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Fun day back! Start with cranky emails from ADOs demonstrating "leadership by email" saying 0900 meeting for Flight Commanders and Chiefs that I promptly hit delete. Start the morning mission planning for a flight the next day. Half way through the crew brief, get word that all flights are canceled by the Commander. Get told that tomorrow be in service dress for inspection, blues for the rest of the week. Apparently, because a good chunk of the squadron is deployed at any one time, very few people are left to make the squadron function... people are sick of being gone (and at the AF in general) so people have been showing up late and ducking out early, assuming other people will pick up the slack. The few people who had been doing all the work have deployed, and the squadron missed some outside-the-squadron deadlines. Apparently Group and Wing leadership have taken notice. ADOs lead the crack down, commanders call at 1530. Commanders call starts with "Change of plans. We had a suicide last night, tomorrow will be normal duty uniform the chaplain and MFLAC are here if you need them, reconvene at next Commanders call on Friday." And then dismissed. Probably the biggest af.txt example I've ever seen, and the second most embarrassing. Sadly, most of the problems the squadron is facing are self induced, but what do I know... hoping sub six months left. xaarman fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Jan 4, 2017 |
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Jan 4, 2017 04:02
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I like the ones where people are like, we fly those?   RC-135? You mean KC-135 right? xaarman fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Jan 5, 2017 |
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Jan 5, 2017 01:33
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Monday Blues inspection, Tues - Thurs ABU, Friday Service dress and 7:30 - 16:30 strict duty hours. Commanders Call was a profanity laced tirade on embarrassment and professionalism. I would expect this from a Maintenance Squadron, but flyers? It was hilariously cringe worthy.... I wish I recorded it. At best, I give it two weeks before everything is back to normal.
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Jan 7, 2017 01:23
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Godholio posted:That was the reaction to a suicide? Plot twist! https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-dzwonczyk My guess was that the theatrics that happened today were supposed to go on Tuesday, but it was put off a few days because of the suicide. On the plus side, apparently I have some ill-fitting old style ABUs with pin on rank I can force myself in for a few days. quote:I have a friend who's a recent electrical engineering college grad with a civilian job offer at Hill AFB working on some variety of AFMC retrofits/updates for aging aircraft. He's wondering if it's a good starting position for an electrical engineering career in general, what specific type of EE (RF, power, electronics, etc.), and if Hill's community is too white-bread Mormon for a BBQ/booze-loving man like himself. He's an electronics guy, mostly. I can't speak for the job side of things, but my F-16 friends have great things to say about Ogden. More info in this thread: http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/21515-hill-afb/#comment-416497
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Jan 7, 2017 05:11
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Godholio posted:Wait, the defendant was one of yours? And for his shenanigans they're putting the squadron through the ringer? Nah, the squadron was already trash it seems, the ringer was put off because of this guy's suicide.
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Jan 8, 2017 01:18
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Haha, someone in my squadron is on reddit: https://reddit.com/r/AirForce/comments/5mm97w/restriction_of_flight_suit_use/
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Jan 8, 2017 21:43
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lite_sleepr posted:Do you bag wearers know where your Abus are? Actually, I seemingly have them with name tapes and all... and the button on rank. They are the old crappy heavyweight material, so I think I got them ~2011 when they were optional and issued for deployments. Bit tight tho.
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Jan 9, 2017 05:03
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quote:We were told by our flight chief that his commander 'locked him up,' and through our flight chief, offered a sincere apology. Which translates to nothing happened, the poor girl gets nothing from anyone in the form of an apology, another small penis having bag wearer gets to move on thinking the air force does in fact exist to serve him, and it's cool to piss in the face of the personnelists. I bet his commander high fived him. He is a very, very misguided 2d Lt. Unfortunately, he probably mistook advice from someone (another 2d Lt). I don't think he should have to come back to apologize, but I do think he should be receiving an LoR that follows him to his next base, or the current commander should call the next Commander and give him a heads up. Rest assured, if it really went down as you describe, he will get hosed up. But Officer hosed up is different then enlisted hosed up. Y'all want immediate justice, that's not how it works in our world (short of doing something criminal.) Sorry you had to deal with that, not all of us are like that.
