Muscle2002

Depending on the board, the DP allocation can vary from 80% for Major to just ~40% for Lt Col. The SR will usually stratify the top 20% of the eligibles which may explain why you thought the number of DPs was 10-20%. Being an SOS DG and having a DP cannot hurt, but the board should/will look at the whole record.

Slight thread hijack, but on the note of CBTs, I could not find any definitive guidance on whether as a pilot I still need to take SERE 100 on ALDS. According to other websites from the Navy, SERE 100 is only required if you haven't done SERE B/C training like we all have; obviously AF guidance would be better. Does anyone know the answer? /hijack

Unless your year group has people who've already pinned on Major while others have not, then you needn't suspect the wing of conspiring against you...at least not in the way you suggested. The DR allocations are 75% for each year group. Please correct me if I misunderstood what you tried to convey.

The AF only selects finalists for consideration by the Olmsted board...the AF doesn't select the actual Scholars. Moreover, the number selected is driven by financial capability of the Foundation and the quality of the applications. Regarding the process: Basically, you submit a 3849 to AFPC listing the top five countries you want to study in (note: they must come from the list approved by the Foundation) along with standard PRF-type bullets from you and your Sr. rater. Your functional will decide whether to release you to compete or not at this point. Two months later, you will submit the rest of the application (photo, resumé, personal statement, DLAB score, transcripts and letter of recommendation from your Sr. Rater and GRE scores) to AFPC for the AF board. This board selects about 15 finalists for interviews with the Foundation. From here, you will have an interview (most likely have a phone interview) with members of the Foundation's staff (some of whom are Scholars themselves) where they will make recommendations to the Board of Directors for final selection. The whole process starts with a suspense to AFPC in August and ends in March with release of the names.

The preponderance of the controllers here are trainees, which means you could hear anything over the radio!

In every MOA I've operated in (East Coast), ATC specifically stated to maintain VFR (note: I was still on an IFR flight plan) within the confines of the MOA. The way I've seen it done is to stay on ATC's active controlling freq (as opposed to switching to the area monitoring freq), tell them you are currently IMC, are currently maneuvering for VMC airspace and request radar monitoring. In restricted airspace, you are most definitely able to be IMC as other aircraft may only enter by approval from the controlling agency..MOAs do not have that procedural capability of preventing stranger traffic from entering VFR (obviously, someone could enter the restricted airspace without clearance, but it may be the last time they fly for awhile).

It was terrain avoidance...I honestly think those controllers were secretly aligned with the Taliban given the number of times they tried to vector us into terrain or give a 25 degree descent from the FAF in the WX at night.

Yes, apparently she was the biggest reason TPS doesn't invite him to speak to the students...she demanded appearance fees and wanted the memorabilia he previously donated returned or otherwise they were to rent the items

Actually, the Academy fell victim to a similar fate when the "Bring Me Men Ramp" suffered a name change due to knee-jerk reactions associated with a scandal.

I think he means the CAF DT (or DT board) which happens next week.

CH, did you do a fellowship for your SDE program?

Yes, because that lists only considers schools w/full-up engineering prgms (ie graduate prgms) Again, that list only compares schools w/more than undergraduate prgms. It's logically inconsistent to say "you're comparing apples to oranges" when one says USAFA is a top engineering prgm and then point to "data" that does exactly that. Not that Rhodes or Marshall scholars are necessarily indicators of the academic acumen of a school, but how many do the likes of ASU, U of F, UTA, Maryland, UMASS and Mizzou have exactly?

Although it's an evaluation, I certainly think there are times when offering instruction is valid especially knowing that withholding said instruction will lead to a Q-3 in the mind of this particular SEFE/Sq leadership (I would not give a Q-3 for this particular error based on the story as told). Q-3s are reserved for cut and dry safety/airmanship violations...generally mistakes I think only a brand new student should be making.

As stated below, you can request a waiver for almost anything...in this case, the lack of a B.S. in a tech field, but it's an uphill battle...at least if you earn a technical M.S., then you lend some credence to your case.

Apparently being fabulous is grueling work: AF Inquirer Link

CAF-guy question: what's an A code?

Same goes for TPS.

2. At least there are no Maj/Lt Col/Col PRFs and RIF RRFs to write this year as well.

You get a narrative-only PRF and go to a student MLR where DPs are allocated.

True to some extent...it's most likely harder to advance up the ranks outside of AFMC (if you can even leave), but not as much inside that community (at least not any harder than it would be for someone in the CAF/MAF). [blanket so-to-speak applied]. I would argue getting that PhD/going to TPS/etc gives you breadth when compared to the standard educational background/experience of a line ops guy. In reality, those programs seem to be both depth and breadth depending on how you look at it. It makes me wonder: the AF purports to want well-educated leaders, institutes "The Prestigious PhD Program", and has shown increasing emphasis on acquiring language skills. Yet to participate in these programs, it seems you are now at a disadvantage compared to the line aviator with the Container-Checker Master's and little experience outside of the aircraft. So what is it? Maybe just a force that appears to be well-educated? Edited for grammar.

Well said...standard!

Hacker, are they still teaching range rides for the Strike Eagle, Fighting Falcon, and Hawg studs? I assume (you know what that means) they are because they show up kind of sort of familiar with ITP bombing in the FTU.

He's one who walks the walk. As a cadet, I had to brief him and his staff (sts) about a summer program...later in the summer, he not only remembered me, but asked me about family (by name) and specific questions about school-related events that were not just available in some cadet database. It was obvious that he took time to get to know things about people he worked with. At the end of the program, he took the time to track down the cadet commander and me to give us a CC's RMO while we tore down the BCT camp and personally thank us for our work. It's a shame he didn't make 4-star earlier.

Your date is accurate. He was frocked. The speech wasn't a change of command speech, but an Arnold Hall lecture.