brabus

I see 3 options - suck it up, go bombers, quit/washout. Unless you're talking about being in the CAF in general, then option 2 is obviously n/a. I think people should know if they want the possibility of fighters or not towards the end of T-6s, prior to track select. I can't imagine this is a common problem (unless forced into 38s against will)

Totally get it...sounds like the standard nobody actually knows their own regs, so stuff like this isn't caught/people don't care. Though I am glad I didn't have to burn time trying to get the wg/cc sig, just to have the whole thing show up in his in container a week later froman mypers.

Where does it say 1st endorsement is wg/cc on the 1288? My sq/cc signed mine (per direction from the recruiter) and my paperwork now sits at SAF, so obviously sq/cc is acceptable. The other 4 guys I know in the recent past also went the sq/cc direction. Maybe it doesn't matter.

One of the requirements for PC is a personal statement MFR saying why you want to PC. The best way to sell the idea in this MFR is talk about how you PC'ing is in the overall best interest of the total force. Sob stories about family, you not getting X opportunity on AD, etc. don't garner many points...from what I've been told. Get with the in service recruiter who works your area immediately. They are the one who should be knowledgeable on the process and manage it for you. Also, contact the reserve recruiter immediately to start the scroll process. Big pic: get required forms from ISR, fill them out, have sq/cc sign first endorsement on 1288, then go to vmpf and apply for PC, uploading all the required docs. From there it goes back to your sq/cc for recommendation, then to WG/cc, AFPC, and finally SAF.

Mine took about 4 months, which seems to be about average among the few dudes I know who've done it recently.

My cc has CMS access to my case, so maybe I'll check on Thursday or Friday.

How long was yours at AFPC? Mine got there about a week ago; haven't checked the status since last mon. Hopefully yours is only slightly delayed due to all the changes going on in Washington, not because of policy change.

Consider some casual visits around the 2 year out point. From the Viper perspective, you have an uphill battle since there's a lot of current/qualified dudes getting out, and my guess is that changes little over the next two years. BUT, that is not to say you cannot make something happen with the Viper SQ you're considering. Be a good dude, show you're interested (via visits), and don't get discouraged if you're fed a doom-and-gloom story at first contact. Things change rapidly, and nobody honestly knows what it'll be like in 2-3 years, we can only guess. If you really want to transition, keep an open mind on location - if your desired SQ is a no-go, doesn't mean another won't work. In the end, just get into the ARC family and you can always transfer squadrons a few years down the road. Good luck man.

My recruiter supports what buff said. I'll serve the remainder of the ADSC in the guard. Sounds like this whole thing has been standard AFPC being idiots who don't know their own processess, regs, etc.

Spoken as fact, nothing more or less. VMFA - With you 100%.

The MDG saying they're too undermanned to provide MEDICAL training so other groups should pick up their slack is akin to MX being too undermanned, so finance troops should help launch jets, or ops is undermanned on SARMs, so the med group should supply airmen to augment them, etc. There are only two acceptable end states here, the wing cc tells the MDG/CC fix it, or the requirement for SABC training is deleted. There is not a single valid COA that leads to some ops, mx, etc. dude being "the SABC guy."

Shack. Everyone has their role, and the mission sets they're awesome at, the mission sets they're average at, and the mission sets they're horrible at/cannot do period dot. It is naive to blanket statement say single seat is better than crew or vice versa. I've seen many crew aircraft obliterate the enemy and pretty much nail it, I've also seen crew aircraft fuck the dog so hard I was embarrassed for them. The exact same thing can be said for every F-XX community out there. We're all on the same team with the same end goals - use your strengths, admit your weaknesses, and leverage other's capabilities every chance you get. In the end, a lot comes down to the bros executing and many times a lack of equipment capability/"ideal" crew composition is overcome by superb skill, and other times no amount of awesome technology/"ideal" crew composition can save the below average dipshits from failing.

