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Quick story: U-2 bud does his T-38 check ride shortly after arriving at Beale, and flies it with the DO. My bud doesn't wear his nomex gloves. Examiner/DO debriefs him, and at the end says "you violated such-and-such regulation by not wearing the gloves, and therefore I will Q-3 you. It's a safety of flight issue." Bud says: "how could you tell?" Examiner/DO: "I saw it when you took the runway as you lowered your canopy." Bud: "so you intentionally allowed me to do the takeoff and the entire flight without correcting me on the spot for what you perceived was a serious safety violation? I'll take the Q-3... fair enough. However, you and I are going to go talk to the Squadron commander, and then the OG commander and I'm going to ask THEM if YOU should also be Q-3.". My bud ended up with a Q-1.

A lot of emphasis here on SUPT T-38 training for future fighter pilots. You don't need a fighter or bomber pilot to teach T-38 rejoins or tactical. MIF is MIF. There is a reason why IFF exists. If the product after the FTU is shit, you have nobody to blame but the 11F community. Only 11Fs teach at IFF and FTU.

When a T-38 student graduates from SUPT, he can fly instruments and formation per CTS as directed in syllabus. If said student magically forgets how to do these things at IFF, they should be washed out. Don't make this into an argument regarding the quality of instruction because a fucking monkey could develop these skills even in the shortened syllabus using YouTube and some words of encouragement. The burden of training FIGHTER pilots rests soundly on the shoulders of the IFF and FTU courses. The commanders of those units are also fighter pilots. You (11Fs in training command) are the gatekeepers of your community, choke yourself if your wingman can't figure out how to fly wings level parallel to flight lead in the ops squadrons because the buck was passed by your peers several times over.

IFF is not about employing an airplane as a weapons system. It’s an admin course that teaches you how to speak/do the basics of being a fighter wingman. Hell, it’s right in the title of the course (fundamentals). Even the end of block sorties are demonstration of proficiency, not expertise. I agree the FTU shouldn’t be spending time on that. I vehemently agree that Brabus shouldn’t have to do that during MQT in a Viper. And also, if you think the basics aren’t important in a fighter, I’ve got 2 friends that were great fighter pilots that are no longer with us after making a simple mistake flying instruments. I don’t know anyone who has been shot down in the last decade and a half. To me, if a guy drops a fighter and makes it to the FTU, that’s more on IFF if they don’t like the product. Blaming UPT and scapegoating non 11F for a bad product at FTU and/or in the CAF is off-base IMO. Lastly, how on God’s green earth is a B-52/B-2 guy droning around in the bozosphere dropping BOC or launching SOW “good enough” to teach in a T-38 but some 11M/11S that’s been doing tons of actual hand flying in challenging environments not? No offense to the BUFF community, but I don’t get it.

The past UPT instructors I've known were good, and their instruction was far from inept. They worked very hard to produce the best product they could within the constraints of the syllabus... despite poor "management" from the leadership... and operating in a system where their hands may not be tied, but are often restricted. I'm no fighter pilot by any stretch of the imagination, and simply do not know what basic "stuff" you are referring to. However, in all facets of flying I've done... as well as a myriad of other non-aviation hobbies... "the basics" need to be revisited. The fundamental skills will atrophy and it affects the more advanced skills. I would imagine that a graduating IFF pilot needs to apply "those basics" to their initial training (and even continuation training) in the F-16/F-22/F-15/etc, and adapt them from what they did in the short T-38 IFF course.

chicken or the egg kinda thing ain't it? In any event, from my experience doing this gig for the last 9 years, MAF guys end up fine but require non-insignificant extra time and mentorship on flight lead admin and tac proficiency, let alone debriefing to what the hell is going on, before they're in a position to be able to instruct and supervise to the same level when undertaking undergraduates. Problem is it's mostly MAF, and FAIPS on a heavily diluted UPT run, that we are getting to PIT. The syllabus was legitimately not built for this. It was built for alpha-track 11Fs doing a quick proficiency spin up and off we go. FAIPS also had the benefit of more proficiency in UPT phase III, so the extra time was devoted to the instructional skillset. I've seen their evolution from both the UPT and PIT perspective. They end up fine for the most part. The problem is that we don't have the hours or the syllabi to provide that extra training.So predictably, the product suffers both on the UPT side and the IP development side. And the B-courses complain, it's not complicated. But senior leadership won't hear of it. IMO People have died already as a result of this greening up, but it won't be acknowledged. More will die as a direct consequence of this manning/quality issue, before the trend is reversed. As to the dismissal of the rigors of phase III to the degree that it proverbially doesn't matter and the ladies at the CDC can do it? That's just more of the same chasm that creates the animosity against 11Fs in the first place. The manning realities are here, the goal is to move forward and catch these guys up so they can provide a phase III product worth a damn. Currently we are not meeting standards, and the B-courses are paying the bill in the end. It's not an insurmountable problem, but cutting hours and syllabus events in the manner we're doing is not working. Senior AF is not interested in that answer, so we will continue failing the product. Nothing to see here. I digress. Everybody stay safe out there, not all the sea turtles will make it to the ocean on account of this, politically incorrect as it may be. G'luck.

