How do you feel about your airframe and mission?

[SurelySerious]

2 hours ago, Guardian said:

Doesn’t that all include the keys to a T38? And home most nights?

The fine print on those T38 keys is endless nuclear training/exercises. 

[brabus]

On 1/20/2019 at 12:27 PM, SurelySerious said:

You forgot: prior to this...sim takeoff out of Missouri, sit in sim cruise for 14 hours, press sim button, sim cruise 14 hours home. 

[Skitzo]

You forgot: prior to this...sim takeoff out of Missouri, sit in sim cruise for 14 hours, press sim button, sim cruise 14 hours home. 

Do they give you Go Pills for those sims? Jesus. I had one sortie in the B-1 that was 20 hours I can’t imagine 28.


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[gorams5]

Any F-35 guys on here? 

[moabust]

42 minutes ago, gorams5 said:

Any F-35 guys on here? 

Yes.

Locations: only ops base right now is Hill. Eielson is opening next. Lakenheath, Tyndall(?), others timeline TBD. FTU primarily at Luke with some training at Eglin still.

The jet is awesome. The mission sets and tactics are constantly evolving. The community is a blend of F-16 and F-15E mindsets, with a hint of F-22 and A-10. Overall, its a great place to be, with lots of growth (and growing pains) in the years to come.

Deployments: Yes, there will be. They'll be 6 months long to places you don't really want to go. Also lots of TDYs coming up. Fighter community standard. 

From what I've seen, B-course slots are limited (and there's only one place for them to go), but that will change quickly as the community grows.

What else can I help with?

[thejedipilot]

Anyone in the thread fly the HC-130J? Would love to have info on ops tempo/flying/deployment life. Finishing up in UPT next month looking for HC's or EC's.

[dmginc]

Any updates on C-17 ops tempo these days?

[bronxbomber252]

Anyone in the thread fly the HC-130J? Would love to have info on ops tempo/flying/deployment life. Finishing up in UPT next month looking for HC's or EC's.

HC-130J CSO

Very busy ops tempo. Mix of TDY and deployment. Most deployments are to bad places for 4 months. TDY’s are a mixed bag of Red Flag and good deals (I went to Thailand last year for example). We fly our own aircraft to the locations and usually have fun overnight stops en route.

Flying is a mix of older school AFSOC style tac low level, helo, tilt-rotor, and navy/USMC fixed wing Air to Air Refueling, air drop, and CSAR skills. CSAR duties include searching for the survivors, coordinating pickup, etc...


Mission is evolving and expanding with the new CSAR Coordinator role. Fun plane, all the C-130 goodness, none of the AMC BS.

There is some bad. Rescue tends to be the redheaded step child and the HC can at times be rescues redheaded step child. There are only 3 locations DM (Tucson) and Moody (Valdosta, Georgia) for ops and Kirtland (Albuquerque) for the FTU. My wife and I love Tucson and Albuquerque, but would rather not get sent back to Moody. We are often on a short hook, my last deployment was with only 36hrs notice from the official “go” to wheels up.

Deployed life involves a lot of sitting around and waiting for stuff to happen, we rarely get to execute our primary mission (CSAR) but it is the most rewarding mission imaginable when you do get to do it. We often rack up our combat time doing the logistics support side of CSAR such as relocating PJ’s and helo’s, running for supplies or parts for our forward operating locations that AMC takes to long to support, or doing SOF support missions (never enough MC-130’s around).

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Raptor_Hopefull]

Anyone have an update on the F-22?

[Nineline]

Any AWACS dudes or dudettes on here? I’m looking for what to expect for ops tempo at KTIK... namely frequency and duration of deployments and TDYs.

Is squadron morale high or low in general?

-9-


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[TurnHer4]

1 hour ago, Nineline said:

Any AWACS dudes or dudettes on here? I’m looking for what to expect for ops tempo at KTIK... namely frequency and duration of deployments and TDYs.

Is squadron morale high or low in general?

-9-


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Check page 5 of this thread about half way down to see my post about AWACS. Im outta the game now (headed to UPT with the ANG) but it's still mostly true. I'm still in OKC and most of the bros are still at Tinker so I spend quite a bit of time there. I was an evaluator at the FTU before I left AD, so I still know most of the IPs there. Shoot me a PM if you need more specifics.

[Nineline]

Check page 5 of this thread about half way down to see my post about AWACS. Im outta the game now (headed to UPT with the ANG) but it's still mostly true. I'm still in OKC and most of the bros are still at Tinker so I spend quite a bit of time there. I was an evaluator at the FTU before I left AD, so I still know most of the IPs there. Shoot me a PM if you need more specifics.

Found it, thanks. Can you confirm if it’s still a 1:3 deploy to dwell ratio for the ops squadrons?

