B-O-double-Z

Keeping your military time in a civilian log book seems like a waste of time to me. I would keep a logbook for my civilian flying. For military flying, the flight records, especially along with the Form 8s, are stand alone. When filling out a appliction, or creating a resume, just add the totals together. The military flight records are irrefutable. If I were hiring, I would but way more credence on documents maintained and verified by the military, than a civilian logbook (many of which are total crap). If an employer is so stupid, that they won't look at your military records as verification, you don't want to work for them anyway. Any legitimate company is going to understand what they are looking at. If they think your specific type of military flying needs to have a correction factor (such as X 1.2 as mentioned above) they'll add it. If you do it, you'll just create ambiguity, which isn't going help you. I would also be careful how I handled UPT student time. It's a sticky point. If you are going to count it on your resume as flying time, you better know what is legit and what isn't.

There were two A-10 fatalities in Desert Storm. One involved a shootdown where the pilot was believed to be killed when the missile impacted the aircraft (Steve Phyllis). No ejection attempted. The other involved a pilot attempting to land a severely damaged A-10 ("Olie" Olson). He crashed during landing and was killed on impact.

The Hunters by James Salter Fictional account of an F-86 squadron in Korea. Not really a feel good ending, but captures some of the competion and dynamics of a wartime squadron. The first novel by Salter, a Korean war pilot, 1956. He's still writing, though his other novels are not aviation related. West with the Night by Beryl Markham Memoirs of an elegant female aviation pioneer, Beryl Markham, flying in Africa in the 1930's. Combines the starkness and splendor of Africa with the simplicity and adventure of early aviation.

