Leaderboard

Complains today's leaders are more focused on the little things than the mission... Bitches about a guy in unauthorized patches.

Look up "class act" in the dictionary and you'll find the Snowbirds.

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Hat's off to General Goldfein...

General Chang simply serves for love of country and service before self, so he doesn't need BAH. He just sleeps in his office. His lights are even powered by his sense of self-worth, so saves the government money there too.

Do the math, di1630: Take the number of throttles in your cockpit, Multiply that by the number of ejection seats. Then take THAT number and multiply it by the number of vertical stabs. If your final product is anything greater than one, you play the skin flute.

Chang isn't a leader. He's a nobody and he knows it. He doesn't have any "spreadsheets". That said, got to give him props- he's trolling you guys hard, and you guys are taking the bait every time.

Chang, I did my 69 page masters thesis 5 yrs ago on how to retain RPA pilots. I surveyed about 50 of them. Your data and mine seem to conflict. Listen Chang, I've never flown an RPA, I love my AF/country, you name it. I would have stayed in without a bonus so listen to someone who is not your bitter dissenter. I've had buddies go to RPA's who were some of the most upbeat, positive dudes I ever met. They took the assignment and I remember their fini flights...none were USAF RPA haters. One guy was excited. 5 yrs later, 100% of them are out. The stories they told me of shift work, denied career opportunities, horrid family life etc. made me appreciate my 179. Chang, I urge you and other leaders to get in touch with the "actual" pulse of the USAF. There is a huge disconnect somewhere with what you are seeing vs the reality of things. Despite your assumption, this forum is a pretty good cross section of what I hear in sq bars across airframes and the USAF from all ranks and backgrounds (no this is not just a pilot problem).

//RANT ON// Just stop with the number of deployments argument; as it relates to RPAs, it's old and busted. Even when not deployed in theater, back at homestation the operators are actively prosecuting ATOs, killing the enemy, and meeting the demand of a war-time ops tempo. Not just in short sprints, but every single day of your assignment in RPAs, flying the line (which is 99.9% of MQ-1/MQ-9 Pilots and Sensors). I question the demographic of the Aircrew that find it appealing due to the "fewer" deployments; how long have the been in the AF, how many non-RPA flying deployments have they had, total deployment count, how long were they in RPAs when that opinion was given and what's their follow-up opinion now (ie, has it changed)? Don't be fooled into thinking that just because you're at home, your "deployment" is somehow easier. It's generally not. The ops tempo is continual, AND they have meet the demands of a peace-time AF (CBTs, Inspections, CCAF degrees, PROJO volunteers, civilian education, etc). The remote location forces everyone to spend significant percentage of their paycheck on fuel, especially if you have office work to do. You can't get it completed when you spending 83% of your time at work actively flying/prepping to fly, so the bus schedule and van pools aren't a valid option. Speaking of the van pools, yes the AF provides a payment system for contract van rentals, but G-d forbid you that up on a rare TDY, or don't ride enough in a month. There are more examples that I'm glossing over, but think of everything you do right now and then try to image fighting a war for 7.5 hrs out of every 9 hr day (minimum) with no end in sight. Yes, some of the posters here sometimes present an argument from their POV and how the ops tempo is affecting them personally, but that doesn't negate the validity of their complaint. The aggregate effect, of everything listed above, upon the Airmen meeting it all is wearing them out quickly. One of the shitty parts is everyone of them is smart enough to realize that succeeding in their primary duties (to remind you: fly planes and kill the enemy) isn't enough to keep getting promoted. I've seen exactly ONE pilot who was able to just fly/instruct the line and fleet up to the top. He definitely earned it, but he's the exception to the rule. Some aircrew in RPAs volunteered, some were "needs of the AF"; all do more than speadsheet bean counting. People come here to vent because they care about the AF and because that's what Aircrew does. I've seen many good plans come together from sport bitching in the bar that solved immediate needs. This is just the extension of that. I'm curious as to your quals; you've become a blue-suit equivalent of Scoobs. You pass profound judgement that show you lack a basic "man-on-the-street" perspective. You have ZERO credibility at this point for most your posts. RPA operators are all great Americans, who have answered their country's call. If comments here make someone "a touch angry", then sack-up get yourself out to Creech. Learn what it means to lead people in actual combat. There's plenty of seats on the line for you. //RANT OFF//

F16Deuce, You're right. Please accept my apology. There are numerous things that "could have gone wrong" and the SIB will figure it out. I've deleted and replaced my original post. Pretty impressive that the pilot doesn't even appear to have any ejection injuries that a cold beer won't remedy I do feel bad for your friend though:. 1. Ejects 2. Meets Obama 3. ? Bad things always come in threes. Tell him to be careful.

