Scooter14

If you consider 15 hours at a destination good trips, strat air is the way to go. If you want a tried and true (read old) airframe that will actually stay somewhere long enough for you to see the sights (even if the sights are four tan canvas walls with an air conditioning plenum on your roof), the mighty Stratotanker is for you. If you want to get somewhere and break, go for a C-5, but there are not many coming out of UPT on the AD side anymore. The three holer is damn sexy when we get to dump our remaining 60K into it and beat the gucci boys back to the bar. Just kidding fellas... IMHO, one of the best assignments out of UPT (KC-135 to Mildenhall) was picked up after the first few rounds in the draft in my class. In all honesty, and this has been said over and over but I firmly believe it, whatever you get out of UPT is by far, the best aircraft in this man's Air Force, bar none. You'll have avitars by your screen name, you're e-mail address will have the number in it somehow, you'll buy the little pen pocket tab and you will let every other operator in the military know that without YOUR aircraft, there is no way any war will ever be won.

Maybe because the old Air Defense Command units, like Vermont, Montana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, etc. didn't take part in the old TAC then ACC tradition of the 2 letter tail code. When ADC went away, the tradition held over. Just my guess...

I think I just might qualify to talk about this... Tankerwife and I have two kids, one was born 3 weeks after I got back from an Allied Force deployment as a nav and 180 days of TDY, and the other came 5 days after my T-1 navigation check. Neither one were what you would call "planned" :eek: Let me start by saying there is no good time to have a baby. If you try to plan for the perfect time, you will have no kids forever. There is no perfect time. That being said, both kids have been the best thing to happen to us. TWife got pregnant during a period of very high opstempo for the RC crews. I had barely 30 days off between 30-45 day trips. T.Wife endured a lot of me being gone during the pregnancy. We did live in base housing, where there was a great deal of support there and from the squadron. I did miss a lot of appointments. After he was born, I went to Instructor upgrade, and that kept me home for about the first 5 months, although I couldn't really help too much with the feeding part ;) I was on the road alot his first 18 months, but it slowed down a bit after that. Our little UPT baby was actually conceived during Tweets. We were going to wait till we got back to the ANG unit to at least have the next baby, but things happen . IMHO, Timing wise, if you are going to have a baby at UPT (which I would not recommend), try to time it so the birth is late in the program. The early part of Tweets/T-1's/38's has pretty early showtimes and pretty rigorous schedules with Formal Release, etc. The last thing I would think anyone with a 0500 showtime would need is a kid who is up at midnight, 0130 and 0300. Later on in Phase III yo have a little more leeway. The student will get time off, but don't expect the 2 weeks of leave you would get in a normal squadron if he wants to finish with his class. I got 5 days, and thank goodness the delivery went smooth, or I'd still be down there. Also, consider having to move 6 months into UPT from Moody to Laughlin or from Vance-Corpus, then on to Little rock to Elmendorf, all in about a 16 month timeframe. That kind of movement is possible. If your fate is pre-determined (ANG/AFRC/too tall to fly a fighter, etc.) and you know you'll be in one place, that's one thing. I just moved from Oklahoma to New England with a 5 yr old and a 7 month old. What a pain in the ass, and we only moved once. As for bringing a family to UPT, it's a bigger challenge, but as long as everyone knows what they are up against, it will all work out. It's only a year. I think the older the little one is, the better, but that's just from my experience. My favorite part of T-1's was coming home after a 12 hour day, grabbing a cold beer and going out into the back yard to play catch with my son and teach him how to hit a baseball. I would do that for about an hour, then come in with a clear head and get my stuff together for the next day and study for a bit. Oh, and your four year old will have quite a colorful vocabulary by the end of UPT. :D [ 15. December 2004, 19:16: Message edited by: PAB ]

DASH-1 - The "owners manual" for the aircraft. This technical order or T.O. is divided into sections that list systems description and operation, checklists and normal procedures, emergency procedures, crew duties, operating limits, adverse weather procedures, etc. Your checklist is derived from this T.O., as is performance data charts, cargo loading data, etc. These books have hundreds of pages, but you will become very familiar with the important stuff and the trivial as time goes on. It's called the Dash-1 because it is listed as T.O. 1T-1A-1 or 1T-37B-1. They end in -1 [ 13. December 2004, 21:22: Message edited by: PAB ]

