VigilanteNav

Not that I ever want to get shot down but if someone is going to do it...

Current GS-13 here and still have my USAJOBs account active. If you are applying and haven't separated from active duty yet and its your initial active duty tour, this appears to be a requirement in lieu of the DD-214 since you won't necessarily have one yet. I copied and pasted the full requirement that I found on a similar job posting: ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: The VOW Act requires federal agencies to treat an eligible active duty service member as a veteran, disabled veteran, and preference eligible (as applicable) when applying for civil service positions before the effective release or discharge date. Appointment of military members before the release or discharge date is permissible if the member is on terminal leave. At the time the active duty member applies for a civil position, he or she must submit a "certification" memo in lieu of a DD-Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Active duty members applying for a civil service position without submitting a valid certification memo or DD-Form 214 with their application will render the member ineligible for the position. The certification memo must originate from the member's military service branch on official letterhead and contain the following: Name/Rank/Grade of Service Member Branch of Armed Forces Dates of Active Service (Start and End Date(s) Expected Date of Discharge/Release from Active Duty Terminal leave start date (if applicable) Expected character of service (honorable or general) and type of separation (i.e. separation or retirement) Must be certified within 120 days of anticipated discharge Signature by, or by direction of the adjutant, personnel office, unit commander, or higher headquarters commander. Note: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If appointed, a DD Form-214 must be submitted upon receipt. My recommendation: draft up the MFR with all the details as listed above and have your unit commander sign it. Then, upload to your docs and the application.

I smelled a neocon and low and behold one of the authors is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_J._Feith But, seriously, as a tac airlifter, no way (even civilian options) until Putin no longer has the ability to hit the airfields inside of Ukraine or signs the truce to put this thing into a stalemate. I know its not delivering the aid to the last tactical mile but there is this going on... https://www.unhcr.org/ceu/45701-unhcr-delivers-first-humanitarian-airlift-to-republic-of-moldova-for-refugees-from-ukraine.html I was in Amman, Jordan a few years back and got to inspect a UN World Food Program IL-76 loaded up with CDS bundles. They were going to go airdrop them in Syria. I was a bit jealous because we were only doing airland into Syria and not airdrops. I found a story about it....https://www.wfp.org/stories/how-do-you-drop-food-17000-feet-conflict-zone-watch-our-video

Your daily dose of SAM vs. Aircraft (purported to be Ukrainian vs. Russian)... SA-11 anyone? Reddit comments help with the live Ukrainian commentary. Channeling my inner Commander Metcalf (AKA Viper): "well, that'll just about cover the no fly zone".

From the company that can't seem to figure out how to refuel aircraft in flight, the recovery testing on that would have been brutal.

One of my favorite movies and just ticked up a bit higher!

For those scoring at home, per the March 10 Assessment of the Russian Offensive from the Institute of the Study of War highlights: "The Ukrainian General Staff claimed that Ukrainian air defenses and fighters shot down four Russian Su-25 aircraft, two helicopters, and two cruise missiles on March 8-9." and "The likelihood is increasing that Ukrainian forces could fight to a standstill the Russian ground forces attempting to encircle and take Kyiv. Russian forces also appear to be largely stalemated around Kharkiv and distracted from efforts to seize that city. Russian advances in the south around Mykolayiv and toward Zaporizhya and in the east around Donetsk and Luhansk made little progress as well in the last 24 hours. Russia likely retains much greater combat power in the south and east and will probably renew more effective offensive operations in the coming days, but the effective reach and speed of such operations is questionable given the general performance of the Russian military to date. There are as yet no indications that the Russian military is reorganizing, reforming, learning lessons, or taking other measures that would lead to a sudden change in the pace or success of its operations, although the numerical disparities between Russia and Ukraine leave open the possibility that Moscow will be able to restore rapid mobility or effective urban warfare to the battlefield." https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-10

I'll counter that leadership is watching but still looking ahead to the peer fight (China). https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/12/09/us-air-force-reveals-two-new-classified-aircraft-programs/?sh=2b0131721256 Although, of course Congress is having their say: the FY22 NDAA that is about to get enacted (if the omnibus gets signed on Friday) is adding 4xMQ-9s which where not requested by the AF. As the CSAF is stating these days, there are tough decisions being made as to how to divest the legacy force to free up funding for the force of the future. Maybe this Ukrainian success with the TB2 highlights a possible way forward with our partners. NATO and Indo-Pacific partners can add these type of assets to their inventories and capes so we don't have to?

