nsplayr

I think we're focused too much on our small piece of the puzzle here. The VAST majority of people that joint the military are not in the position of AF officer pilots, who have extremely valuable training and the option to go to a ready-made industry. That force support or MX or AFE airman who's enlistment is up may or may not have a lot of other great options outside the military depending on the economy and their education, so their decision to stay in or get out at the end of their commitments (which are much shorter than pilot ADSCs) is quite different. You ask what motivates people to stay in past 10 years under a new sy stem? Big Blue (and Big DOD since it would apply to all the services) would have to learn to treat us like the rest of the world treats it's employees and use market forces to incentivise us to stay rather than moving on to seemingly greener pastures. What motivates people to stay with other lines of work after many many years? I think especially with the risks and sacrifices inherent in military service, either direct compensation would have to go up significantly or we'd have to return to the very socialistic system we currently have, with single-payer healthcare, a guaranteed pension, free money for education, etc. While I'm a fan of the new proposals, I'm very skeptical that they would work very long, especially if the goal is to save money rather than to create a more effective and market-based system for retention. And under the current system you walk away with exactly $0 dollars in your pocket other than your own contributions to TSP and the value of your skills and training. Look, the majority of people are not making the career-or-punch decision at the 10 year point. They're making it at the 4 year or even 3 year point and it's not a career decision, they can re-up for another 3-4 or even just take one more PCS and the accompanying 2 year commitment and stay a little longer. The calculus is quite different and I think if the forums here were better represented with non-aviators we'd be getting a different perspective WRT the thinking behind the decisions to stay versus go. That perspective I think is more in line with the majority of the active force where our concerns, while valid for our community, may not be applicable to the larger force. Like CH said, the Air Force may have some unique challenges under a new system because we rely on the retention of a smaller number of highly-skilled technical operators rather than on larger numbers of relatively less-skilled bodies like in the Army or Marine Corps. As I've said before, the new system puts money into the pockets of a huge number of people, who as you just said, honorably served out their commitments and are patriots. And it does so only for people who take it upon themselves to save for their retirement; if you contribute nothing there's nothing for the government to match. A new system like the one being proposed would both give something to a greater number of service members and would incentivise positive behavior such as savings and planning for retirement at a young age. I like all those things, especially as someone who's inclined to punch at the 7 year point; the current system has nothing for me and I'd be getting a better retirement bang for my buck if I were working a GS position. P.S. - anyone having issues with multiquote on this page? I'm probably the king of multiquote so I don't think it's operator error and it doesn't work for me on this page specifically...

China Checks Out Our Stealth Helo

I've been addicted to playing this for 2 weeks. Up late at night feeding a baby? Frag some zombies with a 105mm while you're at it. Great game.

Yesterday I heard General John Allen giving a press conference on the CH-47 crash among other things related to Afghanistan. Not that other commanders or generals don't, but he sounded extremely articulate, smart, and had well thought out answers to every question asked of him. I trusted what he was saying and I was just listening in the car driving to the grocery store. I know he's a Marine, but any of the old heads around here worked with/for him before?

If anything I feel bad for them (I know, I know...spears incoming). My least favorite days are home station when I'm not flying. Those days have the most bull and the least amount of what I became an aviator to do, fly. I've been DNIF for about 2 months and it blows...manning the shop and getting spun up on taskers and briefings is not ideal compared to days flying or deployed actually hacking the real-world mish. Could you pull some for short-term rated staff, AIB/SIBs, courts martial, etc? Probably, but anything longer than a 90 day I'd say just isn't smart because this problem could be solved as quickly as it arose and then it's back to flying. And it can't be everyone...you know that the bullsh*t in a squadron hardly stops when you stop flying...

With the new rules on flight suit zippers (top of the name tag...WGBSM), I've found I can successfully wear my three wolf moon shirt in uniform. Perhaps my new friday shirt... Edit to add: Win!

Love that shirt, actually got it as a gag gift last Christmas and now I use it on max effort days lifting. It's unnatural wolf powers really help you rep out the weight. The reviews on amazon are priceless.

