UNDGUY

If anyone could provide current information on which aircraft are located at the new hire locations I would really appreciate it.

Aguadilla
Mcallen
Sierra Vista
San Angelo
Laredo

Thanks in advance

USMCFLYR

Diverb -

I was in San Angelo yesterday and saw that MQ-9 flying all over the place!
There e re a couple of the Citations on the ramp too. I noticed you didn't mention them. I had even thought that you guys had gotten rid of them (or were going to quite some time ago). I was surprised to see them at KSJT. In any case - just passing through? Where are the Citations based now?

DustoffVT

Those citations are up on GSA. No longer operational. I flew the last one there a couple months ago. I will miss the "near jet experience".

USMCFLYR

Thanks Dustoff.
I knew a guy flying them out of San Diego back in ‘09, and talked to a crew in El Centro once when I was as really interested to get onboard.
Any replacements being talked about or has that part of the mission just been discontinued in favor of other assests?

TheGreatSantini

As much as I'm hoping for the best, this SSR will not make any difference. It will likely make things worse. I'm happy we got it, but it wont make it better. Just means my family has more money to spend or go out to dinner without me.

Id rather we had some work rules. Seniority in scheduling/seniority in who goes TDY / more time off. No more emails on Friday telling me I'm going TDY on Sunday for 2 weeks.

I'm absolutely burned out of being a pilot with lots of quals, that gets jammed on the schedule. Nearly every AMO pilot I know loves the work, and doesn't mind a crappy day or week doing the mission. But we all need down time. That is where the system is broken What good is the extra money if I'm TDY two weeks, my mandatory days off are in a hotel in south Texas, and when I return to my unit, Im working a night shift.

I should do a survey. Airline pilot vs AMO pilot. How many days did you have dinner with your family last year?

Everyone knows banker hours. M-F 0800-1600. Those are the best hours if you have a family and desire to spend any time with them. Soccer practice, dinner, games on Saturday, etc.

250k a year working M-F 08-16 is the perfect job. That wont happen at AMO if you are a pilot. But seniority should mean something, but it doesn't at AMO. Every single GS-15 in AMO works M-F 0800-1600. Sure, they might stay late sometimes.

I am burned out of having no idea and no control at all over my schedule. ZERO. Its full throttle all year, every year. And then there is a hurricane or a border crisis, and then we just get plain stupid.

Most pilots over 15 years are already at the pay cap because we work nights, weekends and Sundays.

Now we will work crappy hours for free. Free for management. It wont cost them anything to have us work an extra day of overtime, nights or Sundays. It will make life easier for them. Less paperwork managing the branch budget. Now its 166 for everyone, and no premium pay and paperwork to deal with.

So two questions I now ponder. Can they continue to force us to work a 6th day, overtime, even though we are getting no additional compensation? Whats to stop a DAO from scheduling everyone for 1 day of overtime every week? It wont cost him a penny.

Also, who is going to apply for future leadership positions? Anyone with 10 years of service will be at the cap. So it looks likely the only people who will apply for GS14 and 15 will be non-aviators, very junior pilots looking to get a raise early, and aviators who dont like to fly or cant fly. The weak and sick.

I once told my DAO that a handful of senior GS-13 pilots with leadership roles like IP or standards should get 14 pay. Reward our aviation leaders and create incentive for junior pilots to get more quals. He was mad that I even made the comment. That moment made a tremendous impact.

My DAO flat out told me he deserves more money because he sits in an office all day, every day. He has more responsibility he said. Wow! its self perceived responsibility. OMG, somebody wont get paid or respond to all these emails from Eddie Young. Who cares about training new pilots, doing a Mx flight, or actually flying a plane full of passengers. I've been called in on days off to do a Mx flight, to carry some special VIP passenger, to deal with a mishap. I've NEVER seen my DAO come in on his day off because something urgent was happening. Thats how important his job is. Its so important anyone can be a DAO. Doesnt even require a pilots license or CBP experience. We have a BP agent that switched over to AMO and became a 15. He came with zero aviation experience. Not blaming him. Just the system that allows that. Thats like Delta having a travel agent become their chief pilot.

This is how a business fails. Lack of experience at the top, lack of incentive at the bottom and no clear purpose or direction.

Off we go comrade.

I love flying, and spent many years of blood, sweat and tears to get to where I am. Spent money and time away from family to get the pilot credentials I have now. Like I said. Im tired. Time to take my experience someplace that will pay me a good wage, and give me some control over my life. I like working hard, but I have a family too. What good is my pension if Im divorced and my kids hate me or barely know me for the next 7 years.

Thats my rant for today. Sitting in a hotel room, on my day off. Prepping for my airline interview.

manager: manage people, your employees are the enemy
leader: inspires people, to fight a common enemy

Eddie. Its time to retire. Spend it with the family you still have.

TheGreatSantini

Since our leadership is unable to come up with any ideas, and only knows how to get pilots to quit, here are some ideas.

Work rules. Any rules.

1. Our two days off must be consecutive. Cannot give us Monday and Friday off, and work the other 5 days. It has to be two days in a row.

2. A comp day off for every 10 days TDY,

3. Two comp days off for every day off that falls on a TDY. If my day off is in a hotel room, thats not a day off.

4. No schedule changes without 7 days notice.

5. No pay cap supporting TDY or other urgent missions like hurricane support. This is allowable under law somehwhere, CBP just doesnt choose to do it.

