viper154

I'm calling it. GC is is ILS. ILS is most likely a AFPC officer that was butt hurt about not getting a rated slot out of his commissioning source. Now he finally has a chance for his "wings" and is sipping the blue kool aid a little to much. Being in AFPC he has plenty of time to post on here while he takes his 2 hour lunch and works a few hours a day.

Been eying this for awhile, wife finally got it for me for our anniversary. Sig Sauer 1911 Emperor Scorpion. First impressions are very good. More to follow.

My bad, my SAPR training and HR CBT are both overdue.

I'll get you a hurt feelings report.

I would kick the kid who said something in the balls. Then I would tell your supervisor you in fact do not have a lease signed and are looking at places, and you will be more than happy to provide a copy of signed lease with date signed if it's a issue. Anyone gives you shit I would march my ass straight to the IG office.

I know someone who just PCS there with his wife. Their pictures of the beach, swimming in blue water, and drinking tropical fruity drinks make me think I would much rather PCS my family there than my current dust covered, toxic tap water, drug/crime infested location of Clovis.

The mission seems rewarding, and for my wants and desires I got a good deal going to the unit I'm heading too. That being said I want to go back manned, if I get shafted so be it, I love to fly. How do Guard/Reserve units look at guys that got passed over but otherwise have a clean/decent record?

It's a A tour for us. It's coded so on VMPF. I had a instructor call our functional last year when I left my UPT base and AFPC confirmed that, and that after 3 years we all have the option to do as we please with in reason. As discussed in the other thread, all the intial 18x guys commitments are up in 2019, and us first round direct guys would also be up. If AFPC can foresee that shit show all going down I can see them shafting us. But as we know AFPC is a reactive force, so I think the guys that can get out before mid 2019 have a honest shot of flying again

Question for the older guys, probably a better career related thread to place this but it's semi relative. I'm a UPT direct guy hoping to go back manned after my tour is up (ya ya might not happen, we've beat that horse already). Because of all the delays with sequester and typical AF BS, it took me 8 months to go on AD after commissioning, another 7 months casual waiting to start UPT, finished UPT on time, and when everything is all said and done a year to get fully qualified in the MQ-9. That being said, I have my training report from UPT, and I won't have my first OPR until I'm a Capt. IF the 3 year tour is honored (ya ya don't kill my hope) by the time I get IQ in the manned follow on I'm going to be going up for my major board with two training reports and 2 maybe 3 OPRs. Is taking the time going backed manned going to be career killer? I have no problem being a 20 yr major or going guard after my 10, but I would like to be realistic on my expectations.

You don't even need the dish. That signal from the states goes a long way before it gets beemed up to space. A small building with the required comm, maintainers, security and a flight doc can get the job done, doesn't sound like a lot but the comm trail for these things is huge

Figured as much. I know some of our foreign friends that fly US RPA products have very special rules about how they can conduct ops. I lost a lot of the details in translation and this probably isent the place to discuss them any further. Reguardless, basing options that aren't in the desert and near decent population centers here conus would help some of my gripes. I can deal with some BS if where I live doesn't suck the D. I don't think locations are going to get any better for the foreseeable future. The current bases congressional districts fight like hell to keep them there, and despite our gripes and QOL complaints our elected officials are going to do everything possible to keep jobs in their districts. I think what we are going to see is a couple of squadrons get stood up at other locations the CSAF talked about late last year. Just enough to say they did something but not enough to help those who didn't get a golden ticket and help the masses. My solution is to transition more of the RPA enterprise to the guard. I think there are enough old guys past 10 but still far enough away from 20 out there that would trade there AD cockpit/queep for a full time guard GCS to finish out their time. Maybe I'm wrong and it's just the scotch talking.

I couldn't agree more, the job still ain't the best, but if the AF could get us some better locations, better hours, and treat it as a true A tour with a legit hope of going to back to a cockpit after the 1 tour was up I (and I think many others) would do the job without us kicking and screaming the entire way.

There is no sense of entitlement going on here. We're not asking for dream assignments to the beach or only to work between the hours of 9-5 M-F. We want to do the job we trained years to do and the taxpayer payed millions to fund. As a tax payer you should be pissed the AF is taking assets it spent tens of million to train and sending them to a job that could be done by 18x ers that cost probably 5% of what a manned pilot cost to train. How do you think that army SF or Navy seal reacts when they get sent to a desk job? They get bitter and pissed. No offense but flying a RPA isent that difficult. Also, get a sense of perspective. This is a online forum where we can vent and sport bitch. When/If you make it a operational squadron you will see that many of us put on our happy face, go to work and hack the mish. Life isent always sun shine and rainbows. Stop being a douche

Policy was impimented by the OG/CC. FYI in my limited interaction with him he was a superdouche. Probably buds with Chang. Choose your battles wisely. Unless your are willing/have the resources/rank to to T off and fight the good fight I recommend you keep your head down and look up some good microwave recipes for the 6-9+ months you will be there. (no joke) I could write a book on the problems with that place, lodging is the least of your worries, especially if you aren't a new guy. Your frustration meter will be pegged the entirety of your stay.

