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Important enough to be one of the first two or three assets sent to trouble spots, not important enough to fund or replace.
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Jan 28, 2022 01:18
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CommieGIR posted:Gotta love it. The Gulf Stream proof of concept got cancelled iirc? Yeah, it went nowhere. ABMS will fix everything. What ABMS will consist of remains TBD.
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Jan 28, 2022 02:22
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We'll just put every sensor on satellites and datalink it everywhere. That'll be fine, right?
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Jan 30, 2022 20:51
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That poor bastard. He was a commander years ago, right? He's gotta be in staff hell.
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Apr 13, 2022 00:06
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Not as a non-pilot, sadly.
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Apr 15, 2022 01:04
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There are definitely non-rated GOs. Exceedingly few of them. Someone mentioned OALC...yeah, there are a whopping three ALCs. I suspect those three commanders make up at least 1/3 of the total maintenance officer GOs. ABMs are rated, and there has been precisely ONE to get four stars. She was an O-6 for something like 6 or 8 years. O-6 is often a parking spot for several years of experience-broadening (staffs), even for people destined for stars. It's not like a 2-year pause in the upward climb.
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Apr 15, 2022 23:58
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AFStealth posted:My old CC was on track for a star. Well either that or burn out magnificently. Last I saw him was as an AOC/CC. But yeah he told me he lost control of his career long ago, basically at the whim of GOs above him to pave his career. Wonder where he landed now 🤔 My boss at the CAOC is now the AFCENT commander. He and two other former bosses ended up climbing through wing commander after I left, and are all still on the move. It's crazy to see...mostly good, though. Edit: My experience with prior-Es is the same. Some of the best and some of the worst.
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Apr 17, 2022 00:43
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I knew a couple of "here, let me just pull that ladder up out of your way" priors. The best academy grad is the one who never lets on that he's an academy grad.
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Apr 17, 2022 01:05
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Everything between Denver and the Mississippi is hot garbage.
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Apr 27, 2022 00:10
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antimatt posted:Omaha is legit okay. I'll agree with that. They had a cool bar and a candy store that sells candy cigarettes.
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May 3, 2022 22:27
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antimatt posted:It's still between Denver and the Mississippi, but I get it. Your other points are wholly valid. Those names don't ring a bell. I bought a growler, but I'm a couple time zones away from being able to look.
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May 5, 2022 01:48
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Dominoes posted:Did anyone else's civilian jobs just get gutted? They fired most of them community-wise for us with 30-days notice.  What community are we talking about here? I haven't heard anything like this until now, but I think my org is mostly contractor.
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May 28, 2022 23:47
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Let the games begin. 
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Jul 13, 2022 02:05
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The 2011 version was about 3 weeks before Christmas.
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Jul 14, 2022 00:03
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AFStealth posted:Well this seems like 15 years too late There's still Syria, Yemen, potentially others like Iraq or places in Africa...Ukraine...
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Aug 10, 2022 14:15
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CommieGIR posted:https://twitter.com/AthertonKD/status/1583516615173320705?s=20&t=4D_SC6n1lkQdPjl-3nYB7w Yep. Contract was signed a while ago.
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Oct 22, 2022 17:57
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Hell yes, congrats on making it to the finish line. I think you're probably loving insane for doing it, but it's sure as hell an accomplishment.
