Getting through UPT with outside commitments - It's possible!!!

[SPAWNmaster]

Many moons ago I posted on here asking for advice about juggling my small business while going through UPT. I got a variety of comments and direct messages ranging from "hire a manager" to "I can't see how it would work" to "a friend of a friend did something like that".

I ended up hiring a manager to run the place while I was gone and gave up a big chunk of my salary to do it. But I trusted him, and with my wife's help running admin stuff from behind the scenes I was able to keep and actually grow my business. I just pinned on pilot wings a couple of days ago and wanted to come back here to thank everyone for the encouragement and advice.

I also am back here to encourage others to do press with their dreams no matter how complicate their situation is. Presumably the core psychographic on the Guard/Res forum is someone who either has a job or plans on going back to one while flying for the military concurrently. UPT is incredibly challenging but it's not impossible while juggling stuff from back home. I had a full-time business that services over 1200 clients a year, have 6 staff that I had to manage and additionally had a wife and daughter that I brought with me to UPT that I had to play husband/father roles for. It was challenging but there are ways to get it done. 

Some things that worked for me:

• Compartmentalizing - Being good at this skill is essential whether you are a bachelor right out of college with no commitments or someone like me. I saw a dude break up with his fiancee, a bro's wife cheated on him with another officer in the squadron, another guy in my class who was a fellow business owner lost a partner while writing a PhD thesis...all of these things happened in the throes of UPT. Every single one of these guys shared the ability to switch hats quickly and prioritize and press. Being able to focus on the mission, put out the fire that's immediately in front of you and then go on to the next thing is an essential quality of being a USAF pilot in my opinion, and UPT seems to have a way of weeding people out who can't do it.
• Delegating - Being able to rely on my wife was the deal maker for this to work. She was incredible. Running the household, taking care of our daughter, running my business admin and ALSO working her job at a software company that she stayed on with when we moved for UPT (they let her work remotely) AND packing the house for multiple moves (4 military moves shipping 11,000lbs of household goods in the past 18 months)...she did it all. She was a champion and having someone that you can rely on is huge whether it be a parent, spouse, best friend, whatever. Know when to ask for help, people in your life will step up and you can't do it all on your own.
• Setting Expectations - When training my manager at the outset I made it very clear that he was going to have to be self-reliant. There were many days where I just wouldn't be able to pick up the phone and help him put out fires. Often he would forward angry customer emails that I wouldn't see until 3 days after he had already figured out how to deal with it. He had to learn a lot on his own or with delayed responses but it wasn't impossibly frustrating for him because he knew it was going to go down this way. Letting people in your life know (family, friends, colleagues) that you will be out of pocket is an important part of building the space you need to get things done and focus during UPT.
• Knowing your limits - I carried ORM points on basically every other ride. I didn't care what people thought although I got the sense it's taboo or some bullshit to admit weakness (especially during T6's). I wanted to be honest with myself and the crew in the back of my helicopter or other crews in our flight. I even found that my IPs became more honest and carried their own points when I added mine when they may not have otherwise. Having an honest conversation about the stressors in your life automatically helps make things safer because you can move on and compartmentalize. I also said "no" to rides. I was pressured by IPs to go when I felt I would be dangerous and I said no. It wasn't popular but I finished the syllabus on time and did well enough (#2 out of 8 for daily rides #3 for academics). I think being aware of your limits ultimately creates a culture of collaboration. Within my class, my stud bros and sis became more aware of everyone's inherent limitations and advantages which made us all work better together. We knew what we'd have to do when paired up with certain stick buddies or meshing with other crews on a ride. "Cooperate to graduate" can't happen if you don't know how to cooperate.

Again, I am eternally grateful to all the advice I've been given and mentorship by those who've come before me, and guidance from the folks who held my hand at the squadron and had my back...including those who were willing to step up and take ownership when bad things happened (like when I came off orders in the middle of UPT). Thanks to all and hopefully this helps someone who is in a similar situation or someone who is considering going Guard but are worried they won't be able to reconcile all the forces in their lives asking for attention.

