Jughead

The difference is you are (apparently) subject to a state income tax dictating a 5% flat witholding in addition to the federal 25%. As with the federal, how much of that 5% is actually a tax payment will vary with your particular tax filing. To the OP: I should have mentioned in my reply that state withholding--if you are subject to a state income tax withholding--will affect the answer, as Learjetter indicates....

Not the same withholding rate as your normal wages. Flat 25%--i.e., the $25K bonus will be a $18,750 deposit. How much of that is actually paid as tax will be determined by your specific situation and comes out in the wash when you file your taxes. ETA: That 25% is federal; if you are subject to state withholding, that amount will be in addition to the 25%.

Well, to be fair, he arguably got this one right. Most on this forum seem to be in violent agreement that the AF is rife w/ BS (notably useless master's degrees and reflectivity); and I've seen multiple E-9 emails quoted stating how said BS is mission-essential.... Q.E.D.

Yep. My understanding (I've never seen the written rule) is that there are two "official" circumstances for wearing the mess dress w/ kilt instead of trousers: 1) Actively serving in a unit (via recognized exchange program) that has a kilt as part of their formal uniform 2) You have a bona fide family heraldry that includes a kilt, and the kilt you wear is appropriate to that Coat of Arms #1 should be pretty easy, but only if you're in that postion (can't be very many of those); #2, I'd recommend more research before taking the plunge. As I say, it's only hearsay--for all I know, the guy explaining it to me was full of shit and just justifying his choice to kilt up his mess dress....

Oh, my bad. Much less geeky....

Masshole, sorry I can't help with the running question. I just wanted to preserve the above so, the next time someone asks you to prove you're a geeky engineer, you can just point them toward this post. Far more than any sheepskin you may earn, using language like that guarantees you recognition & acceptance in the engineer community...!

...and what we are pointing out is that your "regular gouge" is flat-out wrong.

Um... I'm pretty sure you don't know what you're talking about....

And... I finally have a quote worthy of setting a signature line!

Ironically, I think that's the OP's point. May I gently suggest that your present status hasn't afforded you opportunities to realize just why...? By the time anyone pins on captain (talking ops world here, it may be different elsewhere), they can cite several examples of a woman who has progressed far beyond what her capabilities/performance should dictate--because everyone's afraid of the repercussions of doing otherwise. BTW, this typically pisses off the women who are worth a shit FAR more than it does the men, since it calls into question their own qualifications ("she got there just because she's a chick").... I think the minorities question is a different one, at least within the military. There are individuals in the military (as anywhere else) who harbor racial prejudices--but, institutionally, I've never seen any in the USAF once you get past the preferential school admissions (ROTC/USAFA)....

Well, that's where TurboTax really shines.... Input your info, run it both ways, file whichever way is cheapest....

Chivalry for the firearms enthusiast...?

In practice, I would guess that's your local (losing base) TMO, and very subject to how hard you fight. I PCS'd from Peterson when the new rules had just come out--it was simply a case of me saying "it's a motorcycle trailer," with no drama. I PCS'd from Barksdale last year, and I had to get into it with the TMO (civilian) Section Chief; even after going to her HAF counterpart (and being told to pay me), she never did truly concede the point, saying, "Well, the rules are still too vague, hopefully DOD will get this clarified." Bottom line, I got paid. NB, I'm sort of opposite from you--the vast majority of weight in my trailer is the bikes, though I do put other stuff in there (generally outsized stuff that won't fit in the truck).

No. The 3 level is what is also known as "coyote ugly," where you wake up in the morning, discover to what misdeeds your beer goggles have led you, then do whatever it takes to escape without waking her--specifically to include gnawing your own arm off at the shoulder should it be trapped beneath your conquest....

You quoted para h, which excludes utility trailers over a certain size; I'm pointing out that paras e & f in the same section provide for specialty trailers for items includable in HHG, without regard to size/style. In my case, I was paid for my 18', dual-axle, enclosed motorcycle trailer. TMO "inspects" your trailer insofar as they want a copy of the title/registration, at least in my experience.

Don't neglect paras e and/or f re boat, motorcycle, etc. trailers, which ARE included in HHG weight, enclosed or otherwise. I had to fight with TMO on that one, but I won....

Or, was she speaking to reporters et al for whom the term may have been unfamiliar (at least in her assumption)...? I have no opinion on the general one way or another, but I don't know how damning this language is by itself....

That's the issue--your gross weight readout is only as accurate as your fuel weight readout, since it's depending on the fuel reading to determine the gross weight.

Having just won the best doorprize of my life at my squadron's Christmas party... ...I thought this worthy posting: Happy New Year!

Indeed. Difference between "going along with" vs "recognizing reality." Plenty of things wrong w/ the AF today--rolling an MC-12 won't fix any of them, not even a little. Perhaps you worded that wrong, but it makes you sound like someone who is a complete douche.

Start by spell-checking its title line....

Excellent point, meshes with the opinion I've been forming on the subject. For those who are hanging onto "it doesn't say I can't do it" and/or "it's a 1-g maneuver" [despite the quoted text from the flight manual, not to mention good old-fashioned common sense when discussing a cabin-class type aircraft]: even if I agreed with you (I don't), even if you could prove that the maneuver was performed 100% perfectly & safely (you can't), even if Masshole were able to provide us with a physics equation demonstrating unequivocally that there was no possibility of rolling an MC-12 going horribly wrong (she cannot)... i.e., completely taking the "right or wrong" question out of the discussion... I would still want these guys hung out to dry. Why? Because if you are too flat-out stupid and/or have such incredibly low SA as to think that doing so would in any way, shape, or form not be a problem in today's Air Force--well, then, you're too fucking clueless to be trusted with any aspect of the mission. Want to argue that today's culture is too restrictive? I may or may not agree, and it's a debatable topic--but it is what it is, and only an ostrich could fail to understand the inevitable consequences of taking such an action.

No comment on the movie itself (which I have not seen)--but there's a documentary that I just saw today that was produced in conjunction w/ the movie, narrated by Cuba Gooding, Jr., and was shown at the base theater (will be again on the 13th, 16th, & 19th for those at Offutt). Title is Double Victory. It's TERRIFIC. Interviews with surviving original members (of whom at least three have passed since they were taped) interspersed with actual combat & other vintage footage (w/ a couple of modern P-51 flybys in there, too), focusing on the trials & tribulations that the Tuskegee Airmen faced in a segregated Army Air Corps & society at large. I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity. There are apparently two versions, 90-minute & a 60-minute (they showed the 60-minute); "public release" is 16 Jan (MLK Day) if you can't get an advance screening (I assume it will be on TLC or History Channel, or similar).

Seriously??

You're mixing two different issues here. You need to live in (intend to live in) the house you *get* the VA loan for. Once you have the loan, there's nothing to stop you from moving out (say, for a PCS) and renting the house out. However, in order to get a VA loan for another house, the existence of the previous one (and the fact that it's still active [not paid off]) comes into play. There are typically ways to work around it that involve paying a higher VA funding fee, etc. I'm *not* an expert, but I know one--PM me if you'd like contact info.