Infamous

An email went out last night after I left the bldg so I came in wearing a morale tab, friday nametag, friday shirt, and friday morale patch like everyone else. At the step desk to fly today we all had to take them off so we all stepped with just the AETC patch and our class patch.

Wow.

more on the Airbus fail https://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110620/us_yblog_thelookout/airbus-superjumbo-jet-clips-building-at-air-show# best comment

haha agreed :beer: :beer: :beer: 6 pack for you sir I went AD via OTS and attended a large football school with hot women and parties like crazy. I would not trade my college experience for anything. Now I'm at Sheppard for UPT and I'm exactly where I want to be after 13 shitty weeks at Maxwell AFB (as compared to 4 years) And yes I definitely feel for the dudes who didn't get the "crazy" college experience but they all I'm sure have great memories from their universities too. That being said... It's far easier to get the UPT slot out of ROTC than it is for OTS. They open and close the hiring floodgates all the time and there honestly aren't that many slots out there. It is very competitive, and timing is everything... you just can't predict what's going to happen when it's your turn to apply... Well based off the guard fighter guys in my class right now, it seems the criteria to meet is to be a prior E in the unit. one is a civilian straight off the street without much flight time, and the other is an airline dude. From what I hear about getting hired w/ Guard/Reserve, it's pretty difficult to get hired as some random dude off the street bc they don't know you. As for AD... I applied with 30 hours (was still working on PPL), 3.4 GPA w/ a marketing degree, and 6 months corporate job experience. Took damn near 2 years to actually attend OTS though after being accepted and picked up on my first application, that definitely sucked. I'm not sure if things have changed, but I doubt it... make sure you are patient bc the OTS route takes quite a while since the training pipeline is all backed up.

Hey, this is wayyyyy late and you're already at whatever base you ended up at so this is more to help those who are going/currently attending the suckfest that is OTS, but here's what I remember from about a year ago... All I remember doing was writing a memo explaining why you should be selected, it included filling some background information (previous job experience, flight hours/ratings, etc.), then you write a biography about yourself and why you're at OTS + why you want to be considered etc. The commanders really don't get to personally interact with you that much unless you suck or need counseling or something haha. Then after that you go to a board (interview) with the OTS Commander (Commandant now I guess?), 24th TRS/CC, and for me it was some random Major I had never seen before. They'll ask you questions then you find out in a week or so who's going if they even have any slots available. I've met a few casuals out here that are fresh out of OTS so if they post on here I'll see if they can give a more accurate description of the process. Hope everything worked out for you but regardless of where you end up, you got a pilot slot out of OTS and that's pretty darn tough these days anyways... There's not that many of us running around

CBM 12-02 Track Select 6 38's active 2 44's active, 1 guard 1 helo 13 t-1's

Pretty random but entertaining. There are a bunch more but I think this is probably the best one

Great post. To the OP... While UPT is in a sense a "competition," you cannot control how anyone else does in the program except yourself. The only way I suppose you could is by sabotaging other people which would be ridiculous... Don't be that guy that looks at others gradebooks to see where you stack or worry about how others are doing. Do YOUR best and whatever happens at your track select/assignment night is what is supposed to happen. Also don't forget to keep things in perspective and remember what you already have... After graduating college I was working an 8-5 job in a cubicle before earning the opportunity to attend OTS to become a pilot. It sucks as much as you think it does. There are a lot of people in this world working pretty boring jobs/jobs they hate and would have done anything to become an Air Force pilot. I was one of them, but fortunately things have worked out for me. And you're getting way ahead of yourself... Focus right now on getting yourself through IFS and mentally preparing yourself for the rigors of ASBC. Your first deployment in Alabamastan is going to be rough.

ohhh man lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Six_Right "One Six Right: The Romance of Flying is an independent film about the general aviation industry as seen through a local airport. Within a short period of time, it has achieved a passionate following and presence among pilots and aviation enthusiasts worldwide who see the film as being able to communicate their passion for aviation. Concurrently, the film has garnered both local and national political attention in the United States as an accurate depiction of general aviation and its important contributions to all aviation industries worldwide. Within the entertainment industry, the film has attracted the sponsorship and support of many large media companies, including Apple Inc., Sony Electronics, Toshiba, Technicolor, Bose, and Dolby, as pioneering new standards in high definition (HD) film making and distribution." I know it's old, but some of you I'm sure haven't seen it. Did a search for One Six Right w/o any results so I thought I'd share it here. Enjoy!

