brabus

Having a PPL would be a BIG help in you getting an OTS slot. Obviously dudes do get slots w/o a PPL...but why not improve your chances and have some fun at the same time? It really comes down to money...if you have it, then absolutely spend it on the PPL instead of other crap you would have bought. Also, another alternative is getting a student loan for flying. You can find some that don't need to be paid back until after graduation and have pretty low rates.

You don't need to get a PPL, but if you can afford it/have the time, I would highly recommend it. Have you already been accepted to OTS? If not, I'm pretty sure that having a PPL is ALMOST a must to get a pilot slot through OTS. If you decide against the PPL route, you still should get at least some time in a small plane to find out for sure that flying is really what you want to do for a career. Use airnav.com to lookup the airports closer to you, that site will also list FBOs at the field that you can then call/go to websites and see their rates for getting a PPL. There's also google. Have at it.

2.5 yrs technically should work...but you should still go talk to the admissions officer (or whatever they call it) at the Det. They'll give you the rundown. Kick some ass and you should get a slot.

It's got to. Think about it...how could you perform ALL possible tasks with only one good hand? You can't move your wrist, your fingers are probably somewhat held back from full movement...no way you wouldn't be DNIF is my thought. But, I'm no flight doc.

Holy crap man, that's a hell of a deal. We had to pay 50% of the original price for what we wanted...still not a bad deal (as opposed to buying all new stuff), but sure as hell not 75 bucks for everything. Either way, I still only bought one set of BDUs/blues...who needs more when you just end up wearing a flight suit every day.

Isn't that just a given though...since you need a reference point on either side for your eyes to "see" the depth difference? Even knowing that, I still took a good look at 1-5. Everyone should, but it still makes sense that it wouldn't be 1 or 5 (no reference on both sides), right?

Good, at least you won't get the shock I did! Coming from an incredibly dry climate to that place was like getting kicked in the nuts. In addition to beer, start playing golf if you don't already. One of the courses at Maxwell isn't that bad and there are several nice courses in the surrounding areas. Too bad there's no $1 golf out there...the one thing Vance has over the rest of the world!

Drink a lot...and don't go outside your a/c room unless you want to know the true meaning of swamp ass.

DO NOT PUT YOUR FIREARMS IN THE ARMORY. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard (several directly from friends) of the cops taking guns out to the range and shooting them (as drewpey said), treating them like crap in the armory, etc. Why would they care about your gun, it's not their's (and sadly that's how they think). Also, the dudes in the armory are usually 18-19 yr old Amn...you want to trust YOUR weapons to that guy? If you live in a house on base, you can keep them there. If you live in the dorms, FIND someone who lives off base and ask them if you can keep the firearms at their house/apartment. It's pretty lax...I've driven through the gate numerous times with my rifles laying in the back of the car, never had one thing said to me...kind of suprising actually.

No, a TS is a TS...that guy's an idiot. Yeah I'm not Toro, but that's a pretty damn easy one to answer. [ 02. November 2006, 11:43: Message edited by: brabus ]

A dude I used to work with (just PCS'd) had an accident several months ago...he had a "head injury," but never lost conciousness. He was automatically DNIF'd for 5 yrs. Apparently he can go to Brooks in 2 yrs to get a checkup and POSSIBLY be put back on flying status. According to him, he was told any head injuries require an auto-DNIF for 5 yrs. I'm not a doc, but this is what happened to him...sounds like a very similar situation to yours. Just some info for you to think about.

Military aside, it seems like you have some huge trust issues. You need to either fix them, or stop thinking marriage is going to work. Because even if he works a 9-5 for the rest of his life and never goes into the military, you're lack of trust in him is still going to destroy your marriage. Figure this out for you guys, or just cut your losses and move on.

Well here's what I think I'm going to do...my parents are moving to CA in January (they already have owned the house there for 2-3 yrs and have been renting). I'm going to put that address for CA residency, so guess I'm good for now. I know my parents are willing the house to me, so I could use that as proof that I intend to maintain ownership of that property (once that time comes). Realistically at this point, I don't have a clue where I'm going to retire. I guess I have my leaning towards CO...but how can they come after me tax wise 20 yrs down the road; how was I supposed to know FOR SURE I was going to retire in CO and not CA? That seems to be a pretty flimsy basis to go after me on. And even if I do move to CO after retiring, there's no saying I won't eventually then move to that CA property later on (pretty much what my parents have actually done).

Exactly. We'll see what I can find...I just would hate to get hit with a huge amount of taxes since apparently I haven't had any taken out for several months.

