Gazmo

Yeah well our goals during Desert Storm were pretty clearly defined and of course we had Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf. We also hadn't spent the previous 16 yrs wasting money, resources and time in that shit hole before we went over and handed Saddam his own ass in less than 6 weeks. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

WWII... Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

If all things were equal and the airlines paid the same exact salary as what you could make on Active Duty or as an AGR in the ANG/AFRC, we'd still see people bailing. I would still not hesitate to make the jump. I'm an ART and I can live comfortably on less than what I make now. The ultimate ability to make near $300,000 per year to work 10 days per month is icing on the cake. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

We are our own best enemy. As aircrew, it'd be safe to say 96.69% of us are Type-A, workaholic, do what it takes to get shit done (while adhering to tech order and regulatory guidance) kinda people. It's pretty much what got us here. There is no other option, but to get the job done no matter what the cost (sanity, family life, off time, etc) no matter what time of day. It's in our culture and most of you've probably been in long enough to realize this, but the standard we're held to in the USAF and the stardard we maintain no matter what the cost is nearly unmatched by any other community in the service. You can remember that and take pride in that every time you get up in the morning and slap your wings on a fresh bag. Not everyone can do what we do. Some have tried and a lot have failed, which pissed me off when comm weenies want to wear wings to be part of the winged club. off! I don't care what job you do in the military, but do it like your life or someone elses life depends on it like we have to. Like Mx has to. Like AFE has to. Whether it's weapons on target, gas in the air, cargo over a drop zone or the gammut of other fine flying missions we have in the service, we maintain a standard. A very high one and it's taken for granted by leadership. It becomes the norm and we're expected to eat shit and like it. Yeah, there are other communities that have it as bad or worse. I believe it and I don't discount their misery. Everyone has a voice. If you want a chang, you pretty much have three options. You can talk with your feet (there is nothing wrong with this if that is your decision). You can take the bonus, stay and do everything in your power to try to change things for the better. This, unfortunately takes a lot of drive that at this point, most of us don't have. I believe this duty needs to be taken on by our young CGO's. Unfortunately this is the only thing they know. Lastly, take the bonus, stay and STFU. Bitching about things on here, to your wife, in the squadron bar (if you're still allowed to have one) or on the road in front of the young'ns does nothing (although it is nice to vent). We are a crippling force if we get our voices heard in mass. People are walking. That is a very effective tool for gettings things changed. Leadership has no choice. You can make shit roll up hill if you push hard enough. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

It's simple, but this may be my ANG mentality speaking. When I've got important deadlines due and scheduling needs an IP to fly and I'm their last resort, 99.9% of the time, the sortie will cancel for manning. I am not about hiding manning issues by trying to execute every flying hour. We can't be in two places at once and if it takes 16 hr days to do our jobs, we need more people or less work. it. Let the sortie cancel and the OG can explain why to the Wing King. You bet your ass I'm leaving by 4 today to get to my son's lacrosse practice. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Exactly, but the Air Force has relied on FNG's coming out of UPT with a boner to fly something that burns Jet A++ (almost typed JP8) and make a lot of noise. It's usually your 6-8 yr Captains and young Majors who've been around the flag pole enough times to say, "F$ck this shit. I'm going to the airlines.". Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

This is called the ANG and AFRC Gina.... Stop screwing the ARC by treating us like AD on the cheap and learn something from us. Give us more people and more funding. Give us more full-time AGR manning with a $35k+ bonus. Give our leaders REAL leadership positions. Stop trying to push us out of the picture while harping the "Total Force" bullshit... it's gotten old. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Don't waste your breath. Talk with your feet. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Well that's essentially what flight pay is for so we can argue that our current flight pay is antiquated and should be a lot more. I think we can say an O-3 Aircraft Commander of a MAF aircraft responsible for global mobility of his or her crew or anyone responsible for any other semi-cylindrical object that passes through the air at high speeds should get a bit more dough than an O-3 in the fitness center in charge of making sure the basketballs are inflated to the correct pressure. I mean shit, the "over 4" flight pay is $206 per month. $2,472 per year to command an aircraft for the military? Ok, sure. It goes to $650 over 6, but by then most of us are seasoned IP's or even evaluators. Over 14? Probably not flying much anymore. As a comparison, your lowest 4-year obligated health professional bonus (General Dentistry) is $150,000 or $37,500 per year. Neurosurgeons get $400,000. No, I'm not trying to compare pilots to neurosurgeons, but let's remember that the Air Force is paying these people big bucks because of supply/demand and the fact that their skill commands 3 or 4 times their military salary in the civilian world. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

That monkey vid is hilarious. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

I'm sure every OG/CC going to the OG council meetings has pleaded with NGB to do something about the full-time pilot shortage. If they aren't doing anything, they aren't listening. At the end of the day, just like our AD bretheren, we're not fed up just because of the money and bennies or lack there of. The ANG has become AD on the cheap and NGB leadership has let it happen. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Hahahahaha Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

$1k extra for a proclamed "national crisis".... nice. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Yep. I've been getting one for about 8 months now. And oh by the way, it's not really getting a whole lot of people to stay. They're offering it one year at a time, which is nice. Honestly I wouldn't have taken it if it were any more commitment than that, but I was in the right place at the right time and wasn't quite ready to make the jump to the airlines. I won't sign another one. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

