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Thanks, Hoss for providing context to the negativity train. I don't have much for the calloused members with their opinions cemented, but I do have some advice for all the Lts and young Capts on this board. I've heard a lot of career advice like "your boss's priorities should be your priorities" and "think like your boss's boss" but I never saw the light with those words. Maybe that $h1t works on staff somewhere or as a general's aide, but my pea brain could never seem to guess those answers. What resonated with me was the idea that I should work for my peers and those below me. I could figure out what my bro needed or what was confusing the young Lt much easier than I could figure out my boss's next request, and I feel like I expended a lot of energy over the years for my peers. Saying yes to the panicked scheduler, editing anything people asked me to edit, agreeing to help out the over-tasked (fill in the blank) POC of whatever, etc. People appreciate honest help and what goes around comes around. One of my favorite quotes is Edison's "opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." As a Lt or young Capt, you have practically zero control over the opinions of your senior rater and marginal ability to attract the attention of your Gp/CC. If you attempt to directly influence your Sq/CC, you're kissing ass. If you take care of your job, the person who's got to do your job next and your peers as much as you can, at least you'll sleep better at night whether or not you get top-down recognition. I ended up with a school slot off this last Major's board, so this approach worked in my case. Good luck foraging your own path and don't be afraid of the roads less traveled. Edited for grammar.

Agreed... I would love to hear any plausible argument that demonstrates the reason WHY an AAD is such a high reflection of an officer's promotability... And why, if the AF REALLY thought it was that important, why haven't the opportunities for in-residence Masters/PhD degree increased dramatically over the last decade to reflect the AF's shift in priorty. Why hasn't the AF made any large scale movement to help encourage this requirements on its officers? The AF finally decided that physical fitness was important, so they took steps (however misguided they might be) to see that everyone got fit (new gyms, more time off during the week, unit fitness time). The AF decided CRM/ORM was important, they implemented training, resources, jobs/positions to show how important it was... Beyond demanding every officer get one, what has the AF done to show how/why it is so important that it is the 2nd place statistic after PME to get promoted? Why don't we get time off during the week for AADs? Why don't we get a 3 day pass when we bring our boss a good report card (like those that get 100 on the PT test). Why don't we have a unit-AAD rep? Hell we have a unit voting-rep because voting is important to the AF! Why was the AF/Military so gung-ho to get rid of TA because it was a wasteful resource compared to flying aircraft? I'll somewhat concede OLMP, but I'd argue that it is just another opportunity to earn a masters and not a true shift in priorities. BL, if the AF truly thought it was that important for its officers to get, the AF would take logical steps to help/encourage them to get one... i.e. 1) give the officer time weekly to accomplish it (I would argue a full day off every week that you are enrolled) 2) Increase the in-residence, paid opportunities 3) Allow members lateral moves out of and back on to AD to pursue degrees or temporary jobs in the civilian sector 4) force officers to start and/or complete a masters before entering AD. But the AF doesn't really think it is THAT important, they think of it only as a reflection of time management and dedication to service. The AF doesn't really believe it helps officers be better officers...If they did, they would put their $$ where their mouth is.

Same numbers...different take: I think we can all agree that PME can be considered continuing ed for a professional officer, so it follows that it is a "must" for anyone wishing to continue to advance in the profession of arms. So, I will only consider the officers who have completed PME - the method of completion is irrelevant and will not be considered. Without breaking out "P" vs "DP," 1855 officers had obtained (note I didn't say "earned") an AAD prior to the board. Of those, 1774 were promoted - a 96% promotion rate of those with an AAD. On the other hand, 691 dedicated officers decided to focus on their primary duties and did not waste time obtaining a fraudulent and useless AAD. Of those 691, 513 were selected for promotion. A 74% promotion rate of those w/out an AAD. Comparing apples to apples, the AF decided to promote 96% of officers with an AAD and only 74% of those without. I'd wager that 0% of the AADs polled in these demographics actually provided any real, tangible benefit to the AF. OK, so maybe a handful of those AADs could potentially prove of some use to an AF Officer at some point in their career. In the interest of fairness, we'll call it 0.69% of those degrees will at some point provide any hint of "force development." Considering my take on the real value of the average AAD, is it not fair to say that the "system" is obviously placing promotion emphasis on a metric that has no bearing on the ability of the individual to perform at the next higher grade? And some of you argue that this system is working? The stats are resoundingly clear. If you waste taxpayer money and use TA to obtain a useless, diploma-mill, box-check degree, you will be promoted. If you refuse to toe the line, you are wagering your career and there is a 1/4 chance you will be "let go." The "rock bottom line" (to quote one of my favorite AF party lines) is that the "system" is weak and corrupt, and real leadership has been replaced with a number of excel spreadsheets and a horde of pencil pushing paper bitches that refuse to expend the effort to get to know their people and rate them according to actual merit. The message is clear: "Your leadership ability and technical proficiency do not factor as long as you meet the metric and fall beyond the objective 'red line'." And no, I'm not bitter, just another CGO looking into the fishbowl. I was one of the "368" in the quoted demographics.

