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The absolute root cause of so many of the current problems. "Picking" an officer as a captain long before their leadership is truly proven and pushing them uphill regardless of their flaws creates caustic entitled assholes. When we end up with folks who destroy the morale of units, commit sins that are white washed away (right after they hammer a subordinate for the same sin), and show questionable leadership while flying only to have the superiors say "we can't afford for him/her to fail, we have invested too much and we need another GO." This is why the institution is failing and this is why the concerns of the masses do not resonate with most of the current leadership.

It's not Friday but... Today, April 18th, marks the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid. Sixteen B-25B Mitchell bombers, led by Lt. Col. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, took off from the USS Hornet in the early morning daylight on an assignment to strike the heart of Tokyo just five months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the raid inflicted a rather minor level of physical damage on Japan, it gave a much-need boost to morale in the U.S. and to the warfighters. Eighty men volunteered and participated in the raid, and all but three crew members initially survived the mission. Eight airmen were captured by the Japanese in China, and three were later executed. Fourteen full crews, except for one crewman who was killed in action, returned either to the United States or to American forces. The raid played a major role in developing America’s perception of airpower and aviation. But it will also be remembered for its daring, and for the courage of the crewmembers who volunteered to risk their lives for the country they loved. Today, at the National Museum of the US Air Force, retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole, Doolittle’s co-pilot and sole surviving Doolittle Raider, will conduct the traditional “Goblet Ceremony” honoring those Raiders who died the previous year by overturning the Goblet belonging to retired SSgt. David Thatcher. Let's all remember and salute the Raiders, their historic, mission and continue to preserve the legacy of the Greatest Generation. To the Raiders!

- It should be a place where, when the 4-star-wearing HMFIC of the entire goddamn Air Force says "We are no longer doing xxxxx, because we no longer have the time/budget/manning to continue doing that", xxxxx fucking STOPS. Not the current model of *xxxxx stops for some, but continues for others because reasons* bullshit. - It should be a place where, when someone with "CC" in his/her job title says "I know CSAF said we don't ____________ anymore, but this SQ/WG/MAJCOM will continue to ____________, because I said so", that person is fucking FIRED. Immediately. - It should be a place where trainees, whether E or O, aren't force-fed the "You MUST aspire to be the CSAF/CMSAF or you're a worthless piece of shit!" mentality. - It should be a place where Command E-9s wouldn't dream of saying something as fucking ludicrous as "If you're in this room, and you aren't maneuvering to take my job, you're wrong".

Maybe even AFPAK Hands.

The words below were stolen from a friend, yesterday started the execution phase of Operation Eagle Claw. If you have never read about what they did it is well worth researching how these braves folks had the "guts to try." "Somewhere around today, in 1980, three MC-130E from the 1st SOS departed Diego Garcia BIOT bound for Masirah Island, Oman. After a brief, 7 hour, flight we would arrive to find two big wooden boxes with stuff dropped off by a C-141 a day or so earlier. In those boxes were tents, cots, and air mattresses seemingly left over from European theater of operations in WW2. Have you ever tried to drive a wooden tent stake into the hard surface of a desert island? The ever resourceful E's converted one of the boxes into an outhouse, so we did at least have that going for us. And so the adventure began."

My airline's AFPAK Hands program will station you at the Kuala Lumpur Beach Club Café with a tall drink and a companion who will be happy to keep you company, GI.

I don't remember scoobs.

Think the adscs will go away once you have to pay in? Doubtful.

From the article: A draft of the legislation states the buy-in provision would go into effect one year after the bill is enacted and would apply to servicemembers who enlist on or after that date.

Copy, I was expanding on how far behind the times AETC is.

A - "crippling" pilot stortage B - VPLAD .... Y - stop loss Z - profit break the chain! Read up on the details ... likely not USERRA protected (kiss that line number goodbye) and no guarantee to return to your guard unit. There are probably several other unsavory factors, but that's just what the porch is acknowledging, and they don't even run the program

So... When does the Rated Retiree Recall Program fire up? Hehe....

And I saw 1 go straight to a non flying 365.

The fact that stone age AFGSC is ahead of another MAJCOM in something is unbelievable.

