Stoker

I was a Reserve hire and my wife stayed in our hometown while I was at UPT. It worked out well for us. Definitely some stresses involved, but on the plus side we were about a 7 hour car ride apart - we were able to spend about every other weekend together. Might not work as well if he gets Laughlin and you live in New York, say. Realize that you can always quit your job and move to the UPT base after the fact if the separation isn't working out for you. Also, Reserve and Guard hires tend to get through UPT a bit faster by virtue of less time sitting around waiting for class dates, your spouse could be done in twelve months if the stars align right, not two years.

FWIW, it seems like our drone pilots are removing a lot more bad guys from existence than the average fighter pilot.

Care to elaborate? Flying for AA there eventually is my goal, but I have heard negative things about the flying there.

I'm a reservist off the street with no real prior flight time to speak of, so I'm trying to set myself up in case whatever full-time status I am on fall through. I'd rather have an R-ATP in my back pocket in case Sequestration Part II occurs.

For purposes of ATP mins and airline hiring, how should sim time (in a level D) be logged? I'm hearing/reading various guidance, from logging it as sim time only, to logging it as total time, sim time, instrument time, PIC or SIC, all at once. I don't want to overreach and get my hand slapped when I'm going for an ATP or applying, but I also don't want to cut myself out of 80+ hours of usable time.

It definitely doesn't benefit Aramco to remind everyone that investing there is extremely risky.

The issue in question isn't really about the President or the resort (though, of course, that's all anyone cares about). My wild guess as to the hustle going on is that the airport is paying for the rooms/hospitality at Turnberry in the hopes of attracting big-ticket fuel purchases. If the fuel cost an extra $.50 a gallon over what DoD would have paid at a different airport, a good deal for the aircrew turns into a $25,000 hit to the taxpayers. It's kind of similar to the Fat Leonard scandal the Navy just put a bunch of folks in prison for (but likely a lot harder to prove any wrongdoing on the Air Force's part, because we can just say "operational necessity").

You'll be fine, I know multiple former foreigners from less friendly countries than South Korea that made it to UPT. The only issue would be renouncing your non-US citizenship is a requirement to commission, I believe, and that can be tricky.

Chair fly every flight ahead of time. Know that even though ELPs aren't in the syllabus anymore, you still need to know how to do an ELP.

Just goes to show that it doesn't hurt to ask.

There's a thing in fiction called suspension of disbelief. Basically, tell us the rules of your world, and then follow them. In Game of Thrones, it's made clear early on that dragons and black magic exists. It was only recently made clear that the pirates had heat seeking scorpion bolts.

PCSing soon, have leave approved for one day after my arrival at my new base. Will I be authorized ten (or, I guess, nine remaining) days of Temporary Lodging Expense after I return? JTR says you can use it "upon arrival," the people handling my admin are telling me the leave disrupts it somehow and renders me ineligible.

Scores are good, be prepared to explain why your quantitative score is low. I think getting your PPL is key, it checks a big box for a lot of squadrons and the extra hours will do a lot for your PCSM. I wouldn't sweat the LORs, I really thinking chasing letters from generals/senators who don't really know you is a waste of time. A letter from the manager at your part time job at 7/11 that says you're a hard worker, dedicated, etc., is gonna be worth a lot more.

Any decent law school won't care that you're in the military, 99% of admission is based on GPA and LSAT. You might have luck with certain schools that offer four year, part time / night classes, as they're more likely to be flexible for you. Top tier schools aren't going to care that you had to deploy, Contracts is only offered in the spring, good day sir.

You might in theory not need an age waiver if you get picked up by a Reserve unit, they've been somewhat quicker lately getting people into the pipeline (I've seen as little as seven months from squadron interview to UPT, and I think they're continuing to shorten the wait). You will likely get an interview with any heavy squadron you apply to. My guess is that fighter squadrons are a long shot, they're loathe to do waivers and seem to dislike hiring older guys who are, in their experience, less likely to successfully make it through all the required training. I wouldn't go crazy pursuing more "senior" letters of rec. A captain who knows you well and can speak to you personally is far better than a general who signs a form letter.

Anyone know where the TDART (new hires off seasoning days) will fall? I thought it was supposed to be GS-9, but OPMs tables start at GS-11.

IIRC, there's a legit thing for civilian applicants where the medical system can't handle you processing through applying to more than one component at once. But if you're already in, should be a non-issue. If you're competitive for a Reserve slot, why waste time on a long-shot at AD?

I think both KC-10 squadrons at McGuire do them every six months or so, but it all depends on the need and the budget.

He's not necessarily wrong, he's just 24 hours late... Boeing stock already suffered its dip by the time he posted that. It's the problem with any random individual trying to pick stocks based on not-really-inside information... by the time you make a purchase, you're far behind the guys with special computer systems designed to reduce delays by a few milliseconds who do this for a living.

She is running for office, though, in a state she just lost, against a much better candidate than she lost against. Her story on this incident is going to be extremely powerful ammunition for her.

I'd probably wear a pair of khakis and a button down shirt or polo. Not too casual, not to formal (unless it's a meet-and-greet as part of an interview, definitely wear a suit for the interview). Some people bring a bottle of liquor as a gift / compensation for putting up with your questions all day. Seems to be more of a thing in fighter squadrons, and definitely not mandatory or even beneficial in all cases.

If you look up the actual job posting on USAJOBs (https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/516960200), under the qualifications section, it says UPT grad gets you GS-9, 300 flight hours in MDS gets you GS-11, 750 gets you GS-12. I'm not sure if that means you have to have that number of hours in your actual aircraft, because just below that it says student pilot and simulator hours are creditable. I got hired by a Reserve unit right around the time that 5 year ART contract thing popped up, as far as I know it went away, at least I haven't heard anything about it.

You're correct re: Reserves and living in the dorms, I'm collecting BAH for where my wife is while living in the dorms (without any BAH deduction). You'll get Vance BAH from Day 1, and in a month or three you'll start getting BAH for wherever your family is, plus the difference retroactively.

Correct. You'll have a brief meeting with a flight med doc, and you'll have an eye exam that's slightly more involved than what you'd get from a visit to a civilian optometrist.

I always wonder if it isn't awkward unloading and storing (or loading and donning) a firearm in public. Seems like not something I'd want to be doing out of my trunk right outside the base gate.