Dupe

Whistle blowers go to their commanders, IGs, or congress people. Guys need to understand that going to the media undercuts the organization.

In any civilian company, taking an issue straight to the media would be grounds for termination. This guy just gets to wither in VA ANG staff limbo. I miss Rainman... Never talk to the media.

Well... Can't beat the price.

I have an old airplane without an electrical system. I use a Goal Zero portable solar panel to keep my iPad charged. https://www.goalzero.com/p/12/nomad-13-solar-panel So far, I'm happy. I don't know what approvals have to happen to get in on an AMC flight deck.

This would imply that the AFPC AEF branch communicates and coordinates with the separations or assignment branches. Instead, AFPC is more like a coral reef or a school of fish. I once got a VML notification and a 179 deployment notification in the same week. On the positive side (and this should scare the AF), I don't think there will be a RIF.

Half the battle there is finding the DPEs who understand the carve-outs for military dudes in the FARs. The reality is that of the average check-ride work load of a DPE, the ATP to a mil dude just isn't that common. There are a few who have made this their core business... find them.

I get it.... I just don't agree with it. The commercial rating is all about smooth maneuvering throughout the flight regime. The ATP is a boring collection of a few approaches. Which will give you a better background to instruct students? The commercial.

It worked in Iraq...it can work here.

All good and noble. I think the bang for the buck just isn't there with the ATP-SEL rating unless you have a specific job you're jumping into. Getting ratings in other categories (rotary wing, glider, weight shift control, powered parachute, lighter than air...) will achieve more of your stated goals and certainly will make you more broad as a pilot than doing a couple of approaches in a Warrior with a DPE present. No doubt, you likely already have a few non-airplane ratings on your Orville & Wilbur card. Nobody yet has said the real reason to get an ATP-SEL... so you can tell the AF to shove it and you start flying in Alaska or the Carribean. That's doubly-true for the ATP-SES. I'll let this thread go back to how military pilots can get their CFI.... There's a ton of value in military CFIs as most civilian CFIs just don't have the depth of experience that mil dudes do.

My personal view is the commercial standards are "fluffier" than ATP standards. The commercial maneuvers are all graded based on being controlled and coordinated and are really qualitative. That said, bust the MDA on the ATP, and it's over. The SE-commercial is a ride that 20-year olds without college degrees pass at a very high rate. Besides, most DPEs are incredibly supportive of the military. Getting the DPE on your side is half the battle.

Right, but those same maneuvers (Shorts, softs, steep spiral, Chandelles, lazy-eights, and eights-on) come up again in the CFI checkride... Why not use the commercial rating to nail them?

Why even get a SE-ATP at all? I can think of only a couple of jobs that require it, and compensation/benefits are very low compared to being an AF rated officer. Think PC-12 for a regional flying Essential Air Services routes or the emerging 135 SR-22 market.

Isn't VSP really "gambling?" Its applied game-theory at least...

Why give this a downvote (unless it was Butters)? Seems like SA-building comm.

Figure out how to enable us to cut out the crap. The Chief himself said "If following a regulation doesn't make sense, stop doing it and stop doing it today." He's used the AF Form 1800 example ("preflighting" vehicles) in numerous speeches. At the same time, it doesn't seem like the message is making it down. Folks down the line need a way to say "Boss, we shouldn't do X because it just doesn't make sense."

Congress typically doesn't dream this stuff up themselves. There had to be a good idea fairy that got to one of the service's legislative liaison office. With the emergence of big data analytics, I would think it's relatively easy to compare DEERS records with state marriage/divorce/birth/court records. Rather than taking the gorilla approach and looking at every single member claiming dependent BAH(at a huge efficiency burden to all of us), I think we could have attacked this smarter. We should have figured out the risk demographics for BAH fraud and done a sampling of electronic records based on risk. For example, the high risk category gets a 5% sample rate while the low risk group gets a 1% sample. Members who don't pass the records check then get to bring in supporting docs to back them up. Those who can't back-up their BAH claims get ramrodded prison-style. The mere threat and knowledge that there's a continuous auditing process will deter most folks. That's how the IRS does it. Did I just say the IRS is efficient? I did.

I would think an audit of 1-3% of the force per year would be more cost effective than making every single person go to finance in person.

For the first time in the Air Force (10+ years now), I have to go to Finance to certify my dependent status by taking them marriage certificates (and/or birth certificates for those who were issued spawn). Apparently, this is an AF-wide move, and they won't take email copies... you have to see them in person. Who has the story on why we're going through this dance of inefficiency? Obviously, there was either some colossal fraud or somebody ordered an AF-wide investigation. @Finance Guy... where are you?

I use LTP for my civilian flight instructing... It's worth every penny. The fact that it can generate an FAA 8710, quickly answer the odd-ball insurance company questions, and keep track of all the various currencies make it very valuable.

It's March... there just ain't that much spouse-screwing to be had. Related, spouse of the year should just simply be given to the last wife to deliver a baby in December.

To be clear, the PTS is a list of tasks to be accomplished during the practical vice the eligibility requirements for the rating. FAR 61.183(i) is straight up that you need either 1) a spin sign off or 2) have to demonstrate it. Go find a Decathlon somewhere and have fun for an hour, as I think showing up to the practical without a spin endorsement is unwise. Some of the civil aviation community is really supportive of military dudes, and some feel military guys are silver-spoons who never had to hump it out in the regionals or night cargo... make sure you get the right DPE.

Those will be retro-cool in 10 years....

It's telling that the man didn't survive a year as a president of a state university. The patch in my sister squadron at Lakenheath was a genius: he crafted his own combat plan to track aircrew performance titled "Combat Combat."

A standing issue we have in the AF is that some of the MDS-specific parts aren't being made anymore. It gets really bad when the component was made by a small business who now no longer exists.

You will be fine. However, you're going waste lots of hours dealing with the grievance. As long as you set standards IAW the PD and CBA, you'll be ok. One evil tactic: give your GS a job that's impossible to be perfect without an insane amount of time sink. Equipment accounts are good for this.