Magellan

Who the hell has time to watch stuff like that until the 22nd minute is a better question.

Really? The cost of an academy cadet to figure out is easy. Total cost to operate per year/number of graduates that year averaged over a period of time. The cost of OTS should be able to use the same formula. ROTC however is a hell of a lot more complicated. Some people do the program and aren't on scholarship the whole time in which case the Air Force pays them peanuts for getting their degree the upside is that it is the easiest way to get a commission. If you are on scholarship then the question becomes what type? When I went through the Air Force would pony up either 7,000 a year for state schools, 15,000 a year for private schools, 80% of actual tuition costs, or all of your Tuition costs. So even within the ROTC program the Air Force could make some cuts to really lower costs, but then you would be eliminating a lot of ROTC cadets that go to a lot of the "better" schools by looking merely at cost. It is really hard to make an apples to apples comparison when you are looking at apples, oranges, and grapefruit. Especially when at the end of the day we all still entered AD as clueless 2nd Lts. Not to mention every last F-22 would have to be auctioned off to China before the AF would seriously look at changing very much at the USAFA.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/06/israel-shoots-down-unpiloted-aircraft-reports-say/?test=latestnews

CH, Not to be a jerk, but how did the real estate equity hold up compared to the other investments since 06 if you don't mind me asking? How would being invested in the traditional be different?

I could only see it being viable in 2 scenarios. 1. Someone who has a spouse that makes quite a bit of money that doesn't plan on working if/when they have kids. Therefore it is possible your tax rate now is higher than it will be in retirement. (My current situation FWIW) However, in this case as soon as that spouse stops working, that person would want to switch their contributions to ROTH as soon as their spouse had no/considerably less taxable income for that tax year. 2. Single/Divorced senior Captains and Majors with flight pay that intend to get out before 20 and not pursue any kind of military retirement would probably benefit from sticking with the Traditional TSP over the Roth TSP. In both of these cases you are probably in a situation where you should consult a financial planner, or at least do the research/math on your situation to determine which is better. For all other cases Roth TSP is much better than Traditional TSP.

Has a book deal in the works and was invited to the white house to have a beer probably...but I don't have a subscription so that is just a wild ass uneducated guess like most of the comments on this forum.

Just be a good intra-mural athlete at your pilot training base and the FAIPs will draft you come assignment night.

Every C-5 Lt. needs to sample the standard fare in Thailand at least a few times while frivolously spending someone else's money right? I am pretty sure there was a CBT about that.

This is not a FACT at any base that had T-38s. Those dudes rolled the dice on a chance to fly a fighter/bomber and missed, so they got an RPA. All the T-38 RPA guys I have met, worked with, etc. are all sharp top notch professionals. Some with a few quirks here or there. It could very well have been a fact at Corpus Christi while it was running, and if you were at Corpus I will take your word for it. Coupled with the fact that I haven't met a Corpus UPT direct guy YET that didn't have a serious flaw as either an officer, pilot, or person in general. T-1 guys you have a spread. There were a very small handful that volunteered for RPAs and they are across the spectrum, and there are also some people who should have never finished pilot training but got pushed through just to take RPA slots. Then you have a handful of late bloomers as well. This has generally been my experience, but I am sure there are outliers for all of the above categories. Valid, but every community has their D Bags. Which leads me to this question how are you in a position to judge the quality of the students currently going through Holloman? I think you would be greatly surprised by the officership, airmanship, and overall potential of some of the UPT direct RPA folks. Yet you lump them all into the category of NOT the best and brightest. Continually disparaging the community is no way for it to attract the best and brightest to its mission and future. I think a fair statement would be we have SOME of the best and brightest, but we need a lot more. My point in all this isn't to change your mind. It is to bring a balance that young dudes who might be reading this forum weighing their options need to consider. RPAs aren't the be all end all. However, they are a growth industry for the Air Force, and that isn't going to go away any time soon.

No. I am saying it doesn't matter. Everyone has their job to do. The assignment they get doesn't matter. What does matter is what they do once they get there. Debating what assignments the "best and brightest" get has no bearing, and to assume that everyone that got an RPA assignment is a dirt bag is just like saying anyone flying a herc clearly wasn't good enough to make the cut for T-38s. I know a dude at ENJPTT that got sent to T-44s at corpus instead of finishing T-38s at sheppard, and he is now flying AC-130s, while other dudes in his class went to T-38s and got RPAs. So is he a better or worse pilot based solely on how he did in tweets? The waters get muddy really fast when you make broad generalizations. Tagging the RPA community, which you are clearly clueless about, as a bunch of leppers isn't helping anyone.

