Magellan

This is great advice. My only caveat would be that not all AF mental health folks are the top of the barrel, but the price is right if you can get in to see them. Don't dismiss the ability to use chaplains as well. Most of them have significant training and experience as counselors that can often times rival the "mental health professionals" and their hours are a lot more flexible. Feel free to try multiple options even if you aren't happy with the first one. There are also online and phone hotline options that are available as free resources as well.

You mean the people that are just trying to keep Gen. Slife happy, or are acolytes of his but not currently in AFSOC? The reality is I can seek confirmation bias from any pocket of the Air Force at any level. Great Power Competition is the reality we need to embrace. We pulled out of the GWOT on terror, and it didn't end it just shifted fronts to Israel. Because the bad actors in that region that want to destroy the west, western values, anyone that isn't a Islamic fundamentalist just shifted to the next closest target. Also, the foreign policy disaster of stopping Saudi from fighting the Iranian (Houthi) proxies in Yemen was idiotic from a Real Politik stand point. There are still a lot of fights in the world were AFSOC is the best game in town, but we aren't playing any more to the extent we were.

Not Applicable in the high end near peer fight if you ask anyone outside of AFSOC.

Really. That would just end up whacking those who speak the truth to power, and further insulate the corruption and cronyism.

I am just wondering how many people will take the Bone Us money this year if/when it gets released.

If it burns lesson learned.

So what is life like for a regional airline pilot? Asking for a friend...

So when I was a casual Lt back before ORE/ORIs ended having a forklift license was useful multiple times as opposed to waiting on loggies or MX folks to move our gear, and it even helped during a short notice ONE tasker. This was back when C-Models started coming apart and where grounded UFN and we needed to pack a bunch of stuff right before Christmas for a CONUS deployment. Honestly, I think it would be awesome if all the Lts waiting for pilot training got trained to drive buses, fork lifts, etc. Because then the ops squadrons can just go to transportation check out the equipment, use it, and return it entirely on their schedule. Plus then it would be easier to screen for buffoonerous personnel before people bend airplanes. If you can't drive a bus or a forklift do we really want to trust you with an airplane?

Just avoid anything east of Fairfax. Problem solved. 😀

https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Docs/perdiem/browse/Allowances/BAH/PDF/2022/2022-With-Dependents-BAH-Rates.pdf https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm By the way the search function is INOP I literally searched for BAH which is in the thread title and got nothing. Cheers to Washington DC going up!

Clearly a victim of the system. Only shitty (can’t say silver) lining is the age of the fatalities was all age 52 plus. Praying for all victims.

Can you pay the mortgage for 15-30 years? Do you want to pay the mortgage for 15-30 years. If not rent.

Retention could tank even further. I think it is a false assumption that those 30% were staying anyway. The IDE, Staff, DO, SQ/CC, School, Staff hustle to stay Tier 1 and survive until 20 years becomes A LOT less appealing if you pay them $245,000 or more less...

Guess they over forecast the COVID-19 retention spike...smooth move Air Force...

Well given the direction this country is going since we are about to pass a 3.5 Trillion dollar piece of legislation I wouldn't be surprised to see the Airlines get nationalized if the party in power felt it was time to go to war.

Halfway down the runway 10 knots fast?

I think things are great! Come on in the water is fine.

Yeah that is coming to a screeching halt here soon. GOCO/COCO contracts are all drying up as we pull out of the Stan and you will see the NGB Title 10 money dry up pretty soon as well. That only leaves a handful of contractor jobs left, tons of qualified experienced contractors with no jobs, and lots of folks that were feeding their family's off of Guard/Reserve pay checks whose missions will dry up and be shifted back to AD units. There may be a few hold outs on the NGB side if certain units commands get in bed with the right customers, but there isn't enough of that to go around. Interesting times... The other civilian opportunities that aren't contractor flying have always been there, but people had to really network, polish their resume, and be able to crush an interview or know someone who could pull you in to land them.

So if we just make the pay comparable to the airlines and fix none of the other BS that pilots hate how does that help exactly? Because if the money is the same and airlines are less BS don't the airlines still win for all of the other reasons mentioned? That said I know folks on all sides of the fence who were: 1. "f'this noise I'm out" as soon as their ADSC was up 2. Palace chase ASAP to get a line number then pick up AGR orders 3. Airline & TR 4. Stay on AD with no bonus to have free agent status with regard to assignments 5. All in bonus takes that are ride or die Air Force. The only demographic I see winning/gaining anything under a "pro pay" system is the folks who are all in Air Force already. It seems to me like the system has those camps modeled as it is doing what it can to apply the bonuses given the constraints (imposed by congress) they are under. Also, Springer has life figured out. I take as much pride in flying the aircraft that I own and/or rent as I do anything the USAF has put me in. Plus it can be just as much or more fun. In my case I just married well to a woman that agreed to buy me an airplane with her salary! But I know plenty of AD guys that can afford to own planes and fly a ton even on the AD salary. Everything is just a tradeoff.

Selection, non-selection, or both?

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/pilot-killed-in-crash-at-porterville-airport-identified/ Nickel in the grass. 🍺

Depending on the situation (And not trying to advertise) but Noom is a fairly good option for people looking to get their life back in order. I.E. trying to regain a sense of control over their life. They throw a bunch of psychology at the wall and I am sure some people will find that 15-25% of it could stick for them. And it is cheaper than seeing a clinical psychologist or licensed therapist. Plus it is just on your phone so the only people that know are you and your credit card company. I would argue it is a much better approach then self-medicating with delicious fried food and booze. Even if not nearly as fun in the short term...

How fast can the current iteration of AWC be completed? The book answer doesn't have an answer. https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/eSchool/documents/PME/Combined_PME_Handbook_current.pdf It lists 7 months for ACSC (which is very doable)...but doesn't put a timeline for AWC. It looks comparable to ACSC maybe a little shorter.

I believe some would say that is a feature and not a glitch. This way you can have the shiny penny Major's fill the staff and school slots, get promoted to Lt. Col, and be on their merry way to CSAF. In the meantime how long will the USAF be able to string people along as Majors on AD with 5 shots at Lt. Col before the USAF exercises a forcing function?