Everything posted by KWings06j
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Gorenc named USAFE Commander
Apparently he's already hitting up people on Skype for money to help a sick girl in Ghana... and his grammar is horrendous.
- VA Loans
- VA Loans
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Classic Thread - Why go Air Force?
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Inside Combat Rescue
It's clearing calls from the FE / AG. Usually it'll be "clear forward up left" "right". Often that gets shortened to "up left" "right".
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Inside Combat Rescue
PJs have limited firefighting gear. It's not enough to save a building... but to suppress a fire in a burning MRAP long enough to pull a dude out is possible.
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SUPT ops going forward...specifically to IP's
It's "recommended" credit. So if you're doing the AMU box-check degree then yes. If you're actually getting a decent degree from a quality school then probably not... but it never hurts to ask.
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SOS/ACSC information
If i'm forced to waste my time with worthless pay-to-play stuff then I'm going to look for ways to do it when it's conveinint for me. IE when i'm already used to wasting an hour a week on worthless crap rather than spending time with the wife or getting drunk with my peers. If that means I can avoid having to waste that time later in life when I've got more going on, both personally and professionally, seems like a win-win to me... But, point made. People who are worried about their own performance might take my efforts to get this crap over and done with as a threat to their futures. I guess I'll avoid having any more people jump to foolish conclusions for sake of their own paranoia. Thanks for the advice.
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SOS/ACSC information
AMU takes less than an hour a week. I figure ACSC bs should take about the same. I've managed to recycle papers from one class to the next with minimal editing. As I said I don't have kids yet so if I can get this crap knocked out early then I don't have to deal with it later. I'm not talking about doing the full ACSC OLMP. I don't need two worthless degrees. Just the courses from it that count for ACSC itself. Finish AMU in time for my Majors board then finish ACSC only (not OLMP) after being selected. As far as my mission planning skills, point taken. I know the futility of debating that on here so suffice it to say flying always comes first. That's why I'm only doing one course at a time at AMU. I could reasonably knock out at least three at a time if I wanted to put actual effort into it. I'm just looking for an efficient way to check all my boxes with minimal effort. CGOC? That's hitting below the belt.
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SOS/ACSC information
I'll soon be eligible to start the ACSC OLMP. I am already halfway through a masters program (AMU military studies) which I should finish in about a year and a half. I'm considering getting w/in one class of finishing my masters and then switching to the ACSC OLMP to get some of the ACSC courses knocked out. Once I've completed those ACSC courses then switch back, finish the masters before my first Majors board, and after I get picked up just complete the ACSC requirements. Wondering if anyone else has tried this or if completing my masters would dis-enroll me from ACSC OLMP? Can I switch from the OLMP to the regular ACSC once I'm eligible? Right now I'm married with no kids so if I want to get as much of this BS knocked out as early as possible.
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CSAR-X
Below is the description I received of the series. They're doing a limited preview next friday on Nellis. I'll hold off posting my opinion (based on the write-up) until after I actually see the first episode. Below is the description I received of the series. They're doing a limited preview next friday on Nellis. I'll hold off posting my opinion (based on the write-up) until after I actually see the first episode.
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SERE/Land survival info
Exactly. Not knowing what to expect or what is going to happen can actually be valuable in this instance.
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New BAH rates are out.
A whole $7 here.
- Current Pilot with Pilonidal Cyst
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Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Q&A
I hope they institute the percentage allotment for the Roth TSP like they have for traditional TSP. Automatic deposit increase anytime you get a pay raise / promotion. Hard to miss money you never saw.
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DTS -> Next Generation Travel System - Ideas?
Make it fewer pages! There is way to much separation of things that don't need to be separated. 1. Let me put in all locations, arrival/departure dates, lodging costs and per-diem on a single page. Give me a check box if one location has changing costs or special requirements and then i can revert to the current PITA way of doing it. ie: Location 1: Date Arrived: XX/XX/XX Date Departed: XX/XX/XX Daily lodging: $XX.xx Daily Per-diem: $XX.xx Special circumstances ? Y/N Location 2: .... 2. Put mileage / non-mileage expenses on the same page. Hell, put em in the same drop-down. 3, Stop telling me arrival/departure dates aren't authorized / stop isn't authorized / etc. If I arrived on a certain date, that's the date I arrived on. Obviously it was either authorized or required. Let it be! 4. Make it look like the paper voucher. The paper voucher didn't require help filling out. The digital voucher should be even easier. If it's not, it needs to be re-done. 5. Once the new system is designed find the lowest common denominator and have them run through the entire process. If they can't do it without help go back to the drawing board. If the program freezes/ crashes/ etc fix it before publishing. And do it on an old gov't computer running vista. Don't use the brand new Win 7 (or 8 or 9 by then) system.
