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The B-52 community flying with the Raider callsign probably really struck a nerve with the Doolittle Raiders because several of their bros ended up executed in China...what a slap in the face to those men that the Buff community would dare fly with the callsign Raider. Buy you know, yay heritage!........wait, that didn't happen because none of those Doolittle Raiders were a bunch of whiny SNAPs. Sounds like some of your friends need to get over themselves. Not a bomber guy, but I think the name pays a great tribute to not only a historic bomber raid in WW2, but also to the bros who were lost in 2008. Seeing it any other way is beyond ridiculous and extremely self-centered.

Well no shit dude FY 17 is in four days

If only there was some platform capable of carrying lots of ordnance, loitering for forever, and didn't cost an arm and a leg to develop or maintain. Besides another A-10, of course. If only...

This is why I hate politics; I can never figure out where the bad decisions start/stop and who started what (plus, politicians just give me that bad gut feeling). As a broad brush approach, though, I think the "it's pretty easy to figure out which party benefits the military more" comment above was spot on...

Shack! It goes back to the fracturing of the service. Fingers has it right: the squadron used to be everything. You never had a NEED to go outside the squadron save for a few instances. Each squadron had a personnelist, someone to handle pay vouchers, even MX reported to the same CC who owned the jets and the mission sets. I remember going to work with my dad and seeing pilots and maintainers in the same offices working towards the same goal. If a line didn't go, there wasn't quibbling over who owned the failure: the answer was clear, the SQ! To bad we couldn't periodically autosave every once in a while and realize the unintended consequences of the path the service set out on.

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.

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

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...

Which party was the one that suggested the BAH cuts again...?

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

Brilliant!! At the time you wrote this the House has not taken action on a CR. Here's to hoping they follow suit and pass a funding bill. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Yes... CMB 17-08 Track 1 T-38 (Saudi) 7 T-38 11 T-1 2 Helo

If you don't know for sure you want to fly fighters, especially the greatest fighter known to man, then you shouldn't do it. Go fly heavies. Not throwing spears but this is not the business for people who need to be talked into it. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

What the fuck is going on here these days? Does BODN need a goddamn "safe space"?! SNAPs: less mouth, more ear. If you have time to quibble and bitch on here, you have time to be in the vault or the -1. Hopefuls: timing, skill, work ethic, luck.. Control what you can control; enjoy the ride when the cards are dealt.

Starting with your girlfriend. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

I'm sorry man, but history is full of callsigns (especially from WW 'Nam) of men and women who paid the ultimate price while flying their war chariots, both in battle and while training for battle. If the B-52 community is offended by the name Raider, maybe y'all need to dig a little deeper into history and come up with a list of names and call signs we can't use until we give you SNAPs sufficient trigger warnings and enough time to retreat to your cozy safe space. YGBSM. Personally, if I morted and Big Blue decided to name an airplane the same flying callsign, I'd be fvcking honored. You can't un-mort the mort, so your only option is to remember (with reverence). Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Credible source says A-29 SuperT and Scorpion Jet will do a flying demonstration next early spring. Not sure if those are the only participants, but that's all I heard.

Flak*...sorry it was very distracting.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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...

There is not a doubt in my mind that AMC will know exactly what to do with a damn stealth aircraft flinging MALDS and jamming shit.

Saw this gem the other day...

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

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.

I'm not even saying I have an issue with it. Just saying that it kinda struck a nerve with some crewdogs in the Buff community. But yay, heritage...