supertrooper44
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Posts posted by supertrooper44
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It’ll work out man, it seems like you have the attitude to get past it. There’s a lot of different cool things to go do in the AF that you haven’t even heard of yet.
I got a pilot slot out of ROTC, going to fly was all I wanted to do after going to AirVenture for the first time when I was 4. Got my shot, but it turns out I spend more time throwing up in the jet than I do flying it and it was “suggested” I find something else to go do. Part way through the process it was hard to deal with as I realized it wasn’t going to work. When I finally had to sit down with the CC and he told me I wasn’t going to be allowed to solo and I was done, I was honestly relieved. Throwing up every day, losing 30lbs from not being able to eat killed my desire to do it at some point. I also was ineligible for any other rated jobs.
Met a reclass board, ended up elsewhere and turns out it worked out awesome. I’ve gotten to do some wild stuff that I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was flying. It’s all what you make of it, and hey, if whatever you end up doing isn’t your cup of tea, you don’t have to wait around for 10 years to punch.
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On 3/17/2023 at 10:58 AM, Guardian said:
How do you input that into it?
I'm using a spreadsheet from a database that contains the recipients, references, and dates and then direct ChatGPT to refer to the database when writing the letters. Getting the instructions/prompt refined to get the output I want is the hard part, I'm just making it up as I go along.
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On 3/14/2023 at 12:21 PM, FLEA said:
AI is going to be life changing for so many people. There are a lot of admin task we do day to day in the AF that AI can solve in a matter of seconds. There are a lot of tactical applications that haven't even been investigated yet.
My current job involves writing an enormous amount of letters to another branch of government with just enough variation that it makes building a form letter/mail merge too difficult. Have been tinkering with ChatGPT writing the letters based on data from a spreadsheet, it's getting pretty close to working the way I want it to. It will save me 10-15 hours/week and be done in minutes.
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On 1/22/2023 at 9:06 AM, likearock1515 said:
I just wrapped up the OLMP in December. I doubled up on two back to back semesters, which was kind of draining. I didn't know which classes were best to combine, so I'm glad you asked! I found these to be the easiest classes: Practice of Command (LC-5510), International Security Studies (NS-5510), Airpower Studies (AP-5510), and Leadership and Warfare (LW-5510). I had to take (and pass) three courses before I could sign up for two at one time, and I assume its the same now...if you want to double up on your fourth semester, you'll need to send a heads up to the student help desk folks, as your registration window will close before your 3rd course grade is submitted and your account can be "unlocked." It was easy to do this, just plan ahead! They will make sure you are on track to pass and unlock your registration
I would definitely not recommend doubling up classes while taking the Joint Planning, Joint Forces, or Research 1 or 2 classes, but you'd still be able to manage passing scores if you need to. I'm not sure of the prerequisites that were required to take before some classes were unlocked, but here's a notional order in which I would take the classes: Joint Forces, Joint Planning, Joint Air Operations (send double course registration request about a month from finishing this class), International Security Studies + Practice of Command, Research 1 (if unlocked), Leadership and Warfare + Airpower Studies, Warfare Studies + work on your research paper for research 2 if you want, then wrap up with Research 2. Good luck!
One class left (Research 2) and I would second this plan if you really want to double up.
I doubled up twice and now am taking this term off to work on my final paper. All in all it will take me a little under two years to have finished the whole program.
Note that they have been adding requirements/assignments as the good idea fairy strikes someone at AU. The last class I took was NS-5510 and we had to do this AI-graded article review, weekly Zoom sessions (the sessions themselves aren't mandatory but the written reflection is graded), discussion posts, VoiceThreads (perhaps the dumbest assignments ever), and some papers. It turns into kind of a lot when you actually have stuff to do at work.
Be thinking about what you want to write about for your final paper. When enrolling in Research I they say you don't have to know, but you have to turn in an assignment at the end of Week 1 basically picking your topic.
All in all it wasn't a terrible program - I'd say much of it exceeded my (admittedly low considering it's AU) expectations and did take away some useful gouge. Add in the fact it's completely free and doesn't incur an ADSC and it's one of the better deals out there.
