AirGuardianC141747

Seems like an extended period, but then again besides the test period, validation period, etc, it’s the sheer number to produce and distribute on a world wide scope that may be in play. Granted, it’s normally months to several years for vaccines to be fully vetted as they continuously mature into various stages of potency/ effect. Vaccines cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop and hopefully this iteration of the Corona Virus (#5 of the previous 4) won’t take that long with a baseline of 4 current Types of the Corona on file that have supposedly been dealt with.

CDC and DOH finally getting in with boots on the ground. Good takeaway regarding regimes and how they conduct business. Keeping everyone out, controlling information, lockdowns in effect in various ways good and bad. Either way this virus will run its course and burn out eventually, or a vaccine will be effective and implemented or we just add another annual flu type vaccine to the list of options to mitigate the effects. IF food driven, governments should provide some assistance in “wet market” cleanliness. It’s not the first time, definitely not the last. This is a positive note to keep me in a good mindset versus the underlying theme of history. Mother nature is a serial killer...

Worst timing ever: Top Gun 1986, Graduated High School 1987, everyone chasing the pointy nose lifestyle, Gulf War 1 actually starts/ends 1991 and we graduate within a year to the drawdown. ROTC Pilot slots dwindle from 1200 to 100 nationwide. Pilots Banked, my awarded slot from basic is yanked. Became Aircraft Maintenance Officer and gave it my all for F-16s, A-10s, C-130s and Staff for Heavies for nearly 7 years. (Some of the most challenging but very rewarding/fun times of my life.) Given another shot, age waiver Pilot slot from the ANG, boom C-141s, then C-17s. Flew minor squirmishes, then OEF, OIF, OND, etc. for 12 years straight, mostly AE which were the most rewarding ever. Final years back at Staff, then Homeland Defense. Now fully retired and proud to have given it my best foot forward while keeping my amazing wife intact (still married over 22 years). Future is still wide open, now flying 747s around the world twice a month. Remain resilient, care not what others think it’s your life they have/had theirs, and never ever give up. You never make the shot you never take. People of today need to understand that not all things are immediate satisfaction guaranteed and it’s just that much sweeter when it does work out. Everyone’s path is different, you have one life! Not the selfie life, etc. Do your Best! Always.

As a former MAFFS program manager (C141/C17 IP) with my civilian counterpart (Awesome civi with more than a decade of experience) and one subject matter expert (MAFFS IP) 2013-2015 at the ANGRC, C17 wise, probably not a smart move using a higher cost Strategic asset while large aircraft civilian forces exist. They must all be exhausted before Defense Support of Civilian Authorities (DSCA) is in effect. Also, the C17 probably should NOT have corrosive retardant added to its list precautionary maintenance. It’s basically built around it’s initially solid billet aluminum floor and Bugatti brakes system. With Global Warming Greta, anything is possible - I shudder to think. Regarding metal movement or procurement and placement within the Guard Reserve Component. First it’s very politically motivated, just look at where iron sits. Mission Statements and Unit effectiveness plays a significant part as well. MAFFS is part of the gonculator (sp?) in which the Staff plugs and plays the iron layout spreadsheet. Call your Senators/Congressmen. Politically strong states have made their case in very compelling ways behind the curtain/non-disclosure signed. Art of the Deal dictates avenues vs “the most deserving” sometimes which is unfortunate to say the least.

Worse...

