Nostalgia for the good old days. It's not that P-8 pilots can't fly low, it's that they (usually) really don't need to. Most of the reasons that P-3s lived in the low altitude environment no longer apply. Continuous plot stab updates, accurate buoy placement, all of that can be done from comfortably above 1000 feet. Some guys don't like punching buoys through clouds relying on radar alone for clearance, but the community will slowly come to grips with that TTP.
What the unqualified (or barely qualified) guy in the back thinks he "needs" versus what the WTI MC/AC says he needs are the issues under discussion. Sure, maybe the nuggets think they can get the job done well enough at 1,000'. But there are things that will undoubtedly suffer - your MOTs (which yes, you still have to do for SPSS to work properly, even with -53Gs), your buoy placement (wind effects the drops, even with 800' difference in altitude), your ability to make VID on the target on shit weather, and your ability to clear below in shit weather.
What do you gain by staying at 1000'? Additional comfort? Fuck that, not important - we don't brief it and it's the first thing to go if operational necessity dictates. Safety? No, you are just as safe at 200' as you are at 1,000' with fully qualified pilots. Gas? Sure, maybe a little - but you should have fuel planned better if a 800' altitude decrease causes you to RTB early. Radar horizon? Yea, but that might or might not matter depending on your tasking and it definitely wasnt mentioned by Pickle as an issue raised by the crew.
I'm technically a millennial based on birth year - so I kind of agree that this probably isn't a generational problem. It sounds like a lot more of a bunch of whining babies problem, or maybe that the crew has never faced scenarios that make them realize why Pickles decisions are necessary in certain scenarios. More communication is always better...except when its complaining during the flight that you wont be comfortable at a perfectly acceptable flight envelope because you are wearing gear and it might be bumpy. FFS, you're in the NAVY. You might be uncomfortable occasionally to complete your assigned tasking! The horror! Chances are you wouldnt be bitching it if it was a Delta flight to somewhere exotic, and the only difference is the P-8 has better leg room!
If you dont understand the decision, bring it up at debrief. Otherwise - put your damn gear on. Actually, do that anyways.