My main complaint was how poorly the classes are balanced out. AFPC uses it as competitive thing for civilians, so I had a number of classes where there were only one or two other dudes/dudettes who had any ops or deployed experience. Makes it tough to discuss things when the people with no experience are just regurgitating info from a random JP.
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Currently 3/4 of the way through the OLMP Joint Warfare concentration and a few notes on the current status of the program:
1. The ASU platform is way better than the AU-ran Blackboard. Shocking what happens when the AF just uses a commercially available platform.
2. I've had a wide range of types of instructors from AD mil, retired mil, civilian PhDs, and some that I am confused as to how they found themselves in the adjunct professor for officer PME role. Generally decent instructors, although the instructors have a lot less to do with it than the other students, which brings me to my next point...
3. They need to figure out a way to balance out the classes with backgrounds. WAY too many civilians who have never worn a uniform and clearly only know about the subject we're discussing from the readings that week. I saw that mentioned earlier in the thread and that has definitely not changed. In all of my classes so far there were maybe 1 or 2 other ops types, and it makes discussing joint warfare a little difficult when the lady from A&FRC is one of the students. This program definitely needs to be advertised better to the ops community.
4. If you have any ops background at all you're already going to be ahead of your peers. Most of the other students in the class don't have the slightest clue what is going on and really struggle with the warfighting concepts.
5. It's as much work as you want it to be. For discussion post weeks I normally find a few articles related to my assigned post, skim, pick a few points out and write the post. My formula has been two sources from the readings, one source I found on my own, and one small vignette from personal experience. I save all my discussion posts in a Word doc and use those to write my papers.
6. With the exception of three books I bought for the research class, everything else has been provided online and there is no requirement to buy any books. They give you all the readings then you can supplement your papers with any of the online military journals.
7. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have enrolled in the leadership program as a Capt, done nothing but the core curriculum, then transferred to the Joint Warfare concentration once I had my line number. If you're a Capt out there and need your Masters, this is 100% the route I would take. I have actually learned some things in the classes I've taken that have helped at work.
8. It's a really good deal if your life can support going to school. No ADSC, no cost to you, and you can get JPME I knocked out.
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On 9/25/2020 at 12:52 PM, SurelySerious said:
Pressing to test on that physical network thing on extended TDY. Hopefully VPN is enough.
I’m on day 25 of a TDY, VPN has been enough so far. We’ll see what happens when I hit 30.
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3 hours ago, Bigred said:
Can't speak for the Army, but in the Navy it was virtually unheard of to promote BTZ. About 10 years ago there was ~5 guys that did select BTZ to O-4 and they all struggled and most failed to make the subsequent rank. I think there was 1 dude last year that was BTZ to O-4, so it's rare.
Making O-4 is the goal simply to be able to retire, the Navy has for years let O-4s get to 20.
For comparison, last year the Navy promoted ITZ at about 70% to O-4 and about 60% to O-5.
My understanding of the merit based reordering is that the decision on who goes where was made at the board. If Generals are bickering now about who goes where that's just absurd. Not saying it's not happening, it just defeats the intent of the FY-18 NDAA that authorized it.
The proposed FY21 NDAA takes it a step further, striking the "may" prioritize promotion lists based on merit and replacing it with "shall."
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On 8/29/2020 at 10:26 AM, brabus said:
Hadn’t heard of the 43x...I might soon be answering the standard question, “why did you get another gun; how is this one different than what you already have!”
43X was a CCW game changer for me. I used to carry either a G19 with a Surefire XC1 or a S&W 360 .357 snub depending on what I was wearing.
Now I only carry the 43X, with the Shield Arms mags I have 15+1 in a single stack width pistol. The picture has the 15 rounders in the gun and mag pouch and the other two are the regular 15s with the Shield Arms +5 extension.
There’s a railed version of the 43X coming out soon that Surefire just released some mini lights for, not sure if I want to pick the railed version up or not yet.
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1 hour ago, Bigred said:
Getting my dress uniforms together, two questions.
1) The AFI says mini or full size wings on the mess dress. Is it a faux pax to wear full size wings on the mess dress? The mini Air Force wings and mini Navy wings aren’t the same size so it just looks kinda odd.