The post about the B-1 mishap made me think about this paper I recently wrote. Maybe there's some things in here that other pilots will find valuable. Feel free to steal and plagarize as desired. Some Things I’ve Learned Till Now I’ve been fortunate to be able to fly the A-10 for a long time. I started out on active duty, then spent time in the Air National Guard, and now fly full-time for the Air Force Reserves. I’m not yet ancient, but I am old enough to have witnessed some major changes in the way we view the world and the way we fly airplanes in the fighter/attack community. Around long enough to see some devastating mishaps, I’ve lost squadron mates, close friends, and many other professional acquaintances. Some didn’t make it past their first few years in the cockpit—others were seasoned veterans with thousands of hours under their belts. For me, one the most humbling things that can happen, is to see someone that you admire, someone you know is a top-notch pilot and human being, die in an aircraft accident. You need to be introspective in this business. If you fail to examine yourself, each time someone else has a mishap, you fail to honor their sacrifice. In that vain, I’ve written a list of things that I’ve found to be truisms for staying alive and doing the job. They are derived from my personal experiences, but can be applied to most types of Air Force aircraft. 1. It’s Usually the Second or Third Bad Decision that Kills You On flying missions, even when you’ve made a bad decision, there’s usually still a chance to rectify the situation. Sometimes you just make a bad call. Your first bad decision might pertain to weather, fuel, mission complexity, or physiological factors. Don’t keep doing it. Get yourself back on a viable course of action. Flying is constant string of decisions that affect your outcomes. There is a lot of pressure to get the mission done. Sometimes the pressure is real and sometimes it’s perceived. Regardless…it can cloud your judgment. 2. Being a Little Bit Scared is a Good Thing I don’t care who you are…this job is dangerous. I once saw Chuck Yeager in a television interview. He made a statement that struck me as profound. I can’t remember it exactly, but it went roughly, “Every time I strap on an airplane, I say to myself, be careful Yeager, this sucker could bite you today.” If Chuck Yeager is a little bit scared, it’s probably okay for me to be. Call it what you want, maybe it’s a self preservation instinct, or those little hairs on the back of your neck, but you have to have an internal fear mechanism to make it in the long run. 3. Even within the Rules, There’s Plenty of Rope to Hang Yourself There’s no other type of flying that comes close to what we do in the military. Think about it. What other company is going to let you take out their planes and dogfight within 500’ of each other, or fly a low level at 300’ AGL, or roll-in and drop a string of bombs with a 60 degree dive angle. You don’t have to break the rules to have fun. When you step out the door, the Air Force gives you about a hundred feet of rope to wrap around your neck if you choose to. There’s a lot of trust inherent in that. I’ve broken rules, but as I’ve gotten older, and hopefully wiser, I’m able to see how stupid and gratuitous that is. It’s an insult to yourself and the Air Force. And…if you end up killing yourself while breaking the rules, they’ll make an example of you in safety meetings for a long time. If that’s not motivation to follow the rules, I don’t what is. 4. There is a Lot You Don’t Know The problem is…you don’t currently know how much you don’t know. Take this simple test. If you a have several thousand hours, think back to when you had 500. If you have 500 hours, think back to when you were in UPT. At each level, you were probably pretty confident and sure of your knowledge. Guess what folks…it never ends. I like to attend forums where there are aircrews from other communities. For no other reason, I’m reminded of how much is going on in military flying that I don’t know about. It’s humbling. If you fly fighters, talk to an AFSOC helicopter pilot, or a C-17 pilot who’s just back from one of the “Stans,” or even a FAIP who puts his life on the line with some young punk who’s trying to kill him everyday. You’ll find out real quick that nobody has “cornered the market” on risk and danger. 5. It’s Best to Keep Your Plan Simple Don’t make things harder than they need to be. This business is hard enough without incorporating the “double-rat’s-ass” plan for no reason. In my anecdotal experience, a tactical plan’s chance of success is inversely proportional to its complexity. Concentrate on basics and be really, really good at them. If you are a fighter pilot, those things are probably de-confliction, target acquisition, weapons delivery, and mutual support. Those basics apply to just about every type of tactical mission, whether it’s air-to-air or air-to-mud. Make those the tenets of your objectives for every training or combat flight. If you are good at the basics, you’ll be able to adapt to complex situations. 6. You Need to Visualize Yourself in Emergency Situations We can all sight examples of pilots who have “screwed up” in emergency situations. It’s easy to point a finger. How does a seasoned veteran forget to jettison his stores after being hit by a missile, or forget to put his speed brakes in with a failed engine and stall the plane, or make a landing 100 knots too fast and go off the end of the runway? Guess what…emergencies are stressful. There’s time dilation and the possibility of having the proverbial “seat cushion” where the sun don’t shine. Go through your boldface frequently. Don’t just say the words; translate the words into the physical actions you’d actually make in the plane. Move your hands to the switches as you say the words. If you reinforce the words with the actions it will help prepare you to act in stressful situations. 