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Jan 13, 2017 04:57
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I remember when Gen Petraeus, still AD, made a joke about the Air Force... google says back in 2009:quote:Petraeus, speaking to an annual Marine Corps Association Foundation dinner on July 30, praised the leathernecks while taking tongue-in-cheek shots at both the Army and the Air Force. "A soldier is trudging through the muck in the midst of a downpour with a 60-pound rucksack on his back," Petraeus began. "'This is tough,' he thinks to himself. Just ahead of him trudges an Army Ranger with an 80-pound pack on his back. 'This is really tough,' he thinks. And ahead of him is a Marine with a 90-pound pack on, and he thinks to himself, 'I love how tough this is,' " Petraeus said to appreciative cheers from his audience. I remember people at work getting all bent out of shape, and actually upset about this. "Maybe he wouldn't be thinking that without air support" "lets see how he does without space" "good luck getting to the fight without us" etc etc I thought his comment was funny and went on living my life. What am I getting at? Learn to laugh at Rek's posts, and stop taking them so seriously. I think they're pretty funny.
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Jan 20, 2017 15:24
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Has anyone seen the AF thread? It would be a mistake to bump it.
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Feb 4, 2017 02:26
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JQP is sensationalist writing, but he has had a lot of positive impact. The Pilot scandal at Laughlin and the mold at Al UDeid immediately come to mind.
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Feb 27, 2017 11:49
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If Finance is giving you the runaround, talk to your supervisor and first shirt. That long of a time frame is an issue for leadership to solve.
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Feb 28, 2017 00:00
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JacksLibido posted:I'm a 12R somewhere in the 55th WG Like my previous post, I have zero complaints about military officer pay. I think we are fairly well compensated and anyone who stays is easily going to be upper-midle-class. That being said, every 12X I know who was unhappy got out when the getting out was good... VSP and finally RIFs murdered the numbers. Those that are left... are more your type, who are happy to keep doing the things you're doing for the current compensation. When I was at a COCOM HQ, there were mil and civilians who absolutely thrived in a bureaucracy, knowing the rules, how to navigate the different directorates, writing quips, etc. I, and most pilots I know, are not those types of people. If there's one thing the AF has taught me, it's to chase Quality of Life over pay. If the other side QoL also includes a pay bump, I'm not gonna complain. The Navs I'm friends with who have gotten out are doing quite well for themselves... maybe making less $$, but there is no price on sanity. One is still doing Nav stuff teaching ground school at American Airlines (and includes flight benefits), others went to law school or became financial advisors. These dudes are going to be successful no matter what they do, and I'm very happy/excited for them. quote:Pilots on the other-hand can get out, take an initial paycut then be back to SrCapt equivalent inside 3 years (assuming they're flying for a legacy airline). After that 3 years they're racing their AD compatriots in pay while all the while building seniority (and doing much less work). The only incentive to stay in therefore, is the quality of military flying, and the mil lifestyle. There is a SIGNIFICANT financial incentive to GTFO and go to an airline. It's nice to have the choice. I just flew a sortie where I onloaded 85k at night in the clouds, I'll know I'll tell stories about that and miss those good times, but priorities are changing in life and I don't like being gone with sub 2 weeks notice for 2 months because some jackwagon failed PUP. quote:I hear a lot of complaining from pilots about how hard the .mil lifestyle is and how the AF isn't pampering them enough (my words The Officer first pilot second is a line of bullshit I used to get annoyed at, but now I openly tell them to pound sand. AF recruiting commercials don't sell you on writing OPRs or award packages, and the Thunderbirds don't exist to make sure we're DTS experts. I joined to fly, fight and win. The rest is queepy bullshit, and just like Office Space, I will work just hard enough to make sure people doesn't notice me while I'm doing what motivated me to join in the first place. I agree that if airlines didn't pay as much, the exodus wouldn't be as vast.... but it would still be there. The airline seniority system encourages people to get hired ASAP and are punished for waiting in the way of lower line numbers. The USAFs own words is that the culture is driving people out now that they have options. Pilots didn't have options before, now we do and people are voting with their feet. xaarman fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Apr 4, 2017 |
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Apr 4, 2017 22:01
