afnav

I'm on terminal leave right now, and also a 12B. Aside from the fact I retired, we are facing similar problems. One area that wasn't mentioned is USAJOBS. The search engine can be difficult to learn, but once you discover the code, it isn't too bad. Sometimes the agencies are good at letting you know your status (Air Force civ), and others are horrible (Army). I have applied for over 100 jobs, and so far, I've had one interview. Try not to get discouraged. I spent the last six years at USSTRATCOM, so I was able to get a crap-ton of staff experience that line guys would never get. There is a huge conversion going on from government contractor jobs to GS civilians right now. I've talked to three contractors, but one lost the contract through bidding, and the other two never called back. I've been told to not lose hope until they day my retirement is final and I don't have a job. On resumes, the contractors I've talked to loved the acronyms, as it signified I knew what I was talking about. The GS interview I had yesterday was conducted by guys not familiar with the deterrence mission, but I through out enough information in my resume to let them know that I knew the subject. I have seen civilians be hired that had absolutely no idea what they were doing (two replaced me when I moved). On the disability subject, my interview with the VA here in Omaha was extremely smooth. The doctor was really cool, and was thorough with my records to give me the best deal possible. He called the regional office to dispel my concerns about the time frame for the rating and payment commencement. Earlier, I was told that it might take a year to get my rating, but Lincoln said I would have it around three months after my final retirement date. All you need is 30% for the 5 points for vet preference. Most of us get 5 points for a campaign medal, so you're starting with 10 points. In many cases, that will bring you to the top of the list, and they will have to give a good reason why they passed you over for hiring over a lot of people that weren't vets. Of course, this doesn't help when you're looking for a job as soon as you leave active duty. The guard/reserve gig might help smooth the transition, but it doesn't help the retired guys like me. The TAP program, especially here at Offutt, is worth its weight in gold. If anyone has any second thoughts about attending, please go through the program. It might save you a lot of trouble later. I have given serious thought to 'blazing a new path', but I need a salary that is higher than an entry-level guy would make. My family size prohibits a lot of experimentation. I would love to get any advice on jobs out of the govt/govt contractor realm. If you would like some advice on 12B , please PM me. I forgot to mention Linkedin. It helped me get in touch with a lot of guys from my past lives, and it has a pretty good search engine.

Having done both, very true words here. Six-month avionics course < Eleven-month nav course

Yes, these guys always come out this time of year. With the modern internets, there is absolutely no excuse for poor uniform decisions for the up-and-coming or experienced fraud. This guy should share a cell with Sandusky.

Not saying it is, but is it possible the tobacco thing is related to Ramadan? In the three God-forsaken Muslim countries I've had the pleasure to live in, there always seems to be a freakout by the idiot shoes this time of year. Two years ago, they didn't want us eating during daylight hours because some Bangladeshi worker that is essentially a slave might see us eating a ice cream coming out of the chow hall. Needless to say, that 'policy' lasted about .69 seconds.

'2' on the book. I found it in the base library, so I would think most would carry it. The 'Islamic terrorist bomb' is one of them, and a very thought-provoking concept on deterrence theory. In this scenario, with a certain type of president, I think my former job as a strike adviser would be very, very busy.

Wow, MK! Great recap, and some very familiar references. Basic Training: 3711 BMTS Tech School: 3392 STUS My flight was one of the first to be issued the 'flat toe', speed-laced combat boots. They were very prone to salt marks, which brought a surprising amount of sympathy from the TIs. I flew from San Antonio to Biloxi on TWA. I was the first people to purchase BDUs at Keesler (only worn off-duty), which helped me 'blend in' with the permanent party folks at the club. I was a 328X0, which was Rivet Workforced into 455X2 after I got to Barksdale. My KC-10s shared the flightline with B-52Gs, KC-135As and T-37s in the ACE program. The A-model was the loudest plane on the line to me. We flew to Ellington and Richards-Gebaur a lot, both of which are closing or closed. ATC was less Mickey Mouse than Big Blue writ large now, which is heartbreaking. I cherished my SAC and Journeyman Technician patches. I outprocessed in the middle of Desert Shield as an E-4 sergeant, after I searched the entire squadron to find someone to sign my paperwork. There was only one KC-10 on the flightline, and it was broken. I look at books about the Air Force from the late 80s, and it's amazing how much it has shrunk.

