ViperStud

Old gouge. Current/qual guys in the Viper world, especially IPs, are increasingly staying in the jet. At Luke, we've seen most guys getting Viper assignments unless some other PFA takes precedence (join-spouse or application to another community) or unlucky (ie the only Maj-select being rack-stacked against all Majs with leadership that puts him auto-bottom). Been that way for 2-3 assignment cycles. CAF is not too different. 38s have a lot of bomber drivers, particularly because most of those dudes are dying to do it. Not a shot at all, just look at PIT classes and you see tons of Buff/Bone dudes.

What is the current status of 38 pit out at Randolph wrt non-As? Showing up there soon and want to gameplan for my living situation the next several months.

Thank the good man upstairs he got out OK. Vipers have a tendency to crimp right around the cockpit area if they nose-over into the ground. Most of us talk about trying out the seat if we're going off-roading at much more than a normal taxi speed. Good on him.

Any recent war stories with USAA vs others with car insurance? I have them beat by what amounts to 200-300/yr with another company. Other said company also had some spotty reviews in that family members had two claims with them that were fought tooth and nail and they ended up not getting full money for their repairs. They were even apparently told to deal with the other person's insurance for some claims because the accident was the other person't fault; that is not how it is supposed to work. Trying to figure out if the rumors of USAA's great customer service, at least in the auto insurance arena, are worth a little extra money. That being said I haven't had a claim in my 9 years of coverage with them so I'm not sure how valuable great customer service is if I never have to use it.

So a dude (disclaimer: this is me) with 9 years in and 3 to go on UPT commitment basically gets out when I can and I get a whopping 2 years of contribution matching (yawn, but it's more than the $0 I would get under the current system). BUT, if I stay in til 20 I get ~11 years of contribution matching and a measly 12.5% of top 3. I trade 75% of my (current) pension for 11 years of matching contributions to TSP. Let's say it takes a year to go into effect then I trade 50% of my (current) pension for 10 years of matching contributions. That's a pretty big shift between when it would take effect, now or a year from now. Take it this way: for an '01 vs '02 guy (9 or 10 year point), assuming it were to happen right now, they are basically taking away an extra 25% of your pension for one year of contribution matching. OUCH. I think they'd have to do things in a little more graduated of a manner than 5-year increments to keep some people from going postal. I'd like to think this would never go through without grandfathering dudes, but I just don't have that much faith in our leadership (military or civilian) to not bend us over. I can already read the memo from the CSAF, some bullshit about "exciting new incentives." Sure, for everyone but the guys that actually stay in and make a career out of it.

So what is the end result of all this? He was apparently getting out anyway, right? So not having an aeronautical rating in the AF will prevent him from picking up a reserve or guard gig. They would presumably have to send him to UPT again. Was he planning on that or was it going to be a clean cut? What about on the civilian side? Assuming he got his commercial like we all did, he is still a commercial multi-engine pilot with 2069+ flight hours in turbine aircraft and maybe an ATP, right? Not like big blue can do anything about your civilian ratings. I would guess the bigger issue would be when the guys at Southwest ask about that flyby at the Hawkeyes game, and that is not really that AF's fault. Only an idiot would think something like this would stay under wraps nowadays, it was probably posted on youtube slightly after kickoff. I'm sure some of you guys have sat on interview boards with the majors; even if he had kept his wings how would this go over during the interview process? The punishment is a joke and a sign of leadership with no real balls, that's for sure. But let's also stop with making excuses for the dude. I'll buy that he's a good guy and a solid pilot since some of the bros here are vouching for him. No solid pilot I know would be that low without knowing exactly what he was doing. Life is a series of calculated risks; he took a risk and lost, assuming he thought that a low flyby on a fini flight would not raise any eyebrows. I just hope the knee-jerk response didn't wreck his plans for future employment.

