February 26, 20196 yr Thread revival. I dropped J models, was wondering if anyone could share some thoughts or information. How's life in general in AFSOC? I've heard good things. I tried asking my IPs before graduating but we didn't have any gunship folks on base to talk to.
February 28, 20196 yr Just a point to ponder as you get settled- There are two J models in AFSOC and the slick as well but I'm guessing you mean AC-J (haven't heard anyone call it anything else). Do a search for AFSOC or the base for some previous posts... I've seen a lot of TDYs and dog and pony shows with the new gunship but I expect life to be pretty close to what it already was with longer loiter time and new toys.
February 28, 20196 yr On 2/26/2019 at 9:32 AM, 8Cylinders said: Thread revival. I dropped J models, was wondering if anyone could share some thoughts or information. How's life in general in AFSOC? I've heard good things. I tried asking my IPs before graduating but we didn't have any gunship folks on base to talk to. AFSOC has pros and cons like anything else. Expect a more intense B course than the airlift guys. Hurlburt is great. Cannon not so much. Lots of deployments and TDYs. Ops tempo is pretty high, don’t expect to be home a lot, but the mission is very rewarding. Edited February 28, 20196 yr by viper154
February 28, 20196 yr 2 hours ago, AFsock said: Just a point to ponder as you get settled- There are two J models in AFSOC and the slick as well but I'm guessing you mean AC-J (haven't heard anyone call it anything else). Do a search for AFSOC or the base for some previous posts... I've seen a lot of TDYs and dog and pony shows with the new gunship but I expect life to be pretty close to what it already was with longer loiter time and new toys. Sorry, yes I meant the AC-130J. I've been looking, just hadn't seen anything from the last few years about the J model specifically. 2 hours ago, viper154 said: AFSOC has pros and cons like anything else. Expect a more intense B course than the airlift guys. Hurlburt is great. Cannon not so much. Lots of deployments and TDYs. Ops tempo is pretty high, don’t expect to be home a lot, but the mission is very rewarding. Word. I've heard a number of different things about whether the J would be staying at Hurlburt or if they'd also be at cannon. Can you speak to that? Thanks!
February 28, 20196 yr Word. I've heard a number of different things about whether the J would be staying at Hurlburt or if they'd also be at cannon. Can you speak to that? Thanks! It’s all supposed to be a pure fleet of ACJ at some point so I would think Cannon would be inevitable. However anything can happen. Cannon isn’t too bad as long as you don’t breathe the air or drink the water. Actually with the dairy farms going out of business maybe the air quality will improve. From the Resident U-28 Dude. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
March 1, 20196 yr 55 minutes ago, 8Cylinders said: Sorry, yes I meant the AC-130J. I've been looking, just hadn't seen anything from the last few years about the J model specifically. Word. I've heard a number of different things about whether the J would be staying at Hurlburt or if they'd also be at cannon. Can you speak to that? Thanks! What Skitzo said. I don’t see the Whiskys going away anytime soon but I’m not a gunship guy, rumors I’ve heard is that once there are enough Js they will be at both places.
March 1, 20196 yr 23 hours ago, 8Cylinders said: Sorry, yes I meant the AC-130J. I've been looking, just hadn't seen anything from the last few years about the J model specifically. Word. I've heard a number of different things about whether the J would be staying at Hurlburt or if they'd also be at cannon. Can you speak to that? Thanks! Not much to say, standing up an MWS is not easy but you won't know much better as a new guy. Hopefully the Whiskey cross flows will have some good lessons learned from their experiences. I'm not smart on the AC-J IOC status, but I've seen them at big multilateral exercises single ship, airshows/flyovers, and not anywhere else. And they keep taking our new planes from Lockheed with the promises we'll get some more (yeah right) but I don't know if they have any fully mission capable airframes or crews. The Whiskeys can't fly forever, I would say Cannon is a when (not if). My $ .02 on KCVS is available on here somewhere... At this point though it will be what it is. Once you have a unit get a sponsor and at least some ambiguity on what your life will look like will clear up. Final thought - if gunship aren't for you, you'll get rehomed in AFSOC. If AFSOC isn't for you, you'll learn that as well and still have opportunities elsewhere in the AF (but neither of those should scare you, it really is for the best). Edited March 1, 20196 yr by AFsock
March 2, 20196 yr On 2/28/2019 at 5:11 PM, 8Cylinders said: Sorry, yes I meant the AC-130J. I've been looking, just hadn't seen anything from the last few years about the J model specifically. Word. I've heard a number of different things about whether the J would be staying at Hurlburt or if they'd also be at cannon. Can you speak to that? Thanks! WSO or CSO? Eventually everything will be ACJ. The 16th will be the last to convert and that timeline continues to shift right. However, if your concern is whether or not you'll go cannon someday...gunships are not for you. I used to go to pcola graduations but got tired of the "do you get any cool TDYs, will I go to Europe, how do I stay away from cannon, what's the easiest thing to fly in AFSOC" questions. Edited March 2, 20196 yr by Chicken
March 2, 20196 yr 59 minutes ago, Chicken said: WSO or CSO? Eventually everything will be ACJ. The 16th will be the last to convert and that timeline continues to shift right. However, if your concern is whether or not you'll go cannon someday...gunships are not for you. I used to go to pcola graduations but got tired of the "do you get any cool TDYs, will I go to Europe, how do I stay away from cannon, what's the easiest thing to fly in AFSOC" questions. “Easiest thing to fly” .... do you mean ride around in?
March 3, 20196 yr I didn’t see the part where he said he is a Nav but in a Gunship the Nav/CSO/WSO is doing one hell of a lot more than going along for the ride.
March 3, 20196 yr 22 hours ago, IDALPHA said: “Easiest thing to fly” .... do you mean ride around in?
March 10, 20196 yr Cannon blows, but if you've dropped ACJs now it is likely that: 1. You will be at HRT for a good amount of time, likely upgrading there 2. When you do go to Cannon, it will likely be when the pure fleet is starting/complete, which means 3. Much less time at Cannon than guys like me, since the ACW schoolhouse will be gone and after a few years at the 16th, you will likely have the opportunity to move on to bigger/better things - or back to the 73rd/4th/19th. Barring more silly politics, having 3 squadrons doing gunship things at HRT and 1 at CVS will do wonders for QoL.
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