I get the attractiveness of a 20 yr AD retirement check, but Jesus... it'd take an economic disaster/furlough for me to take long term mil leave and go back to the unit on orders. Sorry, I like working

Still doesn’t mean everyone can teach it all equally. Plenty of 11M guys can figure it out, and there are some 11F/B shitbag IPs. Always have been. Overall though, the trend holds true. What did we do before the T-1? Gave kids about an extra hundred hours and actually washed out the shitty ones. Don’t do either anymore because...numbers. IFF isn’t the nut-cutter it used to be, either. The whole pipeline is fvcked because of poor personnel management for over a decade. These are all just symptoms of an illness.

Danger, Disagree. If our major issues are basic aviation skills like maneuvering in formation or instrument procedures (moreso), then I don’t think we can put the blame on a follow-on course. If UPT produces the equivalent of a Commercial MEL, then I think it’s fair to have standards in mind. In your mind, is UPT meeting that? I don’t have the IFF syllabus handy, but I doubt it includes the resources for building instrument proficiency to a passable level so FTU doesn’t have to; those aren’t Fighter Fundamentals, those are pilot fundamentals we should probably expect from Pilot Training. But that’s just my 25,000 ft perspective from my damn gold plated bomber throne as I wait to program the FMS to fly the CATIII ILS and never touch the controls. Kidding aside, all communities I’ve interacted with have to push more fundamentals further into training as each formal training syllabus is cut. The problem is at the undergraduate aviation training level across the Air Force.

Bonus is not for those going to UPT...and NGB cleared that up recently. Unfortunately for those who already applied and were given payment...they have to submit a waiver to not have the funds refunded back to DFAS

The point of IFF and FTU isn’t teaching the basics that UPT was supposed to spend a year teaching students. It’s employing an aircraft as a weapons system. IFF is ~15 .9 flights at Shep. Neither IFF or FTU have the sorties or time to carry the load for inept UPT instruction. They spend about 2 weeks with 6 flights to get you a form 8 and should never have to touch on that stuff again. It’s weapons and tactics from then on.

Read the text under the block. It reads acknowledgement, not agreement. With regard to strats and pushes, there is no right to them. They’re wholly-owned by the endorser. If a conversation can’t overcome the hurdle, refusal to sign is absolutely caustic This is a bad play.

Which is awesome because I like the AM shows and being done with my day around noon. It’s awesome to have the flexibility. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Wait...didn't we go through this a few years back? Unnamed AFSOC GO...riiiiiiiiiight. I'd rather have gasoline soaked shoes than flame resistant lead weights on my feet. Cooter

Whatever did they do before the T-1s when everyone went 38s? Nothing you do in 38s is remotely tactical or relevant to the skills required to fly any tactical platform in combat. Pilot training is about teaching kids to land and build airmanship, skills relevant to any community. The only reason they split tracks was to extend the service life of the 38. That being said, I’m sure it is important to have your share of 11Bs and 11Fs in 38s to make sure you are getting guys ready for IFF / the B course but there is no reason not to have 11Ms considering the manning crisis.

Show me an ops group doing this and I’ll care.

This is a real email....

Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

Do you also tuck in your 2 piece top when you don't wear armor and sanitize at home station?

https://www.fox4news.com/news/son-brings-vietnam-war-fighter-pilots-lost-remains-home-to-texas

Well, he's kinda famous now too.

State source. Is this an installation thing? Literally just had a discussion with the AF-level policy author on this exact subject; no such policy change was mentioned. And they’d have to convince CSAF to crawfish on his guidance. Unlikely.

Are we talking the new 19AF/CC that has started turning away non 11F/B guys in the 38 PIT pipeline? The hard truth is that they haven’t paid their fair share of the AETC bill in years, so while on the one hand I feel their pain/frustration, the cynical side of me doesn’t feel bad when they all bitch about the quality of their wingmen. I know, I know, #pilotshortage #nobodysleft. It’s obviously a symptom of a much larger AF problem.

You, my friend, must have the most hard-working and efficient support personnel in the entire Guard... I have never had that experience in ANY of my in/out-processing situations. ...except, I suppose, the one time I (literally) said, "F**k it, you figure it out", left the paperwork at home station, and went to school with no issues. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe none of that shit matters anyway.

So we're going to let people fail a PT test with no consequence if pass within 45 days... But we can't let folks test with their own squadrons?

I started to go soft on my opinion of this a while ago because honestly I don’t want to see my wingman until initial...don’t really care about tac formation, etc. I said. Well, that was an easy opinion to have when I’d spent over 3 years flying with only weapons officers and highly experienced IPs. I went back to the CAF and couldn’t believe the lack of capability I saw in the young guys...not their fault, as I quickly realized how shitty AETC was doing at producing a quality product. I then spent months of my time teaching basic fighter pilot shit to these guys, including just calling off tactical training for 15 min as I did tac turns and rejoins with a kid who was struggling...great dude, but what the fuck is going on when I had to prioritize basic flying training over tac training in MQT? Talked to a couple of my counterparts around the CAF, and they had literally the exact same story to tell. The reduction of fighter IPs in UPT combined with reduced syllabi and UPT/IFF/FTU not washing out studs has created a significant safety and combat capability problem. So 11Ms aren’t the root cause, but it is one of the more significant contributing factors.

They most certainly are more qualified for the 38 job. I’m not saying that someone who didn’t fly fighters can’t do the job, they obviously can and have been for a while now. However, the skills you develop in a fighter community apply much more to 38s than the heavy world. The pilots who have thousands of hours flying at 100agl in tac formations, or maneuvering air to air, while managing everything else that goes into flying a fighter will have a much easier time teaching the fighter centric aspects of UPT. Tactical formations, low level flying, single seat CRM, etc is all second nature, whereas other communities will have to spend the time it requires developing the skills to effectively fly it, and then experiencing it enough to accurately debrief what they’re doing wrong. Developing the geometry sight pictures of multiple maneuvering aircraft, and assessing what is going wrong with it, is one of the hardest parts to do well. I don’t think it should be limited to only 11F, but there is a definite return on investment if they aren’t required in the CAF. Then there’s the guys who care about instilling the douchey “fighter mindset” and all that BS that I don’t believe in.

Oh awesome. Not a year after the push to have squadron PTLs administer tests. We trust evaluators in the squadron to administer checkrides to aviators in a job that can kill people if not done right, but we don’t trust them to administer PT tests. This is what happens when you let nonners (AFSC neutral term to me) run the Air Force.

not on my watch, and why you're at it throw out those salomon boots #notFlightRated - unnamed AFSOC GO

When are you giving us an ETP so we can continue not wearing gloves?

I asked this question of JFHQ a few months ago. Their belief was it would be tax-free. We did not have anyone press-to-test yet. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Same here. I wear it on my knee but turning down the brightness works for both ForeFlight moving map, instrument plates, and PDF documents in GoodReader. I can tell there is a screen there when I look directly at it but it does not cause blooming. I don't know if the canopy reflection in the Viper would be an issue.

So much WTF. How does one, “activate a Fun Run”???? Is there a big red button to activate it? Who gets to press the button?

I got a similar email today from my airline... oh wait, no I didn’t. Everyone do yourself and your family a favor and loudly vote with your feet. And by loudly, I mean tell everyone the exact reasons you are leaving. I truly believe this is the only way us little people can make a positive change. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

I’ve found putting it on night mode and adjusting the brightness to a comfortable setting works. I can fly with no issues with it on . Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

On the plus side, it should still be fairly cool outside at 0530, so you can leave your kids in the car until the scavenger hunt is over and the CDC opens.

Why limit yourself? Assuming you don’t have other ADSCs you can walk at any time.

There need to be severe consequences for false reporting. This shit needs to stop

Here’s what’s wrong: brown captains rank.

Heading to mediation soon. The story got crazier and crazier after my original post. One day soon when the dust settles I will entertain you all with the story. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

YMMV. That’s great if you can do it. I’ve also had bosses that loved to clear folks off at 1400 on Friday, only after a handful of 2-3 hour meetings during the week (and then wonder why work is not getting done). Mentoring a Mx LT who was going up to be a group exec captured the dichotomy between Ops and non-Ops when it got down to leaving at the end of the day. She, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out why people would dare stay beyond 1630 (aside from career advancement). Then I explained how much work goes into a 6.5 hour night tac, or how much time is spent constantly staying green on all of your mobility requirements, GT, Big Blue AF requirements, ground jobs, etc. PME and studying your airframe? You can do that on your own time. Face it, most of us on this forum work two jobs. When you throw in the litany of appointments and mobility requirements, or schedule a full training day of mandatory fun, there’s not much time left on the clock.

Instructional Fix: CSAF should read “The 5 Love Languages”.

You’re clueless. This is precisely what is NOT happening. I left white jet world 5 years ago and kids at CRs were regularly getting reinstated. Ones who should be washed out are simply given more training and the can is kicked down the road. In order to washout, they’re just not falling short of MIF. They’re falling short of safe. Above safe but below MIF - congrats, here are your wings. At follow-on training, we don’t have time to re-teach them basics like cross check and tac form. There’s simply not enough room in the syllabus. If they can multitask, employ, stay visual and be OK at form, they’ll pass. Still, the skillset we’re seeing now is below where it has been in the past. My unit is Guard - we’re not under the “graduate them” mandate of AD and we are washing kids out. The last one had no business even making it to FTU. He created dangerous situations every other flight. I reached back to some bros at IFF and they reluctantly admitted he was a problem child and there was debate on washing him out. They also admit that if they washed out everyone they would have 10 years ago, the grad rates would be abysmal due to what they’re getting. If you thing UPT is holding the line and follow-on training is where the ball is getting dropped, you live in a dream world.