Tommy

Sorry to hear that brotha. Definitely been there. Passed over like 4 times guessing I will get told the same again. Hang in there. For me it’s been a blessing in some ways. Fwiw, I am flying the line more and still going on TDYs and flying deployments and ended up getting a good fini-assignment where my peers did not.

Could you explain that last paragraph a little better? What forum are you talking about?

Something I wasn’t aware of is if you have USAA insurance they put some money into an account that you don’t have access to until you stop using ALL of their insurance policies for I believe 6 months. Either way it was a nice little chunk of change for me. Something like $600. I was sick of their over priced insurance policies and it was just another reason to leave them.

You guys made a good point about getting VA disability when you separate early. That wasn’t something I took into consideration when I decided to stay in. $17k a year is definitely nice. I was just saying that $40k (tax free) on top of a $50k AD retirement with health care at 45 is probably enough for me to retire and I had no idea that was even a possibility when I decided to stick it out to 20. Just trying to pass what I’ve learned along the way. No wrong choices out there. Best of luck to everyone… whatever path you decide.

A lot of guys who calculate going airlines at 12 years of AD service then reserve retirement at 60 something vs 20 year AD retirement then airlines (or whatever) don’t factor in VA disability pay. Granted not everyone is going to get above a 50% rating, but if you do get a 50% to 100% VA disability rating will bring in $12k to $42K-ish a year tax free on top of your military retirement. Something that i personally didn’t find out until after I decided to go for 20 years after I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. From rough math I can see myself getting a disability rating in the 80s or 90s which will be about $25k a year on top of my military retirement. Just figured Id get the word out as it’s something that would have swayed my decision to stay in even more. And if you some how get 100% disability someday you’ll be bringing in 40k on top of your retirement pay tax free and a lot of states have additional perks, for instance texas waives property taxes on your primary residence.

I disagree. First off if you have Sleep Apnea it’s definitely bad for your health (heart, brain, etc.) second you’ll get VA disability of 50% off the bat and once you add up other little issues you have you’ll be at 75% before you know it which is like $2,000 a month-ish (tax-free I believe) plus your retirement. And third I haven’t really had any issues with the FA about my CPAP usage and the FAA doc doesn’t see me having issues getting a First Class. SSRI side note… I’m an active duty pilot and on a SSRI and the FAA doc doesn’t see any issues with me getting a special issuance first class medical…. With that said if I stay on the SSRI it’s gonna cost me $3,000 to $7,000 just to get my first class medical once you factor in the Pyschologist and psychiatrist appointments to include the testing they want me to do. The price varies depending on how I do on my testing. Then the reoccurring appointments/testing is gonna cost me $1,000 to $3,000 a year to keep my first class medical. One Pyschologist that I spoke to recommended I just get off the SSRI and apply for a regular first class and that’s the route I’m thinking. He said it’s much cheaper to get a first class medical while not on an SSRI vs getting a special issuance while on an SSRI. I Just figured I’d give some people first hand knowledge of what I’ve been going through. Basically, it’s doable but costly for the SSRI and the CPAP seems much easier to get approved and much less costly.

When I was passed over the first time there was a doc on MyPERs that stated that certain AFSCs are in high demand and will be given continuation. So if you’re worried I’d try to find that doc for a warm fuzzy. I think it’s in the promotion section. I’m not a fan of how the AF doesn’t give you continuation until the second time you’re passed over as it puts you in limbo for a year or so. With that said IF you do get passed over again AND not offered continuation I think you should be able to piece together an AD retirement in the guard/reserves as you only will have 2.5 years to go… someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

Phaneuf stayed at the crash pad I had at Randolph back in the day. I had the pleasure of talking to him in person a few times. He seemed like a really good dude.

I recommend finding an IMA job. I also heard of the civil air patrol and the Air Force academy have some points only positions that can get you to 20 years of service. Definitely not an expert on the subject or I’d tell you more but they seem like a good middle ground. No flying beans and low annual requirements from what I understand.

Staying in and not taking the ide would allow you time to make the decision, be less moves for the fam and allow time for the airlines to start hiring again without taking on an ADSC (hopefully).

That’s my understanding as well. They are looking into it and if they want to do it they will institute it in 2022/2023 from the email I received.

