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So I read I read your post and (and a few others) that seem to throw heavy guys who tracked T-1 maybe not under the bus but definitely into oncoming traffic, at first I was pissed (not that it matters) but after gonking a bit I realized it is just a reiteration of a theme I have heard before in muted tones, that we are basically inferior as pilots and I will assume that attitude carries over to us as officers as by your anecdotes we're lazy barely trainable retards. I wish to dispel you of that idea. I'm not going to get into a dick measuring contest with you on quals, instructor/evaluator time, chief of shop(s), FTU cadre, air medals (single events or cumulative), times shot at, times actually in danger or all the other shit that goes into a military flying career over multiple operations, AORs and other missions but sufficient to say when I look back at mine and other "fatty" pilots (actually I like that) the idea that we are stupid, lazy ignoramuses is complete bullshit that needs to stop. I realize that the power of that intellectual statement is overwhelming so I will expound... 1- We tracked T-1 because that is how the order of merit at Track Select placed us and some deliberately chose T-1s. Not me, I wanted to 38s but I didn't place high enough so I gratefully took my T-1, worked hard, enjoyed it and look back with pride on what I accomplished. Sometimes when you have a group of really strong, fast runners the difference between first and last is actually not that much, it is just that in that competitive a race, the 0.1 seconds make the difference, it is not that number 3 or 4 are slow or weak it is just that the race was that competitive. 2 - We worked hard in T-1s and accomplished a difficult syllabus that was not spoon fed to us and we were expected to perform, held to high standards and had the motivation to perform well as we all wanted as you said "pick their top choices based off location and lifestyle". If by our T-1 order of merit we were higher ranking, then we got to pick a better assignment, I can only speak for my class and the others I had friends in but no one slowed down because no one wanted to get stuck somewhere they didn't want to be doing something they didn't want to do. That was going to happen to somebody as there are a finite number of the "dream jobs" but everyone I knew worked hard to have the most control over there own fate, we would have greatly have appreciated having a lazy turd in our class to be a target for a less than desirable assignment but alas we all worked hard and hence kept all of our class working hard. They were not allowing T-1s to track bombers when I was going thru (2000 timeframe) but had they been allowing it, I would have worked my ass off for it. I worked hard, didn't get my first choice but not my last either. I look back and realize my job was not glamorous but important to do well, didn't expect a backslapping recognition for doing it as best I could and moved on. If your community (I assume B-1s) didn't get product they were completely happy with don't stereotype us all. It could have been supplied thru a poor selection process, thru a selection process deliberately fed misfit toys to get rid of them or just not taken seriously by the releasing command(s). 3 - We fly aircraft that take airmanship, intelligence and a strong work ethic to learn to operate, manage the missions, lead the crew, support the team and roll with the punches when things go south. This is recognized and why several friends of mine (all T-1 tracked, heavy drivers) have gone on to fly U-2s, attend TPS, flown for the 89th, exchange tours and the like. Yours truly is a mediocre officer and I rate myself average yoke operator but I was cut from the same training cloth as those other heavy guys who have done more than me, the example of what they have done should give people pause before they have someone all figured out.

So my initial response was to type, "eat shit, cadet", but since I was given a direct order to "expound", I will do that. When you say something along the lines of "I was worried there was only 1 T-38 but now there's probably 6, I don't have to worry!" it indicates a couple of things. That you are already planning the path of least resistance and you haven't even commissioned yet. Secondly, you think highly enough of yourself that you're going to be able to coast into a T-38 and then go off to slip the surly bonds in whatever you put at the top of your dream sheet. Point #1 - Things change, and by the time you go through UPT they may be in a mobility pilot shortage and now you're destined for AMC. Not likely, but who knows. The only thing you can control is how hard you study, prepare, learn, and help your bros. There are other variables that are totally out of your control that will have a large effect on your assignment. But if you're already looking forward to taking the easy route, you'll find yourself left out of the party. Point #2 - How many people in your ROTC det got UPT slots? I guarantee it wasn't 100%. It's the same for all sources. There were plenty of people that wanted slots who didn't get them. People that get to UPT are not the type of people that fall ass backwards into it. They're usually types that have been good at everything they've ever done and are used to success. The rub of it is that most of those people are not naturally gifted towards aviation, but they have developed a work ethic that will get them to be good aviators. Good luck earning a higher desired assignment than those people. Please rebut my points and anything else I've written because it's been awhile since a Cadet came here and went full retard.

I even have my hat ready... Songtan Sally 2016! Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

You also may want to check out hedonisticsexualdeviantfighterpilot.com for better ideas.

The best self-test comes when I ask myself what I'd tell my kids. No way would I advise them to pursue active duty life as a pilot, but I would whole-heartedly support the ANG. There are just too many damn variables today, and the 10-year commitment isn't going away (especially with rumors of its increase). Variables exist in the ANG, too, but nothing like the fvcked-up shenanigans we've seen in the last 6-9 years in the active duty USAF. Honestly, if asked about a mil career by my kids, this would be my advice: Go to a great school on an ROTC scholarship, major in a STEM field, then go be a contracting officer for 4 years and get out as a young captain to make bank at a defense contractor. My kids' father got real lucky so far with his flying career. Couldn't dodge the school bullet but I am walking away with great experiences and the ability to speak an Asian language, AND I'm going back to my F-16 mistress. I am the exception, not the rule. I would not expect the next generation's experience to be as good as mine. They'll be too damn busy turning red dots into green dots and remodeling the bathrooms to accommodate the 7 different "genders" in the squadron. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Drink too much, hit on commanders wife.

