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Mission success! A184C0B3-2E8C-49E1-ACE0-7C5ED5C4793F.mov

I am shocked and saddened to report our friend and longtime forum member Danger41 passed away yesterday after a freak accident. Many of us knew him in real life and it would be an understatement to say he was an American hero. He was an incredible pilot, officer, mentor, weapons officer and a friend to all. More importantly, he was a dedicated husband and father. I had the honor of mentoring him throughout his career and was with him at Nellis the night he put his patch on...there are not enough words to describe how good of a person he was. This is an absolute gut punch and a reminder that every day is a gift, never miss a chance to tell a friend or family member you care. ***** All - Adding an update along with the link to a GoFundMe for his family. https://gofund.me/1ecfa239 As I mentioned above Matt "Macho" Anderson was a great human being. He attended and played football at South Dakota State before going to OTS and then on to UPT. Matt initially flew F-15Cs before he was TAMI-21'd to the U-28. He absolutely crushed it as a U-28 pilot where he quickly upgraded to instructor, attended WIC and eventually became WIC Cadre at the 14th WPS. He was known as the consummate Weapons Officer - Humble, Credible, Approachable. More than anything he would want to be remembered as a great husband and father. Macho leaves behind four children and an incredible wife. If you are so inclined say a prayer for him and his children who were also injured in the accident. Nickle on the grass my friend. 🥃

I’m currently on mil leave finishing up my retirement but looking at the January Bid lines out of Orlando they varied from 60-80 hours, some of them with 18 days off for the month. Since I’ve been gone for a couple years, I’m not sure what the high time flyers are getting, so I’ll leave that question for an active guy. Before I left though, the sky was the limit and as long as it was legal and you could put it on your board, you could bank $$$. Personally, life is great. I ended up having to take my ex back to court and won full custody of the kids (hence the reason I am putting the airline life on hold temporarily and finishing up the mil career). We are all extremely happy. I did end up getting remarried and she has been amazing and my kids all call her “mom”. My older two have pretty much nothing to do with their birth mom, and my youngest is the only one that goes for any sort of visitation. It’s funny what a little bit of wisdom, maturity and life experience will do for the second time around. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

RIP. 🍺 - Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee -Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California. -Staff Sergeant Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire. -Sergeant Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona. -Sergeant Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.

Took the A-37 out for an FCF and then a cross country flight of 440 nm on Thursday. First flight since Sept and it flew great. Owner put on an additional set of drop tanks.

Thanks again guys. Unfortunately the CR did not go the way I had hoped. This is definitely not how I had envisioned this journey ending when I started it 6 or 7 years ago, and it hurts about as much as you would expect, but I’m gonna try and still be the best officer I can be wherever I end up.

He was a really good dude who was loved by all and the AFSOC community is justifiably upset. Being a cop is not easy, daily life or death decisions, and as in this case you will be judged for the rest of your life by the choices you make. That being said, training and leadership set the tone and this department is floundering at best. As mentioned above this is the same department that mag dumped a police cruiser with a handcuffed person in the back because a freaking Acorn fell and hit the roof. This community has crime but nothing like other areas of the country. In the history of Okaloosa County the department has lost five officers to gunfire, four of those were domestic violence situations, the last one happened 2.5 years ago. Everything about this call is odd and to some degree the officer was led down a very bad path. HE certainly had poor training and I beleive in most other areas of the country domestic calls get two officers. They won't say who called, but the lady who meets the cop MUST be investigated. She guides the officer to Fortson's apartment then says she heard "something that sounded like domestic violence TWO WEEKS AGO." That is NOT exigent circumstances, there is no warrant, there is only hearsay, no probable cause, but the cop starts pounding away and ordering the door to be opened...a complete fail. Roger has zero duty to open that door and to be clear the courts have ruled that repeated official commands to open a door without a warrant probable cause invoke the 4th amendment. As far as punishment, Roger did not deserve to die, but he was one of the few that stepped forward and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, I would hope all of us would honor his service and allow for the officer to enjoy the protections offered by that document. He deserves due process and if he is found guilty he should be held accountable, but should not be purposely thrown into the general population for "extra" justice. Rest easy Roger and thank you for your service.

