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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.

Yet... When offered the chance, every fighter pilots will...

very much looking forward to being in UPT as a 31 y/o prior e with this extremely humble generation

3 AD friends just got picked up for the airlines in the last week (2 X Delta, 1 X FedEx), all already have PC approved or ADSC expiring. Came to the realization that I literally can not keep track of the amount of people I know getting offers from the airlines and leaving the AF. Furthermore none of them are people I'm happy to see go. I seriously hope Fingers can do something to slow the flood but at this point the damage it done.

Takes one to know one.

Pilot training was easy. You'll do fine Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

What do you mean it hits close to home? You mean an aircraft projected for IOC in 2030 might be flown by people offended with the name association of a 2008 crash? Not trying to be rude, I'm just perplexed by what the issue is. I think raider sounds badass.

I don't think the executive branch has the control everyone thinks they do. Congress is in charge of funding and equipping the military. Yes the President is the CiC, but short of authorizing military actions for certain National Security issues under Article II of the constitution and having veto power (which can be overridden by a 2.3's majority) all he can really do is lobby for funding by drafting his budget. If you think that one of these candidates will in some way be a watershed event reference the past 8 years. I still stand by my assertion that the beauty of our democracy is that it is slow, of course the Achilles heel of our democracy is that it is slow...

See you at Montgomery! I also start class in January

Yes, in general it's pretty easy to figure out who benefits the military more. The military, in general, does supports one party over the other. This, of course is my 30000 foot officer view of the whole thing. I do know things change (read:allegiances) around the O-6/O-7 rank due to internal politics.

Background:

AD owns the airplanes but we fly them also. We do intermix crews. Two separate squadrons at Dover though.

That's fucking awesome. However, with my luck it'd say "Make A-Town Great Again"... But would still wear it with pride!

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On full auto AKMs there's a rate reducer in the trigger group that delays the reset to allow the bolt to finish any bouncing before letting the hammer go again.

This is how I'd probably go about it: Find a kitchen scale and weigh the LWRC buffer. Buy the carbine buffer that weighs the same as a starting point. Assuming the LRWC buffer has a roll pin holding it together like a normal buffer, you could take it apart and see what type of weights are in it and compare those to what's inside a normal buffer. Or call LRWC. Standard carbine buffer is ~3 oz, H1 is ~3.8, H2 is ~4.6, H3 is ~5.5

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Keep up the min run attitude and see how well that works in your flying career.

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)

If the new Raider squadron doesn't find a way to work "Bomby McBomerface" into a Friday patch or something they have failed from the start.

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?

For a time in the early '00s, bombers did come from the T-1 track. There even used to be a short T-38 postgraduate top-off program called "Introduction to Bomber Fundamentals".

Reno Races 2016. Once again, epic times. Steve Hinton Jr. took the Unlimited Championship back. Five destroyed airplanes, but no injuries. Pete Zaccagnino crashed in his beautiful DeHavilland Vampire Friday. Today, it seems two bi-planes got tangled up on the runway and both were totalled. See pic I took below late today. Near pefect WX all week. Was there for the two-ship F-4 arrival... Probably the last time I'll see them fly since Nellis Airshow in November closes the U.S. military's Phantom history. Blue Angel pilots were spot on with the timing maneuvers... but the actual routine seems to have a lot more dead time than we had ever seen. For all you current or former U-2 guys, join us next year. We have the best party at our location in the Box Seats. And we had a U-2 flyover Thurday. One of our newer U-2 pilots ran his RV-4 to 2nd place in the Medallion Sport Class. He hit around 230 mph... yes, in an RV-4. Lots of racers wanted to see it up close, to see what he had done to make it that fast. p.s. An RQ-4 and an MQ-9 pilot came by and hung out with us. They endured a lot of ribbing, but the large quantities of beer eased the blows. Good guys!

Doesn't the AD version of the bonus have verbiage that limits the big bonus to initial eligibles only, meaning that those eligible in FY16 (and declined) won't qualify for the big money in the FY17 program? My point is this - someone mentioned that there are likely holdouts waiting for it to go up but it doesn't work that way. I thought that an eligible pilot passing on 25/yr in FY16 would make them ineligible for the big money in FY17. Of course, they could always change the wording. So far though, I thought they put a gun to your head the first time you were eligible. Sucks to have graduated from UPT in Sept of '06 when your bros graduated only a few weeks later in Oct.

That's fine. The real "bonus" will come when said heavy drivers hit second year pay at AA/DL/UA/SW/UPS/FEDEX. I don't see the problem (much like the AF).

It's ok. Quibbling is the god-given right of all millennials, haven't you heard? Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

I know there's a segment of the Buff community that does not feel the same way. Some say it looks like Big Blue has no SA and that they tagged an aircraft with the same callsign as a jet that crashed and took the lives of six men with it.

Or maybe it's a nod to the mission where we lost 16 aircraft and the lives of 7 men to attack Japan. Sorry, but your community doesn't have the lock on airmen making the ultimate sacrifice.

No we don't, but it IS a bomber that will be crewed by some of the same crewdogs that had friends on RAIDR 21. Just saying that some have said it hits close to home.