Leaderboard

Obviously money well spent. Uh, No. This is just back to the way it was in the early and mid-90's when you only got 75% TA, unless you were in a missile silo. And later that was determined to be not IAW the regs so they went ahead and gave 100% TA to all. That was also back in the day when only about 85% got promoted to Major IIRC.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I am a big proponent of educated officers. I have ranted and raved in other threads about the f'd up AF education process. The check the box system the Air Force has now and the limited opportunity for ops folks to get a prestigious degree is insanely short-sighted. A lot of my peers are getting out of the Army at this point (I was a cross-commissioner) and cruising into Harvard, U of Chicago, Dartmouth etc...Further, the Army has programs very early in careers to send folks back to get masters degrees at good schools. Also, teaching at West Point is considered a good career move unlike teaching at USAFA for AF pilots. So, while our peers are out getting great degrees, the Air Force flying community is stuck getting online degrees and wondering if TUI is going to keep their accredidation. Yes, I know that one could argue that pilots don't necessarily need prestigious degrees, but do infantry officers need these degrees? No..but the other services seem to have a better grasp that educating their officers and building more credentialed individuals is an investment into the profession and ensuring military officership is considered elite...The Air Force tends to boil everything down to technical necessity...This is bullshit because educating people (outside of AFIT and Maxwell) expands people's horizons and builds more thoughtful, perspective-rich decision-makers. Now, off that soap box....there is a fundamental problem with the "pay to play" promotion process. Essentially, it fosters an environment where people knock out a degree out of necessity rather than for the actual interest in knowledge. Further, how do we measure this? So, I chose to use my GI Bill and TA to get a MBA at a reputable school. I did it for me and future options, but does that mean the Air Force should favor me more than someone that got a check the box? What I say, and I actually briefed this at SOS, is we should eliminate the "requirement" to get a masters before Major promotion. Eliminate TA altogether for O's. During the Capt years, people are assessed based on technical skills and leadership potential alone. When the most talented folks are selected for IDE in residence, then the Air Force should have a much broader selection of schools outside of the military education structure. These should include top-tier civilian schools. This serves 3 main purposes. First, it is a carrot to keep people in. Second, it broadens horizons for military leaders. Third, it reduces wasteful education spending (i.e. TA on for profits) and replaces it with real, worthwhile education.

Agreed...but getting a masters degree because leadership told you to helps them determine who the 'yes men' are--and that's what the upper level leadership is looking for in terms of who to promote.

Oh no, I didn't miss the line. Part of the original point was that you end up buying your distinction so you CAN stand out when all else is equal...I was only pointing out that "standing out" because you have a Master's degree doesn't make you a better leader or even a leader at all...and certainly not worthy of promotion above someone else simply because you have a degree. That is just my opinion...the Air Force obviously looks at it differently. Get your degree and stand out...that is what the Air Force expects. No, that wasn't the point I was trying to make, although I do agree with that statement. The point I was trying to make is that you are asking why shouldn't someone with a Master's degree be promoted over someone without one "all other things equal"...and my answer is: A Masters in basket weaving degree doesn't make a leader...

Is it too optimistic to think these cuts will free up funding that prevents cuts in other areas? Cut a little TA and a lot of TIB and perhaps prevent cuts to TDY budgets? If I had to pick between helping the entire Air Force get bullshit degrees versus a couple of crews doing an OST flight to Red Devil LZ, I say let's go practice some mountain flying. I understand the budget is a complicated thing and it never works this way but please just lie to me and tell me I get to go to Colorado now.

The program costs $97. I say withdraw $100 from the nearest ATM. Pocket $50. Then head downtown and pay some homeless drunk $50 to kick you in the nuts. That should recreate the experience at a 50% discount and minimal time loss.

That's how you know SERE is an Air Force course: you had to do it both in-residence and correspondence.

Finally, after all these years, this Pearl Jam song actually makes sense...

For Commissioning it is as follows: A3.28.2. Current or history of atopic dermatitis (691) or eczema (692) after the 9th birthday is disqualifying For Pilot/Nav: A4.28.2. Flying Classes I and IA. In addition to A4.28.1., verified history after age 8 of atopic dermatitis, eczema, and/or psoriasis. It'll be an uphill battle to fight if she was Dx at field training... Wavier depends on how chronic, location, and severity