Absolutely. I was privy to the inner turmoil of a guy who got mild paperwork for some fairly modest and harmless buffoonery on a deployment a few years ago. Admonishment only, no UIF. The dude in question did some serious soul searching and came out the better for it. He was able to understand the impact of paperwork when he had to give it a few years later, and was able to talk a few other dudes through some similar challenges. But his paperwork cost him a dec and probably a strat, so he won't be taking that wisdom anywhere further.

Having served staffs from MAJCOM, HAF, to OSD I have not seen the bloating of rated officers that is continually mentioned, actually quite the opposite. We absolutely MUST have a rated influence in the training, equipping and strategy development apparatus, again we MUST have that influence. The bloating I have seen is with civilian and contractors who continuously shuffle and delay paperwork between multiple redundant offices.

Leverage China's desire to establish their New Silk Road effort to bring some economic prosperity to the region. Once you have legitimate commerce (not donor funding or drug proceeds), you'll start to see things settle down, although it will not look like the West. You will have tribes and strongmen. We need to be okay with that. Once there's some stability, then China will start exploiting the natural resources...which will bring more money and ideally further stability. Furthermore, we need to be fostering engagement between Pakistan and India to figure out the Kashmir issue. Pakistan is fomenting insurgency in Afghanistan, because Afghanistan gravitates towards India. Pakistan doesn't want to be hemmed in on both sides. Once Pakistan stops stoking the Taliban, Afghanistan will simmer down to the quiet backwater it should be.

You'll be fine. They're only assessing whether your credit score makes you a risk for bribery...like, multiple pending foreclosures or repossessions, multiple unpaid bills, constantly late on credit card payments. The total amount is a small factor, but plenty of officers have a much larger debt-to-income ratio...hell, I own a house and the amount left on the mortgage is more than my annual income. The credit report really tells them two things: are you in such financial trouble that you might consider selling state secrets? And are you a responsible person (pay your bills on time? Don't take outlandish loans? Make relatively sound financial decisions?). Based on what you've written here, it seems like you're a pretty responsible guy who had a bad circumstance happen. Keep paying the bills on time and your credit report won't stop you from getting a security clearance.

Not sure why you're paying her medical bills since she is only your girlfriend, but I don't personally know your situation. In regard to your security clearance, based on the facts you've presented, you should be okay if that is the only thing in your past or present.

Especially in CBM.

Describes many LTs unfortunately

Nope, just means they aren't going to target you for the rando MC-12 or useless staff in the Middle East, great deal actually. Makes the deal more palatable for people raising their hands, I guarantee some 2 below clueless CC will still try to offer up these people for some bad deal we haven't thought of though.

If you met the board prior to Apr, it was re-routed through the new process, regardless of the SAF/PC's board original decision. That is why you guys have not heard anything since your package was boarded in Mar. New process is AFPC-HAF/A1PP-TFAM Board-SAF/PC board...in a nutshell; maybe a minor stop at a desk, but overall that's the new process. The first packages ran through the new process ~1-2 weeks ago. Sounds like this week/next week is when the Mar packages that we're already boarded will go through the new process. Essentially, us Mar approvals have been sitting in the A1PP hopper for 1-1.5 months while HAF got their shit together on the new process. AFPC seems to have zero SA on HAF actions; I only know this info due to the bro network (via myself and my SQ/CC). So, all I can say is keep on waiting, but bro level gouge indicates answers should be this week or next for those of us who got caught up in this bullshit. Here's to hoping the answer is the same the second time around!

Available Link or does someone need to start one?

Absolutely...staff should do its function, just like the operators and supporters. Staffs became a milestone to have in your record, so staffs bloated up to "give more people the experience." I've been on a few staff assignments, and I worked banker's hours on all of them (and had time for workouts in the middle of the day). Staff should be a full-time job same as anything else...and not just the self-licking ice cream cone type of job...they should be value added or they shouldn't exist.

KL has nothing on Bangkok, and other "hot-spots" in Thailand!

It is impossible to invest two years in Afghanistan and leave feeling optimistic about the future. Flying missions from BAF is great but it doesn't capture the dysfunction going on inside Kabul. Also, many don't have a sense of the sheer level of fear and desperation most Afghans feel as we linger in this strategic vacuum created by the drawdown. Nothing in Afghanistan is sustainable, almost everything is breaking, and ANA attrition rates outstrip their ability to regenerate. The whole arrangement is held together by the United States current willingness to bulldoze piles of cash towards the problem and mediate political infighting at the palace. Purchasing UH-60s for the Afghan Air Force is just the latest example of high-order buffoonery.