I think we were moving in that direction anyways with the draw downs. Could Joe Biden be right on a foreign policy decision? That doesn't seem possible... Anyways, WRT the guys who shot at our boys, f em and I hope they're burin' in hell

M2, Have you shot the LCR? Anyone have thoughts on it?

Did that include 12S?

After living here for two and a half years I think I can finally credibly say that I don't know what the big deal is with traffic on 98. Growing up on the East Coast and going to school in a city, traffic here is laughable. I've been caught in no-shit, you're now late from work as soon as you hit the highway traffic maybe 4 times total. In two and a half years. This was a monthly occurrence in Northern VA/DC area. Yea it's bad down in downtown FWB or destin on a Friday or Saturday night during tourist season, but that's typical of anywhere where people want to be. Total sidetrack, sorry to ramble. I think it's a plus that dudes will get to enjoy HRT versus suffering out at Canon and it's a good sign that the AF realizes you don't have to co-locate control stations with actual UAVs. Opens the doors for even better assignment possibilities in the future.

+1 hobbitcid, do I have to repeat myself? Leave the tactics and speculation aside and use those brain bites to donate to the SOWF.

Where are your troops and may I count them?

Hurlburt Field preferred for MQ-1 remote split-operation unit. Wow, I almost can't believe this. Is the AF finally getting the idea that you can put control stations at non-shitty bases and have them operate UAVs physically based in other locations? Yet another good deal for reserve bubbas...come on down and enjoy the emerald coast.

Son of a bitch...what a loss. To the fallen

Portal, fitness and health links, Air Force Fitness Management System. Can view, print all your current and past scores there.

This is the attitude that is killing the AF; it's taking a Patton quote and using it to kill mission focus. "If you can't tuck in your shirt, how do I know you'll drop your ordnance on time and on target?" Because one is more important you idiot and most rational people can prioritize. If you can't prioritize whether it's more important to properly wipe your ass versus doing your job in combat then I feel bad for you. And if some airman or NCO tells an officer, "Take your sunglasses off the top of your head," as E-9 Randolph suggests, he should get his ass chewed; what are the chances our officers are aware of their responsibility in that area? The secondary problem with this whole message is that it has no mention of proper time, place, and tone for making any suggested correction and you end up with asshat enlisted troops who think they can tell officers what to do; great situation for military discipline.

Biggest-ever series of cyber attacks uncovered, UN hit. Check out our valiant Air Force cyber warrior pictured in the article...in a hoodie.

Government Losses to Top $1 Billion After Congress Fails to Reach Deal on FAA. I heard the government had tons of money so losing out on a billion bucks shouldn't be a big deal; not even worth a continuing resolution. Plus unemployment is almost non-existent, so I'm sure all the construction workers who can't work on airport projects will find a bunch of other stuff to build. Dysfunctional government, exhibit B.

Doesn't seem legit; why was this not news? Why does this unnamed "white house insider" contradict every other person who's spoken about the process? Gates: Why did you even bring this up here again? To the SEAL who put two in bin Laden

You mean I could wear blues everyday if I wanted! Booya, time to work that assignment to HAF!!! Fat f*cking chance sir, with all due respect of course. Anyone want an over-under on when this is implemented AF-wide?

Wait, what? You're saying your father wore a 4 inch by 6 inch flag patch on his uniform? Like it was hanging off the velco area? 4x6, like a common photograph? I challenge anyone out there to hold up a photograph to their shoulder in uniform to understand how ludicrous that would look. Great story...

BO.net, I noticed the eLearners distance learning ad is really slowing down load times when I try to access the forums homepage. Wondering if anyone else had this issue? Firefox tells me "looking up nexus.elearners.local" ~nsplayr

Bitter much hacker? I think spaw gets it as evidenced by his post that spells out that we all signed the contract and the AF owes us essentially nothing; you're preaching to the choir it seems. WRT his "watching TCAS over BAF" it was a saying man, not a comment on proper airmanship. Recommend more

Yup...realtor they found was great but I financed locally since it was cheaper.