Herk Driver

A step in the right direction; no doubt. With the limited space, I have a feeling that OPRs will now start looking more like PRFs (e.g. short catch-phrases instead of bullets that should mean something). I also think that stratification will be even more important. Time will tell. Just finished (re)writing mine and getting it approved. Oh, I mean giving "inputs". At least I have a year to unlearn the writing style that I've developed over the last "few" years and learn something new. Anyone seen any OPRs from 25-30 years ago. Now my memory may be failing, since I watch airplanes fly-by all the time, but I seem to remember looking through a senior guy's record a while back and seeing an "old" form looking somewhat similar to this one. Not exactly, but similar. Anyone?

I'll add my $.02. Rented my house out to a friend from UPT when I PCS'd overseas back around '00. Had him sign a lease. Never had any problems. We got the boilerplate lease from JAG and added a few specific items that we both agreed to. When you are a landlord, and make no mistake when you rent out a room or the whole house, you are a landlord, you have to have the paperwork there to cover youself. If you've ever done business with family and been screwed, you'll know what I mean when I say this. The worst business partners are usually family, but friends come in a close second. Sometimes family and friends try to levergae your relationship to their advantage. If you're buddy doesn't want to sign the lease then tell him to find somewhere else to live. The lease protects him just as much as you.

Wait until the symptoms subside. See what happens. Personally, I would not recommend surgery as a first option. If you have to get the surgery, that's a different story.

Dude, you came here looking for answers. Don't be so combative about your parents or criticism. You need to develop a thicker skin. Edit: Not that F-16PilotMD needs my help, but the MD part of his name means that he has a degree in being a Medical Doctor. Anyway, as was said, stick to the facts. Have you ever been diagnosed with Reactive airway disease? Yes. Later they will ask you for more specifics. The answer is I have never been diagnosed beyond the age of 12 or my symptoms never occured beyond the age of 12. 'nuff said. Don't add, "but my parents gave me an inhaler at 13 because..." That won't help. No matter if you explain that your parents are the Surgeon General of the US; it won't help. Stick to what a doctor diagnosed and you will be fine.

Point taken. I'm not saying the chopper guys did or didn't do FWQ. Just saying that it is waiverable and I've seen just about anything and everything waived up to this point in my career. I wouldn't say it is outside the realm of possibility. Smart? No. Allowed? Yes. I think we may be in violent agreement. I'm just not one to say it could never happen, very often. Anybody out there know these two guys when they were the 16 SOW/CC? SEFE types? I'm sure someone was elbow deep into this mess. As far as Dordal, I know that he did the short course and got a Form 8 with a Supervised status restriction, written into the Form 8, that he fly with an IP. AFI restriction about needing the short course complete since it's a pax carrying aircraft (could've been waived, I suppose, but wasn't). I only offer him up as another example of the same old thing and I happen to know a few more details about his particular case.

Kayla, I'm no lawyer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. That being said, I know that base legal at base X successfully argued with a property manager that this was precisely the case. I would argue that once you get married then you are continuing whatever lease you have on behalf of your military spouse and by the fact that the landlord allowed the spouse to move in that s/he took that military member on as a tenant, through action or inaction. Plus the fact that the spouse's name is printed on the PCS orders as well. One could also argue that they had intended to get married for some time and that the future spouse entered the lease knowing that the military member would ultimately move in after they got married. Not sure that the wording is 100% correct in Sect 305, but I know what the precedent has been and what the intent of the Congress was at the time they passed the law. In the end, it is best if the sponsor goes in and has his/her name added to the lease once moved into the apartment so that there is no problem down the road. There have been cases where the landlord was willing to release the military member from the lease, but said the spouse still had to honor the contract since their name was on the lease as well. Base legal is the best advocate in cases like these. The military can bring a lot of pressure on a landlord or rental/realty company. Besides the fact that they can be fined fairly heavily, the base could put them off-limits which in lots of small military communities can have a large effect on the bottom line. I, for one, have never had these problems. However, I usually only put my name on the lease unless the company "requires" me to put my spouse on their as well. It just makes it clear cut. I also make sure that there is a "military clause" regardless of what the SCRA says. Once again, it just makes things easier when it comes time to leave. But, I wouldn't hesitate to use all the resources available to get the landlord to capitulate and then make sure that I got the word out to everyone I knew in the local area to not get an apartment/house whatever from that company or landlord. Word of mouth is your best weapon.

Understand and agree with what you are saying. But, here's another one, he's a fighter guy (retired now) so he's done FWQ, but still only flew the Herk because he was the CC at Pope and they had the "composite" wing... and I know for a fact that he never flew without an IP. BG Dordal You're probably right about the exec checkout thing, but there are waivers for attending the FWQ course for GO's (AETC/A3, IIRC) and waivers for GO's for the basic requirements in 11-202V1. I wouldn't say it was impossible that those things were waived for those guys. Maybe, maybe not, but your point was well taken.

