brabus

Look for a chiropractor who takes full x-rays as part of their initial screening for new patients..do it out of pocket (i.e. off the record). There are some very good ones out there who may be able to help, and it won't cost you much to at least try the easy road first. If it's something worse, like a herniated disk, you'll have to likely go through someone else which will involve insurance, etc.

Know many dudes who have stayed at Eglin/Nellis for multiple assignments...PCA is an easy option (relatively) when you have multiple wings at the same base. Though I'm guessing neither of these are where the OP is.

Of course it depends...but I also think it’s hyperbole to say “a lot” of guys find years 0~11 to be a mistake. I would buy “a lot” of guys generally enjoyed their LT-capt/young maj years (in spite of their natural love for bitching), and would consider staying past initial commitment the actual mistake. This is from a CAF perspective, and I know it may not apply to other commands. That said, is life in the MAF/AFSOC truly magnitudes worse than the CAF? It does sound worse based on heresy from MAF bros, but I don’t get “unbelievably worse, made a huge mistake!” from those bros either. It was a general statement, not necessarily applied to the specific situation of 120 day tanker deployments.

Shack. There’s A LOT of cynical sport bitching on here. Not saying there isn’t an element of truth to some of it, but young guys should absolutely pursue flying in the military. It will most likely be an awesome experience and a 1000% better way to spend your 20s flying than slugging through regionals.

Vermont - Visits are good; not required, but a good idea. Multiple non-VT guys were hired last board.

Hours...I think its 500 in type if its your first/only fighter, or 100 in type if you have > 500 hrs (or maybe 750, something like that) in a different fighter. From what I've seen in three MAJCOMs, experienced = Cat A/1 (published mins), but one sup or another usually caps you at 300-1 without OG waiver. Obviously not the case in USAFE as Hacker pointed out and I'm sure there are other places as well. In PACAF we got the waiver quite often due to shitty weather in that part of the world. Of course that usually meant it was shit weather up to high enough we were getting terrible training anyways..."all Cat A's to the ops desk!" is not the call you want to hear from Top 3. Gotta love the FHP meat grinder.

Pretty sure the fighter world is generally 300-1 once experienced, with OG/CC waiver down to published mins. local sups may allow published mins all the time at home field.

I would be very surprised if the cost to secure the border in the same manner we secure highly sensitive sites didn't significantly surpass the current cost of just building the wall. @Vertigo I'll give your robot idea support - good idea to use that technology to track intruders and direct CBP. Even better when said intruders are held up at a physical barrier, giving CBP response time. My home's barriers won't stop anyone determined from getting in, but they will give my wife and I plenty of time to meet them with firearms in a very advantageous way.

You can stay past 20 in an AGR or traditional position, just depends if the unit wants/needs you. In most units I've been around (mine included), any AGRs beyond 20 are in leadership positions/next in line (group and wing level). There are year limits still per rank (i.e. 26 years for Lt Col without a waiver...I think).

If you put an appropriate amount of effort in during ROTC/school, you'll likely get a pilot slot. That's not to say good dudes who should have received a pilot slot haven't been surprised with a nav slot (luck and timing), but I think those are a minority. Nothing in life is a guarantee, including the Marine PLC program. Go with the branch/mission you think you'd like the most, work hard in ROTC/college and it'll probably work out, especially with such a pilot shortage that'll likely continue for several years.

You just described the negative aspects that exist in EVERY military branch. A lot of the bullshit we hate is DOD mandated, i.e. every part of the DOD is held hostage to SAPR training, cyber awareness CBTs, etc. Finance sucks everywhere, every branch has non-mission focused support people who will piss you off with their apathy and daily failure to be held to a reasonable standard. Our AF bitch/gripes/complaints are not special to the AF, they exist in every branch. I highly recommend you don't make a career decision on shit you've heard/read on the internet, and certainly don't make one that revolves around avoiding bullshit (every large organization has it). Make a career decision based on what you want to do, mission, etc, not on trivial bullshit and your perception of how bad or not it is.

100% agree - I should have clarified swaps allowed AND the manning to support. If manning can't support, then tell AD to pound sand and we're (the ARC) only supporting 90 days of the AEF. I think 90 is the absolute max that is somewhat sustainable (60 would be ideal and more sustainable).

Ironically the AD has started allowing swaps for some people/positions in the past 1.69 years or so (only speaking for the Viper community). When I got out of AD about that long ago, any swaps were approximately 0.00069 Pk. In my timeframe in the ANG I've heard of more AD deployment swapouts than I did in my entire 11 years on AD. Trying to be an optimist, maybe if even full-retard AD is sort of starting to get that part, it'll keep the ANG in line. I don't really give a shit if we have to cover a 6 month deployment if 60-90 day swaps are allowed. No swaps / > 90 days = ANG manning in the mega-red overnight.

