ClearedHot

MV-22 is NOT a CV-22, not even close.

I could give a rats fucking ass what some douche in A1 says...take your intent and use it to choke yourself. The only “fact” we know at this point is what is written in the order and that order delegates authority to SECSEF and SECAF to INVOLUNTARILY recall up to 1,000 pilots. Our intent...give me a fucking break...how many times have they lied already?

Told you so...

Again it was about accomplishing the mission not stealing $ for CV-22's. It takes a LONG time to go deep in a 60...

Huh...Are you new? When Gen Brown was the SOCOM/CC he basically forced AFSOC to divest all helos, besides the 53's were TIRED. To understand the CV-22 you have to understand SOCOM and AFSOC were born because of the failure at Desert One and a helicopter even today can not execute that mission in one period of darkness but the CV can. I was never a CV lover...in fact I hated, it killed two very good friends...then I flew it...then I commanded it in combat. It is a game changer that has had its hands tied by a manning shortfall driven by decisions from above. Is it perfect, nope, but on the battlefield today it IS the platform of choice of the high end users. I've heard the internal discussions about CSAR at AFSOC and not a single word of stealing assets or $...just how can we do this better. Sadly the CSAR O-6's will never listen because they have Stockhom Syndrome and still believe their ACC puppet masters will do the right thing.

PJ was your tablemate...damn you ARE old...Like me.

ACC "IS" terrible about helping the CSAR guys and for some reason (Stockholm Syndrome), the senior CSAR guys remain loyal to their ACC puppet masters. On MULTIPLE occasions ACC used CSAR TOA to pay for other things, how do you think the CAR folks ended up with the oldest C-130s in the Air Force? Another HUGE issue that is always pushed under the rug is the amount of CSAR capability that is in the reserve and guard (50+%). I am not saying the guard and reserve doesn't pull their weight because in this community they most certainly do, but the active component ends up eating a lot of deployed alert because of activation limitations. When you have a low density high demand capability, putting 50% in the guard or reserve causes some second and third order effects. I would disagree with your assessment that AFSOC does not care about "ACC" assets, the minute they become AFSOC assets they will most certainly care as long as the TOA is moved over with them. The HC-130J (long overdue), has about 90% commonality with the MC-130J, but the last 10% is all the special sauce that is equally applicable to SOF or CSAR missions, ACC could care less if you get those capabilities which is a terrible shame. The politics of this potential move are complex and it is not being driven solely by the services or altruism on the part of AFSOC. The genesis was an effort by OSD to save money, SOF is almost always in the same places (and more), as the conventional folks and they have executed many of the recent CSAR events, why not find some synergy. The main sticking point form the CSAR rotor types is the deal would almost certainly drive a reduction in the CRH buy, which I personally think is a good thing. Why in the hell are we buying a 140kt helicopter to conduct long-range CSAR in today's world...seriously? If I were king for a day I would move CSAR to AFSOC (that comes with some doctrinal changes and direction to SOCOM). I would put some of the CSAR forces back in the active component (75%-25%). All 29 HC-130Js (if they get 29, reading the latest NDAA USAF is trying to cut the buy to 26...yeah ACC loves you guys), would be modified to MC-130J configuration (MCTF, SMP, RFCM). CRH buy would be curtailed to 100ish and 30 CV-22s would be added to AFSOC with at least two CSAR units becoming CV-22 equipped.

You might ask "actual customers" like Lt Col Dale Zelko or Lt Devon Jones.

Eagle Driver Commemorative Watch

I hear what you are saying but I doubt it went down like that. I was in a hotel for three days last week and kept the do not disturb sign on the entire time, I don't like people in the room around my stuff, he could have easily done the same. Also, you are assuming he used gun cases...this guy obviously planned this out and I am betting he was smart enough to pack and transport stuff in nondescript containers, luggage, or boxes. This guy was smart enough to find a perfect ambush overlook sight and install a bump fire stock. I don't think it takes a great leap of imagination to think he could package his weapons to look like anything but weapons and make a several trips over the course of three and a half days to get his weapons unobserved into his room. I know I could. Unless you are advocating we search every person entering every building in the country you won't stop this type of situation from occurring when there is a determined madman.

Really? On family trips I've had baggage carts loaded with all kinds of stuff (including weapons), and no one has ever said a word. He was there for a few days, I would bet he used a push cart a few times and it looked like bags or boxes.

Turns out it was a bump fire stock, I am guessing much of the confusion is from echos. The Mandalay Bay has a very unique shape and he was moving back and forth between two shooting positions in the suite.

Thoughts and prayers for the crew. ***Update is "Hard Landing." One injured but will survive. Marine Aviation is hurting.

Cancelled my NFL Ticket today. ATT/Directv are granting waivers if you cite the player protest as a reason. The agent asked me why I wanted to cancel and I told him I was a veteran and opposed to the players protesting during the National Anthem, he actually replied "Sir we are not allowed to talk politics on the phone but WE AGREE WITH YOU, your NFL Ticket is cancelled and we are processing a refund, thank you for your service!"

