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I'm sure the Russian and Chinese Air Forces just published similar guidance.

Focusing on the combat capability again.

I wonder how they’ll determine which songs are hymns and which are hyrs.

My position is we can stop when 1. Every person knows whether they are a carrier every day 2. Enough people are vaccinated that spread is negligible. Is it that hard to wear a mask? Do you rail against seatbelt laws or complain that requiring shoes in a place of business is oppressive? Putting a mask on is, quite literally, the least you can do.

The 28th BS, at least, had their patch approved by treaty with the Mohawk tribe/nation and it was updated in the late-90s IIRC. It also takes the tribe's approval to change it from what I understand.

Well fellas, since the manning crisis has been solved by Covid, that frees up some resources to boot the undesirables. As we all know, there is no possible way airline hiring is going to pick back up ever again, so no real need to be concerned with manning or the morale of some of the most highly trained people we have. Carry on. #fuckingidiots

It'll be interesting to see how the AF museum displays hold up to this guidance

Seriously? Government overreach on a mask mandate is your big takeaway? Masks are destroying businesses? I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but were/are seatbelts an overreach? People still die while wearing them, should we get rid of that too? Other poor government decisions related to covid are ruining businesses, 100% agreed. Stop making this all about masks, it just sounds stupid. Once again, stellar leadership on the part of our CINC has made something so simple and effective a political tool. And so many sheep just jumped on board. If people would just stop complaining about masks and realize it’s not some twisted govt plot to slowly exert govt control over you (a la frog in boiling pot) we could be much closer to the end of this mess. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Dudes, whether or not it "filters" COVID out of your breath is not the point - of course it doesn't. What masks do accomplish is reducing the "energy" of your breath, thereby minimizing the size of the cloud and the distance it travels. That is why it's more difficult to breathe through, and that is the point - to minimize the spread. It takes more than one individual virus to infect you, so the less exposure you have, the less chance you have of contracting the disease and spreading it yourself. Point being: masks are accomplishing their stated goal.

There's plenty of evidence that masks work. I wonder how many people would be willing to compromise: "You wear masks everywhere, and we'll reopen everything". Probably still a bridge too far for some. I'll put my faith in actual scientists that the masks work: https://medical.mit.edu/covid-19-updates/2020/07/do-cloth-masks-work

Can some of you MAGA/Trump diehards explain why every Republican that doesn’t outright support the unsupported claims of fraud and overturning of Democracy as we know it is now labeled a RINO, or has to worry about reelection? How is this turn of events not seen as a problem on the right? It is totally possible that the GOP loses the Senate because of this sentiment and Trump’s inflammatory words. That is an outcome that is highly undesirable, but they won’t have anyone to blame but themselves. Trump and his MAGA crowd will have effectively handed the senate, and therefore, tons of control to the Dems. Great... I just don’t get it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

How about when we stop setting new records for number infected on a daily basis?

I'm going to be honest. I read the title, and saw a memo attached, and immediately thought this was about reduction in force measures. I'm a bit disapointed 😞

I’ll tell you what, I feel like we are really at a good spot to start to worry about this. I mean, there is really nothing else going on right now, we should drop everything and really dig into this one.

The hard part is determining what is the appropriate civilian counterpart. For a mobility pilot/AC, is it the UPS 777 Captain (legacy airline)? The Atlas Air 767 Captain (ACMI carrier, roughly same cargo capacity as a C-17, similar schedules as an AMC line flyer)? Jet Blue A320 Captain ("lower tier" major airline, similar size to C-130)? Should our helo pilots get paid what helo pilots get paid on the outside (aka peanuts)? What happens when someone moved onto a staff job? Do they take a pay cut from pilot to get paid as a low-mid level manager? Should your initial UPT commitment be compensated at the regional airline level (argument here is that if you pursued a purely civilian airline career, you'd likely spend 5-15 years at a regional, so that level of compensation could be seen as "fair")? What about AF engineers? They are paid way less than their civilian counterparts, and have no bonuses or incentives outside of basic pay/bah/eyc. I know I had an engineering job offer out of college that my AF pay didn't match until I pinned on major, including accounting for my additional flight pay. Realistically, the AF will never win the pay battle against the airlines (short of when, not if, airlines go through tough times and furlough). Even military doctors could probably make more on the outside, especially working in a big city. But at some point, serving our nation is it's own reward to some degree, and it's not all about the cash in the bank account. Same goes for people who elect to work for a non profit vs a for profit company.

When do we stop wearing masks? The goalposts keep moving.

