gearhog

Last thing the AF needs is to give a little authority to some hoity-toity Maj who thinks he can go fixin things that don't need to be fixed with all his fancy book-learnin'.

Fun fact: The moon landing scenes in First Man were filmed on the same sound stage as the actual moon landing.

I submit building a basement on a sandy ocean pennisula at 0' MSL that can pump out 10' of storm surge is much more expensive than making an airplane flyable.

How will new UPT studs ever know how to complete their airline apps if MWS IPs aren't instructing them in the debriefs?

The same reason I sometimes park my car in flood zones and chase hail storms. Daddy needs a new whip.

Was there last month on an overnight. Old pile of rocks on some premium downtown real estate. A forgettable experience. 1 star.

I'd say pretty much everyone who wears one. If you have both hanging side by side, you're going to choose one, and you'll have a reason. If you "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" it every morning, it's not because you're so prepossessed with larger, more important AF issues (as if it matters what you think anyway) that you can't devote a single thought to it. I love the bag and all the pictures in my office of me wearing it on the flightline while gazing distantly at the horizon, but I've never been more comfortable during a deployment than when wearing the 2 pc earlier this year. Air Force culture and tradition is dead and buried and likewise, the flight suit should go with it.

If it helps, I can tell you the Guard Herc community undergoing a massive shift in full timers abandoning their Tech/AGR positions for traditional positions. I've seen a few guys hired that have been twice passed over. Many units are having trouble finding prior-Herc experience so they're hiring Majors that have never seen the inside of a C130. The AF just opened the door to a thousand better possibilities for you.

WTF? I can't see the documents, but teens and single digits? Can someone post the numbers for MAF and CAF? I'll admit I get some pleasure from seeing a bit of a lower take rate as a signal to leadership that the problems are important enough to get people to vote with their feet, but a take rate that low is more than a little scary from a national security perspective.

I did, eleven years ago. Boeing 737. It's working out great. Besides, I'm not willing to commute more than 25 miles to a Guard job, so I'm stuck with the Herc for the next 6 months till retirement. It's about the bullshit to flying ratio. Example: the Herc is a more "spiritually" rewarding and challenging aircraft to fly well than the 737, by let's say, a factor of two. Most are more than willing to accept twice as much bullshit to get to fly it. Recent studies have shown the bullshit required to fly an AF aircraft the duration of your career exceeds the bullshit to fly a major airline aircraft by at least a factor of 5. The airlines also pay me to forget about airline bullshit. Principles are a luxury for those who have options. 😄

For me, the difference has always been the flightline ECP. From the moment I step over and take the long walk to the aircraft, there is no job I'd rather have until I cross it again. Early on in my career, there was almost nothing I wouldn't do to be able to walk across that line and fly the aircraft. It all gets balanced by everything that happens on the other side of the ECP. If a person's interest lies in flying aircraft, it typically doesn't take but a few years to accomplish most of the general flying achievements available to you in your aircraft. The problem among younger folks seems to be flying the same mission currencies for the X hundredth time doesn't offset the increasing level of frustration from everything on the other side of the ECP. People are losing their enthusiasm for the best job in the world earlier than ever, and it isn't just because they're not looking at the bright side of things.

Exactly. I don't know anyone who doesn't understand the value in Service before self. But I know very few remaining that blindly accept that all the things they are now required to do qualify as Service. Disingenuously appealing to a person's moral convictions is a far greater sin than not possessing enough.

Apparently, he lost two legs but only needs one prosthesis to walk.

Old guys: "The AF sucks. I'm leaving." New guy: "Yes, it does. I want out." Old guys: "WTF? Snowflake! ! You're going to get yourself or someone else killed! Be positive! It's all worth it! Best job ever! Your marriage is in trouble! Seek counseling!" euser, Your experience is your experience. If you believe you are having a poor experience in the AF, then you actually are having a poor experience. Your grievances aren't anything new or unique, so why are you being blamed for them? As the new guy, you need to realize anything you post here is not a contribution for selfless intellectual discussion, but an opportunity for a few others to practice self-righteousness and judgement, but not empathy. While there are many good discussions here, just be aware that you're currently involved in one where your post is being used to feed an addiction cycle of empowerment among some of the regulars. Remember that despite what appears to be "advice", the goal here is to make you respond indignantly and emotionally, not help you. The best advice you'll ever get on this website is never, ever, come here expecting to have a serious and honest exchange, about anything. This forum is only a game. Pot stir - Complete. 😄

I'm in this for the long haul. I intend to stick around here and give my advice as to how the Air Force and its pilots should operate well into my retirement years. I'm pretty sure my best years are behind me and if I don't consistently remind you what a badass I used to be, you can't expect me to get any sort of validation in my sunset years as a gear puller where my ego isn't regularly fed a steady diet of online recognition? Geez, can't someone just admit this is the funniest exchange ever precipitated by an animated snowflake .gif? I mean, I'm working my ass off here to make sure everyone is having a good time. FFS.

