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In the 17-18 days a month that I do have off, I'm usually thinking of things other than flying. I'm contemplating random things like maintaining the NaCl level in my pool after it rains. Or, how I'm going to buff out the 6" gash in the door of my wife's brand new Porsche after my son crashed into it with his bike when I took his training wheels off. Or what speakers I'm going to use in the movie room of my house when I upgrade from my 5.1 Dolby surround to 9.1.2 Atmos.

After reading the discussion about proper pool salination. I can proudly say that I can't wait to become a "commercial" pilot.

What Eagle Sq was this at?

So looking at the data for CY 2017A LAF Major compared to 2016 for pilots specifically (since we have a pilot crisis don't ya know!)... Summary 2017: 93.1% selection IPZ, 21.8% APZ 2016: 94.4% selection, 10.6% APZ Details PDE complete and DP = 100% both years PDE complete and P 2017: 76% selection IPZ (182/239), 10% APZ (8/84) PDE complete and P 2016: 83% selection IPZ (199/241), 20% APZ (17/87) BL: Pilots in the rank of Captain were less competitive for promotion to Major this board than last board For all other categories (CSO, ABM, Non-Rated Ops, & Mission Support) across the board all categories were more promotable in 2017 than in 2016 save for a 1-man-less erosion for APZ CSOs. Super Double BL: the AF in as clear of terms as possible is demonstrating to pilots that they are not any more specifically wanted/needed at the rank of Major now during this "crisis" even compared to last year and 2015. Take action appropriately when considering outside opportunities. Edit to add: to not sound too alarmist, the movements were relatively small. 24 pilots passed over who would have been promoted at last year's rate. And 19 of them can possibly be explained away by a 2% higher DP allocation rate, meaning DP is more important than ever in order to be promoted. Factor in the handful of Ducks that were clearly promotable but took themselves out of the running and maybe there ya have it. Interpret the data how you will...my takeaway is that the AF is treating things like business as usual where the rubber meets the road, yet is talking like we're in some kind of pilot retention crisis. It's almost as if management's words don't match their actions...weird.

Bender, Just my opinion, but airline flying doesn't make anyone a "vastly superior aviator"(VSA). There are certainly good and bad airline pilots and if they're the latter, chances are they've never been a VSA. However, there are plenty of good airline pilots, both mil and civilian that still aren't what I would call vastly superior. They get the job done and that's enough. If a civilian pilot is a VSA in someone's opinion, they got that way before they came to the airlines. Who knows what that even means. Great hands because they flew practically everything with wings from a Stearman to an Extra300 with some DC-6 and P-51 thrown in for good measure? Just a natural? I know those types from both paths. Maybe they've got all that and can recite the FARs chapter and verse and they're a CRM machine. There's lots of metrics someone could use to call a guy a great aviator. I guarantee what we call great in the military may not be the same. Some of the traits might be similar but the two environments are different enough that it's apples and oranges. Could a civilian VSA excel in the military? Sure.. some but not all. The same goes for moving in the other direction. My point though is that the airline environment isn't a test for any VSA, no matter how he got that way and what his background is. There's stuff to study and stay up on procedurally like any aviation job, mission prep possibly if you've never been somewhere you're going, but unless you're just a total slug, it just takes a little discipline now and then. The nice thing is, most of that can be accomplished at cruise or on a layover while you're on company time and not your own. I'd say it's worthwhile to put this whole airline thing into perspective. It's admin. STTO, Climb, Cruise, Descent, Approach and Landing. There are some different rules and procedures, aircraft systems, etc. to learn but it's pretty basic. There may be some new territory for some guys who've never taken a transport category aircraft from FL350 to landing, flown a jet via keystroke or knob all while having the throttles magically hold your airspeed without anyone touching them. But it ain't close to most guy's bread and butter in the military, an airshow guy like Sean Tucker, bush pilots in AK or the guys humping around the pylons at Reno. The airline thing is great for some but it's not for everyone. The end result is money and the free time to use it. That's what it's all about.

He's building SA. It's like reviewing the seasonal precipitation amounts on the Jepp 19-02.