I did both. What I experienced in the army was the product of the times I was in the early 2010s. It was the surge in Afghanistan. Can't hover the helicopter? Can't pass the PT test? Don't know your EPs? Here are some wings... you are now your unit's problem. The only thing that would get you kicked out was a DUI. Going through as a young 24-year-old WO1, it did not try at all. Drinked and partied all the damn time and still got my top choice of CH47s. I thought UPT was way harder than Rucker. But when I went through I was way more mature. I got hired off the street by a tanker ANG unit and had to go through the full UPT. I was the last one to solo in my T6 class, even though I was a 1500-hour combat aviator in a helo. I guess I was just used to taking it slow in a helo. I would joke around telling folks at Vance that I used to do my ILSs at 60 knots... why? because I could. Now, going from Vance to OKC on a Rwy 17-day was a fast and rude awakening. I don't think it's a good metric to compare the two. The army sucks the fun out of everything and will try their hardest to change what should be a good experience into something horrible that will make you want to retire. At UPT, I lived for drop nights and the weekends. Party hard with the bros during those but come Sunday night it's time to hit the books and chair fly. But for your original question, I have the following: ARMY Rucker: Easy - The school program. Memorize a few things here and there. Doesn't matter if you even know what you're talking about, as long as you can spit it out verbatim, you will pass with flying colors.. - Flying VFR. Because flying instruments is very hard for all Apache pilots and MTPs. - The standard and the ability to make it. I had people I graduated with who had no business being aviators. But the Army needed the numbers, so here are some wings. I remember day one at Rucker we had the brigade commander tell us that the flight school policy was "No Flight School Student Left Behind" -I think the flying part is probably way easier nowadays. You fly UH72s in primary (no more TH-67s or OH-58s). The 72 has a pretty advanced flight control system that has studs being able to hover after perhaps an hour or two. Hard -The Army. You will graduate and think you are god's gift to aviation. You are not, and here are some field training exercises and ground training shit to prove it and to make you feel like an infantry guy. Also, here is a two-piece flight suit, a PT belt, and Eye Pro... all of those are inspectable items by the sergeant major at any time, so best be ready. -Being a warrant officer - Oh you think your job is a flying-only track? what a scam... and to prove it, here is some paperwork on stands, safety, and ops that an officer should be doing, but it's easier for the army to make a warrant do it for half the price. -Being a commission officer - oh you want to fly? here are some awards to type and some inventories that need to get done. Nobody will be your mentor and warrants will see you as more of a hazard to the flight since you probably know the ops limits of your computer better than any real helicopter anyway. USAF UPT: Easy -Wearing a one-piece flight suit and finally feeling like a real pilot. -Pulling Gs. Because doing a 60-degree bank in a helicopter is a pretty serious maneuver. Hard -The information overload and the fast pace of things. I remember coming back from a flight at Vance early during T6s. I was tired and beat up from all the U's my FAIP just gave me. I saw a random IP walking straight toward me to ask me what I was doing as soon as sat down in the flight room. Studying I said... Only to hear him say "No your not. We are stepping into another jet so let's GO! You can brief me on what all you need to clean up as we walk to the jet." All finish up by saying that the lifestyle in the USAF is a million times better than the Army. If your post originated as a product of frustration because you're having issues being selected to AD, ANG, or reserves, my advice is to KEEP trying dude. Don't look at going Army simply because the USAF is being too selective. It's supposed to be selective! The army should only be an alternative if age is not on your side. Hope that helps. Cheers

I was traveling last Friday and was kind of tuned out. A week late but……19 Jan was the 33rd anniversary of my first combat mission in DS and the kills #3 and I (#4) got that day while escorting the strike package. 1300z, day mission, 2x Mirage F-1s. AIM-7s. It was a good day. 😜

You may have found it humorous, the rest of us were terrified. I still have no idea why Big Blue thought it was a good idea to bring back a UPT 65-14 grad.

All valid, but I'll take this opportunity for a side quest: our NOTAM system is garbage. Why can't they be in priority order, succinct, typed with human grammar, and void of strange acronyms requiring a decoder ring to grasp?

Didn't realize Iran was employing balloons.

Just increase the flow from Texas A&M, problem solved.

This has so many red flags I am surprised some of you are not trying to date it.

I just watched one of my sons graduate USN bootcamp. He shot expert! He's off to Coronado for SWCC training. The navy did a good job with the graduation. All of the people in attendance were super stoked that their loved ones were now sailors. All walks of life were present. Very cool seeing all different types of Americans being happy together and serving this great nation.

It's just SWA being envious of UAL, DAL and AA: now, SWA can say they are "an airline with Wide Bodies".

3 words: SERVICE BEFORE SELF.

When judging truth I tend to lean towards the side that does not machine gun and behead babies, but that is just me.

