Varmint

I hear where you're coming from, I'm a hawg driver by trade. There are a lot of IFF guys who agree with you on combining into one IFF factory like it was a few short years ago. Remember, the consolidation, separation, and now quasi-consolidation have been BRAC moves. On paper, making IFF a flight in SUPT makes sense. However, one of the biggest arguments for IFF is the transition from a UPT mindset into a fighter FTU mindset. The argument, and my opinion, is this would be impossible to do if IFF and UPT were in the same squadron. It would be difficult to tell a student "you are no longer a student, you are a fighter wingman with pilot wings, now change your outlook and approach to training" while their surroundings and patches haven't changed from UPT. I believe they need to be separated from the UPT world in order for IFF to be effective. My two cents. Now I'll sit back and be a passive baseops participant for another year or so. Cheers

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you either 1) are drunk or 2) did not read one bit of my prior post. What can a student learn in four sorties? How to prep for a fighter brief and act during it. Wingman priorities. How to take a lesson learned and apply it to the next sortie. Notice I did not mention one thing regarding taking that particular skill and applying it in the future. And I can tell you a lot about the abilities of a student over the course of four rides. Also, your prayers have been answered. The generals are watching and the syllabus keeps growing. Apparently there are some folks with a little bit of experience in fighters, a basic arithmetic calculator to add up the costs, and lack the chip on the shoulder you so conspicuously display. The FTUs don't want IFF to go away and they don't want us to be a flight in a SUPT squadron. Believe it or not, they have a say in the process.

Time for my annual post to this forum. Far too much thinking is going into this topic. IFF is not trying to replicate any fighter. It is also not a G-tolerance course, although physiological adaptation is a big part of it for the WSO students who don't have any experience in a fighter-type aircraft yet. IFF is not there to build BFM monsters. The goal of IFF--as stated directly by the syllabus--is to ensure it graduates only students "who show the potential to succeed in follow-on training." The FTUs out there fill their classes based upon zero attrition from students. IFF serves as the link between SUPT and the FTUs by analyzing a student's ability to adapt to more dynamic training. For example, when a student is taught BFM, it is not the BFM the instructors are focusing upon. Rather, the BFM is a subset of the higher level goal which is a student who has his priorities as a fighter wingman correct and demonstrates the ability to adapt to a much more complex cross-check than flying ILSs at an out base. While SUPT does a pretty good job of analyzing which students belong in fighters, their syllabus does not allow for the same level of scrutiny as the IFF syllabus does. It is certainly not uncommon for a student to finish number one or two in his class based upon intense study, chair-flying for each sortie, and having a high class commander rating. But these skills don't necessarily a good fighter pilot make, if the level of necessary skill is lacking. Secondly, the money factor. As stated before, FTUs anticipate zero attrition. That being said, every student who washes out of an FTU leaves a hole (sts) for that community until the next fiscal years comes around. On the other hand, if a student washes out of IFF on his way to F-16s, another F-16 will be dropped in a SUPT class later on. If a student washes out of IFF on the final sortie, it cost way, way less to find out than it would have been if he washed out halfway through any FTU. Finally, there is the SNAP factor. SUPT is a very different learning environment than the FTUs, as any fighter pilot can attest to. It is a more stressful, grown-up program than SUPT. One of the goals of IFF is introduce these new stressors to a student before he gets to the FTU and finds himself struggling for reasons unrelated to flying. The arguments of "what fighter are they trying to replicate?" and "BFM isn't flown like that anymore" are moot points. We get it. The T-38 isn't a Raptor and the bomb triangle gets more ancient everyday. But the ability to adapt to a new level of learning, in a short time period, under increased stress, for a much lower price tag, is just as important as it's ever been. There it is. Standing by for spears.

For those stationed in AZ, Oak Creek Brewery Nut Brown Ale. If you ever find yourself in Flagstaff on a snowy winter's night, there is no substitute.

If you're going to be here TDY, you are going to receive $39 a day for housing (the equivalent of living on base). A guy in my class found a place on www.VRBO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) that was willing to rent on a long-term basis to he and his family. Every place on that site will be furnished if you can find one. Other than that, you might have to suck it up at one of those apartments you are talking about.

"Where Men Win Glory" by Jon Krakauer. Very in-depth look at the life and death of Pat Tillman. A must read for any Pat Tillman or Krakauer fan.

I stand corrected. When I was sent off base to a physical therapist last year, they did a lot of the same stuff a chiropractor would do as far as the twisting and cracking, but they also helped with exercises to make things better in the long-run. Either way, they will pay for physical therapists for dependents it sounds like. Ask the doc and they'll do what needs to be done to get a referral for the fam.

Affirm. Some bases actually have sports therapists/massage therapists employed by the HAWC. If this is the case, they might have you stay on base for help. If not, they will refer you, or your spouse/dependent, off base. Either way, chiropractors/massage therapists are not viewed as witch-doctors by TRICARE, and you can get taken care of. I went to a therapist here in Valdosta and she said that most of her patients were military--especially when IFF was still at Moody.

Dude, I've been to a physical therapist twice in the past two years for back pain. Don't sweat it. Go to a flight doc you trust, downplay the pain so you don't go DNIF, but stress that you think you need to see someone to make sure it doesn't get worse. You'll have a referral by next Monday or Tuesday. But wait for the referral or it will come out of pocket.

Don't sweat it. Here's the truth (and anyone speak up who thinks differently): 1. All clearances take a while; it doesn't matter how squeaky clean a person is. 2. The 6th grade incident should not be on your record. You were a minor, and it doesn't sound like much punitive action was taken. 3. You are not your neighborhood, your brother, etc. One of my best friends in college had several family members who had been in a lot of trouble with the law. But that wasn't him. He was a good kid who had made mistakes; but who doesn't. You can't help the environment in which you were raised, nor can you control the actions of others--family or not. 4. A lot of people have problems with their credit--especially these days. And it is a problem taken seriously throughout the military. Make sure you don't have any outstanding financial problems right now and continue to do so in the future. 5. If you lie about something or try to cover it, you're done. It sounds like you've disclosed everything and that's good. They would rather you have a storied past and disclose everything than if you made one mistake and tried to cover it. BL: The guys who conduct these background checks do it as a living and take their jobs very seriously. You may someday be responsible with extremely sensitive information, and the DOD has to take every precaution to make sure you are worth the risk. Just continue on with life as normal, keep your nose clean, and the man will let you know at some point in time if there is a problem. Cheers, Varmint

Where are you stationed? A few years ago our outgoing Sq/CC got a green fee at Pinehurst No. 2.

The trick is General Order #1. I hammered at least 6-9 ice cream bars a day and still lost 20 pounds without beer.

"Closed for 'training'" (whatever shop you prefer).

I've been permanently traumatized by the new Britney Spears song on the radio--can I sue?

For those who find themselves in Tucson and can't handle one more night of the Cactus Moon or Maloney's, drop by the Trident for a few beers. Owned by a former SEAL, it is very military friendly and get this--you can actually hear yourself think.