RE: education One thing we need to do if we really are concerned about the rise in education costs is ask ourselves why the cost of education has gone up. It's all well and good to lament the cost of higher ed and just throw more money at the problem - which is exactly what student debt "forgiveness" (transfer) is, in actuality. The solution is likely counter-intuitive, though, and IMO this means eliminating all (yes, ALL) student loans from the federal government. I get that this is a problem affecting a generation, but if we are going to solve this problem, let's solve it permanently, and avoid going around the merry-go-round for another lap. There is good evidence that the student loan program which has swelled from $3B in 1970 to over $160B in 2017 (https://www.mercatus.org/publications/education-policy/reevaluating-effects-federal-financing-higher-education) is driving up the cost of college - it just makes sense, right? I mean, if you're an institution of higher learning, what incentive do you have to not raise the price when there is effectively and unlimited stream of money to tap into? Other studies have determined that for every $1.00 subsidy (in student loans) the price of college rises between $0.58 and $0.78 - not much bang for our tax buck (https://www.forbes.com/sites/prestoncooper2/2017/02/22/how-unlimited-student-loans-drive-up-tuition/). My compromise? Fine, let's all "forgive" student debt, but any discussion along those lines needs to come with an admission that the student loan program has unequivocally failed, having had the opposite effect from its stated goal, and hence will be permanently scuttled.

<sigh> Pawnman, why is the surgeon wearing the mask (Let’s say I’m getting a knee replacement)? Because he’s afraid of getting sick from my knee? No. The surgeon is wearing the mask to protect me, the patient. This aligns with the messaging throughout this thing that wearing a mask is about protecting others. My comment above was about how useful a surgical mask is in protecting the wearer. What the Google machine tells me (via fda.gov) is that an average surgical mask “may help block large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays, or splatter.“ And that’s my point. In public, especially with social distancing in effect, do you guys frequently encounter “large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays, or splatter?” Seriously ask yourself. Is that a thing? Are people coughing or sneezing on or near you? I don’t know. I’m just saying that’s not my experience. Yelling, singing, or whistling are also probably good examples, but again, I personally don’t see that in a typical grocery store run. I see a handful of healthy people with no cough or sneeze, adhering to distancing, and yet wearing masks. Do some woodworking with a surgical mask on. Cutting, or especially sanding. You’ll be coughing on saw dust inside of 10 minutes. It does not block fine particles at all. And that’s literal pieces of wood. I found (I think) the article that Slackline references above. It suggest that cloth masks block “some viral particles” and “can reduce the inoculum of the virus which enters the mask,” resulting in a milder or even asymptomatic infection. So you get sick, but not as sick. Fair enough. It’s a short article and there’s no data cited. To me, it is conditions and behavior based. If we are now asserting that a mask can protect the wearer because it blocks “some viral particles,” it seems to me that the emphasis should be on wearing them in the places where there is a real chance of someone else’s spit hitting your face. i.e. while watching a movie on the couch with someone, not while walking down an aisle at Costco.

Saw a congressman on Twitter joke that there would be noodles in the House cafeteria. Ramen...and rawomen.

They aren't the only ones. Which generation is demanding other people pay for the student loans they signed for again?

Agree, mostly because congress abdicates their responsibilities.

Good articles, thanks. And it's good to see our checks and balances within government are still healthy. What makes all of this uncomfortable is several values we hold are in conflict with each other. There's always the danger that an executive gains too much power, but we've been increasing their power over the last couple decades.

I think the strategy is "admit nothing, deny everything, counter accuse, demand an apology." Don't think it's going to work out very well, and the Republicans risk disillusioning many who have supported their candidates/platform in the past. I'm in the same boat as you here. It's disappointing to see the Republicans implode on themselves

I think you need to clarify ANYTHING. I’m all for not shooting yourself in the foot, but I had a good friend of mine who took this advice a little to literally and didn’t disclose a couple sports surgeries he probably could have simply gotten a waiver for and the docs found the scars on the body examination and he got DQ’d and barred from service.

You’re the one advocating for communism and posting anecdotal feel good stories as “evidence” of science. I challenge your relevance outside of trolling the community.

Bingo. It isn't "wear a mask and the virus disappears". It's "wear a mask and you can reduce the spread". It's sad we've come to a point where even otherwise educated adults can't grasp that not breathing on people will help prevent the spread of germs.

I don't think there's any strategy at all. They lost, they know they lost, so they're defensively lashing out in all directions. I love pointing out how the democrats are being idiots when they do things that are logically inconsistent or harmful to their own cause, but republicans are putting on a spectacular display of the same thing right now. The fact that trump bandwagoners can't see that he is taking their own party to a very unproductive place blows my mind. It used to be nice being on the right because I could reasonably tell myself that republicans generally stick to some core values and respect our institutions. Lol not anymore.

I think you need to be 33 by the time you enter UPT. It can take about 2 years from date of hire to entering UPT (trust me, it certainly isn't a quick process). So, you've got 3 years to get a degree, and preferably a PPL. It's not too late, but you need to bust your ass to get there, and get stellar scores on all of the tests. With the amount of applicants these days, age waivers may be less popular of an option if a unit doesn't have to deal with it, but if they like you enough, they'll consider it. In short, you've got time, but not an abundance. You're going to be 33 in 5 years anyway, so do you want to be 33 and say you gave it your all trying to get to the dream, or be 33 and say you never gave yourself a chance.