Today is 1 August... On this date in 1955, Tony LeVier went for a taxi test on Groom Lake in a new Lockheed aircraft that had yet to be flown. However, the aircraft had different plans, and before he knew it, Tony was airborne in what was the unplanned 1st flight of the U-2. So today, the pressure-breathing, pressure-suited prima donnas celebrate 69 years above 69,000 feet. And tomorrow, over 25% of all living U-2 pilots on the planet will gather for an exceptional Homecoming to celebrate the solo flights of what could be the last class of U-2 trainees. Hail Dragons

One of the greatest has flown West. Maj Gen Pat Halloran was 95. He had 100 combat missions in the F-84 before being selected for the highly-secretive U-2 Program in the 1957 time frame. Pat went on to be one of only 18 pilots to check out in both the U-2 and SR-71. After retirement, be remained involved in flying experimental aircraft and homebuilts, including some very exotic replica aircraft from the Tom Wathen Collection, like the De Havilland Comet. He was a regular at Oshkosh. Just a fantastic guy and incredible pilot. A toast to the General...

Taiwanese U-2 pilot Johnny Shen died last Thursday, age 92 He was a U-2 pilot with The Black Cat Squadron on Taiwan from 1968 to 1973. He was admitted to the CAF Academy in January 1952, then trained in the PT-17 and the T-6. After his graduation in December 1955, he was assigned to the 4th Tactical Fighter Group in Chiayi. He was first sent to Tainan to be trained on the T-33, then returning to Chiayi to fly the F-84 in 1956. Later he converted to the F-100. He left the 35th Sq in 1973 and became the vice military attache in Vietnam. After the loss of Vietnam, he returned to Taiwan to served on several desk jobs. He retired from the CAF as a Colonel in 1977 and joined China Airlines, where he flew the Boeing 707, 727, 767, and 747, and Airbus A-300. He transferred to EVA Airlines in 1992. Then he returned served in Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration until 1998. After retirement, he emigrated to Canada and lived in Vancouver. These guys flew some really risky missions. Him him...

Whoa, whoa... what the fuck, friend?

I'm doing my AA quarterly online training and one lesson describes what to look for to report human trafficking. Who do you report human trafficking to if the government is facilitating the trafficking?

I will support age 60-whatever when there is meaningful testing that filters out pilots. Too fat? Bye. Can't handle *complex* surprise EPs in the sim? Bye. Can't pass a real medical exam from a random AME? Bye. Comparative cognitive testing from your previous attempts shows a decline? Bye. And not just for 65+, all pilots. But right now this is about guys who aren't ready for retirement, many of whom are convinced their particular struggles make them uniquely deserving, wanting more. My ability to retire early is affected by how soon others retire. So if the 65+ crowd can make a financial-based argument, so can I. But mostly I'm just tired of the Baby Boomers upending every system for their financial advantage then acting shocked that other generations don't appreciate being left the tattered ruins of a once functional societal pact.

Great to hear the pilot go out! Since everyone is ok. PACAF/CC right now...

Tomorrow’s the day everyone. I managed to write a pretty killer show cause letter acknowledging my mistakes and outlying my plans to get back on track, and I got a fair few letters from others as well. Hopefully it all works out. Thanks for all your insights, advice, and encouraging words.

Just stay in, have the kid, take a year off, never be available when you come back, schedule kid appointments in the middle of the day, come off sorties constantly because “the baby had a rough night”, get sent to the wing after the article about being a fierce fighter pilot Queen that can do it all, get tagged for a deployment, immediately get pregnant again, repeat cycle.

My wife has yet to put any of my tools back in the correct spot either.

Wild that the same people who fell for Russian talking points are now falling for Hamas talking points...

DAYUM...next Huggy will be measuring socks at the DFAC.

If there's one thing the Air Force pilot pipeline managers constantly forget and have to re-learn, it's that teaching skills at the lowest possible level in the cheapest airframe always pays dividends. Passing the buck to b-courses to teach fundamentals that should have been learned in IFS/UPT/IFF is 100% of the time a giant waste of money. The temptation to green up slides over doing the things that actually make sense is going to run our service into the ground. Whenever this comes up I like to tell people some napkin math I did a few years back: I used more JP8 in my first 8 sorties in my MWS than I did in 3 years/1100 hrs in the T-6.

Agree with some of what you said (especially about Fauci), but I take great execption to the "shut up and color" for the military part. While you surrender many of your civil rights when you take the oath, becoming a guinea pig is not in the fine print. Under the blanket of military readiness this mandate was employed and the science was not settled (as a lot of voices tried to say but were silenced). When you peel back the facts it was just as flawed as other times when this happened: 1. Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race. 2. Veterans Used In Secret Experiments Sue Military For Answers 3. Forcing troops to sit in exposure zones during nuclear testing. 4. Edgewood Arsenal human experiments 5. LSD experiments by the United States Army Through the years under the banner of "military readiness" US troops have been purposely exposed to radiation, chemical weapons, biological weapons and have been given LSD, simply unsat in a free society.