7. Good Communication is Imperative It doesn’t matter whether you are mission briefing, talking to ATC, or calling out a threat reaction…you have to be able to communicate well. You may be the smartest guy in the room, but if nobody else can figure out what the hell you are talking about, you can’t be totally effective in this business. Our job is very technical. It’s important to use the proper terminology and protocol. As an instructor if my wingman has a problem with his HUD, armament control panel, or navigation system, I can’t help him unless he can successfully communicate his problem to me and I can successfully communicate a solution. Communication not only has to be correct, it has to be timely. CRM is here and it’s important. We need to take care of each other in flight and on the ground. In one of my prior squadrons, an A-10 flight lead flew into the ground while holding at low altitude. He hit the ground at an extremely low angle of impact. He was highly experienced, had flown three different kinds of fighters, and was also a major airline pilot. He essentially mis-prioritized his attention in the cockpit while attack planning and gently descended right into the ground. He had two wingmen with him in tactical formation. Neither one said a word. One of them, a very young pilot, actually admitted to watching lead descend the whole time—all the way to impact. Afterward, he said it looked wrong, but he didn’t say anything, because he figured the guy knew what he was doing. Now he has to live with that. 8. Don’t Get Too Married to Your Plan Murphy is out there on every mission. If you are like me, it seems like the harder you work on your plan and briefing, the more chance that it will change. Plan properly, but don’t become emotionally invested in your plan. It can lead you to make bad decisions. For a particular mission, you may have created the greatest low altitude attack geometry ever know to man, but if the weather doesn’t cooperate, you may need to shelve it and go to plan B. It’s tempting to push weather or fuel in order to meet your objectives. One of the things that make our job so gratifying is that you can never totally predict what is going to happen. Flying is more like a chess game than filling out a tax form. Stay flexible, keep thinking, and don’t get too married to your plan. 9. Admit When You Don’t Know Something There are so many new systems, weapons, regulation changes, acronyms, tactics, and techniques that it’s becoming increasing hard to stay on top of all the things you need to know to do the job. It’s staggering when you think of all the layers of knowledge you are responsible for in the Air Force. You have know your plane, then the sub-systems of the plane (navigation computer, counter measures systems, displays), the mission planning software, the electronic briefing room, the simulator, and the new scheduling software. Add to that the volumes of regulations, the demands of your non-flying duties, death by PowerPoint, and the bombardment of emails from around the base. It’s amazing to me we can do our jobs at all. The fact is…there is tons of stuff I don’t know. Even in the flying arena, all I have to do is sit through a briefing by a motivated young weapons officer and I’m lucky if I understand half of the material. It’s no sin to not know something. Ask questions and admit when you are clueless. The same thing applies in flight. You’ve got lots of resources to draw on when you don’t know something. There are your wingmen, your SOF, ATC, Metro, FSS, and the RCO to name a few. If you don’t know something, there may be somebody else you can talk to that does. 10. Don’t Be to Proud to Change Your Mind There are things that I knew to be true in the past that I can no longer call true. Your perspective can and probably should change with experience. It’s easy to become myopic and parochial. Every clothing outfit you’ve ever worn and every hair style you’ve ever sported, you must have thought was a good idea at the time. All I have to do is pull out pictures from the 80’s to see that I don’t possess perfect judgment and wisdom at all times. I think the ORM constructs we use now can help to put things in perspective in real time. I’m not as passionate about the need to train at 100’ AGL or knife fight BFM in a flat scissors as I used to be. You need to constantly challenge your beliefs and compare them to current realities. 11. When You Train…Make the Most of It The government is only going to give you so much JP8 to burn in your career. How well you decide to use it is amazingly within your purview. How you train will largely determine if you are destined to be average or will actually be good. It’s easy to get into the rut of doing the same events or exercises every time you fly. In my community, it’s tempting to “mail it in” when you are going to the same weapons delivery ranges every week. Don’t fall into this trap. Push yourself to be really good in the airplane. Be proficient in all the weapons and deliveries, formations and tactics, and fundamental skills. Challenge yourself with difficult target acquisition, go to different airspace, and get realistic training. Don’t make your training missions so complex that you never get really good at the core competencies. It’s analogous to practicing for a sport. A football team doesn’t go out and scrimmage every day. Although scrimmaging, a full dressed rehearsal for game day is important, most of the time you need to be doing drills; like blocking, tackling, throwing, and catching. It takes a lot of repetition to be good at something. Practice difficult maneuvers and deliveries over and over until you get them right. You’ll be able to do them better and safer during a complex scenario and be better prepared for game day. It Can Happen To You Sounds cheesy I know, but it’s true. This is an unforgiving business. Take an active role in your own safety. Supervision is important, but when you are strapping on that jet, mommy and daddy aren’t going along with you. Look in the mirror and make sure you like what you see. Be proactive in your squadron or wing. Pull a buddy aside and tell them if they are screwing up. Learn from other people’s mistakes, don’t get complacent, and listen to that little voice in your head. You don’t want to be the guy who could have saved a squadron mate and didn’t…and you certainly don’t want to be an example in squadron safety meetings for the next 20 years. Lt Col Brady Glick is command pilot and combat veteran with more than 4000 hours in the A-10. He is a graduate of the Air Force Weapons School, Advance Instrument School, and Flight Safety Officer Course.

