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I grew up around generals who now long retired ask me why I'm not going hard towards command doing the schools and stuff to get there. I use stories like this to drive it home why being "king turd on shit island" isn't worth it. When I hear their stories of flying 10+ airframes amassing 8,000 hours when they were my age all while having beers at the club by 4pm each day I realize my USAF is nothing like theirs was. I read these airline lifestyle comments and I wonder how bad retention would be if Delta took out an ad in AF Times showing a pilot sitting at his pool with a Porsche in the driveway. I'm amazed retention is as good as it is personally. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Rand is goldfien. Finkel is einhorn. Say hello to mr winkie. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

What Eagle Sq was this at?

Wouldn't a transgendered sandwich be a taco?

Transgender Awareness Training. I can't believe we are enacting policy to accommodate people with mental illness. I guess we learned nothing from Bradley/Chelsea Manning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

you won't buy me a beer cause i'll be too rich rolling around in that airline money son

The funny thing is besides some early Force management issues in my career and going through two potential RIFs, I personally haven't been mistreated, until my last two years. One of my personal struggles is that I internalize things way too much. I have seen way too many good guys get the shaft all in the name of the needs of the AF, when it was really out of convenience for the Commander and it affects me way more than it should. I've had a couple awesome Commanders. I have had some truly terrible WG/CCs. As I reflect I realize how negative I am most of the time. So here's a positive. Right after the first RIF board I was one of three Capt ACs in my Squadron. Our Sq got dropped a Pred for a Capt, AC. Out of the three Capts, I was the only one who didn't have an assignment yet. My Commander fought tooth and nail to get that assignment passed to our VERY weak swimmer Copilots who was about to pin on Capt. He then got me my first choice assignments out of there to protect me from any more AFPC "good ideas". Best damn Commander I ever had. Saw him fight day after day against OG and WG leadership to the point where he got sick of it and retired. Bright and shiny guy who would have been an awesome Wg/CC one day. He now flies for Southwest. Called me about 3 months into the job and told me that it was the best decision in his life and he should have done it 10 years earlier. Also told me to get out as fast as I could. Dammit, that was supposed to be a positive story about the AF. Oh well. I am actually a pretty positive person in real life. If any of you all ever run across me in the real world, first rounds on me. Cheers! Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

You guys haven't reviewed the slide show? I particularly liked the scenarios discussing how to handle a member scheduled to deploy who is currently undergoing sexual reassignment therapy. Good God, why would anyone want to be a commander in this Air Force and have to deal with that shit? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good question. Before I did any of this I had previously tried to Palace Chase back to my home ANG unit, you know back when we had too many pilots... I had already been hired with a Position Number way back then which they have kept open for me. Along the way I made it clear to them my intentions and they have been super cool with it all. Eventually I will need a waiver but right now they aren't having any problems with it. It also helps that my Guard unit is one of the few true Guard units left. The hatred for all things AD is still strong there, however they did just recently start wearing flight caps outside (all good things eventually come to an end). Still no saluting and all first name basis, including the Two-Star down at State HQ. All in all they have all been suooirtive with it (leadership included) and even said to expect my promotion to O-4 shortly after I arrive (whether true or not, I really don't care). In fact several in leadership there now were twice passed over Capts. Their main point is they want someone they don't mind hanging out/partying with for the next 10-20 years. Life is good man. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

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 :)

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...

Your commander recommends release and the board retains you and you waste a bunch of time and have to dust off the service dress. Then they find a sweet 365 for you. That is, of course, assuming "they" are aware of the pilot shortage.

I asked my bosses at Apple how I would be able to check work emails at home, since their email server is behind a firewall. I was asked why would I ever think of taking work home with me? That was "my time" and that it wasn't an option to work from home. It was refreshing to hear that.

To be honest, and as much as it sucks for those having to take those bullets, communities like buffs have a very important mission and you want good dudes going there. At a certain point it's needs of the Air Force and you have to bloom where planted. Same for RPAs although my arguement is that there should be a solely separate pipeline filled with motivated dudes instead of dudes who got their dreams crushed on assignment night. As for the crying over an MC-130!? It's a small Air Force and that person is in for hell when they get to their unit when they find out said individual acted like a child over getting one of the coolest missions in the Air Force. Reminds me of a gal who cried over C-17s a few assignment nights before mine. The unit got word and she was a Pariah before she even showed up.

I understand that this guy/gal perhaps had their hopes/dreams somewhat crushed in not getting a (inset dream jet here). But this pilot should be happy they got what they did, just getting to fly any of Uncle Sam's hardware is a gift and privilege that so few get to do. It still takes a lot of skill and dedication to safely operate these "lower on the food chain MWS jets" so suck it up buttercup and bloom where you're planted. There are a metric shit ton of enlisted maintainers working jets pumping gas, pulling panels, kicking chocks, etc... in all kinds of weather that would gladly swap places in a micro-second if they were able to. At least he/she got a real airplane and they're not off to sit in a box (STS) at Cheech/Cannon or where ever flying droids. OBTW, only ever spent time at Kadena while TDY, but sure looked like a kick-ass place.

That means you gotta front the strippers. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Only guy I know to get out of his bonus ADSC was passed over 2x for O-5 and had a bonus ADSC to 21 years. They made him retire at 20 and he didn't get the full final payment.