[gear3green]

4 hours ago, SPAWNmaster said:

Many moons ago I posted on here asking for advice about juggling my small business while going through UPT. I got a variety of comments and direct messages ranging from "hire a manager" to "I can't see how it would work" to "a friend of a friend did something like that".

I ended up hiring a manager to run the place while I was gone and gave up a big chunk of my salary to do it. But I trusted him, and with my wife's help running admin stuff from behind the scenes I was able to keep and actually grow my business. I just pinned on pilot wings a couple of days ago and wanted to come back here to thank everyone for the encouragement and advice.

I also am back here to encourage others to do press with their dreams no matter how complicate their situation is. Presumably the core psychographic on the Guard/Res forum is someone who either has a job or plans on going back to one while flying for the military concurrently. UPT is incredibly challenging but it's not impossible while juggling stuff from back home. I had a full-time business that services over 1200 clients a year, have 6 staff that I had to manage and additionally had a wife and daughter that I brought with me to UPT that I had to play husband/father roles for. It was challenging but there are ways to get it done. 

Some things that worked for me:

• Compartmentalizing - Being good at this skill is essential whether you are a bachelor right out of college with no commitments or someone like me. I saw a dude break up with his fiancee, a bro's wife cheated on him with another officer in the squadron, another guy in my class who was a fellow business owner lost a partner while writing a PhD thesis...all of these things happened in the throes of UPT. Every single one of these guys shared the ability to switch hats quickly and prioritize and press. Being able to focus on the mission, put out the fire that's immediately in front of you and then go on to the next thing is an essential quality of being a USAF pilot in my opinion, and UPT seems to have a way of weeding people out who can't do it.
• Delegating - Being able to rely on my wife was the deal maker for this to work. She was incredible. Running the household, taking care of our daughter, running my business admin and ALSO working her job at a software company that she stayed on with when we moved for UPT (they let her work remotely) AND packing the house for multiple moves (4 military moves shipping 11,000lbs of household goods in the past 18 months)...she did it all. She was a champion and having someone that you can rely on is huge whether it be a parent, spouse, best friend, whatever. Know when to ask for help, people in your life will step up and you can't do it all on your own.
• Setting Expectations - When training my manager at the outset I made it very clear that he was going to have to be self-reliant. There were many days where I just wouldn't be able to pick up the phone and help him put out fires. Often he would forward angry customer emails that I wouldn't see until 3 days after he had already figured out how to deal with it. He had to learn a lot on his own or with delayed responses but it wasn't impossibly frustrating for him because he knew it was going to go down this way. Letting people in your life know (family, friends, colleagues) that you will be out of pocket is an important part of building the space you need to get things done and focus during UPT.
• Knowing your limits - I carried ORM points on basically every other ride. I didn't care what people thought although I got the sense it's taboo or some bullshit to admit weakness (especially during T6's). I wanted to be honest with myself and the crew in the back of my helicopter or other crews in our flight. I even found that my IPs became more honest and carried their own points when I added mine when they may not have otherwise. Having an honest conversation about the stressors in your life automatically helps make things safer because you can move on and compartmentalize. I also said "no" to rides. I was pressured by IPs to go when I felt I would be dangerous and I said no. It wasn't popular but I finished the syllabus on time and did well enough (#2 out of 8 for daily rides #3 for academics). I think being aware of your limits ultimately creates a culture of collaboration. Within my class, my stud bros and sis became more aware of everyone's inherent limitations and advantages which made us all work better together. We knew what we'd have to do when paired up with certain stick buddies or meshing with other crews on a ride. "Cooperate to graduate" can't happen if you don't know how to cooperate.

Again, I am eternally grateful to all the advice I've been given and mentorship by those who've come before me, and guidance from the folks who held my hand at the squadron and had my back...including those who were willing to step up and take ownership when bad things happened (like when I came off orders in the middle of UPT). Thanks to all and hopefully this helps someone who is in a similar situation or someone who is considering going Guard but are worried they won't be able to reconcile all the forces in their lives asking for attention.

Good for you. I am glad things worked out at the end. We need people like you to share their success stories here. Good luck on the next chapter and keep us posted. 

[matmacwc]

Good!  I've ORM'd myself out of flights in the past, it can be a smart thing to do, especially in AETC.