dream big

I don’t think this is the case with C-130s; maybe in today’s permissive environment. However, when you’re talking about flying a low level ingress to an airdrop with radar threats you can’t be a tard and get the mission done. While those that get pushed don’t have to be “great” in the jet; the one thing this community has done well is weeding out those who suck, maybe other AMC communities have a different experience.

Along the same lines, I don’t know what AMC’s obsession is with mis-matching leadership from different communities. For instance, 3/4 active duty C-130 wing commanders come from other communities. They, just like you mentioned, have rose up the “Phoenix horizon”/general’s aid track actively avoiding the ops community. I am skeptical about a C-130 dude leading a tanker wing and vice versa. Correct me if I’m wrong but the CAF doesn’t usually do this right? F-16 Wing Kings are predominantly 16 dudes, F-15 Wing Kings predominantly 15 dudes. I feel that the CAF values depth, while AMC values breadth - and that is where why we are struggling as a community.

This only stops when ACs have the backbone to say "no." I did say no ;)

Or when home station coordinates with AMD behind your back to extend duty day to 18 hours so you can bring a tail back home a day earlier for the purposes of an Air show.

Same thing happened to us circa 2011; no fighters because B-course is backed up. Glad to know we learn from our mistakes...

No one on this side ever argued that standing for the anthem makes you a patriot, much like me shaking your hand when you offer a handshake doesn’t necessarily make me a nice person; but were I to swat it away then I’d be kind of a douche.

I misspoke, I shouldn’t have said “a lot of blacks are oppressed.” I don’t think there is a single law in America that gives Black people a disadvantage. All in all I really think we are one of the most accepting countries having been around a few. What I meant to convey is that there is some racism (as there is anywhere in the world) and a lot black folks from a young age tend to come from disadvantaged background compared to other races - and were the NFL players actually concerned about this, there are many other venues to go out and fix this instead of kneeling like a bunch of cry babies.

100% agree. I’m tired of being lectured to by the left. Quit telling us this is about “racial inequality.” It is about attention. It is about a bunch of spoilt, whiney, overpaid millionaires yearning for attention because they know they are inadequate. Racism does exist, a lot of blacks are oppressed; so if that bothers you - go mentor youths at an inner city school, go coach at said school, start a scholarship, etc. Kneeling during the flag? Sorry, not buying the racial inequalities arguement.

Just fail your next 4 PT tests Duck..zero judicial or criminal consequences, free ticket out of the Air Force and doubt the airlines will care!!

Well, so much for “re-vitalizing the squadrons.” An unidentified active duty Airlift Wing in Texas’s Wing Commander is still making 09 guys submit PRFs. My exec bros are in on the weekend to edit the PRFs before his deadline... He also has a new policy of limiting flying bullets on OPR to two per OPR, even for LTs. What in the actual F@&$? I have to admit I have tried to be optimistic about these new changes, but for those of you who are beyond the point of reproach by the Air Force (Duck), you aren’t wrong. There are deep rooted cultural issues in the Air Force and the one that upsets me the most is the lack of focus on getting metal in the sky and obsession with OPRs, records and careerism.

I always thought the rules in the 202 and 11-2X were written not for our safety but to enable the Air Force to fry us when we screw up?

While I agree with you, it is not up to someone else to tell me as a leader to be a f$&king man and give someone feedback to their face. My old Sq/cc would rack and stack everyone, and wouldn't hesitate to tell someone they were his #99/99, why they were 99 and what they could do to fix it.

Last deployment, we in-processed with PERSCO. Similar situation, there was some issue with paperwork, didn't affect combat pay. We were flying missions through the day before we left. PERSCO SrA tries to tell our leadership, a major, that we can't leave country unless we inprocess*, after we fu&king out-process. Of course we didn't do it, we literally walked past her as we stepped to the planes.

Exactly. JQP of course wrote an article about how he was against it, you should see some of the drama queen comments on there...

I feel like we could make this thread a sub-forum of what is wrong with the Air Force.

Dude, we found out where to cut the staffs!!

There are people mad about this along with eliminating school selects from the board: they seem to be the CGOC/nonner types who are mad they can't get ahead by out volunteering those actually deploying and doing the mission. Heck, if for anything, I love these changes as it is a slap in the face for every careerist CGO.

Yes! How many man hours do we waste taking a line flying IP and making him do exec work, all because he "needs it for major/ school select?" How many man hours does he then waste editing OPRs and PRFs for 0-4? I may be optimistic, but hopefully this news coupled with eliminating school selects means we at least delay the fray of queen that a mid level captain faces allowing them to focus on the mission/ their primary job.

If you want to build hours fast, 130s may not be the way to go, we sit on the ground a lot unloading/loading while deployed and guess how much time you are logging while on the ground?: zero. I can only speak to active duty but general consensus is 200-300 hours a year is considered good. Now if you want to go to some "interesting airfields," while performing airdrop and low levels..130s are where it's at.

Truth, they'll come after me 5 years later over a minor discrepancy in a complicated 7 month TDY-Deployment; when I "owe" then money it magically disappears but when they owe me money it takes months. Worst organization in the military, besides MEO.

Valid points, I'm lucky to be in a squadron now where the commander values those types and empowers them to run OPS in the squadron instead of penalizing them for not wanting to be an 0-7..but I have also seen combat tested experienced EP/WO types thrown on the sidewalk for not wanting to play the game. I do feel that a defined track system would help fix many of the issues we gripe about here if not the actual pilot shortage; because at the end of the day, we can all agree that uncertainty and lack of control in our lives as AF officers is one of the greatest morale killers.

There was (until this past majors board) a specified leadership track. There has never been an official technical track. It's 50/50 whether the major who turns down school and just wants to be a line flier gets to be that quintessential grey beard ADO with 4000 hours or the poor SOB that gets tagged with a non flying 365, passed over for 0-5 and shoved in a closet somewhere...

It's supply and demand man. Don't get me wrong, I 100% agree that our kick ass crew chiefs deserve a pay bump more than I..but at the end of the day it's not like Delta maintenance is on an unprecedented hiring boom threatening to steal all our experienced maintainers.

Ideally, everyone would be on the same (be good at your primary job aka flying) path until majors board at which point people would split off into a leadership v flying track. The flying track would include only squadron level and some group level necessary flying jobs (OGV.). These would be your WOs, ADOs and they would top out at 0-5 max and as DOs. Leadership track would play the Air Force game and go to school, work staff and command. I think there should be opportunities for flying track folks to jump over to the leadership track and those on the leadership track to jump over to the flying track when circumstances dictate. Not sure I would go for it for 20 years but I would seriously think twice about staying in longer.

When will these freaking bean counters realize that throwing money at the problem isn't going to do squat? Thanks for the $50 pay raise, but it isn't stopping me from bailing for Delta/UA/AA etc with a $200+ potential. Do any of these "leaders" have the cajones to solve the deep rooted leadership problems in the Air Force? Some of the solutions and answers are complicated but some are easy fixes: separate promotion boards for rated, homesteading instead of PCSing every 3 years, pure flying track/eliminating up or out, get rid of 99% of the CBTs.