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I'm assuming this talk is a discussion about the erosion of officer privilege in the Air Force.

War is horrific...simply horrific. I remember my first few missions and the metric of success was always the number. We count everything, crap many of us growing up who dreamed of flying wanted to be an Ace because we thought that was the top of the glorified pyramid. In time and as I flew more missions and my "number" became stupidly high...(on one misisons I killed 32 men in 8 minutes)...I had to stop counting. Yes they were evil people who deserved to die but it was still someone's brother, father, son, cousin...and I didn't want to surrender my humanity in the process. I PRAY my son never has to see the horror of war. While I cheer the Ukrainians it is not lost on me that the ones dying are not that ones that caused this horror. Yes the Russian troops are committing atrocities but this is not a simple good vs bad situation and a lot of young men and women (and innocents), are dying because of a diabolical human in Moscow. I hope Ukraine kicks the snot out of the Russians and they flee back to Russia and I hope it all ends right there. At the end of the day we all do our duty, and I did it very well, but we don't have the celebrate the carnage

True, freight gets to fly around literal boxes of dildos. Not this onesie twosie weak sauce...

I think the OP should ask his soon to be T-1 IPs for their advice…

oh no you don't...we KNEW pretty early on that covid was statistically a non event for young, healthy people. and turns out Fauci and his buddies at Pfizer KNEW it didn't prevent the spread...we were told straight up lies and coerced into taking a shot that provides zero protection and is very harmful...latest numbers i heard were 1 in 800 have side effects. that is a very high number and this shot should NEVER have been MANDATED. so don't give me this 20/20 bullshit....the warnings were being issued very early on but FUCKING CENSORED

That's putting it lightly.

Agreed on the Wagner guys.

I maybe can understand that sentiment for some Russian 19 year old that was forcibly conscripted. The scumbags in the video I posted were part of Wagner, a private military company (mercenaries) that are all volunteers. No one forced them to join shit. Even the mass of convicted criminals recruited out of prison had a choice to stay in prison or volunteer to fight in Ukraine. Wagner employees routinely commit atrocities across the countries they conduct missions in. How anyone would feel sorry for any of them is beyond me.

I am guessing you have not followed much of this conflict and you are most certainly approaching this from your vantage point as an American with a mostly free and open press. Most of the Russian soldiers were told they were going on an exercise, they didn't know it was combat until they were across the line. Even now Russian Propaganda has shaped their population to believe Ukraine is the aggressor. When it comes to atrocities, there is obviously no excuse but a large majority of Russian soldiers are uneducated and uniformed conscripts. You might watch Enemy at the Gates to see just how horrific the Russian way of war is and how motherland soldiers are treated like fodder. Take your gun and walk that way, hesitate for a second and you get shot in the back of the head.

These soldiers can blame Putin all they want (and so can we) - and he does deserve blame - but at the end of the day, you are responsible for your actions, and if you decide to make war against innocent people, then you've made your bed and can lie in it for all I care. All these troops had a choice. It may have been a shitty choice, but they made a choice to conduct a war of aggression and to invade a sovereign nation without justification.

Babylon Bee crushes it again: https://babylonbee.com/news/navy-somehow-even-gayer

On the Bud Light note, now that Bud seems to be slightly walking back on the woke stuff, they're getting boycotted from the other side as well (and most of the original boycotters haven't stopped). Let this be a lesson to businesses out there; stay out of politics. https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/bud-lights-dylan-mulvaney-controversy-deepens-chicago-gay-bars-roar-beer-makers-abandonment-cause#&_intcmp=fnhpbt9

That's nice. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the average Ukrainian solider doesn't have a huge amount in common with some Wagner scumbag that volunteered to fight in Putin's war so they could get released early from prison for whatever murder/rape/theft charge they were in for. I'm also pretty sure that I have very little to nothing in common with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or ISIS; I'm glad I did my part to help turn some of them into fertilizer. As I stated previously, good looking Wagnerites in that video/glad they're gonna be pushing up daisies.

UPT student to his class: “I heard the term “echo chamber” the other day, does anyone know what that means?”

Get out, get a line number, piece together full time orders to make up 6 years…or you may end up deciding not to go for the FT retirement. Maybe it sounds crazy now, but it won’t sound so crazy once you’ve tasted life outside the mil (not to mention 6 years at the airline will massively outpace a mil retirement earnings-wise).

Meh, that message was probably the extent of the pilots "dealing" with a pax. At the gate...send a message and it's someone else's problem. Off the gate...send a message and it's someone else's problem. Airborne...send a message and it's someone else's problem. My flights are short enough that I'm going to my destination anyway. The one time as a Captain, I've had a pax removed (drunk guy), I didn't hear about it until after the fact...perfect! Either way, I'll be in the cockpit, searching for the end of the internet lol.

Just one of the many reasons flying freight is better than flying pax…

I figured they would have a double sided one like Requiem for a Dream but what do I know.

As someone taken lives, I agree with you. Respect the dead.