5.5 2 hours comp time off for every $250 in money withheld due to pay cap per pay period.

6. 8 hours comp time off for every 40 hours worked between 2000-0600. If Im working a week of graveyard shift, give us a day to recoup.

7. An overtime day/6th day is paid at 1.5 and not subject to pay cap. LEAP should be used for unforeseen long days. An extra day scheduled in advance should be avoided and cost CBP.

8. Sick Leave can be sold back at 100% upon retirement. Stop encouraging people to call in sick. No more use it or lose it. The current retirement credit is worthless.

9. 1 hour of comp time earned per day for any TDY days over 10 days. A single TDY trip. A 30 day TDY would earn 20 hours comp time.

10. .5 hours comp time for each unscheduled hour worked beyond 12 hours. An unscheduled 14 hour day would earn us 1 hour of comp time.

11. Hire Mission Support people to do MISSION SUPPORT. Stop using pilots to do non LE or pilot duties. Why is a pilot doing branch vehicle reports, or radio comms, or cell phones. At least 5 MSS at each Branch, 2 at each Unit and no less then one MSS for every 12 Agents. No more 5 MSS trying to take care of 100 agents spread out over numerous units.

12. Allow 1 telework day per pay period/2 weeks. Why can Mission Support telework but we cannot. Thats 1 day every two weeks to do our timecards, travel claims, online training, or our collateral duty.

13. Have a national policy of some sort. Tired of each DAO having their own interpretation on how they can best make life miserable for their pilots.

14. if you care going to make someone take a G ride on a TDY, let them take it home for peats sake. Not drive an hour to the branch, move bags from POV to G ride, then hit the road for a TDY.

15. Every DAO must work at least one full and complete pay period on the worst shift, in a aircraft.

16. Mx must have a full Mx crew available +- 1 hour from planned launch time. No more pilots getting blamed and punished because the bird is broke on a Sunday and avionics isnt around to fix it.

17. Hire more aircrew. Not sure the formula. Stop using pilots to do other aircrew/non pilot duties. More SAMs and AEAs or whatever we call them this year. Come up with a formula and hire to it and fly to it. Stop demanding more flight hours from a branch when its thin on mechs, MSS and AEAs. Stop using LEAP to solve all your other manpower shortfalls.

18. Reward people. Unique quals, special duties, etc.

19. Hazard Duty Pay. Some people deserve it.

20. Full Disclosure. Every bonus in AMO should be public record. If its worth a bonus, its worth telling everyone. That specifically includes bonuses for GS-15s and SES.

21. Collective Bargaining !


Notice its not about the money. Its about having a balanced life and career. This job is not a deployment where you work stupid hours for 12 months and go home to a normal life. The purpose on many of these is not more good deals. The purpose is to hold DAOs accountable. There is currently no standard at all. 16 hours max and 10 hours off is the only policy DAOs have to abide by.

Just some ideas. Hey, Im stuck in a hotel on my day off.

UNDGUY

This is a sincere question. I'm not trying to be snarky. Have you tried getting promoted to a supervisor or director level? Seems like it would solve a lot of your gripes and allow you to have some input to the decisions being made. If the supervisors or directors are former AMO pilots, are they able to stay qualified and current and fly once in a while? Just wondering what the negatives of being a supervisor would be.

TheGreatSantini

That is a valid question. Supervisors rarely if ever get a chance to fly at my unit. There was even a time when supervisors could not be a PIC. I said I was a good pilot. Not necessarily a good middle manager. Did it as a temp. Not doing it again.

No organization is changed from the bottom up. Our current leaders need to be leaders. They need to do the job they applied for. I fly the airplanes and risk life and limb. They support us and take care of us. Watch our back, make sure we get paid, etc.

I realize they are gripes. If I thought I could make a difference and still fly, Id do it. I applied for SAIA at a different branch. A DAO I respect heard about it. Called me and talked me out of it. He regretted moving up.

Lets not forget, we all get the boot at 57. That means I still need to find a job at 57, and still need a maintain a resume. But I hope to retire at 20 like most everyone else. A promotion is a poor aviation career move.

UNDGUY

In regards to getting the boot at 57. I am almost 40. From what I have read on the issue, if you haven't got your 20 in when you reach 57, you can stay until 60 at the latest. Is the staying till 60 an automatic thing or does this require approval by a supervisor? Can they deny you your retirement if they feel it is not in their best interest to keep you around?

rickair7777

*Generally* the government will not let you start an operational job with a pension unless you can qualify for the pension. If they let you start, they will generally let you finish. Obvious exception in the military you have to get promoted a few times (up or out), but you know either way by the the ten year mark. Always a slight potential for layoffs, job elimination, etc. but that doesn't seem to happen much on the LE side to my knowledge.

So typically they would not put you in the position of needing year-to-year waivers at the discretion of your immediate boss to get to the finish line... that kind of authority is held higher and typically by policy not exception. The one time in the mil when I had a guy in that position (odd combination of drilling and IRR reserve service), we were starting the paperwork to request the first of several needed one-year HYT extensions, and he got a proactive letter from PERS authorizing extension all the way to 20, before we even asked.

I would expect to get it in writing at the time of hire.