SocialD

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.

🥃 Nickel

Yup. Words last year from a friend in finance is that DFAS (or whomever), decided they're just not going to fix the issue since they're rolling out new pay software soon. I asked how soon and she's says, "it's supposed to roll out Jan 2021." So pretty much...if you're a tech or part-timer, you'll continue to get 4, 5, and 6 paychecks a month and you can fuck off.

What's the old saying? Better to ask for forgiveness than get permission.

When I read through the paperwork (15+ years ago) my commitment to the ANG was tied to me actually finishing training. So if I had washed out of pilot training, I could have left the service with no issues. After seasoning you won't be forced into anything unless it's a non-vol activation, which are protected indefinitely under USERRA. Bottom line, your job will be protected. Now, every unit does tend to have their own internal scheduling policy which can vary wildly. I've seen a fighter squadron that required you to attend every squadron TDY, and if you don't want to go, you better have a good excuse. While others are much more chill and may only force you to go on TDY (maybe even half time) if it's for a pre-deployment spinup type thing...and even then you'll likely have the option to go half time. In my 19 years in the ANG, aside from trining, I've never been forced into any trip that I didn't want to go.

Well when your only objective is having a reason to fling shit, logic need not apply to the situation.

In the ANG, the absolute floor should be GS-12, and with any level of quals/experience, it should be a few steps. In the last few years we've been handing out GS-13s to guys who aren't even IPs yet (some with a step or 2), because they were in IPUG. That said, I'm not sure how every other base is doing it, but we've been told we have to convert all our Techs to AGR. You can't force a tech to convert so they'll remain techs until they vacate the position or willingly convert. We only have 3 techs and only 1 wants to stay because of the tech bonus, once that goes away, I suspect he'll convert then.

We have LOTS of Cops and State Troopers on our Guard base. Over the last few years, many have left their positions on the police force and taken full time positions on base. Talking with them, the consensus is that they feel they have zero backup from city leaders/politicians. They all felt like they were one edited video away from losing their jobs...the court of public opinion matters more than the truth. I expect to see more and more this.

Until the last few posts, I legit didn't know paying for uniforms was a thing for officers. I was always under the impression that if they wanted me to wear the proper uniform, they would be issued. I'm going to successfully avoid ever having a pair of ABUs as I've never needed them. I am however being issued a set of OCPs, I guess we're required to have a set for an upcoming deployment.

LOL, in 19+ years in the ANG, I've never paid for a single uniform. Take that back, I bought my Mess dress but was provided a one time, $400 stipend, which more than paid for it. BTW, what a waste of money...I've worn it twice (UPT grad and B-Course grade) and it still has Lt rank on it.

Too late...they're talking about PME and college professors over there. The issue in the ANG is control grades. For full time O5, there has to be a control grade available and each base only gets X control grades. There is lots of horse trading that goes one around the Wing when needed to make it work. I would say it's not impossible, but yes it can be more difficult to get full time if you're already an O5. Every Wing allocates their control grades differently. After talking with a pilot in another Wing in my state, I learned that, compared to his squadron, we have a crazy amount of control grades in OPS. I guess that's why you can't swing a dead cat in ops without hitting 5 Lt Cols. Maybe someone smarter on control grades can pipe up. I'm an O5 that never plans on going full time, so I've never really thought much about them.

Can this wokefest get its own thread?

You pay for uniforms?