On 6/16/2026 at 10:43 PM, Lord Ratner said:

...a vanity project for the good-idea fairies we call generals.

That made me laugh. I recall a 1980s USAF program that put new UPT grads into ANG/AFR units as a first assignment because there were no slots in active duty units. So we put an impressionable 2Lt into a unit of folks who essentially were people who wanted out of active duty for a variety of reasons, some good, some not so much. What could go wrong with that?!

1 hour ago, reloder said:

Where do these prior-rated E's come from? Certainly not the USAF. Army helos maybe?

I’d certainly offer it to boom operators. They talk on the radio, learn approach plates, and are already trusted to not carve their initials into 5th gen paint.

I’d rather have instuctor boom E-5 — E-8s become warrant CFIs than civie CFIs teach LTs how to fly. If that’s a choice I’d ever have to make.

Found this link showing changes to USAF pilot training over the years. Might be of interest.

https://www.aetc.af.mil/Portals/88/Documents/history/AFD-070130-081.pdf?ver=2016-01-12-160015-923

29 minutes ago, StrikeOut312 said:

I’d rather have instuctor boom E-5 — E-8s become warrant CFIs than civie CFIs teach LTs how to fly. If that’s a choice I’d ever have to make.

I had T-41 training at the Valdosta airport prior to T-37s and 38s at Moody. I remember my T-41 instructor as a young guy, probably no college, wanted to go on to the airlines. He was a competent teacher and had the patience to put up with my fumbling around. Nice guy. I hope he found his dream. For what the T-41 program was intended for back then, he did a good job.

Long form articles on the T-7 woes

https://breakingdefense.com/2026/06/t7-red-hawk-air-force-trainer-secret-struggles-investigation/

It’s done, there’s no chance of buying anything else at this point but whatever decision matrix they use for non-operational platforms must increase the weighing of technical / industrial risk in its calculation.