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Disagree...General Chang is going to argue their are some real caveats to the so called shortage. Right now the seniors are publicly stating we have a shortage of 200+ fighter pilots that will grow to 700+ in the out years. What they aren't telling you is that ACC actually has the inventory to fill all the available fighter cockpits, what they don't have is the inventory to fill the available cockpist AND fill the staffs. Despite their bluster about flying, the fighter guys truly do care about the staff. Their concern is twofold...first, if you don't have a fighter guy in a fighter staff slot they fear poor decisions will be made by uniformed people...you need a fighter guy to make informed decisions about the fighter community...sounds reasonable. The real reason they care is far less altruistic, officer development. Like it or not you must send your fast movers to the staff at some point so they show depth and breath and can be competitive for BPZ and such...the senior fighter folks have a real fear they will not develop enough folks to reach the GO ranks and thus, maintain control of the Air Force. What the General Chang's don't want to account for is the accuracy of the forecast models and current inventory management practices. If the personnel types were worth a damn we would not be in this position...in reality we have mismanaged pilot inventory for nearly 30 years...look back to Banking, ReCAT, UPT direct to RPA, TAMI 21...there are numerous egregious examples through the years. There is a survey held close by the seniors that shows real fatigue in the force, and a building resentment, so while I agree there will be folks that "chicken out", there is a real possibility the projections are wrong. I would look at two factors in the next 12-18 months that will predict what is going to happen. First, how many pilots do the bigs hire and do they keep a steady state of recruitment. Many companies including the airlines are hoarding cash and getting as much productivity out of their employees as possible. They are not taking chances on growth...but if they do and airlines like Delta and Fedex hire the rumored 60 a month to start then settle to 30 a month each, there will be a lot of pressure placed on the demand side. In some ways the FAA compounded the problem by raising the ATP requirement to 1500 hours, seriously shrinking the pool of direct civilian hires. The other factor is the B Scale...if the demand does begin to stress the supply I would look to see how long short the B Scale gets...if it remains at all...I guess time will tell. I disagree, DoD and USAF have at times shown they could care less about publicity, when the problem becomes severe as some think it will, they will do whatever it takes in the name of "National Security". Realistically the only thing that will stop it if the conditions come to fruition is Congress. Anyway, what do I know, I'm just and old guy.

And yet, Gen Welsh fails to mention that much of Bud Day's "act" -- both in the air and on the ground -- would be seen as "not part of the current AF culture". Day would be sitting on multiple Art 15s and FEBs in today's AF. How fantastic that we can pay homage to the whitewashed, PC actions of our heroes.

Thought you had...gone away.

Dude, this shit sneaks up on you... like a freight train... that's on fire... at night.

Split from Track Select thread so as to not have it be buried, with update on the article. Best part of the night was the student who got cancer....pulled from training for 15 months...beat cancer...came back, kicked ass, got a Raptor. Fucking awesome.

Nobody walks away from a belly-UP landing, dipshits.

Why? Why not, never know when you need to turn a zombie into pink mist. https://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/02/Manufacturer-Makes-Largest-Center-Fire-Rifle-Ever-Bullets-Are-40-Each

Oh good she's from Columbia, I wonder what her views on the military are like. Although being the former "executive vice president for communications and government affairs, responsible for media relations, marketing communications, congressional affairs, policy analysis, compliance with laws governing engagement with public officials, corporate responsibility, and community relations" (how the hell you fit that on a business card I don't know) maybe she can help us with our SAPR image.

Hate to admit it but he's probably right. I see a lot of dudes stomping around saying they are done and getting out as soon as they possibly can. Once that opportunity to depart comes up, many choke and realize it's not an easy decision to let go of all the steady things that come with that AD teet. Unless people really do start talking with their feet, I think it will be business as usual. There will likely be some knee jerk incentives thrown out there, and perhaps some shuffling folks around for a bit but I think a stop loss across the 11X is highly unlikely.

"What Exactly Is It You Do Again?: C-130 Navigators in OIF" Note: This is not a real book.

My favorite quote (this is a paraphrase) from "American Patriot" is after a reporter asked about why he wouldn't particpate in the program to return to Vietnam to meet former captors, see the prisons, etc like John McCain was doing. She asked something along the lines of "so you would never go back to Vietnam?" His response was "actually yes I would go back to Vietnam...leading a 4 ship of F-100s full of napalm."