frog

CE guy here. FLEA’S words check. The money for barrier MX flows through CE channels. The CE squadron will often fund it out of pocket at bases where it is not authorized at the expense of other requirements. Extra cables are goodness to give you guys more divert options, but they are equally important to keep engineers trained on them. Arresting gear requires daily, monthly, and annual MX. The Airmen installing mobile arresting systems at a contingency location may have only touched them at tech school and a couple of exercises if they deployed from a base without barriers. A lot can go wrong on if you catch a cable that is installed or maintained incorrectly. Something to consider when you guys are running the AF someday.

I’ll check it out, thanks. 🍺

From Enclosure A: PME Outcomes. PME and JPME programs must provide graduates the knowledge and skills to prepare them for service as joint warfighting leaders, senior staff officers, and strategists who: a. Discern the military dimensions of a challenge affecting national interest; frame the issue at the policy level; and recommend viable military options within the overarching frameworks of globally integrated operations. b. Anticipate and lead rapid adaptation and innovation during a dynamic period of acceleration in the rate of change in warfare under the conditions of great power competition and disruptive technology. c. Conduct joint warfighting, at the operational to strategic levels, as all- domain, globally integrated warfare, including the ability to integrate allied and partner contributions. d. Are strategically-minded warfighters or applied strategists who can execute and adapt strategy through campaigns and operations; and e. Demonstrate critical and creative thinking skills, interpersonal skills, and effective written, verbal, and visual communications skills to support the development and implementation of strategies and complex operations. //BREAK// I know the status quo is to hate on the Air Force, but PME is a CJCS managed program that is mandated by the Goldwater-Nichols act. It isn’t going anywhere any time soon. ACSC in-correspondence is useless unless the Air Force gives you time to really study and learn the material. Beyond that complaint, you aren’t going to promote to O-5 without ACSC, and there is very little the AF can do about it. There is honor in staying in the squadron, flying, avoiding PME, and retiring as an O-4 as long as you understand that you are limiting your opportunities for advancement in the larger AF and joint communities.

Welcome back. General aviation is great. Come on in...the water is fine.

This was a response to the Iranian missile attacks in Iraq last year and the realization that you can throw a rock from Iran to AUAB.

Word.

So this might be simplistic, but... Just write down what you would be happy doing. You are volunteering - you aren’t being forced into service. No career field is going to want to keep you if you aren’t a happy/willing member of it. If all you want to do is fly, just write that down and see what happens. - CE guy who was medically DQed from flying. I love what I do.

I don’t know what this means, but I am sure it should be in the next PME curriculum rollout. 😂🍺

I had a 140 for close to 15 years. The pros are that it is a simple, reliable, and “cheap” certified airplane. My wife and I flew it everywhere until our second kiddo came along. It was slow as all get out, but I really enjoyed it. If I was looking for four plus seats, I would definitely do another Cherokee, ideally an Arrow, 235, or 6 for more load and speed unless I had enough money to buy and operate a nice Bonanza. An Archer or 1973 and later 180 (or 72 and later Arrow) have significantly more room in the back. Shoot me a message if you have any specific questions. I can talk about Cherokees longer than most people want to listen.

I owned a Cherokee for 15 years that we flew all over the country until I had to sell for an OCONUS PCS. My only advice is to don’t overbuy, especially if you are going certified. If 90% of your flying is going to be for fun in the local area, save yourself the $ and heartache of having a turbocharger, retract, etc. For the other 10% of your flying, pack some extra coffee and cookies for the times when you are bucking a headwind at 120 knots and enjoy the ride. Fast is awesome, but there are some great things to see in America down low and slow. If you need to go fast with only two seats, buy a RV and don’t look back.

Complaining about having nothing to complain about...saltiness level: expert

This. Like it or not, DOD has decided that it wants O-5s to have a baseline background in national security issues beyond your tactical expertise, and that background is supposedly provided through IDE. No one in the AF can or will change this fact. The effectiveness of forcing O-4s to do this online around their work/family schedules is an entirely different (and worthwhile) conversation.

FIFY

No judging here...just curious. Did you complete ACSC or have any negative indicators? Barring anything unusual, I really hope this is a fluke and you get picked up next year. It seems to be a case study that they should examine regarding what needs to be fixed.

The difference is that Army officers expect to move up through the battalion, brigade, and division levels. Many pilots want to stay at the “company” level or below and make O-5 and O-6. I don’t think it will ever work out that way. The split line category will get more aircrew promoted, but then they are going to do O-5 “stuff” that they don’t want to do in the first place. They need to make the aviator bonus scalable depending on rank so that if you get passed over for O-5, your bonus is increased to compensate for the additional pay. Who cares if you don’t make O-5 if you get to stay in the squadron, fly, and make O-5 pay plus the regular bonus? You get paid like a Lt Col to do major’s work.

There is nothing wrong about a heritage video for support guys as long as it recognizes that they are in support of a larger mission. In many cases, bad support is a result of a lack of connection to the mission. I don’t think a heritage video will fix that, but it wouldn’t hurt either. - Support Guy

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but promotions to Major and above must be confirmed by Congress. That means CSAF, SECAF, SECDEF, must approve all of them. I don’t envision these people going through the list one name a time, but there is certainly room for politicization over hot button issues. I’ve heard of the list being held up for leverage over budgets, controversial people (i.e accused sexual assault), etc. Even with zero issues, it takes time for the bureaucracy to grind it up and spit it out. Most of the time is probably spent either sitting on someone’s desk or in some analysts’ hands trying to figure out what issue Congress is going to play “gotcha” on. We give our our senior leaders and AF a lot of grief sometimes, often with good cause. But, sometimes I think they are just as frustrated as us because the tendency to make easy things difficult starts at the highest levels of our government.

Unsat. Del Rio or Sheppard? They aren’t rocket science...you just need a good CE dude and a decent contracting officer who isn’t going to spend hours researching why it can’t be done.

So you are basing your conclusion on the entirety of general aviation, commercial or otherwise, based on your experience at a single civilian school? Copy.

That is a pretty broad brush that you are painting with.

It’s hard to help online. Go to a meeting at your local EAA chapter. Pitch in on chapter events, and people will get to know you. Solid mil and civ folks will pour out of the woodworks to help you. That doesn’t mean you get free training, but local people that know you on a personal level will be able to help, and you might stumble into a sweet deal.

They auctioned them off when they shut down the club at Wright-Patt. They had some pretty nice airplanes. There was a pretty large membership in the club. My first meeting was the one where the wing leadership sent a letter to be read at the meeting that closed the club. People were pissed, including some retired GOs. I was really glad I didn’t sell my plane prior to the meeting.

Is this not inevitable? The boss chooses his best qualified to be the exec from his perspective. Great commanders choose great execs. Bad commanders choose people just like themselves with the same bad leadership characteristics. Then, that person becomes a commander and gets promoted early...wash, rinse, repeat. Exec duty isn’t a terrible thing (in hindsight). You learn a lot when you work for a good commander. The problem is that bad leaders find a way to propagate their flaws.

This. I know that doesn’t make the wait any easier, but I’d bet a beer you get picked up.

I got picked up three weeks from school start at a joint school. It was a great experience, and I landed an embassy job after school. It hurt to leave the squadron on such short notice, but things have worked out. I lucked out...I would probably not be a happy camper if I went to the Pentagon after school...leaving the squadron just wouldn’t be worth it. Standard disclaimer: I’m a CE guy, so I’m not getting pulled out of a cockpit to go to school.