....that answers my first question She probably came over for tea and crumpets like a lot of drunk victims do....good thing you didn't have any or we might be reading about you in the Air Force Times..... ...am I being insensitive??

Trying to justify the numbers as "not bad" even for no AAD is completely missing the point. I separated prior to meeting the board, but by the numbers above, would have had a 0% chance of being promoted. Spent half my life in the AF in combat. High hours in the aircraft, half of which were combat hours. Upgraded before my peers to instructor and evaluator. Several EQ Form 8s. Flt/CC box checked. FTU gig checked. OGV box checked. Strat'd in the squadron on early OPRs and in the group on later OPRs. Push lines all stellar with the full support of my ops squadron commander for a DP...but the Wing/CC would not issue me a DP (straight from the horses mouth) because of a couple of problems... On principle, I refused to waste taxpayer money (or my money for that matter) on a basketweaving degree. Want me to get a Master's degree, Air Force? Great, I'd love to get one also, just give me the time off to do so and I'll come back with a legit degree, some actual growth from the educational experience, refreshed and ready to get back to work. No pay, no BAH, no BAS, no educational financial aid, no time in grade, nothing. Just give me the time to get it done and I'll do it. Not an option? Fine. I won't compromise my integrity by trying to find the easiest program majoring in Folklore at a diploma mill that's barely maintaining accreditation because the people that attend there don't actually want an education, they just want a worthless piece of paper without having to work for it. Then scope out the professors that especially don't give a shit, sign up for those classes with a buddy, and cheat my way through with min effort. All on the taxpayers dime. There's still a chance if I go to SOS in res, you say? Great, I'll pack my bags. Oh, the Wing/CC won't send anybody who doesn't have it done by correspondence? Well, I won't compromise my integrity, or waste my time, by purchasing the 'brains' for the course off the internet, borrowing the 'answers' to the exam from a friend that just took the tests, study the answers for 10 min before each test, guess at the questions you don't recall from the gouge, and hope for a min passing score. If I fail, that's ok. It just gives me a free look at the test that I can retake next week. Then after that, they'll send me to waste even more taxpayer money by retaking a course that *should* be rendered obsolete by the correspondence course I just took. Either way I'll brain-dump everything .69 seconds after walking out the door. So I've got a 0% chance of being promoted. The guy who CHEATED his way through a worthless correspondence course has a 29% chance. The guy who CHEATED through BOTH the correspondence course and his TUI basketweaving classes is guaranteed to get through. I'm an officer. I thought you paid me to think, not just fall into the conga line that's headed for the cliff like an E-1 is expected to do. I saw something illogical and refused to participate while I did everything I could to kick ass at my job. For that I'm non-promotable. The others that compromised their integrity (it's only the first god damned core value) to get through the hoops set before them are auto-promoted to Major. Would I have been the one to take the 0% number (w/o ADD or SOS) to 6% the following year? Doubtful, but it doesn't matter. I didn't want to belong to an organization that values what the AF values, whether that's as a 20yr Captain, or a Major+. So I took my services elsewhere. Makes precisely zero sense. And for those that will say, "AAD/SOS isn't hard, dude. Just suck it up and get it done", you're also missing the point. Effort level required was never a concern.

Agree 100%. Let's start with pilots flying RPA's.

Ridiculous. Let me introduce you to one: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128786907 Job devotion and competence has nothing to do with marital status. I know many, many flakes, married and single, of all ages, and have witnessed equal levels of flakiness among all martial stati. We all know the dudes that show up late, leave early, avoid any kind of difficult missions or deployments because of some scheduled family situation. Others in this thread have said as much.

I see you are not a boater. Beer makes the boat float dumb ass.

You don't need to fly everything in the jet. You can't build a pilot in a simulator.

Sims are good for only two things, systems and scripted practice. They're basically glorified chairflying with something to look at. Real training requires working through real problems, and sometimes those don't go as planned.

This is an excellent case for more concealed carry. I imagine this would've gone down differently in, say, Dallas.

