Deployment/TDY timeline of different platforms

[Josephohhumble]

I’m curious about the current deployment timeline of different platforms in todays Airforce and just how long you’re gone from home in general. I’ve heard that some planes have changed their deployment schedule in the last 5-10 years.

 
I’ve heard that some special ops communities are gone for 5-6 months and then home for 18 months, C-17s are gone TDY for almost 300 days a year, tankers are at home almost every night but work more uniform hours in the day, other aircraft do deployments for 6 months to a year at a time but are home for the next 2 years, etc. Not sure if this is true or just rumors. Please comment if you know about any of the following platforms. I wanted to make a list in one location to help me and some friends choose what planes we want to put down for in our drop sheet. 
 

Various fighters

various bombers 

C-17

C-12

C-21

C-146

C-130

KC-135

KC-46

EC-130

HC-130

AC-130

MC-130

U-28

Edited May 10, 2023 by Josephohhumble

[DirkDiggler]

Not today ISIS.

[Danger41]

There isn’t a community (outside of FAIP) where you won’t be on the road a good bit. It’s depends on where the community at is in their FORGEN cycle/TDY cycle. 
 

Don’t let that influence your drop sheet. Put the mission you want on the top of the sheet and hope for the best. You’ll have plenty of time later in life to sit at home and being a boring old loser like me. Get out there and have fun as a young buck raging around the world.

[BeefBears]

15 minutes ago, Danger41 said:

There isn’t a community (outside of FAIP) where you won’t be on the road a good bit. It’s depends on where the community at is in their FORGEN cycle/TDY cycle. 
 

Don’t let that influence your drop sheet. Put the mission you want on the top of the sheet and hope for the best. You’ll have plenty of time later in life to sit at home and being a boring old loser like me. Get out there and have fun as a young buck raging around the world.

Agreed, plenty of time to get real boring around the O4/O5 mark where you can start daydreaming of better days while updating excel sheets in staff. 

As for the aircraft ops tempo, this is all well covered in "How do you feel about your airframe and mission? "

[brabus]

It’s subjective on how much travel is too much, but historically you’ll be gone a decent amount (call it around 50% averaged out over the first 10 years) in most aircraft. Some are worse, some are better. Pick the mission, not the travel rate…things do and will always change/fluctuate.  

[Biff_T]

As stated by everybody In this forum, who seem to have a wee bit of experience delpoying (😉) in various different platforms,  pick the mission you want.   If you're lucky, Uncle Sam may be able to assist you get into that mission/platform.   As for TDY/deployment rates fluctuating, I remember being ready to spend a few years of my life flying around the world playing war games.  Going to good locations, banging the hottest whores and living the good life.  Then 9/11 happened.  I spent a lot less time in Europe and Asia, and more time in a giant litterbox in the Middle East.  Its all timing.  You will be gone.  Whether its a tent in the desert, or an alert facility down the road from your house.   

Edit: The whores are hotter and easier to dance naked with in Europe, Asia and South America than in a tent in the desert or your local alert facility.  Lol

Edited May 10, 2023 by Biff_T
Afterthought

[Boomer6]

Dude whatever you do, try and stay away from PACAF. Going TDY around the pacific is great until you realize they look for any reason they can not to pay you per the JTR, or they just never put funds in your DTS LOA.

[brabus]

@Boomer6 I’m laughing with you, not at you! Glad to see nothing has changed in the last 10 years. But, on the other hand PACAF TDYs are generally pretty epic…most of my best stories came from those 5 years. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by brabus

[Boomer6]

Who wouldn’t love living on lawson’s food for a month in a hotel lobby because the J’s wont let you leave the hotel during COVID? Also, the great white north with $13/day on CED orders in the winter is a real treat. Australia in condemned conex containers full of black mold, who do I need to bribe to get in on this TDY? The stories from the bros goes on and on. This was just a 6-9 month TDY look back. I’d actually rather just have a pallet of MREs, a tent and a cot than this Mickey Mouse BS. If this is the premier theater:

[brabus]

Sounds like a completely different universe than back in the day. That sucks. 

[arg]

7 minutes ago, brabus said:

Sounds like a completely different universe than back in the day. That sucks. 

No shit

[dream big]

5 hours ago, Boomer6 said:

Dude whatever you do, try and stay away from PACAF. Going TDY around the pacific is great until you realize they look for any reason they can not to pay you per the JTR, or they just never put funds in your DTS LOA.

Don’t listen to this, the best TDYs in my life were in PACAF. You may have to pay a little out of pocket to not stay at cockroach inn on upper Tumon Vice the Westin but it’s worth it. 

[brabus]

7 hours ago, dream big said:

Don’t listen to this, the best TDYs in my life were in PACAF. You may have to pay a little out of pocket to not stay at cockroach inn on upper Tumon Vice the Westin but it’s worth it. 

Even the time we stayed on base was still an epic TDY. All the other times in Tumon we were at the Hilton and the Westin. New guys - make sure you go steer the ship. 

