Leaderboard

In fairness, John McCain seems more eager to get into a war in Syria than Obama. I'm still waiting for a good argument from the war-hawks in Congress as to why Arabs killing Arabs in Arab countries is my problem.

Maybe thats because some guys just worked hard, flew their ass off, supported their people, led and were promoted to O-6. The reward for all that sacrifice is to be treated like an indentured servant. I got it, most Col's have older parents, most Col's have kids in high school, needs of the Air Force....trust me, I get it. But why do we spend a lifetime developing a senior leader only to ride them like a wet dog? Sadly, it doesn't matter to most of them right now because they are staying in the USAF in record numbers...numbers so high they have force shaping and a SERB on the horizon...hell USAF even got the law changed so you can meet multiple SERBs. USAF is getting away with it right now because the economy is in the dumper...but it will get better and the only ones who will stay are the dirt bags who can't get a job on the outside. What is truly amazing is how the current system became so brutal under Schwartz. In 2009 the Command Candidate Board met with horrible results. At that point you had to raise your paw if you wanted to be considered for senior command, then you got a nomination to back it up. When the board met they did not have enough folks in certain categories. They went back and did some research and found that a LOT of people including 54% of their high-speed below the zone folks declined consideration for command. The results were so bad the service was having a tough time sending all their NDU grads to the legal required (50%+1), joint jobs. Facing this dilemma USAF made an interesting choice, rather than address the problems that were causing so many people to tap out (Ops Tempo), they changed the policy to the "All In Policy". Now every Colonel is considered for Command and if you decline you have 90 days to get out of the service...thank you very much! The problem persists today with some key career fields (Mx), critically short of qualified Col's. Some graduated commanders have been forced into a second command tour (several seven day opted), others are being asked to extend. Oh well, we will just make more.

CH, thank you for making an appearance in this thread.

They taught me, so it can't be that hard... I'm not sure though because I fly with my eyes closed half the time! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Any % going to TSP? What about state taxes?

Good call...Travis is a great location. Another pro for the KC-10: FTU is located at your base! None of this having to spend countless months in Altus, OK away from home. Initial qual, AC upgrade, and IP upgrade all done while you are at home. The only drawback is that sometimes the squadrons don't treat it as if you are "TDY to Altus" and want you to do some office work while you're in upgrade, although the FTU does a good job of shielding students from that BS while you're there. For the C-17 guys: Between initial qual & upgrades, how much time do you spend in Altus?

Smoke screen to help change the narrative from the scandals, NSA issues, and the weak economy. Clinton used it when Lewinsky came up, Bush did it in 2002/03 when the economy was still weak, and now it appears Obama might dabble with the same playbook in regards to Syria. It's always about politics over country.

What is your job in the military?

FIFY

speaking of slow, see post 5.

No, it's exactly why space guys are their own worst enemy. Way too much "trust me". Way too little SA on the way the world works outside their little soda straw.