viper154

I would happily trade my RPA for a buff. And they are laying waste to stuff in places like a boss right now.

At least there is hope. We just received a couple C-17 guys and a buff guy so they are still coming to the robot spy planes. But I think people would be much less bitter knowing there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. I think the impending heavy shortage combined with the 18x increase is going to be a golden ticket for us heavy guys. I also spoke to the rated assignment road show guys a couple weeks ago. They seemed rather receptive to getting us (UPT direct) guys back to a manned jet. Or maybe they could see my soul was gone inside and didn't want me to off myself. Hopfully the first option, but knowing the Air Force the second is more probable. Edit for grammar. The guy who flys a computer can't type.

Sent in the paperwork back in July ish time frame, got it in September.

What has been said above is gold. Get the cheep beer for the next couple weeks of college and go do a couple rides with a CFI if you are that worried. Or spend that cash and get the bud light. IFS will MAYBE help you on day 1 of stand up because you have seen it before. After that it's just about a level playing field for everyone. Attitude, study habits, motivation, god given talents and luck/timing will decide the rest. IFS is just another opportunity to get yourself kicked out before you even get there.

Nothing. Why would us barely hanging on between additional duties, flying, and seeing our family want more pay? We should do twice the work for half the pay and be happy god damn it!!

General rule of thumb a few years ago was no leave until you were in processed, and no leave 10 days before your class start date. I'll caveat that with if you are not a shiny a new Lt and you have something legit like getting your family your probably not going to get shit if one or two things on the checklist isent done. Also make sure you know your class dates, they are subject to change.

That all checks with what I have seen thus far. If I get any info that is helpful I'll throw over in the excaping RPAs thread.

Sweet, that's all really wanted, at least to know what the long term plan was and intentions. I've been in the AF long enough to realize they can't figure out tomorrow much less 2 years from now.

Thread rival, instead of starting a new one. I was one of the first classes from the lastest round of UPT directs to RPAs, after we graduated we were rushed out the door for training and we never got any real info on our current assignment or future. All we ever heard were rumors and what happened to the previous RPA directs from years ago. The AFPC rated assignment guys are coming to my base for a briefing and individual Q/A sessions. Anyone ever meet with the guys or know how helpful/useful they are?

As a young guy that non vol'd to RPAs straight out of UPT I would probably do it again. Just being able to fly for a year in military jets was fing awesome, and I've met people that will be life long friends. RPAs can and do suck, but there are good days you go home and see shit on the news you did/participated in to kill bad guys or save the world, and that's kinda cool. The hope that I will get to fly again keeps me going. The B/S and queep do get old quick. CBTs, SAPR, shoe clerks being butt hurt about doing their job, or you having to do there job for them, paperwork for days, the list goes on. Go guard, do both your dreams, profit.

Thread revival, I am UPT direct to RPAs, all training complete and qualified. On Vmpf my P AFSC is 92T0, which I believe is correct, with my duty AFSC 18xxx. I was under the impression that my duty AFSC would be 11Uxx. Anyone have any insight before I waste half a day at MPF getting incorrect info?

Go home, you don't need a pass as long as you leave after the duty day on Friday and show up to work Monday. If you are a married reservist you can live in the dorms or off base (because you are married). You can sneak your wife in the dorms or stay where you please while she visits. If I had a dollar every time I knew someone who had a girl illegally stay in their UPT dorms I would have thousands. It's not like basic where they are "patrolled".

Thanks for all that dropped some knowledge on the tap issue. I bought the correct size tap and T handle on Amazon for 10 bucks and did it myself. Was pretty easy to do. I'll post some pics when I get it finished before it ends up in a lake as a token of appreciation.

I tried other screws from my other rifles, it is for sure the wrong size.

I wanted a Spikes but all I could find was the PSA. I used a PSA parts kit, also took forever to ship, but the kit was decent, I didn't use their FCG as I got a Geiselle. I picked up a Anderson at the shop when PSA came in, same quality for half the price, slightly heavier, and no tacticool etched in graphics but the screw fit the damn hole.

