Spartacus

Question for the "Docs" on here: When you find out that someone has an IgA deficiency what first comes to mind? Is this something that is really bad and makes you go "oh no" or just kind of mild and not that big of a deal from a medical professionals standpoint? Also, is this something that is disqualifying? Thanks!

Maybe I'm a little slow but I really don't "get it". Is there a way to know what is going on here in a proper way? If not oh well. Anyway, congrats to CH for whatever it is that he has achieved.

Right now ENJJPT only has Norwegian, Dutch, German, and Italian students. There is a Greek instructor hanging around on the 38 side and a Canadian on the 37 side. I think that there is also a Portuguese somewhere but I'm not sure on that. With the new ENJJPT 2008 syllabus more countries are probably going to start sending studs again but we'll see. As far as foreign guys graduating at the top of their class there is usually a German who gets DG. Overall, though it is really class dependent. I wouldn't say that one country is consistently better than another, but the foreigners do seem to have some advantages over the American students at times. Most of the foreigners here seem to have gone through more stringent screening to get here and they have flown a more in-depth type of IFS where they get acro experience etc. However, think of it just like you would with Americans. Some dudes go to pilot training who flew for a regional airline and have 2,000 hours. No guarantee there that the guy is going to be #1 or that he is even going to be in the top. Pilot training seems to have a way of throwing curve balls to people and you can't predict in the beginning before day one who will be #1 on the last day. Another thing to remember is that ENJJPT is a NATO program and not a U.S. program, therefore some people say that there is some politics that goes along with that not only for leadership positions etc but also with students i.e. ranking at the end etc. I personally have not seen this on my own but there are people out there who believe that it does go on so that might be why some people are saying that the foreigners are normally in the top of their classes.

EN GRAD, "2" on everything you said. I was his assigned student in the class before yours and he was a truly great guy all around. As far as the Wells Fargo thing I think that you can go to any Wells Fargo anywhere but let me look into that further to make sure that that is really the case.

I'm looking into a fund for Alec but haven't heard anything yet.

Just got word that a fund has been set up for Gyro's family at Wells Fargo. If you would like to donate you can go to any branch and ask to donate to the "Funk Family Fund". Also, if you would like to make a donation to help pay for flowers at his funeral send me a PM and I'll get you the info for that fund that has been set up. Also, Monday from 5-7 there will be a viewing for Gyro. Again send me a PM if you would like more info on that. Lastly, the funeral for Gyro will be held in Ogden, Utah on Saturday. Place and time TBD.

When we find out about a fund for Maj Funks family I will let you know and post the info. He has a great family with 3 beautiful girls who are 13, 2, and 7 months. They will need our help!

Maj Brad T Funk RIP my friend

It has not been 24 hours.

NO NAMES YET PEOPLE! I think most everyone here at SPS knows who it was but we must wait 24 hours for the official release so don't be that guy who says what he is not suppose to. With that said there were two great dudes in that jet. I flew with the IP A LOT and have a lot of respect for him. A truly amazing guy! God speed brothers

Do a search. This has already been discussed.

Are you an Eagle driver?

Nicht on the proficiency advance thing for FAIPs. (usually) It really depends on what type of impression you give them... I no kidding was flying with the OG and had to basically stop him from doing something wrong/dangerous (yes, I was sweating the consequences of that move) and when we got back in the flight room he went to the Flt/CC and told him to proficiency advance me. I reminded him that I was a FAIP and even stated that I had several more rides and a lot of special syllabus left and he said that he still wanted to proficiency advance me. (I actually still wanted a few rides.) I'm not saying this to brag but just wanted to let people know that there is no rule against it. I've seen other FAIPs proficiency advance too and it is usually because of their maturity and the impression that they give, and it is also worth noting that a FAIP should do pretty good in PIT because they just flew that jet that they are FAIPed into recently.

I couldn't agree with Kayla more. GMH is the devil. We moved on base before the privatization and then had to sign their new contract after GMH took over. This was all during pilot training... and then I FAIPed. We thought that it would be a good idea to buy a house and GMH absolutely screwed us over, and we even waited till our contract was up. Because of the dishonest GMH losers we lost over $1,000 because of their antics. Avoid GMH like the plague... seriously if you can afford it you will most likely be better off by not living on base if GMH is control. BTW did I say that I hate GMH? Oh, yeah sorry, but anyway... GMH SUCKS!