I’ve known a few mobility pilots and one AFSOC pilot who crossed to fighters. Without exception, they all did T38s and the ones from my own UPT class that crossed were near the top of our class (very few fighter drops when I went to UPT). You are already flying T1s. Fighters are not your future. Do your job. Do it well. Your good deal opportunities will come from a combination of: 1. Luck 2. Timing 3. Sponsorship 4. Relationships 5. Reputation 6. Skill Often, but not always, in that order.

I didn’t misspeak…the strike guys know exactly what I’m referring to.

Dude, a conscripted Russian soldier has less say about going to war in Ukraine than an American volunteer soldier had about going to war in Iraq. Not to mention the repercussions for an American in that situation are trivial at best compared to a Russian soldier. It’s mighty easy to throw spears from the cheap seats. Are you willing to have your entire family killed/put into prison because you refused to serve? I wouldn’t want to be a military aged male in Russia right now.

Definitely a strike eagle guy.

Don't need to know anything about Putin. And yet, they had a choice. I'm sure it was a bad one, but they had a choice. You don't not shoot someone who is conducting a home invasion because "they didn't have a choice." Please.

OP, in all honesty getting to a fighter from your current position is a pipe dream in today’s AF. I’ve watched -38 trained dudes that dropped bombers try their entire career to get into a fighter and still, despite how good of a bro/pilot they were, not be able to get a guard unit to hire them. You’re talking moving from T-1 trained to fighters. To be honest, your best option would be to DOR and see if a navy/marine reserve unit would hire you (although there might be a rule against that). I’m not trying to be harsh, I’m telling you the facts as I know them. However, you never know what the future will bring. When we start trading shots with China big blue may take anyone with a pulse to fighters. The previous advice of trying to go OA-1K is solid. Based on current timeline you might want to push for T-6 FAIP while that comes online (you’ll have to ask around about that). The key takeaway for you though is that if you don’t come to terms with the fact you’re most likely never going to be a fighter pilot and start focusing on the here and now, you’re screwed. The other guys have mentioned it, but no chach that walked into a heavy squadron telling everyone he shoulda been a fighter pilot ever got the opportunity to cross flow.

If you’re trying to make a serious argument, then I would leave out the excessive exaggerations. Oh, and here’s a question: For the enlisted who are on food stamps, how many of these same members have car payments for cars they purchased over $5K, have video games, have a tv/phone newer than mine, buy alcohol, etc. Plenty of enlisted are not on food stamps—be pretty interesting to compare the lives of those on them vs not on them. Life is all about choices. That all being said, do I think the enlisted should be paid more? Sure. But let’s not pretend that many who struggle financially always make the best life choices.

Do you want the truth? If you go from a T-1 tracked heavy to a fighter on AD, I'll let you bang my brother's fat wife, lol. Test pilot doesn't equal fighters. The only real shot you have is to invent a time machine, go back and time and track 38s. Lol. Do the best wherever you end up. Don't carry the "I should have had fighters" chip on your shoulder. Learn your mission, fly and kick ass when/if needed. Don't be a douche. Take care of your people . Make connections with dudes you meet from other MWSs. When your ADSC is approaching, and you still wanna fly faster than sound (if you wanna fly backwards, call helicopter units), start reaching out those dudes from other MWSs you know. I bet a few of them will probably be flying fighters in Guard or Reserve squadrons somewhere. Start calling them and see if it's an option. Be the best at your job (flying and banging whores) and enjoy flying military aircraft. They are all uniquely military. You will do cool shit, even in heavies. P.S. You will find way more whores flying around the world on the regular, than flying around the flag pole.

If you truly feel like you have more in common with some guy from ISIS who's supportive of child brides, slavery, executions, torture ect than you do with some obnoxious American citizen working at Home Depot than I'm not sure we're having the same conversation. I don't believe WMD in Iraq or politicians in DC are relevant to the topic at hand. My statement/sentiment still stands.

JFC new low for you

I hope many more of them find peace in the days to come.

The irony of putting Harris in charge of anything related to intelligence.

Even if they knew the contrary to be true, would they really come out and admit it? They are all political appointees serving under the current regime.

Pick based on mission and you’ll be happy. And even if you don’t get your choice, you’ll love where you end up unless you’re just a miserable person then it won’t make a difference where you go. If you’re interested in single pilot flying out of the T-1 track, I’d lean into U-28 because that community is going OA-1K and that’s only going to have a single pilot.

