November 22, 201311 yr Is the "AD-lite" mentality predominantly staying out of ANG units? Of course with the exception in this thread...I would say it varies wildly depending on your leadership. When I first enlisted we did 30 day AEF's with a swapout at the 15 day point. Then it went to 30 no swap, then 45, now 60, the next is supposed to be 3-4 months no swap, with rumors of 6 months. If 6 month deployments happen, we will start to see a huge retention problems, which has generally never been a problem. Heck, at one point we had a 1 year waiting list to enlist.We've gone from OPRs being another pain to accomplish to them now being scrutinized heavily. No one knew WTF an ODP was until this year. We are being briefed that if you want O-6, the criteria has changed big time. Need to hit 3 of 5 criteria (masters, joint command, In-residence PME, staff, can't remember the last one). I know one particular squadron who "highly encourages" getting a masters (their state pays for their masters, most do not). Medals have suddenly become a thing. Some states don't allow alcohol on base, no friday shirts, "morale" patch police. Also, coming to an ANG Wing near you...active duty WG/CC! Not a dude getting out of the AD to GO GUARD, but an AD O-6 doing a 2-3 year tour then moving on to his next AD assignment. This could be huge, I will be watching to see how it pans out. Overall, I we still have it pretty damn good, stories from bros and the endless stream of AD guys rushing our squadron are always a good reality check. Times are changing for sure, some good, some really bad.
November 22, 201311 yr Also, coming to an ANG Wing near you...active duty WG/CC! Not a dude getting out of the AD to GO GUARD, but an AD O-6 doing a 2-3 year tour then moving on to his next AD assignment. This could be huge Ho-ly shit. That is not going to be good for anyone. In case you don't know, we have some real winners wearing O-6 rank on AD.
November 22, 201311 yr Also, coming to an ANG Wing near you...active duty WG/CC! Not a dude getting out of the AD to GO GUARD, but an AD O-6 doing a 2-3 year tour then moving on to his next AD assignment. This could be huge, I will be watching to see how it pans out. Where did you here this? Never heard anything like this ever mentioned. Fighter thing?
November 22, 201311 yr I would say it varies wildly depending on your leadership. When I first enlisted we did 30 day AEF's with a swapout at the 15 day point. Then it went to 30 no swap, then 45, now 60, the next is supposed to be 3-4 months no swap, with rumors of 6 months. If 6 month deployments happen, we will start to see a huge retention problems.... Done, Bama. Rumormill is Hostage is trying to break the ARC.
November 22, 201311 yr Where did you here this? Never heard anything like this ever mentioned. Fighter thing? This is already how it works in the Navy Reserve. And it fucking sucks.
November 23, 201311 yr ...with rumors of 6 months. Not rumor, it's full up true and in writing. Director of ANG is fully on board by the way. AFRC CC was not, but he lost.
November 23, 201311 yr Also, coming to an ANG Wing near you...active duty WG/CC! Not a dude getting out of the AD to GO GUARD, but an AD O-6 doing a 2-3 year tour then moving on to his next AD assignment. Sort of. If SECDEF approves it, there will be a test case starting soon at one guard base with a RegAF TFI detachment. The guard wing commander would get title 10 and title 32 authorities to be the legal commander of both the guard and AD guys. If that case goes well "dual status command" could spread. This also means that guard commanders could command RegAF wings someday with the same authorities. And vice versa. It would only happen in TFI units, not in standalone ARC units. Could be a good thing. Could be a bad thing. Time will tell. But once again the ANG bureau is fully on board. ANG 4 star was not but "caved" from what I heard. Absolutely 100% false. I was in the room. He made it very very clear that he did not agree with AFRC and that he was fully on board. In fact, he went WAY out of his way to make that point. Rumormill is Hostage is trying to break the ARC. False. It's financial believe it or not. About 15% more cost in MPA to swap out at 90 days and there is no money. Edited November 23, 201311 yr by Danny Noonin
November 23, 201311 yr I was working TFI (A-10, F-16, F-22, F-35) at 10AF and all I kept thinking was "This is going to suck in the future." But if you want to stay in the game and you are loosing your hardware, the AFRC didn't have much of a choice.
November 23, 201311 yr Not rumor, it's full up true and in writing. Director of ANG is fully on board by the way. AFRC CC was not, but he lost. And there you have it! It will be interesting to see what 6 month deployments do to retention. Also, wonder if the ANG will be "volunteering" for these or if the AD will be forced to activate the squadrons to deploy them. False. It's financial believe it or not. About 15% more cost in MPA to swap out at 90 days and there is no money. What does it cost to activate an ANG squadron? Edited November 23, 201311 yr by SocialD
November 23, 201311 yr And there you have it! It will be interesting to see what 6 month deployments do to retention. Also, wonder if the ANG will be "volunteering" for these or if the AD will be forced to activate the squadrons to deploy them. They're just going to mobilize everyone, volunteer or not. And I think retention will tank. What does it cost to activate an ANG squadron? It depends.
November 23, 201311 yr Such irony that the ANG has been a shining beacon to so many frustrated dudes on AD for so long, only to hear that it's starting to suck so bad retention is going to be an issue.
November 23, 201311 yr Such irony that the ANG has been a shining beacon to so many frustrated dudes on AD for so long, only to hear that it's starting to suck so bad retention is going to be an issue. Word. Maybe that palace chase/palace front plan of mine needs to sit on the back burner for a minute to see how this plays out.