Well... Besides the common sense increase in hygiene recommendations (Wash hands, wear your masks, use your sanitizers, avoid physical contact, etc), there have been some other adjustments. Minimize Aircraft/Crews in higher threat areas which correlates to minimizing overnights if at all. Basically pass thrus, but my thought is then where do I go? Not like the other surrounding areas aren’t feeling the pain. Granted, Korea seems just OK, Japan is highly preferred for myself having lived there before and I speak the language and have already had their healthcare system clean me up before. We started “Heavy Cleans” as aircraft transition these areas, but I am unsure of its effectiveness or what this virus 🦠 likes or dislikes is impacted by this. You know as I do from our military service, some things work and some things are there to make you feel better about it even though you know your toast. There was a mention of Union assistance to address specific concerns and Company/scheduling mitigation to work out details if we request not to enter certain areas. I haven’t tested this as of yet, but it’s a nice thought if it truly works. Haven’t seen any monetary compensation as of yet, maybe some Delta Dollars or Hilton Honor points may do the trick 😅 Personally, I have a more capable mask system that I acquired during my last trip to Korea and some old school charcoal coveralls before I retired, but that’s not the point - I pickup better pay rates in the sand centric areas and would rather stay on that side of our flying eating schnitzel and brats. I may have to ask scheduling to be kind and use my “good will pill” they hopefully owe me. Would be nice to have some mil leave right about now, I envy ya’ll.

Always Politely Correct (APC 🤔) has quite a bit on Frontier as Huggy and Karl mentioned - APC folks mentioned that a “recent (currently open)vacancy shows 48 new positions. This upcoming Monday will be the litmus test on how many warm bodies show up... AA, UA, DL, etc. pretty well known compared to F9 (lite twin pros), but confusing to say the least so there’s that. Definitely provides insight as SQ, EK, KE, QF, LH, NH and always OZ plus many more cause myself to have a meltdown when scheduling pushes a Deadhead (DH) somewhere delightful, sand centric or virus prone 😝

True, and I definitely agree that FedEx can go out and procure the business that it needs away from Amazon. Hopefully they work a deal / combination move with a large Amazon competitor such as Walmart or even an overseas Vertical competitor. Being horizontal only (shipping specific/nothing created/manufactured/distributed, or sold) may impact growth substantially during these e-commerce times/“we need our stuff now!” Tying in early with Vertical Giants might be the only way out for significant profitable longevity as these Giants pursue horizontal motion. Seems inevitable, we’ve all seen the remote vehicles both ground +air, let alone air cargo outfits growing and ground vans breeding like fleas. One World, Star Alliance, Nike does it; it maybe time to team up. The most profitable design is to be the ONLY source / highest demand low density asset available OR do it all, hence be Vertical and Horizontal controlling all aspects of your operation. $1, $100, $1,000, etc. lower margins are still considered profit, but stockholders/investors, corporate bonuses/parachutes and world domination/ego seems to rule the day. *All just sideline viewpoints on my part, I’m just an Air Road Trucker and nothing more. Not too much growth projected this year comparably speaking and the virus isn’t helping regardless of being Cargo or Pax for that matter. Fred said he has a plan and I doubt it’s a bad one. First contact determines a lot. Things will get even more interesting.

Regarding the 737 Max, not a bad idea for Fred Smith to capitalize on a conversion freighter but they have bigger fish (Amazon) to fry or deal with. Since Amazon’s ground movement inception (all those Amazon Vans/Semi Fleet) late 2016/17. FedEx has lost $25B in revenue potential and Amazon gained $250B in profit specifically from its shipping growth/capabilities. As Amazon continues to grow its network (e-commerce and bleeding into healthcare now) as a “vertical” company and NOW a horizontal giant - FedEx, UPS, etc are finding it tougher to make headway as “horizontal” (shipping agencies/they produce and sell nothing) ONLY giants. Posted “on time delivery stats” in the latest 4th Qtr (2019) put Amazon at the top, then UPS, followed by FedEx. While they are all in the 90% plus range, this is a first. We can’t get or keep pilots within our group based on contract issues, etc. Southern shed some 737-400s to Mesa and another while focusing on getting the 737-800s in support of the DHL contract. Our Prime support within Atlas has shed some 76 iron as well, while we have picked up a trickle more in the 74 arena. Maybe this will motivate our negotiations, lose more grasp, be bought and spilt, no one really knows but we are feeling the effects of e-commerce. Amazon has been the 800lb gorilla, but once the sort facility in CVG is flowing she is headed well past 1600lbs. Bezos and Fred dislike each other to say the least. Fred can only be a hurdle to the Bezos machine of think tanks gathering data 24/7. Before you judge vocally, unplug Alexa and place her in the dumpster at your kids school along with all the other devices. “Welcome back John Anderton (Tom Cruise)” Retinal scan running thru a mall - Minority Report.

