RTB
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Posts posted by RTB
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5 minutes ago, HAWDINGL said:
Problem has already been solved at the highest level, everyone back to work!
And one of the ideas is to essentially re-segregate minorities into their own classes?? Truly unbelievable.
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4 hours ago, GDAL said:
Thanks for the kind words.
I was given alternate depth perception tests at WP and apparently didn't do very well on those either. The Howard Dolman DP apparatus seemed even harder than the donut one. But the folks at WP worked with me for two days, made me custom glasses, the whole 9 yards. That's why I am thinking my situation may be pretty hopeless at this point.
I have been to two civilian Dr, both of which stated my DP was down to about 30 seconds of arc. Not sure if nerves really got the best of me at WP, or maybe it was all the blood they took.
I am determined to exhaust every possible option. It seems like it might be something I could work on...At MEPS I was able to get to D on the OVT machine but not past it. At WP I was only able to get partway through B.
The depth perception tests suck. Does your unit have a medical element? Can your unit flight doc give you a depth perception test? If an AF flight surgeon can state that you passed an AF depth perception test, that should help your case with the WP DQ.
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Sorry to hear that. I’d try for a waiver anyway. See if your guard unit flight doc is willing to pursue it. Pretty sure you’ll need a flight doc to make the waiver recommendation so find one who will help.
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Wow, that's pretty awesome.
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17 minutes ago, YoungnDumb said:
I feel like I have to ask the obvious. Where does AFPC think they're going to generate IP's from fore these new squadrons. Or am I misreading this and they're just going to move the squadrons from Holloman?
The only reason the F-16s are at Holloman is because the NM congressional faction blew their lid when the Raptors were fragged to get moved to Tyndall. A token F-16 presence there assuaged their fears of that shithole drying up completely so I doubt they’ll be leaving. Airspace can be awesome. Supersonic everywhere. Can also suck ass since White Sands Missile Range owns it and can steal unreasonable chunks. Town is dreadful. Nothing to do. Liquor licenses are held hostage by the town elders so very few around, at least as of a couple years ago.
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27 minutes ago, di1630 said:
Question: how little could you realistically work for an airline if you wanted to maximize time off?
Say 50-60 hours credit time or is there a min and rules in place to ensure it?At least at Delta, it all depends on the month. In winter months, when flying is light, you would still have to bid a min schedule but can pretty much guarantee you can drop as many trips as you want. Flying is so thin that dudes looking to pick up extra time will scarf them up within minutes of you posting them. Last winter I bid reserve to avoid flying in February and flew 2.5 hours total but got paid for 72. Had a week of vacation in there too but I probably wouldn't have been used even if I was available all 4 weeks. Summertime is a different matter. That's the all hands on deck time for the airlines so you'll usually have a pretty full schedule and it's harder to drop trips. Generally speaking, we have a 'line construction window' that defines the upper and lower limits of what the computer can assign you and that is based on the average line value for the month. So if the average is 72 hours, the LCW ranges from a low of around 64 hours to a high of around 80 hours. You can bid to be on the low end but it's not always honored, depending on your relative seniority in category. But again, there are ways to try to drop trips both through the company computer runs and through a pilot to pilot swap board.
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The Problem Statement on Slide 1, which supposedly drives the entire discussion, is fundamentally flawed. They're not even addressing the right problems. To say that the "aircrew ecosystem" has been damaged by unstable funding and will be improved by "stable and predictable funding" and "advanced technologies" shows a complete lack of acknowledgment of the real problem.
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On 2/8/2018 at 1:06 PM, Prozac said:
My airline recently started installing touch screens in place of physical CDUs.
Saw a picture of one of these the other day. Looked essentially identical to our FMS recreated entirely on a touchscreen. My first thought was, I would waste a lot of time punching the wrong buttons. I suspect changing your active waypoint, altitudes, airspeeds, etc in the box on climbout on a nice bumpy day would be a PITA.
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On 2/3/2018 at 5:18 PM, Homestar said:
What is this black magic?
