New Active Duty studs sent to Guard squadrons?

[herkbum]

I disagree. I have a good friend in TFAP that graduated Corpus with. To date I have twice the hours he does (and he has been deploying as well). The constant four on and off builds the hours.

HD

That's funny. Every AD co I have talked to is complaining about the lack of flying hours they are getting. If he is not getting the hours at the Guard unit, he needs to sign up to fly more. There is no shortage of daily line flying with the units I have spoken with.

[Guest waggonman]

thought I heard that the 129th got the old

E Model Talons, that were with AFR (711th)

at Hurlburt ???, not sure what they are now desigd

but were in old terms MCs (sp ops) rather than

HCs (resc), and this was initiated by the

former CO Gen S.

Was told the AD wanted some of the Guard HCs, but they were reluctant to let them go,

however, he negotiated a deal to let them go,

if he got the old talon 1s in replacement ??

was also told the talons were in pretty poor shape !, some had been test birds etc.

WAG

[HerkDerka]

Herkbum, I guess it depends on where you are.

HD

[Guest angrymonkey]

You guys ever get navs from AD as well?

Former AD Nav's who transitioned to the Guard. I havn't heard of a Nav on AD assigned to the Guard, but I am sure it's possible.

[Saluki]

"2"

Sorry for the WAY-Late check-in, but I just got home from China Lake doing the threat thing out there.

Anyhow, yes, I am the only A-10 FAP dude in the Air Force. I have a bunch of info in the MOA between ACC and AFRC that is sitting in front of me, but for space and interest sake, PM if anyone wants more info. Here's the big things though that may be of interest.

First off, I am only aware of a Reserve component...aka, no Guard units are part of this program anymore. They used to be, but from my knowledge in the A-10 world, this proram is obsolete and currently not happening in our MWS. With that said, here's a direct quote from the MOA. "The goal of the Fighter Associate Program (FAP) is to improve the health of active duty fighter units by distributing the workload associated with the experiencing of new pilots and to improve the experience level in AD units." Translation = send the young INEX dudes to Reserve units which are way IP and EXP heavy, and send Reserve pilots to AD units which are way non-IP and INEX heavy. Somebody asked that direct question if Reserve components can go to AD units. The anwer is YES. I won't go into that though; if someone wants more on that, PM me. However, here is a list of AD units taking Reserve pilots. 388 FW Hill, 20 FW Shaw (x2), 33 FW Eglin, 1 FW Landley, 422 TES/414 CTS Nellis. For the places taking AD dudes, we have Hill ARB, Homestead ARS, Carswell ARS(NAS JRB Ft Worth) for F-16's. Keep in mind, these are for more than 1 pilot, PM for specific manning numbers. A-10 pilots could go to Whiteman AFB or New Orleans ARS, but now New Orleans is not an option since we are getting their jets in about a month. Real quick how it works. Everyone wants to know how to get this assignment. Timing, timing, timing. It's a once every 3 year opportunity and I haven't even been here a year so don't get your hopes up A-10 babies! I didn't know a General, come from a military family, wasn't the top stick and all that in RTU, I just got lucky, timed it perfectly and got this assignment. It's only open to LT's (INEX side) so you got that going for ya. Once you do get the beloved slot to a Reserve squadron, an active duty advisor (only requirement is to be an EXP IP), and 2 INEX wingmen are assigned OPCON (operational control) to that Reserve squadron (as of now, Whiteman is the only one available for A-10's). We are ADCON (administrativly controlled) by Davis-Monthan AFB, in Tucson. They are my "parent unit" where things like my OPR and other adminitrative queep goes through. What all that means is we train, deploy, participate in excercises, go TDY, etc, etc on Whiteman's behalf and bill. I have little to no contact with DM except whenever some paperwork thing is coming up. As far as flying goes, it's wonderful. I haven't missed RAP yet since I got here last year. Most AD squadrons can't say that. People here are wonderful! You know, you always here about that Air Force family stuff, but here it is a true reality! First names everywhere, getting together on the weekends, etc, etc, etc. I mean when you work with the same people for 5-25 years, a true bond is formed. That's why when something bad happens to guard/reserve units over in the AO's, there seems to be more cataclysmic effects to their units and local communities. These people are also employed in the local community and have lived there several years. To sum it up, here's my take. This assignment is great!!!! I get to fly my ass off, upgrades come extremely fast, and the squadron climate is better than perfect. There's no 0600 Friday morning Fun-Run's, no 1500 commander's calls, sleeves rolled up, flight suit zipped down, no give to the CFC or you're evil briefs every other day. The admin side is for the most part queep free and the true focus here is simply flying the jet and killing the targets. Couple downsides are that you are AD in a RES unit so expect to catch your fair share of comedic beatings in the bar, you probably will miss out on some LPA adventures at other another AD squadrons will have, and if you are a more professional airman minded dude (General wannabe) this would maybe not be the best place for you due to more limited chances to shine. No proof, just a wag by me. Lastly though, probably the biggest benefit for this program is that unless you are a true schmuck, you are getting the inside track on a future job to the Reserve world! I used to think AD for 20, but now when you have 25 airline guys running your world and you see the lifestyle that these guys and their families have, that decision gets much, much harder. WOW, this was easily my longest post EVER!

[ViperDriver77]

Has anyone seen or heard of any FAP assignments dropping at Luke lately? Are they included in the class drop or is it something you have to request? Are Homestead, Ft Worth, McEntire, and Burlington the only options for Viper drivers?

[Flare]

I think it's been almost a year since the last one. I was hoping for one in my drop.....no luck.

Yes, those 4 you listed are the only ones doing this program.

[163 FS]

My class of 9 Active Duty (A-10) dudes just got our drop and we're sending two to Whiteman. Both of 'em Captains BTW.