Just a friendly reminder to anyone who hasn’t gone to MEPS yet, DO NOT (and I can’t emphasize this enough) DISCLOSE ANYTHING. They will try and pressure you with some honesty and integrity bs but don’t buy it. It is there job to disqualify, NOT qualify. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Clearly you don’t know what a scientific study is. Thanks for participating, you’ll get your trophy with all the other kids.

maybe we should let healthy LOW RISK people ( < 99.99% chance of dying) back into the economy VOLUNTARILY and if you feel at risk YOU isolate at home until a vaccine gets into your arm? there is zero evidence the lockdowns work or masking works...i'm talking PRACTICAL evidence not some lab study. there IS LOTS OF EVIDENCE the lockdowns are KILLING people's businesses and lives. masks are the new virtue signaling

If that’s the goalpost, ok. Confirm your position is we can cease mask wear once cases plateau or decrease?

Don't forget the 34th. Cultural appropriation using the Native American Thunderbird like that.

The CGI was pathetic. Jurassic Park, which came out in 1993, has substantially more convincing CGI. It was like 30 minutes too long due to irrelevant subplots & filming locations (the entire Egypt setting could have been eliminates with zero effect on the story). The invisible airplane scene was embarrassing. The boss fight at the end made absolutely no sense, and piss-poor CGI Kristen Wiig is the supervillain? Really? Minor spoiler alert: Wonder Woman learns how to fly and lasso lightning......but somehow loses that ability 30 years later when Justice League takes place. Uh, OK........ 2/10. That movie sucks. Watch the first one again, because it's actually a good movie. Hell, just watch Linda Carter in the 1970s TV show - the CGI is about the same.

Isn't this what we've been asking for? Compensating pilots as pilots, doctors as doctors, lawyers as lawyers, etc.... And that as a Major/Instructor, I should be making significantly more than a Public Affairs specialist or personnelist, with significantly less training and transferable skills?

Interesting argument, I'll take the bait. Forget airframes-should a flight commander be compensated more than a line pilot or line instructor since they are in a supervisory position? Should flight commanders be the most experienced person available in the organization (say a major or an extra Lt Col in a sq) since they are already being compensated more for their leadership potential, or should it be filled by someone younger to check a career advancement box? (For an organization that likes to say it's a meritocracy, we do a lot of things that don't really fit in a true meritocracy, but I digress) Should instructors make more than copilots? What if the copilot was a cross flow instructor/evaluator from a different airframe? Is getting passed over for major because you just flew the line and didn't do SOS or a master's the same as a civilian not getting a promotion to a supervisory job because they didn't take on extra responsibilities in their current job to improve their company or take night classes to get a degree the company wants at that level? Lastly and most importantly, a C-17 pilot clearly should make at least twice what a C-130 pilot makes: twice the cargo at twice the speed! (I'd say 4 times the pay, but sometimes the gear is not down before landing or the cargo/pax arrives at the wrong destination...so deductions were made)

apples v. oranges comparison

Gen X here. Happy to pay my own debts. Or are generations now based on political views instead of when you were born? Lord knows I've been called "boomer" plenty of times.

‘Amen & Awoman:’ Rep. Emanuel Cleaver Says in Opening Prayer for Congress The “Guam is going to tip over” guy is probably breathing a sigh of relief that this has now taken the top spot for dumbest shit ever said by a Congressional representative.

It was 3-4 years ago. I was a mid level captain. i tried it twice over 3 years. The numbers came direct from the functional. I forget where I found them. I believe our functional put them on our road show slides. I gave up at it. If they offered now I would say no. I'm on my 3rd MWS now and tired of new quals, being a copilot every time for a year, etc... I'm set on getting out after this tour is over. AF lost me because they couldn't provide me a pathway to a rewarding career. Didn't even have to be AFSOC. Just something other than what they had me doing.

For healthy people? That’s the key distinction. I think we’ve forever turned a page culturally, where we’ve realized it’s smart for SICK people to wear a mask. What most people want to know is when can HEALTHY people, with no symptoms, no cough, no sneezing, no runny nose, etc. stop wearing a mask? It will be a long long time. Which business will be the first? I wonder what the research from large companies is showing, as far as potential customers gained vs customers lost if they drop mask requirements. Moot point for now, I suppose, since we are no where even close.

