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Or another gas tank? Bring on the lasers... https://theaviationist.com/2020/08/19/lockheed-martin-shows-new-airborne-defensive-laser-system-for-f-16-and-c-130/

I can't personally say one way or the other but a few friends have posted comments on this article. None of them had anything good to say about working for her. Mix of fighters/tanker pilots who've work for/with here at various times. There seems to be no love lost...

The poop on the streets?

Control grade nightmare!

Just hope that the AF actually gets the EX lol.

When I was a crew chief, my 7-level CDCs covered A-10/F-15/F-16/U-2/MQ-9/Global Hawks, with the idea was that we'd universally assignable. I've stayed in contact with a few AD guys from my crew chief training days. One worked F-16s for a few assignments, now is now an NCO in A-10s, another was recently assigned to KC-135s. Every platform has quirks/intricacies that are relevant even when you're leadership, and retaining long term knowledge on the platform is huge. There is a reason we have such awesome mx in the ANG.

A friend has been a deployed CEM for 2 months and has already had to send 3 airmen home for this. It seems some of these kids just can't handle life and/or any amount of tough love. In my enlisted maintainer days, a finger in the chest by a red-faced NCO was not an uncommon event. However, they'd be buying you beers at the bar that night, you learned, got the mission done and moved on. Now, that "transgression" will make some to lose their minds and cause them to "not be able to work with you anymore." It's fucking weird. Preach it brother! Back in my young enlisted maintainer days, leaderships view was that if you're old enough to put on a uniform, you're old enough to drink. End of trip parties were something that you didn't miss because they were so much fun. We worked hard and partied harder...the camaraderie was amazing. One particular TDY location accounts for a large portion of my most fond memories in the AF. If you've never been to a TDY party at the "River Club," you're missing out. If those walls could talk😳, but I digress... Contrast that with the fact that a few months ago, our MX leadership handed out paperwork (not the type that disappears at the end of the TDY) to a few maintainers for underage drinking. They never left the hotel and weren't even causing problems so I'm not sure why it was even elevated or even a big deal. Kids seem so scared of getting in trouble for bullshit stuff, that they don't even show up anymore, or they blast ASAP. It's work hard, work harder and if you party, you better not step out of line. Some trips are better than other, but it seems to be an increasing trend to the negative. Edit: A friend in a Guard Herk unit says their entire unit wasn't allowed to drink for the entire two weeks they were at the above mention CRTC! Supposedly an AMC IG rule (back when we did ORIs) or some ridiculous shit like that. Talk about a great way to piss off your people! This! It's actually one of the reasons for tension between OPS and other sections on base. They think we always just "get away" with stuff that would get them hammered. We can't help that their leadership just chooses to give paperwork out for minor bullshit, while our leadership is much more big picture about this type of stuff. Last week, I told my crew chief to hang out and watch my takeoff because I was planning an unrestricted climb right in front of the ramp. When I got back, my young crew chief plugs in and is still pumped up about the unrestricted climb. A bunch of the maintainers swing by as I'm walking off the ramp and gave me some high fives and thanked me for a morale boost....apparently the entire hanger knew lol. Something so small and it seriously cost me about the same amount of fuel as a normal takeoff/climb-out. These kids love seeing their hard work get the jets in the air, this is a small thing to occasionally reward them with something cool.

With a high emphasis on meeting you in person. Scores are great and all, but only one small part of the equation.

Ugh, really? I don't care what your name is anyway...

Even for mil guys, an upset recovery training course (UPRT) is definitely money well spent, especially if you fly any amount of GA. Big 2, to Hacker/Brabus posts...and yes tailwheel flying is where it's at, definitely makes you a better pilot. At a minimum, UPRT should be required training a commercial ticket. Also, check out the videos I linked above.

Apparently, they need LEPs. May have to check some out from the squadron for my next PDX layover.

