abmwaldo

I have a DS-218+ that I use as a media server/back up that's effectively run since I purchased it in 2019. Upgraded the RAM to 6 GB and swapped out the 2x 4TB drives for 2x 10TB drives this year. The other drives worked fine just needed more storage. Running it in in Synology Hybrid RAID (default) which means I'm limited to 10 TB of data storage. Before that I ran an old Mac Mini connected to an external hard drive since 2010...the evolution/ease of use over 14 years has been pretty impressive. Couple of lessons learned: 1. Go for 2x the storage you think you need now. 2. Get a dedicated UPS for the NAS (allows you time to shut it down properly for extended power outages or covers the "blips" in the grid). 3. Use software running inside "Dockers" vs the stuff in the Synology App store. The dockers require significantly less system resources (in my experience 1/10 or less) to keep the same program running. Only thing is you have to manually update (I do that quarterly)the software that's running. I haven't figured out how to auto update yet.

if @brabus doesn't have it I do... PM me a NIPR email if you still need help.

Of note if you're requesting your 1405 from ARPC expect it to take 7-12 months... I'm working a case currently for a guy who submitted the request in August 2023 and still hasn't received it. Wing/CC is in at this point.

Out of respect for Munch and his family I won't elaborate, but it was from natural causes. Great person, father, husband, leader and Weapons Officer. The world (and Air Force) is a lesser place without him in it. To Munch...

That mentality is alive and well in NORAD...

For clarity are you referring to "sanctuary?" The two (sanctuary and ROPMA x2 to O-4 and O-5) will likely be coincidental but are not causal. In my neck of the ANG, one can only overgrade a position (O-5 in an O-4) for two years before you're either forced out (almost non existent chance), retirement, or finding another position in the O-5 grade. Generally speaking your SQ/CC can/should have some sort of force management plan addresses this before it becomes a problem for the member i.e. the CC will selectively non retain Lt Col "X" to allow Lt Col "Y" occupy the position for his/her third year (to retire as an O-5). On the enlisted side they can take off the stripe. Another factor for promotion is the availability of a control grade in your state. My state historically under executes O-5 control grades so this isn't much a factor but it certainly is a factor for E-8/E-9 promotions... which is an entirely different story.

That is the million dollar question; I'll be honest, even being part of this community, I don't have answer or even a good guess. There has been such a monumental amount of energy (emotional and otherwise) put into getting the E-7 to this point that there is a very real, IMO, possibility of sitting back and resting on their/our laurels.

Google was able to solve that problem (I'm looking for the article) in about 6 months for not alot of money. The application they created was absorbed by Kessel Run and incorporated into the future C2 engine (formerly Pathfinder, now JERIC2O). All of this was done before/outside ABMS btw. The problem you describe and the problem I describe are different. Yours is operational (i.e. how do I plan the next day's refueling requirements?) and mine is a tactical(how do I fix the 100K pound fuel problem that happened when Exxon46 broke their boom and salvage this mission?). In an uncontested environment operational C2 (the AOC) can probably solve both problems (and likely communicate it to the AOR). In a contested environment you need tactical C2 to solve that problem because the AOC doesn't get the data that Exxon46 fell out until too late to solve the fact that your 4 ship (and most of your DCA and SEAD) had to RTB due to no gas. Do you really want dash 4 hanging out in the bullpen reflowing fuel for the next 30 minutes; how do you long haul that plan back to the operational C2 to update the frag for the next day? Or even follow on missions/launch GAR? One of my main concerns with ACE is that everyone will be parochial with their requirements. Every WG/CC (ACE/CC?) will think their portion of the war is the most important. And they should. Who divvies out "community assets like airborne gas, datalink priorities, CSAR, etc? I think that's the E-7 (or whatever makes the most sense)...

You're partially right... Modern fighter sensors outpace C2 sensors in many respects. The issue is loiter and all the "combat support" things going on before/during/after the "push." I'm all for distributed sensors/comm and piping that information back to some sort of central node but that relies on "ownership" of the electromagnetic spectrum (and not to mention some serious bandwidth). In theory, this is what ABMS was supposed to do but we (the Air Force) spent a pile of money and got limited/no leave behind capability. It also turns out that Air Force does have some of those capabilities already and you've probably talked to it in some form for the last 20 years. The CRC (Control and Reporting Center) morphed into an enduring, multi-sensor, multi-communications hub with reach throughout CENTCOM from 2009 to present. Worked great (relatively speaking) in a permissive environment Ever wonder how a different tanker got to the correct track, with the right amount of fuel, at the right time to refuel you (I can't help if they were IMC when you got there)? Ever wonder how Link 16 networks get designed/operates in an enduring fashion? Ever wonder how a DT/TST got to you and was prioritized over your ATO assigned targets? Ever think about how that would happen over the Pacific with no land (or only contested land) to base a sensor/comm infrastructure (even temporarily)? That's the stuff C2 does although there are too many in my field that think it's still about "2 groups range 15." If you're asking yourself "isn't there a company in Silicon Valley that can build artificial intelligence, algorithms, bots to do most of that" is a fair question. What platform hosts the software? Dash 4 over the Taiwan Strait? The AOC? An wing ops center forward deployed as part of ACE? How does it all link together? In theory I'd advocate for all sensors to all shooters (again, this is one of the answers ABMS was supposed to provide...I'm still waiting). I don't have a dog in the fight of airborne C2 anymore but I believe there is a business case for having something even if it is a bridge to whatever space based/ABMS stuff is coming down the pipe (and is likely 10+years away). That said I don't know if Wedgetail is the right answer and Boeing (& Air Force Acquisitions) didn't win any points with me taking 5 years for a single prototype.

60% of the time it works every time... Facts; especially after the Welsh RIF cut most of the experience. You had SMSgts and A1Cs to figure it all out.

A part made in all 50 (or most) states... The Air Force (and GAO) looked under the hood of ABMS and found it...underwhelming. If you want to see how JADC2 (ABMS is the Air Force contribution) should be implemented we should take a look at the Navy and Army portion of the programs. They have/had a focus (where the Air Force focused on "experiments" with no clear end state). Not to mention all the cash Boeing lost when JSTARS recapitalization was cancelled. They'd likely have been in the driver's seat with a P-8 variant... All that said the AUS Wedgetail has some pretty interesting capabilities that have been continually refined since it was introduced 15 years ago. This platform is an interim (albeit too long of a lead time) step to whatever shape ABMS takes.

While Alaska doesn't currently have an income tax it's likely to get one, IMO, as soon as the uncle sugar COVID/infrastructure bill money runs out. The governor is using, in many cases, one time federal funds to count as state "income" with no viable way (significantly lower government spending, greatly increased revenue i.e. income tax, or revisiting Senate Bill 21 a.k.a decrease corporate oil profits in Alaska) to replace it. Continually taking the Permanent Fund Dividend (a.k.a. universal basic income) to fund state government is akin to slaughtering the sacred cow and is truly a regressive tax. I'd expect to see an income tax in the next 5 years, reduced PFDs, and flat to moderately declining state spending (big chunks of state spending will be replaced by Federal infrastructure bill/COVID spending so it'll be a wash). Big Oil outspent the citizens initiative to change the corporate oil tax structure $21M to $1.3M in 2020 so don't expect any changes there.

Are you able to source this to MyPers or other "official" channels? This answers several questions I've been asked but can't answer.

Not currently an AWACS guy but I slept in a Holiday Inn last night... There are a couple of main issues as I see them: 1. Capability. Enroute control would be fairly easy to perform from an E-3 however terminal control in and around an airfield is a non-starter based on radar/IFF update rates. Not to mention orbit locations have to balance radar and radio coverage and the ideal radar look isn't necessarily the best radio look. 2. Training. ABMs (and their enlisted counterparts, Weapons Directors) receive no training on being an Air Traffic Control controllers. While some of the skills translate across the two disciplines they are separate career fields for a reason. Interestingly enough the Canadian Forces train their ABM equivalent to perform ATC functions so it's not out of the realm of possible but not likely given the current training pipeline. 3. MX rates. While I won't dive into specifics here suffice it to say that if the plan calls for an E-3 to be your primary ATC function you better have a well thought out alternate and contingency plan.