The spreadsheets back it up...well I guess the problems solved guys! The spreadsheet are good! And did you really like your own post? Was that supposed to give it more credibility? Or did you forget to switch back to your ILS profile and like it as the other guy? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Breitling Jet team honored Capt Kuss at the airshow Sunday. I drove by the crash site today.

The part that involves pulling a trigger is rewarding.. the other 99.999% of the shit you have to do makes you want to separate from the AF ASAP.

True, but now that we've more than doubled the number of available bomb squadrons to pick up AFCENT taskings...I think four months makes more sense. My first trip to the island was four months, and that felt right. Six months is a drag, tropical island or no. An even better answer, to me at least, is do what we did in the late 80s/early 90s- park a squadron out there. We've already got a detachment out there now. Maybe you don't put twelve tails there, but four-six with periodic swaps to keep the corrosion issues low.

Damn, rough thread. We bitch all the time about a lack of veterans running for office and when a guy finally does, he gets vilified over some pics he took years ago and used on his campaign website? Rough. From what he said, it sounds like he didn't stage those pics for his campaign, they were taken while he was on AD. Give the dude a break.

Wait. What exactly are you claiming that the spreadsheets are backing up? That there are fewer deployments? If so, I'll buy that, but it's a fallacy to then jump to the conclusion that this somehow makes RPAs appealing. If you are claiming that you have spreadsheets that can somehow quantify the level of appeal the job has for pilots based upon the deployment rate, then I'm calling bullshit.

Maybe you should separate. We thank you for your service.

Highly doubt it would simply be an issue of running tanks dry. That being said (Causal factor) Mishap aircraft was a delicate single engine F-16 "lawn dart"

Wasn't this thread started as a possible "stolen valor" case? Since we've figured out that this dude is an actual veteran, exactly what the fuck are we going on about at this point. Are we quibbling over this dudes choice of patches in 10 year old photos as somehow deceptive? Really? I have a picture of me rocking a ThunderCats T-Shirt in my flightsuit as a 2Lt. I guess I better not run for office or I'll get called out as an imposter from Third Earth or Thundera.

You know, I love Cyber. I've been doing it for close to 20 years. I crossed from E-to-O into it. I set life goals based on the AF telling me that's what I'd do. I read about it at home, much to the annoyance of my wife (who doesn't want to learn about the new Win10 hack?). All the pilots I've met that actually love to fly do the same thing - study it in their off time, talk about it... sometimes even dream about it. If I'd graduated from my commissioning source and tech school to be told I'm now going to be a MFP/Services officer I'd want to burn it all down. Hell, if they told me I'd fly a Viper I'd still be angry - it's not who I am. That's not being jaded, that's being human. Doubly so if I went to any of the shit-holes the RPA bros are at. This doesn't even begin to touch the outright lies and blunders the whole RPA community has had directed at it from on high. It's almost the same as the missile fields, without the long heritage of shit or "investigations & programs" to fix it. Basically, "You're so important to the USAF and Nation. But not important enough for us to put money, men or brain power to fix it." It's an affront to justice we're taught as Americans and the trust we placed in the institution of the Air Force to go through what some of the RPA dudes have gone through. That doesn't end because you make O4/5/6. It doesn't end because you get to a cushy staff job off the line. It doesn't end because you get more money, or a ribbon with some metal on the end of it. Your lack of compassion, empathy and understanding are very telling. Broadly, you're just another troll, well done. Specifically, you're myopic view on status and money are indicative you're lining right up with that part of the AF machine for box-checking promotion - more concerned about yourself and what you can get, less concerned with the people executing your mission.

