brabus

High likelihood it was a, "we need the slide to show green stat!" without any critical thought involved. So here we are, wasting more time doing something that wasn't really required in the first place. Perfect.

I also used to think they were witch docs...until I couldn't move my nugget for about 4 days and finally gave in. I was surprised and thankful for the results. Go on your own dime, don't mention it to anyone in the af and you'll be fine. I went that route a few times until after getting my wings; then I figured I was "in" and went to the flight doc a couple times since....no problems, no DNIF.

Easy to say looking down from your level. I have and continue to do the right thing (as do several officers around me), but have been shit on repeatedly in the past because some crybaby NCO went to daddy, because "that's how it's been, so fuck off Capt" (followed by push back based on rationale and common sense, followed by a "get in line or get out" response). Along those lines, for every NCO/SNCO that is a great troop and worth a shit, there are 10 that need to be kicked in the teeth. Doesn't matter if you're a Capt, they will tell you to fuck off (not in those words, but in their attitude/lack of action) and if you say something to the officer(s) in their chain of command you get dickless leadership who either won't do anything and also maybe add a kick to your left and right nut for trying to give orders to an enlisted member. It's not that CGOs/FGOs don't try, it's that they are shot down and stamped out at a rate much higher than you clearly know happens. I'm sure this did not happen nearly as bad when you were a Capt/Maj, and that's probably why you think I'm full of shit and "there's no way it's really like that." The buck stops at the O-6+ (and some O-5s) who allow this shit to happen or need to be seen as "visibly doing something" when someone complains the officer was mean to them or keeps making unreasonable requests, such as "do your job please." My SQ/CC is great and I am allowed a good range to execute the officership and leadership any CGO should in the SQ. Unfortunately, that latitude is not given by many of his peers and only because he's a good dude and at the "fuck it, this is probably it" point in his career, he has zero problem going to bat for his people and shielding us from the other asshole O-5 who wants us burned at the stake for being officers outside of the flight line. If CGO/FGOs were given the same latitude across the base (not just in their own corner) to be the officer and leader they should, things would be much better.

What I mean is O-5 and below are rarely given a real chance to demonstrate the type of leadership and officership that you're demanding here. The problem is you and the rest of senior leadership is out of touch with how it REALLY is a few levels below HAF. Capts through Lt Col's are destroyed if they actually use real leadership and judgement. If you don't tow the party line, you get crushed. I totally get it that there are great WG/CCs, OG/CCs and SQ/CCs...I'm not arguing those individuals don't exist. The problem is they are the minority and in many facets of the AF at the Wing and below level (the levels I see on a normal basis), we as a service are plagued with self-serving, tow-the-line d-bags that demonstrate terrible leadership (and by that I mean zero), lacking interpersonal skills, don't even attempt to use common sense/judgement, etc. I want to see people be allowed, and trusted by senior leadership, to exercise the exact leadership, officership and judgement that you are demanding here. Perhaps we really want similar things in this arena, but the problem is you say, "well why don't you do it?" and my response is, "because I want to keep my job...for now." Senior leadership has zero SA that the good qualities above are stiffed and stamped out a large portion of the time. It's all CYA, tow-the-line, don't rock the boat OR exercise good leadership, officership and judgement...then subsequently get burned at the stake for making choice 2 instead of choice 1. Empower the CGO and FGO level to do these things and the organization will be much better for it. Continue to allow this cancer of shitty leadership, crushing a CGO because he told an NCO to knock it off, prioritizing (insert bullshit) over mission, etc. and you will never have the AF at the lower levels that you falsely think exists or could exist in the current climate. Changing organizational climate is difficult, but beating us over the nugget with "get on board or get out" is not the answer.

Liquid, Pawnman summed it up quite well. That's a pretty damn good rundown on the pulse of the average warfighter. The only SQ/CC's I've seen truly lead (in the sense I honestly think senior leadership wants, but won't admit publicly or through policy) are the ones who have stopped giving a shit about advancing in the Air Force. They're not given the chance, but they take it anyways because fuck it, it's most likely their last assignment. That's sad; guys should be able to be real leaders and then continue advancing and maintain that real leadership into the senior ranks. That track is very much be exception these days. What Pawnman summed up is a good snapshot of why guys with 4-6 years left on their ADSC are talking about the best way to prep for an Airline career, making contacts in the Guard/Reserve, etc. Why in the hell are guys doing their "dream job" planning an exit strategy so far in advance? Senior leadership has let them down and castrated the warfighter at all levels. I'm not saying it's specifically you, but it certainly is those around you. People will only tolerate so much bullshit; at some point the feeling, "the bullshit is worth it because the flying job is awesome" ceases...it's alarming that this point is happening at only 6-9 years into many peoples' careers. You can call them whiners, pussies, etc...or you can listen and take it as honest no-shit feedback from the guys "in the trenches."

I'm 98.696969% (repeating of course) they're required by the FAA to wear parachutes. I've only seen a couple pilots not wear them and their parachutes were sitting next to their seat.

Doesn't count...at least in PACAF. Either that or we were lied to and I wasted a solid 45 min of my day.

Good luck in this fiscal environment...probably will happen again someday, but doubtful any time in the near future (i.e. at least this next year). Hell, we can't even give fam rides to MX, and they're by far the most deserving ones. Damn shame considering empty backseats fly pretty much daily. Along with what RTB said, try to keep in contact with someone in OSS/OSO in case the policy gets lifted.

Sure it is!

Damn, sounds like a host of issues refueling with the drogue. I retract my statement towards the drogue guys, but it still stands for the boom guys who make similar complaints.

