sputnik

Why? Like for corporate flying? Or just because it's a cool jet?

Anybody hear about this? Saw some email on it and it's a plane/mission/deployment I'd never heard of. Not shopping for deployments...but it's always nice to see what's out there. Sorta seems like a manned UAV but anything beats the 'Died. Unless it operates out of the 'Died of course. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_Airborne_Communications_Node Edit: I searched but couldn't find anything

Huggy ok? Doesn't he always go?

Cool. Like I said, just rubbed me the wrong way.

Not quite, if you entered after 86, you signed up for a 40% retirement plan. When those guys started hitting 10+ years they realized 40% wasn't enough a light at the end of the tunnel to stay to 20 and started raising stink with congress, which eventually repealed it. And that change was grandfathered, all those people, me included, were allowed to switch back to the 50% plan vs the plan we signed up for. As an attempt to take advantage of those with poor math skills and/or a need for immediate cash, at the 15 year point you get offered 30 large to stay under the crappy 40% plan. HQ used to send CC's letters instructing them to push their people towards redux as a cost savings intiative. Said letters promptly published in AF times. Note, as everyone hopefullly knows by now it's not so much the 40 vs 50% that is significant, it's the difference in how COLA is calculated over your retired life.

You used one. Her face. Anyone not catching that...fail

Yeah, about that. I used it a few yeas back, guy they referred was a mouth breathing moron. I mentioned USAA referrel program and he had zero idea what I was talking about. He had been in town/state for less than a year, so no local legend. Far as I could tell he was a name they picked out of the phone book. Then I figured out referrel fees. If there's someone with a liscense on here feel free to correct. Basically the referring realtor, USAA in this case, gets a quarter of the referred realtors fee. If listing commission is 6%, that means referrER gets 0.75% of the sale price. The house I bought cost $400k+ so USAA was going to get $3K+, for looking a name out of a book, and they'd kick me back a grand. To get more pissed off, realize realtor fees are rolled into the mortgage, so not only was I going to pay USAA $2k, I was going to be paying interest on it for the next 30 years. No wonder they're so eager to hook you up with a realtor. They're ecstatic when you get a loan from them too, you borrow money from them to give money...to them...and you pay interest on it. And the grand they "give" you, you borrowed that too. In summary, they didn't give you a grand. You gave them several grand and they let you keep $1000. And you're paying interest on all of it. If you have a bud or family member with a liscense, get them to do the referrel and have them write the .75% into the contract. Done it twice, works great. I actually like USAA, but on this....just seems sleazy. (of course, another way to look at this, if USAA wasn't getting the .75%, the realtor'd get it all so this way you at least end up a grand ahead. Still, the fact that they neglect to mention they're making twice what you are on it just seems sleazy).

Where's the arguing? So far you've listed a lot of reasons why you want to get out. The only arguement you've given for staying is the retirement check. Look, I'm going to love getting that check, but I stayed in 'cause I dug what I was doing more than I disliked the negatives. If you aren't liking it, that's a long slog of misery for a retirement check. It'll still be a great check, but man will it be worth it? Only you can answer that one.

I got rid of photo, but SA low light fully illuminated. What's the story?

Seriously? Not a fucking thing. Maybe a mandatory .ppt briefing on the "seriousness" of uniform boards?

Kinda sorta, they still do have to go to IFS after they graduate. And this actually counts for nothing in terms of their ranking (as cadets and/or in terms of awarded AFSC). In fact, they take it as seniors, up till this year they got their AFSC as juniors. I have had a number of cadets tell me this summer they aren't sure what they want to do, and took this to help them figure out if flying was it. So for them, it's a good thing they don't have AFSCs yet. Don't forgot, you can not take this program, or do absolutely terrible in it, and still go onto IFS and UPT. It is intended as a motivational/educational program open to all cadets. You have to be PQ to solo, but not to take the course. They get a pass/fail down here. And I don't know if anyone actually fails, you'd have to try hard, very hard. There is no report that goes anywhere. Those deciding who gets to be a star bellied sneetch ENJPPT student have no idea how they did or didn't do in PFP, there are no reports generated. All they know is who took it and who finished it. I'll point out, gliders and jump are both excellent programs (IMO) not so much for the students, but the instructors. Both are run and instructed entirely by cadets. Yeah they are supervised by officers/NCOs, but they really do the majority of instruction, that's a pretty cool responsibility for a 21 year old cadet. I think I answered it a while back, but why do we have PFP? After we moved IFS out of here, the CSAF came to the realization that the AF Academy didn't have any powered airplanes on it (tow planes don't count). They even got rid of the motor gliders. He apparently thought it was a bad thing that cadets would spend four years here and never have a chance to operate a powered airplane. Your opinion may vary, his won. What will happen to the program....who the hell knows. The going guess is that it'll turn back into IFS again. As far as flying squadrons go, costs are a drop in the bucket (I flew 3.2 hours today, burned about 30 gallons of gas). Some may say it's a lot of money for a fam program when we're going to send them to IFS in a year anyway. I dunno. Bottom line, it exists and I'm having fun. The glass cockpit probably isn't necessary, but can you buy a Cirrus without one? What's VRF?

