armada1651

Anyone out there do the ATP at Elmendorf's aero club? I'd like to get up there for an event in late April, and if I could take some leave on the back side to knock out the ATP on the GI Bill, it would be nice.

We'll be lucky if it works out that cleanly. More likely it will become the Somalia of the Gulf.

The Air Force, maybe. The rest of us are going to have an even tougher time of it.

Couple things I'd like to point out here. First, BolterKing is right on about this mishap being partially due to a systems indioscyncracy that almost no one knew about previously. Second, I don't think I agree that the Navy "values rank over experience." It is true that the SAR contingency is usually briefed that the highest ranking crew will be the OSC, but I can't think of any other examples of that mindset - and I think the intent in that one is that if the skipper or CAG are airborne, they immediately start taking responsibility for their people. Personally, I always brief that SAR OSC will go to the highest ranking crew unless someone else has higher SA or a more suitable fuel state and I've never been told to do otherwise. Also, in my experience, it's exceptionally rare for the highest ranking aircrew to not also have a very high experience level, especially on a tactical event. The only exceptions to that are usually if some guest VIP is trunking a flight for some reason. In general though, I would say the Navy (or at least the Navy fighter community) values expertise over rank or experience - as anyone who is familiar with TOPGUN and their sway in the community can attest. I also think it's worth mentioning that Navy aircraft operating at sea are in a very peculiar situation in regards to who has responsibility for them. In almost every other scenario I can think of in aviation, the pilot-in-command is the bottom-line decision-making authority. For a Navy asset operating off a ship, that is not the case. The captain of the ship or the commander of the strike group (said rear admiral, in this case) has the authority to make your decision for you, and you had better be prepared to pay for it if you disobey his orders. Like I said, I don't know of any other situation in the airplane-flying business that's like this. That's not to say there's no reason for it - among others, there's the fact that we routinely operate in places and at fuel states which leave us no option to divert ashore, with one runway...that's short and moving on all axes. A bad decision by one aviator can place the rest of the air wing in extremis in a unique way. In this case, several poor decisions by the leadership put their aircraft in extremis. Lastly, the story is indeed much better in person.

In the maritime environment - which is a very significant one both in the CENTCOM AOR and as we "pivot" towards the Pacific - I'll take the B-1. Sure, the 30mm is a formidable weapon against a handful of FAC/FIAC, but against a large number (like we need to be prepared to face), I'd rather have several dozen GBU-54s. Naval mining is another signficant and neglected mission, for which the B-1 is probably our most capable asset. As for operations in a contested environment, I'd be curious as to the particulars of the missions in those conflicts, though I'm sure they can't be discussed in the necessary detail here. But the fact is that in the face of wide proliferation of advanced modern IADS, the A-10 doesn't have the ability to use altitude and airspeed to avoid S/A threats. Regarding A/A threats, the A-10 can't effectively engage or outrun them, nor can it keep up with a strike package composed of escort assets that can. I think your point about CAS in an armor war is valid, but I maintain that a B-1 is more capable in that fight than an A-10 is on a strike which might be opposed by a sophisticated IADS network. And I didn't mean to imply that Afghanistan has legitimized the A-10, I only cited it as the example because it's the fight we're currently in. But those other platforms you allude to have also been providing effective CAS since long before OEF.

I think it's worth pointing out that aside from CSAR and FAC(A), the B-1 is capable of all those missions plus a number of others. More importantly, while the A-10 is not truly a "single-mission" airframe, it is essentially a single-environment airframe - it has virtually no utility in any kind of contested airspace, and no capability in the strategic or deep-strike tactical bombing game. We also need to keep in mind that while the A-10 is a superb platform for the majority of missions in Afghanistan, that war is winding down and we can't assume that the next will be like it.

I didn't say I'm not worried about the waiver or package getting approved - what I'm not worried about is jumping into a different cockpit and thinking, "Holy shit, there are so many different colors than in the Super Hornet! My poor ability to pick hidden numbers out of a watercolor painting causes me to have no situational awareness! Damn you Air Force and your radically different use of colors in fighter cockpit displays!" I have several years left on my commitment, I'm just wondering whether it's worth seeking out connections and pursuing these options or if I'm wasting my time. I have a unit in mind that I would be interested in. No friends there yet, but I would certainly plan on getting to know the command before just mailing in an application. I have a shore tour coming up where that will actually be possible for once. Sorry I don't really have any idea what the mindset of the typical reservist is, whether people want the full-time jobs or they just want to go to greener, more civilian pastures. In the Navy, the reserve side is a mystery to those of us on the AD side. You really don't learn anything about it until you try to go that route, as you can't go directly into being a reservist aviator and we have no operational reserve fighter squadrons. As for trading places...I'm gonna guess you've probably never spent 9 months living on a boat, nor going through the painful work-up process that leads up to it. The flying is pretty awesome, and I'm grateful to the Navy for the opportunity to live my dream, but I'm not sure I want to do it forever. I just want to know what other options are out there.

Hi everyone, I'm currently an active duty Navy FA-18F pilot, a little more than 2/3 of the way through my first sea tour (first ops tour, in your parlance). Lately, I've started to think about some potential options for further down the road and one thing I'm giving some thought to is a transition to the Guard or Air Force Reserves. I've got a few questions on that process. My first concern has to do with the Air Force flight physical. By Navy standards, I'm color-normal. In other words, I can pass a FALANT test (aka Optec 9000, I think?) no problem. The PIP tests, not so much. I understand that the USAF does not accept or even possess FALANT machines for color vision testing. Is this a show-stopper? I've done some studying of the Air Force waiver guide, and - although my understanding of the AF medical terminology is a bit hazy - I think a color deficiency is waiverable for a "trained pilot," which I assume would include me, and that an evaluation of the aircrew's ability to operate with a new set of cockpit displays is recommended. I'm not worried about that at all - I've never had any problems relating to vision, color or otherwise, in my flying career. But do I understand the waiverability of the condition correctly? And is such a waiver difficult to get approved? Second, I've looked over the "Gold Wings to Silver Wings" transition gouge on here (can't remember exactly how it's titled) and it seems like a lot of great information but a bit outdated and specific to traditional reservists. I think I'd be most interested in an AGR position - that's how you guys refer to most full-time positions in the Air Force Reserves, right? Is there any newer source of information or one that is tailored to someone interested in a full-time job? Lastly, I understand that most units hire their full-time pilots from within - guys that are already part-time. So I realize there's a strong likelihood of having to go that route first. What I'm wondering is how a pilot fresh out of UPT supports themself as a part-time reservist - I may need to learn some things from them. I suppose I could always pursue an airline position at the same time, but the truth is I have little interest in that business. And I think that would be viewed as a strength by a potential squadron - I have no intention to use the Reserves or Guard as a short-term supplemental income until I can make bigger money flying as a civilian, I just want to be able to choose where I live, stay there, and keep flying fighters, preferably in a unit that allows me the opportunity to do so in combat again. Thanks in advance for any light anyone might be able to shed on this for me!