Oh man, this reminds of some ridiculous shit wrt medals. I once got an MSM as a Capt because our (loaned to us from the staff) OG was passed over for O-6 the first time. He found out through his "bro network" that part of the reason was because he didn't have an MSM, because apparently every O-5 should have X-medals (WTF?!). So anywho...viola, a few months later, nearly the entire squadron gets an MSM, because "he doesn't want that happening to us in the future." Funny enough the next WG/CC (loaned to us from active duty) shows up and freaks out because I'm now a Major with 2 MSMs and no AF commendation medal. Guess who got to write his own AFCM...SO DIRTY! Silly me, I thought medals were meant to be for people who stood out and did good shit, not just another checkbox for promotions. The bull shit we worry about...

On a positive note, the LAZ video video lead me to another video that could be a positive change. I don't know much about this program, but if it can be expanded and works, let's hope it takes off.

"We send our worst pilots to helicopter training..." Helicopter pilots...

LOL, comments are turn off for the youtube video, but the comments on the article are great. One poster instantly jumps to the "she was pregnant because she was raped," card. You know, because the only way girls in the military get pregnant is through rape... Total hit job, and she's not wrong. She's right that it's just a small portion of people, but it's not just women. A Chief friend is deployed right now and, just in the last week, has had 7 people fall out of their deployments. One girl has already been extended almost 3 months as the 4th replacement just fell off for one reason or another. We had a NCO that has been in for nearly 20 years and has NEVER deployed. She finally gets told she has to deploy and turns into a total train wreck because, "she can't be away from her kids that long." Guess who didn't deploy due to a sudden onset of migraines about a month before deployment... I'm continually amazed at the number of unplanned pregnancies and new found ailments that miraculously pop up just prior to a deployment. Edit: Just chatted with my Chief buddy. He said one of his sections only has 19 people and in that section alone (just in the last week), 5 people fell out of their deployment.

Agreed. I found this one applicable as well. Sadly, my city just lost a fine, young officer to a senseless shooting. I can't believe that he didn't have a small hesitation due to the climate wrt cops right now...sadly it got him killed.

I ran our UPT hiring board a year or two and have sat on 5 or 6 boards total. I can tell you, at least at my squadron, we don't put much emphasis on flying time. We used to require a Private but then we realized how ridiculously expensive it has gotten, so no we just require you to have soloed. After that, we really don't care much. Again, this is just one squadron...every unit has their own thing. Best of luck!

A good start would be getting rid of the 24 hours new....err...entertainment media. I'm all for the press, but the mainstream 24 hour media sensationalizing every little thing that happens, is where molehills are made into mountains.

Attention? Relevancy? To be a Martyr?

If only we could select both the laugh and cry buttons.

Last time I was there it seemed to be based on how many little rocks we could make out of big rocks.

Oh FFS, I'm guessing Liz, or her children, haven't or won't spend much time over there.

Chances are that the airlines will be hiring in 2-3 years, and I believe the cargo haulers may still be hiring?. Eventually people will stop being scared of their own shadow or we'll have developed a vaccine. Think of losing out on the 2 years of bonus as an insurance policy. In the grand scheme of things, that bonus money is small fries to what you'd be giving up on the back end of your career. If you miss out on a few years of it, oh well...if you get hired, you'll likely see 2 more years where you'll make more than that bonus nearly every month.

Nah man, I'm sure that gate was like that before the protestors showed up. Didn't you hear one of them in the video, it was a public street, they couldn't have destroyed this gate and wandered onto private property. It's peaceful protesting after all...

It's times like this that I'm so glad l live (mostly) out here in the sticks. Just as soon as I can secure some land for my grass strip, I'll be even further out. It's much cheaper, the people are good and violent protestors know better than to come out our way. It appears the protestors broke through a gated fence to get on that street, which is private property, and some are being charged with trespassing and assault by intimidation. Thankfully they're lawyers. I'm a gun lover as much as the next person. I probably would have been out there monitoring my property, but with my gun safely in its holster.