nsplayr

My class had 12 MQ-9 guys after the drop, and the IQT allocation was 9x Holloman (all AD), 1x Syracuse (AD), and 2x March (both Guard). Studs were asked to rank IQT options but told to expect Holloman UFN.

Great info above. I'm finishing URT next week and basically concur with everything above, although I did not go to Doss. Feel free to PM with any questions if you are heading to URT soon.

To help clear up some of the chaff above, I'm at URT right now and this info is CAO right meow: Sim only here at RND All active duty are PCS'd to RND except enlisted pilots, who are here TDY along with Guard/Reserve students The AF (hopefully) has a relatively "all-in" cost per flight hour for the MQ-9 that would allow comparison of flying that vs a different manned asset. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm assuming it's less than average even given the 6-9 miracles it takes for me to control the aircraft from the NV desert via space. My opinion is everything could be even cheaper by sending guys to an FAA puppy mill and spitting them out with a PPL and Instrument Rating in about a month. Close Doss and the RIQ portion of URT, and make the RFC portion maybe a week or 2 longer to add in some 202v3 and etc. "blueing" for the young LTs. Or have Doss be the "puppy mill," but actually spit guys out with a PPL and Instrument Rating. We spend an inordinate amount of time and employ a fairly large herd of ORFs (old retired farts) for the purpose of having studs hand-fly the T-6 sim, when that has extremely limited relevance to flying an RPA. The VR sims used in the URT-Next small group trial are also significantly cheaper than the more traditional sims here at Randolph, so great, do that instead of or in conjunction with the above if the training results are comparable, which they seem to be so far based on a small data set. The reason RIQ exists, IMHO, is so that A) we can appropriately haze new AF pilot trainees, and B) so the AF can tell the FAA "all of our pilots are instrument rated," even though we leave here with no actual instrument rating nor even an Form 8 checkride so 🤷‍♂️

Lol, ya don’t say. I’m sure Sec. Shannahan is utterly shocked that the mighty Boeing T-X may suddenly be the perfect fit for many other roles beyond training now that the rest of the competition has been cleared away...

I am not being charged annual fees from Chase and I had my cards (CSR and several others) prior to 2017. They waived mine initially for about ~90 days worth of full-time orders I did this summer as a Guardsman. I'm back on AD for training now and they haven't asked me for any updates on my mil status nor have they charged me annual fees recently either. Good luck!

Glad I took the “under” bet when people were predicting how many airframes the AF would buy! What a freaking debacle. If I were Textron or SNC or anyone else I’d be very leery of any further “experimentation” that required company money for development, and that’s a real shame because the industry has solutions for battlefield problems in this area that could and should be fielded ASAP. It sucks even worse that there’s a new gold star family because of light attack and we accomplished literally nothing that wasn’t already know at ground speed zero about three years ago.

https://lmgtfy.com/?iie=1&q=undergraduate+pilot+training Has to be a troll or honestly ya ain't gonna make it in pilot training if you have zero idea how to google something. You managed to find this forum so I mean you're not completely illiterate but FFS, search around, learn the basics (you need a 4-year undergraduate degree from an accredited university, you need to get commissioned, you need to apply for an earn a pilot slot, you need to complete UPT, etc.). Most of that info can be found using the good ole' internet using a some simple search terms in google. Good luck and god speed, I think you're gonna need it!

Ok now that's funny.

If @Tank says 18, I’m taking the under. Right now there are 8 declared and Klobuchar is declaring today so call it 9. I expect Beto and Bernie to declare and possibly Biden. Others note serious possibles are Inslee, Brown and Hickenlooper. Even if all of those jump in that’s only 15, and that’s being generous and including John Delaney as a plausible candidate. If I’m a betting man I also think Biden won’t run and some of these other maybes will stay away. BL: My guess is 12.

Checks.

Dude if those strats are middle of the road I must have been a turd burglar on active duty as a CGO! 🤣 #8/150 Majors is top 5% and now you’re “middle of the road?” The active duty rating system is broken for the 69% of dudes who are not shiny pennies nor bottom feeders. Dudes in that vast “middle of the road” have no idea where they stand and even worse, there is no real incentive to try harder when their fate is already likely sealed. Theres a big god damned difference beteeen 15th percentile and 85th percentile but hey, thanks for playing. I guess with manning almost everyone should be free to be continued at O4 indefinitely, but that’s cold comfort for many dudes who were thinking O5 was the “standard career.”

There is a minor candidate running for the 2020 Dem nomination named Andrew Yang proposing exactly what's being discussed, a 10% VAT paired with a UBI. https://www.yang2020.com/what-is-ubi/ He discusses the idea at length on a podcast here:

Not directly answering your question, but I just waited until I joined the guard. I knew I wanted to transfer about a year or more earlier, but it was easier and cleaner just to wait. Did the transfer the day I in-processed with the Guard and it was easy peasy. The only reason to get a jump on it would be if you can knock off a significant chunk of the 4-year commitment (more than half?) and you know you don't want to stay in the Guard very long; I wouldn't mess with it over like 6 months if it were me.