2) What’s the deal with the combat readiness medal? I was combat deployment qualified on my platform in the Navy in 2008 and as I was in a combat unit until I switched over to the AF in 2019, I never let that qual lapse. Does that time carry over?
Combat Readiness Medal isn't automatic, request has to be submitted in vPC. Not sure about the Navy time as it's supposed to be an "AF-Designated Weapons System" listed on AFPD 10-9. I'm sure you could get it approved/waived somehow depending on how much effort you want to put into it.
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I have both.
The Massif is fairly hefty, I don't wear that one too much unless I'm going to be outside for a while and it's pretty cold/windy. I'm in between a L/L and a M/L on that one but sized up for layering underneath it. Sizing chart they have is pretty accurate.
The ECWCS is a decent jacket for a USGI item. It's pretty thin but does a decent job blocking wind. Breathes better than the waterproof ECWCS jacket and was what I wore for most of the past winter in northern VA. Packs down fairly small so it's easy to keep in a bag.
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1 minute ago, FLEA said:
Do you still get airborne qualified in some CRGs?
435th at Ramstein has a handful of J-code billets for their airfield assessment UTC and the cop UTC.
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I was in the East Coast CRG from 2015-2018. It was the best assignment I've had so far.
First, the CRW has three total groups - one Air Mobility Advisory Group and two CRGs (one per coast).
The AMAG has two Air Mobility Operations Sqs, two Mobility Support Advisory Sqs, and the Mobility Support Ops Sq. AMOS is the deployable AMD for AOC augmentation. MSAS is the Air Advisor/BPC mission, with the West Coast having an AOR of SOUTHCOM and the East Coast having AFRICOM. MSOS is the home of all but 2-3 of the AMLOs, they are spread out at ~40 OLs. I can't speak to the day to day routine for the AMAG squadrons, but when you're in garrison is usually pretty relaxed business hours.
The CRGs have three squadrons - two operational and one support squadron (CRSS). I did time in both of the operational squadrons on the East Coast in a couple flight CC roles. I was on the road A TON for both exercises and real-world deployments but I'm a pretty low-density skillset (I'm not a pilot) so I got tapped for a lot of trips, more than the rated bubbas. Garrison schedule was usually pretty laid back, PT time every morning and into the office by 9:30 or so and I was usually gone by 4:30-5:00 unless there was mission planning happening.
The rated guys rotated through a few positions in the squadron, usually a flight CC job to start and then group training or stan eval or a wing position. Deployed positions for them were CRE Ops Officer and CRE Commander. CRE = Contingency Response Element, about a 60-80 person team normally led by a rated O-4/5 as the CRE/CC and usually two O-3/4 CRE/DOs. Rated also have the opportunity to get LZSO certified so that opens the door up for LZ trips. You'll get a lot of experience leading enlisted earlier than you'd probably get elsewhere. A CRS is ~180 folks with ~12 officers total.
The worst part about it is probably the Joint Task Force - Port Opening alert mission. Each of the 4 operational squadrons rotates taking it for ~3 months at a crack and during that point your travel is somewhat restricted, but it's not terrible to find a replacement for a weekend if you want to take leave.
With the exception of the Sq/CCs the rated folks got to fly. A lot of them were attached at the units they came from and the squadron paid for them to go TDY every other month or so to go fly. Some of the C-17/C-5 bros who were attached at the 6th or at Dover picked up actual trips. It really comes down to what job you're doing and how time consuming it is, but most maintained pretty basic quals.
Happy to answer any questions.
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Underneath 17 layers of clothes, you can find a diamond in the rough here in Madison. Bascom Hill in May = target rich environment.
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Do you think it would be possible to be guaranteed (given I apply and win a scholarship) that all three years of ROTC would be paid for? That would definitely be an incentive, especially if they'd let me transfer from my school to the actual host school for the 5th year...
Yeah, it's possible, you'd have to check out what they call express scholarships. They're for certain types of engineering and nursing majors. I am none of the above so I do not claim to be an expert about it, but I know that if you meet some GPA requirements and take the PFA and whatnot, then they'll hook you up. Not sure if anything has happened with this since they've been cutting everything else lately, but it's definitely worth checking out.
