flyusaf83

I’m expecting to be passed over for Lt Col. What can I expect with continuation? Is it automatic for passed over Majors, or is it something they offer on an individual basis?

Hey guys, I was totally ready to sign up for 9 more years of OPRs, PT tests, PCSs to shitty places, deployments to shitty places, a useless 365 resulting in missing seeing my kids grow up, crappy leadership, crappy support agencies, flying falling apart aircraft that are twice my age, creating trackers to track the other trackers, hustling strats to make O-5, 1206s, POCing some change of commands, getting chiefed for morale patches, commanders calls, SAPR briefs, resiliency training, my wife putting her career on hold for just another decade, my kids needing to go to 9 schools to graduate HS, sitting Sup/SOF, being forced to volunteer for BS to fill up OPR blank space, and some other crap I don’t want to think about. I was totally gonna keep doing all this shit. But then I heard another pilot say STS 6-9 times. So I’m getting the fuck out now.

That was underwhelming. The AF is just going through the motions of pretending they want things to improve, while giving lame ass excuses as to why they aren’t actually fixing anything. I’m sick of things like this (AMA, surveys, etc.). They fucking know what’s wrong. They just don’t give a shit. The generals got where they are playing the current game and without the improvements we are advocating for. So they aren’t the one that can fix this. They don’t want to fix it. McCain is gone. We need go VFR direct to Congress and force the GOs hands. Congress as a whole is a vile incompetent dumpster fire, but there are some good Reps our there. We need some top cover.

I really could not care less what crap the AF peddles through its propaganda arm. I just see what’s around me. Everyone I know that is staying in is planning on a 365. Some guys volunteer for one so they can control the timing/location/job and negotiate an assignment with AFPC. I don’t really give a crap what the AF says, I’ll believe they are making a fix when I see it. I still am seeing guys getting “hot” for that 365 around the 15 year mark and trying to figure out how to avoid it, and ending up “volunteering” for one for the above said reasons.

As it stands, you have a point. I think the bonus at $28-35k has a limited effect. Fence-sitters will still get out. I guess I am somewhat of a fence-sitter, in that I see myself having a 1/20 chance of staying in. I have two more years until decision time. A couple major things will have to change for me to stay in. One, is no chance of a 365. The other is a significant bonus hike. In the neighborhood of at least $60k. I love wearing the bag, and it’s going to be hard leaving that. Lots of intrinsic things that draw me to the military pilot thing. But is that worth 8 years of airline seniority, especially when I can still wear the bag in a reserve unit? Not worth the $35k, IMO. Some guys say that it’s not about the money. That’s bull. There’s a reason this thread is 169 pages long. Money helps deal with the sacrifices of military service easier on my family. It helps with my spouse not being able to stick with a job longer than 3 years because of moves. It helps my family fly home for holidays instead of driving. Money does talk, even when the choice would involve other factors. It’s not just the money, but money is a key factor. Mccain is gone. Time for a real bonus.

O-4 and O-5 w/dependents up around $200 in San Antonio.

And then careers are ruined by these investigations? Sounds like a great system.

The problem is the AF is firing commanders for the wrong reasons. Something written on a flight room white board gets 4 guys fired. That is a huge overreaction, unless there’s more to the story. Meanwhile, the AF is riddled with “leaders” who screw their people over time and time again in an effort to push their own careers forward. Commanders aren’t fired for making their people miserable and for contributing to the AF’s retention problem. They are fired for not stopping some random dumbass from writing something stupid in some flight room. Why would I bet my career on the AF when it can be ruined for something like that?

CSOs, late-rated pilots, and a handful of career pilots.

So I spoke with an AFPC functional today. Apparently AFPC is pretty stunned with how abysmal take rates were this last FY. He said take rates of 11X initial eligibiles for most communities was in the teens. Some bases had less than ten percent takers. The actual number will be higher (just under 30%). But that number is inflated due to 12x takers and guys who renegotiated their bonus. Reality is much worse than that. McCain is gone. Time for Congress to pass a real bonus.

Nope, but I’m sure it’s similar cluster there. The UPT bases and PIT are all rushing to set up VR right now, and not exactly working together to do it. In fact, they are competing with each other for resources. Each commander is invested in the innovation dick-measuring contest, and whoever gets VR done first wins. This is what happens under a dickless vacuum of leadership with vague guidance and a bunch of zealot CCs and DOs desperate for that next carrot in the AF pyramid scheme. I think SOS called it laissez faire leadership or something like that.

On the topic of having the rank and file fix the GOs’ problems, let me tell you about the “innovation” team here at my AETC squadron. The team consists of a few senior capts and junior majors, who have other additional duties. They have been charged with figuring out how to acquire the VR equipment without the AF working a contract for it, set up the VR in the squadron without comm support, and incorporate it into the syllabus without staff support. No support from the staff, no contracting support, no IT support, nothing. Just figure it out. It’s really important apparently, but not important enough for the staff to fund it and write it into the syllabus. So now this team is working long hours, attempting to learn the job of contracting and comm, and fix the AF’s mess. And oh yeah. Flying sometimes gets in the way.

The last couple pages of this thread show me why we have effed things up so badly as an AF, and can’t retain pilots. PIT is somewhat of an oasis from all the BS that is driving people away. Not that there’s not queep and BS, it’s just that so many pilots here don’t give a crap about playing the AF’s game. The result is a community that focuses on the mission, pushes back against stupid ideas, and shelves queep to the max extent possible. Isn’t that exactly what we want and what we have been bitching about not having? Instead of attempting to embrace that kind of climate in the rest of the AF, a lot of you guys are acting like petulant children shouting “no fair”. Make your communities “flying clubs” where you don’t give a shit about managing your career, instead of pushing to close ours to make you feel better about your community. Or do what I did, and come here and actually enjoy your life.

That was correct for a brief time, but there was a loud outcry about this in the 559th and that guidance was rescinded.

Dang man, who pissed in your cheerios? Nobody here at the 559th that I know of refuses to double turn or has personal wx mins that you describe. Your buddies are lying if that’s what they are saying. Maybe T-6 PIT used to be a place where IPs don’t work especially hard, but that’s not true at all right now. If you look at our 7/30/90, our guys are flying their asses off. In fact, due to the dynamic of the squadron (no FAIPs or junior O-3s) our O-4s and O-5s fly a hell lot more at KRND than I saw guys of similar experience level fly when I was a Vance IP. It’s not uncommon for O-4s and O-5s to double or triple turn every day of the week here. My briefs and debrief are 60-90% longer here than when I was at Vance. Teaching UIs is a lot different than teaching Stan, and a lot more difficult. Personally, I’d much rather be teaching Stan than UIs. It’s easier. More dangerous, but easier. I think most guys at the 559th would agree. PIT is getting guys with less and less experience as the AF bleeds experience. Unless you make PIT longer, guys are not going to be as good as they would if they had more experience. Believe it or not, leadership above the 559th recently believed that we were “overtraining” UIs and pushed us to PA guys as soon as they got up to MIF. The guys in the 559th fought hard against that BS and got it overturned. Look, PIT is different animal than a UPT squadron. Most guys here are on their last AD assignment. They speak their minds more and leadership gets away with less BS since guys aren’t thinking about their next assignment. That dynamic actually serves all of T-6 nation.