It really wouldn't work with my backyard/landscaping setup, and since I'm home every day, I don't mind adding "skimming the pool" to my few daily chores. Leaves aren't really an issue unless it storms anyway. I'm more concerned about what my neighbors think if they drive by and happen to see me sitting around the pool with a beer, margarita, or martini before noon.

I've never owned an aquarium, so I can only presume that the water evaporates leaving the salt behind. But in a swimming pool, rain water will dilute the salinity ...and after I drain the pool back down to the proper level, the salt is very often a few hundred PPM lower (I like keeping it around 3700-ish PPM). And storms always bring with them diluted chlorine levels and a higher leaf and twig count that's always fun to fish out. ETA: We're talking a heavy rain here...6-8 inches or so. If it's only an inch or two of rain, it won't make a dent.

This is correct, and it can be frustrating since there is no guidance. But nothing worthwhile comes easy so don't let that discourage you. you can look on https://www.guardreservejobs.com/ to see available spots for guard and reserve. If don't see the unit that you would like to apply to on that site, then you will have to do the leg work of finding phone numbers for the squadrons and asking the chief pilot when will they be having their next board. Best advice I can give you is to go visit the units you are interested in and have some face time with as many people as possible. Good luck.

Endurance, observation, and loiter speed (130 kts). Purpose built. Cooter

Reserve applicants hired with a Fighter unit will definitely be sponsored.

That's racist Sent from my Vitamix 450x Professional using Tapatalk

That hasn't made into our dispatcher's cross check yet. We still have to ask via ACARS when we want it. I'm ok with that. Between the ETOPS stuff, re-dispatch ops and occasional updates on enroute SIGMETs, I hear from them enough as it is. On another ATIS note..... anyone got any good zingers for the guy who gets ATIS via ACARS at the top of climb, 20 minutes after takeoff on a 12+ hour flight?

Transgender policy is under "review" by the Trump admin.. that was as of a month ago not sure there has been updates. I'm glad my CC compressed tranny awareness training into 30 seconds and then proceeded to talk about aircraft safety issues :)

I just found out that an earlier separation date is at the discretion of your commander. I'm hoping to be out pretty quickly, but our unit is hurting for bodies, so I'm wondering how this plays out. For those wondering, an earlier separation date has no effect on separation pay, unless you end up not making the minimum service required to qualify for the pay. Since they set my date for 31 December, there are no tax reasons for waiting the full 6 months, so I'm going to press for an early separation. Sent from my Vitamix 450x Professional using Tapatalk

Bending over backwards to accommodate a tiny percentage of the overall population while doing nothing to address the pilot exodus. Nice work, Big Blue. I'm glad we have our priorities in order. My DOS cannot arrive fast enough...

I went from declining continuation to actual separation in 1 month. The virtual outprocessing checklist can be completed in a couple of days if you're already done with TAPS and the separation physical.

Go with B-52 story.

FAIP drop today. CBM fighters: 1 F-35 1 F-22 5 F-16 2 F-15E 1 A-10 2 B-2 no buffs or bones

Can't say that there has 'never' been, but I'm not aware of one in 15+ years. The vast majority of Army pilots are warrant officers, and though I'm sure the AF 'could' make it happen, you're probably not going to see a WO flying AF aircraft. And bringing over a young Army Captain to fly the line in the AF would screw their career. Just my $.02

'08 guy here. I just found out from my Sq/CC that I made it. Funny thing...I wasn't nearly as excited to get this news as I was when the Reserves told me last month that I got picked up for UPT... Or when my DOS was approved 48 hours after that...

Dude right? If this had happened to a bunch of chicks, SARC/SAPR/JAG/Superman would have been out looking to bash some skulls. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

I've found "Thank you for your support" works well.

Probably a Phoenix guy from C-17s. I kid I kid

The Adair t-38s aren't aggressors. It's a good gig for a raptor baby, but it's not aggressors. (Expectation management)

BLAH BLAH BLAH look at me i'm a douche. No one cares about how much of a big deal you think you are duck, but keep posting away with your wealth of GK