AnimalMother

To be fair, Chang did mention this was coming back in June or July, albeit with no details whatsoever. But what kills me is the fact that AFPC has been working this for the better part of a year, and they STILL can't put forth a coherent plan in an orderly and informative manner that doesn't leave absolutely everyone scrambling to try to figure out what big blue has in store for them. I don't even think they took that long to plan and execute the damn raid to kill bin laden, and that included building an entire scale mock up of his compound. As for your prediction about cutting too many folks, I have no doubt that you are correct. But really, who cares? We'll just throw money at the problem and poof, problem solved. Hell, in 6-7 years they will probably offer bonuses for guys to come back to active duty.

Shack

Once again, don't forget that we are playing their game here, they are free to change the rules at will. Political law is as capricious and transient as the politicians who make it. You're a fool if you trust them with your well being. If, in 10-15 years, military retirement has not undergone substantial changes, I'll eat my damn hat. Consider yourself very lucky if they grandfather you in. FENCE IN accordingly.

Were you honestly expecting something different? I have little doubt that, yet again, AFPC will quickly realize they cannot allow even a small percentage of the rated folks who will apply for VSP to just waltz out the door, to hell with what the eligibility matrices say. But, I'll be getting close to the 6 month TTG by that point, and I can only hope that AFPC, in their infinite wisdom, decide to throw me 60-70 large on the way out. On another note, where are you guys getting PSDM 13-130 from? I cannot find the damn thing anywhere. Interwebs hard.

Serve at the pleasure of our senior leaders?! That is perhaps the most obsequious and pusillanimous statement I've ever heard from our officer corps. I think what you meant to say was that you service the pleasure of your senior leaders. Noonin was spot on. If you want to contribute to this board, then by all means, please do, but make it something useful. You might start by helping us figure out whether we're actually eligible to apply for this debacle or not.

I volunteer as tribute! I volunteer!!

That's essentially the short of it. They actually explain it right on their website, albeit in rather cryptic terms. The TSP is not a bad option, but I certainly wouldn't trust my entire retirement to it. Finally, the Roth option always sounds enticing, but in this environment, I'll take the tax break up front thanks. If the Roth style is still 100% tax free when I retire in 25 years, I'll eat my hat. After all, why would anyone need more than $200k? That's just absurd. You're playing their game here, and they get to change the rules whenever they want. PM if you're interested in some good reading about how the financial system really works. https://www.tsp.gov/investmentfunds/fundsheets/fundPerformance_G.shtml https://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/05/obama-s-cap-on-defined-contribution-retirement-savings-plans

Be careful with this one too, the good comrade has already expressed his feelings on "excessively" large deposits in IRAs. Furthermore, the TSP is one of the first places they will pilfer from, they've already done it twice. Why would you need a TSP or IRA if you're already getting a military pension? Diversify...

OSI needs to be disbanded completely. I've had the misfortune of dealing with them (both directly and indirectly) on several occasions. That community is absolutely vile. If this article has any shred of veracity I hope it motivates some significant changes. If nothing else, maybe it will serve as a warning to others whose paths may cross with this group of malfeasant thugs.

Except for some of us on the third and fourth string teams. I can barely fly half the monthly hours I'm allocated for my planes. Man, sure would be nice if there were some way to reallocate those hours somewhere else, or just not gratuitously throw assets where they aren't needed. Don't worry though, we've been brushing up on our double digit tactics. If by SA-10 you mean the elusive Samuel Adams 10 pack...

Not sure where this is from, but good lord, I almost choked on my beer laughing. Probably the best 7 second silent summary of US foreign policy that I've ever seen.

For me, the Air Force improves everyday...because that's one day closer to separation.

Whoa, I had to double check my web address, thought I had logged into my International relations online class for a second here. If people would just add citations to their posts they could get actual masters credit for this thread. I think the Chinese will draw first blood when/if the renminbi goes on the gold standard, but I think it is highly likely. This will drastically alter the dynamics of the global economy and irrevocably damage US interests. No shooting required. I don't think china is stupid enough to go force on force with us, not without stacking the deck in their favor anyway, and even then, I think they realize that their military efforts would be much more valuable elsewhere...

You were taught wrong. Unfortunately, so were most of us. The problem is that it generally takes less than a generation for people to accept censorship or omission as fact. History is always pirated to serve an agenda. Your kids probably won't even know what nose art is.

War is politics by other means you say? How much faith do you have in our domestic politics and politicians? Western civilization has been killing Muslims for over 1000 years, literally, still hasn't gotten us very far. Find brick wall, smash head, repeat. It's easy to do if you're using someone else's head.