That's great news about them getting caught. Bastards. A word of warning to the technologically-challenged. When I was in BPC two years ago, there were people that tried to hack into my iTunes and charge stuff to me. You have to go in and tell it not to do any sharing, or it will automatically. I literally saw some joker try to charge songs and movies to my account. Just be careful out there, everyone.

I'd say this is the third 'period of insanity' I've seen in my time in. The first was in the late 80s. I was sitting in FTD class at Barksdale with a lot of other guys who just showed up from tech school. The instructor comes in, looks at all of us, and asks, "who wants to get out?" Three guys raised their hands, all had just reported from 6-9 month schools, and were out of Big Blue within a month. Guess what? The rest of us had to do Rivet Workforce CDCs and pick up their slack. The 'Peace Dividend' was probably not the first example of AF 'slam-slam' personnel management, but it was the first one I was personally involved in. The second was the late 90s 'crud' that bit a lot of us. Endless OPC/ONW/OSW deployments, shrinking dollars, pilots flocking to the airlines, etc. In Polifka, a FAIP asks the SECAF how much longer they would have to work six-day weeks because of shortages of personnel, and the guy on stage goes on a rant on how tough it was to run his private law practice. We booed him off the stage (love that 'academic' setting), and were bitched out for disrespecting him (with a wink from the instructors). Leadership just didn't seem to 'get it'. Of course, Groundhog Day ended in '01. The third started a few years back when the 'Support our Troops' magnetic decals on cars started to fade, and the country began to get 'war fatigue'. The military got it, too, as we began to forget about the mission and came up with ways to keep the troops on their toes - reflective belts in combat zones, uniform changes every five minutes and copying the other services' bad ideas, and otherwise nagging queep that has made us all bitter as hell. Big Blue has been demonstrating to a nauseating degree on how style reigns over content. Terminal in November - good luck to all of you that have to work your way out of this one. I'll tell you now, this one is the worst by far, and it will take years to crawl out of it. Short list: 1. There are Bronze Stars and there are Bronze Stars. Hey SNCOs and O6s/GOs...some of us know the difference. 2. Green Days...who the fuck are you kidding about 'saving energy'? 3. PT gear...enough said. 4. PT until you drop...permanent injuries are not worth it guys, even the 10% disability I'll get from a bum foot. 5. Ducking responsibility and making rank - sure, it's common on the outside, but I once thought we were different. My mistake.

It looks just like the other AC-130 game, except I don't think the zombies are driving tanks.

Whatever.

It's interesting how they still embrace Ataturk as an icon of their country, and then the elected government deliberately contradicts his philosophy. No kidding, if you walk in to ANY business in the Alley outside Incirlik, his picture is on the wall. Erdrogan is an Islamist, and I have no doubt he is running a long-term program to eliminate Turkey's unique status as a secular, predominantly-Muslim country. Remember, Hitler was elected to office, too. 'Emergency powers' made him chancellor.

We sound like contemporaries. I was caught in the accelerated promotion boards and got killed with a PRF with misspellings all over it. Word to the wise - NO ONE GETS PROMOTED ON SUPPLEMENTAL BOARDS! The rate is like 1%. If I had it to do over again, I would have left at around the same time (or a little earlier) and joined the guard or reserve.

My God, please tell me that's a frakkin' joke.

When I was out there in the BPC in '09, they would throw concerts at the bra and I was kept awake in my room in a concrete building. I can only imagine what it was like for aircrew in the trailers getting ready to fly the next day. MWR is a good thing, but shit, have a little respect for guys going downrange... You guys have my sympathy.

