Leaderboard

Not Friday yet, but here's a quick history lesson: The AAF graduated over 193,000 pilots (just pilots, not bombardiers, navs, flt engineers, gunners, etc.) in 6 years, between Jul '39 and Aug '45. There were only 966 student pilots in training in Sep 39. By Dec 43, there were 74,000 pilots in stateside training alone. Bottom line, Of course there was little to no briefing. The instructors were barely more qualified than their students. They had comparatively little knowledge to offer, and minimal time to impart what wisdom they did have. Wartime flying "training" was less training than Darwinian survival of the fittest, because it was the blind leading the blind. Consequently, there were 136,000 flying training eliminees and fatalities in stateside training alone. Over 65,000 aircraft were lost in the CONUS alone during the war (15,000 of them were heavy & very heavy bombers). My point--Wanna get people killed or injured? Fight wars without effective planning, briefing and postmission debriefing. WW II sounds really awesome, until you realize the human carnage and piles of bent metal that went along with it. TT

Saturday I had studying to do. Sunday's the Sabbath, so that's a no-protest zone. Plus...not too much protesting going on in the Lone Star State. I keep seeing ads for the House Plan on Youtube when I turn my ad-blocker off. No actual plan, just that there is a plan... No one had any thoughts on removing the JCS and DNI from the NSC meetings? I found that the most disturbing thing from this past weekend. Well, that and Spicer's statement of Bannon having "extensive military experience." Well, that and blocking green card holders and Iraqi translators.

Not throwing a spear at you but anyone with the attitude above. Few things make me more angry than someone being a bitch on assignment night. Hell no I did not want my RPA, I stood up, shook my flight CCs hand, saluted, he gave me a bro hug and said sorry man, I drank my bottle of Jack, cheered for my bros that got killer assignments and moved on. UPT is a amazing experience and just graduating is a lifetime accomplishment. I will be more than happy to kick anyone in the nuts and give them a bitch slap for being bitter about being non vol to a fighter. We have way to many other problems in every community than to deal with people not liking there airframe straight out of UPT.

Absolute truth....sickeningly true. During my two sentences in the building my trips to the Hill were the least favorite experiences because of the inept and generally "what can you do for me and my district" attitude. We repeatedly tried to explain complex issues that needed attention, serious thought, action and funding now to prevent future catastrophes. More often than not the staffers (you rarely get to the elected official), looked at you with a blank stare. McCain was one of the worst, anytime the Air Force proposed a basing action, regardless of where it was, he wanted to know why that function, unit, aircraft wasn't being moved to Arizona. I feel like I need a shower just remembering it.

Yep, just like David Brooks, Jennifer Rubin, Nicole Wallace, Steve Schmidt, et al. "Highly respected" and "conservative" are not adjectives I would ascribe to Frum or the rest. They, collectively, remind of this guy: as they seek to curry favor with the MSM machine. As to your point of "carrying on Obama's policies," it appears you miss the point. When Barry did it, it never raised the slightest hackle for eight loooooong years. If Trump does it and only after three weeks, it is the End Times. Firing a disobedient acting AG? A dictator. Firing a four-star general who was quoted from off the record conversations and it's ensuring civilian control of the military. Must be nice...

Heaven forbid we let young Airmen feel pride for what we've done!

Xaarman, These were a bunch of different issues I ran into. Leadership said the same stuff back to me when talking about my chances (nav leaving AFSOC). Make sure you have a letter of hire from the guard unit, a solid letter to the board and all your paperwork in line. If you have that good to go then it's just up to the SAF. Follow the PSC Guidance I posted on an earlier one and you should be set. Good stuff happens sometimes.