Can you do an MQ-1B w/ a Thunderbird paint scheme?

Just got off the phone w/ my buddy who was at the XL drop tonight... 0 RPA's, 1 FAIP and apparently the Wing CC had a pretty cool little speech at the end... Here's what he sent me afterwards: "A-10 F-15E 2 C-17 elmo 2 KC-10 E-3 C-130 C-130 Japan EC-130 T-1 FAIP B-52 2 KC-135 C-17 Reserve F-15C Tyndall 3 C-17 HC-130 U-28 NO RPAs!!!" The F-15C to Tyndall dude was pulled back up onstage apparently and the Wing CC said something about how he was TDY and negotiated a different assignment for him. Said something like "You're going to the F-22!!!" and everyone went nuts hahaha. Sounds like a great night for the XL studs.

He was shopping for attention and compliments. Duh :P

I love the 8 series. The front end of those look pretty mean, reminds me somewhat of a Formula 1 car. Holy shit. A C6 Z06? That's an AWESOME car! I really am looking into possibly getting a C5 Z06 but in a couple years if the C6 Z06 comes down into the 30's that's what I would be spending my money on. I was surprised to see a first gen Viper GTS in the high 30's with only 35,000 miles! If only it got the gas mileage that a Vette did...

Just some insight from friends who have owned them "don't own one out of warranty"

My dad said that he had a friend that did the same thing but in a Tweet. Said that they'd take the cadets up on incentive rides and he'd say "hold on tight, I see some rough air." and would open the speed brake. (apparently it's under your thumb and the cadet wouldn't notice the movement) He'd do it multiple times through a flight and whenever they'd land the cadet would run off and tell his buddies how the AF teaches the pilots so well that they can see turbulence. hahaha Also he said that he heard that the C-130 guys would screw with the Army guys making their first parachute jumps. Someone would come down the stairs from the flight deck w/ 2 strings trailing behind him and would tell the soldier to hold onto the strings while he goes to the bathroom. Before he handed them off he'd explain that these are what's keeping the plane level until he gets back in the cockpit and would give a short demonstration. He'd pull the left string and the plane would slowly bank left and then pull the right one to level the plane off. The poor guy would sit there terrified holding the strings thinking that one slip up could crash the airplane lol

Saw this on another forum and thought you guys would get a kick out of this. I did a search but didn't see it posted. Taken from "Ask the Captain!", Lighthouse newsletter, Jan. 15, 2009. I merged your post into the existing one, simply because you actually included the original article and not just the text. But next time search (you didn't try hard enough, all you had to do is search on the CAPT's name and you would've found it) and if you do post something of this nature, it goes in the Squadron Bar and not under General Discussion...

This would be a great deal to go to, but like I've said in the other threads, I can tell you first hand that PLC/OCS is ROUGH. If your body has any sort of flaw OCS will find it and if it limits you in any way you will get sent home. If you're considering this at all, you better be able to run, run some more and when you're done running, run even further... Also you have to be VERY open to rotary because from what I gathered at Airwarriors.com, there is a 75% chance that's what you'll get. I think it would have been a great opportunity to have flown for them, but I'm happy with the way things have worked out for me now that I'm selected for OTS w/ the AF.

Well going in closed minded is definitely going to hurt your chances. From what I've heard there are a lot of "fighter only" guys that are sooooo sure they want it until they actually get into UPT and change their minds. Another thing, a fighter is NEVER guaranteed even if you get picked up by whatever Guard/Reserve unit that flies them. Even if they send you to UPT, you still have to graduate with a certain grade or you won't even move on whereas if you go AD you can still move to something other than fighters. I saw a post on airforceots.com about a guy saying that this guy in his UPT class had over 2200 hours and had an F-16 waiting for him but didn't get through T-6's... I am not trying to be negative, but this is a very very very competitive career to get and from my experience with talking to Guard/Reserve fighter units, they want guys that are already part of the unit and even if you join it there is no guarantee + you could possibly get stuck doing something you don't want to be doing and passing up that age limit.... Have you ever flown before? I had the same attitude as you looking at it before I had even flown and now that I just about have my license, I realize how much fun it is just flying a Cessna 172 and no matter what I get, I know I'll be happy. Just my .02 *sorry if the sentence structure is poor, it's late and I'm tired + going to bed*

haha agreed. or be prepared to have to create another user name to ask anything in the future.