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Oct 23, 2022 02:56
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Until I bounced for higher pay/lower cost of living/to get out of the southwestern US earlier this year, I was a contractor in the WS. I worked with the C2ISR and every fighter squadron daily, and participated in Integration. By "participated" I mean planning, executing, and being the C2 lead for a couple of the early INT missions. We didn't see cyber or space (or MAF, most of the time) until INT, when they were roped in. I know how the patch will alter a flyer's career trajectory. For cyber, I have no idea. Tier 1 time is typically in the squadron. This is what everyone thinks of. Tier 2, you're usually either at a group or wing, back to the WS to get your black border patch, an AOC or similar, etc. Tier 3, think Joint Staff, an AOC staff (vs T2, where you're the ops guy), MAJCOM or NAF. AFMAN 11-415 breaks down how manning works for WOs, and gives the assignment priorities. ANG is a spin on this that I'm not too familiar with...I can only think of one guy I know who went to WS as a guardsman, and that was less than two years ago so he's been in one seat since graduation. At every level, you're in the middle of whatever's going on. Whether officially or not, patches get the chance to weigh in on major decisions. They're usually represented on the staffs that write long-term programmatic plans (ie AWACS being replaced by Wedgetail), they're the bulk of operational planners, and they're well-represented at the decision-maker level. And they very much have their own little club, giving extra weight to opinions that come from someone wearing that patch. They write the papers (WS papers, white papers, operational assessments, etc) that drive future requirements and tactics development. To me, there are two things that make up a good weapons officer: the ability to plan and apply their craft well, and the ability to teach. The best patches are the ones who bring knowledge back and share it with the unit; the rest of them come back and do paperwork and send emails and go TDY all the time. Teach, teach, TEACH until the flag goes up, then plan the gently caress out of our response. quote:You interested in how your career field makes tangible impacts and effects on enemies? You big on AirPower? If yes, go WIC, if not, don’t. This is big, and a good way to put it. When poo poo kicks off, the patches are the ones who sit around the table and develop the courses of action to be presented uphill. I got to meet a bunch of the people who, as captains and majors, planned out what became the US military response to several big news items that were discussed in here at the time. Tier 1s and Tier 2s, called in from multiple bases, given the intel update, and told to get to work. And up until that point, teaching. If you go through the course, you will see poo poo at WIC that brings everything together in a way you never will in any other exercise. It's one of the very few truly eye-opening things I experienced in the AF. Red Flag is amateur hour. "Humble, Approachable, and Credible"...from what I've seen they've gotten much better at this. My first few weapons officers were complete assholes. The first one remains the biggest rear end in a top hat I've known in the AF, and I've been in or on the periphery for almost 20 years. But about 10 years ago I started seeing names getting selected for WIC that made me think, "Oh poo poo, are they fixing it?" It's not perfect, but I'd say the successes outweigh the assholes, at least in the CGO/FGO flyer world. It's not easy, but they're not there to wash you out. Figure out what the game is, and attack it. In my squadron, the big keys were to be able to brief effectively, recognize execution failures and peel the onion back to the REAL learning point (it's almost never "just a mistake/error"), brief THAT effectively, and a big one that probably got as many WUGs hooked out as anything else: the ability to take criticism and feedback, recognizing that it's an attempt to make you better, not to attack you. Don't take it personally, don't get mad. My opinion on Weapons Officers has changed drastically from when I was a lieutenant. I've seen what they ACTUALLY do (vs the first few, who were more interested in pinning you down in offices or hallways to demonstrate their superiority), and I've seen what they can bring to a unit when they actually take their motto seriously. Godholio fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Dec 17, 2022 |
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Dec 17, 2022 18:37
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The good thing is that before you even apply, you get vetted and will to some degree shadow a weapons officer if there's one remotely local. They SHOULD prep you. In the aviation world that means you practice briefing, you practice writing, you study your rear end off. Then when you get to Nellis you can at least function, even if it's awful being a WUG. I wanted to say they WILL prep you, but the ANG dude we had a couple years ago didn't have access to anyone. He was the first one in years. So he TDY'd to Nellis repeatedly to shadow WUGs and practice controlling and all the other things that his home station doesn't normally do. Worth mentioning that not everyone who wants to go gets to apply.
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Dec 29, 2022 00:13
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Sacrist65 posted:For the people who ETS'd. Do you ever regret not sticking it out, even though you would likely have been be retired by now? My friends and peers who stuck it out are in the window for retiring. The prior-enlisted are all retired, the rest are at 18+ years. I wonder how it would've gone (ie would I ever have gotten a good assignment) if I stayed, but I don't regret leaving for a second. Absolutely gently caress the Air Force and it's blatantly transparent lies.
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Jan 28, 2023 14:32
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Spearhead the Squadron Holiday Party and emcee a promotion/retirement/awards ceremony. You'll make SrA BTZ for sure!
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Feb 11, 2023 14:59
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Citizenship is required for all three routes to becoming a commissioned officer: for application to the AF Academy, to sign an ROTC contract, or to apply to Officer Training School. It should go without saying, but citizenship is also a requirement to actually commission. Edit: Enlisting in order to commission is a bad idea, period. Yes, there are probably a half dozen officers out there who intentionally went that route and succeeded. There are far more who failed because any of a thousand things outside their control didn't work out. Got a squadron commander who doesn't like you? You're hosed. A direct supervisor who doesn't like you? You're hosed. Bad timing of a deployment, a PT-impacting injury, a change in family status...any little speed bump can send the train off the tracks, and you're still on the hook for your full enlistment term. Godholio fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Feb 13, 2023 |
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Feb 13, 2023 23:23
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The citizenship thing is going to be the same across the services. I'm curious where his AFA packet will be rejected...he can't attend, and if he isn't already well along on the path to citizenship he won't get it between acceptance and his report date. I'm genuinely surprised he was even able to apply. If he ends up pursuing enlistment, at least talk him into doing 4. If he digs it, he can stick with it and maybe get a signing bonus if recruiting woes continue. Those recruiting woes don't extend to officer ranks, by the way, and especially not to pilots. There IS a major pilot shortfall, but it's in the experienced ranks, people with 10+ years. The "new pilot" pipeline is full every year. Engineering and IT stuff...he's not going to be designing systems or anything. That poo poo is all done by contractors or other businesses. But it might give him some direction on something to pursue in those fields, either in a career or education, then he can get there. As an enlisted computer guy in the AF he's probably going to be answering the phone and emails at a help desk. My building has an E-5 who will make a "house call" to your office once there's a ticket filed, if the remote people decide it's not a network problem. It sounds like he's got stars in his eyes. Four years will probably take care of that, but hopefully it'll set him up for something better afterwards. He'll at least get the GI Bill. Or maybe it'll work out for him.