What business exactly would the NSC undertake that does not involve the DNI or military? I would challenge anyone to devise a reason to convene the NSC yet does not involve the collection or analyzing of intelligence not involve military action/presence/resources/expertise. To me, the DNI and CJCS along with the SECDEF, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State are so obviously the key players that I'm surprised anyone would even make an argument otherwise. Tweaking the format or frequency or whatever of a meeting, NBD. Removing the permanent invitation from two key players (and access = power in DC) while giving that very invite to a political operative with extremely questionable NATSEC expertise is very troubling. Also, what's your source for Valerie Jarrett sitting in on NSC meetings, let alone receiving a standing invite? I searched the interwebs briefly and could not even find that on a single politically-motivated "news" site, let alone from legitimate fact-based source. Gates apparently blew his lid when Obama had his press secretary Gibbs sit in on a couple specific NSC meetings. I did not find any evidence that Jarrett ever attended. Karl Rove did not ever to my knowledge attend NSC meetings under W. Bush.

Took all of 8 or 9 days for him to go public. And W was silent for 8 yrs. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Meh, par for the course for NS, we all have different priorities. I tell you what though, I'm at a stage in my life where I'm glad there is a net.

FIFY. Gonna be a long 8 years for the protestors... On a lighter note... This graffiti is pretty funny

You can be sure I am going to ask all of these questions.

David Frum, the author of the Atlantic article is a well known and respected conservative thinker. He was no friend to the Obama administration and has been highly critical of Hillary Clinton. Neither of those two individuals is president right now though. I find it curious how those who defend the Trump administration are so quick to point out that Trumps actions are simply an extension of the precedent set by the previous administration. Obama was highly criticised for what his critics described as an overreach of executive power. A lot of that criticism had merit. So why are Republicans suddenly ok with their guy doing the same thing? Is this the new Republican party? Abandon your principals to put a man who is a Republican only in name into office and hopefully advance your congressional agenda on his coattails? That seems to me to be a potentially treacherous strategy. Isn't it more consistent to be equally critical of the Trump administration for committing the same transgressions as his predecessors, regardless of party affiliation? Democrats could be equally chided for their (unsurprising) adoption of an obstructionist strategy after bashing Republicans for doing the same thing for the past eight years.

@ViperMan Challenge accepted. I like 1984 just as much as the next guy, but that article made some ludicrous assumptions... "The media have grown noticeably more friendly to Trump as well. The proposed merger of AT&T and Time Warner was delayed for more than a year, during which Time Warner’s CNN unit worked ever harder to meet Trump’s definition of fairness." -Yes, let me know when that happens and I might take the article more seriously... "Opponents of the regime are not murdered or imprisoned, although many are harassed with building inspections and tax audits." -Obama wrote the book on that one... "And congressional oversight might well be performed even less diligently during the Trump administration." -Again, are we going to ignore the lack of congressional oversight under Obama? "They owe this chance solely to Trump’s ability to deliver a crucial margin of votes in a handful of states—Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—which has provided a party that cannot win the national popular vote a fleeting opportunity to act as a decisive national majority." -Saw that one coming a mile away... I know this is a new concept, but we're not giving out participation trophies for this contest. "Trump versus Clinton was not 2016’s only contest between an overbearing man and a restrained woman." -Reading from the playbook I see... Hypocrisy is bashing political polarization then making the above statement a few paragraphs later... "Republicans in Congress have long advocated reforms to expedite the firing of underperforming civil servants." -As a government worker, I read that "Mean Republicans want people who don't show up for 3 months without notice to be fired earlier than 3 months... And to also not pull a paycheck for the time they didn't show up to work." "Presidents from Jimmy Carter onward have balanced this unique exemption with a unique act of disclosure: the voluntary publication of their income-tax returns." -I'm actually impressed the author found something positive related to Jimmy Carter than reflects poorly on Trump... "McDonnell then set up meetings between the favor seeker and state officials who were in a position to help him. A jury had even accepted that the “quid” was indeed “pro” the “quo”—an evidentiary burden that has often protected accused bribe-takers in the past." -Oh, so we're talking 'quid pro quo' now? Pretty bold to ignore the *cough* e-mails *cough* mentioning those words verbatim, but with much more serious implications... "The oft-debated question “Is Donald Trump a fascist?” is not easy to answer." -I was actually anticipating that one as well... Perhaps this is the wrong question. Perhaps the better question about Trump is not “What is he?” but “What will he do to us?” -Didn't this article begin by denouncing Trump for fear mongering? Strange... "By all early indications, the Trump presidency will corrode public integrity and the rule of law—and also do untold damage to American global leadership, the Western alliance, and democratic norms around the world. The damage has already begun, and it will not be soon or easily undone. Yet exactly how much damage is allowed to be done is an open question—the most important near-term question in American politics. It is also an intensely personal one, for its answer will be determined by the answer to another question: What will you do? And you? And you?" -Rally the troops! Less than 2 weeks is more than enough time to draw rash conclusions and gather "evidence" to successfully accuse, convict, and topple the dictator Trump! "We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the United States that anyone alive has encountered. What happens next is up to you and me. Don’t be afraid. This moment of danger can also be your finest hour as a citizen and an American." -Ooo, a resistance! Can't wait to see the type of fighting the anti-gun crowd uses to win.