ACSC in-residence for myself was a means to an end. Disliked living on base, enjoyed the guest speakers immensely, papers were mind-numbing, pay every 2 weeks/benefits invaluable during our units aircraft conversion 6-10 months and returning for qual training plus AD points = priceless. If your near the 15 year mark of AD points, not a bad idea to take the opportunity. Once over the 15 year mark points wise, then get hired by your airline of choice hopefully. Chase the remaining AD points for retirement while gaining seniority if able. Yes, it may cost you some seniority and “seniority is everything” does hold true for the most part - I still cannot say enough about the peace of mind and extra boost in monetary value and benefits an actual pension provides. *I understand there are those who lean on the airlines being sticklers for this type of strategy, but the playing field has changed. Do your 1 year probation if able, but there are no longer mil types just loitering around waiting for something to materialize as yesteryear. Normal military retirements will not fix the wave of new hire requirements (It has always been a substantial airline force multiplier, but now it’s a mere trickle) - you are in demand. Your work ethic is in demand period. Airline business is fickle, but should remain on the uptick for awhile due to the extreme amount of retirements. Economy can and will eventually swing as it always does, but the bleeding of folks at the top end will stave off quite a bit of economy impact at this juncture comparably speaking. The TWA/Pan Am’s have come and gone, but the current big 3 would most likely be propped up like our car companies in some sort of fashion, good, bad and ugly if something drastic were to occur. May not alleviate a furlough situation, but the threat value is less likely than in the past. Mergers can and will happen and I will never forget a great friend telling me when he was hired at United in 98’ what the CEO said during indoc in Denver, CO - “Welcome to the last job/career you will ever have!” Boom, 911 which was not truly the only reason some airlines cut pay, drained pensions and/or furloughed. Some were overextended financially and that gave them an excuse to cut some digits and limbs as my friend said. He raced to the Guard unit like many others I met to maintain employment status. When it was all said and done at United, he was #46 from the bottom to be furloughed, but had already committed to his unit. He made a choice not knowing where the cuts would end. He is back as 777 very senior FO enjoying the good life, but still wary of management forever with one eye open. Military spends money, airlines make money - real world thrives on profit and stock holder gains, not OPRs, CBTs and your relentless get the mission done attitude. You are valued, seek out what you personally value and go out and conquer. I wish you the best pick and opportunities available. Don’t get discouraged, there will be folks always looking from the outside wishing they were in - only time will tell whether you were blessed with the correct choices.

Copy that. I retract my sugar feeding the troll and only stand strong on “Commanders set the tone!”

Ahhhhhh Training Wings, sounds like they haven’t gotten any better but a bit worse perhaps. Not all, maybe... Definitely the person in charge or who isn’t checked sets the tone. I am rooting for ya’ll, and hopefully when folks head or return to their War Wings/Squadrons they get the focus they deserve.

