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Have a healthy cynicism and keep your eyes open .... but don’t have a chip on your shoulder until you’ve earned it. You may be the unicorn ... the af may do right by you. It might be awesome with great leadership and bountiful opportunities to pursue a life of religious fulfillment all along the way. I’d hate to miss out on it because of the ramblings of bitter assholes on the Internet. (It probably won’t ever happen ... but it could. You could be the one!) (Maybe.) (But probably not.)

i don’t care if they are mother Fukin green, I want the best as my wingman, quit playing silly pigment games.

Make sure you invite your best Nav buddy to your UPT graduation so he can pin your wings on. Immediately afterwards kick him solidly in the balls and ask him to get you a soda.

There's something to be said about reaching out to historically under-represented communities and trying to instill an interest in flying and aircraft early. Getting the local Girl Scout troop a tour of your sim or aircraft, sponsoring minority groups to come out to the airshow, etc. The point is to increase the diversity in the people who apply for the program, not to weed out straight white males to inflate the numbers.

I think we all need to remember that those statements were essentially made under duress - at AFA - and saying anything other than what he said would have been met with dismissal. To the point, we need to diversify thought and expertise, background and education. Not necessarily parts or skin color. If you want that, you have to build that - which starts with recruiting. The service recruited a white male majority pilot force - it always has, because for 70+ years that’s who flew - and we can’t point the finger anywhere but ourselves. Want to change it? You have to grow it. All that was poorly wrapped into what was said at ATA - because some people can think on their feet and some can’t... Chucks, Ducks and Adders don’t give a damn about skin color or what parts you have. Chuck edits: clarity

He applied. And promised he would take the fat one.

op is a known troll. stop feeding him and kick him back to sit under his bridge

Very weird/ unusual indeed. I had a green card before but wasn't a citizen. Only citizens can be officers. Now I am a citizen though. I am gonna try my luck with this Active Duty board - hopefully the stars line up finally!

Ah, a life of meaning and purpose, felt so strongly by C-130 pilots dropping off and picking up the same pallets of water around the AOR for 4 months in a row, or by a fighter pilot starting their 4th hour of orbiting supporting a JTAR that the army forgot existed 9 months ago, or by the major spending 365 days away from his family building powerpoint slides that people glance at for seconds at a time, or the captain right in the middle of the IPUG who spent a weekend finishing up OPRs on his guys that don't even end up going in front of a board. This whole thread is a testament to the meaning and purpose the Air Force provides.

Because "All Day" Ray will take...All Day.

Maybe. But a dismissal is a felony equivalent in civilian employment circles. So even for regionals it's probably a stretch; the regionals have plenty of low time applicants with clean criminal records. This cat is marked. Nobody in the civilian world gets confinement for consensual sex. So it's not an even playing field, when it comes to UCMJ adjudications versus the civilian criminal law landscape. I am of the opinion his sentence was an overreach. And to keep it in the BUFF family: Kelly Flynn (ugh, beer word) got a straight up pass for doing the same fucking thing in 1997, while arguing sexist bias towards her as an affirmative defense for her bored fucketry in Minot, and the lack of hands or work ethic as a short-stint Buff co-pilot (IOW, the golden key defense, STANDARD). Walked away from a court martial outright, and into a layup general discharge, which allowed her into ASA and the eventual UPS job she's been riding on since 2005, her name legally changed of course. Nevermind the fact she got zero confinement for her equal disregard for the almighty UCMJ. The civilians at the time absolutely sided with her in her quest to decry the anachronisms of the "patriarchal military justice system". But this cat does the same thing 20 years later, even making a similar UCI argument on appeal no less, and this is all of a sudden blasphemy? I can't stand that hypocrisy. Look, I don't personally know this cat, but what they did to him punishment wise is bullshit. Hell, give him confinement as the price for pulling that insubordinate sexual stunt (beats a barrel roll in a Q400 I suppose). But the dismissal (dishonorable equivalent for officer) was flagrant. Different spanks for different genitals. Equality my ass. The SQ/CC in question was a straight up POS, and ruined the careers of other young men who actually didn't do anything but be falsely accused by the spouses of bitter SNAPs who didn't get their dream assignment. Not a good track record for DLF on this front.

