Pilot additional duties

[Guest averyfisher]

So I've been reading baseops forum for a while, and a number of other websites, about every AF career under the sun. I'm waiting on my PCSM right now, and I'm leaning towards applying to OTS as a Pilot. On to my question:

What do pilots do in addition to their flying duties?

[TacAirCoug]

DTS, Combating Trafficking in Persons CBTs, Suicide Prevention CBT's, Sexual Assault Prevention videos, SATE training, DUI briefings, Getting a pass at the front gate after lunch because you left your #@!%&*$! CAC card in your computer. That's about it.

Seriously, everybody in the squadron has an additional duty. Whether it's as a training officer, exec, scheduler or as the squadron's Combined Federal Campaign rep, you'll have stuff to do.

[Techsan]

I'll try and give you a non-smartass reply. Ref: above posts. What pilots do at work when not flying varies greatly between airframes. It also has to do with what additional job you have. Every pilot in the squadron will have an additional job besides flying. There are several shops common to any flying squadron (wether its pointy nose jets or heavies)...those are scheduling, training, stan-eval, life support, safety). As a brand new dude, expect to be some kind of b!tch boy (snack-o, SELO, scheduler, exec, awards/decs).

How many office hours you work is directly proportional to what job you hold. If you're the snack-o, not much time. If you're lucky enough to be a scheduler or exec, plan on spending quite a bit of time in the office when not flying.

Oh yeah, pilots still drink ON THE JOB when not flying. Beer light is almost always on after lunch.

[Guest lukeabledsoe]

When I joined the Air Force (I'm an OTS guy) I thought that I would fly and do nothing else. One of the reasons I wanted to be a pilot was because I didn't want to work a stupid desk job all my life. I now realize that as an officer in the Air Force you will have a desk job that requires just as much time and effort as some shoe clerk's job... but then you also GET to fly. The amount you fly depends on how quickly you finish your queep, and how many hours you're willing to work in a day to get an opportunity to fly.

I'm just a FAIP, so my priority is flying (hopefully it always will be), but even then my additional duties are just jobs I have to put up with in order to continue to fly.

Like the others said, it really depends on what airframe you fly and how much you're willing to work (never volunteer for a job you don't REALLY want).

Good luck on the PCSM and your OTS & UPT slot!

[HerkDerka]

Originally posted by C21Cowboy:

As a brand new dude, expect to be some kind of b!tch boy (snack-o, SELO, scheduler, exec, awards/decs).

I would agree that SELO and exec are shit jobs. But at least as a scheduler you write your own ticket on flying. Of course, that is assuming you can get out of the office.

Originally posted by averyfisher:

What do pilots do when they're not flying?

It depends on how much work your additional duty involves. But generally you'll either work your additional duty, work on ground training/mobility items, mission plan, or study.

HD

[ 11. December 2006, 20:45: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]

[Guest averyfisher]

Hey y'all, thanks for the input, really appreciate it. I'm not turned off in the slightest by administrative duties, just wanted to get a feel, or a starting point, to explore what those duties were.

Cheers

[Rocker]

Or if you're in a small squadron, you may very well be assigned to more than one additional duty. In my case: scheduler, (acting) booster club vice pres, AND snacko. Those last two could be full time jobs alone. Add in DZ/LZ duty, SDO/NDO, studying, and other pop-up commitments and taskings, and sometimes I forget why I'm really there. Oh yeah, to be a pilot. But when we're not flying or doing our other jobs we are playing foosball. A lot of foosball.

[Guest CBStud]

If you're a fighter guy you should be spending any "free" time in the vault reading and getting smarter. While that's really your primary job, it seems like it takes a back seat to all the other crap going on to allow the finance, MPF and other clerks to take their 3 hour lunch (read: CBT training, DTS, IA, etc). Besides that you're either planning for your next sortie or taking care of some line of sight tasking you were just given. After that, you'll go into the scheduling office and try to unfvck tomorrow's schedule since your IPUG'er hooked his IPUG-1XXXX. Of course, wing scheduling is going to call and tell you that you also need to fill another SOF session tomorrow as well as they accidently gave your airspace away to the Wing down the street. Finally its around 1730 and you decide to try and go work out but feel guitly about being the first guy to leave work so you send a few more emails asking to be removed from the CGOC email list and to stop receiving emails about recalled kids toys. But in all honesty, those days you get to fly and forget about all that sh1t makes it all worth while and once again gives you the motivation to get through another non-flying day.

