F22 Deployment in Middle East

[Air Force Brat]

Pilots always have had the right to end their flying careers. These are Virginia National Air Guard pilots, the majority of which are part timers aka have "day jobs" outside of the military. As a Captain and a Major both are likely to have served long enough to have fulfilled their committment and could resign from the Guard at the time of their choosing. Since their unit is just starting to convert to the F22 their day jobs just might not make it possible/convenient for them to go to the Q course (they may not be F22 qualified yet) and subsequent training.

I wont question their motives as they may have legitimate concerns however something doesn't sit right with me that they are on 60 minutes voicing their concerns in uniform. Either they received permission from the Air Force to do so or they just ended their military careers. I would find it hard to believe the Air Force gave them permission to do so but then again I don't know the back story.

Pilots don't simply get to "choose" what they fly. Many are offered choices, some are happy with those choices and some are not. I find this story odd and think there's more to it, time will tell.

Theres little doubt that this is out of the ordinary, and appearing on camera in uniform as a whistleblower is definetly "uncool", even under the protection of a US House Rep from Illinois. They had both experienced "incidents" with Capt Wilson describing himself as hypoxic and unable to remember where on the aircraft the emergency O2 handle was. You are also quite right that this is a very bad career move, but the OIG reopening Capt Haney's accident investigation is also quite telling. Gen Hostage answering questions also indicates that the Air Force is very concerned, but he stated for the record that he was comfortable with the risk. It is now however, and always has been a pilot's responsibility to determine whether or not an aircraft is airworthy, but that certainly doesn't mean they won't ask someone else and he may say yes. As you stated, they may have legitimate concerns, and that certainly does seem to be the case here?

In further Raptor news, Lt. Col. Paul Moga, Squadron Commander of the 525 FS accepted 4195 as the flagship of the 525th and flew it home to JBE/Elmendorf in an 8 hour non-stop, where it will be his personal aircraft and so marked. Some of you will remember "Max", from the military channel where he hosted "Air Combat", and also as the 1st Demo pilot of the Raptor, he set the show so to speak, as he worked up the Raptor demo flights. Nice to know 4195 will be in the hands of a loving, capable, warrior, and receive the honor of flying "top cover" over top of the world.
AF magazines daily report 5/7/12.

Gen Mike Hostage, head of ACC has stated for the record the Raptor is the best tool for the job, and it is deployed in southwest Asia. He also stated "The Raptor is absolutely critical for the defense of our nation, and that he wishes we had 10 times as many as we did, and he calls it the "most tactically capable aircraft in the world", and he's also "choosing to fly it himself until the O2 concern is resolved". So there you have it, no, the Commander of Air Combat Command does not think we have enough Raptors and he states and I quote "it is the most tactically capable aircraft in the world". So from the horses mouth, the Raptor is the best tool for the job, and I just read it from Defense Talk. Wow! its been a great day, so good night gentlemen, and sleep tight, cause the bossman is goin to be flyin a Raptor, Brat.