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Didn’t you hear that the AF has improved the assignment system and that it is looking out for you so that you can have a meaningful life?

Well.... if we are talking about the Nav bonus... all of it then?

Raise your hand if many of the days you drive into work, you dread the fact that your day will be littered with stupid unimportant bullshit that has no tangible meaning.

FTFY

I guess we will see if VR will be the gateway to future wings when these students go to Kelly for the FTU. Right now, as mentioned before, the UPT product is definitely inferior to what it was just 4 years ago. Students are having a difficult time with the admin and Gs. Too much CrossFit and not enough beer and bacon is my guess for the G issues

I’ve never strapped into one of these VR contraptions, but so far, my experience has been that nothing replaces your ass in the seat of a real airplane.

Capt Roger Victor? Is that you? link for context:

You can get 400 VR sims for the price of a single T-6 OFT. I tried it, was immersive enough that i caught myself reaching forward to reset the G-meter. I definitely think it's the way of the future just from a price and portability perspective. Imagine having a couple of VR sims in each flight room at least, where IPs can watch the studs "fly" on each pc's accompanying desktop. It doesnt quite have the fidelity of a full up OFT but its definitely good enough. Also, my bro there now talked about how easy it was to pause and reset with multiple guys linked together. Each stud did ~20 rejoins in the sim before trying it in the air, and then by their 2nd sortie in the aircraft had it shacked. Where teaching rejoins old school it was typical that stud were still struggling with rejoins in their ~12th sortie.

It’s like explaining physics to a monkey ... doesn’t matter how much effort you put in, they’ll watch and listen intently .... then go right back to flinging shit at you.

The sims especially at UPT bases are outdated with limited fields of view (especially for a canopy aircraft) and shitty graphics. Futhermore chairflying infront of a poster was great before technology existed. We have those sims where students can go sit in a T-6 cockpit and flip switches to get hand on experience or the T-1s with actual mission computers to practice with. How much do those cost versus one of these VR kits? I flew one of these at a presentation at shoe flag and I believe that we can produce way better pilots using VR. Nothing will replace putting a students ass in a cockpit, but doing it the way we’ve done it in UPT for the last 50 years is also a sure way to ensure we don’t produce the best product we can.

Just remember we could still be part of the Army.

I was caught off guard and basically said "I travel a lot on orders, but thank you for your service." I also didn't have the energy to expend on the discussion with the TSA agent.

I'm not sure it has much to do with security clearances. Here's what TSA says the partnership is for. https://homeland.house.gov/files/Testimony Rosenblum.pdf

You can't have a clearance without a background check being done period. When you are due for your clearance another background check is completed on you every single time. They are one in the same. That online form you fill out for your clearance goes to OPM. OPM is responsible for the adjudication of your clearance. If you are denied a clearance or its revoked, do you think you are going through the TSA Pre Check line?

I’ll just leave this here and see myself out...

Assess objectively? Yeah, sure. I won't disparage the bros on the line who have been charged with conducting this experiment, but to think that this "process" will satisfactorily represent the larger issue is a pipe dream from the outset - at least from what I've heard. I'll stand by to be corrected. The impression I'm under is that the set of folks who have been selected to participate in the Austin experiment were selected based on criteria that made it near-certain that they would succeed. Certain individuals are likely to succeed no matter what they do. If we did in fact choose these types to "represent" the viability of a program so it can serve as justification to implement change large-scale upon a group that is a non-representative superset, we're lying to ourselves. I won't for one second state that the Air Force shouldn't investigate better ways of doing business/hacking the mish - but I also won't entertain the idea that this idea was born in a vacuum. It's a response to a separate problem, and a convenient way to save some dough.

