On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 17:37:54 GMT, Robey Price
wrote:

After an exhausting session with Victoria's Secret Police, Ed Rasimus
confessed the following:

First, if your unit is transitioning to a new aircraft and you don't
have sufficient retainability to qualify for the re-qual, you don't
get trained. It isn't losing interest.

Bull**** and you know it.

A very logical, reasoned and well-crafted entry to the argument. Can't
you at least save the scatology until the end/

A 6 year obligation gives you sufficient
retainability. Period.

It give you great retainability after 4.5 years--you've got a year and
a half to go. BUT, and this is an important distinction, Bush was an
ANG pilot and not a full-timer. So, that means the transition would
require full-time VOLUNTARY activation for the check-out and then
would return only minimal IP effectiveness or operational return in
the new system.

The unit spent the time and money to send you
to UPT, the prudent thing (vice "fraud, waste, and abuse") would be to
get a return on the ANG's/AF's investment.

In 1971, I was running the USAF Undergraduate Rated Officer Assignment
shop at Randolph--a MAJCOM staff position that handled input and
graduate assignment for USAF flying training programs. The annual
pilot training production for all services was slashed from a peak of
near 5500/year in USAF to half of that. The Navy was similarly
slashed.

While the USAF chose to turn off production at the recruiter--stop
further input, the NAVY chose to walk into Pensacola one morning and
release more than 400 student officers in pilot training, some who
were within two weeks of graduation. Several of those with all that
training time and money invested petitioned for service transfer and
the USAF picked them up.

The point is that during '71-'73, the AF was overwhelmed with pilots.
We had no shortage, in fact we were creating the "Rated Supplement" to
warehouse pilots in "career broadening" ground jobs because there were
no cockpit slots available.

Lots of folks were leaving the active duty force and eager to seek ANG
and AFRES slots. Many had loads of experience and since the airlines
were over-loaded with applicants they were looking for jobs.

gwb lost interest, he never
said he was ineligble. gwb signed a statement of intent in 1968,
saying he planned to make flying in the TX ANG a life long commitment.

No one ever signed up for active or reserve duty to a "life long
commitment." No one. You had an active duty service commitment. It
varied at times, but could also be modified either to shorten or
lengthen based on needs of the service. When I came on active duty in
'64 it was four years. Later it went to six. Sometimes it was
curtailed to reduce the force. Never was it "life long"--Can I return
your "bull****" with interest at this point?



Second, if your unit is becoming a training squadron vice an
operational squadron and you don't have sufficient experience to
become an instructor in the training unit, you don't get upgraded. It
isn't losing interest.

As the training officer in a line squadron I processed paperwork to
make guys IPs with less than 500 hours...some approved some not. The
111th FIS still had F-102s on hand thru 1973. Plenty of time for a guy
that wanted to make the transition to get the minimum 500 hours. And
the USAF/ANG these nice things called "waivers."

Want proof? A co-worker flew F-15 Albinos, never dropped a bomb in his
life. Got hired as an A-7 RTU IP at Tuscon when the wing was
converting to F-16s. He flew the SLUF for 10 months. Then he
transitioned to the F-16. ANG/AFRes units hire C-5 pilots to be FACs,
F-16 guys to fly C-130s, C-141 pilots to fly A-10s.

Once again you are garbling full-time (the F-15A guy) who probably
accrued 1000 hours operational by the time he separated going to work
as an RTU IP (a full-time Guard slot).

When needs are high, one thing happens. When supply exceeds demand,
something else occurs.

"I know a guy" isn't a good basis for generalizations.

If a unit thinks highly enough of a guy/gal they will hire them. ANG
units favor folks already in the unit...happens all the time.

Fifth, some folks don't have an all-encompassing interest in flying
fighters for a career. They may have other goals and ambitions.
Nothing at all unusual about that.

True enough, but everyone I ever met kept flying as long as they
could.

Good for you. A lot of guys I know kept flying for as long as they
could. A lot of others sought fame and fortune up the staff-officer
career ladder to become generals. Still others got out and became
doctors, lawyers, and indian chiefs. A lot of guys walk away from
their last ride in a fighter and never look back. So what?



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
"Phantom Flights, Bangkok Nights"
Both from Smithsonian Books
***www.thunderchief.org