Boxhead

Like so many things, "it depends". People go to pilot training every day with zero experience. They do just fine. It does not matter what job you have during your enlisted time, what matters is that it's something you would enjoy. You can go be a Flight Engineer and then not get selected for a pilot slot, or you can be a cop and get one because they need a bunch of pilot Lt's that FY when you apply. Your enlisted job won't matter in your selection. You matter in your selection. Don't suck.

I got this email a while ago (I am sure many of you have as well, I don;t know if it's true, but based off my limited #'s checks, it's not far off: "The World's Largest Army. America's Hunters? The state of Wisconsin has gone an entire deer hunting season without someone getting killed. That's great. There were over 600,000 hunters. Allow me to restate that number. Over the last two months, the eighth largest army in the world - more men under arms than Iran; more than France and Germany combined - deployed to the woods of a single American state to help keep the deer menace at bay. But that pales in comparison to the 750,000 who are in the woods of Pennsylvania this week. Michigan 's 700,000 hunters have now returned home. Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia , and it is literally the case that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world. America will forever be safe from foreign invasion of troops with that kind of home-grown firepower. Hunting - it's not just a way to fill the freezer. It's a matter of national security! Now you know why the liberal anti-gun group wants to take the guns away." I almost feel badly for the group that gets the order to "go get the guns". It may work in the first few places, maybe in some locations, but I know a whole bunch of places where that attempt would be met by a force that will be no easy task to overtake, even if it's just by numbers alone. Lots of Feds will be buried in the hills along the border of KY/WV. Granted, I am not advocating that, just reading the writing on the wall if they get goofy and try to exceed their reasonable authority. I honestly don't think the LEOs would be able to mount any type of legitimate force to counter this.

I personally think it is a complex question that unfortunately varies so much from location to location and MDS to MDS that it is pretty hard to pin down on specific thing to give a convenient finger wag to. That being said, the plight of us UAV folks is getting better. Yes, there were some years where shit was crazy, and max crew duty day to questionably legal min crew rest 6 or 7 days every single week for literally years on end was the standard. During that time, I have zero reservations about the claim that we had zero time to do anything extra. There was not really time to even get to legit additional duties, much less start down the list of things I believe you are referring to. I (thankfully) can not speak for AFSOC UAVs anymore, but I have heard tales that for some reason, when they got more folks, they just decided to keep doing more, instead of making life better. That's their call. It's probably why AFSOC UAV guys are the happiest UAV guys in the world. Maybe I just lucked out and went to the best UAV sq in ACC, I don't know. But I can tell you, if you can't get your stuff done here, you should just stop pretending that the only reason you are not getting it done is YOU. Life is awesome here. Sure, no 24/7 schedule is going to make everyone happy, but that is mostly due to that small small percentage being the folks that would bitch about anything, anywhere to anyone and it does not matter how good it or bad it actually is...there is that "bitching" core. Even with the overall good life (IMHO), it is still a challenge to do what "normal" folks do. That mostly stems from the minor differences of "what we do" while we are at work. If a "normal" person is on their 8 hour duty day and needs to go to finance, they go. For us, we are "flying" for that time, and I am pretty sure the Ground CC would frown on their Preds orbiting just off tgt in a Lost Link orbit so the pilot can go knock out an appointment or two. A shift work based 45hr work week is the standard for the worker bee here, then, if you have one of those jobs that require more office work, that # will go up, unless you get to the "above the line" status, then your hours fall back down to normal people status. Downside being those ABL filks get hammered with tons of crap, so those 40hr "standard" work weeks kinda suck. If I had my drouthers, I would be a line dog here, the rank and file folks have a pretty good deal. ACC wise, the general quality of life has done nothing but go up, and schedules have been getting better. That's mainly because the # of lines stabilized, and we kept getting new folks. Now, if things get bad it's because we mismanage our assets. (Not to say that won't happen!)

They are at my squadron.

When I had a bunch of use or loose, I would just go into the schedule, find days that no one had leave and the schedule could support it with no impact and take a Mon-Fri...usually decided that about the Friday before. Loved it. 3 weeks of work for about 6 months got me back down to a reasonable level. There were a couple of folks that thought somehow that was "abusing" the system. Then again, they were dumb.

Congrats dude! Some pretty Cush gigs coming to the UPTers....C17s to NJ & HI

Only in there is a Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Yes?

I had no idea "this guy I know" had such a rare and special video. I will tell him to destroy it.

