Leaderboard

Flipping the safety on after each shot is a poor technique that would get most people killed. The carbine courses have so many different techniques, and some sound totally crazy but happen to work for one guy one time. Great training all, but I think that particular technique would get the majority of people killed. Sky cops fall squarely in the average majority. Bottom line is this guys is a total idiot, whether or not this particular technique is valid and used by someone at Magpul. The conceptual idea that one absolutely must get the uniform standard right all the time or you simply aren't qualified to fight the war is fundamentally flawed. The true professional puts everything on a hierarchy of importance, a hierarchy that changes depending on many variables. As operators we're very comfortable living like this, and we usually call it SA. Sometimes your gas state is the most important thing, sometimes it's the weather, sometimes it's the mission then the icing on your wings, and when the critical part of the mission is over you RTB the area because now the icing is most important. The hierarchy is always changing, and a good flyer stays aware of what's at the top and the handful of items under it. This idea of juggling a group of variables which all slide up and down the priority list used to confuse the shit out of me in pilot training, resulting in my average performance. But with a few thousand hours it's natural to all of us. And I think this is why we all know his argument is bullshit, but an articulate response is hard because the concept is so simple. We think "of course my mission planning is more important than having my sleeves rolled down." Or "of course I put my sunglasses on my head, I'm doing shit with my hands." And that's the issue with this guy, and this entire school of thought with non-operators that if you can't get the uniform right how can you fly an airplane? They think "how can you possibly do the important things when you can't get this thing right?" And we think "how can you possibly worry about the unimportant things when there are so many others that matter?" Of course our perspective is right and theirs is wrong. We prove that by flying successful missions everyday wearing baseball hats with a dip in our mouth; and if they understood priorities they wouldn't correct an officer about a minor uniform violation by yelling at him in public-- a customs and courtesies breach that manifests their inability to differentiate importance levels between issues. The only possible fix to our plight (two incompatible schools of thought) is leadership. Leadership must set the standard and leadership must judge what is most important when. And of course, leadership is what we are mostly lacking. Approaching the end of my commitment, this is a pretty strong argument for me to stay and try to fix it.

Really, you assume not? Some people are just dense... ... for these people I offer a very special service... Come one, come all to Butter's sarcasm detector repair shop! For a low low monthly payment of $500.01, over the course of 10 years, I will personally repair and maintain your sarcasm detector! But wait, there's more! Call now and I'll double your offer. For the same price, not only will I repair and maintain your sarcasm detector, but the sarcasm detector of one of your friends (you do have friends, right?) for free! Disclaimer: I am not responsible for your sarcasm detector, and will only repair it when I feels like it, which is probably never. This is a test: No one would ever use a movie as a source for describing how something works or is done in real life. Well, unless that movie is Iron Eagle. This shit was spot on!

Gents, here's the point. The PT test is a standard. It is a standard in the AF, as it is in every other service in every other military in the world. While there may be some bafoonery being executed by the FACs, that is not an excuse to perform piss poor on the PT test. Trust me, nobody admires you if you barely pass your PT test, regardless of what you read on here. Sister service members do not admire that, and neither do coalition partners. If the FAC is bafooning your score, roll in your commander. Saying that you don't need to excel on the test because of your "job" is a cop-out. A Pakistani helo pilot probably doesn't need to run a 6 minute mile for two miles. An Army heavy brigade commander probably doesn't need to run a 6 minute mile for two miles. A Marine Harrier pilot probably doesn't need to run a 6 minute mile for two miles. But if they are all doing that, and the USAF dude is complaining about the USAF PT test, it is difficult for them to put that into perspective. I get it, the USAF probably could do without a PT test. But think bigger than that. Strive to do the best you can, and if the FAC is clowning up, get your CC involved. It is a standard that is inherent in every military, and has been for several years prior to any of us joining the service. Be the guy or gal that people look at and say yea, you smoked the standards. There will be more of those folks, believe it or not, than the folks that are listening to you complain about the PT test. If you min run the PT test, most folks will not sympathize with the "my job doesn't require that" argument. Most folks will wonder why you are min running the standard, and your rep will come into question. And it gets worse with the more rank you have and the further you wander from tactical operations in a USAF squadron. That's my two cents on that, I know a lot of you disagree. I've read the Deid thread, and yes, there are a lot of rules that are lunacy. The difference, in my opinion, is that the lunacy rules are pretty much viewed the same way universally. But if you min run a USAF PT test, and complain about it....there isn't going to be much sympathy outside of your flight or maybe squadron. Doesn't matter if you are a pilot or a door kicker, an American or a New Zealander.

Yes, I know the pipeline, which is why his statement was surprising and why I asked the question b/c I hadn't heard any changes to the training process.