pcola

Fckn A. Heartfelt sympathy for Mom, Dad, Wife and Kids.

Copy. And we all hope you're right. Just too many of us have been burned or have seen our buds get burnt to trust in big blue any more.

wemeantwell, muscle, MW, mongoose, and dupe: Thanks for all the replies. I now have a pretty good handle on what my app narrative will look like. I'm actually feeling pretty decent about my chances right now, either this year or the next. Time will tell... Cheers!

Love flying. Don't love the AF. If I weren't flying, I wouldn't be in the AF. Where is this "grandfather clause" written? Karl Hungus speaks the truth: with the AF, NOTHING is guaranteed. Take it from us who've been around awhile, or learn on your own the hard way. In either case, the cold hard truth remains.

Hilarious!

@wemeantwell - thanks a ton for the info. I'll try to put it to good use. I totally get what you are saying here and the fact that it raises questions about my hands is what bugs me about the damn Q-3. I realize the majority of the pointy nose guys on the board will have no way to relate to the challenges of taxiing a beast like the C-5. But clipping a taxi light doesn't mean I can't AR like a champ. Anyway, I digress. Not arguing with you at all, a Q-3 is a Q-3, I get it and I know it's a challenge I'll have to face. Thanks for the advice about not mentioning it in my statement. Yeah, I figured as much. I know for the heavy guys its more about who they need in the next couple of years than anything else. If they don't need a C-5 guy, I'm SOL. Well, I'm still gonna put in my app. If I don't try, I certainly won't get picked up. Again, thanks for the post. It is very helpful.

I'm putting together my app for this year's board. I think I have a pretty strong package, but haven't flown much recently due to a non-vol ITDY, so I'm missing the MWS IP. I was a C-21 IP, now a C-5 AC (currently deployed - non flying.) BSEE with 3.2 GPA, 20 hours complete of MEng w/4.0 GPA. 3x DG (including shoe flag,) prior OG exec with good strats, mostly clean FEF (one Q-3 for taking out a taxi light coming out of parking in FRED.) Also, I used to work as a civilian DOD engineer, so I have some experience with the DOD acquisitions process and with DOD engineering program management. My question for grads or those that have been selected is what should I focus my personal statement on? Should I focus on why my prior experience and education would be a benefit to the class and ultimately the test community, or should I attempt to explain away the negatives (no IP and the Q-3.) Should I even mention the Q-3? Ultimately, I'm not all that worried about not being an IP. If I don't get picked up this year I will apply again next year, when I will have the MEng complete and the MWS IP checked. What I'm most concerned about is the damn Q-3, because its still going to be there next year. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.

Negative. That would be the case if flyers still owned the AF. Instead, the shoes have banded together to ban all forms of cock push ups so that those unable won't feel like less of a "warrior."

REALLY, DUDE? REALLY? Take the opportunity to reconsider what you've written. Would you want your wife or kids put in a dumpster? What about your brother/sister/mom/dad? REALLY? I doubt it. In fact, if you really put yourself in the shoes of a loved one and not the deceased, I think you'll see it differently. I think to most, the thought of their deceased children ending up in a dumpster is enraging. These soldiers were somebody's children.

Travis jets are all AMPd. You will fly AMP only, no legacy training for new qual AD folks.

Wow. For such a bunch of highly educated officers, the critical analysis is really lacking. I'm quoting myself here because nearly everybody that replied after my post either completely missed my point, or just ignored it. The whole "not in any regs" comment wasn't ever meant to be the meat of the argument, it was something of an attention grabber, highlighting the fact that it's US (the very people doing the bitching) that drive the requirement, not the AF. Yes, I certainly acknowledge that the requirement is real, and I never said anything about not checking the box. Paraphrasing, but what I said was if you get a useless masters degree simply to check the box, you are part of the problem. I encourage all the younger guys/girls to get a degree. Get a degree that will teach you something. Get a degree that you can be proud to put on your resume. Get a degree that will challenge you to improve yourself in some form or another. If a TUI or AMU or Embry Riddle degree does that for you, great (really though?) But don't get a self-described "fucking useless degree to check the box." If you do THIS, you are the problem. Furthermore, I'm also NOT advocating that everybody buck the system and stop using TA, or refuse to get a degree. Absolutely, use TA and enroll in a credible institution of higher learning where you will actually be challenged to grow intellectually. However, I am hopeful that TA will get recognized as the wasteful entitlement program that it is, and subsequently cut. I don't think a rational person could argue that the Air Force is seeing a worthwhile return on the TA expenditure. In any case, if you made the choice to donate taxpayer money to a diploma mill solely for the sake of enhancing your promotability, please don't bitch about the fact that "they" are out there plotting against your free time and requiring these useless masters degrees. Instead, take a look in the mirror, that's the person responsible. And FWIW: yes, I'm working on a Masters; no, its not the easiest one I could find; no, TA doesn't even come close to covering it; and yes, I'll proudly hang the diploma on my wall when I get finished, and will gladly speak to it on my resume after Big Blue decides it no longer needs me.

Uh, yeah, well, I work at Initech and I don't consider myself a pussy, okay?

