WheelsOff
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Posts posted by WheelsOff
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34 minutes ago, zachbar said:
I have zero idea about whether slots are being taken away or not, but if that’s true another reason MIGHT be because 19AF figured out in the last year that their initial estimate of how many students it can produce was too high. The rumblings down here at the “why-the-🤬-did-you-fly-CT-instead-of-a-student-sortie” level are that those numbers are being adjusted for the next year.
Haven’t heard anything about taking slots away. But as to production numbers getting cut; it’s because they were too lofty in their projections to begin with. The jets are broke, especially at CBM, and 19AF realizes that and has adjusted fire as a result. It’s kind of like popping those cheap enhancement supplements at the gas station that boast 9 inches but only give you 6...at the end of the day when the big innovation boner wears off, you realize that your equipment can only do so much.
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9 minutes ago, SurelySerious said:
Who goes to said conference? People who deal only with the pipeline directly, or is there input from those that have to deal with the output?
Last year it was a rep from most of the fighter FTUs, a few IFF/UPT reps, and someone from PTN. This year I hear it drew a bigger crowd, mostly made up of the same demographics (just more representation). It was meant to be the CGO mafia taking issues into their hands to crosstalk amongst each other to figure out how to unfvck the mess the AF has created.
As with any idea originally born with good intentions that gain traction; my fear is that some “good idea fairies” may have weaseled their way in to push their “innovative” agendas...
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Anyone in the know care to give a report on the “Pipeline” (aka FTU) Conference from SJ this week?
Let me guess, it was similar to last year’s where they blamed the problem on MAF/AFSOC guys teaching 38s, PTN being the greatest thing since sliced bread, VR sims are the wave of the future...what else am I missing?
Edit to add: A little sarcasm/poking fun aside (although sadly true), I’d genuinely be interested to know.
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16 hours ago, nsplayr said:
FWIW Andrew Bacevich is a self-described conservative with a view of US foreign policy that is deeply skeptical that military power is an all-purpose salve that it's often used as. This has put him at odds at times with the current President as well as both of his predecessors. He's also a retired Army Colonel who served in Vietnam who earned a PhD from Princeton and lost a son to combat in Iraq.
All this to say: read him for yourself and figure out if you agree or disagree with his thoughts. I don't count myself in the camp that agrees with him reflexively, but I respect his thinking enough to at least read his writing on occasion. My recommendation is to start here, published in 2008.
Fair enough! Didn’t mean to sound dismissive of the guy as an individual; although his background doesn’t qualify him as an “expert” (like others have mentioned), it does give him a unique perspective. I guess what I really meant to say was that I get tired of the politics in here/elsewhere that seems to inject itself incessantly into whatever topic at hand is being discussed.
Edit to add: Anyone know if Mattis’ new book talks much about Iran? Of all the people I know of who are in the book-writing business these days (not many, to be honest), I’d *think* he’d be one of the most “qualified” on this particular subject.
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5 hours ago, pilot said:
Maybe for all you anti-Trumpers. TL;DR version of Bacevich's views: Obama's approach to Iran was great. Trump is a disaster.
That’s too bad. I hate it when people take the time to write about an otherwise interesting subject and completely politicize it. Everyone is pushing an agenda these days and it’s exhausting. Guess it belongs in the pile of “good kindling” as a fire starter for my fire pit...
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4 hours ago, di1630 said:
Did any of you guys know that there are dudes in the USAF currently who’s first solo was in the T-6 and second solo ride was in the F-35? I heard today they are doing fine. Granted they got 12 dual F-16 flights but zero T-38/IFF. Next batch will go T-6 direct to F-35 without the F-16 based on this success.
New world...embrace it.
Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile appI’d be curious to hear from the F-35 bros just how “successful” they are compared to the guys who earned their wings the “real” way. I know, I know...a little jab at PTN. No offense to these guys who went through that program, it’s totally not their fault. And I hope they truly do well for the sake of our lethality/dominance over our peer adversaries. This whole PTN thing is just yet another one of the AF’s weird social experiments, brought to you by the Kwastinite gang. By the way, what happened to that guy? 😏
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If your target is Delta then I wouldn’t look anywhere other than the Delta CTP/ATP program. Seems like they aren’t calling anyone these days except for people that have done that program specifically. (Maybe mil2atp as well since apparently they also have a connection, although I’ve never personally known anyone that’s used/ops tested it...)
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18 hours ago, zachbar said:
Moving away from all this 11F talk, here’s what UPT is like now. Looks like the demand for quality training by the students exceeds the supply the Air Force is willing to give...
So this is where we are at as an AF now. I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry at this. Probably both. Good on her for creating her own business for a niche market...hopefully it does well for her!
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31 minutes ago, Danger41 said:
They said that they want to value teaching at ROTC and USAFA much higher and for it to look favorably on records. We’ll see how that plays out.
I personally believe the AF will always value the academia/desk jockey/duty title/awards crap over being a skilled aviator/instructor. Why? Because it puts rated folks on the same playing field with the shoes. We’ll see if these new split career field promotion boards have an impact on that or not. One thing you can bet on though is that the AF will never quit implementing these social experiments they like to conduct.
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2 hours ago, VMFA187 said:
There is nowhere near the level of SA and understanding that a bomber pilot/crew has, especially regarding air threats, when conducting any type of large force, deep strike scenario that requires fighter escort when compared to their fighter brethren. I’m sorry if that hurts, but it’s the truth. I witness it every day.
And there is nothing particularly difficult with releasing smart weapons, particularly the GPS-guided variety.
I think there’s a boat with 6,900 dudes floating in the gulf calling your name...may wanna go check it out. Bring your crayons.
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1 hour ago, MCO said:
Meh. Replace release weapon with airdrop and it sounds like a local herk sortie minus the 4 ship formation low levels and formation tac arrivals.
A better argument is they flew 38s in UPT and therefor have relevant experience.
The airdroppers in the different communities do a fair amount large, multi-ship (often dissimilar aircraft) formations to an objective area, via a LL, threat react/get the giant gaggle back together, to mass drop on DZ then min close an LZ. I think a lot of CAF guys discredit the MAF since they simply don’t have a good understanding of what some of them truly do. Sure, the physical flying is different, but there is a big picture/airmanship/SA skillset that is developed and is transferable when teaching a student in UPT, regardless of airframe (T-6, T-1, T-38). I think heavy guys get a bad wrap when it comes to “aptitude” to teach as compared to fighter dudes, and that’s because the MAF as an institution largely doesn’t value good instructional ability (even flying skill in general) in their pilots. They care more about winning quarterly awards and your next PRF than any sort of proficiency in an airplane, and it’s sad.
19 minutes ago, ViperStud said:It’s weird what happens when you screw with pipelines and drop hardly any vipers for a few years. Who could have seen it coming? We all did, but the crap leadership didn’t care about that nearly as much as pinning on their next star.
All of the non 11Fs that are instructing these days came from the 2010-13 year timeframe when most fighter FTUs were backed up. The fact is most of them would have flown fighters too if the AF hadn’t screwed the pooch on fighter manning. It’s not these guys’ fault. I’m thoroughly convinced that when someone pins on their first star (and arguably the chicken for some), all common sense in decision making goes out the window in favor of self-preservation when trying to chase that next star.
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9 minutes ago, SurelySerious said:
They haven’t paid their AETC bill because there’s no one their squadrons except LTs man.
Reference my comment that nobody’s left. I get it dude.
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Are we talking the new 19AF/CC that has started turning away non 11F/B guys in the 38 PIT pipeline?
The hard truth is that they haven’t paid their fair share of the AETC bill in years, so while on the one hand I feel their pain/frustration, the cynical side of me doesn’t feel bad when they all bitch about the quality of their wingmen. I know, I know, #pilotshortage #nobodysleft. It’s obviously a symptom of a much larger AF problem.
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26 minutes ago, ViperStud said:
Different qualification? No. Different aptitude to teach guys going to fighters? Yes. I know, hurt feelings and all...but the feedback I got after leaving that world was overwhelmingly that the 135 and C-17 peeps just didn’t have the same skillset in tactical, LL, FM and getting kids ready for IFF. It’s not an insult, it’s a recognition of reality.
In some cases I’m sure that’s an accurate statement. However, also realize that in this era of “everyone gets a fighter”, most of these kids graduating today need to understand they’re lucky to be in that position (many would have been flying RPAs 8-10 years ago!), and many were gonna struggle in IFF regardless. It’s a challenging program even for the students who did very well in UPT. UPT has been so watered down compared to what it once was. And it’s not these students’ fault; it’s just a byproduct of bad choices made by subpar leadership cutting corners to create pilots faster.
