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This https://amgreatness.com/2024/11/03/restoring-the-warrior-ethos-to-the-trump-military/

P'Nut the Squirrel's death will be Kamala's demise!

The current syllabus is more similar to what us older folks remember going through, but with some changes, mostly better. Yes, instrument/multi from civilian school, T-6s at your normal UPT bases with mil flying IPs, then T-38s or straight to FTU

Update for all y’all: non-prior/off-the-street hire at a heavy reserve squadron: AFOQT/TBAS: October 2022 Reserve Recruiter Contact: November 2022 MEPS: December 2022 Interview/Job Offer: March 2023 IFC1: May 2023 Package sent to July UFT board: June 2023 Package approved by UFT board: August 2023 In-Processing @ Randolph: October 2023 OTS: November 2023 SERE: February 2024 UPT Start: April 2024 UPT Complete: Oct 2024 FTU Start: Jan 2025 Projected FTU Complete: April 2025

Watching / causing the light bulb to go on above some kids cranium is absolutely worth it. Very rewarding.

Working on his Kamala impression I guess.

It's been a long time since I was a UPT IP, but I always had a simple hypothetical for the tanker guys I flew with that were debating the assignment. You can adapt this to whatever your current airframe is. If it was a Wednesday, middle of the day, and I came to your desk and told you that I had a pattern only sortie about to step, and you had no beans left, no requirements, nothing in your desk job that required you to skip the flight; basically, if you did it you would be doing it for nothing other than to hop in the plane and fly a little. It hasn't been a while since you've flown, and you haven't been flying your ass off. Just... Do you *want* to fly? If the answer to that is "hell yeah," then you're probably going to enjoy UPT. If you're the guy who would rather use the time to catch up on some low priority tasks, or maybe hit the commissary so you don't have to after work, or whatever other simple life and career tasks we all have, then it's probably not for you. Bottom line, if you just fucking love flying airplanes, it's hard to get a job as good as upt. If flying planes is just how you pay the bills, then moving your family to the least exciting cities in America is probably not going to be particularly fulfilling.

I'm a current AMC dude on the VML this cycle. I love my current airframe but I do not love how much I've been on the road this assignment and I'm looking to spend more time at home. I'm looking for input from any current Laughlin/Vance/Columbus IPs to share their qualities of life. How often you fly per week and typical/expected work hours. I have bros in my squadron who were former UPT IPs and I have spoken with them but I would like to hear from current IPs, if able. Not sure if it's still a thrash implementing the 2.5 syllabus or if it's a somewhat predictable work schedule at all now. Thanks.

Big gender gap, women and young voters leaning to Harris, Men, to Trump. Reminds me of this scene in “The Godfather”. Women and kids rarely pay the price for dumb decisions. Men always pay the consequences and have to clean up the mess.

How long is UPT for heavy flyers, 5 months?

The Russian proposal puts a lot of restrictions on NATO and essentially negates protecting the newer NATO members until after hostilities commence, while posing far fewer limits on Russia. If Putin was serious about promoting peace, he would stop invading other countries without valid cause (trying to join NATO is not an act of war, btw).

This guy gets it!

Does that statement work conversely? "So, NATO wants everyone to be friends, and leave Russia vulnerable....I don't think that's going to go anywhere soon." All nations/organizations are motivated by some level of self-interest and preservation. Russia knew before hand it couldn't go toe to toe with the US and the rest of NATO in a conventional conflict. Apparently, that's the reason it proposed the above security guarantee in December 2021. "The Parties shall not create conditions or situations that pose or could be perceived as a threat to the national security of other Parties." All the restrictions in the language Russia proposed applies to Russia as well as NATO. On the surface, it appears to be a reasonable attempt at freezing the expansion of both parties and resolve disputes through diplomacy. I suppose one could make the claim that Russia proposed the agreement only so they could later break it, but ...why? One could also argue the US and NATO have reneged on as many treaties and agreements as Russia, but all agreements typically work for a while. Huh? They made an appeal for peace and it was rejected. They went with alternative. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90 Russia sucks. It's a terrible country with terrible leadership. But what is our leadership really trying to achieve? Only the withdraw of Russian troops and safety/security of the noble Ukrainian people and it's democracy... or the collapse of Russia? That begs the question they often raise: "Should the world exist without Russia in it?" They don't want to answer that question and I don't think we should press them to. Negotiate an end.