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. My personal opinion is that the 12R community is undermanned because the AF keeps trying to kill off 12X, only to realize that yes, bombers/AFSOC/Recce exist and we do in fact need officers who aren't pilots. Seniority wise we're not hurting for O4+, we're hard up on O2 and down, and the 12Rs we do have are all mixed up incorrectly with regards to Nav/EWO. After the last major RIF I can count on 1 hand the number of 12Rs I've seen get out, and those are the people who are profoundly unhappy with military life. Almost all of us are contemplating getting out, but we're looking at our compatriots on the outside and realizing that we're going to take a paycut and we probably wont ever get up to the ~$150k a LtCol makes. On top of that we look at the jobs being offered for 12Rs and realize that deployments and TDYs included, the military is a cakewalk full of 2 hour lunches and 3pm "workout sessions". A senior Capt with $650 flight pay and a dependent makes ~$120k (I've compared this with an Engineer 4 friend in my area who makes $115k and it checks, my monthly take home is a little higher before retirement withdrawls) and an LtCol makes ~$150k, something that most 12Rs wont ever get close to making without a mil retirement supplementing us while also working straight 9 hour days with each hour accounted for. 
) and how money isn't a factor but to me that just doesn't check. I NEVER hear that from any other flying officer, NEVER. At least when I joined I was told flat out "you're an officer first flyer second", and I was expected to abide by that (on a side note I want to choke every LT pilot who tells me they don't do office work because they're just there to fly). I personally think that if the airlines paid about half of what they do right now then you wouldn't have near the pilot shortage we have now.
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Rekinom posted:Bruh, a 787 captain gets paid like 12.5k to fly to Singapore, sit for 2 days in a luxury hotel, and then fly back. Like, I'm sitting here reading the bid package. That's insane. Do that about 2.5 times a month and you're clearing 475k a year total compensation. I've already been convinced, don't need to rage at me. The original post in the Aviation Ask/Tell thread was a debate about the mass pilot exodus being caused by such high paying job opportunities on the outside, or the lovely culture of active duty.
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Apr 5, 2017 14:00
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https://www.stripes.com/news/us/stop-loss-an-option-for-air-force-to-stem-pilots-departure-to-airlines-1.462909#.WOwGykrXeEc Stop loss for Pilots? The Baseops.net message board is going crazy right now.
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Apr 11, 2017 01:27
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Oh man, JQP is about to do an article on the 45th RS. Everyone is in a stink, and it's making its rounds. Can't wait!
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Apr 15, 2017 11:03
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So this is making its rounds on FB, pretty funny. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...m=.22509e46fbdd
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May 16, 2017 23:49
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And I'm out! Haven't been officially notified, but good bye Air Force. Been a fun 10 years, but definitely excited to not do another 10.
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Jul 14, 2017 02:36
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I'll give my two cents here: Admin, or Personnel/Finance is kind of made fun of because it's not the point of the military. It's a necessary evil of the bureaucracy, and when you guys gently caress up, everyone else suffers the repercussions on pay, Orders, Dependent Travel or whatever fuckall I'm leaving out. That being said, a good Personnelist/Finance person is worth their weight in gold. As far as the actual job, it's easy as hell if you don't mind regurgitating regulations, being in charge of people, and playing military with squirt guns every once and a while. Remember that as an Officer, you won't be doing the Admin duties themselves, but will be in charge of the people who are doing the Admin duties. As for the job on a personal level, it pays well for what you're doing. Bonus points if you're single. Even after the BS I've been through, I still recommend the military as a stepping stone. The benefits, foundation, and safety net the military provides are second to none. Being able to transfer the Post 9/11 GI Bill to a spouse or your children is invaluable. I would however, caution against doing a career unless you die hard love it, otherwise you'll burn out and be miserable (like most of us here...) but that decision point is a good 5-12 years away, and it's a good problem to have. So I'll go against the grain, even as I'm getting out, and say apply for it. Realize the Recruiter -> Application -> OTS is about a 9 month odyssey, so have a plan in the mean time. As for the bases, some of them blow, but some of them are awesome. My absolute favorite job was in whopping Enid, Oklahoma. You could get Hawaii, or you could get Del Rio. YMMV. Any more questions, ask away! xaarman fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Jul 16, 2017 |
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Jul 16, 2017 13:26
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Make sure you talk to an OTS recruiter about commissioning, and not a normal recruiter for enlistment.
