Marine Thread 2023: A Shiny New 2020 Army Thread for Your Deployment (skip to p12)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > Marine Thread 2023: A Shiny New 2020 Army Thread for Your Deployment (skip to p12)

brains: May 12, 2004

PeterCat posted:

The study would determine if the ACFT would "adversely impact members of the Army stationed or deployed to climates or areas with conditions that make prohibitive the conduct of outdoor physical training on a frequent or sustained basis," the language states.

lol at the idea that the branch that already does outdoor PT at all of these locations and already has a test that completely disregards ambient temp, humidity, and altitude needs to study the effects of new testing in those same exact places so they don't adversely impact soldiers.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2020 20:13

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 18:30

brains: May 12, 2004

i dunno if it's changed because i haven't been following it much (i'm sure it has), but when i got out last year HQDA were still firmly against any permanent profile exemptions for the ACFT, which was particularly hilarious in aviation because it would have gutted like 90% of the NCOs above E-6 in the first year. like did anyone at the pentagon even look at the demographics? it seemed like every AHB or GSAB HQ was uncomfortably aware that their senior NCOs were just going to evaporate come 2021.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2020 20:59

brains: May 12, 2004

Ashmole posted:

I still lose my poo poo that my PT test at Fort Carson is not in any way scaled to reflect that I'm at 6500 loving feet

EDIT: also I need to add that my unit is seriously considering going back to telework because CO is having massive uptick in covid. Hell yes.

on the other hand, training at 6000+ft and then going to 200ft in southern alabama to immediately test against your peers with no adjustment in scoring is extremely cool and good

# ¿ Jul 2, 2020 21:08

brains: May 12, 2004

Mustang posted:

It's honestly super depressing seeing so many friends from the Army going super chud on social media these days. I'm curious what current polling would show for support of Trump in the military. From social media posts it seems to be stronger than ever, people that used to never post political poo poo are now posting tons of chud nonsense.

i watched it happen in real time during the obama years. every day up to 2016 increasingly included fox news tuned in on every TV (in the whole army, it seemed like), constant bemoaning about "the snowflakes," openly insulting obama himself (how he was a traitor, kenyan, muslim, etc) and as soon as trump was elected it turned into "how dare those unpatriotic LIBERALS constantly criticize our god-emperor. hail trump."

it was pretty loving depressing.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2020 00:44

brains: May 12, 2004

Army Times posted:

New Army aviators will incur 10-year service obligations, up from six, starting in October

Commissioned and warrant officers who enter flight training starting in October will incur a 10-year service obligation once they become rated Army aviators, according to guidance published Aug. 12. The service requirement is four years longer than the previous commitment.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy signed a memorandum for the change in June. The new requirement matches the service commitment for Air Force aviators.

Soldiers currently in training are exempt from the new policy, according to Chief Warrant Officer 5 William S. Kearns, an aviation policy integrator for the Army G-1 office. The new policy will also apply to the Army Reserve and National Guard, though the obligated service remains part-time.
...
Like the other armed services, the Army has struggled with pilot retention in recent years.

While the service�s aggregate number of pilots is suitable, there has been an imbalance between junior, mid-level and senior aviators across the force, Army officials have acknowledged over the past year.

clearly the solution to masses of pilots ditching at the 10-12 year mark is to force new ones to serve 10 years

hmmm, what could it be, though? why are mid-career pilots leaving in droves?

Army Times posted:

Army pilots get first incentive pay raise in 20 years

The Army just bumped up its Aviation Incentive Pay rates for the first time in more than 20 years to compete with the civilian market, according to new pay charts posted by Army Human Resources Command.
...
The Army has also been working to address its pilot shortfall through exit surveys to figure out exactly why pilots are leaving for the private sector.

�One question I often get asked is, are the airlines impacting your shortfall,� Brig. Gen. Michael C. McCurry, director of Army aviation for the Office of the deputy chief of staff G-3/5/7, said in September. �Well the short answer is, we don�t know. We don�t have good measurements out there right now to tell us why an aviator is getting out of the force."

The service doesn�t have trouble recruiting pilots, Army leaders have said, but there is a problem with producing them at the schoolhouse and keeping mid-level soldiers in the cockpit.

McCurry said the service has been working to increase production at Fort Rucker, Alabama, the Army�s primary flight training post and home to the Army Aviation Center for Excellence.

The operations tempo for Army combat aviation brigades has not decreased over the past few years.

�Today, every active component CAB is allocated or on mission,� McCurry said in September. �The appetite for Army aviation has not subsided, as the receiver of continual requests for aviation forces in the fight from the [Combatant Commands], that appetite has not waned.�

i guess we'll never know

# ¿ Aug 22, 2020 04:02

brains: May 12, 2004

mlmp08 posted:

I feel for CAB units a lot more than for Air Force aviators. CAB and air defense are in a race for highest rate of deployment:dwell to Middle East or Korea with barely fixed equipment and barely meeting critical manning and training gates.

it's this. especially when "dwell" consists of 3 or 4 month-long TDYs per year in support of CTC rotations, a month-long career development school, regionally-aligned missions, firefighting support, DSCA missions, and so on. followed by deployment and repeat. when your officers are averaging 10 out of 12 months away from home over the course of a decade, don't be surprised if the crumbs scraped off the DOD budget table aren't enough to keep them retained in service.

and man do i feel bad for all those THAAD and patriot operators out there who just bounce from deployment site to deployment site on an endless loop, for their entire career.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2020 23:06

brains: May 12, 2004

A White Guy posted:

One of my distant cousins is an Air Force fighter pilot. When he first commissioned, he came home at Christmas showing off a video of him flying and poo poo. He clearly really enjoyed it...at first. I really only see this dude at Christmas, and it's been about four years since he commissioned. The disillusionment has been palpable. Last time I saw him, I asked him if he was gonna re-up (or whatever the term is. Recomission?) and his response was "I'd rather be dipped head first into poo poo than do another eight years of this loving garbage."

obviously the air force only needs to offer him a bit more money, then he'd finally be happy to stay blue forever!

# ¿ Aug 23, 2020 17:28

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 18:30

brains: May 12, 2004

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/11/12/officials-americans-among-7-peacekeepers-killed-in-sinai-helicopter-crash/

quote:

6 Americans among 8 peacekeepers killed in Sinai helicopter crash.

A helicopter belonging to an international peacekeeping force has crashed in Egypt�s Sinai Peninsula, killing six Americans, according to the Multinational Force and Observers.

�During a routine mission in the vicinity of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, nine members of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) were involved in a helicopter crash,� according to a statement from MFO. �We are deeply saddened to report that eight uniformed MFO members were killed; six U.S. citizens, one French, and one Czech. One U.S. MFO Member survived and was medically evacuated. Names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.�

gently caress

# ¿ Nov 12, 2020 18:01

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > Marine Thread 2023: A Shiny New 2020 Army Thread for Your Deployment (skip to p12)