Ugly to watch as a human but highly suspenseful to the military bubba. Does Kyiv become Putin's Stalingrad? Highly recommend the Institute for the Study of War site. Its the best open source site for battle tracking I've come across so far. It was started by Retired Army General Jack Keane so I'm assuming its at least a legit/non-profit/non-partisan source. https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-7 Also, their assessments site various source's sites such as the Ukrainian Army and Air Force's official facebook sites. In those, I found a post on a Ukrainian pilot, Colonel Alexander Mostovy, who was recognized as shooting down an IL-76 and 2xMi-24s. (I cannot confirm or deny he is the son of the Ghost of Kyiv...:)) https://www.facebook.com/kpszsu Ukraine's use of information warfare is definitely interesting to behold. Makes me think we should fire all USAF PA officers and replace them with Ukrainian's after this is all over!

Brickhistory and Flea: concur. The second and third order effects are surely worse for everyone then the current situation. Yes, it's devastating as a human being to see these reports of children being killed by shelling, etc. But, we can visualize how many more children would be impacted if we ramp up our military actions (NFZ, etc). This thread really has my research juices flowing on the economic piece of the DIME efforts. It seems like we (the US and the West) should be taking a whole of government/business/society approach to that effort to continue to squeeze Putin on that front. Looking back at the gas crunch of the '70's is interesting (to me at least). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1970s-gas-shortages-changed-america-180977726/ Takeaways that could be applied with the knowledge that short term pains can lead to long term benefits. Do we accept the increased gas prices if we went with a full blown sanctioning of Russian oil and gas? How to mitigate that: maybe short term reductions/eliminations of federal and local gas taxes? Heaven forbid lowering the speed limits to 55 again? Businesses that can authorize more remote work (hey, we're ahead of the game due to that...thanks covid!). My grandmother gave up her car during WW2. Can't we expect the average US citizen to give up something for the effort to save Ukraine? I'm hoping the US govt doesn't ask the US military alone to take one for the team...again.

Never thought I'd love a dude packing a Russian manpad but that day has come! Not sure about the part that he shot down the Su-30M but hope that's true too. On the serious discussion side, I'm in the camp of the no NFZ by us or NATO. Keep supplying them with Javelins and Stingers and it seems like they will be able to "win" in a protracted battle of attrition. Definitely going to be brutal on the civilians but appears by and large that they are all in on shedding blood for their country.

Small data point in the overall fight but not a good thing when an Army 2 Star gets to push up daisies (or sunflowers) soon. (if true, but its popping on multiple sites)... Top Russian general decorated for his role in annexation of Crimea reportedly killed in Ukraine - Daily News (txtreport.com) On a downside topic: sad news out of Romania. Looks like both the pilot in the MIG and then the SAR helicopter team went down. Romanian fighter jet crashes - five crew members die - Daily News (txtreport.com)

Here is a post on reddit by an applicant to the June 2021 OTS board. Basically, its not going to be possible to go active duty for the time being due to the higher than projected retention rate of the last year due to covid/economy issues. For those new to the process, OTS is always the third option to create commissioned officers and will flex the production numbers depending on the needs of the AF and how many officers are being produced by USAFA and AFROTC. Long story short: this year, USAFA and AFROTC are producing all that the AF needs (in fact, more than needed) so OTS is reduced to nada. I'd put all your efforts towards ANG or AFRC units until you see any news on this front.

Situation: Years ago I was a member of the Civil Air Patrol/USAF Auxiliary. After several years as a CAP Officer I made application to enroll in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Preparatory Program through Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala. This was at the time a current and valid program that was carried out at the unit level with instruction and oversite through AFR personal. My anticipation was that it could be a way to progress to the AFR. It was during the mid-1990’s and there was a lot of down-sizing in the military at that time so an AFR commission was not available upon completion. I do however have all of my records and documentation to include application to enroll, approval, program enrollment, program testing scores, diploma and transcript. I tried contacting Air University but all I received was transcript information. I have been told that Officer Candidates or Officer Trainees are considered enlisted personal during their training and I would like to know if that is true.

