Hacker

...which is why I'm guessing you're not an accident investigator.

As has been said before, FENCE In. This is Big Blue standard. If you're not ready for shit like this and constantly taking whatever measures you can to protect yourself, you're wrong. Remember, the AF is a big, inefficient, reactive bureaucracy that doesn't care about the big picture nor about you. Adjust your priorities accordingly.

Yes, it is possible. In order for a Major who is passed over for promotion twice to continue service to 20 years, a board must approve his continued time in. In the past, this approval has been basically rubber-stamped and assumed. Just this year that process is less rubber stamp and more actual evaluation of records. The result is that some passed-over Majors in some specific year groups have not been offered continuation and have to get out. The sky is not falling.

Is it really a surprise that, collectively and over time, that Big Blue can be more retarded than you can as just one individual in just one career span? The possibilities for idiocy are endless!

Based on flying alone, definitely Bagram. Anyone who has flown in both squadrons is in complete agreement that the mission, customers, and flying out of BAF is much more interesting than at KAF. If anyone has SIPR and can look at the monthly roll-ups can see objective indicators of this, too.

That's quite seriously not a benefit in any way which should influence the decision. The stick-and-rudder aspect of flying the airplane is only about 10% of the mission...plus, unless those people are actually actively flying a T-6, they would require a requalification before being able to fly the hypothetical AT-6B. In the fighter world, this non-tactical portion of the flying training is about 5 or 6 rides, even for a B-Course, before the Form 8 instrument check. Again, not exactly what you'd call any kind of significant benefit. More significant would be the numbers of CAS and COIN experienced pilots who could enter the training pipeline, of which the other 90% of the training challenge consists of, and which it does not matter if the airplane is a Beechcraft or a Tucano. The only somewhat benefit to buying the Beechcraft would be the ability to partially follow the established logistics system for the T-6, as well as economies of scale for the logistics system for the entire T-6 family of aircraft.

Haven't seen any dislike or prohibition of friday shirts in any corner of the fighter/trainer world that I've been in over the last 15 years.

Exactly -- some of us aren't on a tail-chase for the biggest dollar. Some of us like flying and want to keep doing it professionally.

Recommend you also throw this analysis in to this thread on Airline Pilot Central: http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/military/60658-should-i-stay.html There are a number of things that changed since I did that comparison in 2007...but the bottom line remains the same. Note that my analysis DID NOT include a job with a reserve unit in the "get out at 10 years" scenario, and that was intentional. That was based on some advice I received from a friend who was (is) flying for the Guard: Lots of good discussion (and alternate viewpoints) in these threads: Initial thread from 2007: http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/military/14632-should-i-stay-should-i-go.html Similar discussion from 2010: http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/major/54145-grass-greener-military-airlines.html

I've never even seen a result of this "developmental vector" at any time in my career.

I think that Jumper was in much the same vein as Fogleman.

That's right up there with ABMs who thought they should fill the 'Mission Commander' role on the MC-12Ws, too.

FENCE In means understand what the threat is and be prepared for it...be prepared to fight it, AS WELL AS accept the consequences of losing that fight. If you're emotionally prepared for the worst options, then you won't be caught off guard when the worst happens.

This shouldn't be news to ANYONE wearing a USAF uniform. Everyone should have understood that all contracts are 1-way (you have to abide by them, Uncle Sam can abrogate/change/revoke/modify at any time and in any manner) from the moment they put pen to paper on enlistment documentation. FENCE in and protect yourself.

Nothing to see here. It was all just a language barrier mix-up!

What timeframe would most of the non-continued O-4s we're talking about in this thread have to separate (in terms of calendar year, not years of service).

Ops checked as bad:

It's been tried countless times in every MAJCOM that I've been in. Yet, somehow when "that guy" leaves, it goes right on.

You do -- it's your rating and experience as a pilot. Dunno about you, but I didn't really study the pay chart that closely when I was hungry to join the AF and become a pilot. In fact, quite the opposite, at the time I knew very well that there were much more lucrative jobs as a civilian pilot...but that wasn't the motivator to join. I highly doubt that if you froze/reduced pay, there would be a significant decrease in the talent walking through the door. There will still be a long line of very motivated and capable people hungry to serve their country and have the opportunity to get the finest flying training and the opportunity to fly high performance iron. Ultimately, it's still 'the service', and none of us joined to get rich.

This was what I was getting at.

It was actually Testors that originally came out with the F-19 model in the late 80s...

Where in the military is a copilot called a "First Officer"?

What is a "First assignment FO"?

Just to set this straight, all it means is that he was assigned to a unit which received an AFOUA with Valor. Everyone who was at Al Udeid for the opening shots of OIF in spring '03 was awarded this -- they did not have to see any enemy action to wear it, since it was the Wing that it was awarded to. There's nothing deceptive or disingenuous in any way about his wearing of it.

Another great one from the line of thought that says, "if you can keep your queep straight, the tactics will take care of themselves."