Don’t tell me what it “actually” was because you have no more information than the rest of us. I trust the guy telling the story know more about whether the dude was being a prick than you trying to put words in another O-6s mouth while simultaneously bitching about caustic leadership. You need to figure out what your position is and once you do, do not make mistake of assuming I give a shit. I’m also not interested in what a new airline guy thinks will serve an 11 year airline guy well. The Air Force is different than when you punched. The desks practically fly themselves these days.

Well, none of us were there so we're left to infer the context and tone with which the threat was made. The simple fact that a threat was made doesn't seem to be in doubt. Where did you read this guy merely told them to "be vigilant"? That's not what was written nor what I read. I will agree with you: not everyone should be an IP. However, having been an IP since 2004, I certainly understand the frustration that comes from being blamed for increasingly complex and broken process that an IP has no control over. If another IP's gradesheet is overdue because he's been flying an ad-hoc schedule for several 12 hour days because they can't find anyone else to get a dozen crewmembers current before they leave for deployment next week while the network is down, don't expect me to wring my hands in worry that you'll take my cert away. I'm also not going to bag on the guy because he went home for dinner instead of writing me an essay in GTIMS. An OG threatening me for his performance makes me think he's completely out of touch and expects all his IP have a predisposition for fcuking up. People tend to live up to or down to the expectations set for them. You are correct in saying a CC should set clear positive expectations and priorities. You are incorrect in saying a CC should set clear expectations, priorities, and make threats, especially over "paperwork". As an OG, If someone didn't do a gradesheet, you ask your SQ/CC to talk directly to that person. You don't personally threaten all the other IPs with being decertified. That type of leadership style has been rode hard the last few years. If you think it's an acceptable one, let's have a look at the situation we presently find ourselves in.

Threatening to downgrade an IP to an AC before they've even been cert'd as an IP for crimes that have not yet been committed counts as professionalism? If you're going to threaten me with less responsibility, less paperwork, and the exact same amount of pay for not being able to overcome broken processes (i.e. GTIMS), forgive me if I smile and shrug. The value of an IP cert on an airline app is declining rapidly.

If a US military aircraft participates in any airshow, it is by definition being sponsored (in part) by the Government. Should I assume by the implied conviction of your belief that you've never participated in or attended an airshow with military aircraft performing? I will agree that this parade thing is a bad idea. Not because of the funding, but because I'm afraid everyone marching will look like the USAFA cadets at the Trump inauguration - embarrassing.

The AETC slides seem so bizarrely ignorant that I think something must be missing. Consider: the slides are from AETC and they most likely would not detail retention initiatives. Those slides exist elsewhere. Quality of life and financial incentives are likely being addressed by different organizations, and they may be separately trying to solve the crisis entirely, as AETC looks to be doing. I believe bonuses are in the works: https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2019/fy2019_m1.pdf FY 2018 Air Force Officer Incentive pay budget: $236,704,000 FY 2019 AIr Force Officer Incentive pay budget: $284,437,000 (proposed) $47,000,000 (20%) increase for all officers, not just pilots. In FY 2017 there were 574 CAF and MAF bonus eligible pilots ($80K per year each?) I don't know what the pilot bonus target take rate is ( I would think 100% at this point) or how the extra money would be allocated among officers. Would a 20% increase in pilot bonus be enough? Defense Budget Approximate Approval Timeline: February 12, 2018 – DoD Releases Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Proposal Spring/Summer 2018 – Congressional committees submit “views and estimates” of spending and revenues. Summer/Fall 2018 – House & Senate Armed Appropriations Committees work on the FY2019 defense bill. Summer/Fall 2018 – House of Representatives and Senate pass their versions of the defense bill and negotiate differences. November/December 2018 – The House of Representatives and Senate pass the final version of the defense bill. December 2018 – The defense bill is signed into law

If these guys bust daily rides/checkrides, the IPs are going to be blamed. They'll get 88/89 rides and the CC will push them through because he's going to be evaluated on his ability to max produce pilots and send them off to be someone else's problem. Being an IP for during next few years is going to be soul crushing. ALL the focus going forward will be quantity, not quality.

At least in my unit, the person doing the certifications/authorization is often at a desk, in an secluded office, clicking "approved" 100 times per day. There is no reasonable method to ensure validity of requests because you're likely to piss off 99 people to catch the one unscrupulous individual who doesn't have an alibi. We've simply added complexity without value.

You're probably right. Not possible. As LiquidSky said, the Air Force is trying to their hooks into as many young people interested in flying as possible. They'll create a large pool of casual status lieutenants who will be doing busy work until the ideas proposed for ramping up production are implemented. Air Force assumptions: Production capacity isn't going to decline further in the near term. Pilot production ideas proposed by AETC will be funded and implemented quickly. Those ideas will work effectively once implemented. Casual status lieutenants are willing to wait possibly years for a training slot, and are willing to incur another 10 year commitment once winged. As is demonstrated again and again throughout the "pilot crisis" slides and memos: People are merely resources. They're going to stockpile these resources on the front end and treat them as though they do not have a shelf life.

LOL. Don't forget, "Thank you for your service." This killed me.