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Interviewed/Hired: Oct 2016 FC1: Feb 17 FC1 Approved: April 2017 (1 Waiver) Package HQ: April 2017/Approved mid April Package to NGB: Mid April 2017/Approved May 2017 Dates: Today! TFOT: June 2017 IFS: Aug 2017 UPT: @ Columbus Oct 2017 ANG Prior Service

Keep minimal assets to sustain the CT mission (there is merit there), everyone else GTFO and immediately stop this nation building/FID bullshit. Whatever strategic reasons there are, they aren't worth the last 16 years and they won't be worth the next 16 years.

I think the young generation as a whole needs more aviation mentors. A lot of the pilots i know in the civilian world are second generation pilots or had other family in aviation, and i'm talking about the under 30 crowd. I think this is because from the outside looking in it seems like the hurdles are enormous, whether it be financial or just the lack direction for the proper steps to become successful. The company i work for has a entity with about 16 piston aircraft, we used to pay to have them cleaned once a month by a detail company. We decided to quit that and now pay different youth organizations to come out and clean airplanes every Sunday. The purpose of this is to get kids from every walk of life the opportunity to be around aviation, ask questions, and hopefully spark interest in the youth of the community. 95% of the youth today have never actually touched an aircraft in GA much less been on a ramp. Now i'm just waiting to enter UPT so I have zero idea of the culture of the AF pilot community yet, but I think that actually getting a slot has zero to do with race. If dudes have all the right scores and the personality I don't think it matters what race they are. In my opinion we need to get more people interested in actually wanting to be a pilot.

Pilot Candidate Selection Method: Still an Effective Predictor of US Air Force Pilot Training Performance, Thomas R. Carretta, 2011 (behind a paywall, I was able to get to it via my alma mater) US Air Force Pilot Selection and Training Methods, Thomas R. Carretta, 2000 (in dtic.mil)

Only for seven more weeks.

I wouldn't worry about that. The RPA community should have that market cornered, right?

17-09 drop DLF (as much as I remember) T-38 3 x F-16 F-15C F-22 T-38 FAIP T-1 E-3 KC-10 2 x KC-135 C-130H 2 or 3 x C-17 T-1 FAIP RC-26

SHACK! We were on the cusp of going up to KS to get some backseat time as well. Two things that hindered it at the time (2014/15) was lack of data and human-machine interface. You can actually pack more into it than two people could realistically handle. The modular bay can (20x3x3 if I remember) hold weapons, sensors, fuel in a mix if need be. BLOS being what is and the potential opens even more doors, think dudes in a JOC controlling sensors, etc. plus the log chain exists, something like 80%+ parts commonality around the world. NOT my personal choice but it has a lot going for it. Multi-sensor/SIGINT/capably armed...F3EAD in one package. Sells itself...in theory. Whatever the baseline package is add $10M+ for kit...EASILY. Regardless, somebody warm a seat for me... cooter

You didn't miss anything. Just another scoobs.

I have a hard time believing the PCSM is that cosmic of a predictor. The first time I took the TBAS I got a 69 and the second time I got like a 96 and the only reason why was because I knew what was coming... Idk, just my .02

AIB is out for the HH-60G crash. Crew is extremely lucky that there were no fatalities. The unintended closure of two helicopters and a pilot’s overcorrection to avoid collision resulted in the crash of an HH-60G helicopter and the injury of its crew on Aug. 18, 2016, at the Nevada Test and Training Range near Nellis AFB, Nev., according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released today. The mishap occurred during a night tactical formation mission at the NTTR in support of a large-force exercise. The helicopter, assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., was trailing another aircraft in maneuvers close to the ground when the mishap occurred. The flight path of the two helicopters began to converge due to mountainous terrain. The mishap aircraft gunner observed the closing distance and called for an immediate turn away from the other helicopter. To avoid collision, the copilot made a 70-degree banked right turn. At this overbanked angle, the helicopter could no longer maintain altitude. Despite efforts to recover, the helicopter was already at a low altitude, descended rapidly, and impacted the ground. Upon impact, the helicopter rolled, resulting in injuries to the crewmembers. The crewmembers were flown to a local hospital where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released. The HH-60G was completely destroyed, with a government loss of approximately $21.4 million. There were no civilian injuries or damage to personal property on the ground.