Stop trying to spin this into something it's not. There are a lot of dudes out there with a Fighter Pilot's mentality who just happen to work in MX, intel, etc. This is not a "we have the biggest dicks" argument. Disagree on the "irony" as well. Good on him for calling out some apparent BS behind the politics that are crushing our culture. I hope said shitbag BGen was front and center when he said all that too. Saddest part - it'll only keep getting worse. POS commanders are out there (just had one PCS not long ago) who care more about Green Bag Bible Study than they do about having a normal roll call in the squadron every once in a while. Douchebags that stand in the corner and wince when I correct a punk who starts singing by interrupting and asking "how does every good fighter pilot song start?" And they take care of their own. The SNAPs who refuse to drink out of principle and scoff when others do, who get offended at porn in the shitter, who don't understand that TDYs are not money-making events, some of these SNAPs latch on to said DB commander and become golden boys. The cycle continues. I still have a year or two left until I have to make the choice whether to sign on for more. I just hope enough guys continue to fight the good fight, there are enough good commanders out there to keep the SNAPs from taking over. If I never make it past O-4/O-5 so be it, but I have too much pride to not act like a Fighter Pilot. Even if it involves buying the frau flowers every once in a while.

Agree and that was kind of my point, if you're in it for the long haul it's a completely different story than if you're in it short-term. You really need to make that decision before you decide to buy vs rent. As far as "there's better things to do with your money," you're missing the big picture. If you buy a 200K house and rent it to break even after you move, then you have a $200K asset appreciating at maybe 3% (6K) per year and YOU ARE NOT EVEN PAYING FOR IT. Out of pocket costs for said $200K asset? Closing costs to buy, interest paid (but truly only that above/beyond what you would have paid to rent), and the cost of repairs & management. If you can break even when renting it out, you essentially reap the appreciation of the house over the long-term and have someone pay off the cost of acquiring the thing to begin with. In this example, you reap the benefit of 6K+/yr appreciation on an asset that only cost you (closing costs + mortgata-rent differential + repairs/mgmt). That's a pretty good return. The taxes you pay on the rental income should be wiped out by the deductions associated with interest, taxes, repairs and depreciation. Of course these benefits come after you move and start renting it out, so the going-in assumption is still that you keep the house and are able to keep tenants in place.

Using your example, sure you pay 36K over 3 years either way, but only 7.3K goes to principal, and those are real numbers from my first house. I agree with your point philosophically but the reality of the situation is more complicated than bar napkin math. Every market is different. In some places you'll pay more to rent the same size/quality home than you would to finance it with a VA and $0 down, in others you'll pay the same, and in others you'll pay less. Taxes and insurance vary by location as well. If you put money down, then that money is essentially an investment at whatever your APR is, and it is at risk if the property devalues and you need to sell. So, if you paid 300K for a home that is now worth 250K and you put 0 down, maybe you still owe 285. You either write a check for that 35K at closing or the bank sells it short which will hurt your credit for 3 years but at least you don't write that check. If you had put 60K down, then maybe you own 220 on the house. You've still lost half that down payment. Shit, kinda wish you had put that 60K in a mutual fund or something at this point, don't you? Sure, the bigger tax refund for 3 years is nice, but once you get into 5-figure price drops that is all moot. OK, that's the horror story of people having bought in Vegas, Phoenix, etc three years ago. Home prices having dropped in the past few years makes this a tempting time to buy, but it depends on where. Has it really bottomed out yet? Not everywhere, so that's a risk you shoulder. If your house appreciates short-term, then you'll be fine. If not, just be ready to be tied to that house long-term or go through the asspain/cost of getting out of an upside-down mortgage. That applies if you are a singleton buying or renting a house. If an option is to rent and split the costs with a roommate (esp if you're gone the overwhelming majority of the time) then your rent is incredibly cheap compared to the cost of renting or buying alone. You'd be hard pressed to find a better deal financially than that. So, it comes down to (A) what's the outlook/risk for the market you're moving to, (B) know your options if you don't/can't sell when you PCS, © think of how much of a premium you'll pay to have your "own place" and whether it's worth it or not. Keep in mind it's not just all about mortgage cost vs rent. There are a lot of hidden costs in owning vs renting: closing costs, HOA fees, termite bonds, repairs, appliances, taxes and homeowners vs renters insurance. Weigh that vs tax deductions and equity. You may also spend some coin getting the place move-in ready, particularly if it's a new construction, and it adds up quick. I wouldn't scare anyone off from buying if they are making an informed decision, just don't do it based solely on the idea of "building equity" vs "paying someone else's mortgage." It's not always that easy. I'm glad I bought previously and am a landlord. I'm also very relieved that I'm currently renting.

Dude, this isn't the WSJ, it's Baseops. Guys post here asking advice from people who've been there, done that. My advice is far better than your non-advice, and I stand by it: real estate is a decent long-term investment if that's what you are looking for and you are comfortable with shouldering the risks/costs in order to benefit from the tax incentives and potential capital gains. That changes though if you go in knowing that you must sell in 3 years, regardless of what happens to the market in that short-term amount of time. If you go in thinking that you'll keep your house long-term, you'll be able to rent it out, and the market shows potential to appreciate, you minimize risk because short-term price fluctuations won't really affect you. If you plan on selling in 3 years, your profits will be offset by the costs of selling the house after 3 years, so hopefully the house appreciates enough to make it worthwhile. Sure there are some good markets out there, but you don't control where Big Blue sends you so if you're going to buy you are forced to buy in that market. I've been on both sides of this argument: I bought and still own at my previous base, and that's worked out well. I came to my current base 3 yrs ago wanting to buy but decided to rent after I did some research, and now my peers who bought are all upside down, some up to $100K. Short sales abound, but granted I am in a location that was hit pretty hard. I am anything but uninformed on this matter, and I am telling you that if you buy, you must be open to the fact that you MAY have to write a check in 3 years to walk away. That or you need to be comfortable with being a landlord after you move on to your next base. If that's OK to you, then buy a house every time you PCS to a decent market, and in 15 or 30 years you'll own several outright. Personally if I were going to be gone 250 days a year, I would split a rental with someone in the same situation, live on the cheap, and invest as much as possible. You'd have to find a great deal on a house in a good market to walk away after 3 years with a better net worth.

Dude the decision you need to be making is not whether you want to "build equity" vs "not feel like the place is really mine." You simply need to decide whether you plan on owning something short-term (sell when I PCS) or long-term (I want to own it outright 15 or 30 years from now, so I'll be a landlord when I PCS). 96.9% chance that when you move at the end of a 3-4 year PCS, you will not have enough equity to come out ahead when you consider paying the 5-6% to brokers and the closing costs of the buyer, which is very common. Even if you do net some cash, it will almost surely be less than the money you'd have saved by paying less to rent. I own a house from my last base and I am LUCKY to make as much in rent as I pay the mortgage company; a lot dudes I know are not that lucky. The American dream of 2.5 kids, a dog and a white picket fence is a farce for us AD guys while we are in. As a single dude, you're not likely to meet a frau, pop out kids, get a dog and live some semblance of a normal life while you're gone 250+. Go the smart route and make your pockets bigger. Rent.

Food for thought - anyone know what the commitment is for the "Beta" classes, if that's even what they call them anymore? Those are the nonners they train from ground zero to fly preds. Surely it's not 10 years? How is the product coming from those classes and have they finalized a timeline and sullabus that they are happy with? It'd be very telling if they give these Beta guys half the commitment of the UPT grads that go straight to UAVs.

Yes. It's bullshit to call out someone's officership when are not happy about soaking up a completely raw deal. Everyone knows you are not 100% in control. There's also a reason why that finance troop at the MPF doesn't have a 12 year commitment. Just like serving, flying is a calling for some of us, and we go through a lot of shit (including signing for 10+) to do it. I sympathize for someone who jumped through all the hoops to get his wings and then gets permanently grounded and handed a playstation controller. Different story now of course, you know the possible outcomes going into UPT so suck it up. TAMI was an outlier, not your standard one-each "bad deal" assignment. Don't call someone less of an officer because they had a dream pulled out from under their feet, when they still go to work and serve every day. Aside from that, I agree with your overall point. Some people serve by going 6-on, 6-off (or worse) to the desert. Some people serve by sitting in some shithole in the desert (no, not Afghanistan - Creech/Cannon) flying UAVs. Some people serve by bouncing back and forth between Florida, Virginia, Japan and Alaska. It's tough to put yourself in someone else's shoes when their sacrifices have been vastly different. Yes, that's part of the job. I love being tactical. I've been downrange and I will gladly go back. I've had a good run so far, but I will not sit on my high horse and tell someone they are unprofessional because they're frustrated that their path has led to a broken dream/marriage or two.

There has only been one constant over the years when it comes to assignemnts and staying in the jet - the top third of bros on the VML are generally happy, and the top guy usually gets his top pick. Do good, don't suck and you should be OK, bullshit like TAMI notwithstanding. I know several non-patches who have gone ops-ftu-ops, ops-remote-ops or even remote-ops-ftu-ops. I'm sitting at 6+ years in the cockpit and never even applied to WIC. Now the porch is saying that due to the lack of TX classes (2 less SQs at Luke), there will be opportunities for current/qual guys to stay in the cockpit. An old CC pushed the porch's vision at the time, which was that for non-patches your first three tours would be one each remote/ops/ALFA. Two years later I'm kinda glad I didn't put that ALO gig up too high and ended up staying in the cockpit. The outlook at the porch is dynamic, and what they say changes from VML to VML, even moreso from assignment to assignment. Bottom line: Upgrade early and often, compete well on the rack and stack, ask for what you want and never ever volunteer for a bad deal to try and game the system. The big thing severals years ago was "needing to knock out that ALFA" and now they are talking about opportunities to stay in the jet. Question - aside from bro-level WOM, are there any good sources to find the random singleton assignments out there? The mainstream requirements are easy enough to find, but those random 11F billets that are seemingly everywhere are a well kept secret. EABOD. I was slightly older than the guys that were eligible for TAMI. I remember when it happened some CCs were honest, knew it was a bad deal and treated it as such with the bros. Other CCs towed the company line like robots and spouted off like the dipshit generals about what a "good deal" it was and how "excited about these new emerging opportunities" our young wingies should be. One of the foremost differentiations between good and bad CCs is how in touch they are with the guys they command, and comments like that show that you probably fall in the latter group. I'd like to see how those dudes with 3K+ hrs in the F-10X, F-4 and F-16 would have taken the news as punks. Nothing is for sure with the assignments process, just do your best and set yourself up for success. If you can't handle the fact that you don't 100% control your destiny, do something else. One is an officer first if he's kicking ass and taking names regardless of the job he is called to do. It does not mean you have to blindly jump for joy when the AF bends you over.

Moron, I never said there are no Eagle remotes, that was someone else (SocialD). Quit being a woman and misreading things. I shit you not, I write this response from a "cinder block villa in the middle of the 120 deg desert" in Saudi Arabia. This place is a well-kept secret. I have several Saudi "bros" that want nothing more than for me to have a favorable opinion of their country. I've been invited on several occasions into homes of "people who hate me" and treated very well. Baby camel is some good shit. If you were treated like crap over here, you must be the same kind of dipshit in person that you are on the Internets. The flying part, that's probably valid and I will defer to your experience; mine is a non-flying gig. Duly noted, Eagles have remotes. Thanks for straightening that up. FYI I don't think Mudhens were being grouped into the "Eagle Mafia" SocialD was referring to. You guys have deloyed plenty, and contributed a lot of firepower. Thanks and keep up the good work. I think he was referring to the LGPOS, which has done neither. Back on track: although I hate to admit it, it could make sense to move the Vipers to Holloman if there is not enough ramp/range for them and the JSF. Sucks to lose Luke as Viper base, but so be it. What happened with the Raptors up there? Did they spread the fleet out so much and, when they turned off the production lines early, they realized they needed to consolidate them better?

Two dudes in tax-free Saudi (essentially an exchange), living in cush villas and being treated like a prince, does not equal three squadrons at Korea. I heard Iceland sucks too. Even an eagle dude could pull wool (the female kind) there. Not bitching about Korea, but don't even try to call Iceland or two dudes in Saudi "bad" deals. Edit: grammar ain't good

I just don't see the wholesale problems you are alluding to. I have been there a few years, ended up marrying a PHX native and plan on settling in the Valley eventually, so it's not like I live in some Litchfield Park bubble. Even the linked article has the Peoria mayor talking about how important Luke is to the local economy. Those sentiments far outweigh the complaints, at least for now. It'll be interesting to see what the EIS comes up with since I'm sure they will be looking at future concerns, not just present ones. Gotta be careful what they ask for too: people bitched and Willie got closed, so now it's a commercial airport that a lot of regionals use. There are far more noise complaints now that they fly ~24 hr ops, not a relatively compact flying window. They closed the base and it got worse. If you think they're just going to turn Luke into a Super Target, think again. Gila bend is a runway and some double-wides; I've diverted there recently. The bill for turning GBN into Luke II will not be cheap; that's not a clean kill either. I'm biased, sure, but things will have to get a lot worse before the relatively isolated (ghetto El Mirage) complaining is enough to close the place.

