Well...crap! Sorry about that...shows my attention to detail Maybe that's why I got out in the first place

 

Actually...I just spoke with a Recce rep at AFPC and he sent me the e-mail traffic for this recall...as of 24 Oct 08 the list on that website is current:
AFSC Accepting Applications Remarks
11A No
12A No
11T No
12T No
11B No
12B Yes Electronic Warfare Officer
11R Yes U-2 only
12R No
11E No
11H Yes HH60 Aircraft Commander or Instructor Pilot
11S No
12S No
11F Yes Fighter Pilot
12F Yes Fighter Navigator
13B Yes Air Battle Manager

Currently, 11M's ARE NOT eligible, however, that could change as I write this sentence. If you want a U-2 or a UAV (heavy guys) then this is your chance. UH...no thanks!

WarE

 

to be followed swiftly by a 365 day "opportunity," NO THANKS as well.....

fellas - know this, if you go back, know that they own you and worse yet, they know it. I have buds that have worked at AFPC and they have said they view guys that ask to come back as having their hat in their hand and Big Blue can plug them into whatever crappy assignment nobody else has wanted.

In my humble opinion, getting a guard/reserve job and bumming is by far a better option. There are plenty of those jobs out there, I got one(IMA).

 

Air Force seeks pilots to return to active duty




By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 27, 2008 7:11:35 EDT

The Air Force is trying to find out how many Reserve aviators would be willing to return to active duty and become pilots in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance jobs — just two years after some were paid to leave active duty early.
Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, sent a letter Oct. 3 to more than 900 members of the Ready Reserve to gauge volunteer interest.
Some volunteers would likely return to active duty for a limited time, according to the letter, while others could be allowed to serve as unmanned aerial vehicle pilots, manned ISR pilots and rated staff officers in the ISR community until retirement.
According to Air Force spokesman Capt. Mike Andrews, there is no set goal for how many reservists the Air Force wants to come back. “We have a significant shortage in rated officers in the near term, and hope the recall programs will help fill many of those requirements,” he said.
The recall letters were sent to 531 Individual Ready Reservists, 353 Participating Individual Ready Reservists and 31 chief pilots at various airlines. Volunteers are not being offered a financial incentive to return, Andrews said.
The Air Force shed 132 ISR pilots — 16 percent of its inventory — in fiscal 2007, when the bulk of the drawdown occurred. Some of these received voluntary separation pay to leave active duty early, though statistics were unavailable by press time.
Officers who received VSP to leave early are eligible to return to active duty under the recall program, but they would likely have to pay back their VSP, Andrews said. Those details are still being worked out, he said.
The voluntary recall comes at a time when the Air Force is scrambling to get more UAVs and other ISR capability into the war zones.
The service announced in September that at least 300 pilots will head straight from undergraduate pilot training to flying UAVs at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., during the next three years. And a program beginning in January will for the first time train nonrated officers to fly UAVs.
But it will take time to get these pilots through the pipeline, and the Air Force’s need is immediate.
Brig. Gen. Lyn D. Sherlock, director of air operations for operations, plans and requirements, and Brig. Gen. Darrell D. Jones, director of force management for manpower and personnel, told Air Force Times in September that bringing back retired and separated officers could provide a temporary solution while the service ramps up its new career training pipeline." Staff writer Michael Hoffman contributed to this story




- Unfortunately it'll be extremely difficult for the Air Force to get separated/retired/VSP'ers back to active duty without a nice carrot to dangle in front of them. They'll have to change it to say," First, Due to the shortfall of pilots, we've ammended the VSP obligation and will allow the pilots to comeback without having to repay the money. Second, we'll allow everyone who comes back to active duty a chance to sign a 5 year pilot bonus or you can choose the aircraft you'd like to return to" Now, that might spark some interest...especially those furloughed from an airline.
War E

 

I sent an email to AFPC asking for more information and this is what I got back in reply. I retired last year from the U-2 and unlike what WarEagle thinks, the U-2 is a great job.

"If you are receiving this e-mail, it means that you have expressed
interest in possible voluntary recall to active duty by providing your
contact information and comments. The purpose of this e-mail is to
provide you with what limited information is currently available
regarding this recall.

Due to the rapid expansion of unmanned aircraft systems and other
emerging mission/rated requirement sets which directly support GWOT,
demand for experienced, rated officers is greatly exceeding current
inventories. There are many different options the Air Force is
considering implementing to help lighten the burden our rated force
currently carries, one of which is a voluntary recall to active duty.
For your information, a proposed recall package is in coordination, the
details of which are still being worked. Further information will be
released as it becomes available.

Please stay tuned, and thank you for your interest."

 

Razor,

I know every flying job is what you make it. The U-2 is a great job, however, I'm looking to stay put in Oklahoma...yes, I said it...Oklahoma. So I'm looking at the E-3. There are no openings here, so back to being a stay at home dad until the furlough is complete

 

I find it hard to believe that the USAF is short on rated pilots. They must have overages in other flying AFSCs. They need to get rid of the "commander created jobs to promote people" that prevent you from flying the line and put pilots back in the cockpits. Every unit I've belonged to had senior guys hiding out in the Groups and Wings. Ironically, you only saw those guys when they needed their monthly plug or landing.

The most I ever flew in one calendar year was just over 700 hours. During that time, I deployed three times. When I wasn't on a deployment, I did everything I could to get on as many trips as possible.

But as much as I flew, there were 2-3 other guys who were just getting by doing the minimum.

I think they are making a big mistake sending UPT grads to UAVs. After flying reguarly for a year in UPT, they're going to lose those skills as they play computer games on the UAVs. These pilots aren't going to be proficient when they show up at your FTU trying to fly a multi-engine heavy or fighter/bomber.

-Fatty

 

That's tough WarEagle. I did 6 years in Oklahoma, 3 at Vance and 3 in the E-3 at Tinker. Oklahoma is, as they say, OK. It ain't great, it doesn't suck but I had a much better time in the U-2.

I'm hoping to not get furloughed from DAL and have been considering all options if I do. It really limits the options if you aren't willing to relocate.

Good luck to you. And GO VOLS!

 

While I agree that it doesn't make sense to send recent UPT grads to UAV's, I don't think that argument would work on some of our leadership. How did the guys that got banked back in the 90's handle the transition? I'm not sure how that program worked but they didn't even get to fly, did they?

 

Razor,
Oklahoma is cheap, I took the VSP last Sep and fortunately I have a sugar mama...(Borat accent) it is very very nice! Good luck at DAL...their tests showed I was crazy ! Wow, I found someone on this forum whose team we actually beat...awesome! Good luck to you!

WarE