It's amazing what happens when there is a profit incentive.
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1 hour ago, Steve Davies said:
Brave mother fucker. Took himself out with a grenade following an exchange of rounds.
https://t.me/directorate4/1433
That was by far the best option. The alternate ending had they captured him would have been much worse I suspect.
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1 hour ago, ChkHandleDn said:
Selective Service Reserve Force Officer. Best kept secret out there. Paid IMA and TRS. However If you live and want to work in Region II (TX MS AL NC SC GA LA FL TN) the line/waiting list is out the door so good luck. Maybe other regions will have openings.
If the line is out the door, may not the that much of a best kept secret...
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7 minutes ago, Danny Noonin said:
Of course it’s not. It’s likely illegal. And he very likely might get fired when he turns in his orders to the company and they show him on mil AGR orders during the dates of indoc. And if he’s still in the military at that point (part time) could also be subject to discipline on that end too.
Turns out it matters not in the eyes of USERRA whether you “plan” to drop mil leave or if you are forced to. Both are legally protected.
BUT...buyer beware. Doing things to bring a spotlight on yourself during probation (like dropping mil leave right after indoc) might not be the wisest move, even if perfectly legal. You’re protected by USERRA for your mil service. But when you return, you are a still a probationary employee that can be fired for virtually any reason legally. And dudes have been. If you don’t act in good faith to the company, don’t expect any slack when you sign in late, miss a commute, struggle in training, are involved in an incident, etc. Not that one minor thing would mean you’re fired. But it could. Probation is a risky time to play obvious games with mil leave.Yep, agree. That dude is walking a dangerous line. And while it happened, that was perhaps an extreme example. But, there are plenty of others who pre-coordinated long term orders with their units before even starting INDOC then went part time just long enough to get the seniority number (and annual profit sharing checks), maybe finish training or IOE, and then went right back to work full time for big blue for years on pre-planned orders with no intention of working for the airline until reaching 20 years active service. Legal? Perhaps. Certainly doesn't help the bros trying to do the right thing though.
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24 minutes ago, Danny Noonin said:
1). It’s not even remotely a “technicality”.
2). What exactly is “periodic legitimate military service?” One weekend a month and 2 weeks a year? Only Deployments? What about volunteer mob vs invol?
If “periodic service” is all the law intends, then why is 5 years the limit?
Is serving as a desperately needed FTU IP during time of pilot production crisis “legitimate service?” What about a CMR pilot serving as Full time support in a squadron that’s wheezing to fill FTS spots? Or what about someone on the staff, which is otherwise manned at 12% with 11Fs right now? Is that service “legitimate?” It is it just a self serving boondoggle?
Pretty much every job—flying or staff, deployed or home station is desperately needed right now. You can argue style points about dropping mil leave on probation or right after, but at the end of the day it matters not that much. Other that that the pilot would be in some level of jeopardy going through training one more time while still on probation. If you suck.
Airlines don’t like it if you drop mil leave at all. But they also accept it as realityThere's a difference though between stepping up from part time to fill a full time job when a need arises, versus planning and pre-coordinating your 3 year orders before even getting hired at an airline. Heck, I know a guy (I think we both do) who never even got off AGR orders! Before starting INDOC he had already worked out his leave schedule to get through training and then dropped 'orders' to finish up his AGR tour for 3 more years. Can't imagine that was what USERRA was designed to protect.
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Does the early retirement come with immediate TRICARE vs delayed TRICARE for the Reserve retirement?
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I know several guys who got hired at the 16+ year point, got through probation as quickly as possible, then took long term orders to get to 20. It has worked out brilliantly for them. In addition to securing their line number early, they got through probation quickly by flying their asses off, then got to 20 years active service since the AF is so desperate for pilots. The bonus is that they've been collecting profit sharing checks every Feb, paid as if they flew the average line value every month they were on mil leave.
Not exactly what USERRA was intended for but fully legal.
