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Dangerzone

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    Guard/Reserve timeline to UPT

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    On 2/8/2022 at 2:24 PM, UPTapplicant96 said:

    Update on the timeline:

     

    AFOQT test: March 2020

    TBAS test: May 2020

    Interview & Selected as Alternate: Aug 2020

    AFOQT retake: March 2021

    TBAS retake: April 2021

    Interview & hired: July 2021

    Submitted request to FC1: Oct 2021

    Received FC1 Date: Nov 2021

    FC1: 18 Jan 2022

    FC1 stamped: 1 Feb 2022

    Enlistment: 6 Feb 2022

    NGB approval:

    OTS dates:

    Anyone have recent gouge on the time it takes to get OTS dates after submitting the NGB officer packet?

     

    How did you go about getting your FC1 before enlisting? Or were you already in the AF? 
    My recruiter told me I need to be enlisted in the unit before they can go about procuring dates for FC1 or OTS 

    Upcoming Boards

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    1 hour ago, elvis said:

    I was that crew chief, I can see that being incredibly frustrating, especially on your own dime. That being said, that's part of the process. It sucks, but from my point of view, I saw it as I was being interviewed for 4 years.  When It came time for the board, you know they contacted every supervisor I had and asked how is this dude? Any shot of a slot could've been shot down right there. Not saying kick sand by any means, but as many have said on this website, keep pushing and sharpen your package and interview skills up and I honestly believe they see that. 

    Congrats, not taking away from your hard work by any means and I'm sure you earned it my man. 

    It just appears from the outside looking in that it was already a done deal, like this guy has hung around the bar and slapped hands with the pilots for 4 years we already know we want him and it would look bad if we went with an outsider. So just sucks going up neck and neck against other good dudes with the only difference being this guy is homegrown. I guess that's the nature of the game. 

    1 hour ago, ryleypav said:

    Or they went with the local kid because he interviewed better. There may be some bias towards the local guy, but it comes down to how the unit likes you on that interview weekend. Yeah it sucks, but them's the breaks sometimes. I was passed over for local guys a few time, but then got it after sticking with it. 

    If that's the case I'll take it on the chin and move on, but I really don't think that's always the case. The whole local guy been here for a few years lets give him a nod and see how he interviews, should only matter up to the interview, beyond that it should only about who would we rather have around for 20 yrs or who do we trust can handle the mission and not fail UPT, etc... 

     

    Upcoming Boards

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    Quick rant,

    Any of you off the street or out of towners find it annoying to take time sending applications, spend money to rush and attend boards, only to hear through the grapevine afterwards they went with the local kid from afe or crew chief. Like if that was your pick the whole time why even have a board besides for formality, save me the time and money. Either have a board with only members from your unit or quit putting so much damn emphasis on people just because they’re already in the unit. 

     

    • Like 1

    Investment showdown -- beyond the Roth, SDP, & TSP

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    13 hours ago, Negatory said:

    BTC is actually still in the process of inflation, by the way, with 18.6M currently mined and 2.4M still to be produced in the future.

    it now takes at least 10 minutes to send most transactions and costs $20 regardless of how much you’re sending.

    Sending $10 to your bro? That will be $30. Oh, also, the energy costs are INSANE and entirely unsustainable, but that’s another topic.

    Good points, that’s the beauty of the whole thing is it costs energy to produce those blocks and every 4 years the reward is cut in half. Yeah BTC while 12 years in is still kind of equivalent to early stages of the internet, still has a lot of development to happen. BTC was not intended for you to buy chocolate with it as you eluded to due to the high and slow transaction costs, what it lacks with that it gains in security from how the blockchain and cryptology was setup. 
    You should checkout the lightning network and what strike is going to do, if you haven’t already heard about that. Very interesting stuff.

    Investment showdown -- beyond the Roth, SDP, & TSP

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    7 hours ago, skosh said:

    Yes.

    Back on topic, purchased my first crypto today through PayPal.  Went with Ethereum, but for a very small amount... just getting my foot in the door.  Any thoughts on how it compares to the other cryptos available on PayPal? (Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash)

    Plenty of upside in all of those projects, however, private institutions (smart money) are not buying litecoin, eth, or anything else besides BTC. Also BTC is the only one with a fixed supply—21m coins. Forget bitcoin being used as a world currency, but imagine half of the SP500 companies putting some exposure on their balance sheet, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Merryl, etc. allowing you to invest your 401k in BTC, it will be used as a store of value to fight inflation akin to gold... Just my .02 don’t waste your time on anything besides BTC or ETH unless you’re good at researching undervalued altcoins and have a high risk tolerance. 

    RPA or ABM to UPT

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    Does anyone have any info on if it is possible to do the RPA or ABM route through the ANG, go to OTS all that, and then switch over to manned flying and go to UPT year or two later after training. Or do you get trapped into the job?

