Non-vol to the Global Hawk
 

First off, let me say that none of this post is a jab at the UAV community, just me venting after a rather shocking day.

Today I got the "great" news that I'd be leaving my beloved Fred and heading off to the Global Hawk this summer. Rant, engage....

I'm ****ed, furious, angry, upset, shocked, numb about the news that in a few months, I'll no longer be flying a "real airplane." It's all I ever wanted to do was fly jets and now the AF has taken that away from me. I'm also getting this assignment (at 2 years 8 months) while guys with 5 years are still getting extended. FML

Rant....over

'breath, just breath'

Are there any GH bubbas out there that can give me an idea of what I'm getting into? QOL, what the job entails, deployments, office life, etc?

I'm going to do the right thing and try to be positive about this situation. Again, I want to make sure that I'm not offending any of the UAV folks out there, and am just dealing with this shocking news.

Any info would be great and thanks in advance!

Cheers

Not a GH guy, but two things:

1. The pilots who were at 5 years vs you and who were extended. Would this be because they're IPs and you aren't? i.e. You're young enough in your career that you are a more appropriate selection for the assignment? Not that it makes any difference; if you got hit with it you got it, but I am curious.

2. Look at the bright side: GH = Beale? Much better than Clovis (with a pred).:rolleyes:

1. I'm on my second tour. Did a 3 year tour in C-21s and then got to C-5s in May 07. I am not an IP (even after almost 3 years in Fred) and there are plenty of folks that are not IPs and did not get chosen for this "choice" deal.

2. SO TRUE!!! I actually had a choice and it was a no brainer :D

The MC-12 should be an option still, especially at Beale.

You can't say that the writing hasn't been on the wall with the UAV's. It doesn't sound like your situation is especially uncommon these days.

I'd say the good thing about the GH is probably the lifestyle, but I'd be speaking w/o really knowing. It just seems like the GH isn't under as much pressure as the pred.

The other good thing is your future opportunities in the AF as well as the civilian side. Its a growing business and your in still relatively early.

Open up AMS and look at your assignment possibilites with UAV experience. The list is actually pretty nice if you can live without being in the air for awhile.

Not trying to be confrontational. But, the fact that you're not an IP and you are in a second operational tour, makes me give you the hairy eyeball.

Why were you not an IP? I don't know the current thinking that's going around on the current promotion boards, but, what if you don't make IP on a MWS before your Majors board? Do they even have IPs for GHs? I guess they do, but are they on the same level as a C-5 IP?

And it is very true what they say, the needs of the chair force come first.

You are a victim of the same opinion expressed in your rant. Instead of USAF leadership accepting the fact that they have to send pilots to the GH, Pred, or Reaper and ensuring that they do it right and equitably (and ensuring that those who get sent get back to cockpits in a timely manner just like those going to white jets), they sacrifice bodies to the machine and send them to the UAV to never return to the cockpit.

There is nothing guaranteeing that you stay a C-5 pilot, as you said, you were C-21 and would probably accept that the USAF would need you in a T-6 or T-1 or even in a command post. You are a rated aviator and you are liable to get any assignment where a rated aviator is required (and, yes, flying an asset that is bigger and heavier than your previous C-21 through controlled airspace still requires a rated aviator). The unfortunate thing is that any of the above options would eventually lead you back to a cockpit.

There is no major uprising because everyone is content to sit quietly in the corner and watch the USAF throw flying experience away and ruin careers as long as it isn't their career that is being sacrificed.

MC-12 will be an option, at least the way things are moving at Beale today.
I recommend you call out to the 12th RS and speak to some line guys. Surely, there are some C-5 drivers here you know?
Location is excellent.

I think he has already answered that question.

You've been flying for 5 years and 8 months and now you're upset that the AF has decided to give you a tour OUT of the cockpit? What contract did you sign that guaranteed that you would spend your entire career in the cockpit? Sounds to me like you have had a pretty good time up till now. Take this assignment and learn something more about the military than the inside of a cockpit; then when you have learned that you don't like the rest of the job in the military outside of the cockpit - either get out or make career choices that will keep you IN the cockpit for the rest of your career and be prepared to pay the price.

USMCFLYR

Other young AF pilots take heed. The writing is on the wall these days. If you want to stay in a cockpit, pick up the phone and call AFSOC. The MC-12, the M-28, the U-28 are all up and coming. They might not be the airframe you want, but it will keep you in the air. Or, you can sit back and wait to be non-vol'd to a predator. There is a very real possibility the original poster, and others like him, will never be able to return to the cockpit. With the way a typical AF career is structured, that's just the reality.