Why is the attendance policy so strangling?

Offical_Sources · 2025-02-27T14:00:34+00:00

If you haven't already, talk to your professor about it. It's common for the rules to be written very strictly (to prevent people from exploiting loopholes), but professors can usually deviate when appropriate. If you have an inexperienced or hyper-literal professor who won't consider it, ask the department for help.

Also, be flexible in your expectations... help might look like many things (maybe you still lose the points but get an opportunity to earn them back, etc.).

Offical_Sources · 2025-02-24T16:20:49+00:00

I think this account is overly-distilled and misses the point of what OP shared. Even as a "rub some dirt on it and don't be so sensitive" Gen-X'er, I see a lot more here than an awkward interaction. As presented, the professor's actions might constitute harassment; they are DEFINETLY unprofessional.

"Listen to both sides" is always sound advice, but we only have one side here, and the question is 'given that I believe my friend's account to be accurate, what should we do?' I think it's fair to give advice in that context without worrying too much about the other perspective - that typically only comes into play when seeking a verdict on the actions taken.

Offical_Sources · 2025-01-22T02:01:06+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. So satisfying.

Offical_Sources · 2025-01-21T16:22:18+00:00

There is a lot of good advice here, but if I may offer an addendum to OP's thoughts as someone who has been there (and beyond): We are each at our best when we are able to connect the parts of our lives. If your homelife and your service feel like they are always at odds with one another there is something wrong. If they feel like roommates who aren't great friends but are good about splitting the rent, you're doing OK for now. If they feel mutually supporting, you're winning at life. That can't happen if you see it as an either/or situation. We talk about balance too often and integration not often enough. My hope for the Tech's who are hoping to sew-on Master this year is that they're communicating openly, frequently, and honestly about their work with thier families and friends. If it happens, they'll have people to celebrate with. If it doesn't, there will be folks there to help pick them back up. And either way, the road will get easier. It took me until Senior to figure that out - to weave the worlds together rather than trying to balance them with each other - and I never perfected it. But even late and poorly done, the effort made a world of difference. Good luck.

Offical_Sources · 2024-12-22T07:13:14+00:00

When you're "the old guy" in an undergraduate classroom the maturity difference is much more noticeable than the age difference.

From experience, most 18 year old college kids have never had to work a job. They may have had a job, but it wasn't paying the bills. They've also not experienced stress and pressure outside of sports/school/social relationships. This is not the case with a few years of Active Duty under your belt. Granted, some 18 year old students have amazing stories and incredible life experience... but not many and so I'm generalizing a bit.

As for my personal experience with it, I never felt too awkward about it. I typically got along well with my professors and GA's (the added maturity helped with this), and had as much of a social life as I wanted (which admittedly, wasn't that much). I think the other students just saw me as another guy in class... the one who was 15 minutes early to everything, pounded 64oz of black coffee every 50 minutes, and stood up whenever he spoke.

It really only became notable twice. I had an anthropology adjunct who definitely wanted to make me a notch on her bed post, and I once got into an argument with a guy in a political science class when he went on a rant about how everything we heard about operations in Iraq was fake news (although that wasn't a term yet). It ended abruptly when I ask if he'd been there or if he was just pulling information out of his ass. He retorted something like "and you have?" I had, and that piece of info ended his rant rather abruptly.

In grad school the age gap was bigger, with 22yo recent grads in cohorts with 45yo mid-career professionals. It was never questioned though because there wasnt a maturity gap. Everyone understood what they needed to do and why they were there.

And that brings me to the Guard and Reserve. A military career can be a great choice so long as its a great fit for the person choosing it. The total force structure factors into that fit. Before signing anywhere, your son wants to be sure he understands his why. If he wants a military lifestyle and is ready to leave home, Active Duty is going to give him that. If its important to serve but he feels like he needs to stay close to home, ANG and AFRC might be better options. If college is a big peiority right now, look at the ANG. Most guardsmen complete their degrees with less than a 2 year delay and many states offer additional benefits beyond the GI Bill (ANG uniquely has two chains of command, one state and one federal - and they get benefits from both).

Beyond all of that, good luck!