[RASH]

Even the time we stayed on base was still an epic TDY. All the other times in Tumon we were at the Hilton and the Westin. New guys - make sure you go steer the ship. 

Got to see the new guys steer when the wheel was still in the PI. some things can’t be unseen almost 40 years later!


Sent from my iPad using Baseops Network mobile app

[Biff_T]

The only time in my life that I've woken up around 1000 local, in a parked cab, in an alley with the driver reading a newspaper, was in south east asia.  I had no idea where the rest of my crew was.  I woke up and said "base" and off we went.  I vaguely remember asian tits and drunkin shenanigans but the truth is still out there.  We partied hard in Asia.  

[CharlieHotel47]

1 hour ago, Biff_T said:

The only time in my life that I've woken up around 1000 local, in a parked cab, in an alley with the driver reading a newspaper, was in south east asia.  I had no idea where the rest of my crew was.  I woke up and said "base" and off we went.  I vaguely remember asian tits and drunkin shenanigans but the truth is still out there.  We partied hard in Asia.  

Biff_T for the win with the great TDY stories. 

Sounds like a guard crew asking for a 24-hour slip due to an "oxygen leak" while on TDY in Manila. Half the crew was missing or drinking at "unmentionable" places before we had the slipped approved ha

[Biff_T]

18 minutes ago, CharlieHotel47 said:

Biff_T for the win with the great TDY stories. 

Sounds like a guard crew asking for a 24-hour slip due to an "oxygen leak" while on TDY in Manila. Half the crew was missing or drinking at "unmentionable" places before we had the slipped approved ha

Lol.  Good times!!! I never made it to the PI, but thats probably a good thing. Lol

Edit: Biff on Space A

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Biff_T
Edit: I need to start flexing that Space A card out of March. See where I end up. I swear there was this one space A dude I saw once a month going in and out of Singapore to get to Thailand. Lol. Hawaiin shirt and everything. From 2001-2007.

[Biff_T]

Edited May 11, 2023 by Biff_T
Edit: Don't worry I know how to use the coffee maker.

[Bigred]

So many incredible stories of time spent in SE Asia, but some things are better left for drinks at the bar. 🤫😎

[Fly4five]

I’m curious about the current deployment timeline of different platforms in todays Airforce and just how long you’re gone from home in general. I’ve heard that some planes have changed their deployment schedule in the last 5-10 years.
 
I’ve heard that some special ops communities are gone for 5-6 months and then home for 18 months, C-17s are gone TDY for almost 300 days a year, tankers are at home almost every night but work more uniform hours in the day, other aircraft do deployments for 6 months to a year at a time but are home for the next 2 years, etc. Not sure if this is true or just rumors. Please comment if you know about any of the following platforms. I wanted to make a list in one location to help me and some friends choose what planes we want to put down for in our drop sheet. 
 
Various fighters
various bombers 
C-17
C-12
C-21
C-146
C-130
KC-135
KC-46
EC-130
HC-130
AC-130
MC-130
U-28

Not sure where you got that info but tankers are gone all the time now. Either deployed, TDY, or sitting alert somewhere in the world. People always need gas, it's a fact of life and we are getting rid of the 10 so that only leaves two other platforms to do all the "offloading" to the customers

Sent from my SM-F926U1 using Baseops Network mobile app

[tac airlifter]

6 hours ago, Biff_T said:

 I vaguely remember asian tits and drunkin shenanigans but the truth is still out there.  We partied hard in Asia.  

Those weren’t tits bro.

[Pooter]

@Josephohhumble these days deployment timelines are unpredictable in most communities.  Gone are the days of a stable, predictable dull roar in the Middle East. The best gouge is going to come from your IP corps at your UPT base. 

[brabus]

13 hours ago, Pooter said:

best gouge is going to come from your IP corps at your UPT base. 

Even that was completely wrong for me when I was in UPT. They were still saying, “fighters fly around the flag pole, you’ll be home a lot.” Yeah that turned out to be 100% wrong.

There’s no predicting deployments/TDY rates even in a couple years, let alone generally over a career. Mission, that’s the only thing people should pick an airframe based on.

[Pooter]

4 minutes ago, brabus said:

Even that was completely wrong for me when I was in UPT. They were still saying, “fighters fly around the flag pole, you’ll be home a lot.” Yeah that turned out to be 100% wrong.

There’s no predicting deployments/TDY rates even in a couple years, let alone generally over a career. Mission, that’s the only thing people should pick an airframe based on.

100%

[Biff_T]

16 hours ago, tac airlifter said:

Those weren’t tits bro.

Holy shit! I never thought I’ d see her again.  She was younger, hotter and had less facial hair (believe it or not) back then.  I’m talking Fergie era.  Lol.  
 

Edit: To be fair, she probably wouldn’t recognize me either.  Too many hours in the Huey turned me into a hobbit.  

Edited May 12, 2023 by Biff_T