Words of wisdom for new LT's?

[arg]

Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut

[SpeedOfHeat]

In no particular order:

- Maintain a personal logbook and check it against the HARM records every 6 months.  You can check it online via ARMS or AAMS from the AF Portal.  Get smart on the various rules about logging time.  Refer to the actual flight records reg - there are lots of guys logging their time wrong/inaccurately and spreading bad gouge.  Use Milkeep or something similar on your phone.  Having an accurate logbook will save you tons of time and stress if you apply to a flying career after the AF.

- Learn about VA Disability Claims.  Waiting 20 years and then trying to claim stuff at the end and navigate the process is a recipe for disaster.  There are tons of videos on YouTube.  Just search “Maximizing your VA disability rating” and spend an hour or two watching and taking notes.  It’s not about fraudulently claiming things and playing some sort of game…..it’s about building SA.  It will give you an idea of what conditions are claimable - you might be surprised - and how evidence for those conditions is evaluated to determine a rating.  Knowing this at the beginning will help shape how you approach your medical visits.  As others said, document every visit to a health professional.  It’s a bit like keeping a logbook.  Every year or two (depends how much medical care you need/receive), compare your personal notes to your AF record. Get smart on the MHS Genesis site and/or go to flight med and formally request a copy of your records.  Again, this will save you tons of time and heartache at the end of your career.

*Heads up in the fighter world, it might have changed, but as of a few months ago, visits to OHWS….massage, athletic trainer, etc…… were still NOT being logged on your official medical record.  That’s a huge problem.  I think OHWS is great, but if you have legit neck, back, joint problems, you have to go to the med group PT or ortho if you want things documented on your record.  And you do want them documented, I promise.

Finally, if you have an issue, go get it looked at.  Don’t “lie to fly” or “walk it off” or “man up.”  The AF will operate just fine if you’re DNIF.  Your health is the most important thing.  And rightful compensation for any injuries or health impacts your military service caused you will be hard to get if you don’t get it documented and then follow up to make sure it’s in your record:  i.e. “You don’t graduate, your gradebook graduates.”

- Moving sucks.  Moving companies, in general, suck.  This is just my opinion and I’ve admittedly had some horrific move experiences, but don’t buy really nice stuff.  The movers will likely break it, scratch it, damage it or lose it.  If I could do it all over again, I would minimize the amount of stuff I had in general, and lean heavy into Facebook marketplace and Craigslist at the beginning and end of each assignment.  Or Costco, or the BX, or other affordable place to find furniture.  Obviously keep the stuff you love and that makes you happy and that you use often.  But furniture is just furniture.  *Caution, many wives are violently opposed to this strategy, so YMMV.  

When you move, photograph everything and don’t rush to sign the inventory.  Make sure everything has a sticker and everything’s on the inventory and it’s legible.  If not, don’t sign.  “If it’s not on the inventory, they didn’t ship it.”  So if they lose (or steal) it, too bad for you.  GPS trackers are worth their weight in gold.  Also, buy the movers lunch and have plenty of cold water bottles for them.  Know ahead of time who to call at TMO if things start to go wrong.

- Do everything possible to get stationed overseas.  Again, just my personal opinion, but travel as much as you can.  “Spend your money and you can make more.  Waste your time and it’s gone forever.”  Kids are wonderful, but obviously change your life drastically.  Travel and explore before kids.  Go anywhere and everywhere.  Go see the main tourist attractions, but also make it a priority to get off the beaten path - that’s where the really good stuff is.  Don’t be afraid to use Space-A - just get smart on strategies for it and stay flexible.

- Don’t take a bad deal in hopes that it will get you a good deal later.  The AF is far too dynamic and ever-changing to play that game.  At the end of each assignment, ask for the best assignment available right then and there.  Follow your heart and ask for the assignment/jet/location that makes you feel Iike a kid waking up on Christmas morning.  If people are encouraging you to go somewhere because “it’ll help your chances for upgrade,” or “set you up for ‘school,’” ignore them.  Find the people that talk about assignments in terms of the great bros there, or the awesome skiing, or the great schools for your kids.  Go where you and your family will be most happy.

-  Do deliberate career management along the way.  “Career management” is vastly different from “careerism.”  It simply means you give a shit.  You seek mentorship and try to excel and generally know what’s required to make the rank that you aim to make, get the assignments you aim to get, and meet other goals you set for yourself and your family.  *Careerism, by contrast, is trying to attain pieces of flair:  medals, awards, titles, accolades, and high rank insignia for the sake of improving individual ‘status’ or sense of self-worth.  It’s brown-nosing the boss, attention seeking, and stepping on the bros along the way.  Don’t do that.

