nsplayr

As a CSO who recently left AD it's entirely doable depending on your background. I landed at a DOD-centered software company (w/o a tech background) and in the Guard part-time flying a similar platform. Technical knowledge, lots of ops experience and a good reputation were key to ending up where I did on both counts. What do you fly think you want to fly if I may ask? That has the potential to drive what you look at on the outside. Or just learn how to code or become a chef or a personal trainer or start a landscaping company, etc....whatever floats your boat. BL: Guys underestimate themselves IMHO. If you're not too dumb, have a degree and mil ops experience the world is your f*cking oyster if you're willing to put in the hard work to crack it open.

Slife.

Pretty sure Chicken is a CSO on the W if that's not already clear. I'd rather be a CSO on the W vs the U-boat as well FWIW...for that crew position it's a better deal based on knowing guys who do both. Can't say I've done it myself on either platform so YMMV I guess. Although I have do question Chicken's overall judgement choosing the Wombat over the mighty U-28...

Does anyone work for a civilian company that offers compensation or benefits during their ANG duty? For example, the Feds (i.e. federal government) offers 100% of your pay for 15 days of AT each year, with the ability to roll over 15 days per year. Pretty legit...see here. Allows you to actually make serious money during AT vs possibly breaking even or even losing money depending on what your civilian job pays and your mil rank & TIS. I've heard from friends that big DoD contractors also offered paid mil leave time, Lockheed being the one named specifically. I'm sure there are others. BL: I'm trying to get a copy of a military leave policy from a civilian employer in an effort to convince my current employer to offer some type of benefit. I can understand from a business perspective why they wouldn't want to, but on the other hand they make approximately 100% of their profit from DoD contracts and have a founder who retired after a 26+ year active duty career...so I'm hoping they may be willing to play ball. Any help is greatly appreciated *Edit to add: obviously don't post/share if something is "company FOUO" or business proprietary or whatever...even a general outline of what industry competitors offer is helpful for what I'm trying to accomplish.

My lineup is: AMEX Blue Cash Preferred: 6% cash back on groceries (up to $6K per year), 3% cash back on gas & department stores, 1% on everything else Chase Sapphire Preferred: 2% points on travel, 2% points on dining out, 1% points on everything else, chase points are easily transferable to most airlines & hotel rewards programs 1-for-1 Chase Ink Plus: 5% points on cell phone & internet bills, 1% point on everything else Target RedCard: 5% off of all purchases, discount taken at the register The Sapphire Preferred came with 45,000 chase points during signup and the Ink Plus card came with 70,000 (offers vary throughout the year). Long story short, I've redeemed hundreds of dollars in cash back, bought several round-trip airline tickets, and save 5% right off the bat at Target, and have never paid a penny in interest. Plus there's purchase protection, price-matching, rental car insurance, and a whole host of other benefits that come with many credit cards that can't be had with debit or cash.

I'm not actively pissed anymore, but can't say I enthusiastically recommend them based on the service I received. I give them credit for making a good faith gesture and admitting to their errors, but I also still hold them accountable for failing to deliver results when it counted. Long-term it's NBD, I got a good rate and that's really what matters.

Used NBOKC for my recent purchase. Good rate and initially no problems. In the end, they missed closing twice, once on a Friday, which meant living in a hotel for an additional 4 days with my whole family in tow, at my expense of course. So while I'm happy with the rate and the transaction in the long-run, they really shit the bed in terms of executing my closing. They even sent me a $250 check and had me speak to a VP as a way of saying sorry for screwing things up. Best of luck to future borrowers since it seems like my somewhat negative experience is the exception rather than the rule.

I know a guy who grew up flying C-17s on AD, came to the U-28 (i.e. changed MAJCOMS) for about 6 years, and is now flying C-17s again in the Guard. Seems to fit the bill exactly for what you're asking.

I can't even describe how hard I laughed at your post in reference to this entire thread/the antics of said person on this forum and others over the years. WRT the decline of the site, this forum has helped me in many ways over the years and have improved my performance as both an aircrew member and an officer. If nothing else, I've honed my ability to be kicked squarely in the nuts (deservedly) and get back up to fight another day. God speed BO.net. And with all honesty and sincerity, Rick Rynearson, you likely need mental health counseling before you hurt yourself or someone else. I hope your retirement will bring you some measure of peace and stability.

I get this on my no-so-Platinum AMEX as well.

"Command Master Chief Gabriel Keeton was also dismissed from his position..." "...however the Master Chief's mustache was retained both for it's superb command presence and as an inspiration to the downtrodden men and women of the USS Cowpens."

I noticed today that when you try to embed a youtube video with a specific time stamp, i.e. youtube's "Get video URL at current time," the easy embed feature of the new forums doesn't work. For example, this video is just straight copy and pasted from the youtube link (i.e. right-click video, "Get video URL"): And here, same video when I try to start at a specific time part-way through the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaOfgevPphk#t=121 Doesn't embed. Thanks for any insight...sorry I'm not nerdy enough to bring a solution along with the problem.

May I suggest a little mild, shall we say, "planned downtime" of email servers Air Force-wide to flush out the real leaders among the herd of pretenders? The may be a little too classically "bleeding-heart" for this crowd, but skip to 1:20:

Agreed. FWIW Obama mentioned the attack and the loss of General Greene in remarks after signing the new VA reform bill. JQP's facebook page has the link to youtube. TLDR: skip to 13:00.

In what universe is this a possibility? You'd be laughed out of the room for suggesting this in a serious policy discussion.

Saw the Air Force's 30-year strategy just came out, figured might be worth worth discussing. Wonder what predictions written in 1984 said about today...I'd venture to bet they weren't all that accurate. Maybe some of you old heads can chime in on that one. Link for the file, also see attached to download. AF 30 Year Strategy.pdf

Damn...crazy stuff on those comment threads. You could pitch that sh*t as a reality show.

I think that extra chip is located somewhere other than his shoulder...

I'm mean, that's kinda the point of academically rigorous research though, right? It's incumbent on the candidate to come up with an original topic...to add value to the subject. Back in the real world, yea, not sure how guys in topics like Greek history or whatever are making that work...shit happened several thousand years ago and has been studied ever since. p.s. - I read in several stories that this War College "thesis" was only 14 pages long...what? Even my extremely prestigious AMU degree required a little more horsepower than that. I know the Army is a bunch of knuckle-draggers but seriously...I thought Carlisle would require a little more.

Thanks to all who have replied. To give a little more info in case anyone has specific advice: - DSG in the ANG, Guard base now will be located > 600 miles from my (newly landed) civilian job so driving is out of the question - Rated so AFTPs are a factor, although possibly not at first due to aircraft availability at the unit (long story...) - Open to living in a van down by the river, couch surfing, conning my wife into justifying a motorcycle/beater truck purchase, etc., looking to hear what has worked and what hasn't from guys who have done it - Guard base is right on the commercial airport although no direct flights so it's a two-leg hop back and forth every time Overall looking forward to still flying, being a crew dawg and putting on the uniform to fight for the good ole' U-S-of-A but trying to minimize suck factor. Cheers

Thead bump. Any pro tips (sts) from guys commuting to their guard job? Anyone living the life right now that wants to comment? I'm potentially looking at a lengthy commute, i.e. air travel as well as advice for how to work lodging and transpo in the local area with out spending too much $$. Living in a van (it's a house and a car!) is an option I'm seriously considering...it's like camping for poor people.

Well sir, it's the #1 base in the AF apparently so the sky's the limit!

Shit, Cannon's getting AF-wide strat'd baby! Top 15%!! This made my day.

You're clearly going to hell but I like your style.