bottlenose

"My friend" if you're suggesting is me is not...I'm not one to stir a pot that way. But I can attest to his pain as many other reservists (and probably everyone else) can with vouchers.

I guess you overlooked the post where I mentioned he dealt with it in person with Finance people multiple times, only to be told "it's good to go" then to be rejected shortly after. The last rejection was for asking him to list all the stops he made when traveling on leave. Is that even legit? If it is, fine...He apologized. Again, multiple times in person told that its good to go, for 10 months.

This was dealt with in person multiple times only to be rejected after finance telling him it was good to go.

A buddy of mine actually submitted this to finance in his efinance voucher. To be fair, his voucher from his deployment, which he returned from almost a year ago, has been rejected 10 times. Yes, 10 times. He is fed up, as some of the reasons for rejection have been absolutely ridiculous. Some of them were legit but it has gotten to the point where he has had enough and wanted to send a message. Note: He is well aware of the potential back lashing, but doesn't care. To whom it may concern, The last time my voucher was rejected was because I failed to include details such as the airports from which I traveled to and from for my post-deployment leave. I realize the information I left out is very important and I apologize. So with this submission, I have furnished the requested information. Unfortunately, however, I don't remember all of the travel details. I don't remember the exact route I took from my address in Cherry Hill, NJ to the Philadelphia International Airport. I usually take Route 70 to I-295 and cross the Walt Whitman Bridge into Philadelphia, but I don't recall how traffic was that particular day. I could just as easily have taken Route 70 westward all the way to the Ben Franklin Bridge and crossed there instead. There was most likely a stop at Wawa, and if there was, I admit that I do not remember the address of that particular Wawa. Therefore I did not include that in the travel itinerary. I do remember that my seat belt was firmly buckled and that I arrived to Philadelphia International Airport safely. I also forgot which gate my flight departed from. Again, I apologize for not remembering all of the details. It has now been nearly 10 months since this travel occurred, so please forgive me for forgetting a detail here or there. As for the flight from Philadelphia to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, there are a number of details that I was never even aware of, thus I did not include them in the travel itinerary either. For example, I am not exactly sure of the route the pilots took. If absolutely needed for the approval of this voucher, I might be able to research the archives of past commercial airline flight plans and furnish this information. I'm not completely sure archives like that exist, though, and if they don't, I again apologize for the inconvenience. One thing I am absolutely sure of is that I ordered a coffee when the flight attendants were handing out complimentary beverages. One cream, no sugar. Please excuse my lapse of memory regarding these particular details. I reiterate these are just a few examples of which I do not remember all of the specific details regarding this deployment travel voucher. I know I have apologized several times already, however no amount of words can truly express how sorry I am for not including all of the travel itinerary details in the original submission of this voucher. I realize how inconvenient it must be to have not gotten the chance to pay me for this travel voucher after 10 long months. Sincerely, xxxxxxxxxxxx

Guard or Reserves care more about your personality than your previous flight experience. If you want to fly fighters, start pointing with your elbows and you'll be on to a great start.

Interviewed Sep 2009 Hired Oct 2009 OTS Jun 2010 IFS Nov 2010 SERE Jan 2011 UPT Mar 2011 Initial Qual (KC-10) Jun 2012 FTU Aug 2012

Just visiting some friends, before going to MacDill across the way... That's all

There is some truth to what ETAero said although its not straight forward. A guy in my squadron who had a ton of civilian jet time in fact bypassed IFS (and it was as recent as this past summer, 2011) , only because someone in my squadron did some research and found they were able to get some kind of waiver for him. If you only have a PPL and a few hundred hours or less I'll bet that you have no option of getting out of IFS. Based on my experience and all my reserve buds...AFRC UPT candidates stay with their home squadron and only report to UPT usually 10 business days prior to their class start date. IFS is a TDY from the home unit.

I started UPT with about 1,100 hours of civilian time, CFII, CFI etc.. From my perspective having my prior experience has most definitely helped me. It all comes down to the individuals ability to adapt to learning new ways (rather quickly!)...That being said, I personally know people with prior flight time who struggled, though generally I feel guys with prior flight time do pretty well. As for the IP's having higher expectations of those with prior flight time... This has not been an issue for me. The IP's must grade you to the standards, not their own personal standards that they think you should be at. Some instructors may push you a little harder however and see what you are capable of. They know this is not civilian flying and there is an adaptation period for everyone with prior flight time. Instrument rating is the best to have IMO because there isn't a whole lot that is different to civilian. So to summarize... It all depends on the individual.

Good to hear that you had a good experience. I went back in January and I found the staff to be very nice/friendly overall. My group was mostly ROTC, with a few Guard and civs like myself. Everyone in our group kind of hung out and got to know each other.. I even took a trip to the river walk with some of the fellas I made friends with during my time down there. Off topic: Go check out Rudy's "Worst BBQ in San Antonio".. On the contrary, possibly the best BBQ I've ever had.

Are there people who are actually in this circumstance? If so, you have to wonder, how would someone even make that possible?

I already knew that I was slightly nearsighted and had a small degree of astigmastism in only one eye, the other eye is normal needs no correction. While at Brooks I was corrected to 20/20 in that eye no problem (well within limits) and was told that I will need to wear corrective lenses, which was no suprise to me. However, I dont normally wear glasses or contacts. What I want to know and cant get a straight answer on is, could I potentially wear just one contact instead of wearing glasses? Lets say hypothetically I go and get fitted for a contact lens and start wearing it now. When I show up at OTS or UPT can I get on some kind of contact lens program? Or will I be forced to wear glasses every time I fly. I personally would prefer to wear a contact vs glasses. I have glasses but again I dont use them for my daily life. I have heard different answers from different A/F personnel but havent heard from someone who REALLY can give me a straight answer on this.

I have not seen any information about Scleral Lacerations anywhere. My case: I was 3 years old when a piece of glass broke in front of me and a small piece chipped off and cut the white part of of my left my eye. It was a very small, 3mm cut, occurred about a half centimeter from the limbus. I had surgery to repair the cut and never had any issues since (now 22 years later). I was cleared through MEPS and had no issues with depth perception, color vision, or anything other than being about 20/40 (correctable to 20/20) in that eye (right eye is 20/20 uncorrected). It was not easy getting documentation from this incident but forunately I was able to retrieve a post operative report. My eyes were never an issue growing up. In fact, MEPS made me get an in depth eye consultation from a civilian opthomologist and he saw nothing wrong with my eyes, other than being very slightly nearsighted in my left eye. I will be going to Brooks for an IFC1 in the near future. What I wanted to know is if this will cause me any problems getting a IFC1. Perhaps an MD can shed some light on this. Thanks in advance.