Leaderboard

The Problem Statement on Slide 1, which supposedly drives the entire discussion, is fundamentally flawed. They're not even addressing the right problems. To say that the "aircrew ecosystem" has been damaged by unstable funding and will be improved by "stable and predictable funding" and "advanced technologies" shows a complete lack of acknowledgment of the real problem.

Nah, it’s totally Congress’ fault that I spend 40 hours a week on OPRs, awards, decs, making trackers, making trackers to track the trackers, making slides, staff meetings, responding to every single made-up tasker invented by some level of leadership, CBTs, SAPR training, commanders calls, FOD walks to make Mx troops feel validated, planning parties, attending parties, planning retirement and promotion ceremonies, forced attendance at awards ceremonies, mandatory PT sessions, forced mentorship sessions all tailored at building the next Chief of Staff which nobody wants to be, getting non-vol’d to watch other dudes dicks as they piss into cups, sitting Sup, sitting SOF, and any other 60-90 completely valid tasks. Oh , plus the 15 hours a week that I actually devote to flying related stuff. It’s kind of like a hobby of mine. But this is all due to Congress and funding. Nobody would think that any of this crap is self-induced. I trust my overlords to fix the problem they created, and cannot identify.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regularly

SHACK. Leadership is simply unable to acknowledge the real cultural and leadership issues that are driving pilots to the door. It isn't a big mystery -- pilots are quite clear and vociferous about their reasons for leaving. Thus, there can only be a couple of reasons why leadership is failing to understand, internalize, and act on these reasons. My favorite theory is still the self-indoctrination, self-delusionary, fart-smelling, alternate reality theory that says leadership is so in denial that they are a key part of the cause (and a key part of the solution) that their worldview simply ignores these clear reasons and invents other alternate reasons out of thin air so it "logically" makes sense to them. Leadership can change their philosophy of leading and commanding. Leadership can change who they groom for promotion, who they promote, and for what reasons they promote. Leadership can re-institute a mission focus and shut down the death-by-papercuts side interests that dominate AF life. Leadership can stop the pandering and social experimentation to non-mission essential people, tasks, and ideas. We know there is a war on. We know you don't control what the National Command Authority tasks the USAF to do. We know there is suck and sacrifice in doing our duty. None of those things are why we have left or are intending to leave.

Nope, as far as I'm concerned I'm now training 1400 pilots to get out of the AF instead of just 1000. If we don't address retention, do we just expect the 1400 new pilots to just forget about all these issues? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills sometimes.

Air Force Blueprint Contract UPT CONOPS .pdf AETC A3 Pilot Production CONOPS.docx

I'm always entertained by the inevitable APC post (or here, for that matter) opining, "why would the airlines hire a fighter dude who doesn't know anything about their business when instead they can hire someone who knows how to be part of a crew and use an FMS and fly into high-volume airports like the airlines do?!" Well, dude...why don't you ask the hiring folks at the airlines, who don't seem to see the same problem with it that you seem to think there is.

Good luck with that. Evergreen and North American are gone. Atlas and everyone else are busy with Amazon and their own stuff. Not exactly a lot of excess lift out there right now.

Good luck everyone. 🍺

Little Rock has some International Instructors in their LM school, right? Combined Loadmaster Initial Training?

“There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.”

“Hello, AETC? Can we get a new pilot over here? This one seems broken. No idea why.”

According to the .doc posted above, 100% of the focus is pilot production. It looks as though they intend to surge (unsustainably) until the dozens of separate complex COAs and programs can be implemented. They don't seem to consider this is going to burn out the current IPs and exacerbate the problem. A pre-planned transition to the airlines? Sim training: Contract IPs: I'd like to see that contract. Put all the T-1s at a single base. Great idea. Break Glass? Translation: screw the current workforce to build the new workforce.

To give up you must try in the first place. Sooo no they have not given up...

So these numbers were something that came down through AFPC command via email chain to SQ commanders, just though everyone should have the same info lol I’d be interested to know how much/if they’ve changed. ABM and CSO were definitely lower than last year, but interestingly Pred said last year the RPA number definitely wouldn’t change.

