Dupe

Thanks for your service. Double thanks for being about the best possible value you could be to the US as an aviator. We'll now get 15-25 more years of aviation service out of you before you become a member of the check-of-the-month club. You get the quality of life you want and the stability of not PCSing while still serving your country. Everybody wins. I'm not sure why there aren't more reserve units close to active ones. Chang...I think there's a serious cost-savings in expanding the reserves and convincing guys to join the reserve at the 12-16 year point.

I wish we had a system where shutting down scamsters is possible at a level lower than a House inquiry.

Oh..I get it. How will the picture change when we stop sending massive amounts of crap back and forth to the CENTCOM AOR? I'll believe this airline hiring boom when I see it... I think some of the majors still have guys out on furlough. From a macro level, maybe a guy that gets out in the 12-16 year mark and joins the Reserves until retirement age is a better investment than a guy who retires from active duty at 20. I think the AF would be wise to make some of the staff functions be traditional Reserve billets: we can then keep the experience we want (say 11F vs 11M) while not losing an active flyer. Bottom line: the bonus should be used in conjunction with total force options... I fear it isn't.

Devil's advocate: Perhaps watching large percentages of heavy pilots get out is a "success." Most heavy platforms are manned well above 100%. Separations from 11Ms to the airlines now may be better for our country in the long run. If the much-anticipated airline hiring boom comes to fruition, the AF can later retool bonuses to 11Ms.

ASI started reasonable for me when I first bought my house 4 years ago in the Eglin area. Every year, the rate went up $200 or $300. I finally switched to Fed National and am saving $1000 a year. I wish now that I would have switched at the first rate increase. If anyone needs, I can PM my wind mitigation inspector and insurance agent info along. My insurance inspection costed $125 and the deal was that I'd get a refund if the house didn't pass.

Really, only the minority of Indian tactical aircraft can take a western-style drogue anyway.

There's a way around that: we license production to a handfull of firms. Competition drives price down. It's like buying beer in The Quarter vice at the Super Dome.

What @Stick said. To follow that up, I think the senior leaders can see who's a container-checker and who is there to move the ball down the field ...at least the good ones can see that. For some time, I've thought the AF should go to some form of 360 degree feedback vice just top looking down. I'm surprised the ASPJ article linked earlier didn't recommend it in some form.

I don't think Congress should mandate DoD-wide uniforms (especially when there are much more important things that need mandating), but the HASC as decidedly noticed the uniform shenanigans across all services... https://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/06/06/house-votes-to-eliminate-service-camo-patterns.html?ESRC=airforce-a.nl

At less than $700K per year, the Pats got a hell of a deal. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/tim-tebow/

You two can form a "Combat Neighborhood Watch"

Good clarification. I wanted to make it obvious to not expect the .56/mi (or whatever the current TDY rate is) for this.

As said other places in this forum... Know the JFTR. Consider it professional reading as much as anything else. From the hymnal: U5015 MONETARY ALLOWANCE IN LIEU OF TRANSPORTATION (MALT) A. General 1. A member, authorized dependents’ travel and transportation allowances under par. U5201, is authorized MALT at the rate in par. U2605-B when travel is performed. When a member and dependents relocate on a member’s PCS move, reimbursement is authorized for two POCs, if used. 2. Except as in par. U5015-B, the MALT rate authorized for dependents’ travel is for the use of one or two POCs. And U2605 PCS, HHT (DoD CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE), FIRST DUTY STATION, AND SEPARATION TRAVEL B. MALT Rate *1. Effective 1 January 2013, the MALT rate per authorized POC is $.24/mile. The MALT rate in effect from 17 April – 31 December 2012 was $.23/mile. You get paid .24 / mi to move two cars. For homework, you should look up the conditions where you do or don't get DLA.

Or just stuck at the border because of some spat.

Maybe the AF realizes that it would be insulting to furlough one class of employees while offering a bonus to another class...

In the FAA's eyes, instructor certificates are just like pilot certificates in that they have specific privileges. The privileges include (but aren't limited to) Airplane Single Engine, Airplane Multi Engine, and Instrument. You absolutely can have an Instructor certificate with only airplane privileges. Some of the pilot mills do the initial commercial, CFI, then CFII in a light twin to get the guy more multi time up front. As another fun fact: note that instructor certificates don't specify "Land" or "Sea" for airplanes. If you get a mil comp CFI (or knock it out on the side), then go pick up your seaplane commercial rating at one of these "get a seaplane rating while on vacation" places... you can then instruct in seaplanes! Thankfully, the smart insurance companies pretty much squash that loophole.

A commercial would give you more exposure to the maneuvers that you'll do on your CFI check ride and the ones you may later have to teach as a CFI. The ATP is probably easier (really, just a glorified instrument check). Heck...you can do the ATP in a sim if an appropriate one exists.

Flying hours are already paid for! RDT&E pays for the flying hours vice a normal smelling flying hour program for any normal MAJCOM. Since RDT&E wasn't affected by sequestration, neither was AFMC flying. I felt really guilty taking GBU-12s to the range last month...

Halting ops for the remainder of the day and the next day is common (if not entirely standard). If there's some obvious smoking gun (like...say...a nose section well separated from the rest of the aircraft), the SPO will usually step in and ground the whole fleet of a MDS.

They can never force you to PCS and incur a longer ADSC than you currently have. If you're offered a PCS that will extend your ADSC, you can elect not to take it and you will get a reclama. You may also be offered an assignment that you have retainability for (hint: AFPC knows your retainability and may be tagging you appropriately). Read 36-2110 Para 2.9.

To me, the issue isn't deploying. It's deploying to fill jobs that shouldn't be rated jobs in the first place. I have no problem going to a targeting cell in the CAOC or working the fixed wing CAS desk at a CJSOAD somewhere. Its the fact that dudes are being deployed to be coffee-getters or briefing builders that yanks my chain. If the new Chief wants to make a change... he can start by asking the question "Are all these rated deployed billets really required?" My view is that the Army has figured out that a rated AF person can make quick decisions in a way that other tribes in the AF don't. As a result "can make spot decisions" gets morphed into "rated required."

Here's what I learned: I learned how an AF squadron works, I learned to fly in a high-G aircraft (I hadn't had 4 months of training in a T-38 prior to showing up...it was all with old fart-knockers in the T-1/T-39), and I learned what was expected of fighter wingmen. I feel like I already had complaining and inferiority down prior to my arrival.

I'm curious how much the online instructors cost the AF compared to the good 'ol books that you read and took a test on.

That's the data I needed. Thanks. Sounds like I'm just a consumer on the free market...as I'll be burning all my TLE at my current base. Its ashame that the AF-provided options don't come close to comparing to what I can find outside the gates. I'll take my Marriott points and like it.

I think most SES types are underpaid for the work they do. In a comparable corporate structure, I think $200K + stock options is more real.