It's a PSA lower, I ordered a couple items from them and had issues, their customer service is severely lacking. I did a idiot check and popped out the fire control group and tried the screw in back (sts) and the hole is definitely the wrong size. I've never had this issue either, my best guess is whoever did the original hole just used the wrong size tap/bit. I would rather not ship a semi complete lower but worse case I will. I'll call around and check local stores this weekend.

I've been building a semi high end AR, got my Daniel Defense upper, 2 stage match trigger, and parts kit for my lower, got the lower entirely put together except for the pistol grip, the screw to hold to grip was going in really tight so I backed the screw and the hole tapped in the lower is to small, and the screw I started was enough to start its own grooves in the aluminum. What do y'all recommend, getting a tap and tapping it myself or trying to find a machine shop to do it for me? I've never tapped a hole (sts) and I would rather not f**k my $120 lower up. I'm in Cannon so my local business options are limited.

Take a gander in the track selects/assignment night page. A lot of 38s are dropping right now, but the tables can always turn, 2 years ago when I tracked we had two 38s for my class. RPAs are only going to T-1s and it looks like that might not be happening anymore for now. The RPA pipeline is more backed up than the line at the DMV. That being said, fighters are guaranteed with a reserve slot if you preform well/graduate from UPT. Nothing is guaranteed on AD except frustration, taxes, and increased alcohol consumption. If time is on your side hold out for that guard/reserve slot.

Indeed it does.

Unrelated to above,I am doing sport bitching here, but this is what is wrong with the AF. I got non vol UPT direct to RPAs. So be it, needs of the AF, undermanned career field blah blah blah. Holloman was a shit show, but they are undermanned and over worked, so be it. I have now been at my operarional base for 4 months, with about 15 other pilots/sensors that have been here just as long, if not longer. We have done ONE sim in 4 months. ing ONE sim, no flights. How can you justify sending manned pilots you just spent $1.2 million a pop to train to drones, and having them sit on their ass. Rant off. Back to my whisky.

I'll caveat that with the Cannon perspective, place sucks, hours suck, morale is eh, but in the current envirement strikes happen very frequently, so if your into population control this is the pace to be. We also have the LRE squadron, 1 to 1 deployments, some decent TDYs. Standard work days, weekends off, but they currently are AFSOCs most deployed squadron, so they are gone a lot.

So I can't ask their gender indenity but I have to refer to them by their desired gender, and they don't have to tell me what gender they ID with. Why am I not surprised.

Not suprised. Holloman was backed up before the manning push. I was there 180 days, only worked about 70 of them. With the classes at Randolph for the 18x ers almost doublimg in size and 6 UPT guys every six weeks, the new classes at Holloman were beimg told 8-9 months to complete the couse.

The first couple classes of us that got UPT direct are rather savvy on the AF bs. There is a pretty general concensus that we will do the job asked of us to the best of our ability, but sucking the blue D and volunteering for shit deals for hope of a jet latter is not something most of us are not willing to do. We already got the rug yanked once and know this could very well be a empty promise. Especially with nothing paper. We we heard the recat rumors as well. As discussed earlier in the thread, seems like manning should be better in the RPA world in the next 2 years. With the manned pilot shortage continuing in a tailspin hopefully it will allow us to get out. Key to success is to get back manned before 2019 when all the 18x guys start punching. I would expect less than 5% of them to stay leaving us right back in the current RPA manning shit show.

Bro, do you even pilot? But for real, I'm fairly sure you are General Chang. Do currently have any rated hours of any kind in a AF jet? If you do, please amuse us with your resume. If not, go back to your desk, and come back to the forum after you have spent time in your air frame. This is a place for professional military aviators (and those interested in the job) to come and converse/interact about the job. If you think this is place we come to argue with newbs about leadership/core values and our attitudes outside the work environment you are mistaken. If your looking to start trouble or argue, or not heed the advice of the guys on here that have been there, done that, and have the shirt take your ROTC classroom bs talking points over to the YouTube comments section on the AF recruiting videos.