Leaderboard

Which strat does Delta care about?

The very same brief, he arrived and made it clear with his lengthy introduction that our issue is that we the pilot force are unaware of all the great "initiatives" that are being undertaken that have made our lives amazing and we are all angry because we are simply ignorant of these great things. He actually believed we gave two shits about things big daddy Air Force was "looking at", or "worked on" as opposed to any thing even remotely concrete. Even worse (in my opinion) his biggest plea for help beyond a very honest "we need you" was his appeal to our patriotism. I'm sorry that me signing up for 10 years was not patriotic enough for you. Even worse that some how our political military engagement should make us want to continue to serve because dropping "150 bombs a day", as if we haven't been heavily engaged for the last +16 years without any end in sight is going to appeal to my sense of duty. When he was finally asked questions his first response was to lash back angrily, when he was shot down for that and the room essentially went hostile on him he showed his ignorance of many of larger issues being faced. Even worse from my point of view was his response to anything he remotely agreed on was "well we will look at that." Followed by explaining to us all how that won't change because the bureaucracy will protect its bloat (in reference to reducing worthless deployment tasking's), or that he has tried and failed to make changes. Real inspiring that the machine is to big to change. But it is okay, he told us to stop signing our OPRs because no one ever gets feed back because you know that'll end well for any one.

"Wait, we have planes at this base?" -overheard at Finance and MPFs around the country... Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Awesome. Absolutely nothing came of this. Meanwhile, 8 months of the "crisis" has continued since Congress gave the AF the ability to increase ACIP to close to inflation corrected values from 1994. Still, no action. What else has happened in those 8 months? Well just about every Major I know has separated and gotten hired by the airlines. What has the AF done to keep any pilot in? All I've seen is that we can roll our sleeves. If this is really a "crisis," Big Blue is not in "crisis mode."

I was trying to think of a concise way to explain the reasoning of folks like me to "leadership" the other day, esp wrt voting with one's feet. Here's what I came up with: "At this point, I am thoroughly convinced that I do more for my fellow pilots and the organization as a loss to be felt than a contribution to be made." I don't know if that sounds accurate for any of y'all, and I do not think that Big Blue will actually feel my loss one iota. But when that statement is applied collectively to the huge number of us that I believe feel this way, I think it captures the situation quite well.

So we are unpatriotic less than one percent of our country for stepping up in the first place and serving? Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

See the thing is you think you made a mistake posting the article without checking the date, but you unintentionally proved the point. Aside from a few clues like the reference to a 60 year retirement and Fogleman, the article is EXACTLY what is being written today. Anyone who thinks the AF will change are fools. They will make token efforts to get the gullible to adopt a "wait and see" approach, thus retaining those individuals just long enough for the current crop of AF managers to finish their tenure, claim to have done something, and move on to lucrative "advisor" and "board member" jobs, handing the bag to the next manager who will attempt to do the same.

I think they should get rid of the bonus at the end of UPT ADSC. Instead they should enact a rule that allows pilots to fully retire after 15 years (basically 3 years after UPT ADSC expires) I'd give 3 more years to get a full retirement. 8 no, but 3 would make people think. Puts a typical dude at age 38 when they get out with a full retirement. Bet the "take rate" doubles... It would at least buy them some time.

My #1/25 pick for DD214

Still not Hillary Still not Merrick Garland

Still not Hillary (or !Jeb!) Illegals crossing is down some 70%. Numbers being deported is up 40% (still miniscule, but it's a start) Media/Democrats/NeverTrumpers have decided they are going to undo the election results. Not to mention the freak show being generated is very effectively slowing the agenda he ran on to a crawl. If Congress has/wants to spend its time on Russia/Russia/Russia, well, not much gets done on taxes, Obamacare, and the rest https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/19/trump-press-coverage-sets-new-standard-for-negativity-study.html Not only are anonymous sources the primary means of attack, but their weapons are also anonymous. "Memo" is read to a reporter over the phone. "Someone is a person of interest," and, of course, Trump gets two scoops of ice cream. No verification of the charges/alleged facts/memos, just a breathless rush to print the latest rumor. Despite a string of being factually wrong articles in evidence. He, Trump has more than his share of negative traits to be sure, but A) he won. That should say something about the state of American politics today as well as the weakness of the other candidates EACH party ran, and B) he's still not Hillary. The man is not an idiot.

Except he doesn't speak truths, pretty much ever. Obama's wiretaps, Arabs dancing in New Jersey, millions of illegal voters,Ted Cruz's dad in Dallas, inauguration crowds, his opposition to the Iraq War . . . . . The man is so full of shit, when he happens to say something factual I'm more inclined to cite the broken clock theorem than attribute it to any political wisdom. If the special prosecutor finds collusion with the Russians I don't for one second think it's because of malice. He's demonstrated over and over he's just so incompetent that this kind of thing could happen right under his nose and he's too busy tweeting about Kristen Stewart's boyfriend to know what's going on.