MDG can't support one of their core functions, so some ops guy should do it...where the fuck are Wing Commanders who actually have balls and crush this kind of bullshit? Wait, doing actually leading may jeopardize their "upward mobility," so never mind, nothing to see here.

Did you find out about this injury at flight med / Air Force hospital? If you did, then yes, the AF knows. If you went on your own to a civilian doc (not using Tricare), then no, they don't. After you answer that question, if the AF does know, you need to consult a flight doc about if a waiver is required. If the AF doesn't know, well...do you want them to know?

I'm going for palace chase, planning to roll the last couple months of ADSC into the guard. Where did you read you cant do that if you palace front?

Opinion: don't think it's a great idea to enlist if you KNOW your goal is officer/pilot. Sure it can and has worked out for dudes, but reality is you're putting yourself at least a few years behind timeline, possibly doing something you don't really want to do, maybe end up not getting hired at the unit you're enlisted in, when all along you already knew what you wanted. Unless you need it for college help or just don't know what you want to do/need a couple years to figure life out, it's seems to be more of a gamble than a "great way" to increase your odds of your dream job. No I didn't take this route, but I do know several guys who did and who share these sentiments. Go for what you want right away, i.e. keep applying at UPT boards across multiple units. FWIW, I've had a great AD experience (for the most part); yes I'm punching, but that doesn't mean I would do anything different if I rewound the clock 10 years. ROTC to AD pilot was a great path for me and a lot of other guys, so don't discount it. Give good consideration to all the options; there's a lot of very negative sport bitching on here (I'm just as guilty as others), but AD was not a bad way to spend the first 10 years of my flying career.

Sweet - sounds like I'll just serve out a couple months of TEB in the guard.

Thanks dude, that is good info. I'll have to read that more closely - though the skeptic in me already sees the wording "reserve unit" in there. One would think that loosely includes all ARC units, but I wouldn't be surprised if going to ANG vs. AFRC screws you. That said, maybe I'm too jaded and all will be fine.

Also very interested in the above - I don't want to lose the GIB for my kids over a few months of PC...I'll stick it out to my commitment for the long term benefit if my only PC option is to lose GIB transfer forever.

I'm with Hacker. A good excel product works great, doesn't cost money, and is as customizable as your excel skills allow. I'm not a huge excel guru, but have made it what I need - can track any type of time, approaches, etc., 30/60/90 hours/sorties, etc. Any info you'll ever need (from personal gee whiz, to unfucking the HARM office who lost your stuff, to ATP application, to airline apps, etc.) is sortable/easy to find. I keep mine on my google drive, so it's instantly accessible/editable from any device I have internet access on (or I can download a copy, edit, and upload later once I have internet access).

Mountain Herc - PM sent.

Did you guys work with the in-service recruiter at your losing base or go through a recruiter that works at/directly with the ARC squadron you're going to? Does it matter, is it better one way or the other?

I'll try to find it again. But, I was only looking at it through the lense of going to an aircraft I've never flown, so may not apply to requal in a previously flown aircraft. EDIT: Found what I read earlier; the extra 3 yr ADSC that can be past your initial UPT ADSC is only for a Qual in an aircraft you've never been qual'd in before. N/A if you're requaling, regardless of how many years out of the jet. Source is discussion from this thread, last page:

I think there's an update to that reg about a year ago. I was told (and then found it written somewhere) the AFT ADSC will extend past your UPT commitment. This was the driving reason I turned down a TX to another aircraft. Absolutely true this was not the case in the recent past, but AFPC has "fixed the glitch."

I've heard negative reviews from two guys I know who bought that holster - said the draw was clumsy, they fought between damn near unable to draw and pants so loose (to enable an "ok" draw) it was annoying. But, no firsthand experience, so take that with a grain of salt. Personally I have never had issues with good IWB or pocket holsters for conceal carry; this things looks and sounds like a gimmick more than a legitimate holster.