-9-


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[TurnHer4]

1 minute ago, Nineline said:

Found it, thanks. Can you confirm if it’s still a 1:3 deploy to dwell ratio for the ops squadrons?

-9-


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That was the case until Covid hit. Not sure what it's like for Co's now. Not all of them got to go when I was deploying. 

[CPE1704TKS]

On 5/12/2020 at 8:29 PM, dmginc said:

Any updates on C-17 ops tempo these days?

Bump. Also wondering as well.

[mcbush]

I'm still in the outer reaches of AMC (aka PACAF), so I have somewhat low SA on life at the super bases, but from my perspective it hasn't changed that much over the past five years or so. As an IP, I try to fly about one ~50 hour trip every 3-4 months and one ~4 hour local per week. That means I probably spend one month a year on the road... a far cry from the 300 days a year some people were logging 10-15 years ago. That being said, I think a lot of the "ops tempo" grind for our younger folks comes from other TDYs not necessarily related to mission employment. Once you're done with your 5 trips to Altus (for airdroppers), SOS, CATS/MECOC, AIS, etc., you've eliminated a lot of the things that pull you away from home. It also helps that we only deploy a handful of copilots and ACs from the PACAF squadrons, so the threat of deployments is extremely low out here. I haven't seen one in over 4 years, but of course, YMMV.

[rnav2gritz]

Trying to get some info on the RC26 guard units. I came across the job posting on bogidope here https://bogidope.com/job-posting/rc-26/ advertising a UPT board with the 132nd wing in Des Moines. All I can find on the 132nd is that it is an RPA unit in the Iowa ANG. When I look up the list of RC26 units on bogidope I find several units throughout the US that have the RC26 listed as an aircraft. These units are listed as various fighter/air refueling wings and from which I can tell primarily fly a different airframe. 

What I don't understand is the relationship between the 132nd wing and the other units listed with the RC26 both operationally and for the UPT hiring process. I'd also appreciate any other info that a UPT applicant should know (deployment cycles, lifestyle, etc.) 

Thanks in advance

[ryleypav]

Looks like they had 3 different people to contact on the bogidope ad. I'd start there. There was an article from one of their drills last year that indicates they were supposed to move away from the RC-26. I think its the same base, but not sure. Maybe something changed. 

[CPE1704TKS]

Is anyone able to give a KC-10 update? 

1. Ops tempo/schedules

2. Deployments

3. Yearly average for hours flown

4. Manning. Copilot/AC/IP heavy in the community? Typical upgrade times?

5. KC-46 transition timeline/factors to consider

Thanks in advance!

[ThreeHoler]

Is anyone able to give a KC-10 update? 
1. Ops tempo/schedules
2. Deployments
3. Yearly average for hours flown
4. Manning. Copilot/AC/IP heavy in the community? Typical upgrade times?
5. KC-46 transition timeline/factors to consider
Thanks in advance!

1. Not a lot of trips. Fly a few locals a month.
2. Expect once a year or less moving forward.
3. 3-500 including sims.
4. Co spots are drying up. More AC upgrade spots replacing. AC upgrade 24 months less if you’re good/lucky. IP upgrade another 12 months.
5. WRI transitions first. 2 ARS shuts down soon. SUU transitions second.


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[Ligma]

Any new C-17 insight?

[LimaLowdown]

Any differing info on the 135 than what is on here?

Also open to hearing about any airframe people wanna boast about...

[Sua Sponte]

1 hour ago, LimaLowdown said:

Any differing info on the 135 than what is on here?

Also open to hearing about any airframe people wanna boast about...

Go to the -135 then immediately do PTX to go to the -46.

[RedStng65]

Any new thoughts from the RQS community now that the Whiskey is coming out?


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[mcbush]

Damn, jinxed myself. Currently writing this from CENTCOM.

This is just one guy's opinion, but I don't think there's necessarily a massive difference. We have a lot of copilots right now, but that's just a function of the AFPC sine wave more than anything else. All the AMC squadrons I've talked to recently are in the same boat. We've obviously prioritized getting our copilots the experience they need and they're flying much more than I would have expected just from looking at scheduling's board.

In terms of hours, the truth of the matter is that global mobility requirements are currently in a bit of a lull. Since 9/11, the amount of stuff that's needed transportation has always exceeded our capacity to move it, but that seems to have changed in the past few months. I've seen tails sitting idle simply because there aren't any requirements, which would have been unheard of not too long ago. That said, we're only ever one event/heartbeat/tweet/disaster/decision away from the entire paradigm shifting instantly. 

[mcbush]

Yeah, all “overseas” bases (including Alaska and Hawaii) come with a controlled tour length, as known as a DEROS. Sq/CCs can extend your tour length as long as your functional agrees. Definitely depends on who’s in charge at the time... some Sq/CCs will give extensions out like candy and others not at all.