NKAWTG - Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas - A popular acronym used by crewmembers of the Mighty KC-135 Stratotanker and the almost as mighty KC-10 Extender. Herk drivers say they kick ass without tanker gas, but I wonder how the gas gets into theater before it's put into bladders and sent forward... Hmmm.... :confused:

HOOK/TACO- Getting an unsatisfactory (U) grade on a flight, test, etc. Often shown as a visual hand signal, with one holding their hand as if cradling an imaginary taco. Synonyms - BUST/TUBE/BONE/SHIT THE BED/SCREW THE POOCH It's like a dictionary and a thesaurus all in one! [ 13. December 2004, 21:12: Message edited by: PAB ]

So, EML is something granted when you are on a remote anywhere, or is it location dependent?

I was reading the Space A website today, and need clarification... from the website https://public.amc.af.mil/Library/SPACEA/24....htm#Categories I have a friend who is in Guam on an unaccompanied remote. His wife would like to fly out Space A to see him. Is she considered a command sponsored dependent? I was always under the impression that a command sponsored dependent was one who accompanied the member to the overseas location Thanks for the help

That's kind of a sweeping generalization. My ANG KC-135 unit has former BUFF, E-3, F-111, FB-111, RC-135, Eagle, Viper etc. etc. pilots, most with over 3500 hours. Also, the new AMC initiative is taking guys I know from the C-5 and -141 world and putting them into the KC-135, and vice-versa. Granted, you all have receiver experience, but to call yourself a "better platform" because of it is a little much, IMHO. Bottom line: when you pull up behind a KC-135, you don't need to worry about getting screwed, we know what we are doing, too... and we can't get Force Extended! [ 23. November 2004, 22:41: Message edited by: PAB ]

I had 'em when I was 5, and I never had a problem. It was never an issue for me, but then again, it all depends on the doc. On a side note, do you remember when they fell out? I picked one out of my ear sitting at my desk in first grade. The school nurse, this retired old lady at my school, taped it to a piece fo yellow paper, ear wax and all, and sent me home with it with a note attached saying "This THING fell out of Jeffrey's ear today"

Enid's not that great. You're almost done, just let it go! It's possible, but I don't know how it works. Some of the guys said there's a T-38 guy, former A-10 driver from Maryland or something at Vance right now. Ask around over at the 25th, you may find out something.

It'll be tough, but we'll find a way to press on ;) Fly safe, hopefully you have where you are right now

Hacker, you'd be surprised how many of those dudes there are out there...A guy from my ANG unit who went through the fixed wing qual program while I was down the hall in UPT was a former Cobra dude, and he introduced me to three other guys, all going through FWQ who were Marine Corps Cobra dudes, one of them was going up to fly Hogs, and a Huey guy going to Hogs as well. I also have met a couple of them down here at beautiful Altus. Three of my Tweet IP's (still Marines) were Cobra guys, and they told me about some of their buds who have made the transition to the Guard, and one of our T-1 IP's was a Cobra dude before he became a reservist, so I would not be at all surprised if there were multiple guys going through IFF and D-M at the same time. They're takin' over, man!

Justin, A lot of shcools have what's called "substance-free" dorms and stuff like that. All the kids there agree not to drink, smoke, dip, run naked, etc. The kids who do tend to stay away for the same reasons. I went to a pretty small school, but one floor of a dorm was dedicated to these folks. After you freshman year, you kind of find out who's got similar interests, goals, grade point averages and alcohol tolerances and you end up living with them for the next few years. So if you're worried about having a guy like me for a roommate who's gonna come rolling in at 2AM after an all day and half the night bender(ever see the movie P.C.U), ask the residence folks about this option. Oh, and I wouldn't count on the Air Force guys not to drink as much, either. We have a reputation to uphold . In all seriousness, the Air Force is a cross-section of society. There are those who party like rock stars just like everywhere else, they just tend to be somewhat more responsible and have their buds watching out for them a little closer than in the civillian sector. [ 04. August 2004, 12:33: Message edited by: PAB ]

I'm not a trainer or anything like that (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...I'll be here all week folks) but anything is better than nothing. Besides, you should see some of the sluggos in ROTC. If you walk in even remotely in shape, you'll stand out. Sounds like you've got a good plan, bro.