Ok

Just FYI: Airlines give zero f#cks about this. Same training for all no matter how "airline ready" someone might think they are.

Oh, ok then. “2.0 MWS IP”. I got the significant digits wrong, thanks.

I like how they spent so much time on their graphs to show that they’re in trouble instead of researching why they’re in trouble.

Your last link sucks. https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download

Bottom line the Air Force is hanging their hat on the economy turning sour and airines slowing hiring. Theyre using stop gaps to hopefully get us to the next recession

From the link you just posted: "Rosenstein said there is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in the scheme, nor is there any allegation that the scheme affected the outcome of the election." Two questions: are you prepared to concede POTUS was not in cahoots with Russia to alter our election? And, ref the portion of your quote I bolded, do you think this process has restored faith in gov institutions? Because my faith in DOJ/FBI has been significantly degraded.

Is anyone coming up to MA on 2 March? Meet and greet ends at 5. Prime time for bar hopping afterwards 😜

They’ll just lower the crew to tail ratio to 2.0. Spreadsheet green again and problem “fixed”. (Lowering from 3.0 to 2.5 around 2015 is why the AD MAF is so “healthy” with a “surplus” right now).

I really don’t understand this concept in the first place. Let’s see if I have this straight.....The USAF is going to send a guy to the airline side to get training on an airframe they both operate. Presumably this will be on the 767 unless they are planning on sending new Lts straight into C-40s and C-32s, or unless United has some super secret F-16s on order. Once the guy has his type, he heads over to the AF side to complete his 10 year commitment. Now the airline gets him back with 10 years of seniority and likely has to re-train him in new equipment because they no longer operate the type he was on, or his seniority allows him to hold something else. What’s the upside for the airline? Think the union might want a say in this? This whole concept seems like a pipe dream dreamt up by some shoe clerk who literally has no fucking clue how airlines work. I imagine airline management laughed in the CSAF’s face when this was brought up in their little meeting a while back.

I never understood why they didn't use the term "Combined", which IIRC is the term when actions are multi-national (the analog of "Joint" for multi-service actions). Since international students are trained there (and there are sometimes international instructors), it should have been "Combined Undergraduate Navigator Training" this whole time.

So not near an airport...at 50’. I’m going to call shenanigans. I considered right of way rules, but since a helicopter can hover, I guess it could go either way?

Yup... ”why were you pushing things? Why did you hit that tree?” ”uhhhhhh....there was a drone!”

I've spent a lot of time in Iceland. Blue Lagoon is fine if you have 24 hours. However, it's touristy and a tad gross; I won't be back. If you're at Kef or Reykjavik and have a day to kill, I highly recommend the Reykjadalur hot spring trail head. It's 45 min drive from the capitol, a 5-6km hike through unique Icelandic terrain which juxtaposes snow with greenery and boiling mud pits. It ends in a naturally heated creek, temperatures ranging from mildly warm to kill you hot. It'll only kill you if you hike north past the boards, as seen in pics.

Thank God they're not considering Contractor Undergraduate Navigator Training...I did a double-take the first time I saw the CUHT acronym for the helo dudes. Overall it seems like Big Blue has gone full-auto, spray-and-pray at the wrong target, so I've got my popcorn ready for the next 5-10 years of this mess! ANG is much better, although I am currently mired in a multi-year UFT production bottleneck...

A friend of mine got invited yesterday. Still ongoing.

I can already picture someone half-heartedly chanting this at a CC call

Funny... not a single $ in any of those COA slides. Good luck competing with the airlines.

A buddy of mine's wife had the perfect explanation- they'll burn 30 pilots to produce 15.

That’s a lot of slots to fill compared to the last few years. Could explain why it’s taking longer to finalize (even though waiting is slowly killing me inside).

If you guys could all just be a bro and stop this getting out business...I can quietly finish my palace chase before I get trapped. Mmmk. Thanks.

