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StrikeOut312

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Everything posted by StrikeOut312

  1. StrikeOut312
    I was surprised when we didn’t leave in 2011, and surprised when we did leave in 2021. Not surprised we’re going back though…we love doing that kind of thing.
  2. StrikeOut312

    Tariff wars

    StrikeOut312 replied to arg's topic in Squadron Bar

    I don't disagree with this sentiment, Trump's "shock and awe" playbook is absolutely disrupting stability. We are in a position now where we get to wait and see how the dust settles. Right or wrong, what's done is done. Maybe Congress will stop ceding power to the executive branch, or the R's will get trounced in '26. If his strategy is to create chaos and get to a negotiating position, perhaps it's working, or that's my misguided optimism.
  3. StrikeOut312
    If you're active duty, you are essentially on retainer. If nothing is going on at the squadron, don't be there. If you're a supervisor and your folks aren't busy, send them home. Depending on the organization/mission, that mentality can be more/less tricky to implement...but in my life AD life flying the tanker, there were plenty of times I was called or my bros got called last minute to go into crew rest. Going home when the squadron is slow means you're making up for the time when you're gone short notice for an indefinite amount of time. Acting SECAF is either a clown or a puppet directed by clowns. Bad policy put out at a bad time.
  4. StrikeOut312

    Tariff wars

    StrikeOut312 replied to arg's topic in Squadron Bar

    Globalization was great during the "end of history" period (what a bunch of hubris). For all the virtue signalling that happens in the US, it's funny to me that folks are ok exploiting cheap labor overseas so us Americans can feed our consumerism addiction by ordering more cheap stuff than we know what to do with...go abroad, you'll be hard pressed to find 1/4 of the self-storage places we have here in the US. If we're anticipating another big conflict, makes sense to me we'd bring back some industrial capacity. There was a time where we made stuff here in the US, then it got cheaper to make it overseas, so we sent manufacturing abroad...at what cost? Got it, life will get more expensive, but we might claw back some self-reliance instead of depending on other folks to make our stuff. This episode was posted in another thread, applicable to this thread, and worth a listen.
  5. StrikeOut312
    This isn't a perfect analogy, but here goes: you've got a confirmed date to the ball with the 2nd prettiest girl in town, but the 1st prettiest girl just broke up with her boyfriend and you think you have a chance. You could take the sure thing, or take your chances, possibly ending up with no date to the ball. You're still waiting on OTS dates, and if you need SERE, you're probably looking at 2 years minimum in training with OTS->UPT->SERE->FTU and any other delays in the pipeline. A lot can change in 2 years. My gut says to take the sure thing, crush it, and someday down the road if you want to move and change units, that's not too hard of a stream to ford. If you do want to pursue getting hired on another unit's board, transparency is your friend here. Like Brabus said, have a frank conversation with your SQ/CC and get his opinion.
  6. StrikeOut312
    No. They should get fired or they should resign. A little accountability would be a huge breath of fresh air. I keep trying to wrap my head around a reason why they used signal and included a reporter, and all I can come up with is occam’s razor—they’re doofuses. Most of us on here know better, and we’d all get canned if we did the same thing. extra thought—is this some kind of misdirection? Lots of attention on this one huge SNAFU…what’s going on unnoticed?
  7. StrikeOut312
    A part of me wonders if it was intentional. Or if the reporter has a similar name as someone that was supposed to be added to the group chat.
  8. StrikeOut312
    Hopefully that means there’s a different solution or these future planes all have long legs. The -135 fleet is pretty old. Hilarious how much the AF relies on the cold war era aircraft.
  9. StrikeOut312
    I would love to hear the crew's side of this story. Seems crazy for the crew to behave that way.
  10. StrikeOut312
    We got a 6th gen fighter before a KC-135 replacement! Hell yeah. Can’t wait to tank this bad boy.
  11. StrikeOut312
    What a badass. Here’s to him. 🍻
  12. StrikeOut312
    Condolences. PM Sent.
  13. StrikeOut312
