gearhog

There's a quote that goes something like "A life without risk is no life at all." How many Air Force programs and policies that are aimed at reducing risk are making us miserable?

What does this tell us about the state of the Air Force? The problems are becoming so large and unmanageable that the only way for leadership to cope is to become apathetic toward them. Apathy allows you to treat everyone like a Harbor Freight tool that’s cheaper to replace than fix or maintain. He’s not the only one, I’m seeing the shrugs from leadership more often and it’s concerning. In fairness, these guys are human, too and are fighting a losing battle against a massively complex, out-of-control bureaucracy. I don’t believe they’re evil or malicious, just susceptible to the same feelings of resignation we are when we decide to punch. I bet they have these same conversations about their own leadership, all the way up.

Prioritize J model units. Wrung out and broke down H models, engine, prop, and avionics upgrades, as well as the ever present looming threat of J model conversions (nav and engineer career uncertainty) is adversely affecting morale in many H units.

You must have missed the now-deleted comments about eating babies.

What about the rest of us in the E-4 to O-5 range? Are we good? Cause I feel like I drive better after a few drinks. I'm more cautious.

I applaud you for what you're attempting to do and hope you fulfill your goals. However. :D. You're insane if you go AD and resign from your position at a FAANG Company. Don't even consider it and block the AD recruiter's number. The opportunity cost for a 20 something to choose the military route is a fraction of what the cost to successful 36 year old with a lucrative and desirable career would be. Go Guard. I would suggest hanging on to your current career while enjoying the USERRA protections afforded to you while you serve. A Guard job can easily be turned into an full-time ADish career with you being significantly more in control of your life and having the ability later on to return to your career on your terms, or not at all. Or, if you find military service isn't exactly what you envisioned, you can remain part time. Serving is rewarding, but completely giving the reigns to the current AD leadership after you have already established a successful life for yourself is not. If you hate your job, that's different. But it sounds like your resume is strong enough to give you options far beyond what the average new AF AD officer has.

AF: “We have a massive pilot shortage! They’re leaving in droves. We need more money to fix this.” Congress: “You’re not getting more money, and It’s beginning to sound like you’ve been mismanaging your organization...” AF: “Actually, we just fixed everything. We’re good now.”

If the problem is mass shootings, everyone is looking for a solution. Are Trump, Biden, and everyone else looking for a gun law solution legitimately try to solve the problem, or are they 2A opponents who want to disarm the population and turn everyone into slaves of the state? If a person believes anyone advocating a gun law is not acting in good faith to curb violence and they refuse to negotiate away from their position even a small amount, they will eventually lose big. Trump knows this.

You can take as much mil leave on probation as you like. Just never ever ever check-in late, miss an altitude, commute, f-up a V1 cut, or make any other mistakes.

Oops, I thought this was the WTF thread. But seriously, we're witnessing a slow motion political riot, and it's only going to get worse.

Seems like we now have an "It is what it is" attitude from leadership. You can't maintain a "crisis" mode of thinking indefinitely, and everyone involved in the pilot shortage issue capable of making any sort of a change is probably looking at their next assignment. Problems have been elevated to Congress with regard to financial incentives. No meaningful response. For quality of life, the bureaucratic inertia is too great to change directions, especially when everyone in the chain has been selected because they say "Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!" instead of challenging poor policies and directives that are detrimental to their subordinates. How long can you maintain a pilot shortage before it simply becomes the status quo?

Go to Google.com. Search for Patriot Synonym https://www.google.com/search?ei=oUA4XbqMFcT0tAbuyKb4Bw&q=Patriot+synonym&oq=Patriot+synonym&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i324j0i22i30l9.32541.33914..34635...0.0..0.93.528.8......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i131i67i70i249j0i67j0j0i131.dG-kU7vfh9o&ved=0ahUKEwj64LfBuc3jAhVEOs0KHW6kCX8Q4dUDCAo&uact=5 Intentional?

Funny how you can be inspired by a movie, work toward a goal through high school, college, get a commission, fly for almost 22 years, and retire before the sequel comes out.

Damn, dude. Give us your thoughts on Star Wars.

Or you’ll be TDY enough that your expensive Seattle residence will be vacant half the year. As a new guy, your primary concern should be being nearby and available. Trying to work only 2-3 days and commuting an hour (or more) on the I-5 to live near downtown on LT pay would not be a smart financial decision.