Deceased insect. skip to 0:50

Koscheski is a political General, thus the non answer that doesn’t even relate to reality. The better Q&A AIRMAN MAGAZINE: What would you tell pilots who may be thinking of leaving the Air Force? BRIG. GEN. KOSCHESKI: I think the Air Force gives Airmen a chance to live a meaningful life and you get to see tangible results of the work you do. It’s important. It matters. You don’t wake up in the Air Force and go to work and go, “I wonder if what I do today, if it matters or not?” In terms of quality of service, quality of life, I think we’ve also got a lot to offer, and folks see that and I also think pilots have seen the efforts that we’ve taken through retention, especially to try to improve things. We reduced some deployments, and we’re improving assignment processes. We’re trying to give stability to families, and they see that, and we have a lot of good faith going on right now across the force of people wanting to hang in there and stay Air Force, so they can live a life that matters, and they see that we’re trying to take care of them and make things better for them. Did you guys hear that? Big Blue will take care of you!

Concur. However, VR beats chairflying with a poster. Also better than a SIM for some lessons. The key question is can this technology provide enough base knowledge to make flights more efficient? If you cut 25% of syllabus flights but replaced them with 400% increase in VR training, can you produce an equivalent (or better) product for less money? i don’t know the answer, but I’m glad we’re investigating the question. And I think we’ve got a team in Austin who will assess objectively.

I have used those exact VR contraptions and they are definitely a step up from traditional sims. I don’t know the neurology behind it, but it was a much more immersive experience. I don’t think this is the exact solution, but something like this could make a big difference in UPT.

I just love this interview...this guy has future senator written all over him. Totally incapable of answering a simple question. Just an example: "AIRMAN MAGAZINE: When did the Air Force start noticing pilot manning issues in the fighter community?" Seems like a pretty simple question...when did you notice it? "BRIG. GEN. KOSCHESKI: The fighter pilot crisis manifested itself because when you only have single seat fighters, it becomes a cockpit training capacity issue quickly compared to larger aircraft with multi-seats, where you have an aircraft commander and a copilot. You have a little bit more flexibility to manage your pilot training. The crisis happened quickly in the fighters because of that very reason. But what we’re seeing is the same dynamics are in place for other career fields, and also because of the fighter pilot shortage, the mobility Air Force has been carrying some training shortfalls and pilot training to cover the shortage of fighter pilots. So, their effective manning has been hit and they’ve been doing more than their fair share, trying to help out while we heal the fighter pilot crisis." Okay...but WHEN DID YOU NOTICE THE ISSUES?? WHEN, not HOW or WHY. WHEN. It is a time-based question, sir. The answer should have some kind of chronological reference, like "in 2008 when Gen Welsh was going around USAFE asking fighter pilots why they aren't staying in", or "last week when one of my staffers left Baseops.net open on his computer and I started reading."

Yeah, I was one of like 14 APZ guys passed over. It’s been busy around here doing TAPs and interviews for jobs, etc... Thanks for all the support throughout the years bros!

Don't forget that we forced a bunch of officers and enlisted out less than 5 years ago, and the younger dudes who watched that happen don't have a lot of faith the AF won't do it again.

I have a buddy at AFPC. Good luck finding officers or enlisted to do anything. We are short on officers period. Maintenance, cyber, intel, medical, and the list goes on and on of career field shortages for officers. Why are we short? 70% of men and women ages 17-24 are ineligible to join right now because: out of shape; have medical issues; an arrest record; can't pass fitness test; do drugs; just can't pass the required aptitude tests; keep forcing the square peg into the round hole.

They were all RIF'd 6-9 years ago. True story...our section commander gave the AF the middle finger and became an armor officer in the Army...it worked out pretty well for him.

Herkbum, you’re way too nice. OP...There’s a lot of info and you knew it yet you still chose to disregard the search function and roll in without doing your homework. Saying you’d take a C-130 as a “last resort” on a military aviation message board...YGBFSM. Good luck getting hired.

Saying I’d deal with a C-130 unit......as a last resort probably won’t help.

I agree. But some new guys may read that and think it's okay for a company to demand that. It's a slippery slope when it comes to setting precedents. If you're still in the military and flying for the airlines, it's just as important to know USERRA law and comply with it as it is to know your contract and fly it. Deviating based on company demands for either can screw your fellow pilots. This is the easiest job in the world. Don't make it harder than it needs to be.