Hacker

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42

IMHO, that is a low standard -- I believe that every T-38 track graduate should be capable of graduating IFF (a higher performance/capability standard), but it isn't up to me. The statement, however, was in response to the assertion that in Phase III the standards were being lowered for dudes who would end up in an RPA -- a statement which is untrue in my experience.

Well, you can choose to shoot the quote full of logic or take it at face value. I didn't come up with it. Here's more from someone else who is an experienced fighter guy and RPA guy: http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/military/48614-drone-pilots-gaining-influence-usaf.html#post771512

I am currently a Phase III IP, and my Squadron Commander has said, in no uncertain terms, that "the minimum performance standard is a student who will be successful as a BUFF copilot." So, I haven't personally seen the weak sisters you're referring to passed through to graduation with the understanding that they'll soak up the RPA on assignment night.

This is what one of the RPA SQ/CCs has to say about the Beta guys: So, not only is the underlying assumption of the skills of the "average" UPT graduate that goes to RPAs incorrect, but the actual assessment of the Beta class performance seems to be massively mis-stated.

No, no regrets about being active and staying AD. There is a lot of grass-is-greener syndrome with people who make such statements -- I was certainly one of 'em. For a time about 6-9 years ago, I was hellbent on leaving AD and going to the ANG for all the same reasons that most people state; stable job and location, less deployments, less BS and politics, less queep, less cutthroat from people trying to make rank, etc. Unfortunately, these reasons come from an era that has passed. Today's ANG/Reserve units are in the deployment rotation just as much as anyone. The last two BRACs have changed MANY of those units' missions (if I'd gone to three of the four ANG fighter units I was hoping to go to, I'd no longer be flying a fighter), and some of those units have even gone to RPAs. With respect to the queep and admin, there is just as much of it there, too, it's just of a different flavor. True, it's a flavor that some people find easier to stomach, but it is there nonetheless. I second the idea of reading this thread over at APC, which has a lot of guys talking about their experiences leaving AD for the ANG/reserves (or retirement) and their reasons for wanting to get back on Active Duty. I have several peers who left active duty for greener pastures in the 2006-2007 timeframe and their experiences seem to mirror many of the thoughts in that thread (all of them except one have either gotten AGR jobs or back on AD). Certainly there is nothing *wrong* with the ANG and Reserves -- it's a great way to serve in and of itself. It's not, however, the Panacea that a lot of people on AD seem to think it is.

Eh? The WHOLE POINT of buying the OA-X is to be able to sell them or give them away as MAP/Military aid. WTF does the A-10 have to do with that?

This is the most moronic thread I've read on BaseOps in quite some time. whatever, YAAFM.

Yet more idiocy in the age of pilots taught to blindly follow TCAS instead of adhering to their basic responsibility to see and avoid.

So, in other words, is was just like every other personnel action the AF has planned and executed in the last 25 years.

Of note is that the mid 90s brought the opposite situation -- those who were in ROTC when the bankings were taking place ended up getting sent somewhere other than UPT, then in the late 90s they significantly increased the UPT slots that were open to active duty. Today, you have an entire generation of pilots who were trained in (and performed a tour in) a non-flying AFSC. Lots of MX-officers-turned-pilots in the O-4 and O-5 ranks currently.

You recently heard incorrectly.

The irony is that the girl in the pic isn't a pilot. She's a model that went flying with that South American AF (I think it was the Brazilians, but I can't VID the marking on the tail...of the aircraft). EDIT: Here are some links to some other very long threads of military chick pix: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?130786-Pictures-of-women-in-the-military-police%28read-the-1st-post!!!%29 http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_viewtopic-t-5967-postdays-0-postorder-asc-sid-a1b65996fd4fc01bf559c15f22508266.html

Don't think of it as a commitment...think of it as job security in a terrible economic and work environment.

That's kind of unusual for an RAF dude. They're usually less "reg" focused and more "get the job done" focused. Is he a pilot?

Time to get that MBA, Hoss!

At Vance in the 38 drop there were also 2 x BUFFs, a C-21 to Ramstein, a KC-135 to Mildenhall.

YAAFM Pretty amazing that you were able to be inside their minds and know how their 'tactical focus' was. Nowhere in this thread did anyone say that it was impossible. It was bitching about something we believed to be inconvenient and not worth the inconvenience.

He's not talking about that happening today -- the bankings happened in the early 1990s, and that's the drop that he posted. Notice the C-141 and the KC-10 to Seymour as indications that's not exactly a recent UPT drop.

So, double-digit SAMs and Flankers are a figment of my imagination?

Both copy the 9-lines and coordinates. The lead WSO is the primary talker with the JTAC.

Uh huh. There's also a WSO in the jet who is not actively participating with flying formation who can look at the placard. Thanks for playing, though.

I believe the term you're looking for is "BLU-113" and "BLU-113/B".

Yeah, I'm sure that will remain on the forefront of my thoughts throughout the tactical portion of the sortie so that I'll be able to recall it 3 hours later when I'm precontact. I mean, it's not like I actually have anything else of importance to think about during that time.

Just for S and Gs, try finding and reading that thing while you're also flying in the precontact or contact position. Or at night. The last thing you want is one of your receivers going skulls-down for 10 seconds or so just to find that placard and decipher what the hell it says.