Looks like the price of the Omega is in the 1300-1500 range now? Seems like there was quite a bit of interest, but at which price point? It was a no brainer at $800, but $1500 gives some cause for thought. Consider me a strong "maybe" if someone else does the legwork.

Thanks for yet another great answer, kikuchiyo

I'm guessing that Airwolf is significantly more expensive than the Omega, but I'm curious as to the cost of that, too.

WTF does "normalize MC-12" mean? I've volunteered to deploy in the MC-12 for 6 months early next year. I sure as fack hope this doesn't turn into some kind of UAV-like scenario where I end up getting stuck for life. Hell yeah, I want to go contribute to the war, the MC-12 has a great mission. No, I don't want to do it forever and end up in some kind of 1:1 dwell between Beale and Asscrapistan.

I'd be interested in one of these if we could do some kind of a baseops group buy. Maybe something simple, like basic pilot wings engraved on the back... Anyone else? Looks like we'd need a list of 10-15 names, assuming they still offer this.

Delete this comment immediately before someone sees it and decides its a good idea. Seriously, don't even put ideas like this into the universe or someone scrounging for that last OPR bullet will pitch it to the boss, and we all know how easy it is for retardedness to run rampant...

Those Nike boots (in tan) seem to be the boot of choice for the Army SF guys in Iraq if that tells you anything. They say they're good boots, and I'd wear them if I wasn't too cheap to buy my own. Personally, I'll take whatever Uncle Sam is issuing that day.

Big blue has gotten inside of its own OODA loop.

Yep, all those 11Xs with ADSC that just got RIF'd, enjoy your vacation. See you in 2 years...

Anybody got time to kill and feel like doing some interesting reading? It will probably open the your eyes into some realities that you haven't given too much thought. First, read this Congressional Research Service Report for Congress on the security issues facing Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Read between the lines. Next, read this recent article from The Atlantic. Read between the lines. My opinion only, the real reason we are in Afghanistan is a convenient excuse to keep a foothold in the region so that we can keep tabs on Pakistan's nukes. From the Atlantic article: “The single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short-term, medium-term, and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon,” President Obama said last year at an international nuclear-security meeting in Washington. Al-Qaeda, Obama said, is “trying to secure a nuclear weapon—a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using.” The articles paint a pretty bleak picture about the security of Pakistan's nukes, from many different perspectives. The US needs a significant presence in the region so that we can: A) legitimize having the resources on hand to continue to develop and maintain SA on the state of their weapons, and; B) legitimize having enough combat power at the ready to react in the event the security of one of their nukes is compromised. I don't see this changing. We are not at any time in the near future going to take any steps to de-weaponize Pakistan, so I don't see us giving up our regional foothold. Do we care about fighting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan? To a certain extent, but IMO probably not enough to justify the resource expenditure. Can we afford to let Pakistan's nuclear arsenal go unchecked? Absolutely not, at any expense. For these reasons, we will continue to fight and throw money into that hole known as Afghanistan, and we will continue to put up with Pakistan's blatant backstabbing, double talking, and terrorist supporting. Discuss.

Damn, late to this thread. Glad this one was so easy. In case anyone references this for a future similar situation, I'll add my 2c anyway. Its along the same lines as how CH won, but takes it a step further. Explain the relationship between an antenna's directivity and its beam width, then show how the beam width is approximated. Simply, it is a function of total radiation intensity. For highly directional antennas (such as K-band radar) there is one major lobe and the side lobes are negligible. The beam width for these types of antennas is an approximation based upon the angle at which the major lobe decays by half power from either side of center. This fact can cast doubt on the actual width of the beam, vs the stated 5 degrees. Furthermore, the propagation of EM waves is sensitive to the atmospheric conditions (as we've all experiences with our HF radios.) This means that the actual beam width will be further varied depending on the ambient conditions. Finally, since the stated angle of the beam width is dependent upon the approximate value of the peak radiation dropping to half value, it is obvious that the beam is not 0 at either edge, but simply exists at a smaller intensity. Since the other car in the question is closer to the radar than your car, it could be just outside the edge of the half power beam width and therefore outside of the stated 5 degree field of view, but still generate a return. Essentially, the goal is to shoot holes in the absoluteness of the width of the beam, and show that it could very easily have been the other car that is obviously close enough to create doubt. This way your argument doesn't hinge so much on the accuracy of your trigonometry compared to an absolute 5 degree beam width (which doesn't really exist.)

Got these Drifire fire retardant shirts issued with the ABS-Gs. They are light, comfortable, and seem to be holding up well. They are also made specifically to be FR. Like I said, they were issued to me, so maybe you can work something out with your Sq supply shop to get a bunch ordered? Edit: Holy shit, I clicked on the link to find a distributor, I had no idea these T-shirts cost $41 each. I don't think too many folks will be wearing these on their own dime (I know I won't be buying any extra.) Maybe they're cheaper if the Sq orders a shit ton.

Hey Chief, While you were busy chasing that mouse around the room, did you happen to notice the hungry lion eyeballing you from the corner? His name is "Mission." Great job missing that 1M target, shitbag. If any of you aircrew Os are out walking around ASAB and this douchenozzle quizzes any of your Es on this creed, interrupt them, tell them to recite their Boldface, and press. Then explain to the Chief that your airmen have more important things in their "1 and 5M zones."