I don't think he's made the point well until his recent long post, but Negatory is on to something that (R) have been blind to. The generational wealth disparity, home price increases, education cost increases, purchasing power stagnation, consumer debt increases, all coupled with the near-requirement for dual income households is a gigantic Master Warning light that we're ignoring. The government is shoveling as much fake money into the stock market as it can to stabilize the 401k accounts and underfunded state and local pensions that are heavily invested in equities to make up for their poor balances. And because the interest rates are still at zero in an effort to prop up the markets, there's nowhere else to put your money where it will grow. The boomers did a shit job of, well, everything, and now that they are finally retiring, they are collectively shitting their pants at the prospect of their houses and investment accounts losing value right when they are planning on needing them. And the government is pouring gas on the already immolated future of the millennials and Gen Z in order to save boomers from a lifetime of abdicating responsibility. Buckle up.

There are many great truths to be extracted from the original "Star Wars". One of those truths is that the orange flight suit will return in its full glory.

I think we have to be skeptical of that number based on the evidence that is out there from the investigation. To wit: It isn't outrageous for someone to claim 1,000 hours in a year; I know numerous airline guys who hit this number somewhat regularly. Definitely unusual for a non-military, non-airline guy to be getting that amount of hours, but I wouldn't find it impossible to believe. It is, however, not possible that he flew 5,200 hours in one year. This would mean he was logging 14 hours of flight time per day, every day, for 365 days. And since he reported only 200 hours of time during the "last 6 months" of that year...well, apparently Mac was logging augmented crew time while he was sleeping. But, even that first number has to be taken in perspective of other evidence, like: So, if the B-17 was flying under 300 hours per year total, even if you make the assumption that Mac was flying every single one of those hours (which we know he wasn't - I personally know people who flew 909 during that timeframe, and not with Mac in the seat), where were the other 700-ish hours per year coming from? This would require him to fly *double* the amount of hours he was theoretically getting in the B-17 in some other aircraft on the tour. Remember, Mac was not a professional pilot at any point during his career and Collings was the only flying he was doing. The evidence here shows that there was some amount of "Parker P-51" time going on here. How much? Tough to say...but it could be a substantial amount based on the self-reporting from the FAA medicals. He had to understand that the hour report to the FAA on your medical is an official attestation of your flight experience. I admit, I bought into the Mac mystique too. The way he was spoken about by other pilots, as well as the way he spoke and carried himself, I'd have thought he was some old 'Nam vet, or old fire-bomber pilot, or retired airline guy. I was surprised to learn in this report that he'd only had his multiengine rating since 1999, and that he'd never actually had a professional flying career. The data here, as well as his actions during the emergency, give me many many questions about the authenticity of basically anything said about his credentials or experience.

AND:

Nobody is in a rush to UN-F’ck the North Korea situation. That country “waking up” and deciding integrate with the rest of the region will be an albatross around the neck of the whole of the Asian pacific rim economically. It’s a multi trillion dollar hole that will make the reintegration of Eastern Germany and the former Warsaw Pact following the fall of the wall look like picking up the check at Denny’s for your broke uncle. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's funny to hear. When I was in UPT 100 years ago, all the guys that didn't get 38's but wanted to be fighter pilots said "my new plan is to volunteer for the U-2 to get 38 qual'd then cross train to fighters". Even as a 2LT I thought that sounded like a lot of what-if's, maybe's and certainly a bunch of work just to get a shot at it. Maybe those guys shouldn't have gotten a 24U on their contact check in tweets. (actual numbers from a friend of mine who told me this was his plan). I've always told guys that we need good people everywhere. I truly believe that, you need to be able to trust the tanker to be on time (haha), the cargo dudes to get our crap to theater, the chopper dudes to come get your ass in bad guy land if need be, the bomber guys to put themselves through 20+ hour sorties to lay down major hate and the fighter guys to pull G's and kill stuff when we're given the chance, etc, etc, etc. Many of us didn't get what we thought we wanted; in many of those cases it turned out great anyway. One thing that has always struck me funny are the guys that put 38 training on a pedestal as if it's this huge obstacle and once you have flown the 38 for a few months that makes you a shoe-in fighter pilot. The 38 was a pain in the ass to fly when I was a 2LT but it wasn't because it was difficult, it was because I was a 2LT. It's underpowered, under-winged and old as shit but it's what we all flew so there's some commonality there. Many guys that have rushed our unit have talked about how they are "sure they can get through the 38 program now" as a Captain or Major after flying some other MDS. It must be a different optic from the T-1 trained side. (at least for some people) I dunno. My major hangup with old guys/gals learning new stuff is that we all learn better when we are young. After we're taught "the way" of our first MDS, we consider that gospel (for the most part) and anything else we think as non-standard. It's a natural way of thinking but puts you behind the curve when you have all those built-up walls to tear down. In my experience with re-trained fighter pilots; it's a tougher road than most think it will be and it's almost always the things they never thought would be hard that end up being the nail in the coffin of those that don't make it. Before everyone goes ape-$h!t, some do and become awesome fighter pilots.