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While Congress certainly shares blame, I call bullshit on this. If the AF really wants to pay us more, and it’s just mean old Congress stopping them - then why in the name of God does the AF elect to pay LESS flight pay than Congress authorized them to pay?

If wearing the bag is a make/break thing you may have some serious life prioritization issues

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1595836/innovative-1st-rs-training-provides-rq-4-student-pilots-valuable-flying-experie/ Big Blue gives out innovation $, in turn RPA drivers buy in-cockpit flight time...who knew they'd want to do such a thing, and gasp that's its having benefits back to Big Blue. Why wasn't this done earlier? Like 10 years ago? Fund and approve more Aeroclubs! Especially near RPA drivers!

Joint Base Balad, Iraq SNCO: Sir, your mustache is out of regs. Capt (F-16/Guard): And you're fat, which means you are out of regs as well. Immense laughter erupts from gaggle of F-16 pilots. Next day, everyone was required to shave their mustaches by the Gp/CC. Man..this story was epic.

When I was checking into my ops squadron after my FAIP tour, I got chiefed in the hallway for having an AETC patch on my leather jacket and not an ACC one. I said something to the effect of “Copy that, thanks” to the chief. She got butt hurt for me not apologizing about the patch and for not taking it off right away. Another NCO came to me later that day and told me she was bothered by my reaction. I told him to tell her to come and talk to me if she has a problem, and I could not care less about the patch, and I’ll buy an ACC one as soon as the BX restocks them. But I will be wearing my leather jacket in the mean time. AETC patch and all. She then went to the commander about me being an arrogant officer in need of correction. Luckily, the commander didn’t give a shit. But good hell. We make life so damn hard on ourselves. I don’t think the AF can handle something as simple as multiple uniform options, because we have promoted and empowered the douchiest amongst us. Zero chance we don’t fuck that up.

Screw the Army, I joined the Air Force.