So I've read several threads and discussions about getting a Masters Degree. My questions is a little different. I am thinking about starting the ERAU Aeronautical Science degree because it would be quick and easy to get but I also want to get more of a "real world" degree because I am afraid that the ERAU degree might just check the box for Major and that would be all the use that I get out of it. (Am I right or wrong on this?) Anyway, I actually kind of want the ERAU degree but I also have been interested in an MBA for a long time. Would you guys suggest getting one or both? I am in AETC right now so I have the time. Also, one of the reasons why I am not sure about starting the MBA right now is because I would probably have to do it online and I have no idea which schools are good. There are places like Duke, PENN, and Columbia that offer online MBA's but they are very expensive and competitive and I don't know if they would be compatible with AF life and time constraints. On the other hand I'm not really interested in getting one from a no name school. Have any of you gotten an MBA that you had a good experience with that is also recognized as a good MBA school? Thanks

You had to see this one coming.

Dude, Toro is right! Grow a set! I was in almost your exact same situation. I wanted to do engineering but found out that technical degrees didn't matter so I did poli sci. Sure it's a piece of crap degree that won't get you anywhere in and of itself but it's a degree and that is all that matters. And from my experience in ROTC those who were doing the harder degrees didn't do so well in ROTC because they couldn't spend the time at the Det and activities that they should have been to stand out. (Just my experience though) Those who did easier degrees were at the Det more getting seen by the cadre and they tended to be the ones who got ENJJPT or whatever they wanted. You have to decide if you want to have a technical degree that MIGHT make it harder for you to put in the time in ROTC or if you want an easier one that will allow you to be the go to guy. My Mom gave me a lot of crap about the military too. You will probably never convince her that this is best for you. You need to make a decision and stick with it and at some future time she will be proud of you like Toro said and will at least come to terms with what you are doing. She is your mother and they tend to worry a little too much. I am an only child and that made it really hard for my Mom to accept what I was doing because all she could think about was me getting shot down. Highly unlikely, but she doesn't understand that. Anyway, grow a set, become a man, and make your own decisions or else you will resent your Mom down the road for not doing what you wanted to do. Don't get to that point. It is your life and you need to do what you want to do with it because you are the one who has to sit in the cubicle or in the cockpit. Not your mom. It's your choice.

Did a search and got a little info but not what I was really looking for. Does anyone do a side job in addition to your flying job? I am sure that it is difficult if not impossible with the current state of the Air Force but I have heard of people teaching night classes or something like that for a few extra $$$. I have been thinking of doing something like real estate or other "creative" ideas to bring in some extra cash to pay off debt. I know that to work another job you have to get permission but do you have to get the ok if you and your wife are doing some sort of venture together etc? I am basically asking if many of you do things just on the weekends or whatever? That is kind of what I am looking at.

Blah Blah Blah, everyone likes their own school. I thought that the one I went to was good but who cares? ERAU is a good school too but here are some things to think about. 1. It really does not matter where you go it matters how motivated you are and what you are willing to do. 2. My school was pretty big and had 250-300 cadets every year. We had Gen. Officers and others come visit all the time and they always said we were in the top of the nation and they would always lump us with ERAU. Who cares? I'll tell you why... because the actual school does not matter, but what matters is what you do. For example: I was always ranked really high in a large class and could never really figure it out till the end. I had never even exchanged a word with the COC or WG/CC. I got a pilot slot and ENJJPT no problem. I even became the Cadet WG/CC (who cares) and when I interviewed for it it was my first time to ever carry on a conversation with THE MAN. During that conversation he asked me questions about a bunch of things I had done over the last couple of years that I had no idea that he knew about. All I have to say is people talk and word travels. 3. You have to get good grades and have good scores but that 50% commanders ranking will save OR kill you when it comes time to get a slot. Very early on in ROTC I started to go to EVERYTHING and I would always be the first to raise my hand when someone needed a volunteer. The cadet leadership noticed this and they spread the word to the cadre. THEN the cadre started to notice this and once I had generated a good reputation I could have almost committed murder before their opinion would change. First impressions are big and it does not matter if you are a go getter or are very quite (like I was), but what matters is that you make yourself stand out in some way. You do this by working hard and having a good attitude and people will notice. 4. Like I said that 50% is huge. I knew people who were smarter and in better shape than me. They had better scores than me across the board, but they didn't do what I had done to get noticed. I got a pilot slot and ENJJPT, but they fell short and did not get ENJJPT. Was it because I was better? NO!!! In fact some of them deserved it more than me and have done better in pilot training than me but they didn't show the same motivation in ROTC. Get my point? Don't worry about where you go, but worry about what you need to do to reach your own goals. AND make sure you know the process inside and out of getting a pilot slot. I had a friend who barely missed out on ENJJPT because he didn't understand that if he would only get 1 flight hour his PCSM would have raised enough to get him into ENJJPT. He is now in T-1's kicking himself for not knowing how the scoring processes worked inside and out, and he barely missed out on 38's by only one slot. Don't be that guy.