No way the bros at Kadena hear about this guy. Good move, dude - you just made proving yourself an order of magnitude harder.

I don't have personal experience but I've seen this play out 2 times with AD dudes and more with Guard dudes. For the AD guys, in both cases the bonus commitment was a no-shit ADSC. Both got hit with deployments in their last 18 months, one a 179 and the other a 365. Both had a bonus commitment that took them ~1 year past 20 and tried to retire at 20. The few guard dudes I know curtailed their AGR tours and paid back the bonus. Not to lecture, but we all knew the risks when we signed/passed on the AD bonus. What did you think was gonna happen? A long track record of AD bending people over and all of a sudden they change their act? Go Guard.

Duck you sound like an abused child every time you post. I'm cynical too but god damn....I feel bad for you dude.

From my experience, that number goes to a secretary's desk or the enlisted bubba assigned to the office. What's it hurt to call it? Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Hopefully they were tears of joy...that's an awesome assignment both for the location and the mission. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

That was AWESOME!!

Enjoy https://cheezburger.com/2790917/guy-live-tweets-his-buddys-marriage-imploding-and-its-horrifically-epic

Actually, most of the non-promotes I know are/were on staff when the board met...

He got his... he don't need you! When he retires he can make millions as a board member telling the AF how to unfvck what he fvcked up! Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

If you want a nice place to stay, skip the base altogether. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

So it's going to take losing 11 BUFFs a day over Pyongyang or Tehran for leadership to actually listen to the concerns of those who most heavily carry the burdens of airpower? UFB...

That jack hole was similarly dismissive to our SOS class. People like him are the reason we have a pilot shortage. F that guy

Any past or present attachés on freq? Looking for some info on the position. PM me please

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.

To be honest, I can't see AFPC, HAF/A1 or MAJCOM A1 caring about passed over Captains turning down continuation. They know pilots won't stay Captains unless they're prior enlisted and need it to make retirement. On the AFPC roadshows, a number was used for planned attrition, but I don't recall what it was. However, I could see them caring about how many pilots were passed over in the first place.... but the Defense Officers Personnel Management Act (which mandates up or out and promotion by year group) overrides service specific job requirements. IMHO, nothing will change until Congress changes DOPMA.... and the branches don't want it changed because it's one of the few ways to separate (leaderships view of) underperformers.

I know we don't talk the Enlisted stuff too much on here, but the new CMSAF just shat all over the outgoing idiot's EPME "revolution." Everyone should have gotten that email today.

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.

There's a difference between fake news (FB trash) and media sources that lean towards an agenda. Sadly, I think there are few if any truly unbiased news sources these days, so it has become a requirement to read/watch everything critically. Anybody who whole-hog believes everything that their source offers without at least considering (not necessarily agreeing with) opposing sources is a fool. I subscribe to several news sources and leading up to the election I was disgusted by the WaPo's level of Trump bashing because, separated from politics, they have had excellent investigative journalism pieces. What is sad is that the free press is what makes much of our government accountable to the people, but we're at the point where we only believe what suits us. To watch people who deny stories about Trump because they don't believe the news source - while Trump himself is tweeting in confirmation of those actions - is just mind boggling. 100% valid, but this is where the problem lies with Trump. I'm doubtful that the specific details of the conversation in question will ever be known, but I don't think this was a cognizant action by Trump. In other words, I don't think Trump was briefed on code-word classified info provided by the Israelis, to which he then turned around and said, "I'm gonna give this to the Russians." I imagine that he handled this discussion like he does any other discussion; he doesn't stick to script, he improvises (poorly), and he likes to throw in tidbits of data that he has heard from here and there to sound like he has a solid grasp of his point. I can imagine him saying, "Listen, we're gonna crush ISIS. We've been tracking them for a while and we know that they've got plans to do XYZ on commercial airplanes. We're gonna stop it. It's gonna be great." Meanwhile the guys in the room are looking around nervously because this on the talking points. The president's staff shouldn't have to go into damage control this often in response to what he says or tweets.

I guess I still don't understand, but whatever. It kind of seems like people just find things on the internet to make them believe that whatever side they are on is right. Here's the Wall Street Journal saying that Trump revealed classified information received from Israel: https://www.wsj.com/articles/intelligence-trump-shared-with-russia-was-from-israel-officials-say-1494960259 So if you're a Trump supporter, either this is him playing 4D chess, or "fake news." If you're not a Trump supporter, this is yet another example of him being irresponsible and you still want him impeached. If a person hasn't changed his mind by this point, nothing will. I think Trump could murder a child on TV, and his polling numbers wouldn't change.

If y'all think that putting a former SECAF on your board hurts your chances when trying to sell an aircraft to the USAF, I'm not so sure you understand how this game is played. Regardless of that former official's reputation one way or other amongst the proletariat...

From that "article,": "Disclosure: the F-35 is produced by Lockheed Martin, which contributes to my think tank and is a consulting client." Pretty straight-forward hit job masquerading as journalism from LM, nice try fellas. Don't worry guys, with the money saved by passing on a light attack aircraft we can by 1/3 of another F-35! The author is not a qualified, rational decision maker who need to be convinced, he is an industry partisan that seems to lack any relevant experience and who needs to be ignored.

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