SnapLock

So, here are a couple of questions that I have concerning palace chase and even palace front. Does anyone know with the new retirement system how a reserve or guard retirement would work? Still grandfathered in or do you lose that if you palace chase or front? Also, can you transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to dependents after you move over to the reserve? Still a 4 year commitment? Lastly, what above PCSing etc? I understand that if you separate from the AF the government will pay to move you back to your home of record? What if you aren't moving to your home of record but it's a shorter distance? Does this apply still if you palace chase/front? Any other big gotchas that people have seen making the transition that we need to watch out for?

Welcome to the party...6 days ago:

I think what he's getting at is this dude might not be legit...at all. I could be wrong but I would think that most vets wouldn't wear wings of that size on their lapel. Also, if this dude had really served I doubt he'd have a nametag from who knows where (definitely not a nametag you get while at ENJJPT), while holding a helmet with an outdated mask and an ENJJPT patch on the right (wrong) shoulder. Then wearing an ACC patch which ENJJPT is not a part of. His flight suit also has an extra piece of Velcro above the ENJJPT patch which is abnormal. Everything about that picture screams to me that he was never aircrew. He got a hold of a flightsuit, put some rank on it and bought some random patches off of eBay. NO self respecting veteran would use a photo for a political campaign that was not accurate. Why put up a photo of yourself that doesn't jive with your service? This dude is a fake!

So, first of all I'm not going to bash Obama but I do think that his leadership, policies and direction given to the DOD have helped to create more suck for us. His appointees are the ones running the DOD and the AF. Think about it. Also, many say that the AF has become a social experiment. At least some of that has come from the White House. Concerning QOL. I remember driving to work early every morning as a Lt. I hated the early days but remember being so glad that I was in the AF and didn't go to the airlines like some of my friends. I also remember always thinking that I would do 20 and had no interest in ever going to the airlines. Now I have no desire to do 20 and am frantically combing over my airline apps. I've asked myself why things have changed. It's different for everyone but it really boils down to leadership, the queep and the broken promotion system for me. The AF has been a HUGE benefit for me. I wouldn't change a thing about my decision making. I would not change a thing if I could do it all over again, but I've realized that this isn't worth sticking around for. One of the biggest things that gets me is that I work 12-16 hour days while it seems like a lot of the rest of the base works 0730-1630. They also usually get to break away for lunch and are allotted time for PT. I don't get either. My days are ALWAYS crazy busy and when I have to deal with one of these 0730-1630 workers I ALWAYS get pissed off. It's usually because they will only do what I need Thursdays between 10 and 11. Or, I have to make an appointment to see them a week in advance. Or, THEY decide when they will do the training that I need and the next training that they are conducting is 3 weeks out and in the middle of the day so my squadron has to take me off the schedule for the day. I could go on, and I think we all could, but the thing that sends me through the roof is seeing their work ethic and working conditions. Their building and offices are usually new or newer. Meanwhile, I go back to a shit hole squadron and check the mouse traps to see if we caught the mice that have been running around. Meanwhile the shoe clerks are sitting in nice new leather office chairs and have book cases made of rich mahogany. While, I'm trying to get something done with this person they notice that I'm missing a signature or some other small thing and tell me that they can't do a thing for me until I go run around to get that done. This whole time they seem to be doing virtually nothing and sitting in their chair playing on their iPhone for most of the day. You all have seen this too, right? It's obvious that their work load is minimal compared to the aircrew out there and their offices completely close down for training, while we come in on the weekend to get that stuff done or do it after flying at 2000. Why in the hell can't we assign some of these people back into the flying squadrons to take some of the load off of aircrew? The whole manning in tight everywhere argument is a numbers game in my opinion. It's B.S. A lot of the rest of the AF needs to come spend a week in a flying squadron to see how long our days are and our workload and I think people will understand. It's clear to me that if leadership really cared about retaining the most highly trained members of the AF that have had millions of dollars invested into them then things would not be this way. Instead we worry about making the AF look and feel like a civilian office environment for the non-aircrew. I'm not advocating making everyone else's lives worse, but what I am saying is there are resources out there that could be used to take some of the load off of aircrew and make their quality of life better. But what do I know? Maybe it's right to let people walk away who have $10 million in training and 10 years of experience invested into them. Yeah, take care of the people who's tech school was 6 weeks long. That's how it should be...