Many folks disregard the VA disability benefits. Please do not take them lightly and do some research for your own sake. You are entitled (bad word regarding others) to the benefits of your service. At one time I felt this was not worthwhile pursing (my own negligence), but it turns out the benefits are quite extraordinary. You maybe eligible for healthcare, or at least a co-pay scenario. Granted, your current insurance may be better and in some cases depending on which is designated as primary, the secondary may pick up the rest. VA Home loans. With a disability rating (maybe even 0% I think, you should ask), they will waive the funding fee. *In my case, I didn’t receive my disability rating before I purchased a home; therefore, I paid a funding fee rolled up into the loan itself. Turns out, I submitted my VA rating about 3 months after the purchase. I could not recoup the fee immediately, but when I sold the home they refunded the fee. So you still receive the benefit in some form or another if your proactive. Annually I receive a health checkup at my VA Hospital and they provide a basic physical including bloodwork. I have had special soles for my shoes made, physical therapy appointments, medicines given and sometimes they have tried to give more than I want to take. Example: cholesterol medicine which I thought was overkill since it was at the “limit” per say and I could control it via diet and exercise. Fairly lethargic and a food maniac, I changed my ways plus some additional exercise while on my international trips and have had no further issues whatsoever. They meant well, but I attempt to stay away from any required medicines if at all possible. TMI - Colonoscopy covered as well, it’ll save your life. They provide all the CPAP equipment I require/desire and monitor my performance annually. FAA is far stricter, but it is nice having a invested provider. Prescription refills roll in a week after I order over the phone. My experience has been very good based on the area I live in. *Note: Not all VA hospitals/facilities are created equal. I happen to have two outstanding options nearby. Basically, the VA Disability is a dart board. Throw anything and everything at it, they determine what sticks! If your not content with their findings you can challenge the decision. It doesn’t guarantee you anything, but you may have the ability to provide more information substantiating your claim. Worth a shot!!! One of my friends fought hard for 7 years to finalize/validate his claim (you also have 1 year after you retire/depart service to file a claim). After much strife and relentless pursuit, he was finally awarded the second portion to his rating. In the end they paid him 7 years worth of monetary benefits retroactively = over $80k. It was worth nearly $1k a month additionally x 7 years... plus tax free. And now it’s added monthly to his previous payments. Might be worth your time, might not. It’s all your choice. Just be aware that you need to list this type of benefit on the FAA MedExpress documentation if you fly commercially.

On a separate note. Living in base or at your military installation has its perks which is undeniable. If your base or installation is where you want to live even if you were no longer in the military or working for an airline then that is the perfect scenario. Can you answer the age old question(s): 1.) If you had a million dollars, what would you do with your life? #Besides the Office Space answer 2.) If you had a million dollars, where would you live? To fit our times let’s make it 10 million dollars... Well done Sputnik! Glad to hear it rocks for you. We enjoyed Panama City, but somehow ventured out a year prior to Hurricane Michael in 2018 thankfully. Some of our friends still haven’t moved back into their homes who worked at Tyndall AFB and it’s still terrible there. Dodged that bullet.

For Sputnik - Got it, makes sense not living in someone else’s shoes. I need to give some back ground info that pertains to my situation specifically. Skip to the bottom for the quick answer and avoid the personal fluff below. See *** Note: *If your a Guard baby from the beginning and have never left your hometown/state OR have visited areas you would like to retire in than it’s probably easy to figure out where you want to live since Uncle Sam probably deployed you, but never really PCS’d/moved you. Or, you have kids in school and it doesn’t make sense to uproot yet again, etc. kind of a no brainer. Having Friends and Family nearby since birth is a luxury and I envy this position - granted, that’s based upon great friends and good family members of course in a good location. It’s all eye of the beholder of course. As for me: Consider yourself fully retired having served over 24 years of military service in the active duty AND Guard or Reserve Components. Moved 9 times fulfilling 9 assignments in 6 of our great states. Lived overseas during my younger (high school) years. Have family in Europe and the Far East. No real responsibilities such as kids, schools, universities grandparents, parents, spouse employment etc. tying my wife and I down. Our immediate families live in NOT so nice areas, basically a lot of America has changed these past few decades as it always has and not always for the better. Company I work for has domiciles, but we also have the option to commute (paid ticket) and hotel waiting for you prior to launch if you will. It’s a huge plus as we can pretty much live anywhere in the US and quite a few of our folks live overseas. May cost you a day commuting, but you get to live where you want. If you call HOME places like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, etc (some of our domiciles) then it’s a perfect situation no doubt. ***I retired from Pan Handle of FL which was very nice and we moved to TN (1st move) summer of 2017, then moved to Atlantic side of FL summer of 2018 (2nd move), pulled chocks after 6 months and right back to TN to a familiar area for now. Bottom Line: Uncle Sam has told us where to live for a very long time. Most people live where their jobs/livelihood/family thrives or have anchors they cannot break. We are blessed to be able to live almost anywhere (no complaints). Despite the cost/headaches, we have been striking out in search of somewhere we can settle down comfortably which meets our particular needs. Our Home towns of decades ago are no longer what we consider a great town today. While definitely not my hometown - I graduated from San Jose State University and thrived in “The City” (San Francisco) 89-93. How does “The City” look now? Never will return to the Left Coast. Definitely <1st world problems and not a bad one to have if you can afford it. It’s probably a quick an easy answer for most, but it’s been perplexing at best. We’re still in the hunt for what we can only answer!