I just saw this on the AFPC Facebook page. Has anyone heard much about it? Air Force Personnel Center Yesterday at 9:37 AM · If you’re an officer over 30, you may have thought you couldn’t apply for pilot training. Good news! Air Staff has granted a three-year extension to the limits for both Age and Total Federal Commissioned Service for the 2018 Undergraduate Flying Training Selection Board hosted by AFPC this November. This means that applicants who are under their 33rd birthday (instead of 30th) and have less than eight years TFCS (instead of five) do not require an exception-to-policy for consideration for a Pilot, Combat Systems Officer or Air Battle Manager slot in the next UFT board. Applicants for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot have no age limits at all…you know, other than the whole retirement age thing… This exception to policy is intended to increase the eligible pool of candidates meeting this year’s board. Oct. 26 is the application deadline for the 2019 Undergraduate Flying Training selection board, to include any approved waivers and exception-to-policy requests. Visit myPers and search “UFT,” or the UFT page on the Air Force Portal for detailed application information. #AirForce #AFPC

I'm willing to bet they were slightly left of course and half a dot below glide slope. A fireball was what I was told to expect by my T-6 sim IPs if I was off that far...

The disillusionment I see happens when you’re a couple years into the ops world and the guys that are out killing the mission and are great bros get left in the dust by dudes who can barely fly but are amazing at excel. Where it really crushes your will into a fine powder is when your year group school selects are released and the same bros referenced earlier are all non-selects and the excel wizards are first look types. Not always the case, but it does happen a lot.

Ok. This is weird. You haven’t done anything yet. What exactly are you disallusioned with?

Second assignment, it’s when I figured out we really don’t want to or have a plan to win these wars and conflicts.

I’m all in for mandatory service. A little discipline and exposure to people from outside one’s core social network can only be good things. That’s another discussion though. Your second point is taken and I don’t doubt the enormity of the problems facing the AF right now.

You’re joking, right? You could probably buy 300 fully rigged VR stations for the cost of one of the WST projectors.

Both the Roman and Mongolian empires has diverse militaries, and were successful in their times. The Tuskegee airmen proved African Americans can do more in the military than previously assumed. Maybe it doesn't make sense at a tactical level, say at a squadron, but matters at a strategic level. At the tactical level, we can train most people regardless of their background to be effective. However, are we missing a huge pool of potential recruits, and if so, why? Are then unintentional (hopefully we've routed out any intentional) biases that make for lower recruiting or promotion rates from certain groups? What about operating around the world, and being able to draw on people that have already been exposed to that culture and it's cultural assumptions for what they value to help guide strategy? It can be perceived as dangerous if the military is comprised of a small subset of the population, and could lead to a resentment between both groups (military vs civilian). People have long argued that like promotes like-what if there's an unintentional bias within leadership that holds back certain groups independent of their ability? It doesn't have to be overt, something as stupid as giving out small tasks that end up building trust in that subordinate that leads to other bigger opportunities. Even if you take race out of the mix, these biases can be frustrating. It's why it seems the people who do the Christmas party and AF Ball seem to get a leg up on strats and opportunities-it builds trust in their leadership that they can get things done, even if it has no bearing on the mission. And that trust is what leads to other more important responsibilities/opportunities, ahead of peers that might be better but have been given no opportunities to show their talent our build that trust with leadership. Military meritocracy is held up as a truth, but we all know at some level it's not really true. Luck and timing have a lot to do with a successful military career. If you're never given small opportunities to excel at, you're never given bigger responsibilities. That being said, I don't believe in quotas. But if there are large differences, one has to wonder why. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Nope, but I've been an instructor weapon systems officer for almost ten years. My answer to the students would be the same as my answer to you... Read some on your own, and if you still don't understand, then come ask. If you ask me something dumb, like "why can't we drop bombs upside down?", I'm going to tell them to go do some of their own research first. If this is the level of academic rigor that now gets people into UPT, I weep for the future of the Air Force.

