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The ground force commander doesn't understand anything aviation that the BAE cell doesn't feed him through AGI power point and the occasional steaming shit laid in a briefing by what is typically a CW5 with nothing to lose and enough experience nobody questions it. Seriously I'm saying that as an Army Aviator. Nobody is going to care what is dropping bombs. We care that bombs are being dropped. Just like it was never a question of whether they had 58s or 64s assigned as their time blocked teams despite the shortcomings in sensors, ordnance, and station time with the 58. Nobody is gonna stop the show because the CAS came back as F-16 assigned even though your Assistant S3 specifically put in 30mm forward firing on the CAS request to game the system and get Hawgs. The mission will go on. We did CAS (real no shit non OEF CAS) Before the Hawg, during the Hawg with other airplanes, and will someday do it after the Hawg has been put out to pasture. Honestly you guys should be jumping at getting into a new airplane like the F-35 before all the "other guys." Build that culture from the ground up day 1 with your experience so that CAS doesn't become problem number 53 to solve later ... Someday... On short notice because we put it off so long learning X, Y, & Z.

Multi-role my ass. Fuck the A-10, fuck the B-1.

I still think it speaks volumes that the only people defending an ENTERTAINMENT organization are people that were in it for a tour. Not the audience(s). Not the leadership. Only the folks that got to skip out on their AFSC for a while to sing & dance & skip & prance.

Completely disagree, I wore my mess dress when I got married and I got laid without even trying.

Can we get that terminology changed in 3-1GP? "Match sparkle" seems like it was thrown-in from the back row by the Eagle drivers in the room.

I was a prior rated (Nav) SRO and can tell you that it can definitely have an advantage for your class if you do your job right. First rule... Being the SRO is about the class, not you! It was said before, but wear the Wings you have already earned if your are prior rated... aside from that you are just another fucking student. We had a few prior rated/aircrew (both O's and E's) in our class and my first rule to them was to put your leather jacket in the closet and don't take it back out until you are UPT complete (they agreed as a group on this). To be honest, it was actually kind of a cool goal for that small group of us to want to wear our leather jackets again and at the same time it was a message sent to both the IPs and the other folks in the class that we were all the same. The Flight CC actually told me it was perfectly OK for us to wear them, but I told him we decided not to as a group. Behind closed doors with the Flight CC and/or prior MWS IPs you will most likely have the advantage of being a "crew dawg" and you can use that to your class' advantage, but don't ever put any instructor (especially your Flight CC) in a position where they think even for a second they need to take you down a peg in front of other students. Treat your FAIPs with just as much respect as you would a prior MWS IP and let the rest of your class see that... make it obvious! I actually knew a few of the IPs in my Flight from my prior airframe... I helped carry my Flight CC out of the Brit Club in Diego hammered once or twice and remember the Q-3 the Asst Flight CC got for trying to fly over a thunderstorm a few years prior. They are human, just like the rest of us, but you'd better know the difference between the guy you are talking to with the door closed in the office and the Flight CC addressing your class. They are two very different people... treat them accordingly. Arrange study groups, stomp out any gouge hording, plan weekend class activities that can include everyone... to include those with wives and kids (BBQ at someone's house, camping, waterskiing/tubing on the lake), know who is doing well in the class and who isn't (and know why), stomp on your class before your IPs have to if things even get the hint of going sideways for any reason. Bottom line is to take care of your folks and don't try to hide anything from your Flight CC/IPs... the walls are very thin between the flight room and the IP office and they are never not listening; if something is going on with anyone in the class the IPs already know about it... trust me! Finally... take care of yourself as a student. Study as hard as you can and be a good classmate. The Flight Commander has enough say in T-6's that he/she can put almost anyone in the top 2/3 of the class flying wise in the top 3 overall at the end of any phase. Someone will finish first and someone will finish last... do the best you can to help ensure that everyone finishes (most importantly, you). If as an SRO you take care of your class (and your IPs) and you finish out well you will most likely end up flying something you are happy with (hopefully one of your top choices)... and you'll look back at UPT as a lot more fun than you remembered while you were actually there!

The problem is that no matter what helicopter we pick as CRH it's basically a gen 4.5 platform. Sure it'll have better avionics and might make up for some deficiencies that the G has, but at the end of the day it's still a slow ass helicopter. The Osprey is much faster, but is still a crappy vertical lift aircraft. If we really want to get serious about CSAR and even long range SOF infil/exfil, we should be focused on the next generation. The future vertical lift platform is currently lead by the Army, who knows what they'll pick, but in my opinion both SOF and CSAR are best served by a fast(relative), high flying rotary wing platform that is primarily a vertical lift asset. Something like the X2, but Blackhawk sized and capable of pressurizing, with radar signature reduction measures along with a radar jammer and stand off weapons and sensor.

The Sandy conversation is the elephant in the room: I don't see how a CSAR package is survivable in a modern threat environment. CSAR-X will never happen, and I see nonconventional assisted recovery becoming the primary means of personnel recovery in a high-threat environment. What good is your RESCORT if the Jolly can't make it? On the other side, low intensity CAS is becoming a crowded market. These days, if it flies, it can probably have a multi-mode munition attached to it or built in to it. Most of these options are cheaper and can be employed faster than getting Hawg Flight on scene. This is the A-10's problem: it's increasingly unsurvivable on the high end of the air combat spectrum and there are a plethora of options at the low end. The Hawg is getting niche.

"If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan. If you apply for a voluntary program and are denied, you will not be RIFd. Period." Hopefully, your SQ/CC talked to someone at AFPC that is not the person in charge of setting FY14 Force Management deadlines. Or maybe hopefully they did, and their info is as good as an AFPC deadline. Lots of fun questions for Commander's Calls now...