Made some life long friends, some Grand memories and proud to have served. As Black Rifle Coffee Company dude titled his book: Thank You for MY Service! After reading these latest monkey mounting pig skin scenarios, very fortunate to be retired and enjoying the Freedom our forefathers, my fellow peers and current rank holders provide/provided. Nice looking inside from the outside for once as a fully retired card holder. 2 Rules: Leave at the Top of Your Game AND Never stay at the party too Loooong.... Keep Up The Good Fight!

Referencing HossHarris website post, definitely interesting data points. Something we’ve been watching as one of the hired guns for Amazon for quite some time now. FedEx has thrown some hurdles and speed bumps in front of them, it was just a matter of timing before a wrench was thrown back. Business is war, and the Fred vs Bezos show has quite the history dating back many years. Unsure what the future may bring, but the facility construction in CVG is well underway and judging by the footprint of phase I, FedEx and UPS will take/have taken notice and planned accordingly/or may not be able too. Visibly, it’s just scratching the surface what lies ahead. We’re just contracted and if gobbled up during the expansion, Bezos doesn’t take prisoners which is worrisome at best. What happens when we’re all assimilated??? ———————————————————————————————————— ***Regarding the Domicile info. Totally agree, nothing compares to being in Domicile convenience wise or at least being near your Guard unit. **Having retired from the Guard over 2 years ago, I have moved 3 times just trying to figure out where it feels right to actually settle down for awhile. Domicile living is exceptional if it is really where you want to be. It does conjure up old AF assignments memories you didn’t want due to the location you were in. *Domicile matters somewhat, but not as important as our company provides ticketing to our Domicile or wherever they need us (you keep the points). You may lose a day here or there (Lost 1 last year, but I normally bid lines where commute days count as work days), but nothing like having to commute with no responsibility whatsoever. Aircraft maintenance issues, weather delays, airline cancels, etc. matter not, not my problem. Before I started the airline gig, a Delta friend let me know - “Getting to work is half the pressure of doing your dang job!!!” I really appreciate no crash pad, airport car or stranger room mates. And while the company still exists, it’s nice not having to relive college in the aforementioned scenario and touring the world. BONUS: I cannot recall/witnessing a time where a pilot could choose where they want to live first, and then get hired by an airline that supports it. Carry on and Fly on!

Great stories about a great man. Thank You all for the insight/memories. Rest In Peace / Godspeed!

Totally agree! Us 4 holers (74 Drivers) always make fun of those flying in a constant state of emergency with 2 (our fellow company 76 and triple 7 Drivers). But the AF did resurrect another B-52 from the boneyard recently...

Thanks iRobot your right on the money, F-15X or EX was old news I thought. These past few decades we rarely if ever procure initial numbers of aircraft our services request/set out for . F-22 fell far short, F-35s will fall further as budgets tighten most likely. Supposedly the new F-15 variant will carry 16 or up to 22 Air-2-Air missiles; therefore, it will be the “Hammer” even if it fell short to a mere 12 compared to stealthy F-22/35 being less than 6 or 8. Granted, I guess you hard mount and bring more to the fight but what’s the point... 22s/35s clear the way/targeting for the Hammer. Either way, there’s mention of keeping 2 companies in the Fighter business for diversification as well. Cheaper proven upgraded aircraft to help sustain the fleet while 35s come on line, F-15 platform seems like a great choice. Just an opinion. *Its like when we bought C-17s to replace C-141s, they weren’t thinking to replace nearly 300 C-141s one for one. Buys were something like 60, then another 60, then another 60, how about another 40... While the C-17 is more capable, AMC just forgets that they could NOT be in 285 locations around the world with 120 aircraft... need more and more, dang it... Gotta figure footprint at some point, can’t be everywhere.