Liquid, again, thanks for the dialogue here. I'm going to change topic here because honestly I'm pretty tired of hearing about sexual assault and 69ing. As such, I'll withhold any additional personal commentary on the subject. You made a comment which I find both very disturbing, and very reassuring at the same time. Something to the effect of how challenging it is to get the civilian authorities to kill the people who need to be killed. I know in the military we tend to get focused on killing people and breaking their shit, which is understandable because that is part of our job description. But I would hope that as folks grow and mature, they absorb some of the greater lessons beyond the crassness of just killing people. Namely, our job isn't just to kill people, our job is to protect our country and our way of life, ie our Constitution. This, however, is something for which we haven't truly been used for many years. In order to keep things short, Ill stop there, but ask that you consider reading the following books: The New American Militarism, by Andrew Bacevich The 1000 Year War in the Mideast, by Richard Maybury The Road to Serfdom, by FA Hayek Additionally, you might take a look at the following case studies/historical events and how they relate to our current situation, particularly in terms of precedent or lack thereof: The Treat of Westphalia of 1648 Switzerland's military model and doctrine Nuremberg Trials and verdicts/conclusions Not trying to be a smart ass here, seriously interested in opening some dialogue about more than just nudie mags, sock checks, and the like. PM works too.

The same.

Cocaine's a hell of a drug.

Im going to go ahead and repost this, just in case someone missed it the first time. https://www.amazon.com/The-New-American-Militarism-Americans/dp/0199931763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377566016&sr=8-1&keywords=the+new+american+militarism

Eventually. Some good insight: https://www.amazon.com/The-New-American-Militarism-Americans/dp/0195173384

Liquid, fair enough, Ill concede some of the points as you apparently have more intimate knowledge of the discrepancies than I do. I, for one, didn't mind Cannon a whole lot, but I was gone most of the time. I will however, expand on my point of emphasis. This is not about Cannon AFB per se. The ip so facto logic you use to conclude that individuals are separating merely because they don't want to go to Cannon misses the entire issue. You need to look at it from a holistic perspective. For many, an assignment to Cannon-doing exactly the same thing they just spent 4-6 years doing at HRT-is the proverbial straw. Does that make them bad people or officers? To some, apparently yes. But if officership to you means blindly following what your service asks you to do, then I would draw a parallel to the SS. We need folks to think for themselves, make personal decisions, and question why it is their service asks them to do certain things. Without that, we quickly slide down a dangerous slope. But back on topic, leadership needs to acknowledge the incontrovertible reality-most folks did not join the service with an intent to pursue an illustrious, start-studded career. They joined to fly cool planes, get money for college, or because they threw a dart at the board of indecisiveness-or perhaps because they were motivated by certain events. But, at the end of the day, please don't foster an environment in which you criticize or patronize folks for not accepting an assignment, when they probably have 3-5 times as many combat hours as yourself, 3-5 times as many deployments, and are half your age. These are the folks who have watched their families walk out the door while they answered the call and put up the numbers which you put on your OPR that got you promoted in the first place. Not everyone is fortunate to have a family as understanding and devoted as you have. I'm not trying to make this a stupid dick measuring contest, and I may be way off, but leadership is about people; in order to lead people you have to know them, understand them, and accept their limitations. Finally, you need to be honest with them. Was there some shadyness with the acquisition of Cannon? Ill bet my balls to the bandsaw on it. Do we necessarily need to bring that up? No, of course not, but why do we always have to church this shit up? Way can't we just be honest with our folks? And why would we decide to move a ton of folks to a place that so obviously lacked sufficient infrastructure to support them? Thats selling your people out, and people remember that shit. I know dudes who literally lived in barns when they got there. When there's a need, the crew dawgs will follow you to hell and back, don't take that for granted, and don't use it as an excuse to dismiss the fundamental problem here: people are leaving because most of the leadership we have (or at least that I've seen) doesn't deserve the level of sacrifice that folks are already making. Our leadership isn't cut out to serve the people they "lead." Ironic, considering how much time we spend focusing on leadership. Also ironic how these folks, who spend so much time preaching service before self, are the ones who spend the most time carefully shepherding their own careers.

I just choked on my dinner. Liquid, are you serious? You obviously have not spent very much time there. I agree with much of what you said, but the part about Cannon? Great weather? Ive lost count of how many sorties we've cnxd due to the winds and the dust storms. The base was lucky not to lose any planes to the two massive hail storms we've had in the last few weeks. Cost of living is low? We pay 20-50$ more per square foot here than in FL, and in FL we are a mile from some of the nicest beaches in the country. Low crime? tell that to all my friends who've had their cars broken into. Light traffic? Sort of, but getting onto base still takes 30 minutes in the AM. Plenty to do outdoors? True, if you dont mind driving 3-5 hours each weekend, unless youre into dairy farming. Schools are good? I guess if your teenage daughter needs free day care to finish her 3rd attempt at the 9th grade then you might think so. Throw in the shady-as-hell circumstances surrounding AFSOC's acquisition of the base, the repulsive attitude of many of the locals, the constant smell of fecal matter, and the tap water that I won't give to my dog, and hardly a rational person would see this as a desirable place to raise a family, or even live. Do some people like it here? of course, and good for them, but some people also volunteered to go live on Mars, and good for them too. I do love the last spear though, I'm sure it helps senior leadership sleep at night, but it sure as shit misses the entire point of the issue here. Honest question: If the Air Force decided to make your next assignment Chernobyl, would you go? Wait, what about all the AC-130 pansies that got out because of orders to Cannon? Or the squadron that deliberately fudged its performance data so it wouldn't have to go to Cannon at all?

You shot a dude. Might want to lay low for a while.

...and that kids, is why we don't take steroids.

Truer words are rarely spoken. In my experience however, leadership doesn't always agree.