True, but it seems the perception of "importance" in the minds of the general public has been ratcheted up into dangerous levels. I intentionally tried to avoid much of the election coverage last cycle and found it is damn near impossible to escape while existing in the modern world. I believe most people are freely consuming political media round the clock with zero consideration of its effects. Some are motivated by politics to commit crimes and violent acts with increasing frequency, and each one committed lowers the bar for the next. The old and new media has had four years to think about how to win this go 'round. The answer is not to be more reasonable and objective, the answer is silence the right and crank the left hype up beyond 11. We're actually being told the fate of the planet depends on our political choices. We were also told that back in the 1980s, but only for a few minutes on the evening news and in newsprint. I think this one will f with people's minds far beyond any election before.

Is he even 18? 🍺

Lots of WWII aviation love from Hollywood recently. Trailer looks good, but Unfortunately, it’s directed by Roland Emmerich. Which means I’ll likely rent it at home. Maybe.

Multiple people have received phone calls saying the bonus was on hold because they were reviewing the eligibility requirements. They were told they may or may not receive it. Reminds me of the money on a string prank. Great job, NGB.

Just saw this in the news this morning. I thought this would have already been posted here, but couldn't find it. I'd like to buy this guy a beer. I bet he has some insane stories. U.S. Air Force veteran accused as mercenary in Libya’s civil war is freed June 25 at 10:48 PM An American Air Force veteran who was accused of acting as a mercenary in Libya has been freed after a six-week detention, officials said Tuesday, in a murky episode that highlights the tangled nature of that country’s civil war. Jamie Sponaugle, a 31-year-old Florida man, was piloting an aircraft near the Libyan capital of Tripoli on May 7 when his plane went down, according to officials and individuals familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Libyan National Army said it shot down the aircraft, which it said was a Mirage F1 combat jet piloted by a man The Washington Post is now identifying as Sponaugle, as it conducted bombing raids against LNA forces in the area. The Post withheld publication of Sponaugle’s detention at the request of U.S. officials who were working to secure his release. The LNA is one of two factions locked in a years-long fight for control of Libyan territory and government institutions, a conflict that has plunged the country into a protracted limbo and erased much of the hope created by the 2011 revolution. The apparent involvement of an American military veteran in a battle for Tripoli between the LNA and its rival, the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord, illustrates the complexity of a long-simmering conflict that has emerged as a major global proxy war involving illicit arms and dueling accusations of mercenary use. It also draws attention to the shifting U.S. policy on Libya. While senior Trump administration officials have devoted limited time to Libya, the president appeared to upend years of steady support for the Tripoli-based GNA in April when he publicly praised Khalifa Hifter, the strongman who heads the rival LNA. “We are always pleased to see Americans held captive overseas returned home to their friends and family,” Ambassador Robert O’Brien, President Trump’s envoy for hostage affairs, said in a phone interview. “We appreciate his captors’ decision to release him. We also thank the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its role in resolving this case.” Officials said that Sponaugle was flown on Tuesday to Saudi Arabia, where he was expected to meet with U.S. consular officials and undergo a medical and psychiatric examination. According to an individual familiar with the case, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took an interest in Sponaugle once Saudi officials learned he was being detained and asked subordinate officials to get involved. The Saudi government did not pay the LNA for his release, the individual said. In remarks to the media the day after Sponaugle’s release, Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Mismari, spokesman for the LNA, said the American had been held in the eastern city of Benghazi before being “extradited” to his home country. Showing a video of Sponaugle pointing to locations on a map of western Libya, Mismari said he had “confessed” to conducting strikes on bridges and other infrastructure but had not carried out requested operations on more populated areas around Tripoli. Stephen Payne, president of Linden Government Solutions, a firm the LNA has retained to lobby on its behalf in the United States, called on the United States to “seriously investigate reports of other American mercenaries fighting for the GNA, including other pilots, and, if proven true, demand their immediate return.” The GNA did not respond to a request for comment. Sponaugle, whose identity as an American has not been previously reported, became an enlisted airman in 2006 and worked as a mechanic, Air Force officials said. After leaving active duty in 2013, he served in the Florida Air National Guard until late 2016. His last job as an active-duty airman was airspace technician, and his last duty station was MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. He was not a pilot in the Air Force but earned a pilot’s license following his active duty service. In images released by the LNA shortly after the incident, Sponaugle is seen bloodied and receiving medical treatment from LNA forces after his aircraft went down. Video that appeared on social media showed him identifying himself as a Portuguese national named Jimmy Rees and saying he was in Libya under a civilian contract focused on “destroying bridges and roads.” Sponaugle did not say in that video that he worked for the GNA but named someone named “Hadi” as his chief Libyan contact. Senior GNA officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeg, who was in Washington this month as part of a trip designed to drum up American support for his government, have denied that the GNA uses foreign pilots. A Western official with knowledge of Libya said that foreign instructors had long worked at Libya’s air academy, based in the city of Misrata. Even after his release, U.S. officials do not have a clear understanding of what Sponaugle was doing in Libya. If Sponaugle was piloting a Mirage, a French-made fighter jet, as the LNA alleges, he is unlikely to have had the kind of combat training that military pilots typically undergo because he was not a pilot in the Air Force. It’s not clear whether Sponaugle would have violated U.S. law by working for or fighting in Libya. Many countries, including the United States, employ foreign security contractors, who can play a variety of roles and are sometimes armed. The GNA and the LNA have repeatedly accused each other of using foreign fighters. Ben Fishman, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who worked on Libya policy during the Obama administration, said the incident “demonstrates that the longer this phase of the conflict lasts, the . . . higher the risk will be of more foreigners getting involved.” “It’s bad enough that there’s a clear flow of weapons and technology,” Fishman said. “Mercenaries or contractors from the region, Africa, or even the West would signal a new and dangerous form of escalation.” Already the Libyan conflict involves a host of foreign actors. U.S. officials have said that the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have long provided support, including weaponry, to Hifter and the LNA, which have sought to depict themselves as the only force capable of defeating extremists in Libya. Turkey, meanwhile, is among the nations that have provided support to the GNA. Just before he launched the Tripoli operation in April, the Saudi government offered to help Hifter fund the operation, the Wall Street Journal reported. U.N. officials have sought for years to broker an end to the Libyan conflict in a peace process that has moved in fits and starts. While the feuding sides have at times seemed close to striking a deal, they now appear far apart as the Tripoli operation remains locked in what analysts say is an extended stalemate. Initially, the State Department condemned Hifter’s offensive in pointed terms. Then, in a seeming about-face, the White House shortly afterward announced that Trump had held a call with Hifter. Describing the call, the White House highlighted Hifter’s efforts against extremists and did not address the ongoing battle for Tripoli, appearing to enhance the Libyan leader's stature on the world stage. The LNA said following Sponaugle’s capture that he — at a moment when he was still being identified as Portuguese — was being treated humanely and in accordance with international law. But U.S. officials remained concerned about his welfare as they spent weeks in discussions with LNA officials. Sponaugle’s father declined to comment when reached at his home before his son’s release. More details: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-air-force-veteran-accused-as-mercenary-in-libyas-civil-war-freed/2019/06/25/08cafbe6-49b2-4295-88e0-56c2377312e3_story.html?utm_term=.b6fa2d930e78 https://taskandpurpose.com/air-force-veteran-libya-mercenary https://www.rt.com/news/462716-libya-pilot-identified-american/

It’s interesting how we all tend to fill in the information gaps with our own biases and experience. It’s impressive to see the video, but it’s still insufficient data to make a case either way.

It's also possible this commander is, as many are today, hyper-vigilant in protecting his own career. Say the everyday typical student buffoonery happens, but this time it happens in a critical phase of flight requiring split second reaction time to correct it. Perhaps it's compounded by weather, gusty winds, com noise, etc. Metal gets bent and the CC is notified. The CC sits down behind his desk and weighs his options: "This IP made a mistake that any one of us can reasonably make with a bad student in poor conditions. I can call this IP in, lecture him, put him on a couple CT sorties, and perhaps have him give a squadron safety brief. I could go to bat for him at the OG and WG meetings. But metal was bent on my watch. What if it happens again? I'm going to get a lot of face time with the OG and WG over this and what if they think I didn't go far enough? If I give him a CC-directed Q3, it may be a little overkill, but then I have a high-vis corrective action paper-trail that I can wave around in the meetings letting them know that I'm an aggressive problem solver, and perhaps this won't affect my next assignment or chances for 0-6."

Get your ATP.