    If you make IP on your first MAF assignment, your ticket is at least halfway written for wherever you want your career to go. Apply to any and all programs that interest you. Costs nothing to apply and you’ll get something out of the process, even if it’s just feedback on what to improve. You have to be in the AF for at least 10 years after UPT, so do what you can to influence your career. I know of my copilots made IP at his first base and is now at the 89th—you could end up there too. DM me if you want. I think you’re in a decent position to apply.
  14. StrikeOut312
    I read Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary back in 2017. He’s an Afghan American and gives the reader a historical account of Islam as a culture, religion, and government. Great read to understand history from a Middle Eastern/Islamic lens. The Asian Saga (6 books) by James Clavell is fantastic. Each book is collision of Europe and Asia. Starts in 1600 and goes through the 1970s. Historical fiction at its finest.
  15. StrikeOut312
    Put it in the regs, then enforce them. And then shame folks if their haircut or beard looks bad. I’ll grant that the number of shaving waivers has exploded in the last decade. ”Look Amn Snuffy, you are allowed to have a beard, but you CAN’T actually grow one. So don’t.” My old guy thing might be that you used to be able to shame folks.
  16. StrikeOut312
    Flyers and subterranean-dwelling-missileers get bags; let the other folks have their patches. For that matter, give everyone a piece-of-flare, colored tshirts, and beards.
  17. StrikeOut312
    My dude, I'm sorry to hear that. Sometimes the AF gets it right; sometimes it gets it wrong. It's that time of year again for good/bad news depending on the dude. I've linked you the big thread with lots of other advice. Long story short, you can potentially write a letter to the board next year, get passed over again, then punch early. If you're looking to go to the airlines, well, keep an eye on the news. I don't think the training and hiring pauses will last too long, but that's anyone's guess. Keep flying, keep logging PIC, if you can get an instructor spot get one. Staying in the cockpit is 1) fun, and 2) will keep your career going, whether that's AF or flying in general. You gotta keep getting hours. Anecdotally, I've seen passed over guys in AD make rank in the ARC. Not sure if that holds for every case, just seen it happen for a few folks.
  18. StrikeOut312
    Sure, throw it all in on a car that’ll depreciate or wild times with your girlfriend or put it in conservative options. You can hedge your bets and put some in index funds and some in a high yield. But as a young LT you have plenty of time to park your cash money (or the bank’s cash money) in the market. If it was too risky, they’d be charging more than 2.99%. Seems like a waste to me to park the whole $25k in a high yield if you already have money in the HY account.
  19. StrikeOut312
    I mean if you need a car, buy one. I was the classic LT that bought a corvette shortly before finishing USAFA; put a little over half of my loan into the Vette. The rest went into investments. The career starter loan is set up to get you on your feet—if you need wheels, get something reasonable. Or be like Biff, stories over standards, and make some wild memories!
  20. StrikeOut312
    Throw it in something that’ll have a better rate of return than the high yield. Max your Roth IRA this year too. Any SP500 index should be solid.
  21. StrikeOut312
    Hey man, where you’re at sucks right now but it doesn’t define you. You can’t always choose your circumstances; you can always choose your attitude. Be a great officer and leader—chin up, move past it.
  22. StrikeOut312
    I went that avenue and slow rolled it. If you’re diligent, you could absolutely do it. The classes are about 8 weeks long. 2nd to last class you gather research and define your question, last class you write a 25-pager. If you already know what you want to write about, you should gather research material during the first four classes. Those first four aren’t too bad.
  23. StrikeOut312
    Anybody out there with info on the E-9 Widget?
  24. StrikeOut312
    It is an associate unit--Total Force Association/TF Integration, what have you. Like CaptainMorgan said, your best chance is join spouse. There are a handful of KC-135 TFA units out there, and they drop infrequently. They are also quite popular.
  25. StrikeOut312
    Concur. I think the AF is trying with the base-of-preference tied to the bonus, it’s just too late—and I don’t know how well it’ll work out. I’d be intrigued by a one year bonus. I’m even intrigued by the possibility of sticking around as a free agent. But Guard/Reserve with a line number addresses the .mil flying and padding the bank account. Or so the old guys on here tell us…
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