Here is your weekly Flight Physical update. Below is the list in order of what I did for my physical and a short description of each test. I will do my best to maintain the integrity of tests and not give any answers away, but also try to give as much detail as I can to help prep you all for your exams. I stayed at the on base hotel (google maps wright-Patterson inns and it will take you right there) I was in Group 1 which consisted of a combination of civilians, Guard, Reserve, and ROTC folks. (group 2 looked like all ROTC). We all rallied in room 100 of building 840 (google maps USAFSAM and it will take you there)(parking guidance is in page 3 of this thread) like everyone else here has talked about. Yes, there was a TV, VHS tapes, two DVDs, a barely functioning PS2 for videos, and a non-functioning VHS/DVD combo player. If I would have known half the stuff didn't work...I may have just brought my own Blu-ray player and some seasons of game of thrones and hooked it up. The staff are super laid back, and probably wouldn't have cared. Enough of that...let's get into the meat and potatoes of this post Day 1 Activities EKG they put probes on your body and take readings. nothing crazy. Medical History go into an office and go over your medical history. This is typically the "shut your mouth" phase of a physical OVT (depth perception and near/far) I read through all the posts for tips and tricks on this. I went all the way through groups A-F twice (with different patterns) and can confirm that the tips in this forum are accurate except the "no repeating theory." If I remember correctly, I had one in each test with repeats. So keep doing your eye exercises and you should be fine. I practiced the Magic Eye 3D Books (checked them out from local library), and also practiced the "Brock String" eye exercise (really helpful youtube videos to explain the exercise) Red Lens test They will have these "glasses" that have two "frames" on them. The guy will hold a light up in front of a "grid" on the wall with one hand. With the other hand he positions one of the sets of frames in front of your eyes. Each set has a red lens and the other is a clear. One set of frames the clear lens at a different angle and makes you see double. The instructor will move the light around the grid, while also switching "frames" that are in front of your eyes. Your goal is to tell him if you see double, or you see a mix of the two. I didn't get it at first (sounds stupid right), but as said before, the techs are awesome and help you out even when you're a dummy like me. Hearing you will be put in a glass case of emotion and listening for the most faint beeps and bloops ever. Leave your cell phone outside...on airplane mode. Hold your headphone cable and your remote cable from touching the wall. You are in a sound proof box where it is easier to hear your own heart beat than these beeps they are testing you on. I have heard of some guys wearing earplugs on the airplane flight over to keep their ears from compressing from the loud sound and pressure change....go for it...I cant confirm this to be effective as I drove to my appointment, but it sounds like a great idea to me. Vitals blood pressure and heart rate stuff...nothing crazy Eye Pressure/Measurement this is the..."look here!" and blast your eye with air test...and look into this bright thing so I can take picture of your eye ball! Again, nothing crazy, just follow directions and you're good to go Dental Dentist looks at your grill. CCT (color blindness) so I was told the actual CCT was the old test and they now use something different (which I took). You looked at a computer, the tech measured the distance you needed to sit away from it. You wear a patch over one eye to test the open eye. The light go out, they hand you a video game controller. Your goal is to look at the image on the machine and tell what direction it is pointing. The image you are looking at is a letter "C." You push the appropriate button in the direction the letter opening is facing (up, down, right, left on the A/B/X/Y pad). As you go through the test the image will get dimmer and dimmer. Then it will start over in a different color. you do red, green, blue. Then, switch the patch onto the other eye and do it again. This test is timed. You get 4 seconds per iteration. Skynet Robot Eye Scanning Machine... I don't know what this is called but i'm pretty sure I have a serial number on my eyeballs now. you look into a machine...it looks like a red laser pointer being shot right into your eye. then a green "star" appears with a dot in the middle. Focus on the dot while they do their science experiments Lens Topography Again, bright lights in the eye balls while they do science. This one makes you feel like you are in the movie clockwork orange, or tron. They are measuring the curvature of your lens and the thickness. I was told I had a thicker than normal lens...I got worried...he said it was cool...it's better to be over than under for that one. Psych Battery This is the 4 hour computer testing where you are answering all sorts of "do you hear voices in your head" kind of questions. What I didn't read about this test from this thread before taking it was the other stuff that wasn't as silly. There were lot of "mind games." It was fun at times. For example...we will show you a sequence of numbers...you must type that sequence of numbers back to us in reverse order...my trick...don't memorize the numbers...memorize the keyboard sequence....worked for me...okay right, right, up 2, left 1 down 1... Other things to help you prep for this...practice mental math. This is timed, so practice techniques for adding/subtracting/dividing/multiplying numbers with 2,3,4 digits. no scratch paper, pens, or calculators. short term memory stuff. You will read a story...then do other tests...then answer questions about that story an hour later. I think the best thing you can do to prepare for this testing battery is downloading some mental exercise apps like lumosity, peak, or elevate. These are little games, that are fun and sometimes similar to what you might see here. like "click this button when you see a certain letter, or type of word. sequences of shapes, blah blah blah" Day 2 Activities Labs Pee and Bleed... all you can do to prep is read the welcome letter instructions about staying hydrated before and throughout the testing. I found myself not drinking nearly enough water on day 1...everyone thought we were going to pee and bleed that day and I was ready to go then...but group 2 went on day 1. Dont fall behind on water intake and don't drink alcohol 72 hours before or during the physical days. X-Ray you stand against something...make a funny pose...they take pictures...sounds like a cruel joke right? I asked if I could have a copy of my x-ray (my dad's a chiropractor so I always share x-rays with him for fun), and all I had to do was ask the front desk for a release of information form and she gave me a CD with my images...pretty cool. (i'll post them if I can)(also for fun) Flight Doc interview the flight doc goes over your records up to that point, asks some more questions, makes you touch yourself while he watches....touch your nose...(get your mind out of the gutter)...and balance on one foot. if you are going to go to IFS, he initiated a FAA class 3 physical for me since I didnt already have one. Height/Weight some guys in my group did this the first day. they kind of fit it in wherever. No big deal unless you are super huge or super small Optometry they will do another eye exam. more looking at and reading charts, follow the light, look up, look down, look through this crazy machine...ok lets dilate those babies then you wait for your eyes to whack out like a crack head. you have to wait an hour. I was seen at 1hr 20 min. and then more looking into super bright lights, and reading charts etc. Here I discovered I have a slight far sightedness...even though I don't require glasses. The doc said, I may need a waiver, but he couldn't tell until after he dilated me. Even if I did need it, he assured me that it wasn't a show stopper, they would just process the paperwork like it was no big deal. After he gave my eyeballs a thorough look over...he said he was comfortable with my numbers and wouldn't need to push a waiver through. As stated before...attitude is everything. Enjoy your time there. Don't make your techs hate their job that day because of you. Help other people get through the process, carpool, see the museum (if you can even see after dilation), and be a good sport overall. Another thing, don't worry about it as much as I did. Prepare...but don't fret. Go there, do the best you can at things you can prepare for, and understand that everyone there wants to see you succeed. It is very evident when you are there that they are on your side. I hope this helps everyone out. I'm hoping to get the good news in a couple weeks along with my other partners in crime that I shared those halls with. Thank you to @stuckindayton, @GDAL, and @FlyArmy for your input and the information you provided in this forum to help me and all the other hopefuls out there. p.s.....sorry for the long post

