brabus

If so, that's new - I know many dudes over the last several years who for many different reasons left for a non-ops assignment as an inexperienced dude. It really comes down to what are the needs for a 11F/12F (?) wingmen, flight lead, etc. around the CAF on this VML. Hopefully it works out for you and there's need, but it could also just be shitty timing and there's no need for an inexperienced guy to go to base X.

Only part of the fleet has v3s.

Definitely agree. The bullshit trail is a two-way street. Everyone has to eventually make a decision best for their family/themselves, but regardless if it's get out or stay in, they all deserve a "thanks for your service" without finger-pointing.

So the AF pulled a bunch of bullshit on Vetter (and on a lot of other dudes), he decided it was best for him to get out vs. eat the "Capt until 20" shit sandwich and somehow he's putting himself ahead of others? I don't know Vetter personally, but I do know several good dudes in the same situation he was in - none of them were shitbags or bad officers, they simply got thrown to the side by an AF who doesn't give a shit about anyone. Let me guess, you're one of those people who thinks those who get out pre-20+ are selfish, screwing others, don't understand the meaning of service, etc. We certainly need good dudes to stay and be good leadership in the future, but those who do not want to take that path are not bad officers or putting themselves above others. They did their time and gave a shitload more than 99% of this country - good on them, they deserve a "thanks" at minimum, not this bullshit.

They probably didn't, but they were enormous dickhead prima donnas. I get Lawman's point - they hindered mission accomplishment all while saying, "fuck off, we're above you" to all the Army bros. I have many reasons for joining the AF instead of the Army, but I think you can only go so far with the "well you made your choice" when it comes to something like this.

Same here. It took 48 hours to get every fee waived, including late payment, etc. (not that I plan on testing those waters). Good on AMEX for supporting the military. Honestly I would not have picked up AMEX cards without the fee waived since I just don't spend enough money to get enough perks to make it worth it (at least for the $475 Delta Reserve annual fee), but their support/willingness to waive the fees was a deal maker for me.

Just think about the poor bastard who has to file all those hurt feelings reports every time a wing/cc wears his flightsuit.

It's too good to be true; they'll find a way to non-vol people if they have to. Just imagine, getting non-vol'd to TIB. Suicide rates would sky rocket and we'd then have quarterly don't-kill-yourself days.

From what I've read about Rat on here, yes.

I think you made a good decision; good luck with finishing up and getting a UPT slot.

Current advanced SAMs proliferated around the world right now have made 4th gen nearly obsolete without 5th gen support by western standards (i.e. we're not willing to lose 6-9 fighters/1-2 bombers every vul). The upcoming stuff is even scarier. That said, I completely agree with you on the draining current requirements. The low number of "good hellfires" is bad and hopefully can be rectified...hope's a plan, right? The truth is I don't think anyone in upper management (mil or civ) can figure out a 1/2 way decent balance between the now and the future, but then again I'm not the guy getting paid the big bucks to make those calls; sucks to be them. Not so much an IADS, but it's a good example of how advanced/long-range advanced SAMs are very quickly becoming flavor-of-the-month around the world (or at least have the potential depending on how much money states and/or non-state actors have).

Lawman and SurelySerious covered some big picture points. A healthy time spent on JWICS doing some true threat study (well beyond 3-1.threat) will provide a lot of supporting evidence as to why we need the F-35 (or 5th gen capes period), in addition to the big picture things already mentioned. Additionally, this is NOT a jab at all, just a simple observation: you don't know what you don't know. This is applicable to a whole shit ton of people who continuously ask, "why do we need it and what's so great about it anyways? Can't we just do this with Block 60 vipers?" I can assure you it is very necessary and no Block X viper, Silent Eagle, etc. will match what it will bring. Despite my support for the program's existence and necessity, I by no means am trying to downplay the heinous running of the program at all levels. I completely agree it could and should have been ran much better, on a quicker timeline and at a lower cost. It is the poster child for how fucked our acquisition process is and ludicrous levels of mismanagment on multiple parties' accounts. That said, we are way too far into it to go back/start over with something else - this is our 5th gen multi-role fighter; the 6th gen boat has essentially left the dock (i.e. no use in arguing adding things to the F-35 to make it closer to "6th gen") - we need the F-35 ASAP because God only knows how many decades it will be until 6th gen is even worth talking about.

