September 2014 IDC Board

[aleximus]

I read an article that said the air force is really in need of aviation candidates. Because of budget cuts, experienced aviators are getting out in droves and the Air Force is offering bonuses to keep them in to the sum of something like $120K for four years. Most of them are getting out to pursue becoming commercial pilots where they can get more air time and make more money. The age limit for AF pilots is 35 I believe.

I think any rated position has an age cut-off of 28 actually.

 

[psulaw0929]

"Top Gun" as a pilot recruiting film is about as accurate as using "Battleship" to tell how real Navy works.

I didn't say it was realistic, but I remember after I saw the original Top Gun, I couldn't dream of becoming anything other than a naval aviator. And then I saw Hunt for Red October and knew that I needed to be on a sub. And then I joined the Navy as a Nuke sub-vol and fell in love with a girl who wanted to be able to talk to me when I was away for months at a time, so I switched to surface. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of good aircraft carrier motivational movies, especially when you're stuck in the bottom of the ship staring at gauges and taking logs for hours on end and you end up breaking up with the girl that caused you to go surface in the first place.

 

[psulaw0929]

I think any rated position has an age cut-off of 28 actually.

You're right. I don't remember where I read 35 but everything else I've read seems to indicate 28.

 

[PensacolaBayou]

"Top Gun" as a pilot recruiting film is about as accurate as using "Battleship" to tell how real Navy works.

What? Next you are going to tell me that Under Siege wasnt accurate. I had several old timers tell me that cooks are trained in hand-to-hand combat, explosives, and run around with playmates during their deployments.

 

[Rickblaine22]

No..."Under Siege" was accurate.

 

[psulaw0929]

No..."Under Siege" was accurate.

Good! I'm still having a hard time getting over you telling me that Battleship wasn't accurate!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I read an article that said the air force is really in need of aviation candidates. Because of budget cuts, experienced aviators are getting out in droves and the Air Force is offering bonuses to keep them in to the sum of something like $120K for four years. Most of them are getting out to pursue becoming commercial pilots where they can get more air time and make more money. The age limit for AF pilots is 35 I believe.

They probably need people to stay, at the career fair I was at recently the USAF OR was telling people they could be waiting a bit for a spot for a pilot, but if they were an engineer there were positions open for them in technical fields.

 

[psulaw0929]

They probably need people to stay, at the career fair I was at recently the USAF OR was telling people they could be waiting a bit for a spot for a pilot, but if they were an engineer there were positions open for them in technical fields.

I was wrong, it's $225,000 for 9 years!!! (http://www.airforcetimes.com/articl...r-Force-offers-fighter-pilots-225-000-stay-in). "The reason the Air Force is being so generous is that it has a current and projected shortage of fighter pilots." The article was from last year though. I don't know if things have changed.

 

[Bam Bam]

I was wrong, it's $225,000 for 9 years!!! (http://www.airforcetimes.com/articl...r-Force-offers-fighter-pilots-225-000-stay-in). "The reason the Air Force is being so generous is that it has a current and projected shortage of fighter pilots." The article was from last year though. I don't know if things have changed.

One of my good buddies did the nine year / $225K contract. He and I were prior enlisted together so he was going to stay and get his 20 anyway. He did the contract as a F-16 driver and then switched to the B-1B. He loves his job!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I was wrong, it's $225,000 for 9 years!!! (http://www.airforcetimes.com/articl...r-Force-offers-fighter-pilots-225-000-stay-in). "The reason the Air Force is being so generous is that it has a current and projected shortage of fighter pilots." The article was from last year though. I don't know if things have changed.

Shortages at say a 10 year point do not necessarily mean shortages of people coming in, it just means the USAF has a retention problem not a recruitment problem.

 

[psulaw0929]

Shortages at say a 10 year point do not necessarily mean shortages of people coming in, it just means the USAF has a retention problem not a recruitment problem.

I understand. I was just quoting the article. My assumption is that a retention problem leads to an increase in demand for pilots. I don't think they are necessary having trouble finding new pilots.

 

[PensacolaBayou]

I was certain that ADs would have results by last Friday or today at the latest. What a ride these past couple of weeks have been. Here is looking to a result filled BOL tomorrow!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I understand. I was just quoting the article. My assumption is that a retention problem leads to an increase in demand for pilots. I don't think they are necessary having trouble finding new pilots.

unfortunately it doesn't work quite like that on the officer side because of how the flow works, on the enlisted side that theory works much better

 

[IWhopeful]

I welcome a canceled December board if it lumps that board's quotas into this board. . That probably isn't what happened with the designators that have been decided on, though. Here's to hoping IW is what's holding the board up, and more IW are selected.

 

[plastycx]

lets just double the numbers they need so we all can get in like I was saying earlier. No problems. Who cares if we are over manned for a few months. whatever!