I asked for evidence of battlefield success attributed to diversity, you gave me a study on business. Invalid answer. What makes you think America is the most ethnically diverse country in the world? Google says we’re in the middle.

For your first point, if I’m paraphrasing correctly- “he’s saying something dumb but he has to, otherwise he’ll be dismissed” is illogical. He should say the truth, and if the truth gets him dismissed then get dismissed. Am I misinterpreting you chuck? You usually say smart things, but excusing senior leaders for saying dumb shit by reasoning that ‘they have to’ is intellectual rubbish and enabling bankrupt leadership. To your second point, that we must diversify thought and experience, I will disagree he was talking about ideological diversity. He mentioned there are too many white males so he was obviously wanting to diversify me out of the squadron. But I’m also curious why diversity is so sought after as an objective and why you think we need to diversify. Is there some proof that more diverse militaries are more lethal and more prone to success? I missed the ‘diversity as a decisive advantage’ chapters in Sun Tzu and Clausewitz. If diversity of skin color = battlefield success I’m interested in the evidence.

Hey! Who's turn to make popcorn?

True but then why the hell are we buying things in the first place...you have to answer these questions B.S. flag. Every time I have seen Ops take initiatives to purchase and/or develop new training or tools that involve a freek’in computer or IT....A6 and the comm SQ attempt to put their meat beaters all over it....example #1 EFB....when A6 found out about that the A3 said f’it let’s roll.....it’s you could hear the screams of horror from across the street. same with the PFPS computers...I mean Weapons systems....comm gets pissy about them every time they want to push an update and we say f-off...you can’t mess with it because we have our own dudes that will fix them I hope 0.....but I don’t think you know what the f you are talking about.....it will at some level...hopefully just in the coord process....but again....they have an empire to maintain.

Just gotta be you.

That would be me. But I've made my point. If Bendy and the rest of them think it's appropriate, then have a nut.

Many airframes are limited in inverted flight only by the oil and fuel systems properly feeding the engine.

^thanks for the info!

Not all airframes have an asymmetric wing 😉 However, in order to maintain inverted, level flight an aircraft with the common airfoil design would need to use a flight control surface such as horizontal stabs to compensate for lift direction.

Is this even for real? This seems like just in time for me! I was so much worried about how I can go active duty from reserve during UPT. Trying to be a pilot physician ultimately and I know that program is Active Duty only. Does this mean I can apply to AD directly without a waiver? I'm 30, took AFOQT and TBAS already! ..PCSM 82 and AFOQT pilot 86. However I am not already an Air Force officer but enlisted Army Reserve. Any help is appreciated.

It’s exactly that, bullshit. We can’t have an investigation into Rep Keith Ellison beating his girlfriend, but a 30 year old allegation is held back during all of the confirmation hearings and now she won’t even testify until an FBI investigation is started? I think this woman probably was assaulted at a party, but she was probably too drunk to remember who it was and it now becomes a convenient piece of political theater. She is a pawn for a group that will stop at nothing to lose their influence on the Supreme Court. This is why judicial overreach is bad for the country, the Supreme Court should not matter this much. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Returning next week, re-starting Tech until his training date. Ugh...can't say I have a great opinion of her work. Can't see how things would get worse when she finally pulls the lever for good.

So that’s the reason why the pacaf commander and amc commander got picked not because of their merits? Diversity.

I thought it was no drinking within 50 feet of the aircraft and no smoking 12 hours before flight. You know, because hypoxia.

These are my problems to solve but I’m not empowered to solve? I’m responsible for outcomes without being given the authority to implement solutions? If you consider the amount of time, money and effort we spend educating General Officers, it’s truly astounding to hear them utter this kind of crap. One good thing though— at least they’re showing you the way this works now, at SOS, while you’re young. “I micro-manage, hoard authority, stick to the status quo, secretly reduce your strat for thinking out of the box, and blame you for screw ups only I was actually empowered to fix” will be a commander you work for in the USAF. So recognize the broken organization for what it is, and make your life choices accordingly. It’s good to show the young the absurdity of what awaits them higher up.

Punctuation Nazi sez: inappropriate apostrophe use, remain in AETC one more tour.