No bankruptcy? Just a less than ideal debt:income? You're fine. They're not mortgage lenders; they just want to make sure you're not blatantly irresponsible or an easy target for a bribe.

What's 11x? Or is that all 11's? Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Based on everything I know about naval aviation, kills below the hard deck are not valid, no matter what Jester does while defensive.

https://www.dailybreeze.com/business/20170402/as-military-base-cuts-loom-aerospace-leaders-prepare-to-defend-el-segundos-air-force-installment Should this place be BRAC'd? Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Baseops Network Forums mobile app

Now that we've got no-shit dudes who've got the experience chimed in, none of us have to rely on heresay. I meant it when I said thanks for your perspective - it helps everyone steer the ship. That said if a dude really wants to do this, part of my job is to get him in touch, connected with info from the people who have. They're owed as much regardless of personal opinion. Chuck

I see where you're coming from. However please consider, if you have a young Captain asking for gouge about AFPAK Hands, it'd be much more accurate and helpful in his decision making matrix to say: "AFPAK Hands sucks because there is a high likelihood you'll be undervalued and misused during your deployments" "AFPAK Hands sucks because there is a high likelihood you'll never command in this community" "AFPAK Hands sucks because you'll see the tragedy of our mission in Afghanistan up close" No one says "AFPAK Hands sucks because I didn't get promoted." If they do...f*&k 'em.

I just want to know if the dudes that dropped the MOAB from the MC-130 were T-1 or T-38 grads.

Between this and the thread where you complain that Junior officers and enlisted are too open with those that outrank them, you seem like you'd be on the General Chang side of the debate. But then your username, and other posts where you lay waste to the Air Force make it seem like you'd be more on the BaseOps.net-regular side of the debate. Do you know Ryan Ryanerson (spelling)? Also known here as PickYourBattles or PYB. You remind me of him. Furious at the Air Force (and authority in general), so he figured he'd fit in well with the people here. But aside from being super awkward socially, he was cross with the AF for completely different reasons, and often 180-off on actual leadership issues in the Air Force, like, I dunno, saying a big problem we face is Junior officers being too comfortable talking to senior officers. I guess ultimately I'm saying that you're wrong. But also that I get the vibe you're more mad at "leadership" for not inviting you into their club, and that you'd sell all of us out in a microsecond if they ever gave you the invite. But I have no clue who you are, so who knows? Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I'm an AFPAK Hand. We pull folk from across the Air Force, a slight majority of them flyers. It seems about half the cadre are non-vols. In my experience, AFPAK Hands appeals to a narrow range of folks interested in alternative career paths such as RAS or the attaché program. Others are seeking something Army-oriented or an assignment completely different than the norm. Motivations for doing AFPAK Hands vary considerably. We need to stop forcing commanders to non-vol folks. It turns AFPAK Hands into a force-management culling mechanism for justifiably pissed-off officers with no interest being advisors for the Afghans. Willing to candidly talk about the program, both good and bad. Fire away.

Or he is Gina... Sent from my iPad using Baseops Network Forums

So personnelists are the real heroes of the AF sitting in their cubicles from 0900-1530, with a 2 hour lunch break. Never thinking of working over the weekend, never showing at 0300 or leaving work at 2359, never doing anything dangerous at work besides clear paper jams. Never going through rigorous formal training programs. Oh and if stop loss is a thing, you think it's the victims that need to remember their core values? You mean the people who would be lied to? How about the AF shows their excellence and avoids this debacle. how about the AF shows their service before self, and takes care of its veterans instead of manipulating federal law to stop them from finding civilian jobs when they leave. How about he AF shows their intergrity and takes stop loss off the table since it is blatantly dishonest. I doubt Chang is real with the asinine garbage he says... then I listen to commanders calls, and I think he might be a real thing.

I forwarded the AFPAK Hands email directly to Gen Everhart's "Why are we losing so many pilots" inbox.