What bothers me the most about having aircrew guard our own jets is that it's a clear admission that the policy of guarding jets with weapons is unnecessary. If it were necessary, you wouldn't ask someone with no combat or police training to do it. You would have SF do it. But do we change the policy? Nope. We just add another additional duty for aircrew, because that's the type of easy and gutless call that Air Force leaders make.

Hah, boldface in navy land. Crew, canopy, cords, crouch, dive, pull Hope the horizontal stab doesn't hit you on the way out. Don't know why that penguin hasn't been pushed off the iceberg yet...

Alien Covenant Good and disturbing as an entry in the Alien series should be. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That actually isn't a terrible idea. Its the first time I've said to myself "yeah, I'd consider staying in for that" in a while

Cross posted... I think they should get rid of the bonus at the end of UPT ADSC. Instead they should enact a rule that allows pilots to fully retire after 15 years (basically 3 years after UPT ADSC expires) I'd give 3 more years to get a full retirement. 8 no, but 3 would make people think. Puts a typical dude at age 38 when they get out with a full retirement. Bet the "take rate" doubles... It would at least buy them some time.

15 year ADSCs are on the table, being billed now as 8 Active, mandatory 7 Reserve with no possibility of parole. What I see is a 12/3 or 10/5. I think StopLoss is inevitable, but they are trying to keep the cat in the bag. Just one rogue dumbass General speaking off the cuff was enough to start a panic and severe back pedaling. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Corpseman and/or 57 states. Given the binary choice present last November 2016 between viable candidates Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, enough people in enough states chose Trump. The establishment, on both sides, didn't take kindly to that and appear to be attempting to overturn the results that both surprised and scared it. Trump was not my first choice of the GOP (I won't use conservative except for, perhaps, a couple of them) candidates. But he beat 16 other candidates in the primaries, then more than enough people did not want Hillary, myself included. He won. No hanging chads, no other excuses. He won using the system that we in the United States have agreed to use in holding such elections. He won. So we are where we are today. The Establishment, instead of seeking to change to fit the voters, is attempting to change the voter's choice via shady methods. I'm agin that. Want to ensure it doesn't happen again? Run better candidates.

They just want to give the perception they are trying to fix the problem. This is all just a game of Russian Roulette for the AF brass. Just hoping it doesn't fall apart on their watch. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Typical AF... it's OUR fault retention is so low. WE aren't patriotic enough. Fvck them. They created this $hit and I am happy to watch the whole damn thing burn. The AF screwed up when they went from 6 year to eventually 10 year commitments. At 6-8 years, a typical pilot is finishing up his second tour. The AF had to make sure to retain pilots their whole career. The 10 year has bred laziness and lack of critical thought on how to keep people after their 10 year sentence is up. The AFs strategy hasn't even been "take care of dudes when they are 7-day opt eligible", but instead their strategy is "we don't negotiate with terrorists". Lol what a joke. They all get what they deserve. I only wish the @sshats responsible would be held accountable. People need to be lined up and shot for this $hit show. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

I love the dichotomy of these 2 statements. Thanks for the re-cap.

Can't say any thing about Fingers, but was remarking mostly on Gen Nowland and some ones comment about how "he gets it" and how he doesn't get it.

I think most Americans are just tired of the media attacking him all the time over everything. Ice Cream scoops, really? I was no fan of Obama, and got sick of the love obsession with the media, just as I would have been sick if it was all negative all the time like it has been for Trump. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Uh... I just wanted to take this time to say thank you to the Air Force, Gen Goldfein and all the other Generals for making our recruiting efforts so easy. Especially when you all paid so many pilots to get out in 2014. Those guys have been awesome employees. Out of respect to you guys, we asked them if they wanted to go back to the AF and they said "Fock no". Sorry. But good luck with your retention problems! Sincerely, - the airlines Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

I wouldn't stipulate only volunteering gets you CGO strats and awards. You are misleading some of the younger guys here. I've seen people who do not volunteer but have received those awards and strats as SOFs. You are are making decisions on the behalf of the OG/CC as a SOF. Does volunteering at a soup kitchen sound better on a package? Or landing all the aircraft in the pattern and clearing the runway for the arrival of an IFE aircraft with the OG/CC on board?

The only strats/awards I've gotten are pilot/IP. Those mean more to me than any CGO strat/award fruitified by volunteering at the CGOC bullets.

My kind of place.

This is an Air Force that rewards risk aversion. Hence the most risk averse rise to the true upper echelons. I think very few, if any, up there get it at all. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

"That' doesn't matter"...until it's time to pick your flight lead for night one, or deciding who is leading your Red Flag push, or otherwise executing your most challenging sorties. It's not about the strat...it's about being able to recognize that performance in others.