Violate a START treaty, make O-6....sounds about right for the AF

So we will overpay for contractors to teach upt, overpay for a new trainer, and fly our current airplanes into the ground trying to fix this..........why can’t we just pay current pilots more. Would be exponentially cheaper. 1 million for 8 years, 500k up front....take rate goes from low 40s to high 80s overnight. This isn’t hard

You can't hide shit. The risk reward equation is untenable. You'll get caught. The judge will spank you badly. Be as reasonable and compromising as possible. If you can work through the details without the need to be right, if you can let her dump on you a little bit if that's what helps her get past things, then set aside your ego and let her. My ex and I wrote up the details of our divorce on a legal pad one afternoon at my house before the kids got off the bus. There were a couple of little things where I felt like I could of done better, but there is no amount of money in the world worth the aggravation. I know still have a friendly relationship with her and the kids have done better for it. Whatever gains I might have eked out would have been totally eaten by attorney fees. My kids never hearing anything bad about their mother come out of my lips? Priceless. Money? You'll make more.

No sense in lying to him or buttering him up. In no way shape or form is he doing a great job. He’s a douche. He is part of the problem.

Wow those are some great slides! Definitely promote that guy! In other news, my airline’s profit sharing $$$ just posted to my account today... gtfo!!!!

USAF may be screwed, but damn do they make some good-looking powerpoint decks!

1. We don't know. Something less genocidal than a few years ago. 2. To stymie Russia/Iran. 3. Yes. I would add there is no good move in Syria (or what's left of it) just less bad moves than others depending on what day of the week it is. Bomb the remnants of ISIS, Al Nusra, Al Qaeda, etc... try to avoid the Russians / Iranians but sure as hell don't back down if they try shenanigans, keep the Kurds armed and fend off the Turks/Iranians from attacking them, keep funding the Iraqi central gov as it is better than letting it implode and hold your nose while this shit sandwich is chewed on for the next 5-10 years. Unless we are ok with letting the Kurds get the shit kicked out of them when we pull out (sts) then we are there to keep them semi-sovereign, not bombed and attacked with chemical weapons. They're good allies, they deserve our support.

Nerd

I bet 90% of those parked in the desert would start right back up. You’d just need to have someone there to bounce on the wing a couple of times during engine start.

The B-52 community flying with the Raider callsign probably really struck a nerve with the Doolittle Raiders because several of their bros ended up executed in China...what a slap in the face to those men that the Buff community would dare fly with the callsign Raider. Buy you know, yay heritage!........wait, that didn't happen because none of those Doolittle Raiders were a bunch of whiny SNAPs. Sounds like some of your friends need to get over themselves. Not a bomber guy, but I think the name pays a great tribute to not only a historic bomber raid in WW2, but also to the bros who were lost in 2008. Seeing it any other way is beyond ridiculous and extremely self-centered.

Linda, The duty free shop at the BIKF terminal is actually the best one I've seen in fifteen countries and countless airports. (Except for the cheap coffee beans in El Salvador) Don't leave without getting over there. The seafood is pretty good too. Try to spend some time visiting with the locals, they're wonderful folks, as I'm sure you've discovered. Enjoy Iceland. I don't get to fly there anynore, but I always enjoyed shooting an ILS down to minimums and breaking out with that big wet, windy, piece of rock in front of me.

I spent a few months there of my 6 month deployment. I was there during the winter months so I am sure things are a little different. There is the obligatory tour of the Blue Lagoon. Try to get to Reykyavik(sp?). It is a great city, and the drive isn't too long, maybe 45 minutes or so. I rented a car on the base, but this was almost three years ago, so I don't remember the name of the place. Try checking out the Liberty program on the base, it is an MWR run program that caters to single military that are in Kef. PCS or TDY. They plan outings and such. I really enjoyed my time there, but that might have been because the previous 4 months of that deployment was spent on the Navy base in Puerto Rico. Thank god they closed that hole (no offense to anyone who liked that base, just my opinion). Have fun.

Keflavik, Iceland Not a bad place, when you're not in a blizzard. The party scene out in town isn't bad, but a bit expensive, and the rooms on base are nice, for a Navy base. Good luck to you lovelacm... [ 27. September 2004, 13:39: Message edited by: Riddller ]

Oh great, a bunch of brand new wingmen/copilots shoved through UPT with no one in the operational squadrons to train them because your IPs are too busy in the Wing exec office to be able to train the youngins let alone remain proficient themselves...what could go wrong?