Not a prediction just an observation. I’m not big on social media. I only have a FB account. I started the account years ago when I taught at the FTU. It was a tool to keep in touch with my students including my international students. I am also a military brat so I have connected with folks from my childhood who live all around the country in places I lived growing up. I see their opinions on this election. I see the questions they ask and the people that respond to their posts. I see an overwhelming push for Trump. It could mean something or I could be way off base. Again, not a prediction just an observation. I also recognize that the media is the largest part of the machine. The media arm of the machine wants ratings and money. They have no interest in reporting the truth. They will frame this election as “tied” to get ratings whether it’s leaning one way or the other. Gotta have people glued to their feeds/TV.

Jeffrey Sachs answers questions about Ukraine and Russia at the Cambridge Union at the 1:05 mark. Nails it. The rest of his talk is good, also. The draft treaty he references that was put forth by Moscow (I hadn't seen this before): 17 December 2021 13:26 Agreement on measures to ensure the security of The Russian Federation and member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization The Russian Federation and the member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), hereinafter referred to as the Parties, reaffirming their aspiration to improve relations and deepen mutual understanding, acknowledging that an effective response to contemporary challenges and threats to security in our interdependent world requires joint efforts of all the Parties, determined to prevent dangerous military activity and therefore reduce the possibility of incidents between their armed forces, noting that the security interests of each Party require better multilateral cooperation, more political and military stability, predictability, and transparency, reaffirming their commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, the 1997 Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between the Russian Federation and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the 1994 Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, the 1999 Charter for European Security, and the Rome Declaration “Russia-NATO Relations: a New Quality” signed by the Heads of State and Government of the Russian Federation and NATO member States in 2002, have agreed as follows: Article 1 The Parties shall guide in their relations by the principles of cooperation, equal and indivisible security. They shall not strengthen their security individually, within international organizations, military alliances or coalitions at the expense of the security of other Parties. The Parties shall settle all international disputes in their mutual relations by peaceful means and refrain from the use or threat of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. The Parties shall not create conditions or situations that pose or could be perceived as a threat to the national security of other Parties. The Parties shall exercise restraint in military planning and conducting exercises to reduce risks of eventual dangerous situations in accordance with their obligations under international law, including those set out in intergovernmental agreements on the prevention of incidents at sea outside territorial waters and in the airspace above, as well as in intergovernmental agreements on the prevention of dangerous military activities. Article 2 In order to address issues and settle problems, the Parties shall use the mechanisms of urgent bilateral or multilateral consultations, including the NATO-Russia Council. The Parties shall regularly and voluntarily exchange assessments of contemporary threats and security challenges, inform each other about military exercises and maneuvers, and main provisions of their military doctrines. All existing mechanisms and tools for confidence-building measures shall be used in order to ensure transparency and predictability of military activities. Telephone hotlines shall be established to maintain emergency contacts between the Parties. Article 3 The Parties reaffirm that they do not consider each other as adversaries. The Parties shall maintain dialogue and interaction on improving mechanisms to prevent incidents on and over the high seas (primarily in the Baltics and the Black Sea region). Article 4 The Russian Federation and all the Parties that were member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as of 27 May 1997, respectively, shall not deploy military forces and weaponry on the territory of any of the other States in Europe in addition to the forces stationed on that territory as of 27 May 1997. With the consent of all the Parties such deployments can take place in exceptional cases to eliminate a threat to security of one or more Parties. Article 5 The Parties shall not deploy land-based intermediate- and short-range missiles in areas allowing them to reach the territory of the other Parties. Article 6 All member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization commit themselves to refrain from any further enlargement of NATO, including the accession of Ukraine as well as other States. Article 7 The Parties that are member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shall not conduct any military activity on the territory of Ukraine as well as other States in the Eastern Europe, in the South Caucasus and in Central Asia. In order to exclude incidents the Russian Federation and the Parties that are member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shall not conduct military exercises or other military activities above the brigade level in a zone of agreed width and configuration on each side of the border line of the Russian Federation and the states in a military alliance with it, as well as Parties that are member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Article 8 This Agreement shall not affect and shall not be interpreted as affecting the primary responsibility of the Security Council of the United Nations for maintaining international peace and security, nor the rights and obligations of the Parties under the Charter of the United Nations. Article 9 This Agreement shall enter into force from the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification, expressing consent to be bound by it, with the Depositary by more than a half of the signatory States. With respect to a State that deposited its instrument of ratification at a later date, this Agreement shall enter into force from the date of its deposit. Each Party to this Agreement may withdraw from it by giving appropriate notice to the Depositary. This Agreement shall terminate for such Party [30] days after receipt of such notice by the Depositary. This Agreement has been drawn up in Russian, English and French, all texts being equally authentic, and shall be deposited in the archive of the Depositary, which is the Government of … Done in [the city of …] this [XX] day of [XX] two thousand and [XX]. https://medium.com/@felixabt/newly-released-documents-prove-that-russia-preferred-peace-and-stability-over-war-73b9dde694fb

You have very valid questions and observations. Obviously Putin horribly underestimated Ukraine and world resolve to help them and Russia has paid a horrific price for his decisions. That being said I don't think his entire play on Ukraine was to have a launching pad for the rest of Europe. If Putin gets Ukraine he will own the bread basket of Europe and have another major bargaining ship to shape the behavior of other countries. He is already doing that with energy, control the food supply as well and he has some big sticks to get his way.