Him Him

Networking starts with what type of Bro you were on active duty. I am FAR from perfect but always tried to take care of everyone around me and be a team player. I mentored and helped people whether they were career types of one tour and out. In short, I did my best not to be a douche. When I dropped my papers I told a few folks who put the word out for me. My suggestion would be to call your friends, tell them you are getting out and ask for input. You will be shocked at the positions that are out there and word of mouth and reputation drives the key jobs.

It was meant to serve as an example an if you believe you have a 95% chance of failure, you will likely fail. For the record, my BOSS separated a few years ago as an O-3.

Harder than someone flying the line at a major, but some of that is self-imposed. I've never been afraid of hard work and my days in the WIC probably ruined me for life... I am in the middle of a surge period, some of it is seasonal and they rest is being driven by tremendous growth of my company. I have a three day weekend every other week but the last two months have been a LOT of travel. I can see the slowdown on the horizon and we shut down for a week at Christmas, plus I have still have almost a month of vacation to use. Working harder in the short-term was factored in to my calculus, work a bit harder for 3-5 years then be done, every person is different but I've seen to many people work until they are 65 and be physically unable to enjoy the fruits of their life-long labor.

Every person has a unique situation and at the end of the day I strongly encourage each person to follow the path that provides the most happiness and satisfaction to both you AND your family. Honestly I did not put as much thought into the “after” plan as I should have. I’ve invested well and don’t need to work, but as I got closer I decided I still wanted to avoid becoming a sloth and do something meaningful, at least for a few years. I hit the button a year in advance and the airline gig was really heating up, with over 4,000 hours TT and 2500+ IP time I thought it was a no-brainer, I could work part-time make decent cash and have the travel benefit for my family. I obviously have many bros at Delta and Fedex and they shared the good and the bad, so I decided to make that plan A. My plan had two basic flaws that were mistakes on my part, not insurmountable, but still limitations I needed to overcome. 1. I had been sitting at a desk for the last two years NOT flying. 2. I had not completed my ATP and now had to do the ATP/CTP course. I started flying private again and signed up for the CTP deal (what a complete waste), and built my application on airline apps. I hit the apply button with the written complete and provided updates with the CTP complete, new hours flown and finally added my ATP practical two weeks after my retirement ceremony. When I hit the last update button with the ATP complete I thought, “ok the phone will ring any day now”…it did not. Luckily I talked to a lot of folks (including Rainman), and I had a plan B that I was also working. There are MANY resources for vets and Rainman walked me through several I had never heard of which, one really really helped (https://www.acp-usa.org/). In very short order I was contacted about several positions, I had not applied to any of them, all word of mouth through my network. I made it to the final two for a very senior job and was a bit relieved when I did not get it (location). Over the course of a month I interviewed with several major defense contractors, with Google, with one of the largest food production companies, and with a major university. I don’t want this to turn into a dissertation but I learned some valuable lessons. 1. Industry is STARVED for leadership. 2. Industry professes to love Vets but in reality they are very concerned about them. Many think every Vet has PTSD. 3. Most jobs come from contacts and networking. 4. Industry has all the same problems and BS the military has. As a SQ/CC, Grp/CC, Wg/CC I had to deal with DUIs, Rapes, theft and other buffoonery. I have encountered many of the same issues at my current level in Industry. After a flurry of interviews things went quiet for a while which was EXTREMELY frustrating. Industry hiring moves at a glacial pace and I began to contemplate outright retirement. I was REALLY shocked the airlines hadn’t called and am honestly still somewhat perplexed by that fact. I have since learned how important recency is to the majors, I get it they are the pros, but it does not make sense to me. When I returned to fly as a O-5 it took two weeks to requal. When I returned as an O-6 I was scheduled for 10 rides, I did three rides and proficiency advanced to my checkride as a mission IP. I was flying civilian but still had less than 100 hours in the last six months…oh well it is their ball and their game, they get to make the rules. Four months later I got the call from Delta, over nine months after I first hit apply. The next day I got a call from a company I interviewed with early on…the made me an offer (turns out they were waiting for a senior dude to say yes and he didn’t know he had to say yes.) I sat down with my family and we had some long deliberations. Every situation is different and my family was tired of me being gone all the time. My son was established in school so taking a position with Delta was going to mean commuting and sitting reserve in a crash pad for at least a year. I must say after going through all the asspain it was not easy to call Delta and say "no thanks!" In the end I was able to parlay the industry position into a remote position working from my house. My company flies me to the home office once a month and I generally leave on Monday morning and return Friday night. The other travel has ramped up a bit but some of that is seasonal, some was unexpected because our company is GROWING, and the rest is self-imposed. I ended up starting at about 7-8 year airline pay, well over that with my annual bonus which means I can do this for a few years and walk away with another chunk of $ to add to my portfolio. We bought a few new toys but I have managed to save every penny of my retirement check. It was not a simple choice but it works for me and most importantly my family.

Totally fake, picture show an annular eclipse, the eclipse on Monday was a total. Cool Photshop though.

I don't respect McCain AT ALL, because I know his roommate from the Hanoi Hilton.

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