Because after two decades of flying RPAs, this is the first ever paired manned flying program. What happens when you pull pilots from the cockpit and stick them in a shipping container for 4 years? You get crusty bitter old pilots like me who hate the Air Force.

Worth it. Mustaches will grow back in a week or two. SNCO will still be fat in a week or two.

Well they figured it out. Q3 the major a year out from his separation for a 1 knot overspeed. CC directed requal, the CC just secured a body for 2 additional years!

Yeah...rights are horrible things.

You are correct, you are on a different planet.

https://cademartin.com/overwar/ Pretty impressive stories and backgrounds of the dudes with brass balls flying the F-105 in Vietnam. 🇺🇸

Don't really have an opinion on this, but what does ethnic homogenousness have to do with anyhing?

Yes, the amazing things you can accomplish when you don’t have to worry about pesky things like elections and individual rights. Japan: ethnically homogenous Germany: ethnically homogenous (more or less) France: French. No thanks. UK: Heck, even based on the wiki article you posted earlier the British doctors told the author he should just learn to live with the shoulder problem he had.

If I hear another “but Europe does it”.... Sadly The US provides Europe its defense enabling them to put more of their high taxes towards sub-par healthcare systems since again, they don’t have to do things like defend themselves or NATO allies. I’ll start looking to Europe for solutions when they fund their own defense, don’t pay $6+ per gallon of gas, don’t steal 50% of citizens incomes etc. etc.

John Piowaty still has an epic mustache.

If that happened to me I would refuse to re-qual. I’m pretty sure I could explain that in an airline interview.

I won't derail the thread any further, but I'm not convinced that any of those models can work in a country of 325 million. Again, show me an affordable system that provides quality health care for little to no cost to that many citizens and then let's talk. I'm tired of hearing "hey! they do it in Finland!" Too bad America isn't an ethnically homogenous country of 5 million people.

The first rule of stop loss is: you do not talk about stop loss.

Yeah man, I’m out there because I’ve lived on the economy of a country with all the awesome free health care, gun control, free college etc etc. It’s not so awesome otherwise it’d be working and I wouldn’t have neighbors asking me if I know how their kids could get to the USA so they can have opportunity. Why would anyone give up all that awesome free sh-t?!! WHY?? CNN says it’s awesome...it’s Democratic socialism...everyone gets free stuff..safety nets, it’s terrific. Oh, it’s because it’s not free. It’s paid for with high taxes, fees on everything, loss of economic opportunity, lower std of living etc.

They asked for $60k per year and at the same time told congress it wasn't about the money. Now they tell this revisionist history narrative that blames congress rather than their own mismanagement.

A RAND study the AF commissioned said $72k/yr was required to retain what the AF wants. The AF asked for $60k/yr in 2016. House gave $48k/yr. McCain and cronies cut it to $35k/yr and won’t budge. I was at a briefing by a General from HAF/A3 where he gave all this info.

It's interesting how distorted your worldview is. Just because we suddenly get healthcare doesn't mean we will all be living in some dystopian fantasy land you have in your head. Rent won't skyrocket nor will gas prices double. We pay more per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world, be a far margin, and get less for it. This is the United States, the best country in the world so why not solve the challenges that face us. The right wants to throw up their hands and claim american exceptionalism as an excuse to not do anything about healthcare, education, workers rights, gun rights, etc. The right loves to act like the moment we stop bankrupting families who have sick children we will turn into Venezuela.

Shit, IAB was only giving out 1x green flight suits to inbounds in 2009.