2.5 is dead. Follow on syllabus is significantly better. However, T-1s, both the jet and sim program are completely going away. T-6 studs will all come with a multi/instrument rating from a handful of contracted civilian schools around the country. If they don’t get 38s they will being going straight to the FTU after T-6s. You will be home pretty much every night, some days by 1500, some not until 2300. Flying (T-6) will depend on your job and desires. I showed up knowing it was my last assignment, and requested to not get some bs job and just fly as much as I can. I double turn most days, and occasionally triple, but I’ve never been forced to fly a 3rd, if I do it it’s on a voluntary basis. Other folks fly more like once a day, or every other day. If you love flying and teaching, you will love the job. For me personally, it’s super rewarding watching these kids go from not being able to strap into the plane, to doing off station formation departures in busy class B airspace, 6-9 ft from another airplane. T-6 fleet is facing some mx issues, should be sorted out soonish, but I hear PIT is taking awhile to get though now a days, up to several months past projected grad dates.

Sure RND is an option, just not immediately for someone external to the 340th who isn't already a 559/560/435th line-cutter at the time of regAF separation. For everybody else, it's usually a "go put in your time at the salt mines" before the RND units give ya audience. Military 3-rules of life type of thing.

wow...reminiscent of blaming the AK raptor guy for being hypoxic

Marine Corps Blames Pilot Error for Crash of Malfunctioning F-35 in South Carolina Forest Kind of a fucked up situation with a non-aviator Commandant reaching in to roll this dude long after the fact. A quick summary of events, some of you may know more: 1. Crap Weather 2. Dude went missed approach 3. While on going missed his HMD glitches three times going blank - the report indicates no attitude information (assuming in the HMD), but does not say nothing about primary displays 4. The report says he lost his transponder AND radios 5. "With no visible reference to the horizon or ground, and unsure of which flight instruments he could trust, he perceived that the aircraft was still not responding to his commands to convert -- and therefore was out-of-controlled flight," 6. If you read the report (which is heavily redacted), they place the blame on the pilot "The investigation concluded that the mishap was a result of "pilot error" in that Del Pizzo incorrectly diagnosed the out-of-control flight emergency and "ejected from a flyable aircraft -- albeit under extremely challenging cognitive and flight conditions." 7. The report recommends NO punitive action against the pilot. 8. Leadership reviews the report, puts him back on status and sends him to a follow on command. 9. 100 days into new Command the Commandant does a second review of the report and decides to mort this guy in what can best be described as a perception kill. 2,000' in bad weather with a malfunctioning jet and your brain stem can't determine what is up and what is down...hard to blame a dude for punching because he is Spacial D.

Very sad. Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. Evans, left, and Lt. Serena N. Wileman, right.© Navy photos. The crew of an EA-18G Growler that crashed near Mount Rainier in Washington last week had flown dozens of combat missions in the Red Sea earlier this year as part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Carrier Strike Group that faced drones and missiles fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Navy confirmed Monday that Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay “Miley” Evans and Lt. Serena “Dug” Wileman, both 31, were killed in the Oct. 15 crash on Mount Rainier, about 180 miles from their home base of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Rescuers battled bad weather and steep terrain to reach the crash site over the weekend, where they confirmed the aviators had died. The Navy said the Growler was on a “routine training flight” when it went down. No other details about the crash have been released. The Eisenhower’s commander, Capt. Chris “Chowdah” Hill, tweeted that both women had served “heroically” on the ship’s combat deployment. “My heart truly goes out to the families, friends, and shipmates of these two fallen Naval Aviators who were confirmed killed in an EA-18G crash last week in Washington. These warriors of VAQ-130 will forever be part of the Ike family, having served with us heroically on our recent deployment. I loved working with them both — just incredible energy and beautiful souls,” Hill wrote. the jet carrying the two crew members went down during Loaded: 100.00% Pause Current Time 0:18 / Duration 0:28 Quality Settings Captions Fullscreen Straight Arrow News Navy confirms deaths of 2 crew members after jet crashes in Washington Unmute 0 View on Watch During the deployment, Evans was awarded two Single Action Air Medals with Combat “C” devices, an indication of having flown on two particularly difficult or meaningful missions, along with three Strike-Flight Air Medals. Evans was also a graduate of the 12-week HAVOC course at NAS Fallon, the “Top Gun” school of the Growler community. She was named the Growler Tactics Instructor of the Year for fiscal year 2024. Evans’ other awards also include a Combat Action Ribbon. Wileman, a pilot since 2022, earned a Combat Action Ribbon and three Strike-Flight Air Medals on the Red Sea deployment. The commander of the Eisenhower’s air wing said Evans and Wileman will be remembered for their tenacity, contributions to the defense of others, and positive energy they brought to Naval Aviation. “I have personally flown with both of these Great Americans in both training and dynamic combat operations, and they always performed professionally and precisely,” said Capt. Marvin Scott in a release. “As true leaders in the Growler community, VAQ-130, and across my Air Wing, their contributions cannot be overstated; I could not be more proud to have served with each of them. Every member of the CVW-3 Battle Axe Team is heartbroken at the loss of these exceptional warriors; Dug and Miley truly represent the best that Naval Aviation has to offer, and they will absolutely be missed.”