They don't even need the C - what they need is CAS for the ground unit in a permissive environment (light attack, etc). There is no situation in which a MEU is going into a threat environment by themselves that requires 5th gen capes. A MEU is not storming Iran's or China's beach by themselves, a MEU is not starting WW3 in Ukraine, etc. The MEU concept is viable for rapid response to problems in 3rd world countries that aren't rocking operational IADs or even just a few autonomous S-300/400s. If those things exist, the MEU is not going to be the answer for the problem. Additionally, a Marine rifleman charging into Indonesia or Africa (for example) is far better supported by something purpose built for CAS - they should want light attack FW and RW, or something like a re-engined A-10 that can fly off the boat. FWIW the Marine F-35 guys I've been around have done a great job learning and adapting to the new missions of the F-35, but their $100M aircraft and awesome OCA skills are going to be of low utility when their bros on the ground storm Embassy X and it's a classic 3-09.3 CAS fight.

https://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/8905-how-to-rush-a-unit/

Makes too much sense, and threatens the Marine's MEU woobie. They'll continue to prioritize protecting cultural norms and politics over fiscal responsibility and combat capability. The best way to resolve this problem for all is shitcan the B-model and buy the Marines light attack (boat capable) to replace Harriers. Everyone wins...which is why it won't happen.

From memory when I read it ~1.5 weeks ago (probably not 100% accurate, but you get the gist): Tier 1: $35k/yr for 2-6 years. Only for permanent AGR 11F. Tier 2: $25K/yr for 2-6 years. Only for permanent AGR 12F, RPA, and I think one other AFSC Tier 3: $15K/yr for 1-3 years. For DSGs on orders (ADOS, temp AGR, etc.) that meet the required period of service. All paid in arrears.

The B model is a perfect example of how fucked our requirements/acquisition process is. That said, I bet they’ll fly well past 2100 hrs, with a substantial profit for LM on the back of SLEP-related work.

Nobody can predict the future - I was told in FTU to expect one assignment, maybe back to FTU IP, and after that I'd be screwed. We'll here I am having flown fighters for my entire career with no school or staff in sight (knock on wood). I am not at all special in this regard. So what any of us say now is a 100% guess on what it'll be in 5-20 years.

Spot on post. The new guys are doing just fine going straight to advanced shit (way more advanced than I had at their age). Their airmanship and decision making with degraded systems, shit WX, etc. is lacking. The naturally highly talented guys overcome at a decent rate, but the average guy today is far more dangerous than the average guy 10 years ago, and it takes him much longer to get to a reasonable level where myself and my counterparts across the CAF can finally stop watching the guy like he's going to kill himself or me any second for the entire sortie. I bet NEXT type stuff will work well to prep guys for advanced mission systems and employment, but their tactical knowledge and capability will rest on a foundation of balsa wood stilts stuck in the sand at Mexico Beach - good luck when that next hurricane hits.

See my example above, and what guardian said for another example. It is plainly spelled out in the bonus language - bottom line there will be some payback if you don’t do a min amount of your total years you originally signed up for (based on bonus type/length), BUT there is also a time point where if you pass, you can keep it all and still not do the entire length you signed up for. Infinitely better than the AD bonus, which makes me laugh (and feel bad for my AD bonus friends)

Yes, you can curtail your orders/turn off the bonus. Caveats: Curtailment requires TAG approval (I haven't heard of it being denied before, but it could be), read the bonus paperwork for specifics, but there is typically some min amount of time required to avoid having to pay back bonus. Example: You sign a 6 yr $35K bonus; it requires you to serve at least 4 years to keep that $35K/yr. If you curtail your orders at year 2.5 you are now only eligible for the $15K bonus, which means you were overpaid $40K (received $70K, but now are only owed $30K under your new, self-imposed bonus tier). If you serve 4 years and curtail the last 2, you keep everything.

ANG is absolutely serious - lots of ANG bros deployed every day of the year, flying TDY, etc. Whatever you've heard, it's probably completely wrong. Navy - Never have been it, but have worked with them a good amount. Their flying career is generally not as good as an AF flying career (e.g. Navy is faster to kick guys to non-flying jobs for "career progression"...at least from what I've seen with multiple friends in fighters, heavies, and helos). Believe it or not, I think the Navy is worse with queep than the AF. They seem to value career progression/grooming even more than the AF. QOL factor of living on a boat for 6-9 months, spending a lot of time flying admin which eats into tactical training, etc. Doesn't mean you can't have an awesome time doing it, but they're legitimate considerations. Hopefully one of the ex-Navy guys on here can give you a better comparison. Army - Similar comments as Navy, but even worse. You're a company commander as a Capt, good bye to much flying. Maj? Yeah, you're flying days are pretty much over. Army is the master of queep...unbelievable. If you want to go Army and kill shit, go enlisted. Overall, your best flying as an officer is generally AF. As a general statement, you'll spend more of your career flying and also have greater options for aircraft/mission types and basing location options that are in decent places (subjective). Seems like my Navy friends live west or east coast for most of their career, with maybe an assignment at China Lake (no thanks). If you love San Diego or VA Beach, maybe that's a huge positive for you. The Army has 90% shitty bases.

Great. So now the question is, sign up for > 1 yr of orders at $15K/yr or just sign up for 1 yr and hope the ANG follows the RES next year re: 35K/yr?

Wood working, gun smithing, welding, A&P, etc. There's some cool stuff you could learn, just need to think outside the container and get away from the standard degrees.