nsplayr

Big blue has zero incentive to save service-life hours on the 4th gen fighters. We need to "use them up" in order to justify the F-35.

Anyone know if Syracuse is experiencing the same kinds of delays as Holloman? Can't believe it's 7-8 months for that course!

The entitlement generation indeed...yeesh!

Which is too bad. Honestly all of the software and interfaces in the boxes are awful but GA controls the thing from tooth to tail so there's no really a big rush to make things better. Would love to see that contract opened up to competition so better solutions that already exist would be fielded. It also seems ridiculously obvious that one avenue to help with the manning crunch is to get that interface right i.e. having a single crew controls multiple aircraft. Not sure why this is not more of a priority - it's easily feasible during long transit times especially.

That issue is being worked as we speak: https://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-weighs-changes-to-draft-after-allowing-women-in-combat-1449269778

Both Roth and traditional should let you contribute in either dollar amount or percentage...it's so stupid to be any other way.

Great stuff...hope a lot of this comes to fruition.

Blues are already optional every day of the week. Nothing saying you can't wear them. p.s. - don't give out any "good ideas;" they might become reality when some idiot gets his eyes on them...

Aside from M2's point, the basic math in that article is all messed up. From the article: "Right now, for example, an 18X pilot assigned to Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, who is approaching the end of a six year-commitment is typically a captain with seven years of service, who is making about $103,000 per year in base pay, BAH and monthly flight pay, according to the Air Force. Meanwhile, a major with 11 years of service, who is trained to fly manned aircraft but currently flying drones, is making about $107,000 per year at Creech, with BAH amounts averaged." Assuming BAH/BAS/ACIP are the same, which they likely would be, the difference in basic pay alone for an O3 6+ and an O4 10+ is $14K per year. Let alone that the major with 11 years who is an 11U vs an 18X is about the get the regular pilot ACP bonus if he/she stays in, which paradoxically still is higher than the RPA bonus available to end-of-commitment 18X RPA pilots. Who at airforcetimes crunched those numbers?

This seems like potentially a big deal: https://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2015/November 2015/November 12 2015/Major-RPA-Restructure-Coming.aspx "Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh will announce a major restructure of the remotely piloted aircraft career field's force structure and basing by "early next week," Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Tuesday. Speaking with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Carlisle said USAF recently wrapped up a month-long assessment by a team of 50 people visiting RPA sites and talking to those in the career field. They recommended the Air Force "open up some new locations" for RPA operations because of the austerity at some of the facilities where RPA mission control elements are based now, especially Creech AFB, Nev. Additionally, Carlisle said, "We could ... move them to different parts of the world, to get different time slots as well," presumably so RPA operators don't have to work as much off-cycle from the locations where they live. Airmen in RPAs want three things, Carlisle said: time to spend with family, to go to schools, to have "different jobs," and to take vacation, etc; a "strategic plan for the enterprise," meaning insight into where the MQ-9 Reaper mission is going and the different roles it could fill in the future; and to know that "we're listening to them. And we are." Carlisle said it's not well understood outside of the RPA community that the enterprise has been in "surge mode for 15 years" with no letup in expansion or demand, and it's still not clear how big the RPA enterprise is going to get."

The book they plug right at the end of that article, Bleeding Talent, is also excellent and has been discussed around here before. Glad to see these concepts gaining some official traction. IMHO Hagel was a huge waste of time...the President should have nominated Carter when Gates left (Carter was rumored to be on the short list then).

Powerful stuff...masterful storytelling skills.

Bar napkin math says that will take me 33.5 hours to read...no thanks!

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/drone-pilot-book-213263

Solid, congrats.

With no match on the 401K then you can't really beat the TSP in terms of expenses or ability contribute (i.e. high limit). Having the Roth option in TSP is also outstanding. To me there are very few downsides to the TSP unless you want to invest in some kind of more exotic security rather than common, broad indexes. TSP + Roth IRA for you and any associated spouse is a pretty damn solid plan.

Yea...that airplane isn't going to be flying operationally nearly soon enough for that kid. I'd guess he/she'll end up going Whisky maybe?

Yep, agree. Dodged a huge bullet by sticking with what we've got for now and planning for something that's actually got the capes needed in the future.

Everyone above is correct. CSOs will be doing manned ISR in AFSOC on either the U-28 or it's replacement for the indefinite foreseeable future. Replacing the U-28s with MC-12s on active duty was the plan and that plan got very far down the path toward implementation but died in Congress and is no longer happening. What does eventually replace the U-28 is TBD and I'd wager probably 5 years out at least. My $0.02. If you want to do that mission do well at nav school and put the U-28 high on your dream sheet. Also recommend looking at the AC-130W, although Cannon is a guarantee rather than an option so you've got to consider that. Stateside location aside, they have a great mission and I recommend considering mission before location when thinking about a dream sheet. MC-12s will be flown as an AFSOC asset going forward but in the Guard, 185th SOS out in OKC. Same basic technical capes as before when they were flown by ACC but will be crewed by Guardsmen and the TTPs and mindset will be more of what you see in AFSOC and the U-28.

Latest I heard was that if you have a PPL you skip IFS on the 18X track. Unsure if you're going as an 11X.

I still want a permanent indoor GCS on the top floor of One World Trade Center in NYC tasked with smoking bad guys 24/7. NYC is already the city that never sleeps, let's make sure terrorists don't ever get to sleep either.

Looks like you have a good chance of staying if you would need a requal at the new assignment, that's my guess anyways. My situation was pretty dumb but at least I could show up day 1 and fly the airplane. I had less than a year from my RNLTD until my separation date so who knows. Kind of a unique situation of standing up a new unit at an undesirable location so they really did need guys out there. May the odds ever be in your favor!

I did the 7-day option as my exit from AD and was granted Option 3. From what I understand options 1 and 3 are the primary COAs, haven't heard of anyone being released sooner than their original commitment date (i.e. option 2). I was sent on the assignment with the additional PCS ADSC waived and separated at the expiration of my UFT commitment. BL: Looks like you've got a handle on the potential scenarios although I'd rate option 2 as very unlikely

From what I heard the 118th Wing in Nashville is sending all of their RPA pilot candidates to full-up UPT vice the 18X pipeline. From a recruiter and not the final word but FYI.