pawnman

Maybe even AFPAK Hands.

You'll be fine. They're only assessing whether your credit score makes you a risk for bribery...like, multiple pending foreclosures or repossessions, multiple unpaid bills, constantly late on credit card payments. The total amount is a small factor, but plenty of officers have a much larger debt-to-income ratio...hell, I own a house and the amount left on the mortgage is more than my annual income. The credit report really tells them two things: are you in such financial trouble that you might consider selling state secrets? And are you a responsible person (pay your bills on time? Don't take outlandish loans? Make relatively sound financial decisions?). Based on what you've written here, it seems like you're a pretty responsible guy who had a bad circumstance happen. Keep paying the bills on time and your credit report won't stop you from getting a security clearance.

Probably not. The rated officer shortage may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. With so many fewer officers in the pool for O-6 and subsequently O-7, the Air Force will have to start re-thinking who is and isn't eligible to hold those spots.

If I'm reading that bio right, he only did two years of the 4-year program? One year of language, one year in country?

One might ask why the Air Force has chosen 24 years as make-or-break for general, the earliest of any service.

I know of at least one 11F billet that ACC wouldn't let go of to a 12B because it would mess with the rated staff allocation. So instead, it sat unfilled.

It's normal if you want a command. And while I don't disagree with your assessment, we need a few bros out there willing to do it, because the douchers are certainly willing to do it.

If they didn't get a pilot slot from the Academy, then they're going to have to wait for the periodic calls to apply to the rated board and cross-train. It can be done, but not from AFIT.

I'd say the evidence is on our side, based on a long history of failed rocket launches.

You turned down T-38s to argue with people on the internet?

True, it is four different airspaces...but that means the different squadrons would be able to book different airspace and be assured of deconfliction. I know the biggest reason people in the community hate the FTU assignment so much is because it's in Abilene TX. Not to mention the facilities at Ellsworth are so much nicer.

You'll do great in a fighter squadron.

The B-1 community at least could consolidate at Ellsworth and shut down Dyess. They expanded the Powder River MOA until it's now almost twice as big as NTTR, but without the giant container in the middle that will get you sent home. All that's missing is a range.

Hell, why bother? 11B/12Bs have been filling 11F billets for years.

We're getting our first AMC guys to the B-1 pretty soon. The BUFF guys were pretty good performers through the B-course, I see no reason the AMC guys won't do just as well.

Well, leaner and meaner, perhaps. More powerful is up for debate. Unfortunately, our leanness is the result of people like Chang who decided we should pay pilots a bonus to get out, force TERA on a bunch of others, and pass over a bunch of aviators...only to be shocked two years later when the Air Force has a pilot shortage. The meanness is the result of those left behind, who watched the Air Force so casually discard their brethren, then have the gall to beg them to stay by appealing to their patriotism. If you're a young guy, thinking about the Air Force, I'll say it's been a fun ride. But don't be fooled by the phrase "The people here are not your friends and truly don't care about you & your family." Because AFPC REALLY doesn't care about you and your family. They will send you to Afghanistan or Iraq for a year to build PowerPoint slides. They will non-vol you into a job you don't want, while the guy who works at the next desk over is begging for that job, but "the timing is wrong". They will kick you out if the budget monkeys say so. They will beg you to come back when the spreadsheets turn red instead of green. So, Chang's a little right (shocking, I know)...the people here aren't your friends, and they probably don't care about you, your friends, or your family. But don't think that the Air Force does either. By all means, follow your dream, go fly fighters or bombers or cargo aircraft. Invest that flight pay wisely. But do it with open eyes. Understand why the people currently doing the job you want so desperately are bailing out as soon as the commitment is over. Understand why people get out at year 18 rather than get the full retirement. Think really, really hard about what you're signing up for. I've had a great time in the Air Force, and I'm in the minority because I'm not really looking to leave in the near future. But I see it every day. Guys who get out the day they're eligible to. Guys who laugh out loud when they get the bonus email. Hell, my base has three O-6 selects that are retiring this month rather than pin on Colonel. So join, have fun, hang out with the bros, kick ass in the jet...but have an exit strategy that's more robust than "I'll retire at 20".

Would these be the same personnelists that paid pilots to get out less than two years ago?

I just watched three dudes at 18 forgo a 20 year retirement to dodge a 365. If you think AFPAK hands is going to help your cause, you are out of your ever-loving mind.

Seems to me like joining the Air Force is the first place fulfilled patriotic duty, along with the countless deployments. I wonder how many stop-lossed pilots will then go to a 365 staff job in AUAB or Korea to churn out PowerPoint slides? These personnelists...would they be the same ones who thought it was a good idea to pay pilots extra money to get out of the service two years ago? Chang, at what point do you believe someone has fulfilled their duty? Because you clearly don't think it's at the end of their ADSC. And FlyinGrunt, it won't just be a net loss once the Stop Loss has lifted. The fact the Air Force is even talking about it is convincing people to bail now, while they still have the chance.

I'm not planning my immediate exit...but if I were and the AF stop-lossed me, they would see a sudden and dramatic decline in the quality of my office work.

People get out because they don't like the job. Force people to do nothing but the job that makes them want to quit, and they will quit. Give them some bright spots that show you can do something you want for a year or two, and you may retain more.

Maybe it's just because it's what I'm used to, but I think six months is more sustainable from a time-at-home perspective than 90 days. I don't know how the tanker guys do 90 deployed, 90 home, 90 deployed...seems like you never get established in either place. But again, my community was doing 6 months deployed, a year at home...so maybe it's just because that's what I know.

All the pilots I know are talking about how to get airline jobs. They're either retiring, or separating, and while a few are going ANG or Reserve, there's a fair number that are getting out entirely. As for the "get back to winning and you won't need a bonus"...ask yourself what it is that the Air Force has done to make a job every kid wants to do and turn it into a job that people refuse to do for a $400K bonus on top of an already decent paycheck? THAT is where you'll solve the pilot retention problem. Not with money, because money will only buy so much happiness and there are plenty of good jobs on the outside for college educated, quick-thinking, cool under pressure candidates. Until the AF starts improving QOL, you're probably going to see the pilot shortage continue. It's not even about winning, in my estimation...it's about showing guys that leadership understands that aircraft and the guys who fly them are the backbone of the force, and we aren't actually equal with the guy checking ID cards at the gate.

I think a lot fewer people would bail on the Air Force over a 6-month deployment than a year-long one. But that could just be me.

The same number that are leaving at the end of their commitment now, I would guess. If the bonus were an effective tool, we wouldn't be looking at a shortage of over 1000 pilots.