The sooner you understand that the Department of Defense is *the* biggest, fastest, most efficient way to spend taxpayer money, and that that's the purpose, the sooner it all makes a bit of sense 😄 Only sorta kidding... If there's a more expensive, more jobs-intensive way to have an effect on the battlefield, gosh darn it we owe it to the U.S. taxpayer to do it that way. Ask yourself this, how can I expend more of my SCL on this operation? Couldn't this CONOP call for more versions/personnel/fuel/airplanes in the stack? Anytime you try to make a DoD mission more cost-effective you're doing it exactly backwards. "Giving" weapons to Ukraine/Israel/Saudi/whomever-the-fuck = middle-class manufacturing jobs in 50 unique states + territories.

wait please tell me you took the airline job offer

I was you. I threw it as a hail marry, and enlisted at 30 hoping it would matter on some of my apps and I felt I needed to serve (builds character). Flying fighters was my dream since I was about 4 so I said F it and pushed one last time. I think this answer depends on a few variables: Quick Summary: Enlisted with BA/MS in engineering, 1600 hours, airline job offer. Normal dude, like hockey, cars, skiing etc. I had interviewed for fighters and got F*d over, but that is another story. Bad luck and timing. Summary (Crew Chief): Basic (2 months) varies but for me sucked, put a strain on my wife. But it's a necessary hazing. There's some really good people, and some real weirdo's. Look out for the good people, have their backs. Don't get a bed near the hallway light like I did, unless you do not want to sleep for 2 months, and get sick for half of it. You won't wanna go to medical either because they'll just hold you there/roll you back and extend your stay. Tech (3 months) school at Sheppard sucks. They treat you like a child, MTLs power trip and don't realize that not everybody there is 19. Some of us hold down multiple professional careers and being there is a tricky sacrifice. I had been gone every weekend flight instructing the past 2 years and barely seen my wife prior to enlisting. I spent thousands on rental cars, hotels and plane tickets for her to visit for just 2 day visits and prevent a divorce. The fact that married individuals/people with kids get lumped into a dorm like its college is beyond stupid. My wife hated the BS, and I agree with her. I put this experience into the "reason not to reenlist" bucket. AND I was lucky and had a good class and instructor. Don't break their stupid rules, they'll keep you there for months (aka away from your family) as punishment. Additional Training: Way better, actually productive. Lucky enough to get another instructor who doesn't waste time. Get your own room, don't have MTL up ass. Get to play with fighters a little, if you love them you love them. Make it fun. All in, it'll cost you a year of your life. I've heard thru the grape vine that over 29 nobody cares, you are too old and you aren't getting sent to UPT for fighters (see per 144 FW) If you are single, or don't care where you'll live, and haven't dumped your own money and time into all your civilian flight training, you'd be better off applying to the AD board IMO. "Worst case" even if you were set on fighters, they train you to fly a heavy, you make the best of it, and punch when your commitment is up. It does sting wrenching on a jet you're itching to fly. Maybe you'd get lucky and interviewed by O Face...but with fighter UPT shortages ain't lookin to hot even if someone somewhere does think a 30 year old is worth it. The shortages are probably the final nail in my coffin for sure. 1 more edit to add: If I ever DID miraculously get into the seat, understanding the enlisted force would make me a far better officer/leader than had I not seen it.