[Guest PilotKD]

I think the question should be, "What do pilots do when they're not doing additional duties?".

[Guest MeowMix]

For me as a 130 copilot, I sat the duty desk 2 days out of the week for 12hr shifts. I maybe flew the other two days and then on the 5th day, did LZ/DZ duty (sitting in a pickup with a radio and NVGs on a runway).

I wouldnt really call it WORK. While it is hours away from your house its not real WORK. And even guys in scheds, ops, safety, etc go to work all day but some days, you dont do any WORK. Just BS or do other tasks like clean the beer keg, refill the snacks, empty the trash or update pubs.

real WORK is scary. McDonals, dishwashing, bussing tables, I have done work where you get paid hourly and are worn out afterwards and every minute you are not moving your ass the manager is on it telling you to do so!

As a Herk copilot I had some jobs like the guys describe but some squadrons are laid back, do your work however fast you want then split and go home or go fly. I did my duties as Tactics, Pubs, DZ LZ, PA, and LS as quick as I could so I basically worked 2-3 days per week. Other jobs require to to physically be at a desk so you can work as slow as you want but you gotta be there till 1630.

As an IP in SUPT now I have a ground job. It eats up about a solid hours worth of work each day, I put off work stuff sometimes and just fly so that I can catch up and do all my work in a few days for the whole month. Usually I sit down to do my pile of work and then other people come into "line of sight task" me to do stuff, that sneaks up on you and robs hours out of your day. Depending on your commander, they may see yearly reports and prodcution as their goal, or happy pilots who like to see their wives and kids more than the desk as a goal.

All in all, you will get an extra duty, but dont worry about it, most jobs are traded after a few months and you will have a chance to try a few diffnt things and get good at some and suck at others. Your primary goal is to be a good pilot and officer first though so dont let that slack.

[Guest KoolKat]

Well, well...It seems as though I an being put in for an award and naturally had to write my own bullets. This is the perfect oportunity to share what I have done in the last 3 months while not flying. I have flown MUCH less then the average co-pilot and have 'x'ed' out the sorties/hours to avoid desorting one's concept of what is average in that regard. Enjoy:

• Accomplished X Sorties, X hours by improperly loading secure radios, jacking up radio calls & pranging in landings which resulted in effectively learning about minute details pertaining to mission considerations and tactical employment of the C-130 Herk aircraft. I now possess enough knowledge to be trusted to efficiently look at the airplane, but no touching should be allowed.

• Survived 17 Duty Dawg Shifts, which promoted mission accomplishment by faxing order forms for flight meals, filing flight plans and hand carrying publications and extra head sets to the aircraft, which clearly resulted in exactly 3 on-time take-off that would have not otherwise occurred.

• Effected 23 Tactics Officer Shifts answering inane questions about how to properly fill out a DD Form 1801 and doing other mission preparation normally reserved for one of the other 2-3 co-pilots in the flight. No noticeable gain to mission accomplishment, since the same co-pilots still clearly cannot fill out a 1801.

• Successfully remained awake through 6 Command Post Shifts where I effectively kept the command Post enlisted controllers company as we discussed the various opinions put forth on “The View.” Firmly clarified that it is mostly drivel. Power point slides created for the morning CAT briefing, where they are promptly taken credit for by the Major briefing the Wing Commander.

• Froze my ass off for no less than 29 Yokota DZCO duty shifts. Clearly effecting accomplishment of the mission by pain-stakingly collecting no less than 60 sandbags and 12 personnel. It should be noted that the personnel technically collected themselves, which was deemed very helpful in the fulfillment of my duties.

• Successfully found the Fuji DZ 3 times. Once in position, I directed the personnel at my disposal to man dirt roads and effectively avoid being stuck by falling CDS bundles. No Japanese nationals whom were picking some kind of vegetables from the field were injured in the accomplishment of this mission also. I deserve a medal for this act alone, if you ask me.

• Exercised my inability to effectively communicate with the local public on 2 separate occasions for Static Displays. I took a number of pictures both with and for said local citizens for no fee and smiled a lot, contributing to the US-Japan relations.

• Participated in 3 local FOD Walks, although it is unclear if any of the FOD I found would have degraded mission accomplishment. The standard scanning technique of left-to-right was implemented with marginal success.