I used to think USAA was the best company on the planet...not any more. Since switching from all officers, to the military in general, they aren't anything "special." I've gotten better car insurance rates from Progressive. I owned some rental houses (perfectly nice houses, just older) and USAA wouldn't insure them. I went with a local agency who was happy to have the business. They wouldn't insure my boat either. They said something about it having too much horsepower for my level of boating experience. Whatever. They used to be in the business of serving the officer core. Now they are in the business of collecting money, and never having to pay any out if they can help it. If your driving record is perfect, and you live in a newer house in a sub-division, or on base, you probably haven't noticed much of a drop-off. They used to have pretty good rates all over the country. Now they really stick it to you if you are in a high premium area. I'm in Louisiana. The incidence of uninsured drivers is high, and USAA doesn't miss an opportunity to jack your premiums. They seem to want out of the property insurance business in this area. Like I said, I couldn't even get insurance on an older house from them. I don't like all their little propaganda magazines they send to the house either. If you have kids, they send "kids magazines" which look inocuous, but are simply clever "branding" techniques of marketing. Your results may vary...

CraptorKeeper, If you graduated from the Zoo (even if it took you 4.5 years) then preach on. Your post, about attending ROTC and the Academy, led me to believe otherwise. Just to clarify... Did you go partially through ROTC, then 4.5 years at the Zoo, and still not get to (or through) UPT? Bummer... [ 07. May 2006, 13:24: Message edited by: B-O-double-Z ]

Unless you explain otherwise, I'll read this to mean... "I couldn't hack the program at the Academy, but I still did fine in ROTC." That doesn't prove much.

"2" especially to the first part. Don't become a pompus ass and think you are better because you went to the academy. That'd be the fastest way to isolate yourself from other hard working officers and enlisted airmen. Otherwise, despite my zero experience, I'd just say work hard, stay motivated, and congrats! You should be very honored to recieve an appointment there. Remember, stay humble.

I've got lots of combat hours...most of it insignificant. For a fighter guy, in my opinion, there are two things that make the "combat time" significant. Either you know there is a threat to you or there's a dire situation for someone on the ground. I have some combat hours where I was being shot at or at least knew there was a chance of being hit with a missile or AAA. In retrospect, in a sort of perverse way, it was exhilarating. The anxiousness really gets your adrenaline going. You noticed it most when you were heading back for home and coming down off the feeling. The target aquisition phase was the most anxious. You are down at a lower altitude, loitering in a given area too long, and heads down looking for whatever it is you are supposed to be trying to find. The feeling reminded me of swimming in the ocean. My brother and I like to swim out in the ocean, far over our heads. It's fun, and exhilarating, but you always have the feeling that something could swim up from under you and take your foot off...and you'd never see it coming.

That's precious.

My advice: I would recommend the guard or reserves, but don't become a full timer (ART, technician, or whatever name people call it) because there are many miserable aspects that are similar to what you see as a FAIP.

I live in the Broadmoor neighborhood which is on the Shreveport side of the Red River. I love it there. It's an older neighborhood, but affordable, and close to everything. Youree Drive, the main shopping/eating area in town, and goes right through Broadmoor, has exploded in the past few years. There's every kind of restaurant and store. Also, you are just a couple miles away from Line Avenue, which is sort of the "old money" part of town and some more good bars/restaurants. There are some nice appartments on the Clyde Fant Parkway, just across the river from the base. You have easy access to everything on the Shreveport side, including the downtown, by heading up or down the parkway, and you can hit the Barksdale bridge, and be at the west gate of base in about a couple minutes. I started out in Bossier City, but later moved to Shreveport. Our realtor steered us to Bossier but I think it is over-rated. I've been at Barksdale for six years and know the area well. If you have specific questions, PM me.

