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The whole crew was awesome. Not one of these guys gave less than their best every single day period dot. Especially Becker. Best Rear Det DO a Rear Det CC could ask for. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't waste your breath. Talk with your feet. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

1) Lawman, thanks for acknowledging that it doesn't take an 11F to deliver all the bombs. It's not just the 6th SOS that is ready for this, btw. I love my fighter comrades, but those who think only that they can deliver ordnance should read up Apollo's Warriors. Google is your friend. AFSOC is just a late 20th century name for what AF Special Operations has been doing for decades. 2) CH, as usual you are also right. However, if we got a CSAF level of priority in terms of quantity (as well as quality) folks, we could train those folks pretty quick per AFSOC firehose standard. (though, in the gunship world, hardware is at a premium) AvFID takes more training, I know, but from a schoolhouse perspective, if we just had more folks who didn't suck available to speed through, there's so many ways to accelerate training and experience. As you know, often combat IS part of our training plan, and those opportunities are widespread. 3) To that end: reviving Commando Look has been met with a wall of opposition in the past few years, as I'm sure you know better than I. However, given the number of students we hook across MDSs, if we WERE to get support for bringing that back, along with the resources to make it feasible, we could fix our manning and proficiency levels quickly. I'd say 1 year, if we got some more RPA tenant units in non-Cannonistan locations; 2 years, if not. 4) The problem is, our fighter comrades are hurting badly, as is the UPT capacity to train more raw material. This is absolutely a zero-sum game, and I realize that priorities are not SOCOM-centric. That having been said: UPT studs, if you want to kill bad guys, come to AFSOC. Our exponentially smaller size, given the number of carnivore assets/units we have, means that you WILL do that. A lot. ACC kills people, but ACC is huge. And we offer a FAR closer relationship with America's best on the tip of the spear . . .

Well that's essentially what flight pay is for so we can argue that our current flight pay is antiquated and should be a lot more. I think we can say an O-3 Aircraft Commander of a MAF aircraft responsible for global mobility of his or her crew or anyone responsible for any other semi-cylindrical object that passes through the air at high speeds should get a bit more dough than an O-3 in the fitness center in charge of making sure the basketballs are inflated to the correct pressure. I mean shit, the "over 4" flight pay is $206 per month. $2,472 per year to command an aircraft for the military? Ok, sure. It goes to $650 over 6, but by then most of us are seasoned IP's or even evaluators. Over 14? Probably not flying much anymore. As a comparison, your lowest 4-year obligated health professional bonus (General Dentistry) is $150,000 or $37,500 per year. Neurosurgeons get $400,000. No, I'm not trying to compare pilots to neurosurgeons, but let's remember that the Air Force is paying these people big bucks because of supply/demand and the fact that their skill commands 3 or 4 times their military salary in the civilian world. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

If I understand your point correctly, that is to say that CDRCOCOMs want to have the individual sign-off on every strike in every theater, then I will respond with this: 1) Your concern is valid. 2) If they refuse to delegate approval to the PIC or at least GFC, then they are micromanaging cowards. WWII was not won by Eisenhower confirming LOAC requirements for all the targets on the ATO, much less the CAS furball. Not that such a possibility would surprise me.

What monkey vid? That's a Strike Eagle squadron.

Mostly agree with you, but not on your point that paying everyone the same is a solution (hello socialism). If someone has a skill set that is in higher demand it can command a higher price, and it should. Now, the $1K difference between AFSCs is amusing AF logic, as if it was the product of some Rube Goldberg device, and I agree with you that if they're going to pay people equivalently the same amount/bonus, they should just make it the same across the board - $1K difference between 11Xs ain't going to make a difference in retention for those seeking money - it will make a difference for those who want to feel like they are valued by the organization - which a bonus structured like this goes a long way to undermining. That said, if there is a (much) greater need for certain AFSCs, they should reflect that in the bonus they offer. Ultimately though, I'm not one for bonuses and would prefer to see the AF tackle this problem in a completely different way that represents the value provided to the DOD that each AFSC brings. I would rather have them divorce the pay scale from O-whatever and align it with AFSC. At this point in my career, I struggle more with the logic of paying O-1/2/3/4/5/6s the same when different AFSCs bring inherently different value to the warfighting table. Same is true for Es.

Talk about a "grand slam" https://abc7.com/news/video-shows-moment-that-caused-suspect-to-shoot-himself-in-hawthorne/1801603/

Oh no, they care, Gallup just asked the wrong people. Ask multi-national Corps only, how they rate Congress. That chart could be pivoted upwards around the 50 percentile line and traced. Done, approval rating in the 90s. BL, It's big fucking club...and YOU A'INT in it. The other poster is right. The only metric of leverage you have in this world is your feet. The rest is just spinning your wheels. As the movie the Gambler posited, the key is to reach the position of fuck you. Get there, and wanking about some chump change 20K post tax won't seem like that important a topic in the big scheme of things. Lord knows that shit wouldn't get me out of bed, let alone stay in a position where I couldn't say fuck you on command. That's the biggest thing I value as a career AFRC guy, over anything Big blue has dished at me since 2005. See my avatar. This mother can shut down and imma be alright, baby's paid for.

Becker was a warhorse. Godspeed brothers.

Here is the approval rating of Congress. Quite apparent they give fu*k all.