Edit for emphasis on #pilotshortage
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1 minute ago, Danger41 said:
That was valid, but I’m talking it’s back in effect as of a few days ago. Rumor only but I’ve heard from some reliable sources.
Back in effect as in they still are only hiring 11F/B?
If so, that’s absolutely ridiculous. Last I checked the back of the Form 8 doesn’t say an 11F/B is more qualified than a dude who flew an E-8, for example. As stated, it’s not like they’ll be able to be picky based on the manning trends.
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10 minutes ago, Newb said:
Why do you say “they certainly won’t get any more coming in to the active duty squadrons in the foreseeable future”? I’ve heard recent rumors about T-38s trained MAF ACs/IPs requesting to teach T-38s being denied...
I was talking about 11F/11B types. The only ones 38s will be getting are the MAF/AFSOC/heavy ISR backgrounds for the foreseeable future. And even then, as you alluded to, some of those communities won’t let them go back and instruct in AETC because they can’t afford to let them go either (reference the OP’s comment about 150 bodies to fill 249 billets).
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3 minutes ago, D-ron said:
They already are hiring non 11F/11B.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Some bases are not yet.
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6 hours ago, Merle Dixon said:
Hello friends. 6 to 9 month ago, I retired as a T-38 IP reservist. Talking to friends that are still hacking the mish (cool pilot talk 🙂 ), they are seeing numerous problems in T-38 land. 1st, the reduction in T-6 syllabus flying time is noticeable in newbie skill level and SA. 2nd, flight room daily morning briefs and daily stand-up are a thing of the past due to.... 3rd, IP manning is terrible. Supposedly AETC needed 249 IPs in FY 2019, they got 150 - everyone is separating. 4th, there are not enough civilian simulator instructors.
Anyone else seeing the same stuff?
I am drinking Belgian beer in Belgium right now. I hope you all find your way off the sinking ship.
Merle
AETC manning has been bad and will only get worse, as you referenced in those numbers. I’ve heard very similar figures.
With that, do you think the 38 reserves will finally start to hire non 11F/11Bs? With rare exceptions, they certainly won’t get any more coming in to the active duty squadrons in the foreseeable future...
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11 hours ago, MechGov said:
Sounds like they’re also trying to protect their chances of dropping fighters when their FAIP tour is done.Like they ever had any sort of control over that!
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On 2/14/2013 at 11:11 AM, Cap-10 said:
APPLICATION QUALIFICATIONS
T-38C Instructor Pilot
-- At least 80 percent of Air Force Reserve Command IPs supporting any one host wing will have been mission-qualified fighter pilots. Other IPs (20 percent maximum) must have either bomber aircraft commander experience, aircraft commander MWS and 500 hours AETC T/AT-38 IP experience, or 1000 hours AETC T/AT-38 IP experience
Cheers,
Cap-10
Is this whole 80%-11F/20%-11B thing still even a thing in the 340th for guys looking to fly T-38s for SUPT/ENJJPT?
If the average makeup of the active duty T-38 squadrons (11M/11S/11R heavy) is any indication of where things in the AF are moving with its manning cluster****/pilot shortage, I don’t think AFRC can afford to be that picky any longer, no?
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9 hours ago, 50ScoopsofWhey said:
What about going to bombers instead of AFSOC?
The B-1 is broke af and that community is trying to figure out what to do with all their new pilots who aren’t flying (friend of mine PCS’d to the schoolhouse a year ago and in that time has flown the jet TWICE). The B-2 is cool but fairly tough to get into unless you know somebody, so I hear. I guess there’s always the Buff?
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Be the best C-17 dude you can, as has been stated. Hopefully you’re at TCM or CHS and can get airdrop qual’d...that would likely make you more marketable to AFSOC depending on what type of airframe you’re trying to get into. I’ve also known a few guys who were picked up for green door, so that’s maybe an option for you down the road as well.
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Holy thread revival. Can anyone currently in the community please send me a PM? Have some questions. Thanks!
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Agree with the others...turn this into one of those “I learned from this experience...” stories at your airline interview.
As a side note, I bet this CC is a MAF dude originally. Prove me wrong.
Degradation of SUPT
in General Discussion
Posted
Can confirm. I heard it straight from the 19AF/CC’s mouth at the IP all call yesterday during his base visit at CBM this week. No details on how many, other than “a few” per cycle...