El-Fist

Cool. Yeah, I'm at 16 now. Better move!

Wow, thanks for the quick and detailed response. Much appreciated. It sounds like the process when I transferred from AD to the Guard. Evidently, I was the first person to do that... Ever. I'm looking to make the transition in 6 months or so. No rush on my part. I'm in the early stages of "seeing what's out there." Thanks again.

I wanted to give this thread a bump to see if anybody has recent experience with going from ANG to a CAT E program. I've got 16 years of flying in, but I'm feeling pretty done at this point. Balancing the airline job with the guard's flying currency requirements is rapidly losing it's appeal. I would hate to completely walk away at 16 years with 13 years of AD, but it's just not fun anymore. If anyone has recently jumped from ANG to any of the CAT E PIRR, (ALO, CAP, RRS, etc.) and can shed some light on the process, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks genie... There is hope for us slackers...

We just had a dude get picked up for Maj on this past board (first look.) He did NOT complete SOS. I thought that was virtually impossible. Has anyone heard of folks getting picked up for LtCol without ACSC recently? I know it happened in the relatively distant past but I haven't heard of anything recently. My motivation to complete PME is pretty much nil.

Jordan has the opportunity here to set the stage as a leader in the fight against the IS. Executing a couple of prisoners that ISIS really doesn't give a shit about is pretty knee jerk and really doesn't solve anything. If they really want to "condemn" ISIS, they need to do more than use harsh words and kill a couple of prisoners. I mean, that's what we do now... Well, technically, we use unpleasant words and release terrorist prisoners... It would be damn impressive if Jordan puts their money where their mouth is and goes apeshit in these IS controlled areas. I'm not holding my breath, but they really have the opportunity to make a difference here...

I think that Spoo would typically perform a UCD check on all pilots prior to step. I never really understood that technique, but he insisted it worked. Weird.

The yaw string is used throughout the flight. If you don't maintain coordinated flight, you can quickly give yourself a pretty nasty fuel imbalance. Low speed or the landing the U-2 with a heavy wing usually doesn't end well. The primary drift and crab indicator during landing is really just looking outside. The yaw string isn't used at all during the landing. The pilot driving the chase car can also give rudder calls as necessary prior to touchdown. Landing with any crab or drift on that tandem gear can make the roll out anywhere between interesting and absolutely terrifying.

I don't know anything about NASCAR or sprint car racing either, but Tony Stewart drives cars for a living. Apparently, he's pretty good at it too. He could have easily missed this dude. This was completely preventable and a senseless loss of life. I'm sure he didn't intend to hit him, but he certainly intended to intimidate him by revving the engine. In this action, he hit and killed this kid. In my opinion, it's no different than pointing a gun at someone (in anger) and it accidentally goes off and kills them. This should be Manslaughter, minimum... He likely won't be brought up on criminal charges but I'm sure the civil suit from this kid's family that is sure to follow will change Tony Stewart's millionaire status. What a douche...

Good on General Hostage for calling out his elected bosses on a ridiculous decision. You don't see that too much. He stops short of saying that "Northrop Grumman has deep pockets and a lot of influence on Capitol Hill, so the ISR world and combat readiness will suffer." As a taxpayer, this makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't pass any sanity check. Hopefully, someone with power on The Hill will say "this is stupid," but I doubt it. After all, spending tons of money on crap that under performs over budget seems to be the right answer these days. Unreal...

Oh, Sweet Jesus that's funny. Well played. But to answer your question, it totally depends on if you are wondering about flats or high heels?

Great question, Spoo. No security deposit was required. I paid a (non-refundable) $70 processing fee. As a good measure, I lined all of the velvet furniture in garbage bags just in case. The money I saved on the security deposit was used to buy a do-it-yourself stomach pump kit. As an added bonus, the floors are concrete, so any spills or bodily fluid explosions can be mopped up rather quickly. It's really a great place for me.

