Leaderboard

Little (if anything) will change until the crisis is deepened to the point of systemic failure - THAT is the only time systems change. Everything that's been done until now is prelude. Either we are in for a true departure from the norm, or the storm will be weathered and we will maintain the course. That's not pessimism, that's history. Either the "old science" works, or we come up with new solutions to solve the problem, and that becomes the new way of doing business. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Structure_of_Scientific_Revolutions Chuck

Here is the bottom line for me. Take my bonus and give me a non-deploying, scheduling master, DTS ninja, ADLS signing, RAP assuring e-2 at the 25-30k you try to sell me and I'll stay. I'll have all of my OPR's written and my little queep monster doing the extra crap the AF says their going to give the css I haven't seen. I'll be a proficient IP and spend all my time teaching co pilot chucklenuts to be a better pilot instead of SABC and writing my own medals I don't care about. Then I'll stay...maybe. I don't care to promote or line my pockets, I want to stay and serve but the military makes it hard to serve and feel accomplished at the job you spend years training to do, so guard?

If they did this, with guaranteed O-5 (unless there are major negative indicators), no non-flying deployments, no additional duties, and $50k yr bonus, I'd stay in. So I won't be staying in.

Brabus/Azimuth: Yes, I understand that. There are plenty of ways to get specific pilot (and nav) communities more flying experience, using dual-qualification. And to save resources at the same time. As with anything complex in flying, it isn't a "one size fits all". But because it will not work in some scenarios does not mean one should throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Can you comment further on the timeline from surgery to medical exam? Specifically, for applying to ANG/Reserve units, is the IFC I exam conducted before or after submitting an application/interviewing with a board? In other words, if I need and elect to have laser corrective surgery, do I need to wait six months to apply to units, or should the timeline from zero to starting all training (going from civilian to Guardsman/Reservist, so starting with AMS) function more or less as normal, save for getting necessary waivers for surgery? Thanks again, by the way, to all who have contributed. Best help I've been given in this subject thus far. I've scheduled a cycloplegic refraction for tomorrow afternoon with my optometrist, gonna see whether I'm compliant or will need surgery. From my glasses prescription it could go either way.

While there is some merit to being the best of what's left, I doubt it will be any less competitive. You're in the line of the AF category, which includes a majority of the support personnel. You shouldn't see a change in absolute numbers or quality of records for them since the economy isn't luring them away at the same rate as pilots. With 4 year commitments, by the time they reach the O-4/O-5 boards, they've had a couple chances to leave, RIF, etc. Whatever is left out of that pool is going to be competitive. Pilot side, your path is already set by the time you hit your 10 year commitment. When the chosen ones bail at 10 years, the overall chances of the pilot pool decrease, since the system doesn't accept late bloomers. Short of specific board directions to promote more pilots, the current crop of O-6s will look for the things that got themselves promoted. You'll continue to see support personnel promoted at a higher rate than pilots, and your promotion board members lamenting the fact that pilot records aren't as strong as they used to be.

Dual qualed with inst form 8s (e.g. ACE), easy. Dual qualed (and actually worth a shit) with msn form 8s, nope.

Sorry everyone. My Wing Exec misread the email on the PRF dates and thought the whole board was pushing left.

10% rule applies especially given the source but wouldnt surprise me.

If you want to fly 5th gen, now is your best opportunity. If you go 4th gen, your chances of crossing over are a lot lower. I say this based on what year groups F-35 is looking for, which is somewhere around '09 and younger. If you're around that year group or older (based on your late to rate comment), there seems to be very little chance AFPC will send you there after an assignment in another jet. Just something to consider.

Air Force Waiver Guide 2017 https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/711/usafsam/USAFSAM-Wavier-Guide-170601.pdf

AMC/CC is looking at implementing a fly-only track. Probably capped at O-5 and 20 years. 4-5 year PCS cycle. Flying only. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/07/30/air-force-gets-creative-to-tackle-pilot-shortage.html

The military should take that suggestion and tell RAND and Obama to shove it up their a$$es. Instead, let's use that time and resources to make more weapons officers. That way when we actually go to war we won't get our a$$es kicked since we have become such a PC society. Good lord, I can't believe we are arguing about the feasibility of accomodating dudes who want to be girls or vice versa in the military at the expense of the tax payer and another Airmen that must deploy in their place.

