I'm going to need a name change in around February!
Today after work my flight chief came around saying that I had an overdue balance on my Star Card and that because I was in danger of losing my security clearance I had to wait around to have a meeting with the squadron commander. The Star Card is a military credit card that the majority of servicepeople have. But I don't. That paired with the fact that the list for promotions came out today led me to call BS. He grinned and said that the commander was coming later and that I and another AF guy I work with needed to hang around.
Long story shorter, the commander came in, gave us certificates and stripes, and we ended shaking hands with a lot of people. Story over, and I'm happy.
Posted by Eduardo St. Elmo (Member # 9566) on :
Congratulations on your promotion and good luck with all the new duties that come along with such a rise in station.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Excellent news! Congratulations!
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
Thank you!
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Congrats to you! That's wonderful!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Very nice. Congratulations!
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
Yea! Drinks are on Airmanfour, tonight at the club.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Congrats!!
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Congrats airm.. er... sergeantfour.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
Congratulations.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Congratulations!
If you change your forum name, I think you should keep the exclamation point!
-pH
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Congrats!
And I agree with pH.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
This makes you a Staff Sergeant?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Congratulations!
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Expect a promotion to Master Sergeant sometime in the next year, our plans to get you 4 general's stars and the president's office is working perfectly according to schedule.
Congratulations!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
You know, I was actually wondering where you were, am4. Congrats.
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
Thanks everybody! My line number for Staff Sergeant is somewhere near 7500 out of 15000, so I'm guessing I get to put it on sometime in February, but I could be way off. Best part is that now I get to go to Airman Leadership School for 5 weeks! Anyone live near Shaw AFB?
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by airmanfour: Thanks everybody! My line number for Staff Sergeant is somewhere near 7500 out of 15000, so I'm guessing I get to put it on sometime in February, but I could be way off. Best part is that now I get to go to Airman Leadership School for 5 weeks! Anyone live near Shaw AFB?
Best I can do is Hill AirForce base in Utah. Or is it Hull? I get them mixed up.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
I don't think I can remember how to spell sergeantfour so I think you should either keep your same name or else go ahead and skip to the next level in anticipation of your next promotion. What would that be? captainsix?
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
Hey, watch that Captain stuff, I think he actually works for a living. (And can probably read a map)
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Tatiana, do you understand the difference between Commisioned and Non-commisioned Officers?
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
As much as anyone in the Air Force can be said to work...
I keeed, I keeed...
-TMedina
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Commissioned means you went to college? Non-commissioned means you rose through the ranks from enlisted man? Is that what you mean? That seems a relic of the old days during WW2 and before when society was very class conscious, and thought class was immutable and even genetic. In those days the gentry were the commissioned officers and the working classes were the enlisted and NCOs. Is it still like that now? It seems such a quaint and inefficient system, if so. Shouldn't the armed forces be a ruthless meritocracy if we want to win? We all know that ability and excellence transcend society's artificial class distinctions.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Interesting! The nuclear industry is sort of like a mini-navy, since so many of our ranks come from the navy. Apparently the Navy has the hot-roddest reactors and ours are lumbering old cadillacs by comparison. Anyway, this interests me in that it gives me a peek into the mindset and expectations of my ex-Navy coworkers. We even call our plants "the fleet". Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Yeah, the Navy reactors are top notch, and a lot of those guys stay in that field when they leave the service.
I know 3 guys who worked on subs who did that, anyway, and there were companies lined up trying to hire them. Sometimes there is even a bidding war. Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Yes, all that training is super expensive, so the companies definitely want people who are already mostly trained if they can get them. I spent probably 1/3 of my time in training the whole first year. =) SROs (senior reactor operators) have an 18 month school they have to go to. If you already have your SRO certificate, you just have to requal, which is much less time-intensive.
[ August 19, 2007, 10:17 AM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: Commissioned means you went to college? Non-commissioned means you rose through the ranks from enlisted man? Is that what you mean? That seems a relic of the old days during WW2 and before when society was very class conscious, and thought class was immutable and even genetic. In those days the gentry were the commissioned officers and the working classes were the enlisted and NCOs. Is it still like that now? It seems such a quaint and inefficient system, if so. Shouldn't the armed forces be a ruthless meritocracy if we want to win? We all know that ability and excellence transcend society's artificial class distinctions.
I would agree with you, but I'm not sure whether or not I can, so I won't. Bottom line is that it's run by politicians. Which is why all the smart people leave. 25 mos to go!
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Somebody in operations started trying to recruit me for SRO last week. I do admire those guys' knowledge of plant systems. They have that stuff down cold. They know every setpoint, every temperature and what it ought to be at various power levels. They know everything! It's really cool. But if I did it I'd have to 1) move to Augusta, GA, 2) go on rotating shifts for a couple of years minimum, and 3) cease building things for at least a few years and simply run them. I'm not sure if that's for me.
I like to feel that when I've worked and put in a lot of time and effort, I've actually accomplished something that lasts long-term. I realize that's possibly illusory, as many of the things I have worked to build in my life are no longer in use, and I'm not sure they can be said to have contributed greatly to the state of the art in my field. Still, to have something to look at when you're done and say "I built that" feels nice. Operators don't get that. They can say "I delivered power to customers for another day", but that's somehow less satisfying to me.
Anyway, I'm really wondering what path I should take from this point. I know what I want to accomplish but I can't figure out the best way to get there. So I'm considering all kinds of options.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
quote:Originally posted by airmanfour:
quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: Commissioned means you went to college? Non-commissioned means you rose through the ranks from enlisted man? Is that what you mean? That seems a relic of the old days during WW2 and before when society was very class conscious, and thought class was immutable and even genetic. In those days the gentry were the commissioned officers and the working classes were the enlisted and NCOs. Is it still like that now? It seems such a quaint and inefficient system, if so. Shouldn't the armed forces be a ruthless meritocracy if we want to win? We all know that ability and excellence transcend society's artificial class distinctions.
I would agree with you, but I'm not sure whether or not I can, so I won't. Bottom line is that it's run by politicians. Which is why all the smart people leave. 25 mos to go!
Preach on, brother!
But, all rants aside, yes - for the Army side, you have two basic tracks:
1. Commissioned - meaning you have a college degree and completed Officer Candidate School which prepares you (in theory) to be a leader of Soldiers. 2nd LT, 1st LT, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and then Generals.
2. Non-Commissioned - these are drawn from the ranks of the enlisted schmu...err...personnel. Officers are responsible for the long-term planning and leadership while Non-coms or "NCOs" are responsible for the execution of that vision and leadership. The NCO ranks vary by branch, but for the Army its: Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, Master/1st Sergeant, Sergeant Major/Command Sergeant Major.
The joke is, "non-coms work for a living", which implies officers don't.
The Army also has a "split branch" called "Warrant Officers" which are a wierd mix of not-quite enlisted and not quite traditional Officer. They are billed as "Subject Matter Experts", focusing on a specific field of study, but can fill in for traditional Officers as required, although that tends to happen infrequently.
-Trevor
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Congrats airmanfour! That's awesome Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
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Congratulations.
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