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13 hours ago, BADFNZ said:
I've had a beer or two since, but didn't USAA still pay it's members their normal paycheck on payday when the last shutdown took place?
They're doing it again this time if it lasts that long...
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38 minutes ago, flyusaf83 said:
My worry is that the AF will label this experiment as a success no matter what. I can’t see how having dudes sit around and play fancy video games is going to do a better job of teaching them to fly airplanes than flying airplanes.
But, this could prove a way for the AF to increase “pilot” production faster than UPT can, and then we can fill vacant cockpits with hordes of video gamers with wings on their chests. The slides at AFPC will certainly be more green.
What could possibly go wrong?
It's been said over and over but there's simply no way to replace the inherent stress of the actual cockpit - heat, sweat, JP-8 exhaust, noise, G's, shitty radios, garbaged up comm, and on an on. And of course the knowledge that if you screw up you could wreck an actual machine or kill an actual person, including yourself. Simulation can certainly teach some skills, but you just can't replace the experience of being in an aircraft with all the external and internal stressors. Sure, you can safely fly an airplane with fewer hours but your experience bank will be that much smaller and you'll be a worse pilot for it.
Bad bad idea. And it will be hailed as a great success.
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That guy gets to vote. Awesome.
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9 minutes ago, Steve C said:
The inscription predates our modern welfare state and 20T national debt.
It's also from a time when immigrants WANTED to assimilate and become Americans. They came to work, to succeed and to leave the old world behind My how times have changed for so many...
Teddy had it right on 111 years ago:
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
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9 hours ago, Duck said:
Which I never do. I always put “zero balance” on the reasoning. I always feel like I win a small part of freedom with every DTS voucher.Well played Duck. I don't even want to think about how many points I lost by not doing this.
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11 minutes ago, 17D_guy said:
Generally we (military) have a very narrow viewpoint into what a lot of other citizens feel about certain things. This is further reinforced with choice of news source, and social media's echo chamber. HOw many people do you know (while active) that had legit non-service related disabilities? Some of us will, but our culture/environment isn't set up to put us in contact with individuals like that for the majority of 20-40+.
I've married into the only conservative side branch of a VERY liberal family. Got one bro-in-law who's a union organizer, and 2 bro-in-laws who are legitimate hippies (ugh). ACA is very favored by most of that side of the family. Doubly so because they have chronic, genetic diseases that would otherwise keep them in poverty (wife dealt with this) or kill them as children w/o expensive, continuous treatment. Kids that have it now are doing awesome as adults, very motivated, paying taxes, etc.
Even my wife who's strongly conservative has seen how it's eased the lives of her family members. Even my family that isn't military has struggled with healthcare costs and they're all very motivated and educated. We're in a very unique bubble with how we view healthcare ("free"), doubly so when we retire.Interesting. That's a perspective I haven't seen at all so good to have as a data point. During our last assignment, and continuing today (in a town with very few TRICARE folks), I haven't met a single civilian friend, not one, who has had a beneficial or positive experience with ACA. Most are paying more for less coverage and some have been crushed by skyrocketing premiums.
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Good break for an AD guy for sure. Just a hard sell as a Post AF career.
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8 minutes ago, HuggyU2 said:
I wouldn't be too quick to judge.
I know some that have done this simply because the QOL for them was excellent, and that mattered way more than the pay.
Yeah good point. For me, QoL and Del Rio don’t exist in the same sentence but I’m sure it would for some.
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2 hours ago, Termy said:
I would have to question the sanity or background of anyone who chose to work as a retiree civilian at a upt base for under $200k a year. Omitting the 6-9 people from those areas, you’d have to be unhireable at the airline or have some serious skeletons in the closet.
Exactly. Working as a former mil pilot at GS-13 pay at a UPT location more than likely means they can’t get hired anywhere else. Not good.
Help with a Divorce
in Squadron Bar
Posted
True statement, however those of us paying an ex boat anchor from divorces finalized prior to the end of 2018 will be grandfathered into the old rules.