guineapigfury

We are looking at an improvement to effective Ops manning in 2017, which will be temporary if enough 18Xers throw in the towel as their ADSCs expire in 2018. That's my prediction based on talking to the 18Xers I know. All the other suck (Midshift, boring job, assclown customers, no travel, and CONUS desert locations) isn't going away. SQ/CC quality does seem to be improving, but I'm working with a relatively small sample size. If you want to never travel and have the chance to pull the trigger, this job that offers that. I think that's a shitty trade, but there are a handful of dudes who are happy. I'm the last guy who would ever defend the steaming pile that is MQ-9 pubs, but this guy fucked away not one but both of the single line boldfaces.

Yes, 18Xers are just as miserable minus the added resentment of "I graduated UPT for this bullshit?". Shiftwork is harmful to your health (physical and mental), the mission is mind numbingly boring and unrewarding, the customers are often clueless and unprofessional, there are incredibly limited opportunities for TDYs and deployments, you have significantly reduced chances for promotion, the bases are mostly in awful locations, and many of the squadron commanders are not credible IPs. It's one thing for a Lt Col who's BTDT to ask you to push the margins a bit, it's another for an O-5 who Q3'd his checkride because he doesn't know the boldface to make the same request. 0/10, would not recommend.

MQ-9 schoolhouse is just south of Alamogordo, NM. It is a shitty location, especially if you're single. However, it does offer a normal length commute (as opposed to Creech) and a days only M-F work schedule. Quality of life is therefore significantly higher than on Ops.

Ugh, fuck autoland. Launch and Recovery is the one break guys get from the neverending suck of Ops. It's worth the manpower bill for that reason alone.

On the bright side: you will sleep in your own bed at night (and day when you're on mids), your peers are good people, killing the enemy is fun, and you'll get out of your UPT ADSC early when you get passed over for Major.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news: expect to be stuck in RPAs for the indefinite future. The RPA spring VML webinar said they would not even start thinking of sending dudes back until 2018ish. RPAs are a shitty life and things are going to get worse before they get better. If (and it's a huge if) the 2016 manning surge works, they may be willing to release guys back to real airplanes. The bad news is that 2018 is when the initial batches of 18Xers see their ADSCs expire and I expect a significant majority to separate, reducing RPA manning even further.

There is a significant increase in RPA FTU instructor manning happening right now. Will they be ready when the influx of students hits? Maybe. Will there be enough instructors in Ops squadrons to teach MQT to the new guys? Maybe. It's going to be a rough 2016 & 2017. On the plus side, this new wave of dudes should hit their first squadrons about 12-18 months before the first batches of 18Xers reach the end of their ADSCs. So there is a chance that increased manning may improve QOL enough to convince them to stay. But I doubt it.

Misread your intent, my fault.

Laugh all you want, but I've never seen as many perma-DNIF folks as I have in RPAs. I can count on one hand (and have a thumb left over) how many line flyers* I know who have done back to back ops tours without having some sort of major medical issue. *Does not include daywalkers.

Sage advice. The relevant corollary is don't get her pregnant until you're absolutely sure she's the one. FYI, you don't get to meet the real her until you get home from the wedding.

Bro, that remark in the parentheses is over the line.

Or OTS. Shake and Bake!

The person operating the manned aircraft is trained, licensed and has the amazing ability to look out the fucking window thus enabling him to not collide with other aircraft.

Slightly off topic, but you might be able to find it in PRDA.

They will make an O-4 an ADO in a UAV squadron with no UAV experience. Shit, they'll make you a SQ/CC without any RPA experience. Manning is appalling and is slanted very heavily towards Lt's and junior Capts. Normally the DO in an RPA squadron is a Major. There just aren't enough RPA O-5s to go around. From what I can see, almost noone stays long enough to make Lt Col. I've seen a DO with a line number for Lt Col 7 day opt after an incredibly successful term as DO. When those who are stuck in this shit say it's a bad scene, this is what we're talking about. I've had 4 CCs so far in RPAs and 2 were unsafe in the jet. That's how bad experience levels are. What will they do with that O-4? Probably let him get through one rotation with his shift (days-swings-mids, about 4-5 months) then put him in the queue for IPUG and MCC (rough equivalent to Ops Sup or Top 3) upgrade. We need more ADOs than a manned squadron since we're spread out across the shifts and our younger guys often have no idea how to accomplish basic Air Force shit outside of the squadron since they have never interacted with the rest of the base excluding the flight doc and gate guards.

I have a good friend who got RPAs, C-130s, then just got RPAs again. He 7 day opted. I have another friend who got 17s after an RPA gig. She's still in 17s. Both T-1 grads. The UPT direct guys I know who stayed were all by choice. To a man they all wanted to go to WIC and RPAs were the best road to that destination from their current position. As an MQ-9 IP, I'm not sure what I would advise a guy to do if he got an RPA on assignment night. My 3 years in RPAs have absolutely been the worst time of my life. I cannot comprehend doing this shit for an entire decade. There is good money to be made on the civilian side once you get out, which is the about the only upside.

I was in UPT when the UPT direct clownshow kicked off the first time. We were threatened with courts martial if we tried option B. Not sure if they would (or could) have followed through or not.

Antman in 3d was a pleasant surprise. 7/10.

I definitely should have put scare quotes around "promise". Nice shot; valid for release, impact and effects. I got the info from the af.mil article on fixing the RPA enterprise.

Being an RPA pilot sucks a big floppy donkey dick. Will the USAF honor a promise to send them on to a manned aircraft in 3 years ... maybe. The last bunch of UPT directs escaped, but some are being nonvolled back. Why these filthy noobsauces should get a ticket out while those of us who earned a better life in UPT and were pulled into this nightmare second assignment are stuck forever I do not understand. I should have joined the fucking Navy.

Head out to gate 2 street. Cross the bridge and turn left into a parking lot. Japanese liquor store should be right in front of you. If you find yourself watching the banana show you have gone too far.

They may want to fly RPAs now, but 6 months on Ops will cure that. 90% of the 18Xers I know who aren't prior enlisted or late rate are planning to separate.

If a UPT graduate recats, they become an 11U not an 18X. 11Us are eligible for the expanded ACP (25k per year with half upfront).

Las Ventanas Apartments in town are nice, can't speak to the rest.

Another option would be to stop treating people like shit and let them do what they signed up to do (fly airplanes). But only feasible COAs are COAs I guess.