Yes, maneuvering speeds as low as 100kts depending on weight and what's hanging on the wings. https://scorpion.txtav.com/en/missions Without saying anything proprietary since it's all on their website, I flew in it and can verify that it is more than capable of slow, steady ISR & armed overwatch orbits just like the props, but then also significantly faster transits. The jet was so much more capable in both in terms of just raw aircraft capabilities as well as the mission systems, but Textron's inability to credibly say it can handle rough field operations (table stakes for the LAE) essentially TKO'd it from the "experiment" before it started. My biggest beef with LAE was that the requirements, IMHO, were written to very closely mirror one of the competitors without giving an honest big-picture look at A) what's actually required to carry out the light attack mission, and B) more innovative approaches. Another big plus in the scorpion column that was not even considered is that with dual-sensor, long legs, and much more effective human-machine interfaces compared to the competition, there's really no need to fly as a 2-ship (cue the heads exploding over in the fighter mafia). So rather than always needing 2x jets to accomplish 1x mission, you can effective service targets with just one and therefore either buy fewer and save money or operate in more AORs for the same cost. To be sure there were issues with the company and the program, but I think the AF suffered a pretty big swing-and-a-miss if they were actually trying to find the best product the market had to offer. Standard caveats that we should have bought something about 15 years ago and I'd happily take AT-6 or A-29 over the nothing we're going to end up with.

Or we could buy the scorpion that actually had the legs and loiter time to operate from better maintained airfields and still reach out and touch the bad guys (STS), but what the fuck to I know...let’s develop something clean sheet that will take 6-9 years to field, that’s wicked fast and maneuverable, but that also has no legs and requires tanker support to operate effectively. 🤦‍♂️

AETC is soliciting names for the T-X. Likely to be designated the “T-7A” according to the email I saw today. They’re looking for both “historic” and “forward-thinking/innovative” names. I have no good suggestions but happy to submit the best of what the peanut gallery has to offer! Actually, I’ll start the ball rolling with the T-7A “Kickback” for a nod to Acting Sec. Shannahan and the fine executives at Boeing who I’m sure don’t have any improper conversations about any of this out on the golf course... 🤣 Can’t wait for my super sweet Boeing A-7B Corsair III light attack jet in 6-9 more years! Although with A-7 having already been used they may be hamstringing that idea already...

This is my surprised face 😑

Indeed the grass is greener on the Guard side.

Had a Finance SSgt go above and beyond for perhaps the first time in Finance history. He just...did everything for me, and it was magical. He created my CTW worksheet for me and uploaded it into DTS, doped out my per diem for an upcoming TDY even though it had to be broken into different amounts about 69 times on the same voucher due to stupid rules, AND he told me to just email him my lodging receipts directly while I'm traveling and he'd take care of attaching them to my voucher and updating the per diem and etc. Also showed me the details of the exact schedule of partial payments that I can expect. Bravo Finance SSgt, for today you were a true American hero* 🍺 *I retain the right to revoke all praise if I'm not actually paid as fragged and in a timely manner

Jim-Mattis-resignation-letter.pdf Not great. Mattis was by far the best appointment President Trump made.

What’s the latest gouge on the best place to order a custom A2 leather flying jacket? Would love to order one in person stateside, preferably in Texas where I know there’s lots of leather to be had, but not sure if such a place exists. Last I remember Korea or Turkey were the go-to places. Any gouge is much appreciated 🇺🇸

It should be that so long as you are in the service for all of 2018, whatever decision you make by 31 Dec 18 stands. With that many YOS and your intention to make it to at least 20 good years via a reserve gig, it should be a no-brainer for you to stick with Legacy. To do that, just do nothing; you have to opt-in to BRS. On a side note, I'd do everything possible not to have a break in service, it just complicates everything down the road. GL! *YMMV, I'm not a lawyer, make sure you do your own due diligence with all financial decisions*

My Finishing Touch sounds like a massage parlor that specializes in happy endings 🤣

I know a friend who is doing it at age 34. He’s a CSO already in the guard unit that’s sending him to UPT. Not 100% sure of the details, but given the AF’s need for pilots, now is as good a time as ever to apply.

Funny story, glad you asked. Yes, they will ask for your PCSM score, and depending on how crusty you are, your AFOQT pilot component will be too old and not usable for generating a PCSM. They will tell you to take the AFOQT again. BL: Don’t do it. I refused. That’s the biggest load of utter bullshit I’ve ever heard of. I have a PPL, re-took the TBAS (45 mins and pretty painless), and have been an officer for more than 11 years and a rated aviator for more than 10 years. Don’t tell me I have to take a 3-4 hour but-roll test to see if I qualify to be an officer, GMAFB. Luckily, my OG/CC went to bat, called up San Antonio, and got the requirement waived for me and another former Nav in the same boat. I had a 3rd buddy in the same situation, but despite my success story, he took the cowards way out and just re-took the AFOQT 🙄 The system will only remain broken so long as we accept it with our actions. CSAF said stop complying with stupid shit and I’ve never seen a clearer example. This dude could not abide that level of stupidity. If you or your chain wants to talk to my leadership about exactly what they did and who authorized it PM me.