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pawnman

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Everything posted by pawnman

  1. Who had the earlier date of rank? Or just tell him as a prior E, he should be used to following the orders of captains.
  2. I must admit...I'm surprised that so many people were on the side of a 2LT saluting a 1LT, when so many are opposed to other things that, in my mind, carry about equal weight...AFI 36-2903 (that uniform reg that won't let you wear a morale patch or roll up the sleeves on your flight suit), reflective belt policies, tucking in PT gear, etc. I thought it would be a pretty universal mockery of the original article. Shows what I know. <- (This guy is saluting with his left hand...someone should tell him!)
  3. "2" But I wouldn't tax corporations anything. Corporations don't pay taxes. Period. You can look at their tax return and see that X million dollars was paid in taxes...but the corporation didn't pay it. They either passed it on to consumers as higher prices, or on to their employees as pay cuts, benefit reductions, or fewer hours worked.
  4. Jesus, did he just order one of every decoration and ribbon?
  5. Well, the social entitlement program recipients represent a much larger electorate. 2 million people sprinkled across 50 states isn't much of a risk to anyone's re-election campaign. But then, maybe I'm just cynical.
  6. As far as I know, there isn't a check box for "religion" on the application for OTS. You may have other challenges unrelated to your religion...OTS slots have become tough to get in the past two years or so.
  7. Don't you need an engineering/science degree to be a test pilot/WSO at Edwards?
  8. Twofer....first, Michael Bolton lends his vocal talent to Lonely Island (the guys behind "Dick in a Box" and "Jizz in my Pants") And the Pakistani military pledges full cooperation with the US in rooting out Al-Qaeda (from the Onion, to head off any wild debates) http://www.theonion.com/articles/pakistani-intelligence-announces-its-full-cooperat,20681/
  9. Obviously there's no audio, but I certainly didn't see the kid acting belligerent towards the security guys or Ms. LaBelle. I'm curious why he's no longer a cadet...typical knee-jerk reaction from West Point?
  10. And we have so many people saying "I love this job" that over 600 tried to take the VSP and Gen Welsh is concerned about our lack of fighter pilots. I'm not saying I'm in it just for the money, or even that most people are. But I do think that slashing pay and benefits might be that final tipping point for lots of folks already fed up with multiple deployments (for which you no longer get short-tour credit), bullshit MBAs so you can look attractive on your major's board, PME in correspondence so you can compete to go in residence, and everyone's favorite, reflective belts.
  11. New pilots are years from collecting retirement, and in all likelihood, years from producing high medical bills. Throw out your Majs and Lt Cols at 12-15, you don't have to pay them retirement, and meanwhile you've got a crop of brand new 2Lts making half the paycheck and who are thrilled to be there. I think the point is, while 600 people attempted to VSP, and while those of us who are in like to think that this option can't possibly be real because it will hurt the manning too badly, the truth is there are plenty of young bucks out there who would jump at the chance to fly a C-17, B-1, F-16, F-35...you name it, for half of what we're making now.
  12. Copy...pull the handles as soon as you can, and find yourself a private sector job.
  13. Beat me to it. And if they think they have a fighter pilot retention problem now, wait until they start hacking away at pay and benefits. The Army should fair REALLY well under this policy. Edited to add: Gotta love the line, "gutting aircraft and ship programs would undercut American defense, he said."...who does he think will man these systems for less pay and fewer benefits, all for the added bonus of spending more time away from home as the services (USAF at least, no first-hand knowledge of the others) draw down and deploy fewer people more often?
  14. I'm all for being able to get out prior to 20 and having some kind of pension to show for it. More than once, the idea has surfaced of the 10 year, 25% pay retirement...but it's always shot down. How else are you going to keep those demotivated pilots in for the full 20?
  15. NSPlayer beat me to it...it's a rule that generally applies to members of the squadron. Random O-4 I've never met, that guy gets a salute. O-4 that I've known for 2 years and flown in combat with? "Hey, how's it going, [callsign]?"
  16. Because the unwritten rule in the flying squadrons I've been a part of is "one-up, one-down". Plus, as flyers, we value tactical knowledge and skill in the jet over rank earned because you've been in for x number of years. As well, many of the Capts have instructed the Majs who are returning from ALFA tours.f
  17. Wow...he'd be really upset if he spent 10 minutes watching the parking lot outside our squadron. Not only do LTs not salute other LTs, they also don't salute Capts. And most of the Capts don't salute most of the Majs either.
  18. Maybe they can give up their plush retirement after one term in office as well.
  19. Oh, I agree...never talk to the press.
  20. It's possible that it is $400 billion from the total federal budget, which would make more sense to me. I could have read it wrong, and then made a misleading statement in my opening post.
  21. If I had to guess, I think he wouldn't wear a reflective belt. Hard to believe people can draw hostile fire pay in an area where being run over by your fellow service members is a greater risk than being picked off by enemy fire.
  22. We had a guy who had the LED belt buckle on his reflective belt...he was directed to stop wearing it because he was "mocking the policy".
  23. http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/05/gates-floats-idea-of-pay-cuts/ That's right, the SECDEF has put cutting military pay and benefits on the table as a way to trim the $400 billion the administration is looking to eliminate from the DoD budget. This article only says he's open to the idea. No numbers are discussed in the course of this article. A pay freeze, I could cope with. I have a feeling that if you start cutting pay, you are going to seriously hurt retention. Just a guess. Sure, we're over our recruiting goals...but a couple years worth of pay cuts, and you'll have a force full of brand new recruits who get out as soon as their commitment is up. That will really hurt in the areas where enlisted guys only sign up for 4 years at a time. I guess there's always stop-loss if things get too bad, eh? So if you think the fighter pilot retention numbers look bad now...
  24. Playing Devil's advocate...if it is so fucking awesome to be a fighter pilot, why are so many leaving? I think that is the core of the issue this reporter is trying to address.
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