osulax05

Also to “us” in 08/09. Z flight!

Checks.... both chambers passed their version in early July.

My assumption is that if rated folks split from the LAF, only rated officers would sit on their promotion board. No guarantee that all rated officers would value "the right things" but it sure couldn't hurt.

Splitting rated officers from the LAF below O-6 would probably negate the need for two tracks. It would alsokeep random MSG clowns from passing over WOs, SEFEs, etc for not checking all the right boxes.

Eielson is definitely less congested than Seattle but you'd have to deconflict with RF-A that consumes most of the summer time resources up there (airspace, threats, AGRS). I guess the point I was trying to make is that TCM can work, as long as you find fight airspace well outside the Class B and do some solid ATC coord in advance.

I wasn't a part of this exercise but it sounds like a lot of lessons observed from other large scale exercises. ATC can withhold IFR release for congested airspace and controller manning. I don't think it is because they are unionized. They have to have a certain number of controllers on shift to handle the number of aircraft flying. Note I said aircraft. If you have a 20-ship formation, their manning has to account for those 20 as if they were single ship. Nellis isn't a suitable fix for next go either. The NTTR is always at max capacity with Red Flag/DOE/USAFWS. LFEs at Nellis require ATC coord ahead of time to get folks into and out of the airspace efficiently just like any other location. Planners need to simply solicit feedback from ATC and adjust their flow in/out of TCM accordingly. A telecon 2ish months out never hurts either.

Data point: House version of the FY18 that passed today authorizes bonus increase to $50K. I imagine that will quickly get squashed in the Senate.

Senior raters have been read in for a while.

Your SURF only updates once a week, so don't waste time checking that. I've had luck clicking through initial assignment notification pages on vMPF. The last page had my assignment a few days before I got the email or CC notification (which is a huge foul).

Hitme FTW!

DFAS posted the 2017 paychart. No increase to ACIP.

Any insight on if monthly flight pay (ACIP) is going to go up? I saw that the services CAN pay up to $1000 per month now.

Down $100 for O-3s in Little Rock.

The standard mantra applies here, timing is everything. I left the viper (GLOC->FEB waiver) in 2010 and was offered nearly every AMC type aircraft to choose from; not an ISR platform to speak of. I'm now a C-130 patch. Whatever your circumstances, keep your head up and bloom where you are planted.

In my corner of the AF patch wearers that become execs did not choose to do so. They were told that is their job. Not saying that is the case everywhere, just my observation so your take on WOs that would "rather" be an exec is a miss IMHO. I agree that the "best" use for a patch at the tactical level is in the Sq teaching the punks. However, I'd rather the Bobs be surrounded by folks who have the critical thinking/problem solving skills and a willingness to call The boss out that a 1ea patch has than the cock gobblers who would "rather" be an exec. The WG/GP exec is always going to get ahead and have the ear of the boss, who do you want filling that role?

I agree and wish new WOs in every community were given the chance to work in a true tier 1 billet where they will build, teach and lead the folks around them. However, I will never scoff at the idea of a WG/CC trying to improve the promotion/school chances of a patch. WIC grads for the most part have proven themselves to be the type of leaders we want running things in the future. Being an exec or DS is all part of the AF game to advance. We can hate on it as much as we want but very little will change until we get the right folks into WG/GP/SQ command positions. Positioning a patch wearer to fill those positions is never a bad thing IMHO.

I think with an increase in allowable bonus the AF should (will?) try to tailor the bonus offered to folks based on core AFSC and manning for that year group. 11F and RPA folks will go straight to $60K. I've heard some discussion on this as well as an even more "personal" bonus where WOs or folks with other specialized skills may be offered more than a standard line flyer.

Pawnman, I think matmac was talking about the old whiting pilot trng program, not the Pensacola Nav err CSO school.

This was posted over in the next CSAF thread by deaddebate but thought it Pertinent to this thread as well. Fingers' testimony: Do you agree, if confirmed, to reevaluate the Air Force’s practice of offering the aviation retention bonus equally to all platforms, as a way to better shape and manage the Air Force’s pilot force across disciplines? We will tailor any potential bonus based upon specific platform and overall Air Force requirements. The requested increase is not a set amount. If approved, this will give us the flexibility to tailor bonus amounts and contract terms by platform.

No mention of increasing the bonus or flight pay in the senate text. SEC. 616. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO CONSOLIDATION 8 OF SPECIAL PAY, INCENTIVE PAY, AND 9 BONUS AUTHORITIES. 10 Section 332(c)(1)(B) of title 37, United States Code, 11 is amended by striking ‘‘$12,000'' and inserting 12 ‘‘$20,000''. http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/S2943%20-%20Committee-Passed%20NDAA.pdf edited to add link

They did the same thing with Raptors back in the 09ish timeframe

Absorbtion is also a problem at the Ops Sq's. Even if the B-courses could churn out an unlimited number of students there is limited capacity to get them MR, experienced, upgraded etc.

Letters to the board must be written by the member being considered for promotion. However, they can include a letter you write as an attachment to their letter to the board if they choose to write one. Mypers has a a pretty good section about what is/is not allowed on this subject.

I originally posted this in the military cuts thread, but the tanker clown music overshadowed it. Anybody have insight into this verbiage from the NDAA? Posted Sunday at 8:28 AM From the text: REPORT.—Not later than February 1, 2016, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth the empirical case for an increase in special and incentive pay for aviation officers in order to address a specific, statistically-based retention problem with respect to such officers. The report shall include the results of a study, conducted by the Secretary in connection with the case, on a market-based compensa-tion approach to the retention of such officers that considers the pay and allowances offered by commercial airlines to pilots and the propensity of pilots to leave the Air Force to become commercial airline pilots. 1

3yr. ADSC IIRC... The application PDSM will have all of that info. I can't speak for AFSOC, but I can tell you that overall patch wearers are in high demand both in the traditional tactics role and elsewhere. Being a WO will open more doors for you than it will close. However, if you are worried about what opportunities you will have upon graduation you may be interested in WIC for the wrong reasons. I'm not saying this is the case, but that type of question would certainly raise suspicion in my community. Apply if you want to be the best leader you can be in and out of the airplane. Don't apply if you are only interested in the benefit you/your career might get out of it. Edited to correct years.