RTB

True statement, however those of us paying an ex boat anchor from divorces finalized prior to the end of 2018 will be grandfathered into the old rules.

And one of the ideas is to essentially re-segregate minorities into their own classes?? Truly unbelievable.

The depth perception tests suck. Does your unit have a medical element? Can your unit flight doc give you a depth perception test? If an AF flight surgeon can state that you passed an AF depth perception test, that should help your case with the WP DQ.

Sorry to hear that. I’d try for a waiver anyway. See if your guard unit flight doc is willing to pursue it. Pretty sure you’ll need a flight doc to make the waiver recommendation so find one who will help.

Wow, that's pretty awesome.

The only reason the F-16s are at Holloman is because the NM congressional faction blew their lid when the Raptors were fragged to get moved to Tyndall. A token F-16 presence there assuaged their fears of that shithole drying up completely so I doubt they’ll be leaving. Airspace can be awesome. Supersonic everywhere. Can also suck ass since White Sands Missile Range owns it and can steal unreasonable chunks. Town is dreadful. Nothing to do. Liquor licenses are held hostage by the town elders so very few around, at least as of a couple years ago.

At least at Delta, it all depends on the month. In winter months, when flying is light, you would still have to bid a min schedule but can pretty much guarantee you can drop as many trips as you want. Flying is so thin that dudes looking to pick up extra time will scarf them up within minutes of you posting them. Last winter I bid reserve to avoid flying in February and flew 2.5 hours total but got paid for 72. Had a week of vacation in there too but I probably wouldn't have been used even if I was available all 4 weeks. Summertime is a different matter. That's the all hands on deck time for the airlines so you'll usually have a pretty full schedule and it's harder to drop trips. Generally speaking, we have a 'line construction window' that defines the upper and lower limits of what the computer can assign you and that is based on the average line value for the month. So if the average is 72 hours, the LCW ranges from a low of around 64 hours to a high of around 80 hours. You can bid to be on the low end but it's not always honored, depending on your relative seniority in category. But again, there are ways to try to drop trips both through the company computer runs and through a pilot to pilot swap board.

The Problem Statement on Slide 1, which supposedly drives the entire discussion, is fundamentally flawed. They're not even addressing the right problems. To say that the "aircrew ecosystem" has been damaged by unstable funding and will be improved by "stable and predictable funding" and "advanced technologies" shows a complete lack of acknowledgment of the real problem.

Saw a picture of one of these the other day. Looked essentially identical to our FMS recreated entirely on a touchscreen. My first thought was, I would waste a lot of time punching the wrong buttons. I suspect changing your active waypoint, altitudes, airspeeds, etc in the box on climbout on a nice bumpy day would be a PITA.

It's amazing what happens when there is a profit incentive.

That was by far the best option. The alternate ending had they captured him would have been much worse I suspect.

If the line is out the door, may not the that much of a best kept secret...

Yep, agree. That dude is walking a dangerous line. And while it happened, that was perhaps an extreme example. But, there are plenty of others who pre-coordinated long term orders with their units before even starting INDOC then went part time just long enough to get the seniority number (and annual profit sharing checks), maybe finish training or IOE, and then went right back to work full time for big blue for years on pre-planned orders with no intention of working for the airline until reaching 20 years active service. Legal? Perhaps. Certainly doesn't help the bros trying to do the right thing though.

There's a difference though between stepping up from part time to fill a full time job when a need arises, versus planning and pre-coordinating your 3 year orders before even getting hired at an airline. Heck, I know a guy (I think we both do) who never even got off AGR orders! Before starting INDOC he had already worked out his leave schedule to get through training and then dropped 'orders' to finish up his AGR tour for 3 more years. Can't imagine that was what USERRA was designed to protect.

Does the early retirement come with immediate TRICARE vs delayed TRICARE for the Reserve retirement?

I know several guys who got hired at the 16+ year point, got through probation as quickly as possible, then took long term orders to get to 20. It has worked out brilliantly for them. In addition to securing their line number early, they got through probation quickly by flying their asses off, then got to 20 years active service since the AF is so desperate for pilots. The bonus is that they've been collecting profit sharing checks every Feb, paid as if they flew the average line value every month they were on mil leave. Not exactly what USERRA was intended for but fully legal.

They're doing it again this time if it lasts that long... https://communities.usaa.com/t5/USAA-News/USAA-to-Help-Members-in-Event-of-Government-Shutdown/ba-p/159635

It's been said over and over but there's simply no way to replace the inherent stress of the actual cockpit - heat, sweat, JP-8 exhaust, noise, G's, shitty radios, garbaged up comm, and on an on. And of course the knowledge that if you screw up you could wreck an actual machine or kill an actual person, including yourself. Simulation can certainly teach some skills, but you just can't replace the experience of being in an aircraft with all the external and internal stressors. Sure, you can safely fly an airplane with fewer hours but your experience bank will be that much smaller and you'll be a worse pilot for it. Bad bad idea. And it will be hailed as a great success.

That guy gets to vote. Awesome.

It's also from a time when immigrants WANTED to assimilate and become Americans. They came to work, to succeed and to leave the old world behind My how times have changed for so many... Teddy had it right on 111 years ago: “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Well played Duck. I don't even want to think about how many points I lost by not doing this.

Interesting. That's a perspective I haven't seen at all so good to have as a data point. During our last assignment, and continuing today (in a town with very few TRICARE folks), I haven't met a single civilian friend, not one, who has had a beneficial or positive experience with ACA. Most are paying more for less coverage and some have been crushed by skyrocketing premiums.

Good break for an AD guy for sure. Just a hard sell as a Post AF career.

Yeah good point. For me, QoL and Del Rio don’t exist in the same sentence but I’m sure it would for some.

Exactly. Working as a former mil pilot at GS-13 pay at a UPT location more than likely means they can’t get hired anywhere else. Not good.