Leaderboard

I am officially a has-been. My fini flight was this morning, retirement ceremony this afternoon. Bittersweet to say the least. Getting out of that jet for the last time was a bigger deal than I was expecting. It's been a good ride - 21 years in and 18.5 of the last 19 flying the Mighty-Mighty (quick MC-12 stint in AFG back in '11). I haven't been posting much, but it's about to get a lot less. Thanks to all the warriors out there; keep fighting the good fight. Now I'm one of those guys that thank you for your service. I probably won't buy you lunch though - I'm still a cheap-ass airline pilot. Do your best to keep this place following it's roots - helping people in the fight (or trying to get there). Hasta-la-bye-bye. Evil

I think some of that stems from a legitimate difference in philosophy and perspective, but mostly boils down to the fact that incumbents are always going to tell you that everything has been awesome on their watch, and challengers have to sell the notion that everything is terrible.

Just heard Boise board is still happening as planned

While I agree with what has been said here, that there was no clear winner, I’m not sure how you get to your conclusion about Biden. I saw a man, incredibly frustrated at the childish interruptions of a man who really pointed at zero concrete policies all throughout the debate. If I were talking with a person who wouldn’t shut up, ever, I would have been just as frustrated. Biden did stoop to his level at times, but usually when provoked. I’m no Biden apologist, I think he sucks as a politician, but he sure as heck came across as more human last night. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I feel like this is what the AETC must look like over the last 12 months. Doesn't appear the Guard or Active Duty is any better based on the wait times I am seeing with people selected for those.

CE guy here. FLEA’S words check. The money for barrier MX flows through CE channels. The CE squadron will often fund it out of pocket at bases where it is not authorized at the expense of other requirements. Extra cables are goodness to give you guys more divert options, but they are equally important to keep engineers trained on them. Arresting gear requires daily, monthly, and annual MX. The Airmen installing mobile arresting systems at a contingency location may have only touched them at tech school and a couple of exercises if they deployed from a base without barriers. A lot can go wrong on if you catch a cable that is installed or maintained incorrectly. Something to consider when you guys are running the AF someday.

Speaking as neutral observer: The fact that the general consensus is and all of the YouTube video highlights showed that both men were equally as bad is a win for Trump. You kind of expected Trump to be who he is in this kind of environment, but the general public didn't expect Biden to be part of the "Shit Show". So now you've plant the idea in everyone's mind that Biden is just/kind of like Trump, then the advantage goes to Trump.

Not to armchair quarterback but it looks like a shit hot job from the C-130 crew getting it down safe in a field. Good work!! 800mg of Motrin should work for shoulder pain if there are too many high fives.

Congratulations and thanks for your service! Now get to the BX kiosk and buy your OIF/OEF retired veteran hat [emoji106]

That’s a pretty incredible feat of airmanship, putting a -130 on the ground that well in an asymmetric thrust situation. Hopefully the Marines give that guy some serious recognition.

They sent out an update a while back that they were trying to figure out how CoVid was going to affect their manning since people that thought they were leaving may no longer be.

I reached out to their POC. I will share if I hear anything. I’m hoping that maybe they had the deadline in BogiDope incorrect as the application wasn’t supposed to be due till 10/31, but it’s very possible they canceled the board. If anyone wants the application documents feel free to PM me and I can share. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

END 20-24 /20-25 F-15E x 3 F-15C F-15SA x 2 U-28 T-38C F-35 x 2 F-22

Might have missed this in the thread, but did Boise pull their upcoming board because of covid? Just saw that their posting on BogiDope was taken down.

What I took from the debate, beyond the antics, was that Trump was generally optimistic about the country and Biden was pessimistic. Biden's tone to me was: America is jacked up and therefore needs more big government to intervene into everything." At least that's my impression. I'm sure Harris will echo the exact sentiment that Biden did: America is racist, America's economy is in the toilet, America's health care system is the worst on the planet, etc. And she'll need to reign back in the green new deal people that Biden stepped on. I was on the fence about whether or not I would even vote this time around. I'm definitely showing up to the polls after watching that. And I will certainly admit that Trump behaved like a child. For some reason that doesn't bother me anymore - a lot of politicians behave horribly and say horrible things and encourage horrible behavior.

