kdwntwn

The meeting is tonight at 6pm. Hope you can attend!

(This last post was deleted. I figured it might be interesting though to many people who live in central Texas and are on the forums, so I'm going to try again. Feel free to move to another location on the board if its more appropriate.) Last year we started a group called Disruptive Thinkers - ATX to build cross talk between vets, active duty military and civilians. It's a group that meets regularly in Austin with attendance by many vets, local tech leaders along with some Air Force folks who make the drive from San Antonio. We also attract some from Camp Mabry and Ft. Hood. On Monday, Feb 3rd, we are hosting Col (ret) 'Shark' Garland, the former commandant of USAF Weapons School. Here are the details and a link to our Facebook invite if you are interested in attending. It's a great group to network and meet other people who have a passion for creative solutions to challenging issues. It's especially worthwhile if you are transitioning and looking to settle in the Austin area. Any questions, feel free to PM me. ------------------ Event details: How do you break through bureaucracy when something just 'needs to get done'? We'll welcome retired Air Force Col. Robert "Shark" Garland, former commandant of the USAF Weapons School, as he shares stories of how they rapidly innovated to stay ahead of the latest trends in stressful combat environments. Then we'll also hear ways that successful entrepreneurs have busted barriers to make great ideas reality. Meeting starts promptly at 6 with a brain buster. A bite to eat and beers afterwards. Come meet people, network and learn something new! https://www.facebook.com/events/1390320454555736/

Question. My g/f's Palace Chase application was approved today. She was 36 mo into a 48 month commitment as a 1Lt. Here Palace Chase approval letter directs her to pay back a pro rata share of her ROTC scholarship and TA. Isn't that the point of Palace Chase to TRANSFER her commitment to the reserves? Should she decline Palace Chase? She's looking at paying back over $15k just to separate 11 months early so that she can become a flight nurse (her career dream) and continue to serve vs. just leaving the service all together in a year. She has already been conditionally hired at her reserve unit. Any insight is appreciated.

First of all an update... I was approved for PC back in July with just over 10 months remaining. '03 11M (O-4) with concur from OG and WG. Now flying with the reserves and loving life while being available to help my family more with a sick family member. Miss the pay a little. And getting a job (aiming for tech first before trying the airlines) has been challenging but I'm confident I'll find something soon. Now a question. My g/f has been trying to PC as a nurse. She has received quite the run around with the process now into its 4th month, her second attempt. It's stuck at some assignment office b/c they are saying she needs an AF780 filled out even though almost all of that information is on other forms. I didn't remember having to do one. Have you heard of it? Once you answer, feel free to go back to your regularly scheduled program. Thanks and good luck.

I'm sorry to hear that Fighting Falcon. How much ADSC did you have? Also, how long did it take to process?

Any info/news on Palace Chase? Anyone apply lately?

Low blow, Gravedigger. Keyboard courage.

Who was his source?

@ Pokes17...how much time did you have left? Any indication why it wasn't approved?

How set in stone is the PCSed within 2 years? It seems like pretty much the only way you can palace chase is if every single star aligns where you don't get an assignment while having less than a year left. We've seen them deny 11Ms who meet the 2/3rd ADSC but are outside of a year. Giant WTF...

Has anyone seen any update to Palace Chase program in FY12 or have any rumors about some changes to the program? Specifically, is there any way to apply for the program as a pilot with around 2 1/2 years left in an ADSC? I know that there are some earlier threads on this forum that discuss palace chase, maximum ADSC remaining and bypassing the regs via waivers but they seem to address the program the way it was a few years ago, not today. But most of it just seems like 2nd or 3rd hand knowledge or hearsay. For instance, I've heard that mobility pilots weren't eligible at this time nor are they being accepted now regardless of ADSC remaining. However, some people downrange recently mentioned that its not a set policy and that there are many ways to gain an exception to policy and join the reserves, especially if the reserve unit is ready to hire you. I can't find anything in writing regarding ADSC requirements but I am reluctant to ask in person if I'm just going to be shot down after I show my cards. I was hoping someone with a recent experience on the process might be able to provide additional perspective or a more definitive answer.

That is other opportunities outside of the air force.

Does anyone have any info if mobility pilots have been approved for Palace Chase? I have 3 years of ADSC left. I'm an MWS IP about to be sent to a non-flying job that wasn't remotely on my updated ADP, just a "must fill" billet. I want to fly and have the freedom to explore other career opportunities.

Tops in Blue just added a Russian Detachment. I wonder how much that exchange program is costing the military?

Yeeeoop! Haha... It's doing pretty awesome. We have an update with the latest numbers into Apple. It's just they are so slow with getting updates approved. But have no fear. It should be up soon. Thanks for your support.

