Leaderboard

Tac is not speaking from a position of ignorance, nor I, and I tend to agree with how he put it. There are non-6 SOS advisors with a fraction of their training (a couple weeks at most) doing partnered missions almost everyday. To say they are in harm's way is putting it mildly. As someone who was in the process of applying for the 6th, I will tell you my perception and reality were very different, which is why I did not go through with it. Flying combat missions is my jam and that was not the place to do it. Not knocking the 6th, valuable asset in high-demand but not what I was expecting from Combat Aviation Advising. If you want fully partnered combat ops advisor positions, they are out there, you just have to look for them and be ready to sacrifice a year or more of your time. Rewarding and frustrating at the same time. But hell of a lot better than spending time an effort to train and advise folks to only wave at them as they head off to get after it. Cooter

CE guy here. Support officers don’t want to run the show. We just want competent senior leadership. Much of the aircrew senior leadership that I have seen has been LESS mission focused than my CE leadership. I can’t count how many times I have pulled Airmen off of the airfield to make the base look better, trim the General’s hedges, etc. Regarding pilots knowing how to talk to people in order to get what you want, “especially civilians”...you probably know the least about how the civilian system works or how to get long-term production from civilians. Check your ego at the door.

Agreed. The fact that we have a secondary process means we don't have PBS which is worth far more to most of our pilots than some having to get their schedules late. FedEx doesn't use a strict calendar month - rather, 28 and 35 day cycles (Monday to Monday) that may result in the month in question containing a few days of an adjacent month or months. This December is a 5-week month and goes from 26 Nov to 30 Dec. So, it's not possible to say we get our schedules on the "15th of each month" or any other specific date. Lineholders, including reserve lines, (about 80% of pilots in any particular seat) get their schedules 19 days before the start of the month, so I guess that would be the pax equivalent of getting them on the 11th or 12th of the month. The "cats and dogs" process that occurs due to conflicts are resolved over the next week with the last of those notifications happening 13 days out. The final one is the secondaries which I already mentioned. Obviously some people's lifestyles require early information about their schedules, like our OP. They would most likely avoid our secondary lines if they have the option. I'm in the top 40% of my seat and I still bid secondary lines routinely. I can live with the late notification because I get a huge bump in seniority in exchange. I'm usually in the top 5 of secondary lines which gives me a very good shot at getting what I want, when I want it and much higher quality trips than if I simply bid a line. I guess maybe that's why I'm okay with the late notification. Knowing I'll get what I want probably makes not knowing exactly what that is a bit easier to handle than someone at the middle or back of the secondary pack rolling the dice and have zero clue until 5 days prior. Which was the whole point of my caution to the OP - not scheduling 101 for FedEx, but I took the time to type it now, so here it is.

We had an OG/CC who had about 100 hours of combat time. For contrast, I had over 400 after my first six-month deployment.

"Barking" isn't a leadership style...it's the sound a dog makes. It's just being a douche. ~Bendy

BLUF: I'm still a big believer in the TX MF (class C) market, but based on what I am comfortable with I can't justify buying anything right now because of the average to below average CAP rates that I'm seeing. The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac MF loan program is the best kept secret out there. I've put the MF search on hold because the numbers don't make any sense right now, will probably get serious again when the CAP rate gets back up to ~9 or 10%. I am on several MF marketing distros and there is just nothing good right now as compared to 2 years ago. I found a really good deal (~70 units) in Amarillo at the time but was not able to follow through with the transaction because of a conflicting TDY and still am kicking myself for it. I eventually bought a piece of land in Texas and am planning to build several units on it. The upcoming downturn in the housing market is going to be quite lucrative if you are a rental property investor. Timing is everything!

Ditto what JW said for UPS. PBS would be a disaster at this place. Conflict bidding is one of the few ways guys have to recover from some of our more grueling night freight schedules.

You are quite the optimist!

When you go to the commissary on the first and fifteenth of every month, the SF Airman at the gate will say 'good morning major' instead of colonel.

They will lead a squadron, wing, etc. tactically...as the expert in their community on tactics, at integrating with others, solving tactical problems many would say, "that's unsolvable" to, building up those around them to be the best ____ that person can be, etc. WIC is very much a leadership school, and you will get a lot of leadership opportunity out of it, much of which occurs prior to being a SQ/CC. People should do it because they want to do these things, not primarily as a container checked to help make SQ/CC down the road.

I've never had a problem talking to or working with civilians. I can't speak for every rated officer, but I know a vast majority of the pilots would excel dealing with the oversight of civilians. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work with civilians. Most of us switch jobs in a squadron every year so we are all fully capable. I've had contractors working directly for me. If I had it my way, more contractors would do the queep jobs in squadrons to free up flyers to you know, fly!

Agreed... Not guchi: Last 5 years - Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Presently - Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia. Guchi: Panama, Peru, Thailand Lucky that there is no Al Udeid, Kabul, Bagram, Erbil, etc...

I can’t disagree with this. I’ve had a pilot O-5 personally order us to pick up pine cones in the grass to make the sq look “better” for the wing king. Everyone just wants competent leadership. If it’s a CE guy I’d be all for it. Where I have beef is when finance or medical are always closed early and acting like the SUPPORTED asset and not the SUPPORTING asset

STOLEN VALOR!!!!!!!!!

People shouldn't go to WIC because they want the chance to lead a squadron of professional, tactical aviators in combat?

Southwest publishes on the 10th. You can then start trading/giving away trips with other pilots and picking up new trips to improve your schedule. You can also trade trips with the company starting on the 25th. Most people don’t fly the schedule they receive on the 10th, but it’s up to you. There is a lot of scheduling flexibility in our contract. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I ever walk into a bar and these fire fighters & flyers are on site.....I'm rigging the bell and slapping the credit card down. Quote me. Very nice work. ATIS

I’ll tell you that being a Patch should not mean you just PA to O-5. I’ll also tell you that you do not have to be a Patch to be a shit hot tactician. Some of the most lethal aviators I know are not Patches and some of the most garbage officers I know are Patches. Don’t let labels define who you are in the AF.

If civilians or contractors are slow rolling work because of you. Then you are probably the problem and you need to check your leadership style. Some dudes like to bark at civilians. You can't just bark at contractors or a GS like they are in the military. See how that works out for you after being passed over twice and having to work a civilian job where there is no such thing as rank.