    Just trying to see if that is a good option in the current flying hiring environment, or if it's just better to keep applying to UPT boards and being patient. 

     

    Going AD while pursuing Guard/Reserve

    in Pilot Selection Process

    Posted

    After pursuing the whole "Guard is the best kept secret" route to earning my wings with no avail for the past year, I bit the bullet and called up the line officer recruiter to put in an app for an OTS pilot slot, reason being is AD is so backed up, rated board in June of 2021, OTS dates not until Summer 2022, UPT probably Fall 2022, I wanted to get that clock started in the background while I continue shot gunning apps to Guard/Reserve units. 

    I told the recruiter I had applied to a couple UPT boards with the guard and he said he can't push my AD application in that case, it has to be one or the other, and essentially if I get picked up at the rated board there's no going back... 

    Anyone have any SA on this, or is he being selfish and not wanting to process paperwork knowing in the back of his mind if I get a guard call first i'll go that route which is 100% the truth and he'll have wasted his time. 

    At the end of the day I'm just trying for a UPT slot, I think my best chance is the guard but I wanted to start the AD thing since it will take a 1.5+ years, but I don't want to screw myself if I were to get a primary slot with a guard unit in the next half year. 

    Thanks in advance

    • Upvote 1

    Enlisted Guard Hopeful

    in What Are My Chances?

    Posted

    45 minutes ago, LAW428 said:

    Hello, I’m a 23 year old TSgt crew chief at a fighter unit. 

    pilot-86, Nav- 65, AA- 30, V- 52, Q- 16

    PCSM-91, with 102hrs and instrument rating

    3.1 GPA and a business degree.

    The AFOQT quantitative score is pretty ugly, but other than that I feel like I’m fairly competitive. Have been on many deployments with lots of experience. 

    Would like some input. Thanks 

     

    Think your scores are great dude, PCSM in the 90’s means you’re qualified and would beat out or compete with most other applicants, has been said a lot on this forum pilot section takes the precedence over the other categories so I wouldn’t retake it. Having a background as a crew chief is a huge plus, also how did you make E-6 so quickly? Lol 

    To me that shows you’re able to take on a lot of responsibility, liked among your peers/command, and a motivated person. Nice job. 

     

    • Like 1

    is it worth dropping everything I am doing for military aviation ?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You got any flight hours under your belt or at least been on a discovery? Did you serve in the military at all? Those are both kind of critical things to gauge your interest. For me having never flown anything besides a dinkey Cessna 172, being in the air is surreal, being a pilot in control of an airplane thousands of feet or a few hundred feet above the ground is a special experience most people will never be lucky enough to experience. I can’t even imagine what’s it’s like going 600+ kts as a fighter or doing cool mobility/tactical pilot shit. If you played sports growing up, that feeling of we all got a job to do and being a part of a good team with your best buds, that’s the squadron environment, not to mention the sense of enjoyment you get being a part of something bigger than yourself and taking the fight to people that hate America and you’re on the end of the spear helping that 18yr old with a rifle or delivering critical supplies or whatever. But for me it’s mainly the challenge, the camaraderie and team environment, and I love to fly airlines and want to get paid to do it. 

    Crushing an interview 101

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted

    Hey all, 

    I know this question has been touched over the decades and before I get crucified on here, I did search through the forum a bit and found the same message of “be a good dude, be yourself, don’t be a douche... etc. 

    I recently got offered an interview with a fighter squadron and also have a good shot with a heavy unit. Besides reading through the interview questions and having a good response for each question ahead of time—so you’re not sitting there in silence when the question “what’s your weakness or when did you mess up in life” is asked and reluctantly say I don’t know I’ve never thought of that and looking like an idiot and probably losing your spot right there. 
     

    For someone who feels like he’s got one shot to leave it all out there, how does someone set him/herself apart? Besides the I love America, I have what it takes sort of answers that are probably recited at every board; is there a topic to be an expert on, or a certain personality trait that is desirable to hear someone has from a boards perspective and is indicative of breeding success. I understand it’s not “one thing” but the whole person concept. 
    But as someone who tries hard and wants to make a good impression, how would you prepare if you had to go back in life?

    Is there a type of person fighter/heavy squadrons are looking for or is it simply whether they think you’re sharp, won’t fail out of UPT, and seem fun to be around.

    I appreciate any assistance.  

    Give up slot for a hold out? (Advice needed)

    in Air National Guard / Air Force Reserves

    Posted · Edited by Dangerzone

    As a UPT hopeful myself, if I were you I’d take the sure thing vs wait for the potential. I’m sure your situation is similar to mine, get a flying position with the AF, location is kind of irrelevant because you don’t have control over that unless you’ve been with a unit for a long while and have some rapport established.  I’ve been told many a times if you want to fly you can’t really be picky, I think the COVID environment and airline furlough situation only makes it that much more uncertain. Take the gig.    ; ) 

    If you happen to get multiple offers go with what works best for your family and long term goals, I don’t think anyone could fault you for that, and toughing a situation out when you’d rather be elsewhere will impact your work and the mission. 