No, he wasn't. Early on, Gates needed Jobs vision, and Jobs needed Gates proficiency. Steve Jobs had a natural gift for connecting the dots, and for connecting Gates work to the average person's need. After they split, the readily stole/acquired/supplanted/and even subsidized one another's work for decades. Jobs is definitely a better model for visionary strategic leadership combined with tactical ignorance.

Not about the money. You bait and switch. Get flyers accustomed to unlimited free booze and food. Then slowly take it away like the airlines did with seat sizes. How many people actually drink #1 or are of age to drink on flights? Secondly, booze is free in first class already. Third, you can use the cheap stuff, but I'm sure liquor companies would support the airlines. On a flight in first class, an old lady sitting next to me wanted what I was drinking. I was having the margaritas. We were both messed up on that flight. Her grandkids must have been wondering why grandma smells like booze. I just want them to stop finding flight attendants at the old folks home or bingo night. Go recruit at FSU, UT, and USC. Turn it into a summer program.

Because that doesn't matter. Third tier strat, at best.

Hit or miss. The only GO who I have for frame of reference for this question is Mark "Grace" Kelly, a previous Sq/CC who actually refutes my point. If you look at his bio, the reason he counters this stereotype is right there in his duty history. Save for one year at ACSC, he flew for the first 20 years of his career. I was constantly impressed at his tactical proficiency when he was my Sq/CC. He would develop completely non-standard CT sorties to get us to go out and try new and challenging tactics. I remember sitting in the bar and listening to him talk about his Aussie F-18 exchange tour and he was drawing out schematics to the Hornet's radar on a bar napkin - from a system he hadn't used for five years. He is the exception, not the norm. Too many of the young officers who are fast tracked for leadership commit to that objective at the expense of tactical proficiency. For them, the queep takes priority over 3-1 and meetings take priority over flying. Without a solid foundation, there isn't much to build on, and when you take them out of the cockpit for years on end, the result is somebody who needs an experienced handler whenever he goes to fly.

Although I am not in the know, I cannot imagine this being a possibility. USERRA is "law of the land", and will take an act of Congress to make significant changes. The AF is only one of seven uniformed services: have they coordinated with the other six? The airline industry isn't the only employer of military personnel. They don't get to decided the rules unilaterally. I couldn't get a couple of safety-related 847's approved through the bureaucracy my last 2 years in the AF. How will they manage to change USERRA?

The A-10 is back to 2035+; the 15C is the new kid on the "near term" chopping block. Point: Shit changes all the time and will change 69 times before you're even done with UPT. Go for the job you want as it exist today; do not alter your decisions/goals based on hypotheticals or possibilities of what the future MIGHT be, because nobody, especially the dipshits running the AF, has a clue what 1 yr from now looks like, let alone 10+ yrs from now.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/national-security-adviser-mcmaster-trump-s-revelations-russians-wholly-appropriate-n760136 McMaster said: "I was in the room, the Secretary of State was in the room, as you know, the deputy adviser for national security, Dina Powell, and none of us felt in any way that conversation was inappropriate." Sooooo...someone is lying?

"Fake news" is the modern incarnation of propaganda. The reason for the new term is because of the modern proliferation of "news" sites along with the historical association of the term "propaganda" being so closely linked with what Communist governments do in their own countries. Those two factors necessitated the creation of a new term, though it's really nothing new. Basically, it's everywhere. People are either outright lying, lying by omission, or selectively hearing statements and reading into them what they want to hear, you name it - it's literally everywhere I look. People do that with or without the internet - that has been true since the dawn of time. Question: Is 4D chess distinguishable from "fake news" or anything else? At what dimension of chess do we finally arrive back at checkers? I say the proof is in the pudding - it's really the only way to tell.

This is nothing new and not the first time a Russian Ambassador has seen the "Big Board".

You mean every USAF base Class VI doesn't carry Weed? The USAF is fucked, gentlemen.

Running functions in Excel is nice for making numbers match a desired reality. By his description, that's what A-1 has been doing. Actually solving the problem would take talking to and listening to folks who are bonus-eligible and finding out what it would take to get them to stay. (Hint: it's gonna take more than money)

If personnel has thousands of hours to spend on something like this, I think they might be slightly overmanned.

So 19 people at a time and 1095 day flying deployments to other CONUS bases. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Hey guys, Great news! I was selected to go to UPT! thanks for all the help!

Like I told you guys earlier fingers goldfien is a self interested douche bag that is so far from getting it that I almost (read almost) wish for the days of schwartzy back. Scratch that. But fingers. (Read buttFingers) is purposely ignorant and not willingly ready to accept blame. Nothing will change for the better until he is gone. Why do you think he was promoted to four star so quickly. Because he is great at towing the line. He should just go enjoy retirement with his failure of an general eagle pilot brother. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums