ASUPilot

All military flight time counts as cross country flight time. I've had two different FSDOs (Lincoln, NE & Scottsdale, AZ) tell me this.

Negative on the referral OPR. He was lucky and, frankly, his CC was cool about it and helped him out.

I have a friend who was told by his commander to look for Guard/Reserve opportunities to VSP and/or to expect being RIF'd. When I asked why he said his CC said, "Well, you did fail one PFT." I've flown with this guy; he's certainly in the top quarter of pilots and an all-around great squadron mate. I love the "qualitative" techniques the Air Force uses. It will be interesting to watch (thankfully for me, from the sidelines) the Air Force execute the force shaping measures.

It worked fine for me yesterday in civilian clothes at OMA. TSA standardization, right?

For now, it does not. The compensation reflects that.

My wife has a job opportunity that is too good to pass up back in the city we moved to our current base from. I posed the Tricare question to my local office and they were, let's just say, less than convincing they knew much about the benefits. My wife and I have no children. Does anyone have experience with Tricare when your spouse lives 2000 miles away from you? Are there any "gotcha's" with her coverage since she wouldn't reside with me? I plan to relocate back to said city when my ADSC expires in 18 months (hoping for the Reserves).

Boston, why the hate?

Fact. As an older guy who entered into the AF after working in economics in the private sector, I can tell you ANY degree has about a five year shelf life, period. No one cares what you did ten plus years ago as a Captain to earn an AAD. Times change, business moves forward. An MBA from Stern today is outdated tomorrow. For all the USAFA shiny pennies who went VFR direct to MIT, etc., guess what, when you get out, that technical degree isn't going to do much for you (assuming you're a pilot and not an engineer/acquisitions) in the way of getting you hired. What do you think your classmates have been doing while you were flying the Uncle's toys...? USING their education and gaining experience in their core competency. AADs are worthless unless you want to attend TPS, or the AF sends you in-res to better prepare you for upcoming assignments/duty, or you're pursuing one for the SOLE purpose of promotion. IMHO, worrying about AADs and what "doors" they'll open for you in the future is like competing for first place at the Special Olympics.

The flying public will never get on an airplane with the absence of a pilot. Ever.

Yes, this is what I have. I actually bought mine in person outside of TCM at a store (Tactical Tailor) that supports JBLM. I bought 12 shirts and they gave me a 20% discount I believe. Too bad we can't still rock v-necks...

5-11 Tactical.

www.troopswap.com

He certainly can't here.

SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY.

Much of the erosion of history, heritage and comradery can be attributed to the abomination that is political correctness. Adam Corolla's new book: "In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks: . . . And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy" hits the nail on the proverbial head. It's not quite as low-brow as one may think.

Disagree, disagree. That means I agree. Okay, smarta$$ remarks aside, I was trying to convey that I believe MOST of us don't care about anything but flying and the mission. Everything else is a means-to-an-end to fly.

True. I was an off-the-street (not USAFA/ROTC) guy applying for a pilot slot back in 2000. I simultaneously applied for both the Air Force and the Navy. When I was an ALO I worked with the Marines...they kick a$$. However, I did not consider them back in 2000 because I don't run fast enough and I'll never rock a high-and-stupid haircut. Due to lack of fixed-wing assets, I did not consider the Army, although I believe their Warrant program is the best way to manage pilots. Because the Air Force has so much goddamn paperwork, the Navy got back to me first. Just before I started AOCS with the Navy the Air Force got back to me with an offer for OTS and UPT. I chose the Air Force over the Navy because I wanted to focus on flying, period. I've heard all the buzz-phrases...officer first, pilot second...blah, blah, blah. I wanted to focus on fixed-wing aviation because THAT'S what the USAF is fvcking known for. I'm no Robin Olds, but I have my sh!t together in the jet and I don't suck as an officer. They don't have to be mutually exclusive. I have a feeling most bros feel the same way I do. I also believe a lot of dudes lie about it publicly. Privately, dudes b!tch because they want to FLY and hack the MISSION. That's why MOST of us joined the Air Force.