For your viewing pleasure....the link to the one stop shop to getting a flying (all rated positions included) gig in the Air Force Reserves. Current as of 7 April 2020. https://afreserve.com/downloads/AFRC_UFT_Guidebook.pdf

For your viewing pleasure....the link to the one stop shop to getting a flying (all rated positions included) gig in the Air Force Reserves. Current as of 7 April 2020. https://afreserve.com/downloads/AFRC_UFT_Guidebook.pdf

Scrolling only applies to AD and AFRC officers to the best of my knowledge so that's probably why no one on a Guard base has heard of it. (I've been AD, Reserve, and Guard in my career). In the Guard, Federal Recognition is the name of the game because you can't promote without that. Currently, I'm on AD in Air Force ROTC and scrolling is very important as we can't commission any cadets until they are scrolled. Here was one notice to us from HQ: On Friday, 27 Sep XX, SECDEF signed the AFROTC scroll submitted 6/20/XX for over 200 cadets. Sounds like you had some AD "leaders" trying to scare you out of getting off AD back in the day without out any actual knowledge on their side. Go Guard! (I'm heading back there soon!).

ROTC grad / Civil Engineering degree...rock solid pick and it's about time! 😉

Hate to add to a rumor mill but I think my sources tell me the UPT backlog in FY20 is very real. In the AFROTC active duty world, we are hearing that all May 2020 commissionees will be waiting one year to go on AD orders to UPT. In plain english, even on active duty, you will likely wait one year so May 2021 will be the earliest you will start UPT. I'd imagine that hurts ANG start times too.

I'm a current AFROTC Det CC so I have pertinent insights on this. You can do this but might have to educate the cadre (Det CC included) of the Det you are planning on joining. But, you'll likely have to do at least 3 total years in the AFROTC program (no short cut option now of doing less than 3 years in the program as a cadet no matter how close you are to getting your degree now). As I write this, I have a cadet in our program who already has a BA in Arts but is currently in school to get a BS in Aero Eng. I confirmed with HQ ROTC that the cadet can be in the program and even get a scholarship if they compete and win it. Basically, the degree they already have means nothing to the AF and the degree they are pursuing is exactly what the AF wants. So, game on! If you are pursuing a rated slot, even better.

Honestly, it pains me to say it but the 2015 A-10 talk is getting stronger as we head towards FY21. See page 50 of the FY21 AF budget...ANG and AFRC A-10 numbers taking a hit. I'm a huge fan of the A-10 and got to control four of them once as they lit up a target tank column on the Barry Goldwater Range in AZ. Definite loss for the TACP. https://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/Portals/84/documents/FY21/SUPPORT_/FY21 Budget Overview_1.pdf?ver=2020-02-10-152806-743

Ok, maybe went a little too strong on not betting any money on ANY future ones...but I'd still go with not many more. Point being, the wannabees should focus on other aircraft...IMHO. For those interested in some light reading, I point you to the latest AF Budget document. See page 50. It shows you what the AF wants to have each fleet size at in by the end of FY21. Notice how the B-1 #'s drop? Even if you don't want to consider that tid bit of info. Feel free to look up B-1 mission cape rates these days. I imagine the average Reserve B-1 pilot doesn't fly that much. Just FWIW for those youngins out there with big dreams. https://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/Portals/84/documents/FY21/SUPPORT_/FY21 Budget Overview_1.pdf?ver=2020-02-10-152806-743

Nailed it. I'm quite positive that 5thGenProdigies don't quit when the going gets tough (like when they are up against swarms of lower gen Chinese fighters for example). This is coming from a Nav (who used to shoot the stars to get a three star fix) who has had plenty of pilots tell him to STFU Nav and other pleasantries. Buck up bronco and go get it if you want it!

PM me. I know an ANG pilot who got a VC-### (737) position at Andrews recently so probably has the inside scoop on who they look for. Likely only current Rated bubbas need apply (he was long time 130 guy who was at NGB on staff for awhile).

For you young Bomber wannabee pilots, I suggest scratching the B-1 off the list. It is on the retirement chopping block. Not a done deal but I wouldn't go to Vegas or even Atlantic City and put any money on any future new Reserve B-1 pilots.