Wicked27, I think you've been given some bad info. I'll try to address some of your questions. 300 Hours a year in fighters was a norm 15 years ago. Today, I'd plan on 150-250 for a guy in active duty. Part-time in the Guard/Reserves, maybe 80-150. Guard/Reserve "bum" varies, possibly 200-250. As a full-time Reserve FTU instructor, I fly about 250, which is more than most guys I know (and most guys in my unit). There is more to it than "Guard Weekend Duty." Your absolute minimum amount of participation will also include 48 additional Training Periods (TPs) with a minimum length of 4 hours each, and 15 other days of active duty status. The "one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer" does't apply to being a pilot in the Guard/Reserves. I'd plan on a minimum of 6 days per month average. Not a f*cking chance in hell for a fighter pilot. If you are looking for 500hr/year, go fly C-130s. If your motivation for asking about hours is to get to the airlines as quick as you can...that's a bad reason for wanting to be a military pilot. But...it is no sin to want to fly as much as possible. As a young fighter pilot, you need to be getting as much air under your butt as you can. It just won't be as much as you've been lead to believe.

1988 equals 37% washout rate. That's the year I graduated from UPT. So...all the rest of you bee-otches need to quit your snivelling and crying. Hell, my kindergarten class had a higher wash-out rate then what we're seeing today. Maybe we need to go back to some tough love. Who's with me...

Yeah, I think you are right. I pulled up next to about 6 T-38s when I got there yesterday around lunch time. I just got back to Barksdale a little while ago. P.S. Nobody in your group looked particularly dorky--just young.

That's about right. Actually, in the Reserves, we measure our X-country sorties in dollars, not hours.

A-10. Thanks, but I should be alright. I usually get a U-Drive-It from base transpo.

Anything going on at Sheppard tonight? How's the O'Club these days? Can I expect to see any crud being played? I'm x-country this weekend, planning to RON at SPS tonight, COS on Saturday, and IKR on Sunday.

Hoser, Yeah, I'll take you up on the offer of your notes from the course. I'll PM you with my work email address. I did heard everyone has to do an article for AF Safety Magazine. I've been giving that some thought. How's this for a working title..."For all the sh!t I've pulled...If I can live through 4000 hours in a single-seat fighter...maybe you can too." MajorMadMax, It's looking slim for me to get out there to D-M too. Maybe while at Safety School I can feign sickness, or temporary insanity, or the death of a pet, or some other reason to skip out of a Friday. I can tell them I'm on the "Senior Advisory Council for Hawgsmoke." Here at the FTU, we have senior officers skipping out of formal training all the time for dubious reasons.

Sleepy, My TDY at Kirtland doesn't start till March 6th, so the time frame for the Case Grande fly-in doesn't work out. Casa Grande, AZ is a long way from Albuquerque. ENJJPT IP, I haven't skied in NM. Where do you suggest? I know about Taos and Angle Fire. Are there any other places? Taos is only about 100 NM from ABQ. I might try heading up there for a weekend.

Clearedhot, Yeah, you are probably right. In my case, I'm an LTC in the Air Reserve Technician (ART) program. I have to keep going till I'm 56 years old (currently 41). I figured if I don't make the "A-Team" and become a full colonel, then wing safety will be a place to hang out in my golden years and still fly like a lieutenant. There are worse things. ENJJPT IP, Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I'll start trying to put a marker in as soon as I can. I really want to go to Hawgsmoke. I've been to all of them, flown in two of them (my four-ship took 2nd in 2000, and we won it all 2002), and I designed the competition for the last one (2004, which got rained out). The Guard/Reserves have hosted them all in the past and it's been a rockin' good time. We'll see how the active duty pulls it off. I have my doubts.