The first round of dudes have already started going through the FTUs and will they will be in their ops squadrons by the end of the year.

Dude you are an idiot. Bringing those guys in was probably one of the smartest things the Air Force ever did. Their contributions to the Air Force as part of the RPA community are countless, and the Air Force is better off for it. What remains to be seen is what the community will be like as 75-80% of them flow back into manned aircraft creating a void for more non-vols to Creech and Cannon. Oh and the 18A's that are straight from the RPA pipeline still have a lot of growing up to do, and I think it is debatable that they will ever be able to "replace" guys who have actually had flying time.

An interesting article in theory, but I think implementing it would be a little more difficult than the author realizes. For example how do you fill the assignments that no body wants? The free market is driven by consumer demand...how many guys with wives and kids want to demand a 365 unaccompanied?

It would be the drone equivalent of the DFC based on what I read. Kind of like how Aerial Achievement Medals are what drone guys get instead of Air Medals.

Sounds like typical Bang-Bang guidance politics to me.

So you are telling me I can now put 22,000 away a year and never have to pay taxes on it ever again? That sounds too good to be true.

I do not believe this is the case. You can only contribute $5,000 total into Roth type retirement plans, unless you are eligible for catch up contributions. They are basically targeting the people who are skipping TSP to make Roth IRA contributions instead.

Another thought. What does it say about the community when one of the golden children who had Gen Schwartz come out to pin wings on their chest is running for the exit?

Tell him to suck it up and deal with it. He volunteered to be a beta guy with a 6 year commitment. He doesn't have a leg to stand on compared to his 10 year commitment bros that were non-vol'd.

Latest I heard was RUMINT confirming this anyone got anything more solid on it? Plus it has always been reviewed each year. I say they just cap it at $300 a month and make it only for enlisted guys that way it reduces the cost significantly but doesn't hit the airmen with a huge cut in take home pay as a christmas present.

The latest word(about 12 months ago) was that it got renewed for CALENDAR year 2011, but wasn't going to be funded for 2012. Haven't heard anything official to counter that yet.

Valid

Ironic they got a new OG who is an 18A about "a year ago." "Nearly equal terms" So you admit there is still a barrier. That is because very few people are willing to go through 3-6 months in Holloman for a 75% chance(or better) to go to a squadron where they get treated a lot worse to do the exact same job just with a better camera and more things hanging off the rails. There is a right way and a wrong way to make your intentions known. The wrong way is telling everyone you meet that MQ-1's are just a stepping stone to you getting to Reapers, which is where you really want to be. Because you come across as someone that thinks they are better than everyone else, and Creech is a pretty small community. So don't be that guy. The right way is to go in with the mindset that you want to be the best MQ-1 pilot you can possibly be, and telling your flight commander I am interested in going into the MQ-9 if the opportunity presents itself. Your flight commander will then convey this at the right time and place to the squadron leadership when an opportunity for you to transition to MQ-9s presents itself. Additionally, when you check into the squadron the commander will want to have a sit down talk with you for a few minutes. At that time be tactful and convey your number 1 priority is getting CMR in their squadron(which it should be). IF the opportunity presents itself there is no harm in mentioning you are interested in going to the MQ-9 sooner rather than later, but don't force the issue.

No, and until they write a B course syllabus for the Reaper that won't change. Grow where you are planted and keep what you want to do between yourself and your flight commander. If you roll into a Pred squadron and make it clear you are just trying to use it as a stepping stone to get into a Reaper as a 18U you probably won't make a great impression with the bros. Copy. She wears the pants, and you are just along for the ride. The biggest thing you have going for you is at Creech the OG is a 18U convert, and therefore will probably be pushing for 18Us to advance more than other places. It is only a matter of time before they open the flood gate to the MQ-9 to 18Us so be patient. That said it is good to have goals but the difference between flying a Pred and a Reaper is nothing to get that excited over. You are still just sitting in an air conditioned trailer at zero knots and 1G the only thing that is new is now you transit at 165 KTAS vs 115 KTAS and carry GBUs, and honestly being a good Pred pilot is more demanding than being a good Reaper pilot and anyone who claims otherwise doesn't know what they are talking about.