I'm a little confused, I understand a bunch of dudes got passed over in this last go. But I thought you weren't separated until you got passed over twice? So is there a group of folks who got their second look this time and didn't get offered continuation? Or did people get separated after getting passed over the first time? I think it's been covered already but I'm not seeing it so I apologize. I'm not tracking who's getting involuntarily separated--non selects for O4, non selects for O5, first look, second look.... Help?

Actually the DA20s worked fine there till summer. They didn't have the climb performance and most days of summer flying ended well before noon. They got 40s over 20s for the exta hp (180hp), not the back seat. After they realized you couldn't effectively do IFT there with 20s and got rid of them (yes, a lot people finished it--including you Nunya--but it took way too long due to wx/DA cancels and thus was considered ineffective) some CSAF suddenly realized that there were no airplanes at USAFA. No powered ones that is. And thought that was a problem. That may or may not have been a problem but he (I can't remember which it was, would have been 06-07ish) decided it was and directed a "Powered Flight Program," thus the name. Already proved couldn't use 20's, after the T3 no way they could buy anything but an off the shelf aircraft. We all know how the acquisitions process works, and it was too slow for this. So they leased aircraft while the bid went out, etc. The 40 obviously met criteria, which is why Doss bought them and leased them too us. A few companies bid on the actual sale, came down to DA40 and the SR20. Both met specs but Cirrus bid cheaper, hard as that is to fathom. That's why they got it. I and everyone else flying there would have loved the SR22 or something even more powerful, but no way it would have happened cost wise. It went to the cheapest aircraft that met all the requirements, and that came out as the SR20. As to the question about IFT--PFP does nothing in regard to it, they still go after graduation just like everyone else. This is a 9 ride program with potential to solo on ride 10. Longer term there is a lot of speculation this will turn into IFT for zoomies, just like they used to do. I'm betting on that myself. BTW that's the Sup in that photo Threeholer posted, he flies as a line IP, pretty reqularly too. Which is cool

From "my own" I could care a less about Q2's or why they make you a better officer than everyone who disagress with you. That said, go fuck yourself. They were good dudes I flew with and would give damn near anything to fly with again, so far you come across like a cheap shot asshole.

When I was in HI, there was an E6 in the OSS driving a new 7 series BMW. Had a side business in real estate. And yeah, I've met some really smart A1C's I could imagine pulling that off.

If you got a short tour under the 181+ before it was rescinded will it still count or will they go back retroactively? Trying to determine my need to start hunting up a 365 before it hunts me.

Has anyone figured out if that letter is real?

Also curious about Rusinak, mainly because I've been looking at their ads for the last 20 years on checkpoints. And because her brother was the Comm for a while when I was there. Anyone there belong to Villasport?

How did you get to DADT on a DUI subject? That isn't a crime, it gets you discharged, in his case, he'd get retired. As for the rest, those are seprate offenses, so he'd get punished for them as appropriate. I have never seen a guy get kicked out for a first time DUI (or even a second for that matter). I'm sure it's happened, but never seen or heard of it first hand. If they were somehow to strip this guys pension, THAT would be different spanks.

Step into the light young one. By which I mean, come to PACAF. It's way better here. I disagree with Chuck, I love airland and got zero love for AD. That said, I flew with him on a 15 ship MAFEX and it was pretty damn cool. Something I love about the C17, he and I like completely different things about mission, but we both love the jet. I've flown it for 10 years and still enjoy the hell out of it.

Correct. Although I find the best way to successfully conceal them is to lock them in the gunbox. No one knows we have them.

Wow, so in your squadron commands when folks blatantly didn't follow the rules you didn't politely call them on it, you just looked the other way out of coolness?

I heard a rumor I know is untrue--PTs not required at Manas? I'd find such an act of overt morale improvement mind blowing, someone please reassure my faith in the Air Force. How cold is there right now?

Was there May-June. It wasn't bad. They were a little psycho on morale patches but other than that no issues. Hell, in the dorms everyone wore civvies--gasp--and no one cared. Agree with Herk, way lower BS factor than the 'Died.

Life continues to be good in PACAF however.