UPT advice

[Otto77]

I agree with Deuce on this one. If anyone is having trouble in UPT, there are much more imaginative and effective ways to helping someone without punishing (did someone actually say "hazing??") the entire flight. Formal release is one thing...at least you can spend time in the flight room studying or chair flying or something. Keeping formal release til everyone gets their act together can at least be useful.

Wearing blues as a motivational tool? Not seeing it. Just more of the "I did it, you have to do it" garbage. We need to get back to "Fly, Fight, Win," and antics like this are just that...antics.

Yeah..speaking of which we just got put in blues for the whole week because 2 folks are having problems showing up on time for ********************...I think its rediculous to take it out on all of us..cant wait to get back to my AFRC unit ha!

 

[Goatpilot]

I have a similar story with a happy ending: My class was placed in blues POST-Solo due to recurring grade book errors. Like mentioned earlier, it was a real pain to "dress-up" between sorties/sims. Imagine leaving your blues hanging in the bathroom. Our "buds" in other flights thought it would be great fun to switch name tags and conduct other uniform buffonary. Needless to say I had business at MPF one day and the MPF Chief (a Captain if I remember right) asked me why I was wearing blues. I told her the truth...gradebook errors. She wore blues and asked me if I thought it was punishment to wear the service dress of our country. My answer was of course not but a Flt CC holds all the cards and it was a battle not worth fighting as a Tweet student.

A few days later during formal brief, our Flt CC informed us we no longer had to wear blues. During a discussion about it with some of the IPs later, it was mentioned by them that apparently one of us had talked to a MPF chief, who BTW works directly for the Wing CC, who in-turn complained about officers being punished by wearing their uniform. The subsequent firestorm came down from above pretty quick and pretty hard. Life was still rough after that in "THUNDERBOLT" but at least we were in bags again.

 

[K-Mart]

I have a similar story with a happy ending: My class was placed in blues POST-Solo due to recurring grade book errors. Like mentioned earlier, it was a real pain to "dress-up" between sorties/sims. Imagine leaving your blues hanging in the bathroom. Our "buds" in other flights thought it would be great fun to switch name tags and conduct other uniform buffonary. Needless to say I had business at MPF one day and the MPF Chief (a Captain if I remember right) asked me why I was wearing blues. I told her the truth...gradebook errors. She wore blues and asked me if I thought it was punishment to wear the service dress of our country. My answer was of course not but a Flt CC holds all the cards and it was a battle not worth fighting as a Tweet student.

A few days later during formal brief, our Flt CC informed us we no longer had to wear blues. During a discussion about it with some of the IPs later, it was mentioned by them that apparently one of us had talked to a MPF chief, who BTW works directly for the Wing CC, who in-turn complained about officers being punished by wearing their uniform. The subsequent firestorm came down from above pretty quick and pretty hard. Life was still rough after that in "THUNDERBOLT" but at least we were in bags again.

"T-Bolt" was everything bad about the Air Force rolled up into one flight. What a horrible place to be.

 

[hindsight2020]

yeah, those flights still exist, bringing down morale one class at a time. Lots of bitter souls at AETC. I guess it makes sense to bring down the students, after all misery loves company. The only saving grace I've found is that as a Reservist I get to bail out of this qweep at least eventually, some of my active brethren won't be so fortunate.

As to the value of formal release, I don't see it. It's another monkey wrench in the bag of distractions that detract from the mission at hand. Even so, it would be somewhat bearable if set up for only a few weeks. But when the expectation is to be on it for the whole duration of the training Phase, yeah good luck convincing anybody of its value, particularly to the USN/USMC who could have been in NAS Whiting in the big boy program..ouch! I wouldn't mind graduating 6 months later for that peace of mind. Mother Blue might have inherited the budget, but the more time I spend in the joint training environment the more convinced I become that our maritime counterparts inherited all the common sense.

