https://www.danclarkspeak.com/about/index.php

This guy? He did not speak to the SOS class in Oct. Unless I completely slept through 2 hrs of class, entirely possible.

Lots of questionable claims on his webpage.

He was engaging and decent. Better him talking then the person telling us take our seats, and to slience all portable electornic devices. My major gripe was that he lifted the part about the airline announcements directly from George Carlin (RIP). Saw him along with several other people getting out of town for the weekend for easter at the airport. One of my fellow classmates called him out and asked him to do the safety briefing himself. The group of five or so of us laughed at him.

Lots of questionable claims on his webpage.

Some questionable stats from his Incredible Experiences

Because of my dedication to the morale and well being of our military personnel, I have had incredible experiences!

F-15 - Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina (Mach, 7 G's, 648 knots at 1,000 feet, bombing runs)

F-16 - Hill AFB & Nellis AFB with the Thunderbirds & Europe (Mach, 9.4 G's, all air show and air-to-air combat maneuvers)

F-18 - Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland (Mach II, 7 G's, 55,000 feet altitude, bombing runs, simulated carrier landing)

Maybe he was shaving with a Mach II.

This guy? He did not speak to the SOS class in Oct. Unless I completely slept through 2 hrs of class, entirely possible.

Lots of questionable claims on his webpage.

He did speak in January. I really want to know what his going rate is. Glad to see the DOD is slashing the budget but somehow SOC can continue to justify flying his ass into MGM 4 times a year.

Some questionable stats from his Incredible Experiences

"Flying the U-2 @ 70,000 ft." is the one that caught my attention. I know there is a trainer model, but still that seems like some super secret squirrel stuff for a guy like this to go fly in.

"KC-135 Refueler - Edwards AFB, California (90- minute orbit, refueled F- 16, F-18 and F-117)"

This one bothered me. F-16s need the boom, F-18s need the drogue. Maybe they flew him on a MPRS bird.

"Flying the U-2 @ 70,000 ft." is the one that caught my attention. I know there is a trainer model, but still that seems like some super secret squirrel stuff for a guy like this to go fly in.

James May did it, and he's not even an American.

He did speak in January. I really want to know what his going rate is. Glad to see the DOD is slashing the budget but somehow SOC can continue to justify flying his ass into MGM 4 times a year.

I heard a flat $250; he has to cover flying/hotel/food himself.

Edited April 15, 201213 yr by addict

I heard a flat $250; he has to cover flying/hotel/food himself.

Plus a free flight in an aircraft of his choosing at $5,000-20,000 per flight hour. What a deal!

Edited April 15, 201213 yr by Striper_WSO

James May did it, and he's not even an American.

I stand corrected.

James May did it, and he's not even an American.

I heard a flat $250; he has to cover flying/hotel/food himself.

Well if that's the case then good for him. (The speech still sucked IMHO).

Anybody enrolled, or recently taken the correspodence SOS course 20? I have been reading the required articles which seem terribly redundant. I am looking for some insight regarding how questions can be derived and how to even study for these tests. A few bros and I are looking for any help. Thanks in advance.

Edited July 16, 201213 yr by Kdubz

I'm looking at some downtime in the near future awaiting training dates and would prefer to take the current version of SOS: can a newly promoted 1st Lt enroll and get away with knocking out SOS-C now?

Edited July 16, 201213 yr by Odium

Yep. Call up your education center and demand they enroll you, a brand new 1Lt, in the Capt PME. They'll do it.

(or maybe you look at the requirements for SOS... just a thought)

I'm looking at some downtime in the near future awaiting training dates and would prefer to take the current version of SOS: can a newly promoted 1st Lt enroll and get away with knocking out SOS-C now?

Okay, okay. First off, is your leadership putting you up to this? Second, if you're a pilot and recently pinned on 1st Lt, the last thing you should be worried about is SOS-C. Here's a little advice: how about you spend some in-residence time in your local vault learning the capes of your MWS as well as the bad guy capes. There is no way in hell you can tell me that as a new 1 Lt you feel you have learned enough to say you're fully confident in your knowledge and abilities that you can put aside your primary job and start SOS. If you leadership is telling you to enroll and get started in SOS now, that is a huge f'ing foul!

Edited July 16, 201213 yr by g2s

Yep. Call up your education center and demand they enroll you, a brand new 1Lt, in the Capt PME. They'll do it.

(or maybe you look at the requirements for SOS... just a thought)

I have looked up the requirements and know they say you need to be selected for Capt which is why I asked the question. I'll be waiting to PCS to the FTU so I'm just killing time and figured I could waste the time on queepy SOS work now and have more free time for beer and the vault later.

Edited July 16, 201213 yr by Odium

I'm guessing he has read that the new correspondence course is going to suck and he wants to knock this out while he has down time. With the Capt boards now, you could potentially be eligible for the course over a year before you pin on Capt.