I'm a trougher in the Reserves, and NO, people aren't pulling down 50K 'easy'. The previous poster caveat was that his unit has an alert commitment. He also is still in training, so he's going by what his bubbas at the unit are selling him. A year makes a lot of difference between what they tell you is the case when you interview and what the overarching reality is when you work that first day after MQT nearly 2 years later. At any rate, alert commitments, full time support of AD MAJCOM contingencies et al, allow a healthy money pot to be accessible to the supporting RC units and their members. This is not the case for all tanker/fighter units though. Your financial success as a bum will be directly dependent upon the airframe you fly, the mission assigned within that airframe, the amount of other bums in your unit attempting to do what you're doing at the same time, the state of affairs among the airline crowd (the furloughed O-4/5s) and your willingness to be away from home to get paid. The best way to find that information out is to talk to the bums in your unit and getting the skinny. The money may be skosh and that sure as hell should be a consideration prior to getting into said unit. Bumming is not for the faint of heart. In general you'll make around 60-70% of what your regAF counterpart gets paid and you'll put more days a month than they do. Multiple weekends a month is not out of the ordinary. There's no sick leave or worker's comp. You get sick a week and can't fly/show up? You don't get paid period. It's freelance work at its rudest. 60% of senior Capt doesn't sound bad, 60% of 2LT and now you're grazing non-technical hourly wages at the local factory, and you're a freggin' mil pilot. I've known Viper pilots do the mexican house antic, 3 to a house 'cause one works for Eagle and makes jack, the other can't get Lowes to take him seriously when he puts -16 driver on his resume, and neither can get a cotton-pickin' manday at the unit. Now, all that said, none of us had to ask for a day off to go off to wherever for a week. Every day you're unemployed is a day you have off, so might as well look at it glass half-full. As a bum, you're getting paid in the ability to say NO to the AD BS. You know, relocations, deployments and disco-belt shenanigans. Now, with the advent of TFI even that apparent benefit seems to no longer hold true, but I'll leave that out of the scope of this thread. Historically, fighter guys have a tough time getting enough days out of the unit to bum successfully. Getting on full time orders for a year to go to asscrackistan doesn't count as bumming either. Bumming is how much money you can pull without having a civilian job and no continuous orders over 30 consecutive days (hence no paid tricare, no leave accrual, no BAH type I). MQT is also not bumming. Everybody gets UPT, FTU, MQT (to varying degrees). Bumming starts when your unit starts feeding you out of their RPA pot and not on the AD MAJCOM MPA money (i.e. the devil's money). I made 45K taxable income last year, which is probably closer to 50K when accounting for the fact that my mil pay include tax-free fractionals of BAH and BAS. That was working 2-3 weekends a month, 3-4 mandays a week (which is way above average to the Guard weekly allowance), averaging about 2-4 more days a month at work than my regAF buddies. For my rank that's about 65% of what they make. I wouldn't call this 'easy' money. Conversely, one of my squadron mates, higher rank by about 1.5 years, spends half his year playing warrior with PACAF and is on full time orders for the duration of that stint. Great, that kid probably pulled about 65-70K. But he was gone as much as his regAF counters were and they still outearned him by about 10%, and they got more leave and medical allowance than he did. So as you can see it's a scale and not a set number. I made 65% and got to carnally know my wife on my own time and when it damn well pleased me. He made 90% and was gone more than AD and missed Thanksgiving, Xmas, the anniversary and Easter, and I sure hope nobody got to carnally know his pretty thing of a wife in his absence; and this is as a "Reservist" mind you. That opportunity cost sucks in my book, but to each their own. So I do think it's possible to clear 45-50K as an LT bumming, but it's burning weekends, and may be outright impossible in units without a decent money pot or with too many bums fighting for the same money. At that point it becomes a choice of either accepting being gone to get paid, or not. Which is kinda AD in nature, and that's really not why I got into the Reserves for. YMMV. If I were you I would do myself a favor and do a long-term look and gut check as to why you would want to pursue bumming. My experience is that long term, bumming outright sucks as a financial plan and is a bad idea. The vast majority of us are doing this to get in line for a full-time position at the unit because we value homesteading and it's probably the only other way we're going to attain a six figure income after vesting our lives into a particular profession in some of the garden variety Guard/Reserve locales where these units are located at. Locations where outside of niche fields or medical, people ain't making jack for money. Alternatively, some people bum to offset an eroding airline industry, either following a furlough or anticipating one. Whatever the situation, all these men and women have probably agreed said status would be temporary. I know too many folks getting into the unit behind me come with expectations of 250K houses and $1000 between two car payments, snicker and pant heavily at the indignity of attempting to fulfill these "expectations" on the grace of whatever bumming they could get out of the unit. That's nothing but piss poor planning. So most do an honest assessment of how long they would be willing to bum for, and if financial landscapes do not change within the time their household could have a tolerance for bumming, they opt out or pursue civilian employment elsewhere and usually leave the unit for another unit closer to the civi employer where they could still min run and get their 48 UTA, 48 TPs and 14/15 AT. I suggest you do that math TODAY versus the day you start bumming at the squadron and your wife gets indignated 'cause your 'job' ain't bringing in half what y'all need to be set like she thought life after college "is supposed to be". That full time job may come in two years, or it could take upwards of five and now you're behind the eight ball financially compared to your age peer group, and your wife is pissed. Good luck to you.