• Volunteered for 2 Base Clean-up Details, where I collected an enormous amount of garbage left by what are, obviously, very messy and quite rude inhabitants of Yokota AB, Japan. Effectively managed a 4 person team. This leadership led to an outstanding zero human-vehicle contact incidents safety record.

• Volunteered to be a Wingman day Team leader, effectively increasing the amount of *****ing about squadron in-processing 52%. Garnered a squadron high 2 suggestions for improvement to the *****ed about problems.

• Productively sponsored one individual arriving at Yokota AB, Japan. Self proclaimed good job was also agreed to by the sponsoree’s spouse. This opinion counted as the only valid input.

• Served as a Mobility Officer for 10 days. Effectively found something productive to do, also something I deserve a medal for in and of itself. Accomplishments include:

 Assumed Resource Advisor duties for EOY Fall out $$ and fought off people wanting big screen plasmas for their homes, while purchasing numerous items that will not arrive for another 13 months.

 Trained as a Vehicle Control Officer, where I help maintain reams of paperwork that only one person on base cares about. This person is happy, although it is not clear that my paperwork is the cause.

 Have trained 13 personnel in the art of a Flight Line Driver Instructor and added their names to the paperwork, which is immaculate and should make someone happy.

 Created an updated Flight Line Driving CBT to train squadron personnel and print them out the ever coveted CBT Completion Certificate. It is unclear where these certificates will be filed as the VCO book is out of page protectors. The continuity book has been transcribed to properly pass this problem off to the next VCO.

 Obtained a MOPP4 Driver Certification; This clearly demonstrates my commitment to taking the absolute shit jobs so my squadron mates can sleep under their desks during all Alarm Blacks.

 Hazardous Cargo Certification Course completed; I don’t have a certificate, so I don’t think this can be official. I did, however, pass a test after spending half of the training class waiting to have to take a leak at the drug testing center. I’m unclear about the HAZMAT stuff, but there should be an award for pissing on command.

 Led a team of 4 personnel for 2 Exercise Door Guard/PAR Team Exercise Shift. CAC cards were checked and fake bombs were marked while sweating my balls of in MOPP4.

• Revamped the 36 AS Form 1 to collect more accurate information pertaining to mission accomplishment. Will begin working on another revision of the form to collect the rest of the data shortly.

• Maintains the Tactics Shop scheduling to include triple booking myself on every duty day. “Deployed” annotated on every shop member except 4 (2 on leave, 1 at the sim, and me.) MOU provided to scheduling shop in lieu of schedule making myself the defacto Tactics duty officer everyday for the next millennium.

• Created the Standardized Aircrew Mission briefing. Clearly effecting mission accomplishment since no aircrew Mission Brief has ever been used prior to this file’s inception. Exceedingly large and almost impossible to open, the file adds sufficiently to mission commander frustration producing finely tuned, angry airpower on command.

• Made SSI signs to remind aircrew to check their BASH levels and to maintain checklist discipline while providing a colorful addition to the tactics shop wall, where before it was just plain white space.

• Re-organized the tactics shop branches that follow a theme of common sense, thus effectively setting up the shop so that no one can find anything they are looking for. The painful effort of making the tactics continuity match this organization effectively means no one other than myself can sufficiently locate anything in an effort to mess it up. Continuity may remain in tact for record periods of time. Also makes top shelf of cabinet look like we actually do something in tactics; looks important.

• Created a standardized training plan, to include tactics scenario involvement to enhance aircrew situational awareness and provide co-pilots with the opportunity to jack up exactly 4 more radio calls per sortie, while teaching them more tactical information to forget about in one week or less.

• Wrote a manning document, which if anyone looked at, would provide them with details of the job they are assigned to in Tactics that they do nothing about and are next to completely inept at being successful at due to lack of effort and attention to detail.

• Created a DOK Orientation Training Program to introduce the common sense approach to organization and the concept of job descriptions to solve the obviously lack of knowledge that there is work to be done in Tactics. Success is pending investigation into human beings having common sense.

• Retooled DZCO Training Program to include updating the training program to even remotely resemble the requirements set out by the AFI and certification memos & letter of x’s that were no less then 8 months out of date.

• Revived the TIP program with a revised syllabus and created a workbook including navigating a hideous sponsor & In-processing/Ground Training program, TI/MR & continuation training guidance (to include currency requirements and coloring books) in an effort to enlighten new crewmembers that if they wait for someone to explain what is going on they will be a 20 hour captain co-pilot or navigator.