I got actively airsick on my first two flights in Tweets. My IP's don't know this but I had stretches of airsickness all the way through Tweets. My first couple of rides in 38's made me a little sick and the first couple in advanced form made me a little sick too because of all the yanking and banking that the IP was doing. Here is what I personally learned: It is very mental, at least for me. Being nervous or not wanting to fly or not wanting the IP to fly will make it worse/happen. I had really bad airsickness but I never had to go so the doc or the chair. What I did is I worked very hard on my mental state before and during flying. I really tried to learn the sortie and I would pump myself up and even say in my mind that I am excited to go fly (even if I really wasn't.) If that only partially worked I would tell the IP, "Sir I am a little sick and going 100% oxygen." The IP would usually say ok and would fly straight and level for a few seconds to calm me down. Also talking to the IP during that time or even doing some checks to get your mind off of the sickness would make it go away fast. (You can only do this in the beginning of Tweets/T-6s though.) I thought that I had really bad airsickness and my IP's in the beginning really thought the same and were about to send me to the doc but because of how I changed my thinking I got through it and made it better. However, this may not be the best for everyone. Going to the doc is not bad and realize that if you get sick a lot but don't puck and just hide it that it will degrade your performance. Go to the doc and the chair if you need to but also work on your nervousness and thought processes before and during your flights. This is what helped me and I got through it just fine.

JB, The polygamists are spread around different places but I think that the majority of them are in Arizona and Colorado. I think that what you may have seen on the news was Colorado City.

Scoobs, Dude, other people who would have read your post wouldn't understand the difference between SL County and Orem/Provo so that is why I said that. I wasn't giving you a history lesson... I said "everyone" meaning that I was talking to people who may not know what is going on there. SLC has been changing for a long time and it is nothing new... I just have a hard time believing that Mormons will be the minority there in a few years. At least that's not what I see and all of the people that I know who live there.

Scoobs, What are you doing? Have you even finished college yet? You told me a couple of years ago that you were going to do ROTC etc and I have never seen you. BTW, Orem/Provo is not Salt Lake County. They are in Utah County, which is a big difference. I also highly doubt that Salt Lake County will become predominately non-Mormon in the next few years. Utah Mormons CAN be different than the rest but be careful of stereotyping. Personally, I am a strong Mormon, and I have lived in and out of Utah and I think that WITHIN the Mormon community Utah Mormons can be very judgemental. However, if you are non-Mormon then it is not so noticable. I really think that it's not a huge issue for someone who is not Mormon moving to Utah because things will seem different to them anyway, but there are so many non-Mormons there now that it really is not a big deal at all. One thing that everyone here needs to know/remember is that Utah and much of the West was settled by Mormons. Mormons were killed in Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. They were driven out of those places in the mid 1800's and were greatly persecuted, and this happened within a country that is supposed to recognize freedom of religion. Anyway, these Mormon made a "trek" to Utah because they had no other place to go. On the way many died because of sickness, and the harsh conditions that they went through. When they got to Utah it was desolate. But, because it was the only place they could go, among other reasons, they settled there and continued to be persecuted by the U.S. government. Mormons built Utah into what it is, and that is why there is such a strong Mormon influence there. Sure, many people may think that Utah is TOO Mormon but realize why it is. That is where they basically went to be left alone, so that they wouldn't have to worry about being killed. The Mormons where there first and made it into an awesome place to live, and they welcome anyone who wants to come. If you understand these facts then you should understand why the laws are the way they are there and why it seems to be a little "different."

I'm from Utah. PM if you have any more detailed questions. I would not just narrow it down to those two places IMHO. St. George is a very beautiful place but house prices are skyrocketing there. An AF retirement and any current equity that you might have may not go very far there. Kanab is nice but not really a place that many locals would say is a great place to retire. I have pretty much been all over Utah so I can suggest other places if you would like, or I could tell you where to look within those places that you have mentioned. JB, Nice comments there. Yeah, those laws and such might hinder your lifestyle, but have you ever stopped to think what kind of life that might create for the whole community? Crime is much lower and people are moving there like crazy to raise families and to retire. (Reference the whole point behid this thread.) While I lived there I met family after family that had just retired from the military or other people from all over the country that knew nothing about Utah other than those laws and that it's "nice" there. AND most of them were not Mormon. Anyway, I'm not trying to jump on you about what you said, but I just think that you might not fully understand everything that is going on there. Also, places like St. George, Moab, and Park City have a lot more people that are not Mormon than you might think.

EN 07-05 drop: B-52 F-15C x2 A-10 x3 F-16 x4 T-38 FAIP T-37 FAIP This is what I remember but it could be a little off. There could have been more or less A-10's and F-16's but the rest is correct.