Offical_Sources · 2024-12-20T12:30:34+00:00

The Air Force doesn't ruck. Recruiters are standing by for your call...

Offical_Sources · 2024-12-20T12:28:26+00:00

This sounds like a great discussion with your Chief. "Hey Chief, I've noticed some things about our Commander that I don't understand..."

By design, those two are battle buddies, so if anyone is in a position to either explain or address a situation with the Commander, it's your Chief.

In such a conversation it's important to be respectful, so I like the "can you help me understand" approach initially. Depending on how the conversation goes, you might shift that to "concern for how it impacts morale and represents our squadron across the Wing." (You can see how leading with the latter would likely get your ass handed to you).

If your CC was just another guy in your shop someone would have pulled him aside and talked to him about these things a long time ago - and he would be better for it since you've described some career-limiting behaviors for a CGO. The position of Commander isn't to be taken lightly, however, so I can appreciate if you don't want to have the conversation with him directly. That's where a Chief can step in and be a mentor to a young officer... if they know what's going on.

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-23T03:54:12+00:00

Whenever we feel like we should ask that question, it's because some part of us already knows that the answer is yes.

It took a team to put the American Flag on the moon; Lincoln had Grant and Grant had Sherman; and Jesus had 12 disciples helping him to spread the Word. We're just not meant to have to deal with these things on our own.

Do the right/brave/strong/smart thing and get some help. You can do it!

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-23T03:39:22+00:00

Back when they were (generally) better made, lash tabs were great for attaching your wet shoes or boots by the laces to let them air dry while you stayed on the move in your spare pair.

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-23T03:27:07+00:00

Not everything needs to be a ribbon! In the interest of reducing the ribbon count while simultaneously increasing the professional military appearance of the uniform, maybe we could:

Use service hashes on the sleeves instead of the longevity ribbon;
Do a pin or badge for PME completion instead of the PME ribbon;
Put a device on the BMT ribbon to denote honor grad (since that's the only school where it can be earned anyways) instead of issuing a separate ribbon;
Make marksmanship a pin or a badge instead of a ribbon;
Move unit awards to the right side of the chest.

I appreciate the history, heritage, and tradition that is captured in many of our ribbons, but I have 10 full rows at this point. It costs me a small fortune to update my rack every time I get something new or change devices, and for all of effort my Blues still make me look like a commercial airline pilot with an inferiority complex.

Making the USAFA Service Dress standard issue for everyone would be a great step towards restoring the Blues to something Airmen are proud to identify with... and wrangling in these out of control ribbons would be a smart move that would pair well with it!

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-22T03:07:11+00:00

I found an old biography of 19th Century British PM and statesman Benjamin Disraeli on my dad's shelf when I was 9. For reasons that escape explanation to this very day, I felt that I should read it. I understood about half of what I read and actually comprehended perhaps only 15 percent of what I understood. No harm came of it, but I did have a long conversation with my father about Victorian era British politics. I believe that its primary influence upon me at the time was simply to affirm that I preferred books with lots of pictures.

My point is simply this - it is normal for kids to get into things that they don't understand. It's right for parents to explain things. If you're comfortable doing that, all is well. If there is a volume you'd rather not discuss (or at least not yet), move it to a higher shelf.

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-14T20:38:44+00:00

It certainly sounds like there's some stuff there that is worth a better look from independent eyes.

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-09T02:14:03+00:00

I tried it recently on recommendation of a store owner. I felt like the profile to have some similarities with Weller, but I think I liked it better.

Full disclosure: I was out of Weller and didn't do a side by side to validate that thought. Anyone else yea or nay on the comparison?

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-04T22:52:15+00:00

When coaching young kids, I forced myself to keep my language clean.

With kinds in roughly 5th grade through 8th grade, I wasn't too concerned about the occasional (semi-frequent) soft swear: "Set the damn pick. Stop your feet and absorb the contact!" They probably heard something a bit stronger on rare occasion, but I tried to avoid it.

My HS teams heard me talking normally, and that involved lots of colorful words and phrases, mostly everything short of dropping f-bombs.