You see what media wants you to see regarding Europe to help the dem narrative. My leftist friends would sh-t themselves when the realities set in of $7 a gallon gas, 50% income tax and raising a family of 4 in a 900 sq ft apartment was the standard. Oh and everyone has an awesome free education and a degree in art or history. Helps them when they wash dishes. I had some dem-socialist loving relatives visit not too long ago and they got to meet with my “native” European friends and hear the realities of how crappy things are for working class and how they want to move to America. Really eye opening for them at the time but now they off vacation and are back in their 4,000 sq ft home paying low taxes and driving their SUV so socialism looks fun again because why shouldn’t everyone have nice stuff for free?

Ringgggggggggg "Hello.....this is General Popoff........What?!!....An SU-24 has crashed?.....The crew is dead?...... This is terrible!" "I'll begin the investigation process......ah....just terrible.....we can't afford to lose such an asset." "Wait....what do you mean......4 MORE SU-24??????" "WTF?.......AND 6 SU-27?.........and two fuel trucks??????"

We were angry when missile guys got green bags. Now we are angry that they are losing their green bags. I know you’re just stating facts Breckey, not saying you’re upset, I’m just finding the irony entertaining.

Come on now! I’m only a couple years older than you!

I’m proud to wear a comfortable uniform. Also don’t need a zipper suit or a leather jacket for the world to know I’m a pilot. Would rather live in obscurity anyway. Flying cargo has greatly increased my antisocial tendencies. Who gives a shit? The OCPs rock for hot wx ops, also known as EVERY current deployed location.

Maybe they need to curtail their flight training program hours and add some VR study time.

Yeah. That was pretty rough, shrug. You see, Huggy... Shakira is a popular singer for the kids these days...studies show you stop looking into new music when your in your thirties, so it's okay you don't get the reference. After all, that was about 50 years or so for you...you'll always dig Coltrane and Ellington with nothing new coming on the horizon for you. Could be worse. Point is speculation never hurt anyone...just ruffles the feathers of people that know pilots that haven't been proven to have made the error being speculated about. ~Bendy

Just a reminder that the 176 FS UPT application deadline is coming up on August 13.

Flying fighters (F-16 for me) is awesome. I've done incredible things I would never had the opportunity to do anywhere else. The flying part: Flying A-B is nothing more than a means to an end...the end being tactically employing the aircraft. Flying the jet is easy, employing it well is difficult. If you want to fly around the world and stay in 69 countries before your first assignment is up, this is not the place. If you want to have "chill" time while flying, fighters are not what you're looking for. That said, I have flown all over this world (for a fighter guy anyways), had countless badass TDYs, and employed weapons in the best (i.e. TDYs) and worst parts of this world. The squadron camaraderie, even under the iron fist of the past few years, is second to none. Squadron life: Can vary a lot depending on leadership, as I'm sure the same is true in just about every walk of life. I have been fortunate to have great leadership, so my general experiences have been very positive. I know guys who were/are miserable because they have shitty leadership. Luck and timing matters. In the CAF, I'd say the average guy works 12 hrs day, 5 days a week. It's not uncommon to come in on the weekend to do 2-6 hrs of mission planning for a Mon sortie (because everyone was too hammered or didn't give a shit on Fri afternoon after academics and pilot meetings). However, that's personal choice; dudes could get it done on Fri and have the whole weekend off. You're expected to work your ass off on the tactical side to be a good fighter pilot, but there is still all of the BS that has to get done. You will have a lot to balance, but it is doable and the reward of flying the mission is worth it...at least for a while. If you go to other assignments such as teach B-Course, test, etc. life can ease up a bit and you're not necessarily working 60+ hr weeks...those are good "break for the family" assignments. Family life: It seems in general we are not on the road nearly as much has the AMC/AFSOC bros. But, depending on what's going on the squadron, those 12+ hr days can lead to a lot of missed dinners with the family, etc. There was about a 4 month period (no TDY, no deployment) where I didn't see my first kid 5 days a week because I left for work before he woke up and came home after he went to bed...I made the weekend family time. Overall, in my time flying fighters, I've been gone roughly 50% of the time (TDYs or deployed). Some guys hit more or less, but I'd say 50% is about the average. Overall for my family personally, we prefer longer time away with less frequency. Other communities do less time away, but far more frequently. That may work out better for other's family situation. Overall, I absolutely recommend dudes look into fighters. I think the best analogy I can think of is it's like playing team sports - very competitive (in a good way), you're very close with the bros (work and leisure), and you fly the jet/work together to win. Or you lose, but you learn and get better so when the big game kicks off, you're ready. It's a constant challenge that I personally would be bored without.