I would have agreed 4 months ago regarding the BUFF, but having flown thru Europe (won’t mention where we stopped) looking down from our cockpit upon the backside of a cordoned off BUFF with a security team around it I question just how Bad Ass it is now... It was the WG bird too... Apparently had a double engine 🔥 🔥, yup 2.... and diverted there. We kept our vintage 747 going on to the next stop and next, but the oven was a bit sketchy I must say. I will say that it was Bad Ass enough to shutdown 2 engines and flutter on in for MX. Best BUFF quote I have ever heard: “Everyone grab a throttle, we’re going around!!!” At least the F-15 is being produced yet again to bring the Hammer that the F-22/35 could not. >Payload, very impressive.

“In what other scenarios would one be committed to the ANG, but not doing the thing they initially signed up to do?” - BigBlueSky Medical School perhaps? It normally incurs a 4 year commitment after residency. Granted certain specialties may incur more. For them it’s basically a 1 for 1 ratio of support given if you will. 1, 2, 3... years of schooling incurs 1, 2, 3... years of commitment evenly. Plus Bonuses and stipends may apply. What about Law school? While not a scholarship, there is the “Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) to officers on active duty.” Dentist falls into the medical criteria I presume. None of the above have the UPT commitment of approximately 1 year of training = 10 years of useable servitude. Their physical qualifications are not as stringent either so they are much easier to keep within their profession as support personnel, or if they were unable to finish or pass their training/qualification early on, they could sub category into many of the opportunities the military has to offer is my guess. Either way, time served for the military to get their money back vs the individual paying for whatever training they received is most likely a no-go for the individual anyway. Otherwise these individuals would obviously have just paid the bill or incurred the loan from the start as civilians like most airline types have done. USAF Aerospace and Operational Physiology (AOP) is there to keep pilots up and running as a front line asset. They vetted your physical prowess at the beginning and put the cash up front into you, so it’s pennies to keep you airborne for a long time. Normally you are recategorized into another AFSC (profession) and you serve your time out. Granted, the need for pilots is a cyclic event so we have seen folks released early which happened decades ago due to drawdown. Right now the Military is hemorrhaging pilots/airlines are soaking them up, but then again - if your rated, but not flying due to lack of MDS qualification do you fall into the Flying Class 1 Physical requirements for actual flying pilots? It’s not like you accrue OFDA/gate months which very very basically means - the more months you fly the more months or years you can serve in a non-flying position and keep your flight pay going. As far as disqualifying events. Heart attack, Stroke, Psychosis, failing your PT test 3, 4, 5 times - I don’t know, but it’s probably drastic. They prefer to fix you up as if you were the 6 million dollar man. If they can’t like having MS which if I recall one of my friends had later on during his flying career, he was released and it was a long time before he managed to finalize the FAA medical and now flies for American fortunately. And do you require a Flying Class 1 as you are not on flight status??? I would post on the medical forum to be sure. Weird example: we had a female fully qualified pilot who became apprehensive to flying. Several of us instructed/flew missions with her and she was a good enough pilot but it became just too much. Flew about 2-3 years with us and she transitioned to our medical squadron at our ANG unit where she found her niche somewhere in the management section of it all. We sent her back for some schooling to validate the transition. Her new AFSC training commitment runs concurrent and not consecutively so Pilot commitment will be the shackle.

Kelly may not have reduced anything, but Jen did...

Better to be a flying O-6 than the original desk jockey vampire in the Rear Admiral. Ed Harris the 69 year old “2 Star” Admiral; definitely had some age waivers approved... Took him long enough to promote from BGen in “The Rock” 23 years ago. Good actor though.

Good article. Remember being deployed to Dhahran Khobar Towers just prior to the bombing as well as taxing the vast concrete while supporting the war effort during the last year of our C-141s at PSAB. Dejavu lately as I have taxied the new Kuwait ramp which reminds me of that vast concrete. Memories...