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When everyone is the tip of the spear, you realize you are fighting with a frisbee.

Not saying that or implying that military pilot training is the only way to become a great pilot What I am saying is that it is PATHETIC that a military institution historically based on airpower with a 132 billion dollar budget, 12,600 pilots, 5 bases dedicated to pilot training and over 1,000 training aircraft and access to enormous amounts of data that was foretelling this problem can not figure a way out.

IFF has never sought to teach BFM tactics -- it teaches basics. The concepts of control zone BFM are the same today as they were in WWI, and still just as valuable today regardless of changes in tactics, sensors, and weapons. This is like saying it is no longer useful to teach fingertip formation since we have radars and datalink and in the "real world" only fly sit-visual detached mutual support and tac line abreast. IFF-style BFM is learning a basic building-block concept that will be relevant as long as we are flying airplanes that turn in circles while fighting.

Looks like they went the absolute cheapest way possible with this. According to the law, the services could offer CP anytime between 8-12 YOS, and it would be 2.5-13x base pay. It also said the services could use it to incentivize certain stressed career fields. And of course our innovative leaders, in the midst of a rentention crisis, elected to offer the minimum 2.5x multiplier at the longest 12 YOS time, for every single career field in the AF. I get not offering it at 8 YOS for pilots, since it would run concurrently and add only a few months to your ADSC. However, $18k is not going to make a difference at all in a pilot’s decision making. It would have wise to offer pilots closer to 13x at the 12 YOS mark. Another swing and a miss from management.

Sounds like sexual harassment to me.

The problem is not about production, it is CLEARLY a retention issue. If the AF produced 2,000 pilots next year, they would still be massively foooked. Look at the timeline, after a year of UPT (maybe less with the insane ideas floating around), Survival School, IFF, RTU...best case you get a crap ton of green barely qualified folks in 22-24 months from start date. How long to get them MR, seasoned...or would you just start throwing them into the fight like Kamikaze pilots in WWII. Retention is the issue up and down the timeline, you need seasoned folks to stay around at warfighters, instructors, and LEADERS.

That's a point that doesn't get much play. Beyond the raw numbers game, the guys who are leaving are all the high time combat vets who carried OIF/OEF in the mid-late 2000s

Have to disagree, we don't need a flood of new pilots, in some ways that will make the situation worse. The dismal and sinking retention rate means we will be short seasoned combat pilots. The last thing we need is a flood of inexperienced greenhorns flying in combat. I know what you are trying to say but you kind of sound like Big Blue when they say we are going to "grow our way out of this."

The truth is somewhere in the middle. Some of those MC-12/HVAA/AMC guys would've been fine in a fighter; they weren't all bottom of the barrel, only 1-3 were getting fighters in some of those classes. However, figuring out now who would be ok now is tough. The AF already messed up its natural UPT sorting process 6-9 years ago when they knee jerk shut off all those fighter drops. Everyone saw this happening from the start, except the fools that made the decisions.

I don't think it's a consideration. They know that a certain percentage of selects are going to not end up going to OTS/UPT for medical or other reasons. I'm not even sure they'll send you to get your FC1 until board selected, I'm a little hazy on it but for me the ball didn't start rolling until after.

I’d say that’s a valid overall observation. But in this particular case, leaders are ignoring or at least not addressing the myriad of reasons there is a pilot exodus, and have instead chosen to alter a training program and methodology that is proven and has been highly successful for over 50 years. These COAs are offering up a cheap solution to the wrong problem.

I don’t think you will see wide swaths of knuckle-dragging, barely cert’ed civilian pilots being picked up for the program. I think a lot of problem in the service is hypocrisy. On one hand people fault leaders being resistant to change and new ways of doing things while talking out the other side of the mouth about how the new COA won’t work because it’s not how it has been done before. This so-called pilot shortage is only going to get worse if we stay the conventional course. With a test batch of 10 individuals...how much damage could be done? We are looking at taking trained aviators and putting them into a military platform while executing a standardized syllabus. If they fail to meet MIF, I would hope the service cut losses early and either can the program or re-assess selection criteria. I don’t think x-hours in the T-6 will matter in the long run if a guy successfully completes T-1 phase 3 and continues to follow-on MAF MQ. The success and credibility of the program will be directly measured by the standards being enforced and drawing a critical comparison of the two products: traditional SUPT grad to MAF vs T-1 direct accession. Reading through some of the other threads, it seems like the product being handed to the MAF is a steaming turd anyway. I cut my teeth outside of the CAF/MAF and find myself in AETC-land completely disassociated from this experiment BUT I don’t think it is in the interest of any AF pilot to be poo-poo’ing any semi-legit way to train future aviators if the byproduct is the same. That being said: I agree that mismanagement of the force has occurred and it’s still somewhat unbelievable we are even discussing this...but we are living in the present. posted from phone...unregard spelling/grammar

What I find so weird in all this is that the Aircrew Crisis Taskforce's solution to experienced dudes leaving is to shove more shit in the intake end of the process? Increasing brand new inexperienced pilots is the solution? Isn't there an absorption problem right now where there aren't enough training slots for current grads and they are waiting a long time to train in many airframes? I also just read that experience levels are plummeting in many squadrons. So now we're going to just create more inexperience pilots, with less initial training. Sounds like a logical solution.

i could never beat it

So this must be good news for the RPA community. Finally a decent AD location. https://www.wjhg.com/content/news/Tyndall-to-house-new-MQ-9-Reaper-Wing-460607493.html

Keep in mind that most civilian employers don't offer a pension anymore either. So 10% auto-contribution takes place of that. So 5% plus some kind of pension isn't terrible compared to most retirement plans. No idea about the airlines though. They probably give you a billion dollars and a private island.

Since this payment is at the discretion of the secretary, you’d think they’d at least put some thought into it to target stressed career fields. Pilots, enlisted aviators, senior operators, RPA pilots, and maintainers should be at a much higher multiplier than SSgt Snuffy finance or services guy.

The last A/A kill was in June. Last FW SAM kill was a MANPAD against an A-10 in 2003. Last US RF SAM kill was HAMMER 34.

Why the hell are they not at least pulling all the 16 drivers instructing in 38s, in droids back at least first? Don't FAIP any 38 studs to the 38 (or 6) but offer to capable and motivated heavy drivers, T-1 grads, a chance to qual and then instruct in the 38 (to include a chance to attend IFF if it is in the needs of the AF) with the understanding the devil will get his pound of flesh for this crossflow. Another idea that could work (also would be no fun for those having to do it) would be to shift work schedules, some dudes fly & work weekends and Monday/Tuesday are there weekends. Would boost your output, needs more manpower (mil and contract) but could be done with $$$ but keeps the aircraft and training maximized. And if you really wanted to get jiggy with it, look for a short / medium term lease option for a common fast jet trainer, L-39 or similar, and set up a 3 year program to produce some studs in another training program. Get 30 aircraft, set up 3 flights in one super det at a SW base (DM, Kirtland, etc...) and fly 7 days a week. Need about 50 ARC instructors, 3 year ADOS orders (no loss of ARC affiliation) and a great bonus (50K per year). No sim, extra flight hours, make it work. Not run thru a BCA and would cost some serious $$$ but would clear at least part of the problem. Probably about 500 mil for the whole program (over 3 years).

Those Growler bros who drew the sky dick messed up in their message. Right away, it should have been a post on their social media: "To show solidarity with the Movember movement, we did our part to raise awareness for men's health." BOOM - it's a movement. Use the social welfare BS when it suits you. At trial: "WHAT? YOU'RE AGAINST MEN'S HEALTH??? GENDERIST!!!"