Fud

I would have killed to meet that man. I bet that was an experience. As to his mustache, it was grown after Bolo, and kept until he was told to "remove it" by the CSAF as I recall from his recent autobiography. There is a picture upon his return from Vietnam (in the middle of the book) where he is in his service dress briefing, and he was still sporting the stache. Good stuff.

2...this looks like a canned photo opportunity that was definitely staged beforehand. Glad they can be themselves finally, but this is not a big deal. Other than both of them being pretty attractive.

Is there a reason most AIBs seem to be always attributed to "pilot error"? Is this a way for the brass up or the contractor to deny culpability in case of a lawsuit from the family, especially since the OBOGS issue has been so public as of late?

It doesn't offend me at all, I just kind of shrug it off. Believe what you want to, but don't throw it in my face is what I'm saying. Tebow doesn't really bother me that much, but I occasionally get this Karmic sense humor when these people are found to be something absolutely awful (e.g. Ted Haggard). Didn't say that either. I pray in public all the time, but I don't make it a spectacle. I'll explain this analogy a little further. A great friend of mine, who happens to be gay, does not throw the fact that he is in peoples' faces all the time, while some do. Anyone who does that bothers me a little, but I just change the channel. Summation: He's a great football player, but I don't like his delivery.

I am not very religious anymore, but I grew up going to sunday school for the majority of my younger years. I remember hearing how one should "pray" and it was never supposed to be in public "beating your chest". It was better to pray in private and just be humble in your everyday life. Not saying he shouldn't be proud of his faith, and good on him for winning. I just don't find actions like that very genuine. It seems more like a showoff type of thing to do. It's kind of like having someone you work with who is incredibly proud of being gay. They can go on all day long about how great it is to suck some c&ck, but I really don't want to hear about it or see it.

Let me know how that works out for you. I am starting to seriously consider doing that at my next duty location. I have also looked at getting an Icon A5 once they start getting sold second hand. I really like their company philosophy, and you can store both Sonex and icon in your garage. That defers the hangar cost, but it could be a pain in the ass to take it to a airport every day.

You could also look at homebuilt options like a Sonex. It takes automobile gasoline, and is about 16K new. I'm not sure how much they cost if you get it pre-built or used though.

1. No earthly idea how your interviewer will respond at all. Depends on the person and how they view alcohol infractions. 2. Admit you made a mistake, because you did by drinking underage. Honesty is the best policy for those types of things, as well as security clearances. 3. Don't act like your mistake is not a big deal to anyone. That will just get you in trouble. Be quiet about it, keep your head down, and work your ass off to improve your reputation. 4. Don't drink until you're 21. By falling asleep in your car, especially if you had your keys on you, consider yourself lucky for not getting a DUI and discipline under Article 15.

This is half the problem with the award process of the MOH in the first place. I find it very sad that military and civilian leadership has not awarded more of these since 2001, but that is not our call to make. Nor should the public outcry be a part of the award either. Through all of my study about the MOH and my time on Active Duty; I have noticed a few things about medals. 1. Most people feel entitled to medals, and leadership has been a part of the problem. Every junior officer at PCS time will typically receive an AFCM, regardless of their performance in the unit. I have only seen a few marked down to an AFAM when the person should not have received an award at all. 2. It seems that at the end of every conflict, the press brings up the fact that not many valor awards have been given, and that the US needs a hero, sometimes to justify the conflict in the public eye. 3. Most people do not know how to nominate individuals for these awards. I think this would be a vital teaching tool at all forms of PME for officers/enlisted, and how to write the citation with the use of the AFI. 4. The MOH has turned into a political medal. This piggybacks on what I said in point number two, but it cannot be more true. Enough said on that point. 5. It shows how combat oriented, or lack thereof, the service tends to be. There are very few AFSCs in the AF that directly contribute to the fight. Unless a base is being overrun, and a chef picks up a .50 calibre machine gun to single-handedly repel the enemy, then pilots, CCT/PJ, TACP types will be the main groups receiving these awards. An Army friend of mine asked me why Levitow received the medal when we compared the MOH citations side by side to Army, Navy, and Marine citations. I couldn't give him an answer because I was not there, and I was not on the panel that chose to recommend the medal to the POTUS. If you read American Patriot or anything about Col. Bud Day, you will see that he received his Air Force Cross before he was awarded the MOH. He thought it had been marked down by the Air Force, and never expected to get the medal in the first place. Later, he was awarded the MOH by President Ford near the end of his first term. This was viewed by Day as a slap in the face, due to the fact that Ford delayed the nomination process to make himself look better. Bottom line, people are egotistical, and I know many leaders I have served under who would cancel an award for someone they did not like, regardless of the actions they chose. I am happy to see military members receive the medal, and it makes me proud to know of the medal's heritage, history, and exclusivity. I hope leaders will not be bashful in awarding it, but also not award it at the behest of the media.