No problem. But look, don't let people on the forums talk you out of becoming a Marine though... If you can get through PLC you will have a sense of pride and accomplishment that many wished they could have... Great thing about that program is if you finish it before you graduate, you have the CHOICE to either take your commission or say "hey, it isn't for me. I think I'll try another route." You don't HAVE to become an officer even after you finish OCS. Marines do not want people who don't want to be Marines.. The Marines are a PROUD group and intensely loyal to each other... I really liked that about them. Talk to Vick. What I shared was my experience with OCS and letting you know it's very tough. I have ZERO experience of actually being a Marine aviator or even a Marine for that matter. I was just going off the "gouge" that I've heard. However Vick apparently is the real deal, he is a true source as opposed to hearsay from a third party. If you're into "tactical" aviation, this would be the service for you because everything they do involves supporting the guys on the ground. My dad now flies for the airlines and has a bunch of friends who were Marine aviators and absolutely loved it. He told me that one of his co-pilots recently was a CH-53 pilot and said the mission made for some intense and fun flying. Low levels through canyons and stuff, using terrain masking etc... I think that would be VERY cool. Oh and what are you talking about West Point to get into Navy???? I had a friend just apply to Navy OCS and I know a guy who went through Navy OCS and is now going through Nav school for Prowlers... You don't have to go to West Point.

