old guys showing up for their PT test.

I finally fucking retire and our leaderships sheer incompetence and lack of leadership might be pulling be back in....mother fuckers! I'm all for doing my duty because our nation is at war and we need people to fight. But being recalled because our leadership has fucked away morale/retention so bad that they can't fill required billets, would really piss me off (my old squadron alone, has two guys volunteering to fill these spots). If I wasn't returned to my flying unit in a flying billet (retired 1JUL), then don't expect a troop that is your typical guy who is chasing the next assignment/award/etc... In all actuality, I'm not too worried about this. I think this is just a play to open up funding to get more MPA orders for ARC people go fill spots in EUCOM (or wherever else...). Funny enough, I saw this link posted on another forum. I'm certainly not condoning this, and I'll do what's asked of me, because that's what I agreed to do by staying affiliated and in the IRR. But this got me to thinking, what do they do with people who are out and doing drugs? Admittedly, I haven't looked into this at all, but these cats say that if you don't actually report, you're not subject to the UCMJ. If you do report, you're immediately subject to the UCMJ. Resist the IRR

Well, I just learned something today, I had never heard of the SDF. My state apparently has a Naval Militia as well...gotta keep those Cannucks from crossing Lake Erie! Cool stuff.

There is no AD to use. There is pretty much an open door for anyone in the ARC to go on indefinite orders to Europe right now. I know of at least 6-9 Guard guys doing it now and those dudes keep asking if anyone else is interested.

So they wait until the 9th month of the FY to roll out the bonus, it's out for like 3 minutes and then they shut'er down....you can't make this shit up. Listen up young punks, this is what your leadership thinks of you, and I'm not just talking leaders in a military uniform. What do I expect them to do? The same shit they expect me to do when they give me a TDY/Mission/task and only give me half the budget to accomplish it...figure it the fuck out!

I was a pilot for MOST of my career, the first quarter of my career, I was as a crew chief. I'm still close friends with many of my crew chiefs friends (as we're all still at the same base). Those dudes have a damn good life, and make way more money than they likely would on our local economy (most won't leave due to entrenched family). I specifically mentioned in my post that I'd only recommend it if they joined the ANG. I know some companies (mentioned above), provide some TA, but I'd bet you'd be hard pressed to beat what they offer in the ANG. I can certainly understand why many won't sign up for a 4-year AD stint. I wasn't willing to do that in 2001 because I didn't want to lose out on those college years. To your second point, I couldn't agree more, especially when you're talking Army. My last trip to Bagram circa 2020/21, the Utah Army NG was there with their Apaches. Talking with those guys, I was floored by how much deployed time these dudes had, mostly a year at a time. I seriously can't understand how anyone maintained a family throughout that (lots didn't). If I were a young kid and that was my only exposure to the service, I'd be looking for other options as well. However, the big reason I was able to become a pilot, was because of my time as an enlisted guy. I guess our leaders need to figure out how to leverage the fact that an enlistment has the potential to open up awesome opportunities, if you chose to take them. Goodluck! We are now seeing another giant price we'll pay for playing a 20 fucking year game of whack-a-mole in Afghanistan and Iraq/ME. Did anyone really even understand what we were doing past 2011? I mean, did we ever have a boss that clearly laid out and end state and even a tiny semblance of how we were going to get there?

Maybe we stop sub-contracting ourselves out in the defense of foreign nations and we're suddenly hitting the recruiting requirements... I still highly recommend service to my nieces and nephews, but only in the ANG. At least have some control over your life, get your schooling paid for and still get to experience some cool shit. They may not have the career I had, or they may have something way better, who knows. Sure they can walk down to Dunder Mifflin, but I can guarantee, they'll never experience the shit I got to do in service of our nation (and State lol). However, this generation doesn't tick like my generation, that's not a dig on them, no generation is the same. If all they want to do is make money and be free, then ya, the military isn't necessarily for them. Though there is still plenty of opportunity and money to be made in the military, our leaders just need to figure out how to reach this generation. That said, I made way more money in the military than probably 95% of my graduating class (of 36 kids lol), or anyone from my home town/county. For many kids that come from small, poor, farming communities like I grew up in, the military is still a great option. For many of them, it's best option they have. Or they can "live free," and when that doesn't work and we suddenly need a stronger military, their kids will pay the price. Hard times create hard men, hard men create....you know the rest.