Possible? Anything is possible but its incredibly rare and so unlikely its not worth planning a career out of it. In my 14 years AD they only had one crossflow window, that was only available to a very small audience of eligible pilots (based on their time on station, duration of PCS, years of service etc...) and they only selected an incredibly small number of people. The fighter community generally doesn't have an interest in taking crossflows and has found it has worked better for them to suffer undermanned than to deal with perceived cultural friction. There is probably some merit to some of this, a lot of the rest is probably ball wash, regardless, the AF has by and large decided it is not a good idea. Being a heavy pilot isn't all that bad. Its a pretty hefty pay raise when you account for all of the per diem dollars of being on the road constantly. You will lead earlier in your career because you will actually have enlisted aircrew hanging around the squadron. You will have a slightly easier time transitioning airlines as your experience is more relevant, dont need to worry about centerline thrust restrictions and that bullshit. You get to go to some cool places fighter dudes never see, like St John's. My best advice is to discount the possibility of crossflow for now because in the near term you have an incredibly important decision to make regarding the platforms that are available to you--and fighters aren't one of them. Whether crossflow happens again or not, your success in life is largely going to depend on your ability to fly the platform you earn out of UPT. So you should look at the mission sets that are available to you and decide what you find interesting, what you can see yourself doing long term. Read the airframe and mission thread and ask your IPs. Air Refueling, Airlift, C2ISR, SOF, etc.... they all have pros and cons.

Angsty 1 tour Viper guy sent to UPT with an inflated sense of self and a bad attitude?! I don’t believe it.

Your MOPP gear will fit properly. It was a myth leadership used to say why we couldn't have beards.

I’ll take boring over another embarrassment like Afghanistan. He will be heaps better than the current asshat of a CJCS.

Ppl believe what they want to believe. These days that tends to fall in line with their political affiliation. However, if you’re a college educated individual and you think the medical community has a firm grasp on exactly what long lasting side effects may or may not occur from a vaccine developed in 18 months, then I’d say you’re either extremely naive, don’t have a background in any kind of science, or haven’t seen a commercial for a drug that’s been out for 10 years that they’re still finding causes certain side effects. If your counter is, “well most side effects occur in the first X months.” Scoff. Its a risk analysis based on time and the number of ppl in the sample size, and currently from my perspective the time aspect is a significant factor. That aside, if the military wants me to get vaxxed, then make it mandatory and back that up with medical care for any long laying side effects. Prior to that don’t treat individuals as a pariah for waiting until the EUA is rescinded (like individuals on this board that are involved in ROTC..). The amount of ppl I saw get absolutely screwed by leadership for holding out while it was under EUA or that submitted exemptions is abhorrent. In 10 years if there are side effects for ppl that took the vax under EUA do you trust the DoD or the VA to take care of you, or do you expect them to show you the EUA fine print. This pandemic has revealed the true colors of a shockingly large number of individuals in positions of authority in the DoD. Turns out if you punish ppl for not violating any regs they lose all respect for you and wouldn’t follow you into warm water.

To help fix the retention problem we lowered our standards...so we got that going for us. According to three separate professional staffers I recently spoke with, applicants to U.S. service academies are down 70% with the vaccine requirement and DEI being cited as the number 1 and 2 issues.

I have several of Bob Stevens' There I Was... books around here, great cartoons from the good ol' days!

I'd have to agree. The AF is real big on a person not showing a pattern of bad decisions. Don't make the same mistake twice, etc.

find a flight instructor, get some hours, you can normally solo after ten or so. But for the purposes of PCSM scores, dual time recieved counts. Nice scores by the way.

You'll fly with a different pilot/WSO every day. The only time I've ever been 'hard crewed' with a WSO was during a Flag-type exercise, and even then it wasn't completely necessary. There is a lot more to CRM than just who runs what sensors, and there are a lot more sensors than just the radar. It also depends on what you are doing: if you're doing 2v2/4v4 ACT type stuff, the pilot will usually run the radar while the WSO monitors the SIT and targeting pod. If you're low altitude, the pilot primarily just maintains formation while the WSO runs most of the sensors. In BFM/ACM, the pilot fights and the WSO looks for the second guy who's trying to roll in and kill you. In general, there are 'standard' roles for us (similar to stuff listed above) which are actually written out in our regs and wing/squadron standards which lay out what each guy should do in case you want to have a crew brief of 'standard.'

Food stamps qualification is based on income and family size. It has nothing to do with payments or expenses. You simply have to make below a certain multiplier of the poverty line as a family unit. I dunno,.... I think I'm done with this conversation. You all lost credibility in my eyes. Thought there were actual leaders on this forum. All I hear are a bunch of lazy pussies now who are only infatuated with their own success.

Thanks. You’re a killer? And you like to kill for freedom, money or patriotic bullshit? So did the Russians, Wagner, Taliban, Nazis, Romans, Americans. We all did it for some sort of compensation. I don’t like the people I’ve killed anymore than the next guy, but I respect them. I can’t wait to find those WMDs in Iraq. I’m really glad we destroyed that whole country because of some really, really bad intel. I’m glad we got to burn a few civilians too that’s what real bad asses do. We are not as innocent as we like to believe. It’s a hard pill to swallow. Beleive what you want, but I have more in common with those dirtbags fighting for their country, freedom or patriotic beliefs than I do with the fine men and women working for us in Washington DC. I have more in common with a guy (bad guy, good guy, who cares) who shot his enemy than a Karen working at Home Depot.

Keep in mind some genius let him be in charge of molding ROTC minds.