Great pictures of great men.

What His Chiefness is missing...is the point. It's isn't a question of 'following orders'. I think most of us have demonstrated that if we have been made it through whatever assession training we have done (some of us were so dumb, that we had to do it twice for both sides). The real point is following orders for stupid shit. Even the Brits eventually figured out that wearing red coats into battle probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world, once the psychological advantage of intimidation was lost. Patton gets taken out of context all the time with that quote. This guy needs to get away from his computer more often, and go out and really ask airmen how their lives are going. He is not winning any wars or hearts and minds writing this stupid shit.

There has got to be a four-star sponsor for this madness...

The latest on CPAP... My wife had insomnia a couple of weeks ago, and watched me stop breathing several times during the night on the CPAP machine. Needless to say, that is not supposed to happen. It turns out that if you have central sleep apnea, the CPAP machine could actually make your condition worse. They gave me a BI-PAP machine yesterday, and it seems to act just like a CPAP machine - a huge pain in the ass that I ripped off my face at 2 in the morning. They made the mistake of putting the clip to the full-face mask on the same side as the bayonet clips from my mask from my long-past flying days - I can literally pull it off in my sleep. My word of advice for anyone feeling exhaustion, or any of the other symptoms commonly associated with apnea is to not take any crap from any non-knowledgeable individuals about finding out what is wrong with you. My thyroid hormone levels were only tested at MEPS when I enlisted in '87, and last fall I found out I had hypothyroidism. I thought I was just getting old, and the leadership decided to pound the shit out of me for feeling tired all the time. Synthroid didn't make the symptoms go away, and a sleep study proved I had apnea, too. Now there's talk about sending me to a neurologist. This is all coming up six months before I start terminal leave. This is not a VA money grab. I didn't start any of this shit. I just wanted to know what the hell was wrong with me. Keep the money. I just want to be healthy enough to see my grandchildren born. Cover your asses. No one else will. Good luck, everyone.

My wife bought some moleskin that I'm going to try to use. I sure wish it had bayonets on the side instead of this plastic clip that is hard to get off. At least the clip is on the right side, just like where my flying mask came down. Another problem is that I'm still ripping it off my face in the middle of the night. That motion to the right side of my face is still strong, I guess. Thanks for the feedback on this subject, everyone. I really appreciate it. I can't wait for my terminal leave in November.

I have the mask on fairly tight because I was getting leaks around my nose. Unfortunately, their full masks are one size fits all at the local place. I am going back on Monday, and I think I'll take my helmet and mask with me to show them how well it fits. Who knows, maybe they can order something that is more like my flying mask. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few months ago, which some doctors believe there is a correlation between the two conditions. I'm very grateful that my internal medicine doctor has taken the time to research all of the potential problems I've been having. It's funny how much a body seems to fall apart right before retirement.

Along with two other chronic medical conditions, I was just diagnosed with sleep apnea. It's the central nervous system version, as opposed to the obstructive type that gets most people. Everyone I've spoken with that has started using a CPAP machine says that it helped them immediately. I've used it for three weeks now, and if anything, I feel worse when I get up in the morning. The mask is also knawing a sore on the bridge of my nose. Is there anyone out there that has had the same trouble?

I talked to three of the five at the SASM today. Very nice gentlemen. I do believe this will be their final formal reunion.

Happy Birthday, old friend. I'll be waiting for you in the retirement home.

We were drinking on Keesler at 18 in '88. I don't know when they changed it up to 21.

My wife and I left Barkatraz in the 8th month of her pregnancy to escape the C-section monsters in Shreveport because they didn't want to be sued for complications with a VBAC. It's interesting that we had two normal VBACs after we arrived in Omaha. I guess that says something about the competency of the medical profession in LA. We moved our PCS date up to escape. I'm pretty sure it can be done very late in a pregnancy, since we did it.