Will his successor institute "Cross Dressing Day" for field grade and above, to better understand our military members that serve under a different gender?

Copy. Losses on missions like the Schweinfurt raid had much to do with inadequate training & experience. Of course, many of those crews were lost because the (primarily fighter pilot) AAC/AAF leadership failed to adequately consider the need for long-range fighters. It is noteworthy that the P-38, P-47, and P-51 (which would define the AAF's long-range fighter fleet) had all flown before the AWPD-1 team first met in Aug 1941. Furthermore, especially in senior leadership billets, fighter pilots grossly outnumbered bomber pilots throughout the war. It must still have been the bomber guys' fault that so many of their crews got shot down over Germany. It couldn't have had anything to do with (ACTS pursuit--read fighter--instructor) Hoyt Vandenberg (who at the time was responsible for global aircraft allocation), who wrote (ACTS fighter instructor) Tooey Spaatz in early 1941 that bomber escort was "incompatible with the mission of pursuit." In this, he was merely parroting the opinion of his ACTS fighter pilot mentor Claire Chennault. Folks like Curt Lemay (who started his career as a fighter pilot) would suffer the consequences of decisions made by men who failed to fully consider what the strategic bombardment mission would entail. Thankfully, American productive capacity and airmen's wartime learning (going back to plan/brief/execute/debrief discussion) enabled the AAF to overcome early wartime strategic planning blunders. I sure hope our senior leaders can convince the President and Congress of the need to maintain adequate numbers of well-trained crews, operating high-quality weapons systems, so we don't suffer any future Schweinfurts. BTW, the 8th AF lost more men over Europe than the Marines did in all of the Pacific. Somehow that never shows up in the Marines' propaganda efforts. What's really crazy is that the AF doesn't advertise how much airpower contributed to winning the Second World War, either. Of course, that would mean airmen would have to read history books. TT

The reason this is news is because it's a pretty significant break from all past administrations. As I said before, access = power in DC, and proximity to the President is key no matter what your title on paper says. Removing the permanent invites of the CJCS and DNI indicates that their status and access is below that of those NSC members who retain (or gain) permanent invites. It may seem like a lot of inside baseball "court politics," but it's relevant to how decisions get made. Bannon, as chief strategist to the President, already has a TON of access, including a West Wing office. Now giving him even more status in and access to the NATSEC decision-making process is in essence further increasing his already significant power and influence. My strong misgivings about Bannon as an individual aside, the President should have a chief political person close to him. W had Rove, Obama had Axelrod, etc. Trump can have Bannon if that's who he wants. But very directly mixing politics with national security at the NSC Principals level is something I would have thought most military folks would be uncomfortable with. When Presidents have even tangentially involved their more politically-oriented staff in NATSEC decisions in the past, there was strong push-back from the standing NSC principals. So maybe this is NBD and Bannon will provide insightful and sage advice as a member of the NSC PC. The President apparently wants him sitting there day-in and day-out so let's all hope so. Needless to say I'm not holding my breath...

What happened to the commitment to the RPA community?