FWIW, I took the bonus to 20 then got passed over. I then tried palace chasing before I was twice passed over as I wasn’t sure if I would be offered continuation and was denied palace chase due to low manning in my career field. I could be wrong but you may still be able to deny continuation and get out. I’d definitely verify that with AFPC if you end up getting passed over twice but if you do nothing the continuation paperwork should spell out everything. That was 2 years ago so YMMV depending on your MDS manning, etc.

As 2APZ with a P I’ll post my results along with my push line which didn’t seem stellar in the opinion of a passed over major.

Anyone know the accountability date for the next LAF O5 board (2021)?

Historically spring and summer are worse for mishaps compared to winter and fall for instance. I’m not saying this year is a banner year by any means but so far it’s about average. The ten year average for aviation fatalities is 8.9/year and we are at 7 and we averaged 18.4 destroyed aircraft per year in the past 10 years and so far this year we have 10. Granted we have 2.5 months left but so far this year seems about average. I’m not saying we should be happy with average. We need to thoroughly investigate all mishaps and come up with solid recommendations while looking for and eliminating trends which I feel like we are doing. When I mentioned in my previous post that last year was the best year we’ve ever had for fatalities and destroyed aircraft I was providing some facts to counter a previous post about how our mishap rates are higher due to aging aircraft and inexperienced aircrews. I just don’t see that in the data. Yes we had more Class As last year than in the past but that is contributed to 5 gen fighters costing more to fix. I guess my point is it’s a little too early to say we are having a trend yet in my opinion based on the data I see.

Last FY the USAF tied its previous best year with two aviation related fatalities (one of which was a parachutist) and the USAF had the least number of destroyed aircraft from aviation accidents in USAF history. Just wanted to throw that out there.

The Final Message and Mishap Summary Brief are both available to download in AFSAS.

Does anyone know if that 90% was for just IPZ or does that 90% promotion rate include everyone in the zone and above?

Good luck ya’ll. 90% is pretty good odds. But as a 2x APZ’er I’m not gonna hold my breath.

I think it’s about time and that they should have changed the song years ago.

AFPC/DP2SPP just told me otherwise. They said that during 2017, 2018 and 2019 officers in a critical skill that initially took continuation to 20 were offered continuation to 24 after subsequent non-selections to O5. They said it changes year to year so there’s no guarantee that the AF will offer it next year but considering there’s a pilot shortage I may just risk it and only sign to 20.

You know what assume does... haha. I do have an ADSC that takes me to 20.5 YAS and I’d rather not commit to do an extra 6 months as a major 5 years from now if they will most likely offer continuation to 24 years after subsequent non-selections to O5.

Considering taking continuation to 20 vs 24 years. For those who took continuation to 20 did the AF offer continuation to 24 on the subsequent promotion boards?

I got passed over for O-5 last year IPZ. It’s definitely a kick in the nutz. It took some time working through the 5 stages of grief. I got my ATP and rushed a couple units and put in Palace Chase paperwork (which I found out got denied yesterday due to MDS manning BTW - I’m a KC-135 pilot who took the bonus to 20 years FWIW). Based on SAF PC’s denial rationale I’m expecting continuation but I’m ready for non-continuation or to deny continuation as I have a guard unit interested in hiring me if I choose. You definitely will have options if you spend some time looking at what’s out there. If you decide to stay in a pass over major who’s been continued does have some perks.

I’d say you have good odds to be able to stay in the cockpit as a KC135 driver. The reason I say this is bc the 135 is undermanned currently, the AF supposedly wants more tanker squadrons and the kc135 has the lowest retention rates in the MAF (mobility AF). Just one mans opinion. And realize the only constant is change so who knows what tomorrow will bring. With that said after flying for 12 years I was offered staff. I feel like I could have asked to stay in the cockpit BUT I’d probably been given the leftovers... whatever that may be... KC-135 to Altus or T-6 to Laughlin. Regarding your EDIT. Volunteering to be in the OSS wouldn’t help you stay in the cockpit longer IMO. When you are stationed somewhere they send X people to the OSS, X at the Group and X at the Wing at any given time and you typically get a new job every year or so and it could be anywhere in the wing. Not sure what you could do to stay in the cockpit longer besides asking your functional for another flying assignment. And hoping it works. But someone else may have a better answer.