dream big

If it meant I will have the opportunity to actually help employ my herc in combat instead of being voluntold to plan parties and ceremonies because it will "look good on my OPR" then I would absolutely stay in.

Yokota is pretty calm, you might fly 5 hours a month and you will have to fight for a 2 month deployment , which may happen once while you are here. You are probably gone a few days every few months. Just FYI incase you were pondering base choices for 130s.

Good quote from one of my UPT instructors: "yeah you can use the EGI to determine your runway offset, or you can be a man and just look outside the canopy"

Interesting, in a time where the air force is being asked to slim its' budget down.

Perhaps... I have yet to lie on a training report, especially because the only reason I do fly is because I have beans left. To clarify, other copilots are sometimes told by higher ups they fly with to pencil whip their beans being told "this is the way it is done." To some higher ups, on paper, as long as we are beans complete we are "qualified." Maybe we should show some balls and refuse to log beans we didn't fly but we must also walk a fine line between being honest about our training and stepping outside of the "dumb copilot / Lt do what you are told" stigma that some of the higher ups in the sq create.

I think another problem alluding to the post about additional duties is that in a lot of squadrons, we just don't fly much. Copilots in my squadron are averaging 5 hours a month. Yes 5, that's one training sortie. A lot of people are forced to log beans that they didn't fly so that they can be "current." I would kill to fly as much as possible, deploy and become an "expert" in my airframe. I just study the pubs as much as possible (on top of masters, pme, etc) and hope that when our time comes something like this (or worse) won't happen.

I made the corn without jalapeños today

Hey now, Mongolian BBQ is kick ass.

Just an update.. The C-130 squadron is almost 60% overmanned. Guys are averaging 5 hours a month if they are lucky. 3 UAVs just came down to our squadron and two of them went to brand new copilots who got here just a few months ago. On top of this, they are denying extensions for everyone, some people had their extensions taken away (which means single guys will be here two years and married guys three instead of three/four years respectively.) Drunken nights in Tokyo are great but in terms of flying, grim outlook for any pilots coming in.

Only when they are voluntold to...

Actually there is a disadvantaged American group these days : "White American Male"...

It's 'Mercian !

Sarah Palin!

You will do phase 1 and 2, as well as single ship ops on the flight line. The only thing you won't really do is formation. You will get most formation training at Kirtland.

3. As a LT, these forums have been invaluable pieces of information through my first few years in the AF. I take the negative with a grain of salt, focus on the positive; focus on what I can change, and not worry about what I cannot change.

I would highly recommend living in Pensacola and just dealing with the commute. Governors gate apartments is where a ton of student pilots (and hot, spoiled college girls if that's your thing) live. Or, room up with some friends closer to the beach. Governors gate is about 35 mins to Whiting, 30 to NAS Pensacola and only 15 minutes from downtown. While you're AF counterparts are enjoying the wonders of Columbus, Enid, Del Rio and Wichita falls, often being stuck in the dorms- you get to go to pilot training in an awesome beach town and all the spoils that go with it. Live it up!

For slick aircraft commanders who cross flow into the gunship, do they upgrade faster to an AC once in the gunship? Or do they spend significant time as a copilot learning the new mission?

A buddy of mine who was going to go to the MC-130W but got his assignment changed to a papa model since apparently the whiskey is going to become an AC-130W. Is the whiskey really going to become strictly an AC-130 now?

Yepp, don't every rely on a shoe to have your back. Keep copies of everything, including emails, know the regs, be right, and plan ahead.

Here is how a typical timeline works : (For reference, I graduated/commissioned in May 09' and was PCSing to Vance by September 10', however I was the first guy from my graduating class from the zoo to finish Whiting and finished the T-34 syllabus unusually early due to the fact that they were rushing us through to make room for the new T-6B studs. The last guy in my graduating class to finish Whiting just started T-1s this past month.. ) -Report into VT-3 at NAS Whiting as a brand new AF LT. Get assigned a stash job (I grilled burgers on the flight line in flip flops and shorts.) This may last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Expect multiple trips between NAS Whiting and NAS Pensacola to in process. -When VT-3 tells you, you go and complete IFS and/or ASBC. You may luck out and evade ASBC. -Come back to VT-3 and resume your stash job until it is time to start API. VT-3 sends two AF guys per week to API. Once you start API you are going to NAS Pensacola 5 days a week 8 hours a day for about 2 months playing Navy games. It is their washout program, none of it is necessarily instructional, nor difficult for that matter, but consider it your payment for weekends on the beach in Florida! We met some cool dudes though and had a good time. -Upon completion of API, you will come back to NAS whiting but this time report to Training Wing 5 (VT-3's parent command,) and get a stash job there. Don't expect that stash job to be as cool as your one at VT-3. Expect multiple musters (the Navy's version of roll call, in uniform, in the morning.) However, most people aren't there for long, just a few weeks. If you are there for a while, try to get your hands on bold face/ ops limits sheets and maybe even start looking at systems. -Then, finally, you will start T-6B ground school. Ground school lasts a few weeks; after which you head to VT-3's flight line and start your flights. I waited 2 months between the completion of ground school and my first flight. Others flew the day after ground school ended. Be patient, and stay in the books. -Track selects, like anywhere in the Air Force vary by time. There was a period where they were handing out T-38s like candy and T-44s were impossible to come by. A few months later, they only gave 7 T-38s over an 8 month period (I'd imagine about 50 Air Force studs had gone through.) It really depends. They were giving out gouge at the academy that UH-1s are very easy to get out of Whiting. NOT TRUE at all. Have fun there, it is a great experience.

I found having prior time (100 hours) helped me tremendously in IFS and Whiting T-34s. It didn't make any difference by the time I got to T-38s Many speculate that there is no difference between 100 hours in a Cessna and 1000 hours. T-38s/ phase 3 was a complete different ball game. That being said, if you want it that bad, fork out some money and get SOME prior time. Don't waste your money getting an instrument rating. Just come in with the attitude of eyes and ears open, mouth shut; get ready to unlearn stuff, and study/chair fly your ass off while being a bro and helping your classmates. Oh and don't be that guy that goes off on his own to eat lunch, does not hang out on weekends etc. Hang out with your classmates. That BOND will get your class through UPT!

I had an absolute blast at IFS. Granted I had prior experience, but I never once went into a flight thinking "man these guys are here to wash me out." Rather, I was just thrilled to be able to fly airplanes for free and get one step closer to UPT! I studied hard, played volleyball everyday, and learned as much as I could about the UPT environment.

Get your masters....

Dude I thought I recognized the name! I remember during our basic he tried calling out an 0-4 AOC type in front of us. Needless to say, the 0-4 won that battle. That was leadership 101.

For sub 700 I'd recommend Foothills. It is off McCain road (I.e tons of restraints and a mall) and halfway between base and downtown. Pretty sure they allow pets but might want to call and ask. Would not recommend an apartment in Jacksonville (the town where the base is located) unless you enjoy the thrill of being mugged. Might as well stay on base if you want to live near base.