Ahh ok, something else to consider before making the switch, even though I'd go through SERE again before going to WOCS

In regards to the first endorsement thing, I think mine had the SQ/CC as the first endorsement, then when it was submitted it went straight to the WG/CC (which is lucky because the OG/CC wanted his input, which was to deny). I had to redo the 1288 roughy 10 times because the different people wanted different sigs on the 1st endorsement. You would think sending the guidance out would help but it seems like it just confuses everyone more. Standard.

has he ever eaten food from Pei Wei and if so what's his favorite meal?

Has he ever been in a Turkish prison?

There are some mitigating factors in that the PBR is VERY delayed and might not be submitted for another 60-90 days (typically the RMD is out by now. With approval not likely until the summer it adds to the confusion. Regardless, they are fucked...

The 345th Bomb Squadron at Dyess AFB, TX is having a rated/non-rated hiring board to select new applicants to join the “Desperados.” Applications will be accepted through 1 Feb 2017 and interviews for those invited will be held on 4/5 March 2017, during our UTA weekend. This board will be to hire both off the street and rated Pilots and Weapon Systems Officers. Attached you will find the requirements to help you assemble your application package. Questions can be sent to 345BS.Hiring@gmail.com. Good luck to all that apply! 345th Bomb Squadron Request for Applications.docx

It's time for pilots to take back the USAF. I get it, 6-9 years back when we were scared of pissing someone off and getting an RPA or RIF, we bowed to the chiefs and spineless leaders. You are setting an example for the young airmen just by being a pilot. Pilots should have status, status should have privileges. Don't be an ass, don't be a clown with your superiority but accept it, you are at the top of the food chain, act like it, be proud of your work that got you there. Don't let some jealous nonner shoe clerk pilot-wannabe strip you of it.....especially in times like this where you are finally being acknowledged as an asset. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

No complaints so far, brother. I am enjoying watching the Republicans, who passed about what? 60 repeal bills for ObamaCare when they knew it would get vetoed? All of a sudden not pass a damn thing. Lots of swamp left.

I think you could make the case that direct election of the Senators makes them less accountable to the people, because the constituency has become those bankrolling the campaign. When there are two seats per state at a term of six years, wealthy people/corporations can find it easily palatable to throw their full weight behind a candidate that they'll then have an in with.

Direct democracy is exactly what the framers were trying to avoid with how they structured the Constitution. I would argue we should go back to electing Senators by state legislatures. With 32 states under Republican control, you can see how that would change the national Senate's composition today. And this isn't just because I'd like to see more Republican senators (I think both parties are hopelessly lost) but I think it would give the states a greater voice in Washington as was originally intended. Senators would then be accountable to the state legislature, and states could even choose to recall Senators if they become too entrenched and loyal to Washington instead of who put them there. This would also help to decrease the effect of densely populated urban areas in Senate representation, which was another reason for indirect election in the first place. The founders believed the Senate was the higher house, and wanted to trust choosing those who serve there to state legislators who could/should have greater discernment in who they chose. The framers were much smarter than I, and I believe if our state reps were electing our Senators, people might care a little more about those elections closer to home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dice paid the price for his careerism. I know one of his daughter hates him and refuses to talk to him after she left the house. Couldn't of happened to a nicer guy... Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

If that happens to any former 18Xer, I would fully expect them to literally burn down their UPT squadron post drop night. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yea, then getting an RPA after UPT.

Sounds to me like your beef is really with a system that rewards this behavior. Hate the game, not the player. Until then, continue to rage against the machine.

Unscorable at 6. It's earned compensation, not an entitlement. If my back and neck are going to hurt for the rest of my life then I expect to be compensated by my employer whether I'm able to hold a different job or not. Just like the GI Bill and the retirement pension, it was part of the deal when I signed up.

Perhaps there's a correlation with being continuously at war since 2003, and not being at war before that.

Thread revival! Does anybody know if IMA Cat-B positions are able to get Tricare Reserve Select? Can't find any definitive info on it. Thanks!