- Work really hard to maintain family relationships and see family as much as you can.  It can be really awesome living all over the world.  But it can also steal a lot of time away from family members.  A lot of people assume they can spend time with family…..their parents, for example,…..after they separate or retire.  At least I did.  Not always the case.  It’s a real gut punch when you envisioned a future filled with quality time with family members, and instead the clock runs out and their health declines and/or they pass before you get that chance.  You will meet great people in the AF and make life-long friends.  But family is family.  The pinnacle of career management is making sure you run out of AF before you run out of family.

- I’m not going to give you specific financial advice.  Just do research now, up front.  No big surprise, most people build wealth in the stock market or in real estate, or a mix of the two.  There are many strategies……..I will just say that most of the strategies require TIME, which is a resource you have now but not later.
 

Best of luck!

[guineapigfury]

10 hours ago, SpeedOfHeat said:

In no particular order:

- Maintain a personal logbook and check it against the HARM records every 6 months.  You can check it online via ARMS or AAMS from the AF Portal.  Get smart on the various rules about logging time.  Refer to the actual flight records reg - there are lots of guys logging their time wrong/inaccurately and spreading bad gouge.  Use Milkeep or something similar on your phone.  Having an accurate logbook will save you tons of time and stress if you apply to a flying career after the AF.

...

 

Not doing this is my absolute number one professional regret in my career.  A LOT of other shit went wrong, but this one I could have controlled and did not.

[raimius]

The above!

More personal--save and invest.  Make sure you get TSP matching (max it if you can), and have an IRA.  Every time your pay increases, auto-invest half that raise.  You'll never feel the difference and it adds up over time.  Also, have a non-retirement account for first-home down payment, etc.

[disgruntledemployee]

Know your alcohol limit.

Know what kind of drunk you are.  If it's angry/combative, seek to change.

Know/follow the rules, and don't drive.  DUIs ruin careers, even airline ones.

Lastly, like Conan, know what is best in life.

Now go watch some sappy sitcoms/Ted Lasso to learn the rest.

[Biff_T]

Be a proud yet humble aviator. 

[Biff_T]

On 7/26/2023 at 3:00 PM, disgruntledemployee said:

Know what kind of drunk you are.  If it's angry/combative, seek to change.

Learning this early in life will save a lot of pain.  

[Smokin]

On 7/23/2023 at 10:03 PM, SpeedOfHeat said:

-  Do deliberate career management along the way.  “Career management” is vastly different from “careerism.”  It simply means you give a shit.  You seek mentorship and try to excel and generally know what’s required to make the rank that you aim to make, get the assignments you aim to get, and meet other goals you set for yourself and your family.  *Careerism, by contrast, is trying to attain pieces of flair:  medals, awards, titles, accolades, and high rank insignia for the sake of improving individual ‘status’ or sense of self-worth.  It’s brown-nosing the boss, attention seeking, and stepping on the bros along the way.  Don’t do that.

Know what YOUR career goals are.  Big blue has career goals for you and there's a 99.9% chance it's not what you actually want.  Pretend it is your goal too as that will probably help you with your goal as long as they're not mutually exclusive.  But don't ever forget you're working towards your goal, not big blue's.  Just don't become the O-6 that has pretended so long they forgot they were pretending.

[Biff_T]

General Chang is a troll.  I learned this one a little late in life lol.  

[JBueno]

Be a good dude to every Guard slug you meet.

[arg]

I like teaching the Guard guys. They look closer to my age.

 

[Blue]

On 7/21/2023 at 8:10 PM, bs98 said:

Curious to know what you wish someone told you years ago. Whether it pertains to flying, Air Force, or life in general. 

Regarding the "life in general" bucket, I'm going to assume you're a heterosexual single male.  If those descriptors don't apply, then feel free to ignore.

Be cautious about the woman you decide to attach yourself to.  For sure, a lot of the common bar room wisdom is "never get married, stay single forever."   But for most of us out there, you eventually find yourself wanting to put a ring on a woman's finger, for one reason or another.

Be advised, women have changed in the last ~25 years or so.  I feel like anyone in their mid-40s or older today has had a front row seat to it happening.  The last couple of decades has seen an incredible rise in the number of women whose entire identity revolves around the following:

• Anything they succeed at in life is due to them overcoming the Powers of the Patriarchy.
• Anything they fail at in life is due to the interference of the Powers of the Patriarchy.

It's frustrating and soul-sucking to be attached to these kinds of women.  Whatever you do, don't put a ring on one of them.

Edited August 6, 2023 by Blue