Retiring Eagles, Vipers and Hogs

[Hacker]

I'm sick and fvcking tired of this "holier than though" bullsh*t. You don't think I'm stoked that I got a pilot slot in general? Of course I am, and I'd be damn proud to fly almost anything the AF threw at me, and I DO feel honored (and lucky) to even get the opportunity to fly. But I'm not allowed to be a little upset when I hear that my chances of getting a fighter (something that I've wanted since as far back as I can remember) may have been drastically reduced? Get off your soapbox.

Sorry to hear that you're sick and tired of that line of discussion. Unfortunately, nobody sympathisizes, hence the "holier than though" (nice spelling, BTW) reaction you've been getting.

Guess what -- we all had a tough road in our careers. We've all had expectations that weren't met. We've all had "promises" from Big Blue (whatever the hell those are) not kept. We've all had letdowns. Yours are no more or less than we've all had to deal with.

Prove that you're not a whiny entitlement generation b*tch by stowing it and driving on.

[Guest ski&fly fast]

Sorry to hear that you're sick and tired of that line of discussion. Unfortunately, nobody sympathisizes, hence the "holier than though" (nice spelling, BTW) reaction you've been getting.

Guess what -- we all had a tough road in our careers. We've all had expectations that weren't met. We've all had "promises" from Big Blue (whatever the hell those are) not kept. We've all had letdowns. Yours are no more or less than we've all had to deal with.

Prove that you're not a whiny entitlement generation b*tch by stowing it and driving on.

there will probably still be at least one fighter in a drop, so work your ass of and get it! I don't think anyone will help anyone or themselves by whining like a bunch of babies. Not to mention, there are a lot of new cool platforms arising-

[HuggyU2]

...there are a lot of new cool platforms arising-

Not to mention some that have been around for 50+ years.

[brickhistory]

Remember the cuts/VSPs, etc of the last two years to cut bodies to pay for new equipment?

Now we're cutting more equipment to pay for that new equipment. And to add back to the bodies we just cut.

Nice...

[338skybolt]

F-35 beginning expanded flight testing at Edwards:

https://www.compositesworld.com/news/f-35a-...ht-testing.aspx

[Guest Blu4]

You know, I could understand if someone who just got absolutely screwed over hard because their timing was bad, tells someone else to stop whining. But it's always a good laugh when people who have pretty much gotten what they wanted tell others to suck it up.

Joe - Actually, there's a good number of folks on this board who "got what they wanted" after massive cutbacks, reductions, and a virtually non-existant fighter drop timeframe. The early 90s were a lousy time to be trying to get into a fighter cockpit. There are a good quantity of the graybeards on here who either worked their ass off to get the ONE fighter slot of their class/year group OR had to spend their time in a penalty lap, kick ass in a less than desired job, and then crossflow or get picked up later. Hell, there are, I'm sure, some folks who got completely denied the UPT track and subsequently had to fight their way back into that option.

So yeah, suck it up. It's nothing new. Stop bitching and whining, because a good number of folks on here have already lived through it, and there are plenty of other threads on here that tell you the best way to maximize your chances. "Woe is me" is right. Very seldom in recent history has it simply rained fighter cockpits in such quantities that any douchebag with a heartbeat and breath could simply pick one up from the ground.

[Murph]

You know, I could understand if someone who just got absolutely screwed over hard because their timing was bad, tells someone else to stop whining. But it's always a good laugh when people who have pretty much gotten what they wanted tell others to suck it up.

You think I want to lose my ass on my house near Hurlburt FL and fly gunships in the skidmark of the United States, Clovis NM? We're all getting fuct one way or the other so suck it up.

[Guest Blu4]

but someone who got "screwed" because they didn't get their precious fighter talking about others sucking it up is just comical.

If you're going to openly be a jackass, at least pick an opinion and stick with it. In your first post you find it comical that people who got what they wanted are telling others to suck-it-up, in this one you're saying it's comical that people who didn't get what they wanted tell people to suck-it-up.

Or, to go back to the replay:

You know, I could understand if someone who just got absolutely screwed over hard because their timing was bad, tells someone else to stop whining.

Followed by:

but someone who got "screwed" because they didn't get their precious fighter talking about others sucking it up is just comical.

And I don't think anyone here tried to make a martyr of themselves. I simply stated that it's poor form to whine about "losing" a fighter slot that you didn't even have yet, and that's it's part of the cyclical nature of things. All this has happened before, and all this will happen again. Be happy you are getting to go to pilot training, period, and work your ass off to get the best possible job you can. Who knows, all these folks whining, "woe is me, now I'll never get a fighter in 2010" might take 3 sorties in a T-6 to decide they have no interest in flying fighters.