This has always bugged me. And recently, the "rules" changed. It's no longer the Base CC purview, it's now AF policy. Part of that policy is that you have to register all firearms stored in your base house, and if your CC sees you feeling sad one day, he can call the Base Cops to go get your weapons. Wish that policy would have been in effect before I decided to live on base. I suppose I could uproot my family in protest, but for the less than a year I have left here, it is not worth it, I just put all but one in an off base holding facility. (e.g., buddy's house) Our Base CC actually was pretty cool with the weapons thing..(e.g., he really had no officail base policies above what the DoD regs said) Then, all gone. Ironically, I teach a Concealed Carry class in my garage...always interesting topics of conversation when we get to state and federal law!

Get with someone in the 20th...their schedule is awesome. (some still complain, but really, they would complain with a 3hr on, 9 day off schedule) For the opposite of good, contact someone in the 33d.

Isn't this a pic of the 1 SOW/CC desk?

Perhaps. Really, I hope he is right. I just don't see it out there in our forces (well, in any sort of big numbers anyway, there is always that 5-10% at either end of the Bell Curve) Across many MWSs and bases...I am just not seeing that. The Queep is crushing the spirit. Ironically, I am loving life, then again, I don't judge my happiness on work.

I would argue that a lot of those "passionate" ones are really more passionate about themselves, and passionate about using their "passion" for the mission as an excuse to not really do anything else. (or do it, but whine and bitch like a bunch of little girls) Not saying you can't love what you do, but passion alone does not equal skill or overall ability. Not even a little. Ask all those passionate about flying folks who wash out of UPT. (you can find them in your local intel shop) (I kid, I kid!...OK, only a little)

I always kinda thought all those posts about being in some sort of cyber love with PowerPoint was a joke...but you really live that stuff! It's kinda impressive.

Never, ever use your stuff for something the USAF is making you do. They can afford to send you or they can't. Just personal preference, I suppose.

The FAA is f-ing retarded when it comes to RPAs. I can appreciate the need for some RPA specific concerns, but I swear they sit around and watch Terminator and drink when they make their decisions. It's like there are no incursions/Near-Hits/TCAS advisories/crashes/Class-As....now with manned aircraft. The FAA needs to at least have some RPS-smart folks in the decision tree to be told to shut up and color...not just make decisions based off their gut.

There is one ring to rule them all.

Wow. You just don't get it. Maybe you should go talk to a chaplain, if for no other reason so that you can at least be mad about legit stuff, not inaccurate assumptions. We have plenty of stuff you can disagree with that would be legit, but this...it's just so inaccurate that it's not even worth more than this post.

lol, not at all, that's a pretty strong assumption though. I don't care one way or the other, but minor tweaks in my behavior (the only thing I can really control) is what I am talking about. e.g., I may not talk about the same things/crack the same jokes/ or even things lie it works out that sometimes in my 24/7 type ops that if you offer to do something like, say... work for someone so they can get to church...they will return the favor for you at a time of your choosing. Do onto others....yadda yadda, that works secularly and spiritually, depending on which scenario you are using it in.

Mountain out of a molehill. As most discussions/events/issues relating to religion tend to become. If this was an atheist saying that pure logic is the only path for him and it got him far, could a Christian person in the audience call for them to be fired, simply because his boss laid out rules (or whatever you call them) that they did not agree with? I personally like to know if a person is highly religious, it helps me to work with them better, then again, I feel that way about a bunch of topics, not just religion. I hope the WG/CC does not get in trouble tonight when he calls the Chaplin up to start the Chief's Induction Ceremony with a prayer. -Totally unrelated note...at the Chief's Induction Ceremony tonight, I am strongly considering wearing my reflective belt with my mess dress, as I know it will keep me safer in the parking lot, and the inevitable drunk walk home. I figure, this event is the pivotal event that creates (in some) the future reflective belt harping...let 'em get going right away

I would just find someone else to approve the leave in leave web.

Not sure, but boy I would love it, as I used to sing and dance that idea while I was in AFSOC and I still do now that I am ACC. There would be no better morale builder than that simple little thing. Not so much an "ACE" program...as that requires the USAF to own, maintain, train, evaluate, have a cadre, ect.....if they simply have a checkbook that just pays for a few hours a month at whatever FBO you want to use it at...now that is a cheap, hands off and highly effective morale boost. I am willing to be it would be even cheaper than the numbers would show, as I bet not everyone that can use it, would use it.

There is Whiteman, I wish I was joking, but damn I love it here! Our CC and DO (and even our pseudo DO) CCM and CCF and Ops Sup are all awesome. Not everyone can get here, but those who can, should.

Holy crap, that poor horse. It has been dead for awhile now...is yet another thread going to go down this road?