I'd recommend going with Alaska Kenai Fishing for Fun. Brad Kirr, owner/guide, teaches science locally during the winter and has been guiding for 10+ years on the Kenai Peninsula. He put me onto my first rod/reel King on the Kasilof last summer (I've been here for 9 years). Because he teaches middle school he's got a good teaching manner if you need some help with the "Russian River floss." (You're not really fly fishing like you would Montana and you're not really casting like you would plugging for bass.) He's a good friend of ours and even though my wife and I have all the gear to combat fish the Russian we have made it an annual tradition to charter with Brad once a summer. Brad can guide you to the right spot for any/all of the species you described. If you're down there for the Russian opener this year we might see you on the river as my wife and I enjoy going for the opener just to watch all the people from the "Lesser 48" think the river is on the set of "A River Runs Through It" Have several pairs of polarized sunglasses. If you're fishing the Russian "sight" fishing has always worked the best for us; "sight" fishing is literally walking up and down the banks/shallows until you see a slug of salmon and casting in front of them. Additionally, the glasses save your eyes from all the Texans slinging lead and hooks all over the place. If you're fishing the Russian and/or the confluence, where the Kenai/Russian come together, be bear aware (Really this goes for anywhere in Alaska INCLUDING in Anchorage. I saw probably 10 bears of various flavors last year while fishing half a dozen times. If you're going to fish on your own make sure you read/understand the regulations. General ROT is if you're fishing by yourself (even at 2AM) you're probably in the wrong spot. AK Fish and Game is no joke as they will walk around, look like a normal fisherman, and start handing out citations. If you have any more questions I'd be happy to discuss more...We're starting to plan all of our camping/fishing for this summer. Assuming the 'Rona calms down those places fill up fast (I'd imagine close campgrounds are already close to capacity for the opener).

Purchased the "transcript" and used it as part of the commissioning package in the ANG. No one ever asked to see the actual degree at any point beyond that.

I'll give you the flip side to my story above. I was grooming a CGO for WIC. On a feedback with the CGO he was instructed to update his records as his records didn't show that the CGO had a degree (ANY not advanced) listed on the CGO's RIP. Started to peel the story back... turns out the CGO didn't have a degree, and paid $300 for a fake transcript on the dark web to get commissioned. Currently the CGO is a SSgt in Leavenworth. No extenuating circumstances, saw it as the path of least resistance (testified under oath)... Things that make you go "huh..."

We've got a TSgt personnelist in my squadron with pilot wings. She was a C-12 pilot in the early 2000s, resigned her commission to raise a family, and then reenlisted. Of note, she says she works harder as a TSgt than she ever did as a Major (I can vouch for her work effort now). When she hits her 20 good years she'll retire as a Major... It's the ANG so YMMV.

An old wives tale I heard several times (that sounds reasonable) is that there were several tests/simulations done on the E-3 (prior to the "G" mod) that involved chucking a dummy out of the bailout chute. It took the first dummy or 2 (insert ABM joke here) to clean off all of the radio antennas before the rest could successfully get out. Brick - if I remember you were involved with the E-3 from the MX side from back in the day... any thoughts on the validity?

Bones has a good story of downing a Raptor that did exactly that. I was in that debrief, the record skip was epic.

Cornearip - if you're still around this is the link to the ~960 page medical waiver document... good luck. https://www.wpafb.af.mil/Portals/60/documents/711/usafsam/USAF-Waiver-Guide-190916.pdf Check page 424. Since I don't know the specifics of your diagnosis you'll have to read that and potentially do a follow up appointment. I'd bring this a copy of the applicable section of this document with you to a follow up.

You're mostly accurate. The FCC also wants to auction part of the frequency spectrum that made FAA/DoD surveillance radars operate in. The FAA is mostly happy with "cooperative" traffic management however the DoD maintains a "primary radar requirement for "non-cooperative targets." The FCC didn't ask anybody (DoD or FAA) when they dropped their "vacate XXXXmhz NLT ~2025 so we can sell it to Verizon/ATT/T-Mobile/Timewarner/Disney/etc... This isn't chump change either. The last auction in 2015 netted the government something around $33 billion. DoD and FAA were left to play a pickup game of developing/fielding a new sensor in ~10 years a.k.a light speed in acquisitions land. You're not wrong on the cost to maintain/operate those sensors ESPECIALLY the extremely remote sites. There are radars in places in Alaska that Amazon 2 week delivery doesn't even get close.

At least in my corner of the ANG (primarily AGR unit) if you want to stay (retire) from the squadron ROPMA to O-4 is about the only way to make it happen. Roughly 20 O1-O4 slots narrow down into 5 05 billets (including the CC/DO). Makes force management a challenge or you promote yourself out of a job...

See attached. Buddy of mine texted the pictures to me since I'm off the AFNET.