    Burned out on civilian job

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    9 hours ago, AirGuardianC141747 said:

    Would like to reiterate what many have said already. Don’t quit your current job as it puts food on the table and a roof over your heads. Get selected, make it thru all the training, etc. and still believe it’s your passion = fantastic. Do not pass the physical, UPT, etc and you may be in a much more vulnerable situation than ever before. Definitely take the gamble if it’s truly in you and don’t give up. Timing and having options reigns King. Nothing more Dangerous than a Man with Options. 
     

    *Burned out at age 26 is kind of early to be burned out of most anything. Granted, it’s better to figure out your path earlier the better.

    Seems to be the resounding answer, good point on better to have options vs not having any. My personality has always been more entrepreneurial or I’m going to make something of myself, so the whole burned out at 26 thing is more so I feel trapped in an environment I landed in right out of college and spent the last 4 years involved in, but I don’t know any other occupation except the one I’m currently in which meets one need ($$) but not the others (fulfillment, enjoyment, etc), so yes the grass is looking bright green doing anything else. I’m constantly reminded that the environment I find myself in does not fill up my tank, not that I can’t do the work, I definitely can but at the end of the day when I go home I just feel drained not in the physical sense of building a home but in the mental sense of I don’t care to do this work. I just don’t want to look back 10 years from now with regret because I was too scared to try something else. 

    • Like 1

    The Next President is...

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    50 minutes ago, Mark1 said:

    It doesn't.  I thought I was clear that it's not an all-encompassing metric.  However, at the moment we're lofting 2 incompetant idiots that are also human cesspools to the top of the two-party system with nearly perfect accuracy.  Wouldn't it be a good start if we just went with 2 incompetant idiots that were mildly respectable human beings instead?

    Reagan was the last charismatic leader America has had and that was a long time ago. I am in agreeance with you, I think it's an absolute disgrace that with all the great minds/people in this country, these are the two nutjobs we decided should represent American. I believe we're going to have our equivalent of the French Revolution in a not so future time. Wealth gap keeps widening, socialistic ideas becoming increasingly popular, racial tension... There is so much anarchy and unrest and Americans have become completely us vs them in the two party system. 

    The Next President is...

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Mark1 said:

    Jesus Christ, we're ing doomed.  We really do deserve 2 candidates of the caliber we have in front of us if this is the kind of logic that's being used by the average voter to decide where their vote should go.

    I mean, in any election this would be a absurd statement.  It's plainly obvious why the incumbent would take a rosy view and the challenger a pessimistic one.  But in this specific case, this logic deserves a facepalm of epic proportions.  The current incumbent was a challenger 4 years ago and his god damned mantra was "Make America Great Again", implying that America was no longer great.  Maybe the hat that he wore with the mantra emblazoned on it burned your retinas to the point where you couldn't see it?

    Every 4 years there's two more manufactured candidates just putting on a theater show during the campaign.  The script is written by a team of sociologists and PR people and they all just hope that their horse can rattle of bullshit platitudes for the 9 month campaign without stepping on any run-ending landmines.  Landmines in this case being a metaphor for making some social faux pas that has no bearing whatsoever on somebody's ability to run a country.  And the worst part is that the voters know they're watching contrived theater, and yet, instead of demanding reality they just get wrapped up in the details of the storyline and cast votes as if the show they're watching was reality.

    Can we just start voting based on who seems more human before this country goes the way of Rome?  I'd ask for decision making at a more sophisticated level than that, but...baby steps.

    And before anybody tries to decide who's more human between Trump and Biden, I'm talking about through the whole process.  Neither of these idiots would have ever been on a primary stage if it required a Turing test to qualify.

    Since when does “being more human” whatever that means make you a good candidate to run the most successful and empathetic country in modern history. Mother Theresa and Ghandi were ideal humans, don’t think I’d want them making the important decisions tho.  
    I hear this so often I can barely handle it—Trump is evil the other side states. He wasn’t that evil 4 yrs ago when you were inviting him onto your TV shows and staying in his resorts and hotels.
    As soon as he started playing the politics game and putting his foot down on things he became “evil”, and the mob media has gone to extreme lengths to portray him in that way. 
    While yes I will consent Trump is a major asshole, needs to seriously learn how to play in the middle, be a little more decent and have some tact, but I don’t vote for someone based on if they’re nice people or if I like them, I vote based on the policies they’re wanting to implement and if I agree with them. 

    • Upvote 2
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