Gazmo

B45's been around for what? Over a decade now? It's not "new" to the KC-135 at all. Obviously we've got a lot more B45 tails now, which could be helping to rear the ugly head of some software issue that has always been there, which surfaces during very specific conditions.

No. Nothing that had anything to do with the autopilot so why all of a sudden now? There could very well be an issue with our hardware, but VVM and the understanding of the way the systems work should definitely be an SII.

1,000 days? And we can't get days for continuation sim training...

I have never had an issue with B45, however, I can say that in typical AMC fasion, its implementation, training and SOP's have been pretty terrible. There is a very good chance these issues are crew error due to aforementioned reasons.

Yes, when I looked into a Cat-E job, the CC told me to come as an O-5 already.

So IMA's are not subject to any sort of mobilization? I thought that was the whole point.

Have you heard of them funding more AT or MPA days for IMA's?

+1 for the IMA route if you don't mind hanging up the military flying. ARC is getting more and more like AD, at least in the tanker world. I thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel pre-COVID with the talks of pulling out of Afghanistan, but due to COVID, there were no swapouts out of CENTCOM this year, so everyone did 60's. Guess what. Next year, PACOM is 60 days with no swaps. Show them (AMC) you can do it once and it's hard to go back. I remember when PACOM was a "business effort" with 15-day rotations. Now it's 60-days with staff. The stuff's getting old. I am going into my 19th year and have already been promoted to O-5. If I could find an IMA job to sit in for the next 3-4 years, I'd jump on it in a heart beat. Remember; there are different IMA's (A & B; and I believe there is a C, but I could be wrong). A's give you 48 IDT and 14 AT; B's are 24 IDT and 24 AT. Both will allow you to use TRS for healthcare.

Attend your Cockpit Working Group (CWG) and bitch about what you need in your airplane.

Went to FL on vacation a few weeks ago and we traveled to on a Wednesday. Overhearing conversation around us, there were quite a few people sitting near us on business trips. Definitely not an official sign that business travel is coming back, but there are definitely people traveling for work. I'd imagine some business travel may never come back, but I really don't think the technology we have is reliable enough to replace the majority of business travel and will definitely not replace the importance of human interaction/collaboration during business meets.

Let us not forget our PACOM footprint and last, but not least, our no-fail nuke mission.

There is also some evidence out there that recent MMR and Tdap vaccines provide some protection against COVID. Google it.

Yep... did that on the 190 at AA the whole time I was on that jet. I miss that thing. My record was 23 days with being called. Been out for a while on mil leave, but we shall see if I have the same luck on the 320.

Probably (and arguably) the highest hourly rate of 99% of other careers fields on the planet (when it comes to income per actual WORK performed)... I think.

Pretty much this.... and although the -135 community does have a weapons school, the rest of the afformentioned reasons still apply.