Seriously? I too prefer a -10 any day of the week, but the -135 isn't some horrible god-awful platform to take gas from. If someone says it is, then they should maybe take a look at their own flying ability before placing all the blame on the tanker for why they can't get gas well, expeditiously, etc.

Come on Helo, everyone's a winner. Anything else is just unfair and an evil Republican conspiracy.

Here's why we cannot fix the problems: careerism. I know exactly how to get an AFI changed, as do many other people. The problem is not the "how to," it's the simple fact a stop along the approval chain is a careerist asshole who will not "rock the boat" or do anything they think there's even a 1 in a million chance of ruffling their boss' feathers. Middle management just holding on in their current position so they can make it to the next rank/job is what is killing the AF. It doesn't matter one bit if the AFI change makes complete sense, enhances warfighter ability or is simply just a stupid annoyance that needs to go away. There is an O6-O9 98% of the time who will kill it to stay in the perceived good graces of the dude above them. That's the cancer we have in our AF and just like "real" cancer, it's not an easy fix.

It could easily be 6 months before your refs hear anything. You don't need a clearance during UPT, just after. I think most people do have one by then (at least a Secret), but it's not a game ender if you don't. I wouldn't sweat it, a couple months in the security investigation world is chump change. Sounds like you're doing everything you smartly can regarding the budget management. Just be 100% honest on paperwork and in interviews; I think you'll be fine.

Wow. To bring it back the other way, my current sq/cc sat himself for over speeding the gear by 1 knot for < 1 sec. Good leadership does exist and gives me at least a small sliver of hope. It's too bad he seems to be in the vast minority.

I'm not very familiar with auto leases, but can't you just terminate the lease and hand the car back? Maybe there's a penalty for early lease termination, but that would look better than just defaulting on the lease and getting the car repo'd. I don't know if a default/repo would be a no-go for a clearance, but it certainly will be a negative factor. Can you afford to at least make the min payment on the credit card(s) each month? If one card is close to being paid off over another, than focus your weight of effort on that one and close the account ASAP. Give some serious thought to things you really don't need. DirecTV, that new unlimited data plan that costs an extra $30/month, a $25K car that you could sell and replace with a $5K car, etc? There may truly be less things "out of your hands" than it might seem on the surface. Bottom line, defaulting on leases/loans, being consistently late on payments, etc. are red flags for a clearance. Avoid those things and you'll probably be fine.

Heard about that one from a bro. Seriously, WTF is wrong with some people. Glad I never found myself in his chain of command.

I remember when that guy flew in the red air block the entire DCA vul (on purpose, thinking it was the blue block), and when he figured it out in debrief, he grounded 2-4 (2 and 4 were not far out of MQT and 3 was a newer flight lead) for a week, but did not ground himself or even once utter anything resembling an "I fucked up," "I need to do X next time," etc. You could feel the collective "what the fuck!?" in the room. Dbag is an understatement.

Out of curiosity: is IJet equivalent to USAF Phase 3 flying in a T-38 (i.e. how to fly formation/a jet in the NAS)? Is strike/CQ learning basic fighter fundamentals like BFM, SAT, etc. (i.e. beyond just flying a jet in the NAS) in a T-45?

That's who popped into my mind as well. I think "suck a coark soaker" translates to "such a cock sucker." I speak Whiskey, or I'm way off, one of the two.

Shack. We have a family friend who came here on a damn raft when he was 9...needless to say poor and "disadvantaged" is an understatement. He worked his way through school and paid for 100% of college on his own (no "African American" scholarship, etc). He had zero help making it to graduation day other than his own perseverance and work ethic. He is now the CEO of his own company executing multimillion dollar contracts. If that guy can make it, anybody can (save severe mental/physical handicap). Anyone who says otherwise is just making excuses.

Fuck no. The stories I hear on here and from friends on the AMC side make me want to kick a puppy. Seriously, WTF is wrong with stan/eval types in AMC? I've seen one Q3 in the last 4 years and it was a fully "legit," Class A level fuck up. Not some bullshit about IPAD charge or rings. Does AMC raise their stan/eval types to have zero SA on the big picture/mission accomplishment and instead focus on whatever nit picky bullshit they can find to Q3 someone? It seems like it's a competition to see how many Q3's a dude can hand out. Big 2 on that one.

This is the best part: the bullshit tagline at the end along the lines of, "I'm cool dude, I just don't want person X to see you." If you're going to say something, at least stop being such a faggot (shit, sorry for offending 6-9 of you reading this) and own it. Why is manning up impossible for so many of these retards? My most recent experience was some fat nav chick chased me and couple dudes down because we didn't have hats on. When I explained we had diverted and don't have hats, she just reiterated we should have hats, quickly following up with "because I don't want the wg/cc to see you and get mad." I'm pretty sure she about had a hernia right there when I half laughed/half threw a "noted" her way. Funny that a Lt Col who saw me an hour earlier and asked the question completely understood the situation and we went our separate ways. I just don't get it, where do people like this come up with this crap?

Missile turned space guy...though I realize "space" encompasses quite a broad spectrum. Didn't intend to paint the entire space spectrum as the 9-3 crowd. Whatever this guy's job was (even he couldn't really explain it) happened to be one of those 9-3 with an hour lunch break type of jobs (he did say that). Are you sure that's even possible! Damn...

I seriously think about 2.5 weeks of what I consider "real" days would accomplish the entire syllabus. We were told a couple times, "sorry guys, tomorrow's going to be a long day" - it was go to class at 830, 1.5 hr lunch, then done about 1600, including countless 15 min breaks. I actually laughed when some space guy complained about how long the day was (then I realized he was serious).