All: I figured I would post my very recent experience with the living circumstances here. I didn't read the entire thread so apologies ahead if it is redundant. This may be more helpful for those going solo for the normal training TDY. I came down by myself for TDY and left the family back home. I started off living on base, then moved downtown a block from the "Rivermarket." Here are my (very general) takes: On Base: Good: You can roll out of bed and walk to work. That is nice for the zero dark-thirty shows. The gym is very nice, but usually pretty packed during peak hours. Nice facility though. Not Good: The dorms are clean, but small and dated. There is not a kitchen. (Big suck for me.) You only have a microwave and a refrigerator. For the $56.00 nightly rate, you can do much better out in town. The DFAC is OK. You'll want to put the business end of a gun in your mouth after eating there for a few months though. Your B.P. will likely be 300/190 with all the damn salt they use. Also, there aren't a lot of off base options close, unless you can live on fast food. I personally can't... You need to drive for 15-30 minutes to get anywhere "good." (Cabs are usually pretty reasonable if you drink your face off.) I'm a guard guy now, so I felt like I was done living on a base unless absolutely necessary, as it still has that minimum security prison feel. Off Base: Really nothing bad. Occasionally the front gate can get backed up and delayed. Plan accordingly during peak times. For the $56.00 per day lodging rate, you can get a pretty nice place. The only regret I have is not moving off base sooner. (Just my opinion.) There are options to lease totally furnished places at a good rate. They are fully furnished (WiFi, cable, utilities, etc.) The person I used to find a furnished place off base is listed below. She was very easy to work. Leasing options are very flexible. I am on a month to month, and may even go week to week if I get delayed. She can work with anything. If you are thinking about a furnished place in or near LR, give her a call. Hope this helped. Good luck... Diane McCoy Arkansas Suites Corporate Housing Executive Director 800-644-2787 501-221-7829 (Central Arkansas) 479-464-7368 (Northwest Arkansas) www.arkansassuites.net diane@lrapartments.com

Exactly. How much fun would it have been to inform the Captain that he was in violation of AFI 34-1201 para 2.30 which clearly states, "An automobile plate indicates the official status or rank of the senior military individual occupying the vehicle. The plate will be removed or covered when the individual for whom the plate is issued is not in the vehicle." What a douche canoe. You could have also asked to see the completed AF 1800 to ensure that the proper government vehicle inspection had been completed prior to operation. The only thing that is worse than people wandering around enforcing meaningless AFI's is people wandering around and enforcing incorrect meaningless AFI's.

You also get TAMP if you voluntarily separate, AND transition to a reserve or guard component. Edit: Chida beat me to it...

Dude, I can see what line you are pissed about. How dare he single out men? I've seen some women at the Deid with some pretty gnarly staches. I agree with you though. To feel "compelled" to use the EOG All distro on something like mustaches seems plain silly for the reasons you said. The kick in the balls to Robin Olds does put the icing on the cake. Well said...

Welcome.

1.) Please enlighten us on this "informant thing" since you seem to have some insight. I think the fact that there IS an "informant thing" happening at all is pretty shitty. 2.) I didn't believe much of anything this guy said. As my first post said on page 1, a rat is a rat, no better than the jail house snitch. This dude has little or no credibility, but you have to wonder... Is this guy pulling all of these accusations out of left field, or is OSI really using this tactic and suggesting to guys who may be in some shit to keep their Commanders out of the loop? That's what I have a problem with. 3.) I didn't mean to hurt your feelers by "judging who you are as a person." (Seriously?) I just get so angry when I'm huffing bath salts and read posts like this... Cheers

So, you don't "like" that the Air Force has cadets spying on other cadets just to rat them out, but you are OK with it as long as you don't have to go to school with a bunch of kids who are smoking weed, spice, and doing other stupid things? Got it. The AFA was a great choice for you because you wouldn't have made it in a non-institutionalized college setting. Sounds like you have all the traits to be a great senior leader someday. These few idiots who are doing drugs, etc, don't reflect poorly on the big AF or AFA. This isn't the stuff that's making headlines. They will eventually get caught and be gone and forgotten by Big Blue anyway. What makes the AF and AFA look like shit, is when they invent or support programs that teach future officers to go around behind their peer's backs with the purpose of finding and reporting integrity violations and keeping secrets from their normal chain of command. The AFA should be teaching you to be a good "wingman" and beat your fellow cadet's ass when they are about to do something stupid, and prevent it all together. This will be a skill you will need not only in the academy, but when you make it to your squadron. People will try to do stupid shit there too, both on the flight line and out in town. You won't always have the luxury of running home to tell OSI. Handle it yourself when possible and save someone from a really bad decision. Not a dig at you, just my opinion...