For units that don't offer rushing, it can be a little harder to stand out. That said, it just puts it more on you to have a solid, squared-away packet that stands out. Have a good picture of your face. Even if they ask for full length, nothing says you can't have another of your mug to help make you recognizable if/when you do get invited to a meet and greet/rush weekend/interview. Honestly, I used my firehouse headshot with my helmet on. Cheesy, for sure, but it stood out and made me more recognizable as the old geezer fireman trying for a spot. Make sure your resume looks professional. Have business-minded friends or colleagues look at it, or feel free to send it to me, if you want random stranger feedback on it. Include unofficial copies of your transcripts, any flying stuff you have, and your LoRs in the packet. Make sure it's all in one PDF and not multiple files. Spend some serious time on your cover letter and, like your resume, have it proofread by friends/coworkers (or send it to me). It should have a little of everything; who you are, why you want to fly, why you want to fly for that specific squadron, and what kind of asset you want to be to your squadron after training. Keep it to one page. Lastly, make contact with the hiring PoCs through phone or email (or both). They're getting blasted with packets from a bunch of people they don't know (who are probably blasting packets out to lots of squadrons themselves), so all you are is numbers and letters unless you make contact. Try to speak with other pilots to ask questions, express interest, and (without sounding like a bragging douche) talking a little about yourself to have them get to know you a little. The pilots will talk and, if they know who you are, I'm sure they can help the hiring board with input on who to invite for interviews. It'll also make it less awkward when you do show up if you have spoken with a few pilots in the squadron to strike up conversations. Bottom line, you've gotta create your own luck and that's by putting in most of the heavy lifting yourself. You don't want to be psycho stalker level of bugging them, but you want to make sure you're making solid contacts and showing you're interested, if you can. The squeaky wheel getting the grease and all. Just sending your packet out and hoping the numbers and letters on the pages are enough to get you a job offer might not be enough when you have plenty of other solid candidates; you've got to have personality do some of the work. Good luck!

Cockpit video from Race 1 "Hot Stuff" (Thom Richard, of "Precious Metal" fame) of the Formula 1 race takeoff incident. *Edit* Read the video description for Thom's own words about the incident. Incredible. 0:27... Holy. Shit.

Between this and your energy question, I think you need to spend some time on Wikipedia before you bring us your next great revelation.

What an incredibly stupid thing to say as a general officer. “Needs to reflect” and “must change” are insane statements. Diversity for diversity’s sake gives zero benefit

1) How do the training results hold up? 2) What value is there in every squadron spinning up their own version? 3) What is the level to which home-spin VR will be utilized to train of a single class iteration? 4) How does it get funded? 5) How do you get that shit to work with the Cyber dudes? That's just spitballing. By all means, keep home-growing (in each squadron) a separate solution to the same problem without any outside expertise for input.

if we worked thru all those questions it'd take damn near 15 years to get anything fielded. as a comm guy i wouldn't be chunking spears at ops dudes trying to make things happen...there is outside expertise being sought...but it ain't from some base comm sq by all means feel free to stay in your lane and stfu edit: why the fck does it have to work with the cyber dudes? i dont think you know what the hell you're talking about. edit: IF you’re comm. cyber. Finance. Whatever.

The military, like the government, works best when it’s made up of the people. Not just the predominantly Southern, conservative, white male people (though that’s what many seem to be most comfortable surrounding themselves with), but a true cross section of the American populace. That will help our communities begin reconnecting with their military. I absolutely agree with Chuck’s “grow diversity” sentiment. This doesn’t necessarily mean promoting based on ethnicity/race/gender (although I admit this does happen). But recruiting from a broader cross section is certainly a worthy goal.

So, perhaps many of you folks here have flown upside down in an airplane like the T-6. We all know that the shape of a wing is what causes lift due to air on top of the wing moving faster than below the wing, which creates a pressure differential. Low pressure over the wing, high presure below the wing, inturn produces lift which balances weight. Thrust forward balances Drag backward. Now, when you fly inverted and level at the same altitude- the lift should be pointing toward the earth because the same shape of the wing is upside down. This adds to the weight. So what force is balancing upward the (weight + downward lift) that's pointing down?