Leaderboard

I bought a fitted and measured, thick cowhide jacket at Pop's 13 years ago, and flew with it every flight since then. Yes, I even flew with it when ACC told us we couldn't. It has as many combat hours and almost as many combat support hours as I have. I am (was) a B-52 guy, and am heavily influenced by tradition, and not that tradition that each CSAF and CMSAF tries to make up every time a new one comes in. My forebears wore leather jackets when they flew and died over Europe, and I wore mine over Baghdad during OIF. My jacket looks used, with leather wearing off in the usual places. It has a few nicks and cuts where my plane bit me. It does not look like it's brand new, like some of the jackets worn by personnel who are in a more comfortable setting that are now issued leather jackets. When I did that job, I did not get a leather jacket, but the blue Gortex jacket they gave me served very well. Every blues day during winter, I proudly wear my leather jacket with wheel cap. On my final day in the Air Force, I will rip the stiffener out of my wheel cap and crush it, and will put on my newly modified jacket with nose art, mission bombs, and old bombardier wings on it. For that, my friends, is tradition.

So wait, now you want to engage on the issues? Or do you still want to "retroactively abort" me? I'm confused... If you don't like my tone, then point taken, but throwing bombs is not the way to correct that. I might sound like a snarky asshole sometimes but based on the usual tone here on BO.net I didn't think that was outside the ops limits for discussion. I agree with everything you wrote here. This issue won't be touched because it's won't really solve the deficit meaningfully, and can't be backed politically. The only reason we're debating this is because the OP linked the army times story about this particular aspect of the Domenici-Rivlin plan. This isn't some pet issue of mine, I can't wait to get my 50% pay if/when I make it to 20. Hell, it's not something that's even gonna change, but, the story was posted and since outside groups are looking at this for ways to save money, I think it's smart to have a discussion among ourselves about what possible alternate systems might be acceptable WRT costs, retention, etc. If those in the military don't have an acceptable counter-proposal to whatever is being brewed up in think tanks and debt commissions, then we'll definitely be forced to bend over and take whatever is coming down the pike. Based on attitudes expressed here, apparently any changes, or even talk of changes, will cause the world to end and/or everyone to seek out guard positions; at least we know where we stand I guess. My idea was based on this premise: We're supposedly saying military retirement (or "retention") benefits are based on having been earned. Logically then, if we all get the same benefits in retirement assuming same rank and TOS, then we have all earned them equally. Really? Some 11B ground-pounder shooting it out in Iraq/Afghanistan has "earned" the same amount of retirement benefits as a desk jockey who's primary job is virtually identical to some GS civilian? We don't get paid equally while on active duty (flight pay, HFP, family sep, etc.), so why the feel-good, everyone's the same attitude once we hit 20 years?

No I got my UAV while I was in c-17 IP upgrade. And no im not a bottom feeder. I was first to upgrade to AC & IP out of my peer group. I just had a CC who didn't really "know" me b/c I was sent to the wing right before his change of command followed by FSO and then a ground deployment away from my squadron right after. I've just been a flying whore my first 3 years on station and never said no to the schedulers. Well guess who's the boss going to send to a uav? Not the execs, dudes who plan dining-outs/golf tournaments and booster club prez. He's going to send the guy who's not strat'd b/c he's been TDY the last 3 years. Funny thing is I volunteered for an ops assignment 6 months prior then later to go to altus. However at that time AFPC would not let me go OPS yet because I didn't have enough time on station and then later altus all of the sudden became a good deal and was hard to get... ridiculous Well I think I got my point across. I'm bitter. But life's not fair.. it is what it is. The air force doesn't owe me anything and I don't owe the airforce anything after my ADSC. until then embrace the suck!

Word. BTW, I like your profile pic.