Rule of life: everybody's experience is different. Don't expect yours to match. But, here's my son's example... 1) Started OTS, June '09 (Alabama), finished in Sept (3 months) 2) Moved to UPT base (Texas), waited for six months to start (attended Introduction to Flight Training in Colorado for a month). Got tired of separation and married GF in Feb '10. Started UPT in April '10, finished in following April '11 on Friday. Move #1 3) Left for survival school three days later (Monday), enroute to C-130H school (Little Rock, Arkansas). Dad and mom flew to Del Rio to help wife pack and move to Little Rock. (18 months) [Move # 2) 4) Moved into apt in Little Rock while in C-130 training, finished in Jan '12. Packed up for move to Yokota AB, Japan in Feb '12. (8 months) [Move #3]. 5) Lived on base Yokota for two years, first child born mid-tour. PCS out after two years (1 year early).. (24 months) [Move #4] 6) Move to Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs. After 1 year, AF closed C-130 squadron at Peterson. Reassigned to Little Rock AFB again for upgrade to new C-130J. (13 Months) [Move #5] 7) Completed C-130J training at Little Rock. (9 months). Assigned to additional specialized C-i30 training at Kirtland AFB (Albuquerque, NM) enroute to next base in Europe. Second child born at Little Rock. Training was Temporary Duty ("TDY"), so household goods packed and sent to England. Son to New Mexico, wife and 2 kids to her parents in Virginia. (7 months) (Move # 6) 6) Complete training in NM, picked up wife and kids, flew to England where presently assigned. NOTES: a. Not a move every 3 or 4 years, but six moves in about six years. A bit more than average. but not too unusual for the early career years with lots of training stints at different locations. Four moves in the first six years would probably be more typical in many cases. It tends to slow down a little after that b. Try to fit med school into that. Not easy, not impossible, but will take more separation, I suspect. Good luck on your trip through the gauntlet. It can get stressful but its also a unique adventure and you'll see/do things most people won't ever have a chance to experience.

Gents, I wanted to take the opportunity to honor a friend and this seemed like the most appropriate location. Please relocate, if not. My good friend and mentor died just a few hours ago. Though not Air Force, he was a life long aviator, Navy Fighter Pilot, and warrior. He was an A-4 driver in Vietnam and was hit over South Vietnam and severely injured when he ejected over the South China Sea. My friend, Navy Lt Rocky Kranz, died today of liver cancer. Here's a toast...

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

I am going to address the younger people reading this forum who are scared to death. Ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing wrong with your Air Force. We are leaner, meaner, & more powerful than at any time in history. If you are thinking of joining, please join; this is a great time to join, and you will feel the rush of patriotism every day you put on the uniform. If you are already in and worried because of these threads, ignore the negativity. There are pessimists in every day and age. Unfortunately, because of social media, it is far easier to see what's on their minds as they hide behind avatars. The people here are not your friends and truly don't care about you & your family. I am proud & honored to lead the men & women under my command each & every day, and I have full faith and confidence in the highest levels of leadership. You should as well. You will know I am right when the vultures on this thread immediately attack this position. Stay true to yourselves, look for opportunities within your career fields to better yourselves (see the AFPAK Hands thread), and go out there and lead! Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

For those on AD, I take it you saw the AFPAK Hands solicitation we sent out today. I hope you give strong consideration to volunteering. We are ramping that program back to full capacity, and A1 will facilitate. ISIS is altering the battlefield and we must have many, many more air power experts on the ground with long-term continuity, earning the trust and respect of the tribal leaders, especially in the remote mountainous regions of both countries. Many amazing carrots to participating: attend NIU for IDE, work at the Pentagon with some of our greatest minds of our time, free language training, and likely early promotions to both Lt Col & Col. Finally, a real shot at General Officer down the line. Truly, we will see many of our future Sq/CCs come out of this program, because they will be the most relevant/qualified in the current state of affairs. This is a big, big deal; don't miss your opportunity. If you really don't want to participate in this program, please encourage your friends who are on the fence. We have a very small volunteer window and many slots to fill; it will not be long before Wing Commanders will be racking their senior Capts, Maj(s), and Majors (esp post bonus) for these opportunities. Even the non-volunteers will see some of the carrots (because of the importance of this program, we will target the highest performers in the Squadrons; this program will accelerate even their careers and give them new perspectives on leadership). No doubt this thread will get bashed and trashed, but it will reach its intended audience anyway. Honestly, there is no truer way to "take your career by the horns" than volunteering for AFPAK Hands. The last 3 CSAFs put their money where their mouths were regarding incentives. If you joined the AF to make a difference for your country, then volunteer for this program. I truly thank you.