November 23, 201311 yr Word. Maybe that palace chase/palace front plan of mine needs to sit on the back burner for a minute to see how this plays out. Putting you that much closer to 20 yrs on AD anyway...
November 23, 201311 yr If my unit starts mobilizing dudes in order to non-vol them for 6 month tours they will lose about half their people. Guaranteed. As it is the sequester/budget shenanigans of late have driven most of our bums (the workhorses of the squadron) to seek outside employment. We are seeing many getting job offers, so it appears the hiring boom is slowly arriving. ARC/ANG leadership has enjoyed an over abundance of volunteer labor for the past decade due to the sorry state of the airline industry. That is changing rapidly and they are about to get a rude awakening. The next 5 years will be fun to watch. BTW I still love the guard, and am highly recommending it to my AD bros. AFRC, not so much. Edited November 23, 201311 yr by PasserOGas
November 23, 201311 yr If my unit starts mobilizing dudes in order to non-vol them for 6 month tours they will lose about half their people. Guaranteed. As it is the sequester/budget shenanigans of late have driven most of our bums (the workhorses of the squadron) to seek outside employment. We are seeing many getting job offers, so it appears the hiring boom is slowly arriving. ARC/ANG leadership has enjoyed an over abundance of volunteer labor for the past decade due to the sorry state of the airline industry. That is changing rapidly and they are about to get a rude awakening. The next 5 years will be fun to watch. BTW I still love the guard, and am highly recommending it to my AD bros. ARC, not so much.If you are a tanker dude, then this may not apply to you. This is an ACC commander policy as the force provider of CAF assets to COCOMs. By the way, guard is part of the ARC (air reserve component). I assume you mean AFRC? Edited November 23, 201311 yr by Danny Noonin
November 23, 201311 yr Putting you that much closer to 20 yrs on AD anyway... Halfway there is a still a loooong way to go when my crystal ball says the future holds a 365, less and less flying and no end to the retarded BS. I'm too far out from check O the month club to just stick it out. I'd rather go fly for the guard/reserve as a traditional guy and get a real job. Then I still get to fly and big blue doesn't own my ass anymore.
November 23, 201311 yr I'd rather go fly for the guard/reserve as a traditional guy and get a real job. If you can find a full time gig in the same town as your base, it truly is one of the best jobs in the world.
November 23, 201311 yr And there you have it! It will be interesting to see what 6 month deployments do to retention. Also, wonder if the ANG will be "volunteering" for these or if the AD will be forced to activate the squadrons to deploy them. They're just going to mobilize everyone, volunteer or not. And I think retention will tank. AMC finally cracked the code after a decade of trying, and we are starting our third year of "partial mobilization" in the AFRC KC-10 community (albeit with a LOW committment at the moment). Standard -10 deployment lengths; the days of AFRC -10 crews doing 14-day or 30-day lines are gone, probably never to return. Also, the process for individuals to volunteer to go with an AD crew has been made nearly impossible (personal opinion: so AFRC can maximize their "credit" for supporting AMC via the mob.). For years, whenever our SQ generated some voluntary desert lines, a vocal group of graybeards in all crew positions would always say "Fuck that. You want me, mobilize me. Then I'll go." Then we did get mobilized... and a large number of those graybeards pulled chocks. Troughers who, in the past, could always be counted on to step up and take a desert line, have found .civ employment, and more folks are coming to the realization that this ain't gonna get better. Until they park the -10 fleet, of course...
November 23, 201311 yr If you are a tanker dude, then this may not apply to you. This is an ACC commander policy as the force provider of CAF assets to COCOMs. By the way, guard is part of the ARC (air reserve component). I assume you mean AFRC? AFRC. My acronomicon was FUBAR. Edited November 23, 201311 yr by PasserOGas
November 23, 201311 yr If you can find a full time gig in the same town as your base, it truly is one of the best jobs in the world. This, or start your own biz while bumming. Just pulled my first drill after 8 years of AGR stupidity. Great feeling to come in, do the J-O-B, and leave knowing that I don't have to be back for a month. Got a nice beard going right now, too.
November 24, 201311 yr Airplane wrenching :) https://www.gunfighteraviation.com Lots of sections are still under construction on the site, but that'll change soon. Besides, we're busy bending wrenches. :) ETA: website. M2, please let me know if this violates any rules, and I'll remove it. Edited November 24, 201311 yr by Marco
November 24, 201311 yr I'm too far out from check O the month club to just stick it out. I'd rather go fly for the guard/reserve as a traditional guy and get a real job. Then I still get to fly and big blue doesn't own my ass anymore. 2!
November 26, 201311 yr Received this little doozy, and I thought we had a pilot shortage.... From: ######### 147 ARS/DO Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 11:17 AM To: 171 ARW/Operations Group Subject: Hat/Uniform wear HI All, We have been reminding you about uniform wear and hats in the parking lot over the last few weeks, but it has officially hit its limit. The Wing/CC was eating out at a local restaurant and saw another member of the Ops Group not wearing their hat when they should have been. This seems like a small issue, but it has gotten out of hand. If we truly believe we are the best KC-135 unit we need to show it on and off the base. Effective immediately if you are observed not wearing hats or the uniform correctly, aircrew will be grounded for 30 days and limited to that month's drills only. Non aircrew will be limited to that month's drills only. AGRs will receive a letter of counseling and grounded if appropriate. IF you need help with uniform wear see AFI 36-2903 or the 1st Sergeant (Name Removed) Lt Col PaANG Acting Commander, 171st Operations Group Sounds like a pissed off USAirways pilot!
Create an account or sign in to comment