We understand, it's like being lost in the wilderness with two broken legs. We understand we probably will never get out, but the hope that over next hill is a town with the brewery and strip club are what keep us going. Don't kill my brewery and strip club dreams The current ops tempo does a pretty good job at "educating" the young guys. As said above, about 6 months on the line and that cherry "I'm here to help" attitude turns into the salty bitterness. Hence the minimal numbers of guys that are going to stay in 2 years when the commitments start coming up.

Hope. And maybe some luck. It's the only thing that keeps me from saying F it, just not show up one day and living under the overpass.

Reason to be cautiously optimistic. As one of the recent UPT directs it makes me hopeful. I think if you can get out early you have a chance of escaping. As said above, I have heard the AF is expecting something like 40%+ of the initial 18x ers to stay. From my small corner and limited experience, that number is going to be closer to 2-3%. I think this projection is probably based on the assumption people are going to get through the pipeline on time, I can promise you Holloman is turning into more of a shit show everyday. I was lucky and got out almost on time but the majority of folks are graduating a month or two late, and the classes that just showed were told to expect that to increase by several months. Also keep in mind the amount of CAPs were reduced to up pipeline production. Soon as the pencil pushers see green numbers those CAPs are going to go back up. Sounds like it might be worth shot to try and volunteer get a bomber or ISR gig Either way, I wish you luck, hopefully we are all someday back in a real jet.

Oh really? Glad you plan on honoring that "promise" you just sold to 100+ UPT grads and stuck them in the box. Glad your plan to fix the manning issue is to screw over the pilots you non vol'd to RPAs. That should really help the morale. Hope your star stabs you in the jugular on your way to work tomorrow. If you are who you say you are.

You can have all the gucci gear you want, its not going to make a difference in the world if you don't have a force of highly trained/skilled/motivated people to fly/maintain/support the gear. I have seen your office, among others take the most valuable asset this military has (motivated people excited about their job) and turn them into bitter, disgruntled, and burnt out guys/gals counting down the days until they can GTFO. You don't get that its not about the money. History has shown, the most modern and powerful militaries have been defeated time and time again, by inferior and ill equipped enemies, that have a motived force with a reason to fight. People are your most valuable asset, and you are bending them over and giving it to them with no lube. Out. I have to go do my SAPR CBT............

You might have to put down some non rated jobs. Not familiar with the OTS process but I do believe I had to put a bunch of non rated jobs on the form even though I already a pilot slot and approved medical my senior of ROTC back in the day.

Great. Take away the only semi good deal.

RPAs were my first assignment out of UPT. Supposedly I will have the option to go back manned after a couple years. I'll believe it when I see it. At least I am suppose to go back. RPAs as a second or third assignment are almost a guaranteed death sentence to never go back manned. It sucks. If if age isent a issue work on getting your PPL how you see fit. Guard/Reseve units seem to like to see that on your app.

The vision you listed is fine. I believe the FC1 requirements are 20/60 or better before you need a waiver. They look at a lot more than just that though. Look at your other vision numbers and compare them to the regs, most of which can be found in the aviation med section of this forum. Physically, the PT test is a joke. The 100 is hard to get but if you go to the gym and run a few miles a few times a week high 90s are easy. Again, google AF PFT test and the numbers should come up. 1.5 mile run 100 is 9:10 or so, just passing is around 12:30. Good news, you have 3+ years to get better at running. Best advice, keep getting good grades, do all the extra clubs and shenanigans if you want the academy, and hit the gym/track. Even if you decide you don't want to fly, these things will all help you in life. Getting into ROTC is as easy as it gets. Don't get arrested between now and then, get accepted to a school that has the program, contact the det the summer you start college and say "hey I want to join" and show up when they tell you. Profit. Other tips. Look around this Forum. Their is a plethora of great info on here, some is easy to find, some is buried 30 pages from 10 years ago, so do some digging. Get some hours flying and make sure you like it. You would be surprised how many people show up to IFS/UPT thinking they are going to be the next F-22 triple ace, get a couple rides in the plane, and realize this isn't the business for them.

I had someone get my card info while I was at Randolph and tried making several $200 purchases at Walmart. They locked the card, called me, and I got a full reimbursement a few days later with a new card. USAA may not be as good as it use to and may not always have to best rates/deals, but they are still a good bank to do your basic banking and insurance needs. I've had them since 2010 and never had any issues. Knock on wood.

Agreed with the above. Get your scores and tell her to suck it. Look at other flight school options, 60k is a lot of cash for something that may not even work out. As mentioned above, look into some guard/reserve units as well. It can't hurt to put a package together and apply while your trying to retake your TBAS or build flight hours. My biggest regret is not at least trying for the guard/reserve. Having flown manned and now RPAs, RPAs suck unless your into it. Avoid it like the plague. And understand, especially being active the odds are at some point you may find yourself in a droid, even as your first assignment after UPT.