Late to the party. I don't think they're demanding "crazy" pay. Simply asking to be compensated appropriately based on the current market conditions. If the company can afford to pay out the ridiculous amount of overtime they need to do just to keep the airline running, they can afford more in the contract. The same goes for how much they waste on stock buybacks. Oh they have power to be in the drivers seat, they just have to be willing to use that power, and I'm not even talking wildcat actions. But ya, the woefully outdated, and arguably inappropriate application of the RLA on airline pilots, complicates that a bit.

LOL, oh man did you bring up just one of the many memories that highlighted the idiocy of still being in Afghanistan. Circa 2011/2012, I'm over Nangalam (maybe Mitarlam, a bit hazy) with a B-1 in the stack (below me), thinking WTF are we doing? I never would have dreamt that I'd be back over there 10 years later.

Always looking for the next audio book for my drives to/from work. Unfortunately, I can't find it on audio book. @brabusjust have Chatgpt summarize it for. I've heard lots of good stuff about doing that for books.

As mentioned above, it's extremely tough for airline pilots to actually be released to strike. I think one of the regionals worked on an expired contract for like 10 years or something crazy. The threat isn't so much about actually striking, but getting the passengers to worry about it. If they're worried about a strike, they'll book away and hit the bottom line...something investors (and bosses) hate. This is why you heard Ed Bastian (DAL CEO) say on national news that our pilots were ever going to be able to strike (paraphrased).

It means they want to strike. If approved, they'll go into a 30 day cooling off period, at which point they can exercise self help (strike). The president can order them to work for 30 days, after which they enter another 30 day cooling off period. The president can do that one more time, with the subsequent cooling off period. At that point the strike can happen or congress can impose a contract. Or, if released, the strike can happen and the pilots can shut down the operation. At least that's how it was explained to me by a ALPA national rep.

Go get'em!

I don't have much time to change into PJ's for my morning, DTW-GRR (25 min airborne) day turn lol. But your last sentence is the overall point. Especially since a vast majority of them are great to work/chat with...but ya, there are the occasional Chads/Karens.

Ya the company made a strong play to finally rid itself of the pension. From talking with a former squadron mate at FDX for a while, it appears they've had to expend a decent amount of capital just to maintain the current pension. Smart of them to plus it up a bit for those who will get to keep it, while dumping it for any new hires. Get buy in by those who will do anything to keep their pension and who cares about those not hired... If they lose the pension, I think they lose a big competitive advantage as the pension is one of the big things they have over pax carriers, by a long shot. If they have the same retirement as the pax carriers, why choose FDX over UAL or DAL? Big reasons I can think of is that you live in/near a FDX hub or you live somewhere where their rotation construction (read DH on front/back or both ends) is advantageous over the airlines. Otherwise, it's the same gig, except you'll likely fly more nights in your career (yes I know they do day flying...an WB pax carriers fly nights). The whole "dealing with pax" things is wildly overblown by those who are at the cargo carriers as another justification for their choice. I've been at DAL for 10 years, 2 as a Captain and I have yet to "deal with a pax" that was anything more than having the FO call a red coat, or have a medical divert that made me quite a bit of extra cash. We all have our warts and noone is immune to have people not show up to indoc. I'd venture to guess that over the last few years, more pax carriers had no shows than the cargo guys. Hell, I have a squadron mate that left FDX during training...for UPS lol. Back to current day, I'd say it's a bit pre-mature to just up and bail, especially if you're still going to have the pension. There could be something to the business model change to consider, I haven't read into that. We all take our turns in the barrel, thought I'm not sure that's the right term for what FDX is experiencing right meow. The pax carriers are just lucky that uncle sugar bailed us out during rona, though they should since they had a large part in creating that mess. If I had more than few years there, I'd seriously have a hard time leaving right now. I do know one thing, my FDX squadron bros are a bit nervous (as many pax carrier dude were back in 2020). One is about to peace out to long term orders and the other is questioning leaving DAL after indoc for FDX. That may be more to do with the realization of the pain of driving an hour to a major DAL hub to commute to MEM to sit reserve...