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So the thought popped into my mind that, with less "flight time available," is it a better time to be a commissioned officer vs a warrant officer? To put it simply, with the commissioned guys having more say in the flight schedules, will they be likely to put themselves on the schedules to keep their minimums?

 

Or is that just more greedy than any officer would be?

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So the thought popped into my mind that, with less "flight time available," is it a better time to be a commissioned officer vs a warrant officer? To put it simply, with the commissioned guys having more say in the flight schedules, will they be likely to put themselves on the schedules to keep their minimums?

 

Or is that just more greedy than any officer would be?

Generally the Commander and the SP dictate the schedule. If you have good Plt Leaders they know their place in life is not to be a pilot, it's to lead soldiers. They can try as hard as they want to force themselves on the schedule but it's the SP and the IPs who have to evaluate them. You could say they really " hold the keys" to the aircraft and they can cancel a flight in a heart beat if they want to. Actually I should say the CEs truly "hold the keys" to the aircraft, that's why I always bought them doughnuts! Best advice I can give you new guys, treat your CEs with respect and always make sure they're well fed. :)

 

PLs have various roadblocks to the cockpit. First, unless they're incredibly smart or lucky, they aren't going to get PC during their tour as PL. Second, you have have only two PLs but you have maybe 14 Warrants. No Commander in his right mind is going to let his "prime" pilots suffer so that a couple of PLs can try and make PC in a year. Not gonna happen. Third, the CDR has got the PLs doing so much of his work, that they don't have time to fly on a consistent basis. Finally, since the PLs are so busy with other non flying duties, they generally don't have time for much studying and it shows during progression and evals. That's where the SP and the IPs concentrate their efforts in getting the best qualified signed off on PC first. I will say I have seen some really squared away PLs and I bent over backwards to get them signed off. It's pretty rare though.

 

I don't want to make it sound like Warrant against Commision either. I tried hard to get my PLs in the cockpit but with limited available aircraft and hours, priorities must be made. The best a Commision guy could hope for is a path similar to this:

 

First assignment-PL and get maybe 300 hrs TT

Second assignment-Asst S-3 and leave with 450 hrs TT

Third Assigment-CPT's Career Course at Rucker

Fourth assignment- CO CDR, get PC and leave with 700 hrs TT.

Last assignment-somewhere in BDE and then get out after 6 yrs with maybe 700-800 hrs.

 

I've said it before. Not a single one of my Commision buds got out of the Army and went on to become pilots. They can't compete with 2,000-3,000 hr former Warrants. It's just the way things are in the Army. Believe me it used to be worse. Back in like 2007 some of the senior Army Aviation leadership (Gen Cody) changed some of the CDR's Guide rules. You couldn't assign a LT out of flight school straight to a staff position. They had to be assigned a FAC 1 position first. Also they made it so a CO CDR had to be PC within 6 months of assuming command. Used to be they would spend their entire time as CO CDR as a PI.

 

Basically it comes to to this. If you want to fly the most hours in the Army then you better go Warrant. Obviously they expect you to set the example and be a leader, but your primary mission is to be a technical expert on that aircraft. Now, if you want to help your unit behind the scenes and do all the never ending PPT, training plans, coordination, etc, etc, you go Commission.

 

Years ago in flight school I was running with a friend and trying to figure out what type aircraft he wanted to fly. I remember him saying " I don't really care dude, I'm putting in for a Commision ASAP. I never really cared about the flying stuff, I just wanna lead soldiers." While I was surprised, I respected his decision. It's a hard decision to make by putting soldier's welfare ahead of personal gain. We all take a path where we believe we can best serve our country. Mine was to fly my butt off because that's what I believe Uncle Sam bought these aircraft for...to make a difference. But none of us can fly anything without the Commssioned guys doing the planning and coordinating the logistical nightmare which is Army Aviation. Everyone has a role, some are just more visible than others.

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I've had a much different experience with my commissioned guys. They always had final say over the flight schedule and typically ensured they got at least as many hours as the warrants, usually more. They had a great excuse for it after it became a requirement to make PC as a commander.

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I've had a much different experience with my commissioned guys. They always had final say over the flight schedule and typically ensured they got at least as many hours as the warrants, usually more. They had a great excuse for it after it became a requirement to make PC as a commander.

Yeah I will say our sister BTL had a good ole boy system going on down range. The Commission guys were forcing themselves in the schedule at the expense of the Warrants. The BTL SP was signing these guys off on PC when they had no real world CONUS experience. When they do that all they are is hurting Army Aviation. If you have a bunch of PLs getting pushed through, then they leave to do some staff job, they're almost useless as a PC. When a CO CDR has a big mission that requires his most proficient high time Warrant PCs, he's not going to have them. He's gonna have some low time PC Commission guys sitting in BTL or BDE to choose from. That type of system isn't safe and will hurt readiness in the long run.

 

There are some Commission Officers who simply did not know Warrants flew. My first PL out of flight school was one of these. He went flying in a an Army aircraft in ROTC and decided that's the career for him. Unfortunately he was in for a rude awakening. He made the best of it though. He balanced his PL duties with flying and never took valuable flight time from the Warrants. He got his PC just before he went to staff and a few years later went on to become a CO CDR. Of course he got out and went to the business sector like most of them do.

 

I had another PL who I knew right before I retired. He was one of the aviation college guys who also probably knew nothing about Warrants. He came up to me one day and asked about how he could build helo time outside of work. I really didn't know what to tell him. I felt sorry for him in that he had gotten himself into a job that has more to do with flying a desk than an aircraft. I just wish he would've done his homework on Army Aviation before joining.