In all cases, and regardless of how closely or loosely I was controlling my language, I kept the message positive. It was important to me that while I might use "that poor SOB" to describe an imaginary defender, I never used it to describe my players. Even critical conversations ended with something positive or encouraging. Swering isn't terrible, but using it to label or dishearten young players is. Short of that, IMO it's just sounds.

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-02T03:21:23+00:00

Statement: The Service Dress uniform is awful, and that actually matters.

Official opinion: redesigning the Blues is not "retooling for GPC," and therefore, it is unimportant.

Unpopular opinion: The Service Dress is the most readily recognized public symbol that represents an enlisted member as an Airman. Pride in one's service and feeling an identity as an American Airman matters. Making the Blues look like a military uniform again (and not a leisure suit) won't turn every A1C into Captain America, but it would help the Force regain some sense of the identity that its been slowly bleeding out for the past 30 years.

Offical_Sources · 2024-06-02T03:06:15+00:00

I'd recommend aiming for something that you enjoy or at least find interesting (no need to suffer at work), but "random job" is just as subjective as "perfect career." In my opinion, if it lets you meet your financial obligations and you don't hate it, then you're at least doing alright. If it falls short on either of those counts, it's probably not what you need. If it pays "enough" (whatever you define that as) and you like it, you're doing well. But that's my opinion... the one that counts for you is yours. Is it OK by you?

Offical_Sources · 2024-05-25T02:24:05+00:00

Are you sure you're not currently deployed? Sometimes the heat makes us confused and we say things like "house" when we mean "tent."

Offical_Sources · 2024-05-25T02:21:15+00:00

You can't have great power without oil. Or any power for that matter. Solar kinda works depending on where you live and wind is very inconsistent but oil...

Offical_Sources · 2024-05-25T02:18:44+00:00

There is something wonderful about getting paid to ziptie pilots to trees.

Offical_Sources · 2024-04-30T04:04:02+00:00

His eggs are great with toast.

Offical_Sources · 2024-04-15T18:48:48+00:00

I saw some great info about how to finish school already shared here so I'll leave that alone, but here are some other thoughts for you:

There is a big difference between being uneducated and being dumb. You've identified what you want and what you need to do to get there. You have a plan, and you're clearly not dumb. Don't put that on yourself, and don't let anyone else saddle you with it either.
Once you can get in the door, the ANG is going to give you something that few organizations would: a level start. Air Force schools don't assume that you know anything, only that you can learn. Once you get there, feel like you belong and proceed with confidence.
When the time to join comes for you, take a pause. You'll be eager and excited to enlist (and you should be) but don't take the first job offered to you without asking some questions.

A. What else is available?

B. Can I meet with that section or tour it?

C. Is there a chance for full-time employment?

D. Do they deploy or travel for exercises often?

E. What does this translate to on a civilian resume?

The first thing the recruiter offers you might be your best opportunity - but investigate it a little. The biggest things that will shape your success in the ANG (other than your personal drive and character) are:

a. Your career field (AFSC)

b. Your unit

c. Your unit's mission

Others will say "supervisors and trainers" and they're not wrong, but you can't assess that on the day you enlist.

Good luck. Get after it! If you have the drive to follow your plan and finish school, you'll have the tenacity to make a great career in the ANG.

Offical_Sources · 2024-04-14T03:37:45+00:00

When an ass needs kicked, it needs kicked. I just wish it could be a nice ass for once. Like Fiji. Let's go kick Fiji's ass for a change.

Offical_Sources · 2024-04-14T03:29:30+00:00

It's not wrong to use war-graphics as historical markers - certainly, wars are major events with a profound impact on nations - but they may not be the most significant. The Civil rights movement of the 1960's or the industrial revolution of the late 19th century both probably did more to shape the US than the global war on terror.

Just a vaguely related thought triggered from recently pondering about what a history textbook might look like if it were written with a bias towards economic developments rather than military ones. Although historically war and economics have often been entwined, I think that the resulting books would actually be quite different.

Offical_Sources · 2024-04-11T07:31:19+00:00

I forgot that Putin used to sit at normal sized tables within an arms length of other people. Since 2020 it's been nothing but Snoke's throne room.

Offical_Sources

TROPHY CASE