Yes and no. They've done a decent job setting land aside off the end of 03, and it's pretty bare to the south (we take off to the south 99% of the time). The traffic pattern is to the west of the field, where it's not very populated. When I've been around base in uniform I've had people come up to me all the time to say they hope Luke stays here. Some morons decided to build a housing development in the dry riverbed that we fly up for st-ins, but aside from that it hasn't changed much in the 6 years from my training to my assignment there now. More houses, yes. People wanting us gone, not so much. All the noise is being made by one POS town (El Mirage) that is locked in all around by other municipalities. The only option they have to sprawl out is if they can get their hands on land that had been set aside for encrochment prevention. More El Mirage would mean more cars on cinderblocks, so they haven't been too successful so far. The BMGR is too much of an asset to move away from; I can't see Luke going anywhere.

Yep found the same source data. Persco is saying that because it was originally a 120, and the ULN changes at the 120 day mark (when my replacement should arrive), then they are treated as separate TDYS. Since the ULN changes overnight, the clock restarts at zero days. Their call to AFPC confirmed this. At least I found our before I extended, but this is something that should be addressed. I go to sleep and wake up in the same deployed place but the counter for a short tour resets because I "volunteered" to stay for consecutive 120s with different ULNs. At least I found our before I extended, but this is something that should be addressed. The man is always looking for a way to keep you down...

Bump. Currently on a 120 and I have been asked to extend to 180+ for continuity with leadership's guarantee that I can knock out a short. My replacement's new RDD will ensure I get >185 days. Anyway my guys back home said yes but are concerned about the WOMs they've heard of dudes on ALO tours that have had ~189 days and not get short tour credit. Persco and support SQ/CC out here are saying that if I get 180+ there is nothing they can do to keep me from getting short credit back home... Any verified stories of guys spending 182-190ish days and not getting short tour credit? What was the issue? Where is the reg or policy letter that states that 180+ qualifies as a short, haven't been able to track it down in the 36-series? It helps to be armed when going up against the MPF. Any advice to make sure all squares get filled and I don't get fooked?

Good to hear. Word at the time was the reason it was a big deal at all was because leadership wanted to punish someone once that call was made. Gotta love pilots and how we play telephone. We all know that kind of paperwork usually finds the shredder anyway. It got pretty uptight there after a while. New CC takes over and his old squadron paints his office door tiger stripes that night. Next day we walk in thinking "Shit they got us good..." but leadership thinks different, makes some phone calls, and later that day said punks come over to re-paint the door and apologize. The whole idea of retaliation and morale got snuffed. Anyway to get back on track, good on the UAV punks for taking a shot at some WUGs, especially if they get to see the inside of a fighter as a result.

No shit, never said there was one. Several years back when I got to Shaw, some Captains (non-LPA, for the slow folks) got busted for something involving another squadron's cat, some hair clippers, and the numbers 55 and 77. Some shitbag called PETA and a much bigger deal was made of the whole thing than was necessary. What kind of tool would call PETA in that situation? The same kind that would threaten a bunch on UAV punks with OSI involvement for stealing stuff from their bar. I'd expect that from some pounder at MEO/EO/whatever they call it these days. The fact that it comes from WIC is sad. Good on the LTs.

WIC dudes trying to intimidate the UAV LPA by implying that OSI will get involved. No "fight's on bitches," no retaliation, no covert spirit mission...WIC bitches simply threatening to go tell OSI. EPIC FAIL, weapons school.

From what I can tell a bunch of army dudes call it home and I think some OSW assets were there back in the day. I may be calling it home for a while, anyone have some gouge on what is out there or what to expect?