Fortunately, I'm sure you'll find a way to change your criteria for telling others to STFU. On the plus side, I'm certain you'll have a promising future in some political party in the future. Until then, I'll try to track down some syrup for your continued waffle.

[Guest ski&fly fast]

Not to mention some that have been around for 50+ years.

2-

[Guest brknmach]

there will probably still be at least one fighter in a drop, so work your ass of and get it! I don't think anyone will help anyone or themselves by whining like a bunch of babies. Not to mention, there are a lot of new cool platforms arising-

x2. I will be commissioning in June 09, and I know that once i get into UPT the chances of a fighter slot are very slim. I am just going to go in there with the attitude that i am going to give it my all and hope for a fighter slot. But if i dont get a fighter slot i am not going to get in the fetal position and whine about it.

[Guest a_thomas]

this news sucks no matter how you look at it...

[Sean00xj]

I imagine it is pure speculation at this point but are these all AD jets or could this be cuts for both AD and guard/reserve?

[Guest Gonads]

If we all think about the -15C and the -16 and what kind of defenses they will face in the future, its going to be hard to do much with them beyond doing a defensive CAP beyond the reach of SAMs. Nothing against their abilities as an air-to-air role, they are great, but thats not what we are discussing. I'd rather wait for their replacements to be available before this all goes down, but so what. People have been trying to shelve my aircraft for decades and our current woes reflect that lack of vision. Its about time that the Buff finally gets some help. I am not all about keeping the fighter guys down (ie. SAC vs TAC), but I am saying that you can do what we have done since the late 80s: suck it up.

[Guest Dunce]

How full up is the 35 supposed to be in 2012? I know they are operationally testing a number of jets but how fast and how many models are currently slated for the AF? I couldnt find a whole lot on this site.

[StoleIt]

How full up is the 35 supposed to be in 2012? I know they are operationally testing a number of jets but how fast and how many models are currently slated for the AF? I couldnt find a whole lot on this site.

Best numbers I have heard is the -35 is supposed to replace the F-16 AND A-10 1:1. Don't take this as holy writ.

This article threw around the number "3,000" but really who knows.

Source: https://www.afa.org/magazine/april2003/0403F35.asp

[Kelvin]

A bomber wouldn't be such a bad place to end up now that I think about it...

By the way, if anyone feels like giving up on UPT now that getting a fighter is "harder" or "impossible" to get, feel free to try out that new UAS track I've been hearing so much about. You probably weren't competitive anyway.

-Patty

[Steve Davies]

So to keep score, 2 things are comical, people who say "we all get screwed, suck it up!", but are exaggerating how they got screwed, and people who have ultimately gotten what they wanted who say suck it up and stop whining.

How do you know whether any of the fighter guys posting on this thread are exaggerating their situation?

[Steve Davies]

Well, I would argue that if one wishes to preach, then said person should at least show how they are justified to do so. Also, this has nothing to do with fighters. But this tangent is detracting from the thread, so I'll let it go.

OK, so you don't actually know.

Nice one.

[Container STS]

ha! what a bunch of bullcrap, unless they are going to up their order of 35's, this is more nonsense! Let's think where US military aviation is heading, buy more king airs, strap guns to our trainer aircraft, and fly a slow fragile predator. I am sure these will work very effectively in a war against Russia, N.K, China, exc.

No, but they will against more asymmetric threats. The question is balance. How much do you trade air superiority assets for force enabler/enhance assets like PC-12's/AT-6B's/UAV's/etc. At what point does one threat become more prevalent causing a transition to meet it?

As a bomber dude, the best thing to happen to us in the nuclear business is all the crazy crap that went down in the last year. It showed that we were underfunded for YEARS and finally getting some TLC. Obviously, not good for A-A platforms. Fight's/priorities are changing...we were just hard-broke for it.

FYI I will say that the safest place to be right now are the crit-manned aviation fields like bombers and SOC. With a new Stratofort Sq standing up you may see more B-52 slots than fighters in 38 drops in the near future "oh dread" UPT studs...FTU allocations went up by 2-3 crew slots (including pilots) each class, so that is about 15-20 more pilots per FY than usual.

On the folks complaining about fighter slots...my 2 cents is that people outside of the American Electric Toy Company (AETC) having 'been there done that' as part of the CAF understand the big picture when everybody checks in with Darkstar. Every asset has a place in the fight shooter or not. AETC and your commissioning source don't give the big picture