It's not about the money Changer. Haven't you been listening? Wait, I know the answer to that.

^^^This is exactly what I was thinking. I've assumed for a while now that the AF thinks we're being whiny little pricks and they're not going to "negotiate" with us. Look at the evidence. Senior leaders mentioning the ability to stop loss, no real reform coming down the pipe, not acknowledging that there is a problem, sending out surveys and asking questions but never sending any responses to those surveys or any change to the status quo. I could go on and I'm sure there is a lot of evidence that I'm not thinking of. The only assumption that all of us should make is that nothing is going to change. Things will probably only get worse when it comes to additional duties, 365s and morale. If we're not preparing for things to get worse and a stop loss then we probably have ours craniums in the sand.

Chang, You suck! The fact that you probably went IDE in-res and are on staff now and will likely be a CC and make O-6+ is why I am leaving ASAP. Really let that sink in for a moment. To everyone else, if there is a stop loss will pilots still be able to take the bonus? I have every intention of getting out, yesterday, but if there is a significant stop loss I think there are some people out there that would still want to take the bonus. Will it still be available in that scenario?

Correct! There... something we can agree on!

I'm not looking to get into a huge political discussion with you. This thread is not the place for that. What I will say is that there are Wing Commanders out there that let people conceal carry on their bases. As someone else said the people with the lowest ASVAB scores are the ones carrying guns on our bases daily (SF), yet combat pilots and other AFSC's who operate very powerful (and expensive) machinery daily and have a lot of power at their fingertips would get in a lot of trouble for carrying a concealed weapon on base. Doesn't make sense. IMO this boils down to the 2nd amendment. I'm for less government and treating people like adults. When you do that people tend to react positively. The AF treats everyone like children who sh!t the bed daily. How is that working out?

Then I think you'd be surprised who is carrying heat off base. I see nothing wrong with letting people do something that is written into the constitution. Who knows, it might actually deter people from doing things like what happened today.

You are confident. Do you know for sure? This is a potential win if this is true.

No, I didn't know about all of that going on with the VML. With that said I wasn't trying to "sh*t" on this guy wanting to go to WIC. He came on here looking for advice and I was trying to contribute something useful. In my career I've seen waaayyy too many great dudes get screwed over by their CC and other people who were unwilling to tell them what reality was. I think that is often a big disservice to good people and they end up getting a huge smack of reality much later than they should and end up bitter. We should be able to tell people where they stand, especially if they are looking for advice and feedback. I still stand by my assertion that if someone is truly being groomed for WIC that leadership will get them there. I've seen everything from slips to losing commanders working with gaining commanders to delay a PCS to get dudes to WIC. If that type of stuff isn't happening either their leadership sucks or the dude isn't getting pushed for WIC.

I agree with what everyone else has said here. Also, do you understand how the VML process works? BL: IMO if you were being looked at strongly for WIC your SQ/CC would have said that on your ADP and your OG would have communicated that to your functional. Be realistic and move forward and do a good job where you are planted and good things will happen. Unfortunately, the path you want is not what you always get, ESPECIALLY when the Air Force is concerned.

Nope, I'm not saying that I would. I'm just trying to drill down and figure out the process to find the truth data.

I agree with everything you are saying. What about the people who are on the other side of the world or can't make it to the unit more than once or not at all due to those circumstances? What if said person has a great resume and recommendations, and your unit is in their home town? Are people like that not going to get hired?

Good advice. Like I said before I've actually gone to several units and spent some time with them. Everything was positive and I did my best to be humble and not have an attitude. What I am seeing though is that it seems like a lot of the slots are either unofficially already filled before the process is over or they are just hiring their bros or people that they already knew from before. I honestly can't blame anyone for doing that. What I am saying is that it doesn't look like there are so many guard/reserve jobs out there that units can't get them all filled like some people have been saying.