I'm going to go to Kirtland AFB next month for the FSO course. It's about three weeks long. I'll probably be the oldest guy ever to go throught the damn thing, but it AFRC is willing to pay for it, I'm willing to put it on my resume. I heard it's a pretty cool school. Anyway...I haven't spent much time in Albuquergue over the years, just a bunch of gas-n-goes and the occasional RON. I'm going to fly my own small airplane out there for the TDY and have a rental car too. Couple questions for anyone in the know... What's a decent FBO, either on ABQ or any of the outlying airports, to park a small plane for a few weeks? For anyone who's gone through the course, what are the chances of getting a Friday off? I want to go to Hawgsmoke at Davis-Monthan AFB and get there on Thursday, March 23rd, in time to drink copious amounts of beer. Gouge on where to go in Albuquerque (bars, restaurants, etc.)? I've been down around the U of NM a little bit. That seems pretty good. Any areas better than that? Anywhere especially interesting, within a couple hundred miles, to fly a small plane to on the weekends?

The O'Clubs have been dumbed down big time over the past 20 years. But, I'm shocked to see you have to restrict the festivities in your own squadron's bar. Like you said, if you don't like the songs, get the f#ck out of the squadron. Who's the Wing CC? Do you have any chicks in your squadron? Does your squadron CC have a sack or not? Sometimes this kind of sh!t blows over quickly. As sad as it is, your squadron CC at least has to go through the motions. The real test will be if he enforces the new rules with gusto or not. If it were me, and I was put in that situation by the Wing CC, I'd probably stop coming to the bar and let the boys play.

Hoser...and anybody else who's interested, Don't get too far down in the weeds on this one. Here's some simple gouge. Part-time pilot: Has another job outside the military--usually airlines. Comes in to fly several times a month, usually attends monthly drill, may accept missions for extended periods as a volunteer, could be activated for unspecified period in time of war, makes between $25-40K, depending on level of participation. Is eligible for a pro-rated retirement after 20 years, but doesn't collect it until age 60. Guard/Reserve Bum: See above, except has no job outside part-time military. This, being as such, volunteers for every mission and deployment, probably has no medical benefits, makes $30-60K. Active Guard/Reserve (AGR): Pay, benefits, vacation retirement just like active duty. Leave after 20 years, start collecting your retirement the next day. Usually an experienced IP in your weapons system. Makes active duty pay, $60K-120K depending on rank, years of service, bonuses. These positions are not numerous, and in the post airline furlough era (now), are very hard to get because of the demand. Air Reserve Technician (ART): The most complicated status. Works 40 hours a week as a federal employee. Pay and benefits in this status is the same as other federal employees (CIA, Customs, FBI, etc.) Even though being paid by the feds, officers wear military uniform and do normal military stuff (fly, SOF, etc.) All ARTs also have a part-time military position in the unit (See above). During weekends, extra hours, some deployments, ARTs get paid as military part-timers and also accrue a pro-rated military retirement based on total participation in that status. Usually senior instructor pilots and unit management. MUST STAY IN THE PROGRAM UNTIL AGE 56 TO GET FEDERAL RETIREMENT. Total pay, from two different pots, consists of approx. 3/4 federal and 1/4 military. Total combined compensation $100-160K, depending on military rank, civil service grade, years of service. Two retirements, civil service at 56, and pro-rated militry retirement collected at 60. These positions, like AGR, are hard to get. Hope this helps everybody out there.

"Weapons Instructor Course" It used to be called "Fighter Weapons School" and "Fighter Weapons Instructor Course"." They took the work "Fighter" out of it when they started developing courses for AWACS controllers and intelligence officers. Traditionally, the Fighter Weapons School is the Air Force equivilent of the Navy's "Top Gun" School. "Dark Grays" are F-15Es...not to be confused with "light Grays" or "C" model F-15s. Units often deploy to Nellis to support the WIC courses. You might be there to dogfight against the guys going through, or provide additional fighter support for CAS or Tactical scenarios. Weapons School is the highest upgrade you can go through in your specific type of aircraft. When you graduate, you are your unit's chief instructor pilot until the next guy goes through. I'd estimate that about 10-15% of fighter guys are selected for Weapons School during their careers.