There's always something newer in development that's "better," but then how long do we kick the can down the road continuously chasing the next best thing and never actually end up with something IOC? I fully realize this need is not new, but we've gone long enough on the backs of 4th gen aircraft. Busdriver nailed it - the "need" has now reached the point where we can't ignore it anymore.

Non-factor because we're not doing CAS in a threat environment that actually requires LO assets. To be more precise, the Raptor does carry AIM-9s, they're just not 9Xs. Yes the 9X is way better, but the Raptors still use 9Ms effectively (this is not to say they shouldn't get the 9X capability ASAP). It will play the Viper/Strike Eagle role where those 4th gen aircraft do not have a chance in hell of operating successfully. This is a reality right now, I'm not even talking about future threats. Along with the Raptor and other LO assets, it will "open the gap" to allow 4th gen assets into bad guy land to continue the air war. The program is all kinds of FUBAR, but reality is we NEED the F-35. I hate to say it, but the days of 4th Gen ragefest on night one is already over in some places in this world, and on a short leash in other parts.

Who gives a shit. This is NOT a designed-for-CAS aircraft and this factor really is almost a moot point. Any EO/IR advancement we make that can hang on a Viper, Strike Eagle, Hornet, etc. can be done with the F-35. These articles praise the SNIPER and lament the F-35's inability to match with EOTS. Big deal, we could make a SNIPER SE work on an F-35 with a bit of effort if we really wanted/needed it. It will not replace the A-10 when it comes to CAS, ever...but it will surpass what other 4th gen aircraft can do. These specifically mentioned ATP/"10 years behind" arguments are merely red herings.

A super hornet for CAS is a bad comparison - between the two, the F-35 will do much better (standard caveat: in a few years). You're not going to "truly replace" the A-10 with anything that's not a specific CAS/CSAR aircraft. Problem is we're not in any financial position to afford niche aircraft; as shitty as it is, that's the truth. I hope that changes in the future, but it's going to be a while, if it ever happens.

I don't have any ETFs with Vanguard, but I have a few managed funds with them that have done well. That's where I put my additional investments beyond IRA/TSP. Sure you can do better if you're very smart on this stuff/have a lot of time, but for guys like me who do not have the time/desire to devote to 9-level personal investment, Vanguard has been a great option. I don't mind leaving it to the pros to manage my portfolio; the penguins on my iceberg are busy with other things.

Because there's an alarming number of incredibly stupid people in this country; they do not consider consequences, they do not think about anyone but themselves and they have zero capability to think critically about any topic. There's probably a lot of things to blame their behavior on, but a leading one is pure racism...and guess what, it's not a bunch of KKK white men who are the leading cause of these problems. I think the at large black population has become the #1 largest group of racists - we have essentially turned 180 out from our past history. It is not better or worse, it is simply repeating the same human mistakes. Assholes like Sharpton and Jackson only serve to further promote racism; they know it, they just don't give a shit because power, money, etc. is more important to them.

Copy, 90% of the rated force under O-6 should probably be sent to ADAP and even better, forced out of the jet. I hope this works out for you; take this as a lesson for the future to tread very lightly around flight docs until they prove they're one of the good guys (which most are, but there are some complete d-bags out there).

If you're using instruments to navigate, it's instrument time (simulated if not actually in IMC or unaided night like Breckey pointed out). Flying a SID without ground references is instrument flying. I've logged plenty of instrument time across sorties that don't involve a single approach.

Fuck that, Type 3 for next 69 min. Feel free to work some combined attacks while you're at it.

Have you considered just doing a bachelors and not concurrently doing the flying/AAS thing? I don't see a huge benefit in this third AAS; maybe I'm missing something. The flying thing is great and all, but having a bachelors is going to be FAR more important than being able to say you have a CFI ticket. I have heard of dudes being able to commission with 6 months left to finish a bachelors, but never have heard beyond that. I'm not saying the 4 year thing doesn't exist, but it seems very suspect one could do 4 full years as an officer, pinning on Capt right as they graduate college.

Great friend and fighter pilot - it never gets easier. A nickel on the grass dude; I'll see you again in the next life.

Look in Summerlin or Club Aliante (those are the two most popular places to live for the reasons you cited).

Define "not too far"...I don't know a single person who lives < 25-30 min away (for good reason). I'm sure there are outliers, but like a lot of major city bases, the areas/neighborhoods around the base are shitty. The guys I know live in either Summerlin or North Las Vegas (area near the Aliante Casino).