Air Force Academy Welfare Pilots

[Murphy]

The Army Air Force Academy is pretty much an embarrasment. All I ever hear about the place is stuff like this or sex scandals.

Why don't you apply. Maybe some male cadet will make you your bitch. Just remember to not kiss and tell.

 

[CheyDogFlies]

Academy grads are not eligible to have GI Bill pay any portion of the type rating. If you want to stir the pot, at least get your facts correct.

Not true, my friend.
If you were a USAFA grad, went to pilot training, and took the early out at say $100K before taxes...If you went to the AFRES, you are now eligible for the GI Bill, and can get most of that type rating paid for. Yes, enough to make some of us sick. But all legal. And do I blame anyone?

No. Just dumb luck that it worked out so well for them. There's nothing wrong with going to USAFA just to have the goal of being a commercial pilot someday, as long as you follow all the rules they give you along the way. Just dumb luck.

 

[Black Hawk]

Hats off to'em. He is a hero in my book. He also could have had the needs of service assign him a MH-60 flying around the sandbox at night at low level. He could have been killed while serving a combat zone. It is a risk everyone takes in the service. He is no more a welfare pilot than a ROTC or any service sponsored college program recipient. These are open to everyone. If it is such a good deal go down and join up.

I'll second that. Anyone that competes and earns a slot in any of military academies and fulfills their commitment to serve is OK in my book.

 

[retired guy]

The Army Air Force Academy is pretty much an embarrasment. All I ever hear about the place is stuff like this or sex scandals.

What the he!! is "The Army Air Force Academy"?

 

[Andy]

Academy grads are not eligible to have GI Bill pay any portion of the type rating. If you want to stir the pot, at least get your facts correct.

Just to make sure that we are factually correct, MOST Academy Grads aren't eligible for the GI Bill.
I was prior enlisted when I entered the Academy and had already paid into the GI Bill by the time that I entered the Academy. In fact, the GI bill paid for my Commercial Single Engine. I ended up getting my CFI and ATP after that without using the GI Bill; I found that the cost of a 141 school was more for me than just going to some fly by night part 61 operator who churns out freshly minted pilots.



To the original poster, don't stereotype. Not all of us who went to the Academy had dreams of flying for the airlines; it's just that sometimes that's the way that things work out.
Personally, I wanted to fly a fighter. During UPT, I nicknamed my left fist Armour and my right fist Hormel. ... I was disappointed to get a KC-135, but was happy just to survive UPT. It wasn't a picnic.

As for a KC-135 flying out of harm's way, I beg to differ. I was sent to Al Dhafra, UAE right after Saddam rolled into Kuwait. We flew orbits ~20 miles off of the Kuwait border with our mission being to refuel the bulk of the US fighters in the gulf ... off of the Independence. The KC-135 has no RWR gear and we had no AWACS giving us a threat picture. It would've been easy to schwack us with an F-1 flying low across the desert floor and popping up below us.
I rotated out before the Storm, but some of my squadron buddies had refueling tracks DEEP in Iraq during the initial push - a few KC-135s were considered more expendable than F-117s.

 

[727C47]

He served,end of story

 

[MountainFreak]

I've seen some ignorant posts, but this one is near the top of the heap.

First, to piggyback on what Andy and a few others have said, the tanker does NOT keep you out of harms way. I was also in Saudi about 10 days after the invasion, and I personally had to bug out more than once after the Iraqis waited for the F-15s to RTB, and they vectored the F-1's and Migs directly on our aircraft at high speed. We called ourselves "Mig Bait". Many of my buds were in Riyadh getting SCUD attacked every night, donning chem gear, and hearing the SCUD/Patriot debris hit the roof, only to get up every day and fly more refueling missions over Iraq (Strawberry track ring a bell?)

Second, what do you care what his motivation to serve is? The point is HE SERVED. From what I gather, that is more than you can say. He is just as much at risk as the guy/gal out there who signs up for mom and apple pie. Maybe this guy complains a lot, but that has nothing to do with his accomplishments.

Finally, to Instructordude: Please be careful about what or whom you proclaim to be an "embarassment". I don't have the command of the English language to come up with an appropriate response, so I am left with this timeless quote (attributed sometimes to either Mark Twain or Lincoln); “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

 

[Deuce130]

Dam, looks like I'm a welfare pilot. After 13 years hard work to qualify for an appointment to the zoo, after 4 years of busting my butt there, after one year of hard work at UPT, another year at RTU, and 8 years of working and studying my a** off in AFSOC to be a good copilot, Aircraft commander, evaluator pilot, weapons school grad, IDE selectee, 500 hours of combat time and five deployments, I decided to get out and join the airlines. I'd like to thank the American taxpayer for funding my type ratings, experience, and hours. Man, I never saw that coming. Me! A welfare case! Thanks, America, and thank you too, Mr. Disgruntled Civilian Airline Pilot Guy!

 

[instructordude]

What the he!! is "The Army Air Force Academy"?

The place where guys learn to fly fast, really fast jets, date their hot Astronautical Profesor but don't salute her, play beach volleyball and etc................:laugh:

 

[Afterprop]

Truth be known . . . as soon as I was accepted into the zoo, at the bar I used to hang out, they started calling me Tax Burden . . .

For those who denigrate our military bro's & sister's service: KMFA. (This isn't to say our academies don't have issues; they do. They are a reflection of our society; as they should be . . . not a glorified senator's son school)

A toast to the host . . .