Even non-pilots can as well. Careerism has always existed. It always will. "Fair-haired," "golden boy," "early identified" types have always existed. Always will. However, the deliberate destruction of the squadron has occurred since the 1990s. The focus on everything but the mission has occurred since the 1990s. Look at the number of GOs today with the size of our miniscule force compared with WWII, Korea, or even your Vietnam example. Those on the spot, usually the best able and having the most SA on what the problem is and how to rectify it, now are neutered and must ask "Mother [insert your non-gender specific noun here] may I" before doing anything. And so on until at least a GO, if not a several button type is reached. Yes, it, the Air Force has changed. And people who wanted to be a part of the older version are voting with their feet. The new CSAF is the first to publicly identify this. So they've known for years if not decades, but no one would do anything about it because they would have been fired/retired. Not exactly "service before self" behavior, IMHO.

So, bomber dudes need to have "an aggressive T-38 attitude," the T-38 guys who go to bombers are "not the bottom of the barrel," bomber guys need to "learn to have great hands in these jets," and that T-1 guys will get "stuck in a jet they don't want" while T-38 guys are putting bombers at the top of their dream sheets?

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BTW, reference topic title, "U2" is the name of a band. The "U-2" is a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft flown by some pompous pressure-breathing prima donnas out at Beale AFB. #OCD

Harrumph! And sent you to the best one!

Every pilot on these boards knows the answer to that question.

Not a military pilot, so no vote that matters. Got it... However, I would not. I didn't encourage or discourage any of my three but answered questions or started the topics to see what they thought about it. Exactly none of them wanted to. Both my wife and I are second generation USAF largely influenced by our fathers' service to be the next generation. The buffoonery that we experienced was not lost upon our kids. They have made the choice not to voluntarily experience the same or worse again. The politicians outside the military don't take existential threats seriously and throw uniforms at problems expecting the hammer to be the solution while restricting how hard the hammer can strike. Not a unique trait for civilian politicians, I admit. The politicians within the military aid and abet this behavior. Some of the political-ness of senior military officials is also not a new thing. However, since the mid-1980s when I first became affiliated with Big Blue/DoD in uniform through to today in khakis and a polo shirt, the ability to say "no" and take the consequences of being fired or retired has disappeared. Look at the "Deid" and "What's wrong with the Air Force threads" for examples. Some ideas/attitudes/behavior is cyclical and just human nature. Some of it is not and is a further politicization of the military with all the political correctness and social justice charges at the expense of military efficiency and killing people and breaking their things. And get the f' off my lawn...

Wouldn't get too comfortable- it's only a matter of time before the pendulum shifts the other way again (and yes, it can happen that quickly- AF knee jerk reaction)

Dang, that was insane. I think that is the best pilot reaction ever. Literally 1 minute hack after almost getting decapitated, he figures it out "it wasn't my fault". Lol, I love that.

Just to reiterate the official memorial fund... https://www.youcaring.com/ashley-eadie-654162 The Brotherhood lost a great man A toast to Shooter

A true warrior. Never bitched (excessively), always worked hard, and made the brotherhood and the Air Force a better place. It was my honor, and many others, to serve with him. Artisits: Amn Pucci and Amn Leonard. Nice work boys, some of the best nose art I've seen. #flynavy

^^^^That's called quibbling. Start taking notes snap.

So correct me if I am completely throwing out chaff and flares here as I only went to UPT at a place with 38s only but from what I have been told and discussed in the squadron is that studs that fly T-1s (nowadays at least) usually pick their top choices based off location and lifestyle. That being said, all bomber locations are pretty heinous (Minot, Dyess, Shreveport, Whiteman, etc). While the missions are cool as in you wipe bad guys off the face of the map, you never even land in or see the world really (C17 bros snapchat me drinking wine in Italy on a TDY while I'm sitting in the Deid). Therefore, your top T1 dudes put heavy platforms that are in sweet locations and land at even sweeter locations. Now if this is true and that you give your top studs what they want, then you give the bottom part of T1 guys the bombers (this is what they are doing with UAVs to T1 studs). As Pawnman mentioned before, the results are mixed. Can these bottom graduation dudes in T1 somehow learn to have great hands in these jets and push it up? Possibly. Or is it more likely that they get stuck in a jet they don't want, in a place they don't want, in a mission they don't want and all of this for a guaranteed commitment of ten years. You make pretty bitter people doing that which is dangerous in its own way. You cannot have the latter flying these planes because you need to have an aggressive 38 like attitude to fly through a SAM MEZ knowing that you will get shot at and you will most likely get hit (no one is out maneuvering a SAM at 2.0 G), but need to drop bombs on target on time. This was the problem currently going in my community until recently. We had older pilots that flew the T1 that showed a lackluster performance in these jets. The thinking then was we need to get dudes that we not the bottom of the barrel to revitalize the squadrons especially since we are seeing combat. Hence now why the last 2 years we have been getting T38 studs in the FTU that got bombers as a must assign who were very capable of going to something with a pointy nose.

Has the AF really changed, or is it perception over time? The famous "letter" came out in Vietnam and is still relevant. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk