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Listen up. I was the OP on this thread. I don’t care about your office. I don’t care about your fast-food cravings and how they are affected. I don’t even give two shits about UPT since they won’t let me go through the course again, nor let me teach there This thread isn’t about things like “terrorism” and “pilot retention” and “military readiness”. This thread is about something WAY more important. This thread is about Airshows. And bringing the dream of aviation to the masses... especially the young. And keeping America in the forefront of aerospace because of Airshows. And of course, great airshow parties... but I digress. So write your Congressman and Senator and DEMAND that... when this crisis is over... they REQUIRE ALL WING COMMANDERS to support the 2021 airshow season. Stop threadjacking my thread. Stop picking your nose. Wash your hands (Hacker!!) And for crying out loud, learn to use the rudder in the T-38, you pussies! WTF?!?! That is all. p.s. get off my lawn, Ram.

I probably should have made my sarcasm a little more overt. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard those comments repeated to me by family, friends, and neighbors. This is the biggest world event in our lifetimes, and the effects of which will be felt or many, many years. Thanks for doing what you do Unit#8192. People like you are about to become the heroes of this year.

Huggy using the rudder in 1959.

How did he get close enough to tell with mandatory social distancing? You should have chiefed him for being within 6-9 feet! Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Or the coronavirus talking...

People don't seem to grasp that the health care system is also a finite resource. Read the articles and look at the videos that came out of China a few months ago.

I'm not an expert nor did I stay at holiday in express last night I do have a perspective as FF/Paramedic on a transporting unit. Two people on my department are already in quarantine, I've already donned the PPE twice in less than two 24 hour shifts in an area with 30 confirmed cases as of yesterday. We can't wear N95s when we go into a nursing home for the 217th time for the day to take additional precautions for the immunocomprimised/elderly that reside there due to playing the numbers game. I fully expect to acquire the "Kungfu Flu" lolz and my concern is that I'll be called to another response and inadvertently pass it on to someone whom has additional risk factors due to many being asymptomatic carriers. Also, in my time practicing I've gotten the shitty follow up report for people below 35 who have passed away from the Flu/Pneumonia that we're otherwise healthy. It's rare, but it can happen. It's not lethal to perhaps the vast majority of the population, this is true. The main issue is what it has the POTENTIAL to do to "our" ability to provide critical care to those that need it (Tubed, placed on a vent and monitored). The Doc/RNs/RT/Techs etc are getting exposed to a higher degree, face going into quarantine themselves and/or experiencing more complications if they come down with it. If they're compromised it exacerbates the problem. Supplies are limited, the normal amount of Trauma/Medical emergencies are still happening on a day to day basis. In my world, it's real out here. I'm glad I got my Charmin supply two weeks ago so the minions can fight over the Scotts TP..."aint nobody got time for that". Hopefully we never reach what Italy is going through, we are all in it to win it so to speak. Stay well, wherever Y'all may be!

We’re about to be amazed at the number of military members with dual Ph.D.’s in economics and virology.

OA-37B My favorite aircraft to work on.

I'm gonna go a different route - I was a clean cut and don't miss the Guard/Reserve either. Still have the Post 9/11 GI Bill and Law school if everything else fails and/or I lose my medical. Totally signing up for our 55 hours/mo of paid leave for six months if offered though. Donno bout you all, but I can easily live on 10k/month (401k incl) for free.

How unfortunate. You'll be missing out on so many extraordinary dining experiences! Eating Pick-Up Taco in my car while sobbing is how I got through the first 6 months after my PCS to that locale.

Got Chief’d today. Gotta stay strong for two more weeks.

Sorry for the confusion. I was just trying to be sarcastic and funny, and figured that anyone that looked at my avatar would chuckle.

This picture was posted on the Fire Bombers group on facebook and I thought it really captures the essence of aerial firefighting in general, and what we focus on at CalFire in particular. Initial Attack to support the aggressive response by the ground firefighters, who do the real work and actually put out the fires. This photo was taken 40+ years ago and some things have changed, but the mission remains the same. Just thought I'd share it here...

Exactly. The real threat is our inability to treat everyone if we had a large spike in new cases in the high risk groups.

This mornings earthquake here in Utah definitely has people on edge more than before. Stores have lines now due to limitations to how many people are allowed in due to possibly compromised structures. At least they have TP and some cleaning stuff on hand. Listen to the CDC. Wash your ing hands, distance yourselves from others. This will all be over sooner if we all do what we have to do. Im just glad its not hitting kids.

Welcome to the Air Force.

Huggy I was wondering how long it would take them to catch on. You better be using my checklists! TDY to Honduras. The Hondurans were transitioning from the F-86 to the A-37!

Hypertension.... get with flight doc certain meds don’t require waiver if it’s only one. I’m on two for my blood pressure and it requires a waiver, that’s because I’m on two. Again check the med reg. Do it early. If you are still AD go DINF now while you still have a pay check. If you need a waiver get it done ASAP. But..... Guard/reserve could require you go through their process which is a pain. Some flt docs are terrible and keep wanting more evidence that it’s under control. So lose weight stop drinking and eat lettuce. Then get your blood pressure checked. with your date you should have enough time. But....Coronas!!!!

Anonymous Trump official allegedly calls Chinese virus "The Kung Flu" I thought it pretty funny. I'm a bad man...

For once in my real estate life, I think I wound up on the positive side thanks to baseops, this thread, and Jon & Co. Right before the end of world this month, I contacted Jon more out of curiosity than actual interest as I had, via NBKC, a VA loan at 3.25%. Had it for three years and was pretty content. E-mailed Jon on a Tuesday night and he could've locked me in that night at 2.75% but I wanted to sleep on it. Next day, he still scored the 2.75%. A big savings for me monthly and over the course of the loan which will now reduce even faster. Well done!

Thanks! Glad we did good by you! Let me know if you need anything in the future! Pleasure working with you. FYSA not the time to refi or buy right now if you can avoid it. Rates are jumping by .375-.5% overnight. We’re expecting things to settle but right now just making a list of potential refi’s and telling anyone buying to drag out settlement so we can look for dips to lock. Someone told me Today Navy Fed said 6 months to settle and the big boys are quotes up to 4.5%. Stay safe out there and watch out for the swarms of zombies. We’re running Trident out of a broken down school bus in the woods of WV surrounded by land mines. Jon

Confirmed today class UPT dates next month are still a go.

Good stuff and agree on the idea of a constant cross flow program, variable to the needs of the AF. As to the synch idea, airframe only. Said airframe would need to be fairly adaptable to be able to cover all those missions to a minimally satisfactorily level, particularly ADAIR and Chase Ship as I imagine the customers for those services want something more than a fat kid to fight against or keep up with them. I like Scorpion but it probably would need a hot rod version of the baseline jet to meet those missions in a useful way. L-159/39NG would likely be the next best choice for an already existing platform considering total cost and capabilities required. Shared fleet idea is not bad if the investment is/was there. Copy on ADAIR not being able to be stopping point, I think borrowing for ADAIR might be more palatable to Big Blue but they have already written a check for contract ADAIR, but one can advocate on BO... The tyranny of aircraft fleet economics makes this a difficult idea to sell to the Bobs, I'm guessing if you could torture the numbers and get the costs down per tail/hour, you could argue for a 150-175 tail fleet for CTP, ADAIR, Light Attack, Chase Ship, Flight Based Training Platform, Test Platform, etc... figure you buy 160 L-159/39NGs at average $20 mil with all the goodies (radars, pods, sensors, etc) , program 500 hours per at $3,000 comes to some reasonable numbers for a multi-use, multi-mission platform. I would say two problems, short term needs to the 11F/11A communities and long term needs to change the culture of the AF. If we want leaders and managers to not myopically focus on queep and realize the point of all of this is to generate airpower to perform X mission then we need more dudes to a experience a culture/execute a mission that probably focuses less on bullshit and more on delivering the mission / winning the fight. I say probably as I have never been in a fighter/attack unit but having interacted with different fighter dudes at different times in different places, they did as a group display a less queepy mindset and I think that experience of single seat flying or at least often single seat flying in a dynamic mission or training environment causes some mindset shift. Particularly when you execute a mission where significant threat from the enemy exists and the pressure/expectation to perform is high as you are employing weapons against enemies often close or inter-twinned with friendlies, don't screw it up. Not infatuated or a fighter groupie, I'm happily married to my heavy aircraft in a monogamous hetero-crew relationship but I think if there were a mechanism to let some reasonable number of dudes who tracked Heavy, FAIP, RPA, Bomber but wanted a fighter/attack jet to work hard, prove their mettle, meet a legit requirement and then serve in a tactically minded flying community (training or operational), I believe it would pay dividends in morale, retention and cultural renewal in some parts of the Air Force. Don't doubt your point about retention of dudes who tracked fighters right out of the gate from SUPT but I see this idea as the one of many simultaneous efforts to return the AF to course. Airplane porn just because...

Just talked to my base, I have orders to report to UPT April 7th. They said it's considered mission essential, so it's still on.

Rated assignments team said its a rapidly changing situation, but AETC is working to make UFT “mission essential.” I would assume its all still a go.

Man, to think all those "we need diversity candidates" lectures were wasted. But still, they know better than me and aren't afraid to lecture me on such. Along with stating that VP and Supreme Court picks will be based on genitalia and/or pigmentation. What could possibly go wrong?

I guess I would say calm down, pour a scotch and smoke a lucky. I certainly don't blame people for jumping on orders as you worry about providing for the family. Guys going on orders will help the situation out a bit. Thankfully, the airlines are wisely waiving the 5 year USERRA clock...hopefully this is expanded. None of us should be anywhere close to pulling up the floor boards to keep the fire going. At DAL, we've been running at such high ALVs, that simply dropping us down to the bottom of the ALV window will help ease off furloughs. We still have lots of training going on which will keep instructors in the sims (requiring more guys on the line and on the list). In the next year or two we'll retire over 1300-1800 pilots which only helps. It may be a bumpy road for a bit, but we may come out of this a little better off than many are thinking right now. As we speak, AAL just rolled out a pretty generous voluntary leave package (even continue to get paid to age 65 while essentially retire early) which will be helpful as well. DAL is offering 55 hour no fly lines (SILs), which pays me about the same as a month of orders would as a 18 yr LTC. I hope I'm actually senior enough to get a SIL. Ohio (and many others) just shut down all bars and restaurants, the fed cut the rate of 0 and fired up the quantitative easing machine. Trump just invoked the Stafford act which means we may all be headed to a federally mandated home quarantine....that's bad for everyone (other than killing the virus lol), so we're all in this mess together. If it comes down to it and we do start to furlough, I think I'll be ok with about 4,800 junior to me. That said, if I have the option to go on orders and it will save a junior guy from furlough, then I'll probably jump to mloa, even if its just 4ish months of orders. I've run the number and as an O-5, just with all the AFTPs/UTAs/AT, I'll be sitting at ~50k gross. Add in 4 months of orders and I'm at 100k. It's not anyway what I'm making now, but it's way more than I really need to live comfortably and still enjoy my life. Thankfully I paid cash for my house and all my toys! Anyway, I'd have a tough time looking a fellow pilot in the eye and saying sorry bro, I can't take that pay cut as he gets kicked to the street. Were all in this together. This is a great lesson in not being a complete dick about losing pay to come out to the gaurd (standing by for the people's elbow from Hindsight2020😁). Also a lesson in not leaving your mil gig right away and continuing to promote if able. I haven't run the numbers (mentioned above) for O-4, but I'm certainly glad I finished ACSC as the extra pay will only be helpful in times like this. Speaking of, time to get ready for a day at the Guard. Supposed to double turn...we'll see if we even turn a wheel today.

You're right! I completely forgot about this track out of UPT. I worked with a number of these guys that went on to successful fighter careers having done exactly what you stated. Case in point: Brig Gen (later Lt Gen) Bob Otto. Started in the O-2, and then off to the Eagle after 2-3 years in the Duck. Great pilot, officer, and American. p.s. what's an OA-37 ???

You guys are so busted! 😉 And good on “Spoo” Clark for maintaining a sense of humor!

I think the relevance of those issues has been instantly relegated to "No one gives a sh!T anymore" status. Global prosperity had allowed societies to wring their hands over such trivial things compared with what we're now faced with. Social and economic disparity are the issues about to take center stage. What's ahead is going to make Occupy Wall Street look like a stroll through Central Park. Trump just became Bernie Sanders for business. He's going to sprinkle a little money over the voters while opening up the fire hydrants for Wall Street.

Run the adblocker extension in chrome. Shouldn't be an issue with that.

It’s just the flu. Last years flu killed way more. When we get warmer weather, this will clear up. The markets will bounce right back. Buy the dip! So many great deals to be had.