This is exactly why a person of his caliber could never be the CSAF or the POTUS. Just off the top of my head I can think of two examples of what he did "back in the day" would have gotten him court martialed or kicked out today. One was his low flyover at an Air Show. He was denied promotion to O-7 and his medal was torn up. He ended up getting sent to Vietnam and was the face of the USAF and the inspiration to many even today. After his stint as the WG/CC at Ubon, he had sex with his secretary. This would have made the front page of the AF Times, and his career would have ended immediately. I don't like what I see in Air Force management these days. While I agree that there should be rules and accountability, I think that people need to be able to think outside the box. The military discourages this type of behavior for the most part, even though it says it wants this type of dialogue between commanders and subordinates. I hope Gen. Welsh is getting the big picture here with all the feedback he is receiving. However, I think it will take a mass exodus of people for leadership to get the big picture.

Most people I know don't even know how to order a decor 6 from the MPF for an achievement medal, so this never surprised me one bit.

I was watching the Nova program called "Battle of the X-Planes" the other day, which aired on PBS in 2003. One of the first things that happened was that the program went 100 million over budget. The financial folks said it was a "glitch", but I viewed that as a bad sign early on in the program, and the cost seems to be getting higher and higher. I like Panetta's stance on saving money, but I hope they can cut the useless programs and not the useful people.

Just looked at their website today, and their accreditation is in question by their governing body. Just an FYI.

I heard it starts late on a Friday afternoon. Right around 1500. The general looks at his exec or aide and says, "Hmmm, I wonder what XX percentage of this or that is", and his minions clamoring for his position task everybody and their mother to figure out the answer. People on the staff stay late building stop light slides in powerpoint and spend untold hours waiting for the subordinate organizations to reply with the information. Since the information rarely gets where it needs to go with that short of a suspense, the Monday staff meeting is where the information is presented. The general, commander, or whomever glosses of the information they forgot they asked about, and the facepalms continue. This is bad for morale in two ways... A. It is bullshit. B. It keeps the subordinates from being able to have that much needed drink after a shitty week. Break Break...cheers to General Welsh. He really seems to have a great head on his shoulders.

Rainman, Rhino, great discussion so far. I ran into a career C-130 pilot in San Antonio International Airport a while back and we had a really great time chatting about all that the USAF has to offer. I attribute the "you have to help run the company" line to him, and it really made sense when I was discussing the Old's bio with him. I think good guys on a staff make a difference, and they can really do that by having a good attitude while there. Most of the people I have talked to who have commanded were on a staff of some sort, ended up being an exec, and then ended up getting command. You have to "play the game" sometimes, but you do not have to kiss ass while doing so. This thread and the OP were designed to get stories about people who chose "to do" rather than "to be". I have seen a squadron commander destroy two squadrons in different positions and still promote BTZ. I could say the system is broken, manning sucked, or any other excuse, but that does not help at all. As Rainman said, and I loosely quote, "queep is necessary in some form or fashion". I agree wholeheartedly and if you want to stay competitive these days, get that bullshit masters and get your correspondence PME done. Brave your way through it, and see if you can influence change later one down the line. I hope others will share this story and I really hope members of this board will have stories told about them, and the way that they were awesome in the jet, yet good dudes at heart. If my post is a little off in flow, remember these words "I don't drink it for the taste; I drink it for the numbness in my face."