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Feb 14, 2023 23:03
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Dominoes posted:1) Yes. I got called out by a guy I worked with for 4 years at my last job, whom I ran into at a work function this week. Haven't seen him in over a year, but someone at this job called me by my actual name. "Wait, did he call you (name)? You don't do callsigns out here? Also I didn't even know that was your name." I deal with a lot of engineer types so I end up using either based on the group I'm with at a given time. Edit: There is/was a Global Hawk named Patches. Because that fucker was COVERED in little pieces of tape covering holes or something.
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Feb 19, 2023 01:25
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I knew an AF major whose callsign was PFD, as in Personal Flotation Device(s), until she went to work for a 3-star. "I'm not saying that" and now she goes by a version of her name.
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Feb 25, 2023 23:14
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Anybody at Minot? Or privy to RUMINT about what the gently caress is going on with a bunch of firings?
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Mar 1, 2023 02:48
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I'm assuming it's nukes until I hear otherwise.
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Mar 1, 2023 03:02
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Those two group commanders and "four subordinate leaders" so the description fits. We lost an MXG at Nellis, after a string of Class-A mishaps, most of which were negligent at best. Like putting a wrench through an F-35's engine.
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Mar 2, 2023 00:31
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While I think beards are a good thing, I've also noticed a distinct lack of discussion about suicides and assaults while this has been floating around.
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Mar 12, 2023 13:31
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Sacrist65 posted:Have the rates gone up recently? I genuinely don't know. I haven't seen anything from 2022 yet, but this report from 2021 has some "good" information. 2021 saw 519 servicemember suicides, as well as 202 dependents. The AF, Marines, and Navy were all down over previous years, the Army ticked upward.
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Mar 18, 2023 13:17
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OCPs were authorized as an alternative to ABUs 1 Oct 2018.
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Mar 19, 2023 01:36
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That's a low-density, very insular career field, I don't think we have any in here. I've probably only ever even met a couple of them, and only in passing during exercise mission planning. You can try and ask here, you might be able to get something from someone.
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May 13, 2023 13:08
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When I was a Lt I met a guy that made chief in 14. He looked my age.
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May 27, 2023 14:29
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Holy poo poo an A1C makes more than I did as a 2Lt.
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Jun 12, 2023 14:13
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Shalhavet posted:How long ago was that? The dollar's buying power has fallen off a cliff when compared against itself just 10 years ago. Almost 20 years 
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Jun 14, 2023 16:22
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If I were a combatant commander I'd be fighting that with every fiber of my being.
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Aug 2, 2023 21:18
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Rumor was 20%, so yikes.
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Aug 9, 2023 00:01
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Is the list out tomorrow for everyone, or for commanders?
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Aug 10, 2023 19:23
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There was a place called Blue Burrito that was good, but it might be because we'd been eating chow hall for 3 months. That was also 19 years ago, almost to the day.
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Jan 3, 2024 22:36
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hannibal posted:You were a few classes after me as I recall. (I commissioned in August. Maxwell in the summer is.. not fun.). 19 years ago right now I was back in Germany for a few weeks after attending ASBC (in Nov/Dec) and then turning right around to go to comm officer training at Keesler in Jan/Feb. I got there in September, so that checks. It was still about 85* when they shut down the air conditioning based on the calendar rather than the forecast. It was brutal, and they eventually realized they'd hosed up. But before they did, one of the other squadrons' class commanders was walking past our dorm building and spotted a pair of trainees without their PT shirts in their room doing normal poo poo like laundry or studying or whatever. It was a saturday, so no classes. He storms inside and down the hall, and we all just heard him bitch them out loudy for not being properly dressed.  Fast forward a couple months and most of us were back in town for ASBC and went out to dinner with our class commander, Capt Jack, who gave us his perspective. Whenever he got to his desk next, he saw the 341s the other guy pulled. The only information on the infraction was "naked OTs." He said he just facepalmed and said "What the gently caress," before going and finding out the whole story. 
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Jan 5, 2024 18:21
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