I wonder if they could have done $34,999.99? That would have made me laugh out loud, and I would have actually enjoyed being the staff-O that got to type up the MFR or whatever. "It is 'tiered', congressman..." I understand this better now, and FULLY grasp that everyone in the AF answers to someone, including the COS. HOWEVER, the fault of the AF isn't that they currently have their hands tied by Congress/must do what they say. No one is blaming them for that, but there is NO DOUBT the AF could have and should have seen this coming and postured themselves earlier during "cold ops" to deal with the inevitable. Congress will likely almost always say "no" to one of their "children" at first request. The AF (at least parts of it) interfaces with Congress on a daily or weekly basis. Those individuals who do, know this, grasp how the sausage is made, and understand that they're not going to get something the first time they ask. The point? They were negligent in not initiating this effort years ago - that's the problem and complaint. Bitching about $35K vs $34K is just good fun. I don't like blaming the messenger either, but I do think the AF has played a greater role in this "crisis" than just a message passer between the country's legislators and the line fliers. The 5-year hiatus on airline retirements built up a 5-year backlog of hiring that was certain to affect retention. Now, we're reacting, when we had all the opportunity in the world to be proactive. Seems like a missed opportunity, and one which, if properly addressed, would have been a staff effort actually worthy of receiving OPR bullets.

With a mullet and your natty light.

The reason for the $35K/$34K split is Congress. The NDAA markup mandated "targeted" $35K bonuses. This way the AF can follow the law and still max the bonus as much as possible. Dumb? Yes. But the law is the law. Sent from my iPad using Baseops Network Forums

I can't imagine how you would manage a Cat II approach to a runway like that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just got an interview invitation from the 182AW in Peoria, IL!

So uh, where are the pics?

Yep. Ever since Tony sold to Bright Mountain Media, let's just say the blog's quality has declined a little.

Luckily, I do! We, thankfully, did not shoehorn him in the EW seat. He went through IQT academics and a more or less TX-like flightline program as an RN...er, WSO....

That event was a major contributor to the severe fighter (and other) pilot shortage today... both directly through TAMI-21 and indirectly through the loss of trust from the rest of the fliers in the affected units. MC-12 (until recently) was manned out of hide from other MWS... that kind of shock (especially without any end strength increase/funding) is something I think we can do without.

It's not about overriding. The JTR only specifies what you get paid. So your commander cannot stop you from getting paid, if it happens. But your commander can order you not to do something that you would get paid for BEFORE you do it, and it would be legal. Then, if you disobeyed, you would still get paid per JTR rules, but you can be punished for not following an order. Two examples. You have a TDY coming up, leaving from an airport 45 minutes away. Commander tells you to use the base shuttle service to save the squadron money. You're a piece of shit, so you just take a cab because you didn't want to use the base long-term parking lot. JTR says you will be reimbursed for the cab. Commander says you get an LOR for telling her you would use the shuttle. Both happen. You, a C-17 AC assigned to UPT, want to take a T-6 to San Francisco for the 2017 Brony convention in the Castro district. Commander says the squadron can't afford it. You tell him you and your hetero life partner, a FAIP, will stay at a friend's house in Alameda to save the squadron mad cash. But when you get there, your FAIP mentor immediately finds himself overwhelmed by a deluge of nonbinary polysexual panda-kin sex addicts. Swept away by the raw sexual fury and unkempt body hair of your fellow Brony convention-goers, you decide to each get your own hotel rooms in the heart of San Fran, where the lodging per diem is a conservative $12,500 per night. After returning to Vance in what can best be described as the moistest T-6 in the fleet, you submit your travel voucher. Seconds later, the lights go out, because your voucher was so expensive the squadron had no choice but you use the pot of money dedicated to utilities to fund your pseudo intra-species erotica vacation. Your commander, who for some reason looks just like a certain purple Clydesdale you got way too close to over the weekend, is reasonably upset. Per JTR rules, you must be reimbursed for the lodging. Per UCMJ and AFI, your commander is entitled to rip off your souvenir unicorn horn and stab it straight through your lying heart. See? Discipline and reimbursement are separate issues.

biggest UPT mistake? Not dumping my girlfriend (ex wife now) before going...Now all the graduation pictures are ruined for me. She wasn't even hot, god damn it.

Warcraft 3 or Starcraft or any of those RTS games help with multi-tasking and learning to use hotkeys on your keyboard while using the mouse. This becomes especially useful for the emergency scenario test as you'll just get used to the same concept.

You've got to be shitting me. Getting through UPT is all about studying and academics. Actually flying the plane has much less to do with "natural ability and coordination and gifts...etc....etc....." and much more to do with how well you prepare/chairfly. Another post said something about right/left hand, blah blah. Well, when I flew T-1 s and now in C-17's we're trained in both seats and whichever hand you're using for the throttles or stick doesn't matter at all. Ya just switch. As far as just getting to UPT, as far as I remember, the hand/eye test (when I took it, it was the bat) was a very small slice of the selection pie. Commander's ranking was what sent you to pilot training. Anyway, if you get a slot and get your wings be ready to nestle up warm with your dash 1 (and multiple other pubs) and do some studying!!!!!!!!!! I do respect the dedication - just wanted to give insight since I was once a hopeful, got a slot, got my wings and am now flying for the AF. Take it as you will, just my 2 cents.

Did anyone notice the mouse pointer in the center of the badge? Clever.

Won't change a thing Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Probably because 12M no longer really exists outside the Guard/Reserve