On a slightly different note, how often do they run IFF out of Sheppard? Not too long ago I was reading about how backed up it was. So the folks with fighters from this last drop will they be in IFF with people who dropped from January or is it even worst than that?

Ok I'll concede that to you NS. However I still cringe thinking of the JOC becoming a sensor warden.

Concur - I think we could have finished that op and many other fight stabilize missions by not expecting too much from the host nation - SK is a good example of how to save an ally stabilize then modernize them to self sustaining - it just takes decades, patience and not expecting a lot at first Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

God I hope not... You could not be MORE wrong on your costs. AT-6 and A-29 will come in around $20M per bird, Scorpion will be likely be slightly higher, but not by much. AT-6 is NOT $1K per hour...in 2012 OSD was rating it at $1.6k per hour and that has most certainly increased by now. Scorpion was actually rated at $2.2K per hour. This should be a far different competition than LAAR, the name says "OA-X" and that name alone implies a lot more requirement and capability than LAAR. While not an A-10 replacement, it is certainly being sold that way in the halls of Congress. In my opinion AT-6 in on an island because it has the least capability and the least room to grow. Yes it has a mature logistics backbone and an established depot, but this is a 300 aircraft program that is going to be in combat for 25-30 years and the AT-6 is out of room to grow. A-29 has some room to grow and I apparently a group of ACC IPs who are trying to shape the competition in its favor, but the A-29 is NOT made in America and that is a BIG deal these days. Aside from the fact that Trump signed a "Buy American" Executive Order last month, the Kansas delegation is STRONG and they are going to play on the "American jobs" theme because their huge plant in Wichita is now idle and they are about to lay off thousands of people if they don't get the OA-X contract. Please tell me how it will play out if A-29 wins and we shut an American Plant to buy A-29 which is made in South America. Yes I know final assembly is here, but go look at the manufacturing breakdown (all the heavy lifting and parts manufacturing is down south), add that to a logistics backbone that requires us to buy parts from Brazil for the next 30 years (you do realize the real money comes from sustainment...this would mean billions going to Brazil). My $ is on Scorpion but it depends on how the assessment is conducted, the jet has a LOT of room to grow and has some game changing capabilities. USAF did a study a few years back looking at LAAR and manned ISR and the number of aircraft required to provide the coverage offered by these aircraft. SPEED and RANGE played a huge role in that study, not because USAF thinks jets are cool, but because of the time/space continuum. The ability of an aircraft like Scorpion to go high and fast (400 knots in the 30's), to the AO actually reduced the number of aircraft required to provided constant coverage, it also reduced the number of bases required because you could stage from a greater distance. Scorpion is going to have almost TWICE the range and the ability to get there in a little more than HALF the time. In essence a two ship of Scorpions could easily replace a four ship of A-29 in both capability and coverage. Combine those capabilities with American jobs and a Buy American directive and the jet has a strong chance to win.