Dudes, apparently I pissed a bunch of you guys off and that's my bad. My buddy Sparky told me this morning and he defend me as a stand-up guy so I'll take what I deserve. I didn't serve in the selfie age, I didn't own a camera till I got married and I wasn't married while I was on active duty. The pics of me in uniform are few. This pic was taken while I was flying some missions in the back of either a C-17 or C-130 with a buddy of mine who happened to be a laodmaster and was able to get me on a few rides. That's his helmet, he snapped some pics, we were doing some training airdrops and I was pumped to tag along. I do believe that patch was swapped with someone from the flight deck but I can't remember but I do remember I had another sweet morale patch on the other side as well. My eye sight is 20/400, so no, I never had the opportunity to go through or washout of UPT. We used those pics because they were some of the few I could find. I don't believe anything claims I'm a fighter pilot though I would have liked to have been one if PRK or Lasik was accepted back then. I do believe I have a few pics from survival as well in BDUs but in fear of someone accusing me of trying to be a SEAL or Ranger, I'll refrain. Instead I was self-loading baggage who got to fly in the back, perhaps supporting some of you and coordinate SEAD missions, since airborne EW was my specialty. I appreciate all the dedication to keeping me in check...and if you ever think about running for office, my advice would be not to. Oklahoma has a $1.5 billion budget deficit which we're trying to sort through and I'm having to defend a picture I took 10 years ago with a flight helmet. Hope this clears it up so Duck can get back to his crown and cokes.

And this is why we don't have more veterans in politics. We can't even get fellow service members to unite behind them, why would we expect the public to? I've got plenty of pictures in a flight suit wearing unauthorized patches, some from different MDSes (including one wearing the patch of the Canadian JTAC unit that came down to train with us). I can only imagine the vitriol if I were to run for public office. "Look at this jackass, pretending to be a JTAC. His record clearly states he was never a member of an ASOS. And it's a Canadian patch. Why would an American military member side with the Canadians?" No thanks.

Welch's policies had no teeth. "Any wing cc who uses a master's degree for strats is fired, and will submit their retirement paperwork." BAM. Problem solved. Stop trusting your mid level managers to do the right thing. They've proven that they are incapable of it.

If I am reading the Senate bill correctly, for Mil-to-Mil this is even worse than last year's attempted BAH change (only get BAH for highest ranking member). With this change, a Mil-to-Mil couple with dependents would not even get the highest ranking BAH because the new formula would be: Member BAH = Max BAH/Number of members in household For example, lets take two O-4s living in DC with kids, Member 1 would be entitled to BAH w/ dependents, Member 2 w/o dependents. Member 1 BAH = 3108/2 = $1554 Member 2 BAH = 2673/2 = $1337 Total Mil-to-Mil BAH = 1554 + 1337 = $2891 So, an O-4 married to anyone except another military member living in DC would get a max BAH of $3108, but a Mil-to-Mil couple with dependents would max out at $2891. This is on top of the same couple also taking a ~$30K/yr pay cut from what they would be entitled to under the current rules.

Great learning opportunity indeed. To the new co's/lt's or anyone who's considering a career in the Air Force: take a look around on this forum. By and large, you'll find examples of attitudes which, if you make the mistake of emulating, will not bode well for your career. Oh sure, you'll make friends, and you'll probably be popular in your social cliques at work. But the truth of the matter is that being cool and having all that swagger -- really, rebelling against your employer, more or less -- is not what being an officer is all about. Yes, you can be a pilot and a good officer at the same time. You can even be a really good pilot while being a really good officer. At some point you will be expected to be a company man, particularly if you ever want to experience command (of people, not just a jet). The Air Force doesn't require you to be popular. Follow the core values, and set the example for your peers and those below you. "Service before self"... really think about what that means. Does it mean you get to focus totally on flying, and leave all that other officer stuff to lesser people? No, it doesn't, particularly in the fiscal environment our nation finds itself in. Before you complain and moan about how you're getting screwed, take a moment and dig deep... is this even supposed to be about you the individual? What does "serving your country" even mean, if it must be on your preconceived terms? A lot of these guys are poor examples to follow. Don't just blindly follow the advice of the popular guy. Think for yourself, consistently do the right thing, and be a good leader. Do these things and you should do great. And now for some more snark from the peanut gallery...

Absolutely spot-on. I have heard from many RPA pilots that the job is intrinsically rewarding work. It is also appealing because of fewer deployments (and the spreadsheets back this up). I believe some people on this forum are simply out to hurt our future Air Force with their negativity, and it makes me sick to my stomach. And ashamed. And a touch angry.

The money for your increased pilot bonuses will have to come from somewhere. Keep this and the House's increased bonus number to $60K (plus the monthly $1K- wow!), and you have a sustainable program. Not sure why the pilots are complaining. I know, I know, it's what you do best.