[Buddy Spike]

I think it's been almost a year since the last one. I was hoping for one in my drop.....no luck.

Yes, those 4 you listed are the only ones doing this program.

The 61st has gotten a Carswell drop in its last two classes.

[Flare]

The 61st has gotten a Carswell drop in its last two classes.

I thought those went to dudes from the unit, not AD. Bad gouge on my part. Oh well....not the 1st time I've been wrong!

[Splash95]

Anyone ever heard of this happening to a Nav?

Yes, it is happening to at least one guy graduating Nav school with me--he's going to fly C-130's out of Cheyenne. There's also a guy who got Slicks to Pope, and I read not to long ago about the "last [AD?] C-130 departing Pope", so I assume that unit is also under Guard control now?

[Herk Driver]

Yes, it is happening to at least one guy graduating Nav school with me--he's going to fly C-130's out of Cheyenne. There's also a guy who got Slicks to Pope, and I read not to long ago about the "last [AD?] C-130 departing Pope", so I assume that unit is also under Guard control now?

Neither of those are TFAP slots. There is an active duty associate (reverse associate; whatever the hell they are calling it) unit at both Cheyenne and Pope. You have an active duty CC and fly Guard/ reserve airplanes. If I'm not mistaken, Cheyenne active guys are in a unit that is still under 463d Airlift Group at LR.

[flyguy2181]

I was curious if anybody had any information concerning active duty pilots (already having assignments behind them) transfering to guard units? I'm hoping for the ability to transfer to a unit close to my home for a couple years.

(I thought this was discussed in another thread but I couldn't find it and I didn't want to start a new thread)

[Guest ATC]

This is nothing new. Pease is one of a few guard bases that trains Active Duty 13M's (Airfield Operations Officer Training) - we get them out of the schoolhouse and 'own' them for two years. In that time, we get them qualified in tower, radar and base ops.

Also, starting this year, Pease will be a base that active duty can be stationed. We will continue to have the ANG KC-135s, but active duty will be there to do some flying.

https://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123127530

https://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/200...-NEWS-812110411

[Hammer]

T1 studs can drop 135s to Pease, Scott, Birmingham and March guard/reserve units as an "active duty liason". They started with class 09-04 with no word on if they are going to be options for subsequent classes or not.

[Scooter14]

T1 studs can drop 135s to Pease, Scott, Birmingham and March guard/reserve units as an "active duty liason". They started with class 09-04 with no word on if they are going to be options for subsequent classes or not.

It's not an "Active Duty Liaison".

It's Active Duty. Period.

The Active Duty Liaison was one experienced pilot in that MWS who flew with that ANG unit.

If you are in class 09-04 or later, you will go to Pease, Scott, B-Ham, Seymour Johnson or March and be in an Active Duty squadron that, for simplicity's sake, falls under the host ANG/AFRC wing. You will fly the ANG/AFRC tails. You will probably work side by side with the ANG/AFRC schedulers, training flight personnel, Stan/Eval folks, etc. Your OPR's and assignments will go up some AD chain somewhere.

It's still all very new and confusing.

[BamaC-21]

Any word on how the life is going to be for the AD -135 guys at these associate units?

[Champ Kind]

Anyone heard any info on the 130J (cargo, not the Hurricane Hunters) unit at Keesler?

[BamaC-21]

Anyone heard any info on the 130J (cargo, not the Hurricane Hunters) unit at Keesler?

They're just getting going (I know leadership is here, but not for sure if anyone else is) and will fall under the 314 OG at Little Rock. Not sure how the deployments and ops tempo will be, but would like more info. How's the life for the AD pilots at the other ANG units?

Edited February 23, 2010 by BamaC-21

[Swizzle]

Anyone heard any info on the 130J (cargo, not the Hurricane Hunters) unit at Keesler?

Keesler will have an awesome squadron commander. He just left Ramstein AB as the SQ/DO. I enjoyed working for him.

[Guest trouble t]

Anyone heard any info on the 130J (cargo, not the Hurricane Hunters) unit at Keesler?

they have a few copilots in the pipeline from UPT and they have leadership on station; no ACs enroute yet, pending a hard date for standing up the unit.

I heard they're actually PCSing the copilots to KLRF for their initial qual instead of sending them TDY enroute. perhaps so they can just join the 41st if Keesler is further delayed? pure speculation, of course.

[HookEmAll]

As a tanker guy, I can say that the active associate at Pease is far and away the best assignment that I could have ever imagined getting. Everything is going great so far. You work when you want. You deploy when you want to. You go TDY whenever you feel like it, and you live 40 minutes from Boston. How long will it last? Who knows, but it will always likely be better than at an active duty base. The best I ever thought of getting as a tanker guy was a huge active duty base in Tampa, but this active associate makes living on the beach pale in comparison. If you have the opportunity to get one in any airframe, do it (and don't complain about it... you could always be a faip, or a uav guy, or assigned to Cannon).

[Jaded]

Hey, thanks for your contribution to this whole inconvenient "war" thing, I'm glad you could find time to wedge it into your busy schedule.

Yeah! Remember, you're not serving your country if you aren't gone from home at a greater than 1:1 ratio.

[Guest Hueypilot812]

Hey, thanks for your contribution to this whole inconvenient "war" thing, I'm glad you could find time to wedge it into your busy schedule.

FWIW, this guy might have been a tanker guy for years and had spent the past 9+ years deploying his ass off. Judging by his post, I don't think Pease is his first flying assignment. I'd be careful about making comments flaming some guy for getting a good deal for once. It's a great thing if you can line something up where you can spend more than a few months a year with the wife and kids.

[nrg]

Any new info on this? I'm about to finish out Corpus and am looking for a guard gig. Who would I call to see if this is a possibility?

Thanks