It's amazing what running, push ups and sit ups will do for you, but I'm one of those guys who has to drag my fat happy *** to somewhere that doesn't have my couch and my fridge. I'm also not real useful prior to about 0645, which gives me just enough time to get to work. The morning is supposed to be the best time to work out, so if you can do it, do it. The sit ups and push ups will help with the PFT. If your run takes you by a playground, monkey bars and swingsets are great places to do pullups. My brother and I, just for grins, went down to the playground behind my folks house when we were both on leave (for my dad's short-notice triple bypass surgery, which gave us a little incentive...he's fine). We decided to work out for 30 min, but not stop for more than 30 sec. We would do a set of pushups, then sprint across the soccer field x3, do pull-ups w/ sprints x3, tricep dips off a bench w/sprints x3 and then crunches. Try it some time.

Sometimes you have to suck up your pride a little bit. I found some cloth my wife had done my son's room with right after he was born. It had these teddy bears and those alphabet blocks. I tied those to my A-3 bags and caught some flak at the departure base, but when we got to our destination, and 5 guys had the "I bet nobody else will put these on their bags" desert BDU bandanas tied to their bags and it was pitch black over by the ATOC and dudes were stumbling over bags, I was alreay at the beer tent. ChemBag Mountain. I like it. [ 18. July 2004, 18:55: Message edited by: PAB ]

You know, I never actually painted them, but I've helped people paint theirs and it looks OK. I ended up selling them for $20 to a dude in my class for our graduation. I never wore my mess dress as a 1Lt, I was too busy being TDY and thus never had a reason to paint them, but I wore it a few times in the last two years for my brothers graduation, USMC Birthday Ball, UPT graduation, etc.

I know some ANG/AFRC units do Dining In/Outs and holiday functions, where mil formal dress is the norm, so chances are you'll wear it more than once. My unit also sent someone out for my graduation, and they wore mess dress tot he dinner. You might find yourself in the same position someday. IMHO, it's just a sharper looking uniform anyway. I was the only senior cadet out of 10 in my ROTC unit to wear the Service Dress w/ the white shirt and bowtie, and I kind of felt like a toolbox. This from the guy who's telling people in another thread to paint their mess dress gold bars silver... Again, my opinion only. You're not wrong to wear the modified service dress, but along the same lines, an officer is not wrong to wear ribbons on a short sleeve blue shirt, but unless you're prior enlisted, you might catch some shit for it.

Leave the Rottie in Mississippi, I was just kidding, besides, I'll be a fellow f***ing Guard guy in the Granite State. Live free or die.

Dude, I'll be there until the end of October. Basically, what you're telling me is that you'll show up after I do and leave before me. F***ing Guard guys! Hey, wait a minute...F***ing C-17 guys is more like it!

YIKES! I've got a 35 day break(fo which I'm 28 days into and they kept me on orders. I took househunting days and leave. My orders are cut, so I guess I'm ok, but heed the warinings I guess. AG, if you're still there, I'll see you at Altus next week.

Great town, interesting mission for an EWO. Good people, too. You've got Raven3 and Bergman who've done the job well and can talk more about that side of the house, but do a search for RC-135 and you'll see some comments, good and bad. C-21, if you ever call me an EWO again, I know where you live (or at least where you fly out of) [ 10. June 2004, 21:18: Message edited by: PAB ]

Roger that. BTW, If anyone out there is not planning on doing the $75-ish dollar military competency exam during or towards the end of UPT, put the crack pipe down and reconsider. It will never be this easy or cheap to get your ratings again, and do it now while it's still fresh in your head and you have others to study the gouge with. Even if you plan to stay on AD for the next 45 years, who knows what will happen to you (i.e. Force Reshaping)

Beech 400 and Mitsubishi Diamond Jet are the types you will get. I'm making the trip to the FSDO next Tuesday, so if anyone has any ?s they want me to ask, let me know.