• Spent no less then 100 man hours cleaning & organizing the Tactics M: drive that became a dilapidated piece of garbage clearly indicative of the common sense the general population has for organization. Also, effectively prevents the average crewmember from locating anything to mess up.

• Created a new in-processing checklist for other personnel outside of TIP program, since I felt bad that some people would still be left using the CSS checklist that has the first and last items on it located in the same building that isn’t the squadron.

• Spent exactly 3 weeks of 20 hour days awake consecutively to create a reasonable solution to tracking mission reports. Inputted every Form 1 from the last quarter of 2006 and compiled the data into graphs for the review board. This work was praised and then promptly tasked me with doing the job of writing memos to recognize those individuals highlighted by the program. I deserve an award solely for not *****ing about being tasked to do other people’s work for them, although this is an inherent part of one’s duty simply by taking the oath of office.

• Created a narrated movie presentation to disseminate the knowledge of how to effectively file mission reports and navigate the Tactics webpage. This effort was thwarted by Comm. Nazis that believe to allow a .mpeg file on the network compromises the integrity of national security. Although the use of .PNG files has effected a successful solution of the tactics webpage, no solution to the insane idiocy of the .mpeg virus threat has been found.

• The Tactics web page was created to preclude anyone that had a part in the total annihilation of the previous tactics M: Drive folder to ever again execute their vast cyberspace knowledge and clearly defunked organizational abilities on anything I have to look at. Plus, it contains many pretty pictures of which the Comm. Nazis have already said they will soon be determining a solution to have me remove them as they are clearly in violation of their policies which they neither publish nor disseminate in anyway.

• A TDO checklist binder has been assembled in order to assign the majority of my own work to other people in an effort to obtain the opportunity to sleep for more than 6 hours a day. Although this is a valiant effort to attempt to not impact the mission of the office I work in while becoming incredibly lazy and taking leave for massive blocks of time and doing effectively nothing while I am in the office (which looks like so much fun,) it’s value is unproven and will likely be altered and rendered useless, which I don’t really care enough to stop.

Do you think I'll win the award? :D

BENDY

[ 14. January 2007, 11:45: Message edited by: Bender ]

[brabus]

Pure gold bender...how could you lose! :D

[Guest taft220]

Does a LT in the AF (who is an aviator) primarily just fly? I am just trying to understand the differences in the duties coming from the Army side of the house. I've been told it's almost identical to that of an Army warrant officer.....in that commissioned officers can be IPs, etc in the AF. Anyone been on both sides and have any insight??

[Guest Boom]

Snacko or Duty Desk Dog.

[Rocker]

Or assistant chief of scheduling, depending on how many people your squadron has in it. The fewer people, the more weight everyone has to carry and the more ground responsibility you'll likely have. And if you're in a squadron with only three or four working aircraft, you won't feel like a pilot at all for 27 or so days out of every month. Sometimes, even as an LT, and depending where you are, it doesn't take long at all for the ground job to completely overshadow your wings. But hey, at least we're getting paid.

[Guest LtThor]

Or assistant chief of scheduling, depending on how many people your squadron has in it. The fewer people, the more weight everyone has to carry and the more ground responsibility you'll likely have. And if you're in a squadron with only three or four working aircraft, you won't feel like a pilot at all for 27 or so days out of every month. Sometimes, even as an LT, and depending where you are, it doesn't take long at all for the ground job to completely overshadow your wings. But hey, at least we're getting paid.

Or assistant to the chief of scheduling.

[Dead Last]

Alot of the responsibility in the job(s) that you may or may not get depend on whether you're a dirtbag or not. But to answer your question you will have another job or two or three besides just flying (wouldn't that be great though, kind of why I don't mind deploying so much)

[Bluto]

He may even be a chief in the scheduling shop but it will more than likely be chief of what the hell just happened!

[Guest JorryFright21]

Or assistant to the chief of scheduling.

Nicely played.

[LT4Life]

I got tasked with a job the first day I got missioned qualled and checked into the squadron. Within 3 weeks I was the most senior guy there (not rank, but time in the shop) due to a hectic deployment schedule. On the flip side I know other co's who have been there about a year and a half and haven't had a job. When they're not flying they're off.

There's always two sides to whether or not you should volunteer for a job, to each his own. I don't mind doing the 830-430 when I'm not flying but there have been times when my buddies are out at the lake on a Tuesday and I'm busy checking my email and playing kitty cannon.