Your tv must be ed. Joe was nearly as white as his hair and shirt.

Well, that will certainly be a great "tell me about a time," for their airline interviews. Well done gentleman (persons?) !

That's not far off. I had about 14 months in between my FC1 being approved and starting UPT. It feels like forever, but just keep the civilian job, save some money, and enjoy the free time before you're in the books. Sent from my SM-N975U using Baseops Network mobile app

I guess I learned something from AMIC.

Since the fuel is still leaking and assuming this pic was taken shortly after the incident, I would imagine the tank on the left wing separated on impact with the ground or soon there after with a prop blade coming off the #1 engine. The right side was probably strictly F-35 damage. Just my opinion, of course.

The one that died of brain cancer? Yeah, Trump didn't win that one either. For clarity: Beau Biden: Army National Guard, died of brain cancer. All around good guy from what I can tell. Hunter Biden: Navy Reserve, discharged due to positive drug test, dated his brother's widow, shady ties to Ukraine.

My favorite part of the whole debate. “Oh would you shut up man” - Biden speaking to the sitting President of the US.

Buddy of mine was flying the Navy helo that picked up the F-35 pilot. The dude walked to the helo from his parachute and was freaking out because he thought there was no way the C-130 could've kept flying. Incredible work by the aircrew to get this thing on the ground. *Edit* ATC audio as well. Around the 2:30 mark, the C-130 pilot sounds surprisingly calm for having just lost two of his four propellers. https://www.liveatc.net/recordings.php

Congrats!

So the rule sets for power and presidency are changing and I honestly think the debates, which used to be hugely important, have diminished in meaning anymore. This isn't the first election that this is true though. I remember it as far back as Obama v Mitt, the headlines coming out of the debate were about who had the most sick one-liners and ultimate burns. Like, are we discussing intellectual politics here or is this an 8-mile rap battle because I can't tell at this point. Last night, I think was a great display that nothing articulate or of any importance comes from the debate.

The VA’s Voc Rehab program paid for my Master in Cybersecurity Risk Management from Georgetown after my G.I. Bill was gone. You have to be out of the military to use that program though.

Russian PA image of the SU-35 that got the kill.

This one? 🤣🤣 🤣 Yes, it's in German; but everything's funnier in German!

It worked for me quite well. In Oct 2009, I three-day-opted a non-flying remote to Iraq. I had 22.5 years of service, was a U-2 interview pilot, and evaluator in both the U-2 and T-38. I didn't want to retire. The three-day opt required me to retire 1 May 2010. I was determined to defeat the threat. I was working a number of angles, but nothing was panning out. By early 2010, I hadn't found a solution, but I did figure out that I could request a 6-month extension to my retirement date if my Wing CC wrote a letter asking for it. At the time, the Beale Wing CC was a 1-star. I presented my case that extending me 6 months was in the best interest of the 9th Wing and the Wing CC agreed. AFPC isn't going to tell a 1-star to pound sand: I got the extension. Around that time, AFPC announced the VRRAD. In my first phone call with the VRRAD person at AFPC, I explained that I was still on active duty. "Will you be retired before 31 December 2010?" "Yes, I will be." "Then you are eligible for the VRRAD." Basically, one office in AFPC was requiring me to retire... and another office in AFPC was allowing me to return to active duty as a retiree. I never told the two offices about each other, and figured it was best if they didn't know my plan. My VRRAD got approved. So, on Friday, 29 Oct, I had a short ceremony in the bar and retired. The following week, I came back to Beale, to my old desk, which I obviously didn't vacate... turned in my week-old retiree ID card... went through in-processing with a room full of 18 year olds (at least I got a verbal waiver from the Vice to skip the Right Start briefings). I even submitted a travel voucher for my 33-mile drive from home to Beale AFB for my first day back on active duty. In 2013, after 3 years, the VRRAD was coming to an end... but I asked the Wing CC to write me a letter requesting a 1-year extension. He did, and I got it. Finally... I retired 1 Nov 2014. It was my third set of retirement orders, and the second time I actually retired.