Homestar

Me too.

My point is some of you sound like a bunch millennial idiots. The number of deployed billets has dropped in unison with the drawdown of forces in the region. People listing 365s as the main reason they’re getting out have a much, much smaller chance of deploying on a 365 than they did 5 years ago. You’re more likely to get your short tour by deploying with your airlift unit, or sitting at the Deid with your tanker than from a non-vol 365. Ops tempo issues? Fair. You wanted fewer 365? Fair. But quit using 365s as an issue. It simply isn’t the issue you make it out to be.

You want all deployed aide-de-camp positions to go away? When was the last time you saw one of those filled with a non-vol. I get it. Rage against the machine.

So is the desire to not do 179s? Or 365s? I'm confused. What do you want? To never deploy again?

Well, they've reduced rated 365s for by half in the past 5 years, so there's that.

We have camaraderie. We get our families together for squadron activities and parties all the time. It's just that Monday-Friday after work I like to go home to, you know, my family and stuff. Nobody wants to hang out at a bar drinking after work for no good reason. Not having stupid drinking games in the squadron is definitely not what is wrong with the MAF.

Maybe the fighter world. Naming parties and the like are not present in most (if not all) MAF communities.

Had a naming party in Tweets. It was stupid.

That's probably fair. But students can hardly fly themselves out of a paper bag sometimes and often don't deserve to be off formal release, let alone throwing keggers in the squadron bar.

I lol’ed

No, more like a reset with ourselves. Time to regenerate and reconstitute the force which is hollow and near its breaking point.

Academically I understand that Mattis is probably right re: ISIS, and withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan. But I believe the only way we get out of constant war in the Middle East is to simply withdraw. I'm sure Trump will somehow manage to completely mangle this, but I think in the long run it's the right thing to do. It may ultimately fail and we'll find ourselves back in that hole again eventually. But we need a reset with what we think we can use our standing armies to accomplish overseas.

Establish a separation date. I think you can do this NET 1-year out.

I misunderstood. I believe you are correct regarding deployments less than 365.

If you are tasked with a deployment that takes you beyond your ADSC you opt out and establish a separation date.

Enid is like Derry, or Salem’s Lot. Something is just *wrong* here 😂

I would also add: if you’re IPZ for O-5 and still working below the Wing, this is a good indicator that you’re probably bottom 50%.

It depends. By time you’re at 18.9 years you’re pretty high on the list based on STRD and in a corner where saying no and getting out has a high cost.

This is more rational. It’s like being scared to drive because drunk drivers kill thousands every year. But I get your point.

This seems irrational to me. There are far fewer 365s for rated officers now than there were 5-6 years ago. Im not saying that the threat of 365s isn’t causing people to get out, because I continually hear people say it’s a factor. But it’s kind of like saying you won’t go to the beach because people get killed by sharks.

I'm just glad you're not drunk-posting like a giant doosh today. 🥃

I'd argue that no, it does not. A chief pilot can be an O-4 just as well as an O-5. I'd love to be an O-5 chief pilot and do nothing but fly every day, but there just aren't that many O-5 billets at the squadron level. No, not every O-5 needs to be a Sq/CC or DO, but I don't think it's unreasonable that every O-5 be expected to be ready/able to command if called upon. I fall into the category of "didn't-go-to-school, won't-be-a-commander", but I wanted O-5 pay and an O-5 retirement, so I took jobs at the Group and Wing level so that I could be valuable to a commander. I didn't get a DP, was promoted anyway somehow, so I'll basically finish my career doing....whatever the Wg/CC needs this non-CC to do. That's my lot in life. But I've been an active flyer in every assignment, which is better than a lot of people get, so I realize that I've been very fortunate. I agree that the OPR/PRF process is a pretty poor way to find and promote talent. The up-or-out system is antiquated and needs to be updated. But it just simply isn't in the interest of the government to promote a guy to O-5 to do an O-4's job.

Jobs outside the squadron prepare you for squadron command. I learned more about how a wing functions in 18 months on a wing staff than I ever knew in years at the squadron. I’m not saying that they prepare you to be a *good Sq/CC but you learn how all the pieces fit together. I understand that in your case you want to do your time, maximize your flying, and move on to better things, and I can respect that. I just get tired of the same old story that everyone in group, wing, or other staff jobs are only trying to climb the ladder at the expense of someone else. Maybe that has been your experience but it hasn’t been mine at all. I’ve had good commanders that did their best for their best people and worked to get them jobs that would broaden their experience and maybe prepare them to work outside the squadron sometime in the future.

I disagree that a Sq/CC or DO push comes from working behind a desk. Plenty of opportunities to show potential for command without being an Exec (if that's what you mean by sitting behind a desk). Of course, your Chief of Stan/Eval has a desk to sit at and paperwork to push.

You can't have an OPR for a Captain say "future Sq/CC." An OPR for a Captain can say "IDE in-res a must" or "perfect for HAF staff" because a Major can do those jobs. Majors (pilots) can't be an ops squadron CC. Since all ops Sq/CCs are Lt Cols you can't start making that OPR push till the ratee is a Major. Authorized push statements must only be for jobs the ratee can serve in a the next higher grade at most. My guess is that MSG Captains can get that push because MSG Majors must have Sq/CC billets somewhere.