Filling the tires as you go ensures more thorough fill, especially inside the sidewalls. That's pretty important if you're stacking them more than 5 or so tires tall, as the weight from above is going to crush the lower tires. I used a shovel for all of it and it was a painful project. Renting or borrowing a front end loader would help dump the dirt in the right place faster, but you'd still want to hand-shovel/spread the dirt around the tires to ensure you're filling the sidewalls. If you just stacked 3 or 4 tires at a time and then dumped in dirt, you'd end up with an unknown quantity of dirt in each column; when you shoot, you don't know if the bullet will impact several feet of dirt or just some tread and then empty spaces. Most pistol rounds will sail through 4-5 layers of tread. A trick I learned on the second backstop I built (same use of tires) was that you can fill the bottom row, drive some old lumber or fairly straight branches (stripped of any smaller branches/leaves) into the center of the pile, then continue stacking tires. The effort you put into driving that wood into the bottom tire (sts) takes up some of the dirt you would have had to shovel in, and helps keep the follow-on tires a guide for centering them up. If you have a 4x4 in the center, it will have about 1ft of dirt in front of it. It's going to take a lot of rifle fire before that lumber is destroyed, and even then the dirt is there to settle into the gaps. After a couple months and a few thousand rounds, I found that the dirt settled quite a bit. I just topped off the top row and let it continue settling. I have yet to have any columns fall over or collapse, though the bottom tires do need to be slightly thicker tread to bear the weight. If I had a front end loader, some heavy wooden beams as a support structure, and a supply of relatively rock-free dirt, I'd go for the straight dirt berm. I have none of those, and the tires cost me $0 from some patriotic folks in town. When I go to sell this place, I'm banking that the potential buyers are as enthusiastic about a large pile of tires on the land as I am. Otherwise, it's going to be a PITA to tear it all down.

Klamath definitely hires off the street, so don't feel like you have to enlist to have a shot. Both in 2015 and 2016 a civilian was hired. However, if you're dead set on joining only that particular unit, it may not be harmful since you're only 23. In my opinion, you should also do research on other units, because you may find missions you like even better than purely instructing. Keep in mind you will do upgrades and have the potential to be an IP any place you go (albeit not teaching someone how to initially fly the F-15 - more so for the mission side of things).

Here's a free piece of advice you should take- NEVER pass up the opportunity to shut the fuck up

176th/168th dual board 10 pilots from 5 different squadrons sat behind a table and had me sit in a chair in the middle of the room. Very professional atmosphere, but very welcoming. Introduced everybody and asked about my flight up to Anchorage. Said I was a little jet lagged and apologized in advance if it showed, they laughed. Make your board feel at ease with you and BE CONFIDENT! questions encountered: -tell us a little bit about yourself -volunteering history -you are 19, why should we give you the keys to a multi million dollar jet? -what does leadership mean to you? -what leaderships rolls have you been in during your young life? (I used group activities throughout college. Just make sure you have an example and can back it up.) -what makes a good officer? -what are the core air force values? (I had no idea and told them but tried to guess a few. They said they sounded like Army values and laughed) -when was the air force formed? (late '40's was my answer) -Why do you have a mustache? (this was a joke question) -What is a strength you have and a weakness you have? (spin the negative to a positive! DON'T TAKE THE BAIT!) -You will potentially be ordered into a hostile environment where you will be shot at. How do you feel about this? (Put deep thought into this question and SHOW them you are thinking about it) -What are your plans for work outside of flying for the ANG, and what will keep you in Alaska? (this is the easiest question if you know how to answer it) They made some jokes about me being a left brained person then asked: -beer or wine? -dog or cat? -If there was a photography convention (I am a pro photographer) after you got flying with your crew, will you go there or to the bar with us? (BAR, DUH!!) -What was a situation that you were in that you faced an issue, and how did you handle it? ( I used a flying example on my solo...they are more concerned with how you react during a situation, not so much the situation itself...again, very easy question if you know how to answer) -Something about how you deal with a problem. (I changed the word problem to challenge, which they liked. Just food for thought) -Is there any questions for us? (I asked about future hiring boards they will have and if I need to apply to each one if I don't get selected this time. Shows you are interested in that unit and will keep trying) I got up and shook everyone's hand individually and thanked them and left. I hung out with a couple of Captain's the rest of the day and chatted, they toured me around, etc. The board president and her husband offered to give me a ride back to my hotel which gave us some more great time to chat about flying and what not. I was notified today I got the primary slot for the KC-135. Please, hit me up if you have any interview questions or need help preparing and I'll give you some pointers that worked well for me.