Right. Look at both of the bios. They were both the Commander , 16 OG, then went on to be CC of 16 SOW. GO's get the short course and then can fly with an IP. Not sure how the Spec Ops bros do the GO rides, but I would bet that they flew left seat and fired the gun, etc, at least in a training role. They do, typically, get a Form 8 out of the short course though. Somebody else will have to chime in with S/E specifics or someone can go flip through their AFI.

Right, only applies to pre-service debt or pre-called to AD debt. Google SCRA and you can find the whole thing and read for yourself.

Re-read the previous post. Allergies are disqualifying...that means no UPT...if you get a waiver for the disqualifying condition then that means you can go to UPT. So yes, if you have allergies, the waiver will have to happen before UPT. FWIW, antibiotics don't do much for a cold, but would work wonders for a sinus infection.

With regards to the Army, it ain't just the PT gear either.

Yep. Back in my SP days, when I was a 2Lt, it's about midnight or maybe a little later down at Robins AFB. We've been running an exercise on our gate guards and just finished up. The flight sergeant and I are out at the gate and we're debriefing the guy. A car pulls up so the gate guard goes to get up but I tell him just to sit and listen to the flight sergeant so we can get the debrief completed. I walk over to the vehicle and get the ID from the individual who is in civilian clothes. The typical hey, how are you ensues and I check the ID which just like mine back in the day says LT. There's no 2Lt or 1Lt, just Lt. So, I hand her the ID back and say thanks have a nice night. She pulls the "what, do you not salute officers here at Robins"? I have to say that for a moment I was a little taken back by the comment. So, I think to myself that she was probably expecting an airman so I turned around and said, "Yes, I salute all officers that outrank me" and went to walk away. At this point, she says Oh, I didn't see your "bar". So I lean down to her level and point to my beret so she can she that I don't have a MAJCOM crest (BTW, for you new guys, there used to not be a Defensor Fortis patch, only a MAJCOM pin for the E's or your rank for the O's). She then says to me, "I see that you are a second lieutenant and I'm a first lieutenant". At this point, I'm thinking that there is really no way in he!! that I'm going to salute. I calmly tell her that her ID card only identifies her as an LT and say "have a nice night" and walk away. I was always under the understanding that rank among Lt's is like virtue among prostitutes.

No worries. The question about proof was not directed at you. My bad. Poor posting technique. C-21 said, "Folks are telling me we can...I need proof." I'm just wondering why he needs proof? Troop commander??

Tried to post this earlier, but it got all F'ed up and now I've had more than a few beers. Long ago, the USAF had a mission statement that made sense to me and I knew an O-6 that had a business card that had a pretty realistic saying on the back of it. It said "The mission of the Air Force is to Fly, Fight and Win. Those who don't Fly and Fight support those who do." Still applies today. 'Nuff said. Yeah, I know deliver sovereign options...cyberspace...point being that even I know that Herks are not the ones that are at the pointy end of the spear and I support others by delivering bombs from Point A to Point B, dropping crunchies into a DZ, taking beans and bullets to those crunchies or hauling rubber dog sh!t out of Hong Kong. The fact remains that shoe clerks are shoe clerks and I've had more than one <insert REMF here> cop an attitude because I'm a pilot. And no he didn't give that attitude to everyone. There are those people out there. Don't be fooled.

I wasn't saying that they wouldn't/didn't serve alcohol on the BWI plane. I think I said, "Most do not want you to have your own booze since they sell it." Either way, you aren't going to be able to buy a bottle at the Class VI and take it on the BWI flight like you could the Base x contract plane. You know that whole liquids on teh plane thing that TSA has going now. You could buy a bottle at the duty free, I suppose, but some airports deliver duty free directly to the plane. Not sure about BWI. So, here you are, trying to get booze onto said BWI flight. The duty free delivers those items to the door of the plane and the company rules don't allow you to drink your own alcohol on the flight. Oh, and you are going to the "dry" CENTCOM AOR. The flight attendants now know to watch you like a Hawk or just tell you straight up not to drink it on their flight. What to do? Bottom line: It's easy to do if you leave from Base x, but not so much if you leave from BWI or some other TSA controlled airport. Either way, you can get booze, but that wasn't the original question. Take your bottle, drink your booze, don't get stupid or caught. FWIW, commercial flights leaving the AOR have booze. At least the ones I've been on. Why do you need proof?

Same thing. Different war. Army aviation started out in the Signal Corps and then evolved from there. In 1947 though, you are correct. Army Air Corps. On August 1, 1907, an Aeronautical Division was established within the office of the Chief Signal Officer. In 1908, the Wright brothers made test flights of the Army's first airplane built to Signal Corps' specifications. Army aviation remained within the Signal Corps until 1918, when it became the Army Air Service.