I've been reading a lot on here lately about non-continuation for passed over majors in the flying arena, and this is a topic addressed to the rated community only. I would love to see the reaction and hear the great stories of individuals who choose to be the best in the jet, and forego all the queep. A few questions to consider. - How did this individual affect morale in the squadron, and were they actually credible? - Would they have been better leaders if they had promoted based on flying ability and officership instead of exec strats and PME completion (in-res selection, etc...)? - Would it have been better for these individuals to help "run the company" for a while and sacrifice that time in the jet to make our service better? You get the basic idea, but I am more curious about how these individuals were perceived by their peers, and also their leadership. If anyone is interested, I'm sure a lot of other people would love to hear specific stories about these dudes that choose "to do" instead of "to be".

Depends on a number of factors, but it is doable. Read this AFI first. https://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI36-2205.pdf After doing a search (Command+F on Mac and Ctrl+F on PC) for "Medical" this popped up. "1.2.6. Officers of the Biomedical Sciences Corps (BSC), Medical Service Corps (MSC), or Nurse Corps (NC) must submit a written request for transfer to the Line of the Air Force and indicate they understand and accept the possibility of appointment to a lower grade and a date of rank adjustment. Sign and date it the transfer request and submit it with the application. Transfers become effective on the date flying training is entered. Individuals eliminated from flying training may or may not be returned to the previous AFSC, depending on the needs of the Air Force." I am willing to help in any and all ways on this one if you are fully committed to the process. A few things to start doing as soon as possible. 1. Retake the AFOQT. If your scores are not in the high 80s or 90s, I would study for a month or two, and retake it. 2. Schedule yourself for the TBAS test. Since it is new, you will have to retake this one anyway, even if you took the old BAT test. You will not have an official PCSM score until this happens. 3. Start your FCI physical. My process went like this...I had to call public health and get them to do a records review. I called them twice a week until that process was complete and they scheduled me for my FCI. That part took more than one day, so keep on top of your medical. Since you work there, it shouldn't be that much of an issue. 4. Start Flying ASAP. This really should be number one since it seems that most of the people I have advised in this process don't view it as very important. I went down to AFPC the first time I applied (got picked up on round 2) and asked the folks working in the DPAO office what I needed to do to be competitive. I was told that 100+ hours was the magic number, but I would at least get your PPL and some additional hours. This will determine if you really enjoy flying, and if it is a future that you want to have. Keep in mind that Civilian aviation is different, and I would not get your instrument rating, as it could give you some bad habits for military flight, but that is not always the case. 5. Finish a Masters/PME/anything else that can make you competitive. You might be a Doctor, I don't know, but every little bit helps. The board looks at different things every year, but I believe the common theme is the "whole person" concept. Another great resource is this website's AD pilot slot forums and this website: https://wantscheck.com/PilotSlotResources/ActiveDutyPilotSlot/tabid/66/Default.aspx. PM me with any other questions.

I will take a cut in pay once the president/senate/congress actually lead by example. Cutting their pensions and benefits would be a great start.

140/90 is the cutoff, which means you can be that but no higher. However, you will have to do a three day blood pressure check if you are above 130 systolic. At least that is what they did to me at MFS.

Microsoft has been trying to automatically renew xbox live six to eight months early. When I called them, the lady acted surprised that I didn't want to renew my subscription earlier than expected. Good on USAA for doing that for you.

I hear the new OCP uniform has an Air Force version with a built in reflective belt.

I took my PT test before my Christmas leave and it was actually an awesome experience. From what I understand, AFGSC was one of the only MAJCOMs to allow the member to count Pushups and Situps for another member, while the FAC member watched. I scored higher than I ever have before (due to the new scoring system), and am glad I don't have to worry about the issue for another. Two things concern me though: 1. The fact that "big changes" are coming. This rarely only means good changes, and it is sad to me that the USAF can't decide on a no-nonsense test to stick with. I would love to have a test which realistically and accurately assesses (this version of the test) my fitness level, but I cringe about any "changes" that are ever mentioned. 2. The subjectivity of the tester or member counting your pushups/situps. I am sure those who have failed a test by these two components could have been because of performance bias by the person administering the test. It is not rocket science to count someone's laps when they run, and neither are the pushups/situps. I recommend every member review the AFI and call someone out if they are wrong when assessing you.

Toro, Glad to hear that was the reason. I figured somebody just forgot to give him the citation. Good stuff! Just found this link with his citation and picture. I'll bet the story behind the citation is even better. https://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=50052

Did he never get the decoration? Or was this just the citation after the fact?

The dudes bio says he had 12500 flight hours with 1500 combat hours. Impressive to say the least.