Leaderboard

Um...no. I am annoyed the KC-X procurement is so jacked up...but I am certainly not jealous/annoyed at anyone flying the Airbus. (I am slightly jealous of the Italians and Japanese for rocking the KC-767 though).

I think the core issue here is a widespread problem of expectation (and entitlement) management on the part of the rank-and-file. In other words, people feel like they're entitled to a lot more than Big Blue ever 'promised' or even implied. It's been nearly 20 years since the era of banked pilots, RIFd officers, etc, from the early 90s drawdown period. We should ALL be well aware that such measures can be taken, and that we will have virtually no recourse if it happens. Wanna talk about getting shafted? Hundreds of those guys got fucked Long Dong Silver-style and for most of them it came out of nowhere. We don't have that luxury of ignorance and can't be the wide-eyed doe when the shot seemingly comes out of nowhere, because we SHOULD all know what the possibilities are. I agree that it would suck to get some of the bad deals I've read about here, heard about at the bar, and seen around the AF. But, let's face it -- there are LOTS of people who get 'screwed' all the time. If it hasn't happened to you at some point in your career, chances are it will. If you make it all the way to retirement and haven't gotten the shaft by Big Blue at some point, consider yourself lucky because you're in the vast minority. Bottom line, bros, getting screwed by Blue is simply part of the job description. Embrace it, or you'll end up living a pretty unhappy couple of years in the service.

Sending someone to PILOT training with a ten year commitment and then assigning them to an UNMANNED aerial vehicle (UAV) for 10 years is breach of contract. Pure and simple. It would be like sending someone to pilot training and saying you owe us 10 years after this, but you will be a finance officer or a mx officer instead of a pilot for 10 years (bait and switch). Sending someone to PILOT training with a ten year commitment and then assigning them to remotely PILOTED aircraft (RPA) though is OK. Genius.