What wrong with the Air Force? We don't focus on readiness and warfighting anymore, mainly because we are not trained or educated enough for them. Air power projection is our core mission, and we've lost sight of that. Army and Marines will project ground power, Navy projects naval power, at the end of the day we have to present air power to the combatant commanders or we are all out of a job (not denigrating cyber, space, JTAC, TACP). Let's train/educate all airmen by sending all qualified Os and Es after commissioning and BMT through some kind of basic military flight training for 3-6 months (Nav, LM, FE). Non-flight physical folks get sent to ground ops training (airfield mgmt, amxs, intel, and etc...). Yes they won't be CMR, but they will have the fundamentals and understanding of what it takes to launch a sortie. With the rated and amxs shortage, they can *potentially* fill-in when the balloons goes up, more importantly this will educate why the Air Force exists and why not all AFSCs are created equal. Instead of focusing on bake sales and party planning, let's focus on readiness and the air power projection business. Soldiers and Marines all go through infantry training regardless of MOS, the sailors get trained on sea duty operations (firefighting, navigating and etc...). All airmen should have a basic understanding of how to support air operations regardless of AFSCs. The acquisitions community comes close by sending some of their officers through non-rated ops exchange programs. The 63As return back after one ops tour with a better understanding and appreciation of operational air force, as well as street cred when making decisions of a MWS acquisitions program. Yes sex assaults are bad, lookout for each other so we don't kill ourselves (on purpose or by accident), sleep with whichever sex you want behind closed (SCIF?) doors, build a home for the poor after work if you want to, those topics are not the reasons why the taxpayers are paying for our salary. We need to get back to combat readiness and the warfighting business.

From a guy who got hired a few years ago, and has sat as a member of a hiring board a word on the PCSM and PPL. 1 - The PCSM is an aggregate test produced by the Air Force. A few years ago the AF did an assessment of it's value. Roughly, your final PCSM equates to your percentage chance of making it through UPT. I.E if you got a 92 PCSM, you have a 92% chance of graduating. If you're a 70 PCSM, what's your chances? 2 - We're making an investment in you. Not necessarily a financial one, but a timeline one. We need you back in a little over 2+ years. Your PCSM, hours, PPL are a small part of our mental equation of you achieving that timeline (or graduating period) for us. 3 - I didn't have a PPL when I got hired, some did. It probably helps, but is not necessarily required. Most units don't want a financial barrier and or burden predicated on their membership. However, it raises your PCSM, shows you have been introduced to flying and enjoy it enough to continue. 4 - In summary, maybe your PCSM is good enough, maybe your hour rating/PPL is good enough. Consider this - Is there somebody I want to get hired more than me? If not, then why are you letting them have a better packet than you? Best of luck!

...unless you work fort the NSA. Then you can "go to the vault, dude."

Flying helicopters helps

I interviewed and made friends with some folks on the trail last year. The only ones hired had PPLs and the others were told to get their PPL and apply again next year. One friend gets invited to every interview but doesn't have a PPL so he doesn't stack up to the competition in the final decision. The other friend went to an interview with a unit that had an "algorithm" and they disqualified him because he (at the time) didn't have a PPL... even though he was their favorite candidate! Anecdotal evidence but I hope I'm wrong.

So this is an Eagle unit, copy.

Your life will be sad, you will cry into your wine cooler while watching old episodes of Sex in the City with your boyfriend, living as the small spoon every night. You will not be respected due to your engineering job and all of the drama in the workplace from that job, your life will suck. The Prius in your driveway or the sustainable non-GMO, conflict free, gluten free, free range organic dinners you eat every night will not bring you joy. For fuck sake......buck up and enjoy the journey, your in for a hell of a fun ride. Enjoy it, and never look back, you will see and do things you never thought possible.

People that know real things know they cannot brag about it, you under estimate most of us.

Just learned from my recruiter that NGB had the package sitting on their desk for the past 2 months and nobody even knew. So today they now know and said I should have my letter within 2 weeks.

Seems to me like joining the Air Force is the first place fulfilled patriotic duty, along with the countless deployments. I wonder how many stop-lossed pilots will then go to a 365 staff job in AUAB or Korea to churn out PowerPoint slides? These personnelists...would they be the same ones who thought it was a good idea to pay pilots extra money to get out of the service two years ago? Chang, at what point do you believe someone has fulfilled their duty? Because you clearly don't think it's at the end of their ADSC. And FlyinGrunt, it won't just be a net loss once the Stop Loss has lifted. The fact the Air Force is even talking about it is convincing people to bail now, while they still have the chance.