THREAD REVIVAL: So come to find out, Finance fvcked up (gee, what a surprise) and does not have any state on my LES for tax purposes, so I have to obviously claim a state. I'm still confused on this whole FL thing. I've read here, searched google, etc. and still can't seem to find the straight info. Sure the form at Finance is just puting "FL" in the box (sts), but I would think that's not legal unless I'm actually a FL resident. Yeah Finance could give two shits about it, but I don't want some tax guy coming after me years down the road. Florida's various websites just don't seem to have very clear info. I hear some people say you just need to vote there, others say you need property, etc. And if it matters, I've NEVER resided in FL, gone to school there, etc. Is it still possible to somehow get residency there, but hopefully still keep my CO driver licence, tags, etc?

Keep in mind, you did your DODMERB what, 4-5 yrs ago? If you had one arm, one leg and could add 2 and 2, you were in ROTC w/ a scholarship. Heck back when we were freshman, you could get a couple MIPs and no one gave a shit. Now you don't shave before coming to PT, you get the boot. Saying you had asthma wasn't such a big deal 4 years ago, now it's almost (note that I said almost) a guaranteed deal breaker.

That's pretty much what I'm saying. I'm not telling you what the right answer is, you have to figure that out for yourself. If you haven't had asthma since 5 or something like that, why should you volunteer that info? According to them it wouldn't matter (yeah right), so why should they know in the first place? Point being, if you tell them, you're at the very least heavily jeopardizing your ability to stay in ROTC. Another example would be if you had a minor broken arm when you were in 4th grade...do you really need to tell them about that as long as there was no hardware involved/everything healed fine?...hmmm. Catch my drift? It's your decision man, but just be forewarned what could very well come of this if you tell them.

I think what happened to the aforementioned people was that they noted asthma on their DODMERB...which as I recall asks if you had any asthma at all, regardless of age. The FC1 is where it says after age 12...as far as I can remember.

Are you ROTC? Just from what I saw at my Det, 100% of people who stated they had asthma at any point in their lives was DQ'd/kicked out of ROTC. Yes they were given the whole challenge thing, yes they passed, yes they were kicked out. Doesn't sound right at all, but ROTC is just looking for any reason to thin its ranks. Two people I knew had absolutely no asthma related anything pass the age of 5...didn't matter. Personally I would think about not mentioning it at all...let the AF find it if they really want to, but you mentioning it gives you a very good chance of being kicked out for some complete bullshit. It's one of those "if you check a single yes box, you just drastically magnified your chances of being DQ'd/kicked out." Just my opinion. [ 08. October 2006, 10:45: Message edited by: brabus ]

It'd be better to do a crosstown school and stay in the same Det, thus giving you maximum exposure to cadre (for pilot slot down the road I assume), sticking w/ the same way of doing things (Dets do things differently), etc. However, doing 2 yrs of ROTC at one Det and then switching isn't necessarily going to kill you, but you would have one semester of ROTC at the new Det before that cadre submits you for a slot...can definitely be done, but definitely more risky. One semester is a lot harder to prove your abilities, character, etc. than 5 semesters. Get it?

Yeah, they were still doing the 2 yr gig until about 2 years ago as far as I know. At that point they stopped hurting for people and thus stopped offering it. The chances of it coming back are getting slimmer by the day, though it'll probably happen at some point down the road when the AF realizes they've fvcked themselves by dumping so many people.

Only IMO, which may not hold much yet, but that's the key right there. At least for me, all I want to do is fly and kick some AQ ass...so what if it's in derkaderkastan...you're serving your country, kicking those bastards around, and doing it all by flying. If that's what you want to do, then just sign the ADSC. I bet ya 10-12 yrs goes by real damn quick; you won't even realize until it's over (and that's exactly what I've heard from every single military pilot I've talked to). If you really want to fly, you're not going to regret signing it.

I want to know how exactly a unit sticker affects the "safety of the vehicle and its occupants" and is some how not a morale booster, but a terrible danger which might lead to a horrendous death! Fvcking idiots.

Yeah that's what my Det did too...never heard of the deposit thing.

Are you really that worried about not getting a slot? But, if you don't, I can understand where you're coming from. A guy at my det was about to do it when he thought he was toast with the AF, but then AF worked out, so obviously didn't go through with it. But as far as I know, he was all set to do it. This was for FY06. So I'm pretty sure it's possible, and most likely very probable to do since 1) The Army is hurting for people 2) The AF is fat on people.