This story is screwed up in so many ways I can't begin to wrap my junior college/state university educated brain around it. Here is my take: 1.) This entire "scandal" could have been avoided had the kid lawyered up before he signed any non-disclosure documents or answered a single question from OSI. It has been said previously but worth emphasis. Lawyer up! 2.) A rat is a rat. It doesn't make a difference if he/she is wearing a cadet uniform or a prison jump suit. It's the same. You wouldn't want this person in your squadron. Can't trust them, period. We should be glad he isn't getting a commission. 3.) The fact that he was told not to tell his Commander is a total foul, unless the investigation involves the Commander (which it doesn't.) This completely tosses the concept of following and trusting a chain of command. It pretty much says "F.U." to the entire military structure. Great concept to teach future officers. Idiots. 4.) I know there are two sides to every story, but if a grain of this write up is true, heads should roll. It's hard to tell if this was just a few OSI agents stepping way out of line, or if this informant program and interrogation techniques are the ideas from someone wearing stars. Either way teaching future officers not confront an integrity issue head on, or to do shit behind peoples back and disregard the chain of command is dead wrong. What a shitty culture that will be. 5.) I don't know what has changed with our young people but when I was a college kid in the mid to late 90's, we could drink too much, get home safely, not commit rape, and resist the urge smoke stuff that sounds like it could be your mom's grooming products. 6.) Holy crap am I happy I went to junior college then state college and completed it in just 5 short years. Not once did I fear I would be expelled from having a house off campus!

Are you trying to sell all of your leave or just some that you would lose otherwise? I have never heard of somebody selling just the "use/lose" portion. I kind of doubt you can do that, otherwise they would call it "use/lose/sell." That said, I don't really know the answer, especially concerning retirements. You can sell leave once in your career. I had 80 days when I went on terminal leave. You do get all of your normal pay. You and your family are still completely covered under Tricare, which is huge. (Unless you are one of the 6 people that have Obamacare.) Time is valuable. When I separated, I spent the entire summer hanging out with the family/friends, slinging beer, and hanging out on the beach. There is no way in hell I would have "sold" that time for my normal salary. That compensated time certainly made up a little for all of the time I missed with my family over the last 13 years. Take the leave! Good luck.

I think we are discussing some pretty extreme scenarios here. I agree, I can't point to a time in our relatively young history that the country has had such a distrust and lack of confidence in its government and elected leaders. Our elected officials have become so fundamentally divided that government has (literally) ceased to function. That is pretty scary. I think it is extremely unlikely we will see ourselves fall into the Mad Max scenario. This country has seen some pretty horrible and uncertain days in the past. Historically, America has pulled together and plowed through the hard times and uncertainty to come out ahead. I think that will be the case here, as well. For better or worse, we are still a "free" society and not some third world primitive civilization. Back to the original thread topic and investing: I don't think that much in investment strategies should change. I think the basics still remain. It is never wise to put all of the eggs in one basket. Identify what risk you are willing to accept and invest accordingly. I think most financial experts would recommend staying diversified, even in uncertain times. Occasionally, opportunity arises during times of uncertainty. Also, if the dollar collapses, foreign currencies and markets will fall as well.

Nor should he care. He's VFR. Totally legal. If I'm Joe Cessna tooling from point A to point B at 95KIAS paying $150 per hour to take my fat wife and annoying kid for a cheeseburger at random FBO, you bet I'm going direct. Should that route go through a MOA, oh well... The mil guys will have to wait to finish their BFM, TP Stall, or Clover Leaf. Been there also. Is it annoying? Yep. Stupid? Sort of. That said, I would just thank the tax payers for the free turn in holding, be happy that ATC let me know that someone was trying to kill me, and hope that I'm not SAC when Dr. (JD or MD) Piper flies through a cloud then turns into a smoking hole in a neighborhood. (DISCLAIMER) I don't have a fat wife. My kids are actually pretty well behaved too. I'm much too cheap to rent a 172.

Wait... Are you saying that a FAIP to mil aviation is what a Playboy magazine is to an unmonitored high speed internet connection?

It looks like mainstream media finally started picking this story up a bit. I guess we'll see where it goes. They did release the name of the "juvenile" suspect (yet to be apprehended.) Let's hope justice is served. RIP Shorty... http://news.yahoo.com/random-attack-spokane-leaves-wwii-veteran-dead-144713677.html