 

There are plenty of Commission Officers who go onto great things in Army Aviation. You have 160th, XPs, fixedwing, and some go on to command Flight Concepts. All of these guys can pretty much write their own ticket when it comes to flying outside the Army. The thing is, a lot of them develope connections in the business sector and choose that over the daily grind of a professional pilot. When I was applying for my first flying job, I was amazed at how much it's dominated by former Warrants. That's just the way it is.

 

Historically Warrants have filled a gap in Army Aviation. If there ever comes a time where the Army has enough LTs to be a full up commission aviation, then the Warrants will go away. I don't think that will happen though and even the Navy is an example of this. They're having problems manning helo and transport cockpits so they've brought back flying WOs. Warrants fill a role in a specialized field, plus we're cheap labor. :)

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When a CO CDR has a big mission that requires his most proficient high time Warrant PCs, he's not going to have them. He's gonna have some low time PC Commission guys sitting in BTL or BDE to choose from. That type of system isn't safe and will hurt readiness in the long run.

The long run isn't even all that long. My sister unit was critically short on experienced warrants thanks to that policy among others on the previous deployment. The new group of core PCs only had experience flying FOB to FOB in the day. Then they were thrown into the flight lead position on an air assault under zero illum because they were the best we had available. Found out the hard way that just 1-2 degrees nose low at 200 feet will only take a few seconds to kill you if you don't have a really good scan of your instruments.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Obama budget targets millionaires, replaces sequester cutsBy Mark Felsenthal and Jeff Mason | Reuters – 1 hr 18 mins ago

By Mark Felsenthal and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday proposed a budget that would sharply trim the U.S. deficit over three years by forcing millionaires to pay more in taxes and enacting spending cuts that replace the "sequester" reductions that went into place last month.

President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget blueprint ensures that those making $1 million a year or more would have to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes, after gifts to charity, officials said.

That increase, along with spending cuts and a 28 percent cap on tax deductions for high earners, would bring the U.S. budget deficit down to 2.8 percent of GDP by 2016 and 1.7 percent by 2023, senior administration officials told reporters. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in February projected the U.S. deficit to be 5.3 percent of GDP this year.

Obama is due to release his full budget at 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT) and to make remarks at that time.

The president's budget stands little chance of being enacted into law and is meant to serve largely as a negotiating tool with Republicans in Congress, who have outlined budget proposals of their own.

Senior administration officials said that, in spite of Republican leaders' resistance to tax increases, they hoped Obama's plan could lead to a deficit reduction accord.

"There continue to be people who are on the Republican side ... in the Senate at least, who are saying things that would give you some hope that there is a path to a deal," a senior administration official told reporters.

The president's advisers said the budget proposal would achieve $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. Added to the $2.5 trillion in deficit cuts from past efforts, the total would be above the $4 trillion reduction both Republicans and the White House have said would be an acceptable goal.

Republicans quickly dismissed Obama's proposal, particularly his deficit reduction plans, which they described as not serious.

"When you cut through the spin and get to the facts, it looks like there's less than $600 billion worth of (deficit) reduction in there - and that's over a decade - all of it coming from tax increases," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

"In other words, it's not a serious plan. For the most part, just another left-wing wish list," he said.

LOOKING FOR A DEAL

The president is breaking from the tradition of using the largely symbolic budget release to outline his ideal tax and spending proposals. Instead, he is trying to relaunch talks to resolve a long-running fiscal battle with his Capitol Hill adversaries.

To do so, Obama is offering a concession that has enraged many of his supporters: adopting a less generous measure of inflation to calculate cost-of-living increases for the beneficiaries of many federal programs. One result would be diminished benefits for most recipients of the popular Social Security retirement program.

Although Obama has pledged to shield some of the most vulnerable beneficiaries, the proposal has drawn strong opposition from Democrats and groups representing labor and the elderly.

At the same time, his budget proposal faces seemingly insurmountable opposition from Republican leaders, who reject any new tax revenues.

Obama's hope is to build a coalition of lawmakers willing to compromise, although most observers see that as unlikely. He has invited 12 Republicans to dinner at the White House on Wednesday in an effort to soften resistance.

"The question is, are Republicans going to be willing to come to us to do the serious thing that they say is so important in terms of reducing our deficit," a senior administration official said in a conference call with reporters the day before the budget release.

Both sides are so dug in that they were unable to prevent some $85 billion in across-the-board "sequestration cuts" from going into effect March 1.

Obama's budget proposal would replace those cuts with his original deficit reduction proposal from December. That offer included $930 billion in spending reductions and some $580 billion in tax revenues.

The president's budget includes spending on policy priorities such as infrastructure and early childhood education. He would pay for those programs with additional taxes and the elimination of some tax breaks for the well-off.

The budget also includes a 10 percent tax credit for small businesses that raise wages or hire new workers.

Obama's budget is a clear contrast with a rival blueprint put forward by Representative Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee and potential 2016 presidential candidate.

"You can invest in the middle class, create jobs, and reduce our deficits," a senior administration official said. "We don't have to choose between deficits as far as the eye can see and the sort of austerity that's in the Paul Ryan budget."

Ryan's bill aims to balance the budget in 10 years through deep cuts to healthcare and social programs while lowering tax rates.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Fred Barbash and Eric Beech)

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-budget-targets-millionaires-replaces-sequester-cuts-100147453--sector.html

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The following was posted on aviationintel.com.

 

"I find it very interesting that the USAF is grounding 17sqdrns including the Thunderbirds, yet Air Force One showed up in San Fransico earlier this month along with Marine One, a squadron of Marine transport helicopters, the Presidential Motorcade, multiple heavy transports + hundreds of Secret Service agents so that President Obama could raise millions for Nancy Pelosis reelection. Yet the rest of us wont get to see nor interact with the military we pay for this year. Think of it as ending White House Public tours but at 600kts and 7.5Gs"

 

 

Have to say...I agree with the author .

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