"We didn't lie, the truth changed!"

Anyone listen to the afpc webinar? Said vsp were starting to be processed again today and notifications to go out this week and over the next few months...... Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

I don't come here to often any more and when I do I lurk but figured I had to show off my new baby and it's older sibling: The lowers are pretty much the same: AXTS Weapons SSA trigger BADASS 45 degree safety SLAP plate Magpul CTR and MIAD grip SBR: Vltor Mur1A upper Raptor CH BCM BCG Seekins MSVR 2 keymod rail BCM 11.5 standard barrel Gemtek Trek Aimpoint H1 Magpul MBUS It's older sibling is becoming a competition/3 Gun rifle and still needs a newer longer barrel but it is a BCM 16" middy with a VTAC alpha rail, Burris MTAC w/ a Warne Skel mount. Need to get out and zero everything. That is all...

A bit of a long video, but Dr. Sapolsky (Stanford professor) explains how depression is just as much a biological disease as diabetes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc

I trust no man that waxes his eyebrows. Ain't no way that shape is natural growth...

Anything that can loiter above 20K can deliver effective (granted, not Hawg awesome level) CAS. I want to know how the A-10s that weren't in theater at Day 0 are going to get to staging bases with limited tanker assets. Also, what bases are they going to be based at? The ones near the front will likely be unusable, and the ones far away severely limit time on station. How are they going to survive in an environment where US air dominance is not a given. Look, the Air Force at large is trying to figure out how to establish and maintain air superiority against a near competitor who will likely not give us six months of planning time the way Saddam did. US air dominance has been a planning assumption for 50+ years... I'm worried that assumption may not be valid any longer. Given both the budget and the threat, I don't see continued investment in a platform that requires air superiority as a good idea. We need platforms that can kick down the door, and I view going from awesome to just effective CAS as the price we have to pay due to budget limitations.

I've got to say, I've tried to be patient through the 2+ month delay from when we first should have gotten a response, but this day to day waiting is driving me crazy. I hope I'm not the only one constantly checking DOS in every possible location on vMPF, AMS, PRDA and wherever else it's listed. Give us an answer already!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe he doesn't test well :) Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

If Doug Boren spent the time he does arguing about stupid shit on WAPS studying, he probably wouldn't be a 16-year TSgt Boom Operator.

I still want to hear about the rest (most) of the war when stealth has done its job, most IADs are down and troops need CAS, who will operate in that niche where AAA/MP are the threat? Tell me the aircraft designed to operate in a high AAA/MP threat environment. I wonder how the F-35 does against barrage fire?

The better strategic position might be opting for the capability of carrying both.

I don't think its a B-1 vs A-10. Something needed to be cut to pay for the shitshow we know as the F-35 due to congress and USAF leadership simultaneously screwing the pooch. But here are the facts: 1. The B-1 v A-10 CAS argument is flat out dumb. The B-1 can drop bombs in Afghanistan....it can't do CAS in many other scenarios effectively. Likewise the A-10 Can't launch JASSM, carry 30 JDAM or fly supersonic. You can't call the B-1 an attack platform or the A-10 a bomber. 2. Leadership is horrible at predicting future conflict. China/Russia....Probably not where we see action next. 3. Needed weapons. Again leadership has a poor history. Anyone read about the A-16? We need a balance of deterrent airframes (B-2, F-22, F-35) and ones that will do the work everywhere else (F-16, F-15E, A-10) 4. Contested environment? We talk as if radar threats are the only ones out there. AAA/manpads....Good luck F-35. The A-10 was designed to operate in an environment where speed and stealth aren't the important factors. Any legacy fighter is toast versus the newest SAMs, not just a hog. 5. Afghanistan has ruined the definition of CAS.

If he debriefed 2 hours for every 1 hour of beanbag exposure & used at least 4 different colors of marker on his board, he's a shoe-in to be a patch wearer in PMITA prison.

There are plenty of successful helo pilots flying fixed wing, so I think that's probably just confirmation bias. As for the SRO part: recognize that the SRO has a tremendous impact on the performance of the class as a whole. The best classes I ever saw were led by SROs who did their job keeping all the cats running in the same direction. The weakest classes I saw were always led by SROs who were really nice guys, but did nothing to guide the class. When I was in UPT, I was fortunate enough to be in a class with a strong SRO. He had a level head, studied his butt off, and immediately quashed any bullshit us dumb 2Lts tried to pull. He was a role model even as a student and you should strive to be the same.

It's been covered before, but there is a big difference between TIB and the Air Force band. The Air Force band exists because military bands have existed for thousands of years and are necessary for ceremonial purposes and formal functions. They are all excellent musicians and do a great job IMHO. TIB on the other hand is a cluster of counter-productive jazz-handing sissies that contribute nothing to our service. Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

Nah, AFPC would have showed up a week late and missed the concert.

Unintended consequence: those that try will try harder not to fail due to this policy. Brainiacs up there, I tell ya. What's next, Article 15s for divorce? Out

So we get rid of the programs like F-35... And get nothing in return because canceling the program won't net any quantifiable amount after all the fees and everything else are paid out. And then we can spend hours talking about how great it will be to have Hawgs fighting the Armor in some rough and nasty brawl ala desert storm.... just as soon as we launch another billion dollars worth of TLAMs and lose another dozen legacy platforms trying to kick down that first 3 day IADS.

Glad we clarified that for all the E-1s and E-2s on these boards.

I would pay to see some B-1s try to daisy chain us to and from the objective.