 

[KarmaPolice]

No, my point is the GWOT and hazing a few UPT studs have nothing to do with each other. If the flt cc felt the need to put dudes in blues, so be it. Peer pressure to get your act together can be a great motivator for some. I think we were on formal release in 38's for like 4 months. Did it suck? Yes, but now that I'm out of there, who cares? Maybe it's done to expose us early to following useless and stupid regs/orders that seem to never cease trickling down from senior leaders even today.

Dude, really. You're coming off as a serious tool. it's kind of freaking me out.

 

[Slice121]

Dude, really. You're coming off as a serious tool. it's kind of freaking me out.

Dude really. You're a bigger tool than I am if reading something on FI freaks you out.

 

[bcangf16]

wrong post

 

[caliman]

thanks for all the advice everyone..i really apprieciate the extra insight! one other question...how do they treat guard guys down there...instructors and other students? just curious

The general feeling is that you're there just to make it through with the path of least resistance. I was a flight commander and whenever I had a guard guy that acted like that, I thought to myself, "figures". Not all of the guard guys were like that and you can rest assured that you'll get as much out of the training as you want to get out of it. Have some pride and do your best. Your fellow students may feel like you have somewhat of an edge because you're not competing for an assignment, but that's easy to overcome. Be a good class mate and remember that no one likes an ass kisser. Don't worry about being the "guard guy", but understand that there are a few that will have some negative preconceived ideas about the "guard guy". Prove them wrong.

I wasn't a "guard guy", but when I was in pilot training I sometimes wished I was. Good luck.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The general feeling is that you're there just to make it through with the path of least resistance. I was a flight commander and whenever I had a guard guy that acted like that, I thought to myself, "figures". Not all of the guard guys were like that and you can rest assured that you'll get as much out of the training as you want to get out of it. Have some pride and do your best. Your fellow students may feel like you have somewhat of an edge because you're not competing for an assignment, but that's easy to overcome. Be a good class mate and remember that no one likes an ass kisser. Don't worry about being the "guard guy", but understand that there are a few that will have some negative preconceived ideas about the "guard guy". Prove them wrong.

I wasn't a "guard guy", but when I was in pilot training I sometimes wished I was. Good luck.

I kind of agree. Have some pride where it counts. There is a lot of meaningless hazing that goes on at SUPT.

Take your studies seriously and behave like a professional officer. You'll be able to see where good training ends, and hazing begins. Because these guys/gals live in a training enviornment where people are competing for their futures they tend to get a little tunnel visioned, and are used to students willing to go through anything unquestioning. Plus, some of them are robots whose brains think only via Air Force regulations. Focus on what will make you a better aviator and asset to your squadron. SUPT is without a doubt the best flight training in the world. But it's not all about flight training.

Not being willing to do innane things which have no training benefit to you or to the Air Force can be seen as seeking out "The path of least resistance". (As the previous poster may have alluded to.) They'll be looking to brand you as a "lazy reservist" or "guard bum" as if the Air Force is a religion and it's regulations the Holy Bible.

Take it seriously, but you are going to have the option to put it into a different perspective. You've got your job, your unit has already interviewed you, and is sending you there to get training. They are sure you have what it takes to make it through, or they would not have hired you. You don't have to prove yourself in the same way the Active Duty guys/gals are going to want to. They aren't going there under the same circumstances, they are there to get training, and also to earn assignments.

Guard/Reserve folks who are coming through can sometimes rub them the wrong way. Just beware, you'll be under a different kind of microscope.

We have some guys who decide to drink the coolaid and go for the gusto. They come back with their awards and think it means something to us. In reality, in the Guard/Reserve world, at least as far as I've seen, it will only mean something to you.

Your first year back at the unit is going to have a million times more impact on your career than the year at SUPT. Don't loose sight of that.

 

[FADECtoBLACK]

Plus, some of them are robots whose brains think only via Air Force regulations.

Academy guys...