Huey, I couldn't agree more! Very well said! I came to a similar epiphany the other night when I heard the term "warrior day". The sound of that term irked me like an untuned guitar for some reason. It's BS that we're all warriors. The truth is that some people are heroes, true "warriors" who place their lives at risk everyday to directly defend the nation. Then there are those who have a job and an honorable duty to support said heroes. Deploying to a well fortified base in a middle eastern country does not make me a warrior. Wearing a reflective belt at 1pm at the BRA does not make a warrior either. The logic behind calling everyone the superlative term "warrior" is honorable but misguided IMHO. When you anoint everyone with a superlative term, you reduce its importance. ie- if I'm already known as a warrior if I deploy to OTBH, work 8 hour shifts and play bingo every week, why would I ever volunteer to go to a FOB in Afghanistan just for the same title and honor? The bottom line is this...if you can be replaced by a computer or a contractor, you probably aren't a warrior as the annuls of history would define it.

If were going to advertise here, get a model from my dad's company at www.aimhigherjets.com His custom mahogany quality is unmatched. The models have all the realistic antennas and even pitot tubes if you want. It's a little more expensive but you can definitely tell the difference in quality.

Is anyone else tired of people who act like these regs came from Moses and the Burning Bush? Obviously regs were made to keep people safe, but they also should be changed and updated as newer ideas and technology evolve. AF glasses and sunglasses are perfect example of this. I don't know about you, but these rules have to go and we need to be the ones to change them because AFFSA is way off. Somehow the regs and AFFSA think that a $7 pair of heavy, clunky and geeky glasses are better than lightweight, polycarbonate, non-reflective and scratch resistant lenses. I'll be honest, I'd much rather wear my prescription Oakleys during an A/R or approach to mins than have clunky AF lenses that make it look like there are 4 sets of runway lights with all of their crazy reflections. I personally think that AF lenses and their reflections are dangerous and fatiguing over a long flight. When I've asked about it at the optometrist before, she just said that that's the way the AF makes them and I should just get used to it. Rigggght...

Thanks for your support and helping our app to grow! We got our first set of sales results. You guys were right about the .99 price point. Great advice, thanks. Our sales soared. They went up over 70% after we changed the price.

Based on popular demand, we put the app on sale for $.99. We'll try it out and see how it works. Thanks for your feedback. Who says companies don't listen to their customers?!?

It actually does have the ability to calculate full, partial or incidentals only. You select it right below where you input your departure date from a TDY location. The menu appears on a tap.

Yep! We are already planning the FY '10 update. The app includes updates through FY'10 with purchase.

Yep, we are charging $2.99 for it. It's taken alot of time and programming to get it to emulate the calculations of DTS without being annoying and complicated. But we're definitely open to suggestions on the right price point. Right now, there are two other programs that try to do what we are doing with the app. One app is charging $2 just for a very basic per-diem table that you search and another guy is charging $5 for an app that doesn't update or calculate multiple locations. Ours is a full calculator that can handle multiple dates. It also has an option just to look up an individual location. It sends updates of the latest numbers on a monthly basis. So I guess its just an experiment in pricing point and value. We're hoping that its a price that makes it worth our time to keep making the app better but cheap enough that alot of people buy it and like to use it. Thanks for checking it out!

I sometimes think some of the best (and worst) ideas happen when you are cruising over the Pacific. Maybe its because those missions are a rare occurrence these days. Who knows. Hopefully this idea ends up in that "best" category. A couple of us worked with an awesome developer to make an iPhone app. It lists all of the PerDiem location/rates and can actually estimate your total per Diem for multi-day and multiple locations. Then you can e-mail your results to your buds using the app. It's called PerDiemCalc. You can find it by typing PerDiemCalc in the itunes search bar. Interested in what you think about it. Maybe we'll do another app if people like it.

Just to answer a couple of questions and you can PM me if you want more specific info. *The reason the savings amount is legit is because the project itself is already approved and operating on a small scale. It has already produced some pretty awesome results. This briefing is to first show the results and then secondly show ideas on how to take it to the next level and expand the project. I figure there isn't a better opportunity than to brief it to them directly but maybe I'm wrong based on the CSAF comment. *It can't be an IDEA project because there are already a ton of people involved on this project. The concept that I am going to brief is how to best integrate one aspect of the project. If they buy off on the part I am going to brief, then I believe it will speed up the implementation of it, increase efficiency and reduce crew headaches. I think we'd probably get about $200 a piece from the IDEA program if you divide $10K by the amount of people involved...great. Maybe that would be enough to buy some geeky Adobe software though. *I may be naive. I appreciate the reminder/grounding. But I look at it this way: I'd rather try to be part of the solution and fail than just complain without trying to do anything about it. Plus, I believe by genuinely attempting to be part of the solution and failing allows me to earn a rightful place to be cynical. At best, I help some of my buds out. At worst, I go back and fly and complain about the status quo.