To answer your question, you must be a Capt select to enroll in SOS-C. That could be anywhere between 4 months to a year and 2 months before you pin on.

I'll leave it at this...Enjoy being an LT. Relax while you're waiting for your FTU. There are a bunch of good books recommended from various old craniums on here that could teach you a lot about being an Air Force pilot and leader. Read some of those. Stop by your FTU on a Friday, go straight to the squadron bar and listen to some of the war stories.Don't talk, just listen. Visit the local nightlife and find some chicks. If you have a wife, spend some time with her (down time can be maximized here). Go to the gym. Travel. Find a new hobby. There, all your time is now filled with plenty of things to do. Before you know it, you'll be starting the FTU. Kick as in the FTU, kick ass in MQT, kick ass during RF and deployment spin-up, kick ass in the desert, then come back and maybe, just maybe at this point you can start to think about SOS. I say all that to say this. Everything has its time and purpose. Right now is not the time for you to be thinking about SOS.

Am I going crazy or is the AF this F'ed up now? Why do LT's have to start think about this crap 2 years after commissioning?! For Pete's sake, the guy hasn't even started FTU and he's uttering the three letter blasphemy! Someone please tell me I'm not losing my mind!

Am I going crazy or is the AF this F'ed up now? Why do LT's have to start think about this crap 2 years after commissioning?! For Pete's sake, the guy hasn't even started FTU and he's uttering the three letter blasphemy! Someone please tell me I'm not losing my mind!

Yes, it's that fucked up. Has been for a few years and it's only getting worse. No, it's not going to get better.

I'll leave it at this...Enjoy being an LT. Relax while you're waiting for your FTU. There are a bunch of good books recommended from various old craniums on here that could teach you a lot about being an Air Force pilot and leader. Read some of those. Stop by your FTU on a Friday, go straight to the squadron bar and listen to some of the war stories.Don't talk, just listen. Visit the local nightlife and find some chicks. If you have a wife, spend some time with her (down time can be maximized here). Go to the gym. Travel. Find a new hobby. There, all your time is now filled with plenty of things to do. Before you know it, you'll be starting the FTU. Kick as in the FTU, kick ass in MQT, kick ass during RF and deployment spin-up, kick ass in the desert, then come back and maybe, just maybe at this point you can start to think about SOS. I say all that to say this. Everything has its time and purpose. Right now is not the time for you to be thinking about SOS. Am I going crazy or is the AF this F'ed up now? Why do LT's have to start think about this crap 2 years after commissioning?! For Pete's sake, the guy hasn't even started FTU and he's uttering the three letter blasphemy! Someone please tell me I'm not losing my mind!

Incorrect statement in bold. The new SOS in correspondence will be significantly more time consuming than the current iteration. Getting in on the current course now before they close it to new applicants is exactly the sort of thing a smart Lt should be doing if he's sitting around on casual status, assuming he's a captain select. The current course should literally take 6-9 hours to complete, if you count the time driving to and from the education office. This will no longer be valid on 28 September.

When SQ/CCs include the words "SOS" and "AAD" in pre-deployment briefs (directed at first time deployers, i.e., co-pilots), then you know the train has come off the rails.

And yes, I've seen it first hand in different squadrons with different commanders

Am I going crazy or is the AF this F'ed up now? Why do LT's have to start think about this crap 2 years after commissioning?! For Pete's sake, the guy hasn't even started FTU and he's uttering the three letter blasphemy! Someone please tell me I'm not losing my mind!

You're not losing your mind but the reality of today's environment can make you feel like you're losing it. It was briefed a week or two ago at Cannon that at least BAC+ (the deeper the better, sts) and SOS in correspondence must be complete before officers can attend SOS in-residence. No SOS attendance and AAD incompletion were the top reasons 27SOW folks were passed over on the last Major board. AFSOC,apparently, struggled at the last Major promotion board. Currently, Cannon's Ops Group eligibles for Major are behind (AAD incomplete, SOS in-res not complete or both) while the Wing's other three Group's eligibles are all AAD and SOS complete. This isn't from the MAJCOM it was/is the criteria the Air Force is using to promote folks. So if Skippy wants to do something with his down time and cares about playing the promotion games down the road, as much as I regret advising and typing this, he should get as far ahead as he can while he ain't distracted by anything else. Maybe General Welsh will guide us down a different path, here's to hoping at least.

Yes it is out of control. With Lts being eligible earlier, the push from leadership is to get it done earlier. Now the new course will be gouge-free (for a while) and take significantly longer than Course 20 and to top it off, in-res is supposed to be 100% now. And when you go in-res, you'll now waste 2 months of your life instead of a month.

You can tell Lts they don't need to worry about these things now, but the sad truth is that they do. With so few discriminators at such an early point in your career, you can bet Sq/CC's are using this as a metric.