Herk Driver

The free wireless in the dorms here has gone from 4MB to 30MB. They've been promising it for months and finally delivered. Great connectivity when you Skype. Also, the qweep here is not as bad as the Deid. There is a little common sense here and lots of prayers that it stays that way.

You may be 100% correct, but there are other places that don't have the same level of queep. So, I doubt that it is COMUSAFCENT, maybe someone else.

As usual Dumbness at the Deid has continued to blossom. The problem with the Deid is the idea put forth by the Safety office. It's the one size fits all mentality. The standard should not be a reflective belt. The standard should be that wearing the AFPTU = wearing a reflective belt. And once you enter a building, wearing a reflective belt is a 'moo' point.

Guys, please stop posting speculation. Both squadrons at Dyess are still scheduled for the J-model. Nothing has changed yet. Not sure exactly what DD said, but there has been no change to the plan at this point. There may be CoA's in coordination, but no firm decision has been made that will change 28 J tails at Dyess. Your point about "no idea how that will work" is exactly why this will probably not happen. It will be too difficult. Not to mention how deployments will be managed or lots of other factors.

I thought interest accrues for the time you are deployed plus 90 days, but I could be wrong.

On both accounts, we all have more to be worried about than shirt tucks.

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but BFD. It only applies to "organized PT activities". Of course, it applies to PT testing and as such has the potential for a bunch of REMFs standing around the track to scream at you about your tuck. But, really it's only 1.5 miles of listening to them and then you re-tuck.

A great point that you should ask to see it in writing. Word of mouth policy is NOT policy.

Asking for someone's ID is a pretty standard issue. Everyone should go and read the authority of an Officer and an NCO in the UCMJ. Why they put that in the uniform reg, I have no idea.

What was the actual weight you moved versus the estimate you gave them? That has a huge effect. Several things could be at play here: 1) There are break points above which you get paid less $/100 pounds. You may have gone above a point where the estimate was not accurate. 2) Your numbers above (e.g. $668 * 28% = $187.04) do not reflect the 28% tax rate they will take out of your DITY payment. So, if you carried exactly what you estimated (meaning their calculation should be accurate), you would have only gotten $480.96.

NOTED.

Clearly nsplayr and the SECDEF disagree about the real role of this system. It is clearly about the Russians and has nothing to do with the Middle East.

Noted. And your view would be wrong. Go get some data from your intel folks or a briefing from MDA on the system characteristics and capabilities and then re-engage.

And you base your opinion off of what? Speculation? Have you seen the threat envelope and what the radar site, the mid-course radar and the AEGIS radar cover? Do 10 missiles really pose a threat to a Russia that has hundreds of missiles and even more warheads? The defense system, in fact, is a defense against threats to the US, not Europe (primarily). It is based in Europe, particularly Czech and Poland, because that is the ideal location to defend most of Europe, but primarily against a longer range future missile that could hit the US. That's why only a limited number (e.g. 10) of missiles. Stick to what you know and leave the speculation to the conspiracy theory nuts. Or provide me with the background/job experience that provides the basis for your "analysis". Were you at MDA or EUCOM in the last three years? Are you a pol-mil expert or a foreign area officer? Please do provide me with something that backs up your back to the Cold War theory.

Dude, say what you want. Getting a vector for Air Staff is more difficult and more highly viewed by the AF. A lessor percentage of people get an Air Staff vector, than joint (other). Having done a Joint(other) tour, I can tell you that the AF view is out of sight, out of mind. Your joint OPR means nothing except the strat line.

It's more about protecting the US than you might think. The Czechs still haven't put it to a vote, because they don't think it will pass. This still has a long way to go either way.

2 Working at Air Staff is better than Joint (JCS), is better than Joint (other), is better than MAJCOM, is better than NAF. Working outside the Wing is good for you, but there are different levels of it and where you fit and how well you do in that job play a large part. That's why only about 1-2% get a push line or DT vector that is for Air Staff.

I think you may have misinterpreted someones apprehension about "black-box" syndrome to mean they are anti-technology. There are a lot of great inventions out there and a lot of great technology, but when those systems don't work, you are left with a clock and a map. If you have the basics down, then you can do the J-O-B whether you have any of the new tools or not. Same goes for TCAS and some of the other technology out there. However, it would be nice to stop piece meal upgrades of E-models and get something that makes all Herks the same. Unfortunately, politics and economics won't let that happen. I've been around for the C-130X and Y discussion, the J-model that should have been fielded faster and all the other shenanigans that have taken place in the Herk. I can tell you that the use of the term 'legacy' really gets under some dudes skin. I'm not one of them, but I have several friends who really have a problem with the term. Anyway, that's another discussion.

The first Dyess bird is just being assembled. As of today, Dyess is getting J's for 2 squadrons. Can't speak to any changes that may or may not happen. Today, both the 39th and 40th are getting J's. I'd be surprised to see that change at this point. Of course, if the overall J buy is scaled back, then where airframes are allocated could change again. Yes, MX at Dyess can support the two airframes if the current plan stays intact. They could also support split ops, but not with current manning.

Yes, I had heard that about the AMP. Wrong. Dyess presently is on track for both squadrons to still go J. No changes to that. Don't know about Yokota. When you say "they are saying only one J squadron at Dyess", who is they? Don't know a timeline, but BIX will probably be 'soon' and I don't know that a decision has been made on Quonset yet.

2. There is nothing bad about 'pending'. Let the system run its course.

2 THREATCON - FPCON CBPO - MPF MPC - AFPC NBC - CBRNE etc, etc, etc

It's all Al Gore's fault...

OK, so build some neutron bombs and use those instead.

If the avatars offended you, Ethel don't look at the last post by Hacker.