$100K

Bros, Thought I'd drop a quick line about insurance. Check, double-check, and re-check your insurance coverages. I presume like me, most of you have USAA for your insurance needs. My wife and I have everything with USAA, life, auto, renters, personal property, high-value items, etc. I'm not an insurance guy...I have "full" coverage on everything and always asked the agent to ensure I had "hotrod" coverage. I thought I did. Many of you on this forum who know me personally (especially those in Omaha), so you know what has happened. I IMPLORE all of you to immediately review your insurance coverage, especially the uninsured motorist coverage. I now carry $3M for uninsured motorist coverage. I am NOT bashing USAA, they have been the best financial and insurance institution we have ever had and will remain with them. Just check your sh!t to make certain you have what you need. It's like life insurance...have it. R/ Smashmouth

From my experience: BAF any day of the week. BAF > Balad > KAF.

Shack. IHOP, PM me. Omaha is a great town, period. And I say that as someone who's not from the Midwest and just moved here from Seattle last September. Summers are fantastic (sans a little humidity) and you're within 8 hours of both Denver and Chicago. The jet was/is new to me as well, but I think you'll like the bros and enjoy trying to tame the 135 beast. I've never had to work so hard for a nice (safe) landing on a windy day, or while during A/R...translation: it's honest and rewarding. Our tanker cousins, I'm sure, would confirm this. Our cockpit is nice, a bit (very) quirky, yes, but still better than more than a few.

Cutting military pay and benefits is like Uncle Sam stepping over a $100 bill to grab a dime. Let's cut the meat (sts) and save the fat...that makes sense. Hopefully we'll get slashed because we've been so lazy the past ten years.

22 Jan 14, "I'm a stay at home son..."

A sincere congrats. I was in an ops squadron that was decimated by TAMI. I don't know how long you've been out of a cockpit, but trust me (ALO for three years) it's so good to get back into the mix.

I had drinks last night with a couple from Berkeley, and they are outstanding, smart cats. As one wold expect, they are quite liberal (which I'm cool with) and the topic of women in combat came up. The wife described herself as a feminist and asked me if I thought women should have equal rights. Naturally, I said yes...and so should blacks, Mexicans, Asians...everyone, etc. She proceeded to inform me that I too was a feminist. Now, those of you who know me probably find that as humorous as I did. As I marinated on her comment for a moment I concluded that she, or anyone for that matter, can label me anything they like if it makes them feel better because personally, I don't care about labels. I was astoundingly (to her) firm in my position that if women want the right to fair play then there needs to be one set of standards, period. One set of standards for aptitude (oh, boy, you should have seen her face) and one set of physical standards. If we're talking combat, war, I'm uninterested in the obvious physiological differences between men and women, and I find the concept of quotas abhorrent. One standard, for everyone, and you either make it or you don't. From my limited exposure to the Army and Marines as an ALO (2007-2010), this is the ONLY way it'll work. There have to be some bada$$ women out there who are up to the challenge. I know I certainly don't want to do it. Sitting in the field with the Army begged the question: why would any woman want a part of this? If she can meet the equal standard she can have it. The discourse was great and I enjoyed the sparing. But at the end of the day, any of us who have been around the block for a while (I'm nearing 37), especially in the military, know that despite all the liberal, PC-cries for gender equality, that integrating women into front-line, combat maneuver units will be a colossal DISASTER, period. Putting women on submarines will also irreparably damage the Navy. When will this country learn that social experiments have no place in the military? And for progressive (certainly not a negative connotation) thinkers out there, please don't refute my claims by snatching the low hanging fruit by saying "well, integrating blacks into the military initially faced severe opposition." That's apples and oranges. I ended with saying the world is just a little more complicated than rainbows, puppy dogs and unicorns...long live Berkeley. I'm sure they silently thought I was a baboon...I suppose I've been thought of as worse... Cheers