frog

Honestly, if you worked with your past leadership regularly, and there is mutual respect between the two of you, just email them directly. Keep it short, very brief explanation, ask for a recommendation, and let them know you can get on their schedule for a follow up phone call if necessary. If the guy knows you, respects you, and wants you to stay in the Air Force, it shouldn't bother them one bit. If they don't want to write you a recommendation, the worst thing they can do is ignore your email. You don't have much to lose. Caveat: I'm a lowly O-3. But I wouldn't hesitate to email my past commanders directly if I really needed their help. What career fields are you hoping for? Knowing the assignments officer at AFPC can really be helpful if that particular career field is undermanned.

I really don't buy the "shoe clerks are out to get us" sentiments related to this promotion board. Somebody came up with some really dumb ideas to implement this board, and it unintentionally hurt the younger flyers in a bad way . Leadership needs to recognize this and give a free pass to flyers without a UIF on the next captain board due to the training pipeline requirements. End of story...really not very complicated. I really don't have a suggestion for the guys that got hosed on this board...that really sucks.

I agree with you that many people don't understand how hard flyers work. However, in a similar way that you educated your physiologist, do you ever ask somebody in support offices about their problems? From a CE perspective, I would LOVE to eliminate training days, staff a night shift, or get all of your work orders done, but I don't have the resources to make that happen. Here is why: - Training Days: The Air Force has elected to implement a dumbass deployment process in which my CE troops will probably never deploy to support the homestation unit that they are assigned to. The homestation wing commander has no buy in on what his combat support capabilities are. Of course, if this gets fixed, it means your homestation base doesn't get maintained when the entire wing deploys. Additionally, more than half of CE taskings are outside the wire...and no, these guys aren't EOD...just your average plumber. What that means is I have to have all of my airmen proficient enough in combat skills to show up at an Army Power Projection Platform and succeed. This requires an entire syllabus of training in order to meet the combat and engineering training tasks...this is before any taskings are issued. So you spend somewhere between a full day per week, or maybe one day every other week to train these guys up, and then you find out they are deploying to the Deid. Fantastic, we just lost thousands of man hours that could have gone to supporting a homestation unit. All because the Air Force can't figure out how to manage deployments. But, I have to train each engineer like he is going to get shot at, or I have failed. - Normal Duty Hours: I simply don't have the manning to implement a night shift. With somewhere between 1/3 and 2/3 of each shop deployed at any given time, I can't effectively cover 24 hours a day with enough trained, experienced guys. So, we run a standby team for airfield and infrastructure emergencies. That is in addition to normal duty hours, so if you worked an emergency on standby all night, you are going to work all day in the shop, too. For this reason, I'm not going to run a guy out at night to fix a leaky faucet or an electrical plug that doesn't work. But, you can be assured that an airfield lighting problem or water main break is going to be worked all night until it is fixed. - Work Orders: The bottom line is, a big facility complex like a base requires that you spend 97% of the forecasted maintenance every year, only deferring 3% per year. The Air Force is funding sub-50% right now. Additionally, the more you defer maintenance, the more money is required the next year. The fact is, Big Blue has rightfully decided to invest in other places, such as very expensive airframes. It's time to pay the price, it's as simple as that. CE is also one of the largest unfenced pots of money around, so it gets taxed at HAF, MAJCOM, and the wing. Much of your squadron O&M money that gets used to buy flatscreens at end of year was pulled from money that was originally budgeted to CE O&M work. This is INCREDIBLY frustrating when the flying squadrons are up your ass about work not getting done. Now, one area that we need to improve is communicating with you guys. If work isn't going to get done, you need to know that and the underlying reason. This business of work orders going into the black hole to never be heard of again needs to stop. I worked directly with three fighter squadrons in my last assignment...great bunch of dudes, most of who treated me very well. However, there were a few that really knew how to burn bridges with a number of organizations on-base. Are there some really terrible support organizations out there? Absolutely. However, at the end of the day, I feel like I've done my job if I put 100% of my resources against the top priorities in the wing, which is a pretty tough thing to figure out.. That may have only covered about 25% of the overall requests, but there isn't anything else that I can do. Sorry, this wasn't supposed to turn into a CE specific post, but that is what I know best. Maybe finance has a similar story, maybe not. I'm going to drop the rant here, because we are getting way off topic from the thread topic of CGOC buffoonery. Have a good one!