I propose a toast: To the incompetence of Iranian aviation. Hear, hear! And on a positive note, congrats to President Raisi: he quit smoking yesterday!

Gen Austin Miller made the call, although Biden & Blinken put him in a box: they imposed a troop cap which made staffing BAF along with the embassy/HKIA impossible. Then Blinken said we cannot withdraw from the embassy due to optics, ergo BAF must close. And because they were unimaginative and underestimated the enemy, they assumed GIRoA could hold out until 2022. Miller pushed back but ultimately saluted and executed. He should have resigned instead. McKenzie, the COCOM/CC, took command from Miller (meaning the COCOM absorbed what had been its own 4 star command, you can imagine how butter smooth that COMREL change was) in July of 21 I believe, after BAF was handed over and when the assault on the outskirts of Kabul began in earnest. He failed to take any bold action although several of us were sending very clear recommendations and security warnings. By early August it was an insane situation: the Taliban was moving openly in large formations massing artillery and supplies as close as Maiden Shar and all ANA checkpoints on Highway 1 had fallen. Camp Commando had fallen. We were going Winchester and not slowing them down; our own FIRES process was complicated by surrendering ANA personnel and enemy use of their (our) equipment /uniforms. The AAF ran out of munitions and ceased flight operations. I landed in HKIA after one sortie and stated clearly: we must initiate the NEO now. The front office for the 2 star in Kabul (senior US Officer in country) told me “not possible, the Turks won’t allow it.” The Turks were running HKIA at the time. 3 days later the Turks were burning all their papers and excess equipment as they ran to their own aircraft to escape the fall. A lot to digest from the experience. My biggest surprise has been that absolutely no one higher wants to hear about it. There was no AAR, no hot wash, no internal mil attempt to investigate and figure out where it broke down. Just sweep it all under the rug, too embarrassing. The AF history guys did a quick report, although it was mainly focused on the 2.5 week mobility surge and they didn’t even know my unit existed. My AAR is now in their secret addendum, but the document is shortsighted by exclusively focusing on the evacuation rather than how the hell we allowed July-Aug to ever occur. Without any accountability and with the same idiots in charge, we should unfortunately expect another epic strategic humiliation.

I'd say alot of things TSA does are counter to intelligence.

I think it's because we have idiots in every crevice of our federal government.

As a Boomer I took your advice at 59:

In 1996, I was co-chair of the annual POW Reunion at the 560th at Randolph. We got all four of the Pardo's Push guys there for the Friday social. We even got an F-4 on the ramp and had them pose by the tail. It was the first time all four had been together at the same time since the actual Push. Bob Houghton was the only guy we originally couldn't find. Keep in mind this is 1996... a lot harder to find people. Bob got word of the event about 36-48 hours prior to the event. IIRC he was doing missionary work in Africa. He jumped through hoops and made it there. These guys got a hero's welcome. I need to see if I can find some photos.

I think the number one threat to the Republican party right now, aside from the usual political machinations in Washington, is the inability of conservative voters to deal with the cognitive dissonance of appreciating the policy successes of Donald Trump contrasted with the fact that he is in fact a piece of shit as a human being.

Something like this:

I notice all the defenders of C19 policies from a few years ago have gone silent. Anyone getting the new boosters? Anyone still think schools should’ve been closed longer & masks on airplanes “saved lives?” Anyone still glad we censored actual scientists & allowed malicious actors like Fauci to drive the narrative? I don’t want to shame fellow posters here. Moving forward I just want us to acknowledge that we shouldn’t reflexively trust the government, we should value and preserve freedom, and we must demand accountability from these people. And in the future, when an event happens and all media is synchronized that we have no time to think or debate and must immediately implement highly restrictive measures for safety, and the experts will tell us when we’re allowed freedom again… when that event inevitably happens: they’re lying. Resist.

But back on Subject of “GA Aircraft Flown”…. Bought myself my last GA Toy🤡

Newly released view of the inside of the cockpit of the advanced companion trainer for the B-21.

The great sage Adam Carolla had a different take. Basically, you're allowed to have stupid opinions in college, sure. But the types of people who write letters supporting Hamas are also the ones who get mad when you misgender them, who will demand a recognition that the land your building is on used to belong to Native Americans before every speech, who will complain about micro aggressions if there's only dairy milk instead of soy milk in the fridge... it's an entire lifestyle that lends itself to being a huge pain in the ass for their employer. So don't bring those people into your organization.

Israel needs to capitalize on the world's brief sympathy and wipe out Hamas once and for all. Bulldoze Gaza. It is clear that Hamas and Israel cannot co-exist peacefully.