raimius

As annoying as it is, there are some missions that need to be practiced to maintain capability, and are not done regularly out there. Hopefully, the guy running exercises will be able to cut the unnecessary ones... As for OREs...yeah, that doesn't make sense.

I strongly doubt it.

At least one of them delivers to the gate, if you call ahead...

1. Personal preference. If you are worried about a magazine ban (with grandfathering), more is better. Otherwise, I'd say however many you would want to use at once times 1.5 or x2, just to cover potential damage. Frankly, there are enough 10-pack Pmag deals out there that one of those would be a logical choice. 2. Again, personal preference. If you would use it for defensive purposes, I'd suggest at least one. Having it in the safe in condition 3 might not be a bad idea, so long as you respect the status of the firearm during handling. Running out the door/back to the bedroom while shoving loose rounds in a mag is not a great idea, despite the guy in TX's results against a mass shooter. If you fear zombie uprisings or just don't like loading mags before heading to the range...more, I guess.

JS, Pmags are good to go. The issue with aluminum "GI" style mags is that any damage to the feed lips can be hard to visually detect, but can cause malfunctions. Pmags are either broken or not broken--the polymer doesn't experience plastic deformation very much. They can fracture, but then you can see it. That said, they are hard to destroy. So, if you are not regularly running them over, stomping on them, or body slamming them against concrete, you should be good. Even if you do abuse them, they are $10-15 each. 7.62x39 is not optimized for the AR system. There are uppers for them, but some have issues. If you are willing to spend a little more, .300blackout gives performance pretty close to x39, runs well in short barrels or suppressed, and only requires a barrel change from the normal AR system (the case is based on 5.56). The 15-22 had some issues a few years back, but I haven't kept up lately. You might want to do some research on that. Alternately, 9mm AR pistols and carbines are gaining popularity.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/02/14/marines-are-flying-more-than-the-air-force/ So, who is getting the hours? You guys must have a wide spread (sts) in hours by type.

Probably between 30 and 60% of scheduled lines, as a guesstimate. Personally, I tend to favor 100ft for low-level so I have a little more reaction time for EPs and am less likely to wire-strike an uncharted line. (Lots of 30-50ft lines out there.)

Contracting out all helicopter training...I'm sure that'll work well... At least we know how valuable we are!

Getting loose would be more a function of the mount rather than the optic, in most cases. As for zero, it depends on the model. Battery powered RMRs have to be removed to replace the battery, so they would need to be re-zeroed then. Others, like the DeltaPoint Pro have top-loading batteries. I can't comment too much on longevity, but it seems like the RMRs and DeltaPoint Pros last a good while, from what I hear.

After canceling the "combat demo," I have doubts about the seriousness of this effort.

Ask everyone why they do it. If they don't have a good answer, that's probably a hint at poor systems knowledge or that something that used to have value is now just useless habit. ...I can't tell you much, because we just got heading bugs in the last couple years, and they are just for personal SA.

Nice to see someone using common sense!

Well, crap, that's different info than I had. All I saw was "cut the barrel at the FSB, and take the thing apart to fit in the seat kit."

If someone can sell the idea better than I could, more power to you. The M9 and 2-3 mags is almost a joke, I agree. TTPs, proficiency, and SERE tactics are issues, as well. Obviously, this is not the place to detail them. In the end, it comes down to money. I wish I had a better argument for the higher ups to fork out money for guns, ammo, and training. The desired specs put out by the Strike Eagle guys were not met by anything currently sitting in the inventory in quantity. The GAU-5 is a half-answer for what they wanted, but big AF doesn't care about anything under 20mm...so...

MAJCOMs didn't see the cost/benefit ratio as good enough. To be honest, the GAU-5 SBR won't have very good terminal performance with M855. They had to cut the barrel too short, and disassemble the thing anyway. Getting a small enough SBR, with enough range, and terminal performance is a tall order. I wish we could find a MP5K with M4 ballistics! If you got the money, a SBR in .300blk gets a lot closer to what you are looking for. I think SIG made the Rattler with that in mind.

Who can't see the AF getting an ADSC for "flight only track" then dropping them as an O-4 right before they become protected for retirement? Sounds EXACTLY like what the bean counters would do.

It is a screwed up bureaucracy, but we still get to do some good work. Sounds like you aren't really happy where you are. Would you stay there by choice? Is the AF the best alternative for you? ...grass is always greener, but ANG does look green...

Sims and training devices are great for procedural training and aspects that take diagnosis of known symptoms (EPs, etc). They can't quite replicate all the other airmanship issues that pop up, and are rarely good for "hands" skills (STS). So, yes, they can cut flight time to attain a certain level of performance, but cannot replace it completely. We've known this for years, but the question is what is the proper balance.

Many pilots peg pay in the "acceptable" range. While it is not going to beat United, it is enough to live comfortably. Where the AF is screwing up is the other BS and the poor messaging. The implicit message from multiple angles is "we could make this better for you, but we don't care."

Bro network, rumor Mills, and even JQP. You don't even need to fire a bunch...just enough to get people thinking again. I'd bet after 5-6 wing kings and a couple GOs go, the rest would get the message.

...because screw helicopter pilots...? ...standard

ND sells plenty of high proof stuff, so it's probably not that.

The lawsuits have begun. https://abc13.com/family-who-lost-8-in-church-shooting-suing-air-force/2709949/ Usually, I'm opposed to the after-tragedy lawsuits, but this one probably has some merit. ...and losing a very public lawsuit might actually make the AF do the right thing.