Sooooo, where are these guard/reserve units that are sooooo undermanned? Every one that I talk to tells me they have 20-40 people applying for each open position. I've gone out of my way, I mean really out of my way, to find my way to a couple units' doorsteps. Initial impressions have been good and they take all my info and tell me they would love to have me, but they aren't hiring at the moment. Then I call a few months later and they tell me they don't have my info, don't remember me, and they just hired 3 new guys. Maybe this belongs in the guard/reserve section but I'm not seeing all of these "opportunities" in the guard or reserve like everyone is talking about. Sure, maybe I'm rushing the most desirable units, but still.... What gives? I'm a pointy nose type, but have talked to both omnivores and carnivores.

Valid, a dolphin's advertised capabilities are much more reliable and effective.

Recently did my ATP through there and was very happy. The instructors are retired fighter types and have a good handle on knowing what you'll need to watch out for if you're a fighter or military type. I have zero complaints about the program and would highly recommend it. The main examiner that they use seems like she could be a little quirky but taking 15 minutes to talk to someone that has recently checked with her will set you up for success. The biggest thing about the examiner is that she doesn't like cocky military pilots, and she's had a couple scare her during landings. However, all of this is a non-factor if you show prepared and humble. Her ground eval is a non-factor if you show prepared and that's how you set the tone for the check ride. After the ground eval and especially the first 5 minutes of the flight I really tried to be professional and set the tone right and I could visibly see her relax, and from that point on I probably would have had to have done something really stupid to fail. From then on she kept on speeding up the profile to get it over with. So, Mil2ATP is great. The examiner is very fair if you show prepared and with a good attitude. Should be standard ROE for a military pilot so no one should have anything to worry about if you go there.

Nah, it looks like a chubby dolphin.

Due to the competitive nature of the AF I don't think that will matter if you are looking to be a select at your board or get selected for school later as a candidate. It really depends though and if your senior rater is pushing for you then good things can happen. However, a consistent record of #1 strats sprinkled with DGs and a strong senior rater push with a high DP strat are what is going to matter to a board. There are people out there who have done well as late bloomers, but that is rare. I'll admit I'm getting old and crusty, and can be pretty jaded, but Big Blue is going to do what it is going to do...so keep looking for people to get selected for leadership too early. One of the biggest things that I saw that disgusted me about this stuff in the AF was when my DO got called to do other things unexpectedly. There was no one else left at my base that could leave their current job who had gone through school and staff to take over as DO, so they put in the best Lt Col non-school/non-staff guy. The dude absolutely rocked it and everyone really looked up to him. He did an outstanding job, but as soon as someone with the right "credentials" showed up he was immediately yanked out and the "credentialed" person was put in as DO. That left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, I shouldn't have been surprised.

Yeah, I'd like to see a copy too. Funny thing is that every single thing that I have heard of coming from that "plan" to deal with 11F manning makes me, as an 11F, want to pull the handles even more. I get why you can't really go do much as an 11F right now except for stay exactly where you are, but if I am getting cut off at the knees and have no opportunities to "shine" then I'm just going to get out. Double edged sword, this manning plan is.

Have to disagree with you somewhat here. Even though I have almost zero faith in our senior leaders I do believe that if they were unbounded and actually able to conduct military operations without b.s. ROE and political games that we would be winning most if not all of these "wars". I have faith in the Air Force's ability to break stuff and kill people effectively in spite of our "management" generals.

What a laugh! If anyone thinks that this is going to put even a small dent in the retention problem they are dead wrong! Looking at this objectively, it took 2 decades and a severe pilot retention problem for the Air Force to ask Congress for this increase which only barely corrects the old bonus for inflation. Ridiculous. I'm right at the end of my commitment and for my own personal desires and situation it's not about the money. However, for the bonus to factor into my decision making and PERHAPS entice me into staying to 20 it would have to be $50K minimum. Even then the bonus comes into account only after significant increases in quality of life, changes to the promotion system, an end to the social experiments and having more senior leaders with integrity and a true desire to serve others instead of themselves.