Hey sorry I didn't get to this until today. *whoa I just wrote a lot, sorry but bringing back the memories made me remember a lot of stuff* No I wasn't injured in the ankles, I developed stress fractures on my shins. It's basically what happens when you go one step past shin splints. I did not have "braces" in my shoes however they did issue you inserts along with all of your gear. I just brought my regular running shoes but you don't use them that often after the first week or so, you start wearing boots every day. What I needed were custom orthotics which create an artificial arch for my feet. I had some created by a doctor and now wear them in my shoes every day and can run like I should have been able to... So yes, if I had the orthotics I would have probably been able to prevent THAT injury but who knows what else could have happened? I had a buddy from my platoon tell me he separated his shoulder in the 7th week and got sent home... 3 weeks away from earning a commission... I heard of a guy getting sent home on the last week for I don't remember what, but only DAYS away from graduation. As far as pure luck, there is some luck involved. Running through the hills of Quantico you would have to be very careful on the trails because 1.) you're running at a fast pace 2.) you're tired 3.) there are freaking tree stumps and roots sticking out all over the place... I saw a guy at full speed trip over a root and fall and roll down a hill. Cut his hands and his knees up and the Sgt. Instructor was just screaming at the top of his lungs "GET UP YOU F***ING P***Y!!!!! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU SLOW DOWN MY FORMATION I WILL HAVE YOU SENT HOME FASTER THAN..." etc. When we did the obstacle course you would run this fairly intense course and at the end had to climb straight up this rope, I don't know the height but it was pretty tall. Guys would get to the top and wouldn't have the strength to let themselves down slowly so they'd slide the entire way down getting rope burn so bad they'd bleed and some guys instead of getting rope burn would just fall the entire way. Either way they'd just get yelled at and ridiculed even if they were hurt. (If they were hurt seriously of course they'd be helped) What sucked for us is the guys with rope burn would have medical tape and gauze wrapped all over their hands and the Sgt. Instructors (they aren't called Drill Instructors at OCS) would make fun of them saying they wacked off too hard thinking of their boyfriends back home If you laughed at that (which many people did) then you "lost your bearing" and then had to do a multitude of things that sucked. If you want to survive bring your flame suit and hope that you have very thick skin because they will single each and every person out at least once. I remember getting singled out by the Platoon Commander (Officer in charge of the platoon, he was a Captain)... we all had to write an essay explaining why we wanted to be a Marine Officer. He called everyone one by one and ppl gave their reasons, he smoked some ppl for stupid replies and then came me. My response was "I want to be a leader of Marines" because that is EXACTLY what my recruiter (OSO) told me to say, he said that's what they wanted to hear. Platoon Commander says "That's interesting. Are you telling me that the platoon sergeant who takes you everywhere isn't a leader? How about your members of your platoon right now that are enlisted trying to become Officers? What about the enlisted personnel leading troops into battle in Iraq, are they not leaders of Marines?" I didn't know what to say and then got destroyed because when he asked me why I didn't want to enlist. I told him "I am just about finished with my degree and I want to be an Officer like my father and grandfather before me." He says "Oh so now because you have a college degree you're too good to enlist? You're too smart?" I was so screwed I just gave up and said "I should have thought out my reason for becoming a Marine further before putting it on paper." Damn I still feel stupid from that haha but I'm sure no one but me has thought twice about it because everyone there got blasted. And one more thing, I was in excellent shape before I went. Best shape in my life. Could max out the pullups at 20, max out the situps at 100 (everyone should be able to do this) and was running a 21:30 3 mile. I couldn't imagine going there out of shape, you'd be sent home in a few days. I remember being winded just after freaking stretching/warm ups... Oh and just because you got to Quantico doesn't even mean you get to attend OCS. Before "pick-up" (watch the video below, I don't want to explain) we all had to run an initial PFT. If you failed it you get sent home. This is BEFORE anything even started. During the 3 mile run for the initial PFT some guy in front of me went down and didn't get up, I ran up to help but they yelled at me to keep running while the Navy Corpsman/medics ran up to help him. Heard later he had gone into cardiac arrest... Pretty crazy. Good post, I can definitely verify that it was the hardest thing I've done and also the coolest. Running with M16's, obstacle courses, combat training, a bunch of motivated young candidates, good fun. You don't get very much sleep at all. I think the most I would get was around 5 hours and less if I had "firewatch" that night. I still get the chills thinking about my sergeant instructor and when he showed us how to hold and move with the M16. I remember the grins everyone got when he shouldered that rifle because it looked so badass and perfect. VERY TRUE about the academics. I hated that crap. It was so soothing to be out of the heat and in that big air conditioned classroom being TAUGHT and not yelled at. Falling asleep was easy to do there. It was bad, we'd all have to look out for each other and hit each other to ensure we stayed awake. The tests were so EASY compared to college but what's crazy is I failed a test because I was just so fatigued my mind couldn't focus when studying. One answer would look good until you saw the second and you'd second guess yourself... I got a 77 and you need an 80 to pass tests. As far as the link posted, it's good because it's the official site but if you're serious and interested here is the best site https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/class186/videos.php Watch those videos and you'll get a bit of an idea of what it's like. It depends. I had to stand in front of the Battalion XO before I left to explain what happened to me and whether or not I should or should not be allowed to re-apply. I was doing really well up until injury so he said I could come back. But that isn't always the case because sometimes they won't let ppl come back. Sorry I wrote so much, I'm aware that this is an Air Force board but figured my story could help someone out in making a choice. I know I didn't finish OCS which sucked, but in a way I'm kinda glad because I didn't really research enough into it to find out things like how little I might fly and I'd have nearly a 75% chance of flying rotary. I heard "guaranteed pilot slot" and that was it for me... Anyways, let me know if anyone needs anything else clarified.

Not everyone wants to blow stuff up and even then, those who would like to blow stuff up don't want rotary. Plus like was mentioned above... the deployments. And for those of you considering, I went to Marine Corps OCS and was injured 3 weeks in due to stress fractures. It's VERY physically demanding and mentally they drain you as well. Supposedly the mental part is the tough part but in my opinion it was the easiest. If anyone has any questions about this and there aren't any Marine aviators around I'll be happy to answer questions. They are a great group of people but remember, you're a Marine first and then whatever your job is. If you're looking for an "in" on a pilot slot, this is a quick way in because they are looking for a lot of candidates, however a lot of people wash out and you DEFINITELY will earn that slot going through OCS and after that TBS. I also can tell you that EVERY guy in my platoon that had an aviation PLC/OCC contract wanted F-18/Harrier/JSF. There was even a Marine Force Recon sniper Sergeant (2 tours in Iraq) who was going through OCS to become an officer to pursue his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot... I thought that was pretty cool..