Assuming you are getting on board the contract aircraft at Base x versus BWI, then as previously said, you would fall under the Companies rules about alcohol. Most do not want you to have your own booze since they sell it. However, if you don't make a bunch of noise about it, you can get it on board and drink it. No big deal. I don't think you are going to find a rule that says it is legit for you carry alcohol on the plane. FWIW, units don't contract planes. TRANSCOM through AMC contract out the planes once they determine that they can't fill the lift req. with organic lift. Units requests lift through AMC.

Promotion...No ADSC for promotion for officers. I don't know about the E's. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements for retirement still apply. To retire as an O-4, you need 6 months in grade; for all others it is 3 years without a waiver (min 2 years).

Corporate knowledge. What a wonderful thing. And to think that I've lived through most of those.

In today's Stars and Stripes it has finally been reported that the USAF is the first of the military branches to allow aspiring pilots and aircrew members to apply even if they have had LASIK. Effective May 21, the policy change also removes altitude and high-performance aircraft restrictions for people who have had LASIK.

I'm no doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. The symptoms that you relayed are the same symptoms that a friend of mine had. It was misdiagnosed as GERD. A later IBS diagnosis was added. This friend had three different reflux meds to treat the GERD and none of them ever helped at all. Finally, this friend got a proper diagnosis and did the same Nuke test that you had. The ef was 10. Luckily, this person was able to have the gallbladder removed the next day. It was an open operation and was an outpatient procedure. This particular doctor uses a self-perfected open procedure on all his gallbladder patients. My friend went in that morning at 0800 and was at home by 2 pm. Within 4 days this friend was up and about and within about two weeks was in no discomfort whatsoever. I realize that this is not common, but even an open operation is not that big of a deal. There do not have to be stones to have a diseased gallbladder. There can be fine crystalline-like particles or "sludge" in the gallbladder that will elongate the tubes of the gallbladder making it more and more difficult to accomplish its' mission. That is what happened here and from talking to several other people that have had this same problem, it happens more often than you might realize. All the GERD and IBS symptoms have sense gone away. It seems to me that gallbladder disease is a very misdiagnosed problem as there are many symptoms that are common to other ailments. Just my uneducated $.02. Good luck. Hopefully your other symptoms will go away and someone will decide that your reflux and other symptoms were simply misdiagnosed.

Simple answer from my perspective. I was a non-rated AFSC for several years before going to SUNT at RND. My worst day as a Nav was ALWAYS better than my best day in that job. The job was somewhat fulfilling. I led troops and that was what I wanted to do, but my statement still stands. I continued to pursue my passion and was selected for SUPT. Once again, my worst day as a pilot has ALWAYS been better than my best day as a Nav. Not knocking Navs, they perform a valuable job and are rarely thanked for what they do, IMHO. It was just not what I wanted to do. It was merely a stepping stone. If you want to fly, pursue it now. You will not get a second chance given your age. On a seperate note, I think you may be overestimating the flexibility of the USAF with respect to your comment that they would just make the decision and send you to Whiting based upon you now meeting the FC1 physical requirements. However, you will never know if you don't ask the question. It follows that you will never know if you could be a kick-@ss pilot without putting it out there and going to UPT.

I dont' know what could happen because of it, but with respect to all the advice you're getting: One of the best DO's I ever had used to say, "Do what your conscience will allow". I would follow that guidance.

If you are in uniform, ethics rules forbid you to accept upgrades to first-class due to the public perception problem. They don't want the public to think that the military is paying for that ticket. You can see the 20/20 and 60 minutes shows that will come from that. Anyway, the reason those dudes are walking around in ACUs is that they are traveling to/from the AOR. They aren't authorized any civilian clothes in the AOR. At least that's the collective wisdom of the Army dudes in my office.

Google SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act). It has been updated from its' 1940 version. W signed the new one into law in 2003. It no longer has to be written into the lease, as it is a federal statute. Anyway, here is the relevant text: Termination of Leases Another significant change provided in the SCRA, is found in Section 305. The prior law only allowed the termination of pre-service "dwelling, professional, business, agricultural, or similar" leases. The new provision in the SCRA allows termination of leases by active duty servicemembers who subsequently receive orders for a permanent change of station (PCS) or a deployment for a period of 90 days or more. The SCRA also includes automobiles leased for personal or business use by servicemembers and their dependents. The pre-service automobile lease may be cancelled if the servicemember receives active duty orders for a period of one hundred and eighty (180) days or more. The automobile lease entered into while the servicemember is on active duty may be terminated if the servicemember receives PCS orders to a (1) location outside the continental United States or (2) deployment orders for a period of one hundred and eighty days or more. (See Section 305, SCRA) See full text here: Section 305 legalese Talk to the JAG. Your landlady has no choice but to allow new Lt's or any other service member out of their lease if it is due to PCS orders. She can't withhold your security deposit. If she denies you any of that, have the JAG help out. Sooner or later they will threaten to put her off-limits through the Disciplinary Control Board. She would rather let you out of that lease than lose the business. Of course, if you have roommates and you are the only one with orders, she doesn't have to let the others out of the lease.