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Jul 17, 2017 05:02
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Fat_Cow posted:He was trying to recommended that as an "alternative path" at the end of my phone call. Oh well Me thinks you didn't talk to an Officer recruiter. https://www.airforce.com/apply-now Or, if you're interested in initially full time, but then part time and the process moving a bit faster, look into your local Reserves/ANG unit.
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Jul 18, 2017 09:21
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The Air Force is growing again* so that helps him out as well. *Planned FY17, not sure on FY18.
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Jul 20, 2017 08:31
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Oh hell yeah http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2017/08/10/chelsea-manning-shows-off-her-swimsuit-bod-for-vogue/
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Aug 11, 2017 03:37
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Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
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Sep 13, 2017 22:22
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What did you all do with your uniforms as you were getting out? I have very little intention of doing the Guard/Reserves, and I have a ton of flight suits, blues, service dress and mess dress just taking up closet space. Debating donating to the Airman's Attic unless there's some reason to hold onto them.
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Oct 24, 2017 19:51
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I'm leaning towards donating. I doubt I'll be the guy to talk about my AF life to grandkids unless it's anything more than "its a stepping stone to the next point in life" or "you need some direction." I feel torn about tossing my service dress/mess dress, but they do nothing but collect dust - the ribbons haven't been updated in years. Maybe someone else will get some better use out of them. edit: keeping the cold weather gear, OCPs and patches coz they are awesome xaarman fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Oct 25, 2017 |
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Oct 25, 2017 16:50
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Rekinom posted:You realize enlisted service dress doesn't have epaulet holders or the sleeve braid right? Unless you think a hapless LT is so loving poor they shop around the Airman's Attic. Nope, it totally slipped my mind. They can cut them off, take em to a tailor, or light it on fire at their Officer revenge party. All are fine with me.
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Oct 25, 2017 21:10
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Officially on Terminal. Couldn't be happier, and very excited for things to come!
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Nov 22, 2017 06:00
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On Terminal until the end of the month and got a CJO from a legacy airline today. Life is good. And I'm beyond excited, timing couldn't be better. Woooooo Too bad AF - you're like an ex I want to grab and shake and go WHAT WERE YOU THINKIN?!
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Dec 8, 2017 07:29
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dscruffy1 posted:A complimentary jerk-off? Jesus Christ, pilots really are the pampered sky gods. I have literally no idea what you're angry about but I like the term "pampered sky gods"
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Dec 8, 2017 09:17
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Oh my god.
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Dec 9, 2017 04:06
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There are tons of ACSC/AWC papers on pilot retention. The USAF has gone through these cycles several times before, and it's 100% tied to airline hiring. The only differences now are how small the USAF is, and how long this predicted boom is supposed to last.
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Dec 17, 2017 07:12
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Everything Godholio said. He's trying to steamroll you because he has someone on his line, and is counting on you not knowing any better. Contact the Officer Accessions recruiter for your area. Politely tell your enlisted recruiter you want to try this other angle first, but you'll be in touch. Expect him to be a bit of a dick or say something like "it won't work" or "I know the Officer recruiter and they're not taking your degree type right now" but he has zero say in the matter.
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Jan 23, 2018 05:06
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