Also, if you would transfer your 5th year why not transfer now? I know you've written about the commute being a problem.
What the others have been saying about OTS is true. It's very difficult to get a pilot slot out of OTS, because of how competitive it is. You're looking at a GPA in the high 3s for starters, and there are a lot of applicants that fit those criteria. It is way easier to get a pilot slot through ROTC than OTS.
If you're really set on being an AF pilot, your best bet is to bite the bullet and do ROTC because that's going to give you by far the best chance at it.
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One more pilot slot for the rest of ROTC then. Good luck with whatever path you choose.
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"There are two different Field Training units:
Standard Field Training Unit: This standard Field Training unit is designed for cadets in the four-year Air Force ROTC program. (The two-year program and the last two years of the four-year program are identical except for entry procedures.)
Extended Field Training Unit: This extended Field Training unit is designed for applicants to the two-year Air Force ROTC program. The five-week Field-Training unit requires an additional 60 hours of academics, which are equal to the 60 hours of on-campus academics taken by four-year cadets during their freshman and sophomore years."
They don't offer extended Field Training anymore. You have to have taken both 100 and 200 level AS courses before you can go. The website doesn't reflect any of the changes that have occurred this year (extended FT, 2 year program, PDTs).
As for doing the two year program, you most likely can't. They aren't approving 2 semester POC anymore, so you have to spend a full two years as a POC. The fastest you could do ROTC these days is 3 years, and even that's unlikely with how competitive FT slots have become. Check into it though, as I'm not the UAO at the Det near you.
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We had a guy get bumped to the pilot list too. so it's definitely happening.
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I saw your story before you edited it out, I think it's a valuable lesson for future cadets on the dangers of becoming overly fixated on "winning" the ROTC game. I'd suggest leaving it up as a warning for those who may come across this post later and hopefully they'll avoid repeating your mistakes.
Agreed. I thought it was a good lesson for everyone.
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You're putting the cart way before the horse here. You're getting worked up about stuff that doesn't matter until you are a frosh in college. I had to have shoulder surgery my senior year of HS after I tore my rotator cuff and labrum (sp?) after I had accepted a scholarship (I was offered a scholarship in August prior to my senior year) and when I contacted my Det about what I needed to do for them, they said they didn't have anything to do with it until I signed the contract, and that doesn't happen until within one week of school starting. The only thing they did for me was fax the paperwork from the doctor to Maxwell instead of me mailing it because that got it more attention and got it pushed through faster than it would have had I mailed it.
Basically what I am saying is that nothing matters until you are enrolled in AFROTC your freshman year. Until that point, they don't have anything to do with you. Just keep doing what you are doing, apply for the scholarship and whatnot, enroll in the program, and worry about it then. They will help you get waivers if you need them, just hold on until then.
CCW Choice
in Squadron Bar
Posted
My standard rotation:
G19.4 with a Surefire XC1, G43X, and S&W 360PD .357. The 19 normally rides in a DSG Arms CDC holster (the pictured holster, unfortunately they went out of business and they aren't made anymore) IWB behind my hip or in a Raven Concealment Perun OWB holster if it's cold enough for a cover garment (I prefer OWB). I do have a G-Code Eclipse AIWB holster for it as well, but don't use it often. 43X is normally in a Tenicor Velo AIWB (pictured) and is perhaps the best AIWB holster I've worn. The S&W is just in a sticky pocket holster, not the greatest but it's handy when in gym clothes.
Currently using the Shield Arms S15 magazines for the 43X, they have all functioned flawlessly and it's awesome having a 15rd capacity in that single stack width pistol. I tend to carry the 19 more because it has the light on it, I don't like the flush lights available for the non-railed 43X. May get the 43X MOS for the rail at some point.
I will generally carry a reload, normally a standard 15rd 19 mag with an OEM +2 extension (I know, I could use a G17 mag but I like the fit of the 15+2 better), another S15 magazine, or a speed strip for the .357. Have a few mag pouches both IWB and OWB. I like the Blue Force Gear OWB single pistol belt pouch, it's very slim.