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Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Q&A
My .02 on Tradition vs Roth. The value of a Roth is that you take the money out Tax Free. The value of a Traditional is that you put the money in Tax Free. The question comes in how to maximize the two. 1) You need to know your taxable income for the year. Remember to take into account any credits or exemptions that apply. 2) Look at what tax bracket that puts you in. Are you close to the next higher/lower bracket? Are you making to much to qualify for some credits or exemptions? How much of a fudge-factor did you use in step 1? 3) If you are square in the middle of a tax bracket and not missing out on any money due to your income level then odds are a Roth is your best bet. It will reduce your taxable income later where it may make the difference of a tax bracket (or two). 4) If you are near the bottom of your tax bracket use a Traditional to get you into the next lower bracket. Remember non-wage income (Investments, lottery winnings, etc). Once you are in that lower bracket put the rest into a Roth 5) If you are near the top of your tax bracket consider putting a little into Traditional. This will help in case you miscalculated your earnings. The majority should go into a Roth. 6) If you are missing out on some other tax benefits due to your income level use a Traditional to lower your level. This is the same as #4. 7) If you have a high-paying job lined up for when you get out of the military that also has a pension plan use a Roth. Your pension is most likely taxable income. So if you're getting out at 20 and coming back as a GS-whatever planning to do another 20 your two pensions together will probably keep you in a fairly high tax bracket the rest of your life. Pay a little tax now and save a lot later. Other considerations: Taxes fill from the bottom while tax savings pull from the top. What do I mean by this? Every dollar you take out of your income is removed from the highest tax bracket first. When it is put back into your income (ie withdrawals from a traditional) it fills the lowest bracket first. Even if the tax rates go up for each bracket in the future, odds are the brackets themselves will get larger. This means it will take more dollars later to fill the lower brackets than what it takes now. Just food for thought. Roth IRAs have ways you can withdraw from them prior to retirement without paying a penalty. Traditionals do not. If you want to be prepared for that possibility keeping at least some of your money in a Roth may be wise.
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Pilot Life
This isn't an official document, a professional email, or anything else that actually matters. It's an internet forum. Yes, you're right, I should have used the proper spellings but did it really degrade from the message? What's more distracting, the few errors from simply not caring about grammar on a message board or the chain of posts undoubtedly to follow complaining about it?
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Pilot Life
1. It sucks when your on the ground but life gets damn good the moment you step. There's a lot of non-flying queep that has to be dealt with day to day but you'll get a lot of that in any career field. The difference is that rated types (pilots/navs/enlisted aircrew/etc) have to deal with all that queep in addition to there actual job instead of it being there job. We also don't need someone telling us we're warriors or without us the war doesn't happen or whatever the latest BS spin is. We know where we stand, what we do, and how it effects the mission. 2. Absolutely! Pilots bitch about stuff because we're sick of doing finance, mpf, and just about everyone elses job for them. We have enough crap to do without adding on other peoples lack of work ethic. Plus, on a psychological level, complaining lets you get issues off your chest and out in the open. It's a proven stress reliever so long as it isn't taken to the extreme.
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Recreational Drug Use (Marijuana)
Better to admit it now than have them find out later. Going for a TS clearance required for a pilot slot they most likely will find out. Anyhow things may be difficult for you but keep pushing and you can still get it. Just don't start lying or making excuses for it. Man up to what you did, admit your mistake, and demonstrate that you learned from it.
- Marines Urinating on Dead Taliban
- Multicam 2 piece flightsuits
- WTF? (**NSFW**)
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Masters information (MBA/GRE)
Anyone know if you can transfer AMU masters credits to the ACSC online masters course? I'm not eligible to start that course yet and have already started my masters at AMU. I'd love to be able to knock out a bunch of the extra courses prior to the 6 year point and then finish up with the ACSC online masters course and be that much closer to finishing ACSC itself by the time I make Maj. If not I'll just continue with AMU and deal with ACSC later.
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Help me fight the man
Along the lines of the Avis claim... I had a rental car under my name during an exercise. The rental car was being traded among a group of people and I have no clue who was driving it on any given day (other than I only had it the first and last days). Anyhow Enterprise sent me a notice saying the car had been ticketed and is charging me a "processing fee". I have yet to receive the actual ticket. Is there any way to get out of this fee? I know I can't claim it on my travel voucher. I don't mind eating the fee if I have to but I'd rather not if there's a way out of it. Also anyone have advice on how to beat an out of state ticket like this when/if it does ever appear?