Bergman

Echo what Evil said. Will add that yes, you can apply to any ANG/AFRES unit you want. Most people send apps to several units, if not every single unit. It helps to have local ties or a logical reason why you are applying at that unit, as most units have been burned by the guy who applies, gets hired, then bolts for his hometown unit 6.9 months after finishing training. Not sure that a huge amount of flight time beyond PPL is all that big a factor, at least at my unit. Soloing and having a license show aptitude. The AF can teach the rest. More important is not being a dick. The AD boards are all about scores and GPA but in my experience the ANG is much more concerned with personality and fit.

I don't know a single RC-135 EWO that has struggled to find a comparable salary job on the outside. Even the guys that got RIFd a few years ago. Many of these guys are just as highly trained as pilots. The training pipeline is probably longer honestly. They just don't have the airline pull. But they do have striped polo shirts, leather weave belts, velcro shoes, and cell phone holsters. So they've got that going for them.

Hope you had fun during that casual year! Because it looks like you blew about $10k a month doing it! hahaha. That's a shitload of hookers and blow. Or so I've heard.

Now THIS is what's right with the Air Force. Finally. This guy gets it.

Haha! This is 100% accurate for me actually, although I did buy the Porsche very used. You forgot the part about "...and only working 13-14 days a month." Shack on your retention and "not the same Air Force" comments.

I remember seeing a shitload of those at KRND in 95.

The Sport of Kings!

Indeed, well played on the Simpsons quote! I would say that younger guys are in a vastly different position than the guys nearing the end of their ADSC. Obviously if you aren't near your ADSC ending, you don't really have a choice so almost not worth worrying about a lot of the airline banter right now. Maybe keep an eye on getting as much time now so you're ready if/when you decide to leave. Hopefully the things we are bitching about today will get fixed in the near 3-5-7 year timeframe. That could provide you with a completely different USAF experience than many of us have had, and I sincerely hope that's the case. The problem is, I've been watching this ball of shit roll down hill for a long time now, and I honestly can't think of one single thing that has gotten measurably better during my career. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence for the future, but I remain hopeful. Could not agree more. The bonus needs to be $80,000-$100,000 per year just to bring compensation into the ballpark of what you can make in 2-3rd year at a major airline. THEN start talking about all the other crap...poor leadership, never ending deployments and TDY, BS 365s, etc. I do maintain that if the other BS was fixed, losing money by staying in the AF would be less of a factor. Right now it just adds insult to injury, "You're going to treat me like shit, take me for granted, send me away from my family AND PAY LESS?" Fucking RUN fellas.

True! But there is usually a reason the mob is pissed in the first place. Many of us have been on this board since we were Lts just looking to make it through flight school. Now, many years later, we have spent entire careers either getting screwed or seeing our buddies get screwed (sts) by the AF, all the while watching the warrior ethos and camaraderie depart the fix as well. After suffering through poor leadership who spent decades treating us poorly and taking us for granted, we finally have other options. They (the generals) didn't earn or appreciate our loyalty when they had the chance, so why give it to them now? Fucking RUN fellas.

Ha! They already have it...its called the ANG!

So what's the story on the new yes-man who is going to be running things now that BG James is gone? I'm going to suffer through one last trip to the shithole this fall and then cruise into retirement (eventually).

Rejoice! They've fixed the pilot shortage with this bonus offer! Or, the guys who were staying in anyway just got richer. I think Goldfein's quote was pretty good, and the closest thing I've seen in a while to a GO actually valuing pilots. Having said that...RUN! If someone has more than 2-3 years to go, I honestly can't imagine a scenario where I would pass up airline seniority and risk a 365 or multiple-179 gangbang in the 17-20 year of service window. Until actual performance proves otherwise, this is all eyewash bullshit.

I agree that eventually you will likely need to get your Sq/CC involved at a minimum, if not Congressman and/or IG. It's been a while (thankfully) but I used to have pretty good luck on AD going to finance and pretty much standing on their desks saying over and over, "I am not moving until I talk to an officer in your chain of command. Or all of the officers in your chain of command." A couple of times I ended up talking to Lt's, then eventually on to a Captain (I was a Captain at the time) but more often than not, some E-7 or E-8 would come out of the woodwork and voila! my problem was solved almost immediately. YMMV.

It's so weird...I remember what the Air Force was like and how people operated in the squadron say 10-12 years ago. Why is it that General officers can't seem to remember??? How do they lose touch that fast? It's not like they've been out of the AF for 50 years and suddenly come back in. Agreed that there is little hope for fixing this, absent a wholesale firing or an actual dramatic shift in policy/actions at the SecAF or CSAF levels. Having said that, give them their 28 chances. But I'd be damned sure not to let other chances/opportunities pass by while waiting for Big Blue to unfuck this. It'll take half a career. In that time a person could be half way up a seniority list somewhere...

You're joking, right?! You did caveat your comment so I'll give you that. Which community are you referring to, because in my limited experience the ARC bubbas are full-up and have 2-3 times more experience as well.

Perhaps they were Nav/EWOs for 6 years before going to pilot training. Overall good analysis and appreciate the number crunching. The AF is screwed on so many levels, and they've done it to themselves.

RUN!!!! Fucking RUN!!!! Don't give these ass clowns one extra month of your lives! They haven't earned the loyalty and effort of the caliber of people they "lead". Management is so out of touch that they think a bonus is the solution (which, even with the bonus, is a drop in the bucket compared to even second year airline pay, not to mention quality of life which is priceless). Until they start genuinely CARING ABOUT THE PEOPLE, I will advise anyone that will listen to GTFO immediately if not sooner.

Indeed. I live about 3 hours away from the airport so when I had short call, I'd drive 1.5 hours closer, then double-dip some pay at Starbucks doing my quarterly CBT, or go cruise Best Buy or CarMax for a while. Sometimes go to the beach or do a short run (they never said you had to show up clean!) Thankfully I never got called for a true short call, usually just assigned flying at 0600 the next day...so I'd just drive to an airport hotel and hit the pool and/or bar until bed time. Rough life.

Shit fuck satan death sex drugs rape (name that tune)

Update: https://www.omaha.com/news/metro/pilot-and-instructor-who-died-in-saunders-co-crash-are/article_644c3dd8-5353-11e6-a363-972728494cc6.html This one hits particularly close to home. Ron Panting did all of my PPL instruction back in 99, including soloing me and recommending me for my check ride. I also worked with him in OGV around that time. Good pilot and a really nice guy. I really hate this part of the business. Godspeed, fellas.

Footage from the chase plane:

https://ksn.com/2016/07/15/ksn-to-carry-live-stream-of-doc-first-flight-sunday-morning/

Is it sad that in my mind I read the "shot down over Syria" part of that link, combined with earlier comments that he had flown RPAs, and immediately thought to myself, "They shot down the Predator, I wonder how that feels...Did he go get a cup of coffee..?" Anyway I digress.. Let's hope he can start to right the ship because we're taking on water at an alarming rate and far too many are headed for the lifeboats.

B-52s arrive in Qatar