The disconnect isn't that large. There are lots of people in the ops and support world that go to work everyday, work hard, put in long hours, don't expect recognition, and then get up and do it again the next day. The problem is that the Air Force doesn't encourage or reward workman-like behavior. We only hear about the "special" people in both worlds. I agree there is a disconnect on what level of support is required, but that is a resource problem that isn't going to go away in the near future, and is only remotely connected to the work ethic of the majority of support folks.

Yeah, a nation can just print more money and take everybody down with inflation instead of a single household failing.

Good info, thanks.

I hate to break up the good time, but I think this is a pipe dream. Sure, it sounds great. But you can't just bring back all of those people who used to work in the squadrons because they no longer exist. As support manning was cut to pay for new weapons systems in the out years, the authorizations were eliminated and people were shown the door. Moving people back to the squadron is going to deplete what is left of comm, MPF, etc. Your shit still isn't going to get done, the backlog will just be in a different place. I'm not sure if the flying squadrons used to have personnel officers sit in the squadron as section commanders since they are relatively small, but large squadrons did. Those fellas got the axe...there is no way to bring them back. The same is true for many other support functions, and it's about to get even worse with the current budget cuts. Bottom line: The Air Force cut manning to buy expensive stuff in the out years. We've been paying the price, and it's about to get much, MUCH worse. Only time will tell if that trade was a smart decision. Either way, the decision was made long ago and now we get to live with it. Full disclosure, I'm a support guy (CE). If you think service is bad now, wait for another year or two. The support capabilities within your wing have already been cut drastically, and what is left is about to be decimated.

At least he landed at the correct airport

It's funny listening to people complain about the red tape of the Air Force and how people are evaluated and then look to the airlines for a better life. Sure, it works out great for some, but I can't imagine subjecting myself to the asinine seniority system that the airlines use. If you get picked up during the upcoming hiring boom, good for you, but you'll also be one of the first to get dropped during the next furlough. Enjoying that left seat? Good, because your airline just merged with somebody else, back to the right seat. Give yourselves some more credit and at least open up your options to flying some charter or starting a business that can use GA for travel. There are a bunch of guys out there that have made it in the airlines and have really enjoyed it, but there are even more who have had their sucked away by the seniority system. And here is the real kicker...it has nothing to do with ability, just poor timing. I think some people really enjoy flying for the airlines, but I don't think it is the great escape that many AF pilots make it out to be.

Really?

Neither, there is no hope regardless of the AFMC/CC's ops experience, or lack thereof. Acquisitions problems start in Congress, and it doesn't get better as the shit flows downhill. Just my jaded opinion, only. Regarding flatscreens, there is no one to blame except your squadron, group, and wing commanders for wasting valuable taxpayer money.

And a few of those guys aren't really REMFs at all...there was a USACE guy in a fairly stable part of Afghanistan that used to drive outside the wire to his project sites by himself in a white Toyota truck. It was at a coalition partner base so there weren't any Americans there to stop him. He said he felt safer driving a vehicle that blended in to the population than cruising down the road in a convoy. Not to mention he could go any time he wanted.

This statement is inaccurate. JAG offers the majority of legal services to people on base. They are your friends, as long as you aren't in trouble. JAG would be the correct office to seek legal advice regarding a potential suit. As noted, they will not represent you in court over such an issue. ADC represents if you are facing judicial punishment. I think they might help you out in Article 15 matters, too. This is a good reference on what JAGs can/can't do for you: https://www.hill.af.m...eet.asp?id=6418 Cheers!

Wow. Respect.

Sweet history and the exercise sounds pretty cool. Not so sure about the "elephant walk" though...do you guys still practice marching, too?

I'm a support dude, but I agree that the priorities get mixed up. Just remember there are some good dudes on the support side, too. Most of them either get stepped on or jump ship before they have a chance to fix things. Sorry about my rant...my eight month old has been puking on me for three days.

10th MTN and 4th ID. You? And you completely missed the point. None of us are special. Failure for reading comprehension. Keep up the circle jerk though, it sounds like you are really enjoying it.

Thanks for illustrating why everyone gets the pay. You want a hard and fast rule, but you are already making exceptions to suit your tastes. Let's make the rule as exclusive as possible, but damnit, don't exclude me! And you are a warrior? I sure as hell hope you are a STO or something after throwing that spear. I'm sure there are a few true warriors on this board, but most of you guys who make the warrior argument are pretty lost. I'm no warrior, but I'm proud to have supported those that are.

GBock nailed it. I didn't want to quote his entire post. Owning gives you freedom. What is that worth to you? If you just want to bore holes in the sky one hour at a time, renting is the way to go. If you want to fly multi-day trips or fly that one beautiful weekend morning in January when the rental is booked, owning is for you. Just make sure you can afford the entire price tag up front.

I have a Cherokee 140 and I run about $12K per year flying 150 hours and BEFORE engine reserve. 100LL: 150 hours *8 gal/hr * 5.30$/hr = $6,360 Insurance: $600 /yr Hangar: $160/mo * 12 mo/yr = $1,920 Annual: $2K/yr Maintenance: $1K/yr Total: $11,880 Be advised that this is an average year, it can be more expensive...especially during the first few years that you have the airplane. You have to get all of the quircks fixed early, and you probably won't be ready to do oil changes, brake pads, etc by yourself yet. An RV-4 will have considerably less MX cost since it is experimental, but you will have to pay an A&P for the annual since you won't hold the repairman's cert for the aircraft. Engine overhaul is a valid cost that needs to be considered, but I don't throw it in my costs because it's already paid for. I set aside $20K the day after my last overhaul just in case. Obviously, hangar, insurance, and fuel costs vary widely based on location and experience. Two years ago I wasn't flying as much and was running about $8K/yr. Also, I fly 25 hr/yr or so TDY, so that is essentially free gas. Just my two cents: don't do it until you can really afford to fly as much as you want, have your overhaul money set aside as soon as you buy it, and try to hangar it whenever possible for peace of mind. Last, but not least, enjoy the type of flying that owning your own airplane can provide. It's a great feeling. The RV is a great airplane and I would have one if I didn't have a family of three. Edit: One other thought: make sure you get the avionics you want with your purchase or budget accordingly. Avionics in general aviation are pretty amazing, but they cost a not-so-small fortune. If you plan on flying IFR, WAAS is a pretty good gig.

Pitts already covered most of the points. Just to clarify a few things: 1. AAFES must fund new consturction and while they aren't explicity under normal MILCON rules, anything over $750K requires congressional notification. Guess where that is headed in the current budget climate. If they keep their funding under $750K, their approval authorities reside at a lower level (although they still sometimes require congressional notification after the fact.) As Pitts mentioned, with the higher prices of steel, $750K will buy you a nice garden shed that meets all building code when executed in compliance with federal contracting regulations. Now for the real gem...if the AF owns the building, the AF is responsible for paying for repairs/renovations out of O&M money. 2. If this is an AF owned facitiliy, repair money can be used for renovations if no additional footprint is constructed. Based on that, AAFES may choose not to spend their NAF funds on a new facility if they can pressure the AF enough to fund the renovation of the current facility...but you can't add to the square footage. See where this is going? All of this is driven by congress, so there is very little that the local CE or even wing have power over. But surely these inane rules don't apply to actual combat support, right? Wrong...you really can't go to war without breaking a host of construction laws. But I won't go into detail on that in a public forum.

I find it hilarious that you guys still don't realize that you are getting stabbed in the back by your own community. About half of your "bros" that talk a good game right now are going to promote and then use their new found power to impose "shoe" rules on you. You guys keep referencing this aircrew versus the world situation...but in reality you are eating your own. In the CE world, our SNCOs always greet these new policies with a "I guess now they expect us to enforce this bullshit, too" attitude. I expect that is true in the MX world and about half of the support world. The reality is that everybody in the Air Force works for a pilot. It is in your hands to change it. Stop bitching and do something about it. Please, for the rest of us that will never have any real power. If some pilot O-9 out there put his foot down on uniform regs, they would change. If some O-6 flyer said that the "Home of the Fighter Pilot" sign at Nellis will stay up, it will stay up. Trust me. I'll take all of the negative ratings as a reflection of how close to home this hits.

From the token CE guy: -That's pretty funny shit. That dude is lucky that the punishment stopped the way it did. -Conserving water within reason is no joke...a couple of years ago there was no water for two weeks at Balad because the channel ran dry. -Sometimes, when you get off a convoy or out of the jet, it takes a few extra minutes to get clean. Who gives a shit if it takes an extra couple gallons of water?

Smaller versions of these things are going up all over theater. As usual, Air Force leadership has no long term vision and has completely ignored this program. Flying jets is more fun, got it, but I really wish they would understand that protecting the jet mission means doing less glamorous stuff like UAS and blimps also. The Army found a way to provide continous ISR coverage from the air without us...way to go blue.

So let me get this right: 1. Some Indian contractor made a menu with a Chinese jet on it. 2. Flyers get panties in a wad. Call out non-rated for not knowing airframes. 3. Airframe discussion ensues. Turns out flyers don't know each others airframe. 4. Conclusion: Non-rated suck. BMT needs to be revamped. The sky is falling. Nice.