Tag Archives: Fighter Pilot

Pilot in Limbo after 60 Minutes Interview

Two years ago, two pilots took to 60 Minutes — with a Congressman for protection — to declare the F-22 had serious oxygen problems and the Air Force wasn’t acting with a sense of urgency to fix them.

Now, the lower ranking of the two, Capt Joshua Wilson, is still wondering if he’ll ever get back in the cockpit:

A member of the Virginia Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Squadron, Wilson hasn’t been permitted to fly the jet since early 2012. He’s fighting disciplinary actions that he sees as retribution for going public.

Wilson has reportedly had his promotion revoked, been prohibited from serving in a full-time position with ACC, and told he would face an FEB — a flying evaluation board that would likely take away his wings.

According to the report, Read more

GAO Tells AF to Improve Drone Operator Morale

A congressionally-requested Government Accounting Office report on the US Air Force drone community was recently publicized:

Senate leaders in Sept. 2012 asked the GAO to study the Air Force’s approach to managing the remotely piloted aircraft crews, which has tripled since 2008…

The intent was to analyze how the drone community is being managed and treated, in the face of rumors of low morale, low promotion rates, and underappreciated warfighters.  The GAO created and interviewed focus groups, concluding:  Read more

T-34 Crashes in Gulf, Crew Bails Out

The US Navy reported that a T-34C Turbomentor crashed in the Gulf of Mexico last Thursday:

A U.S. Navy T-34C Turbo Mentor aircraft assigned to Training Squadron 28 (VT-28) with two pilots aboard crashed today while conducting a routine training mission over the Gulf of Mexico…

The T-34 does not have ejection seats; instead, Read more

US Army Supports Air Force Plan to Cut A-10

The Air Force defended its decision to cut the A-10 from its inventory in a meeting with lawmakers last week:

Graham and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., suggested the Air Force has more work ahead to convince Congress that retiring the A-10 is a smart move.

“So for about $3.5 billion over the next five years, if [Congress] could find the money, could you afford to keep the A-10 on board?” Graham said.

Welsh said money wasn’t the only problem…

In an interesting twist, the US Army — which has traditionally been “accused” of wanting the A-10 and criticizing the Air Force for wanting to get rid of it — actually seems to be supportive of the decision:  Read more

Mustache March: Tradition, Camaraderie, and IG Complaints

Update: General Welsh announced the Mustache March winners.  Retired Naval officer Sara Zak published her own commentary in the Air Force Times, calling it all a “setback for AF’s strong women.”  US Air Force Major Deirdre Gurry begged to differ in her Air Force Times column, saying she’s “proud to say that since World War II women have been invited to join” the military “boys’ club.”

Besides the Air Force Times letter written by the disgruntled female officer, it seems the attempt at a little fun by Air Force Chief of Staff General

Mark Welsh generated some grief as well — including a concerted effort to get him fired:

Retired Navy Commander Sara Zak [sent] a complaint to the Air Force inspector general’s office, she asked that Welsh step down and rescind the challenge, saying the activity was “contrary to his Chief of Staff of the Air Force message to airmen he issued in January, [that] it perpetuated an environment conducive to sexual harassment, and that the Air Force should acknowledge [that] traditions that denigrate or fail to show proper respect to all airmen will not be accepted as part of the Air Force culture.”

Zak — whose retired Navy status makes her interest unclear — was pretty much told to pound sand, so she tried every other avenue she could think of:  Read more

USAFA: Cadet Pilot Volunteers also UAV Volunteers

The Air Force Academy published a release saying they have “typically” filled their pilot slots, but they had trouble filling non-pilot rated career fields — CSOs, ABMs, and UAVs. The issue is that all rated career fields are volunteer only. Many cadets would volunteer only for a pilot slot, and the others were going unfilled.

USAFA’s solution? If you volunteer for a pilot slot, you’re volunteering for any rated field — including UAVs:

“They cannot volunteer for just one. By volunteering Read more

Air Force Major Takes on General Welsh

US Air Force Major Jennifer Holmes, who identifies as the “senior trial counsel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland,” took issue with General Mark Welsh’s “all in” call for a Mustache March in an opinion column entitled “In Mustache March, I lose“:

I am not invited to be a part of the latest team-building game, Mustache March. I have been relegated to the bench to cheer the real players on…

This “gauntlet” thrown down by the most senior leader in our Air Force does not bring us together by tradition; it promotes Read more

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