If it ain't bringing billions of dollars worth of business to the states these Senators represent, they don't care about it. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

There you go.... I like it. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

My guess is that AF Inns don't want to lose the business so they want enough power to make you stay on base when it works for them. Hence why they got rid of the less than 24 hr - "we don't need no stink'n non-A slip" rule most of us aircrew so eagerly used. For the most part, AF Inns provide a mediocre service. I have been to a few who have their poop together (Ramstein comes to mind), but most others stateside leave little to be desired. I just stayed at Andrews recently with a crew. Was not impressed with the "Presidential" and shit, that's Andrews. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

The market is already flooded with RJ pilots from the regionals with thousands of hours of 121 jet time and military guys are still getting hired up like they're going out of style. The majors have their demographics they follow. White, black, yellow, male, female, civilian/Part 121, military, etc. Historically military hiring will stay around 30-35% of overall hiring at most of the companies. Flooding the market with RJ pilots will basically make it harder to for RJ pilots to get jobs with the majors. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

The Legacies aren't going to change their min requirements. Even in this day and age of a pending "pilot shortage", the average new-hire at a major is near 4,000 hrs. That's your 1,500 hr fighter pilot on one end of the spectrum and a 7,000 hr regional captain at the other. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Every single dude in my ANG unit who has applied to a major airline in the past 2 years has been hired. I'm talking 12+ people. United, Delta, JB, FedEx, SWA... you name them, they've been hired. This is with American pretty much not even hiring many OTS yet (they're starting to ramp up now). Just had two dudes get vid interview invites from AA a few weeks ago. Even if they lower the ATP to 750, the majors would much rather hire at the 3,000+ hour level. The average hours for someone getting hired at a major is somewhere near 4,000. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

This is not going to slow anything down. Most of us have 1,500+ PIC and then some. I know a bunch of SQ mates practically beating major airlines off with a stick, getting multiple interview opportunities with multiple legacy airlines. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Well on the upside to a pilot shortage, we just gave Iran a formal pee-pee smacking for their ongoing shenanigans... Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

I was thinking the same thing. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

The AGR billets in the ANG are few and far in between, but of course it depends on the state. A lot of states have a lot of AGR billets in the Army Guard, but have more ART's on the Air side. What you also have to consider is that a lot of ANG units were manned with ART's from the CSRS generation who pulled SAC alert/Alpha alert with the old 3 for 1 deal and were able to retire with 56%+ annuity, plus a military retirement. The dudes could easily pull in over $100k a year in retirement. Now, ART retirements are 1:1 and heavily dependant on your own TSP contributions. Definitely not as good of a deal. So, basically... previous regimes who happily walked out the door in the 2005-2010 timeframe before the shit hit the fan didn't really care about making life better for the guys still here in the fabulous FERS program. AGR jobs aren't even getting filled. Most of the young guys who are in their prime to land a major airline job are not interested in commiting to a 3 or 4 year tour. You need TAG approval to voluntarily curtail an AGR tour and most aren't willing to take the risk. Being an ART has its advantages of being a "free agent". Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Let's see.... I'll take a stab at this. The Guard and Reserves used to be a real good deal, but things have changed a lot since 9/11. We're being abused. The difference now is that we have options and leverage. Is it still a better deal than AD? In a lot of ways, yes, but our government's expectations from the ARC is over the top. They've gotten used to the ARC's willingness to bend over backwards to get'r done for a paycheck. Furloughed airline pilots, ARC bums, ART's looking to close the gap between a shitty net pay and an AGR salary, you name it, the ARC has risen to the occasion with just about everything they've thrown at us. Yeah, we all raised our hands and are as patriotic as the next guy, but at the end of the day you have to make it worth our while to do rotation after rotation to PACOM and CENTCOM. We don't have the reprieve the AD guys do of a staff tour (gasp), being detailed to the Wing or getting a white jet tour to break up the monotony of living in the desert. Traditional guardsmen/reservists are pretty much line pilots for life. You have the option to stay in as a Lt Col for 28 years and fly the line every day of those 28 years. We've relied on a lot of volunteerism, but when you've got guys who've been doing this for 15-20 years, they're getting tired and it's come to the point where it's just not worth it to them anymore. I don't care what some of the AD guys think, it's not easy to be a mission-ready pilot at less than 1/3 the cost of our AD counterparts while holding a full-time civilian job. We don't have to do any less training than anyone else out there. Add that to the mountains of ancillary training, DIY administrative queep, and the neverending shift toward support agencies being allowed to run the AF the way they want it run, not the way it should be run. Our traditionals don't get a bonus to stay past 10 years. In the past, our retention program was good deal trips to cush destinations and unparalleled comradery while we were there, but those deals are few and far in between. Add that to anal retentive policies that have shit-canned just about any fun you could possibly have in fear of an article 15 or worse, jail time. On the full-time side, the ART program is going to destroy the ARC's ability to maintain mission-ready flying squadrons and they're about 10 years too late trying to fix it. So yes, I see there being many challenges for the ARC and I'm not looking forward to it. I need 5 more years to get my guard retirement. It's gonna be the longest 5 years of my life. Speaking of retirements, this new military retirement system coming online soon will NOT work in the ARC's favor for retention. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk