M2

Not sure if it is a loophole, but most squadrons have a snacko that sell patches, coins, prints, shotglasses, etc to generate some funds. I know Gill Howie of Squadron Prints if you are interested in selling her prints. They are the best out there (IMHO) and Gill's a sweetheart to deal with, but she's dating a Dutch Viper driver so don't get any ideas! Most of the other stuff comes from Korea or Turkey, some of the older guys in your squadron probably know someone in one of those countries. Something else to remember is that the commissary is a different animal, run by an organization called DECA. They are not AAFES and it is where we buy all the goodies for our snacko. No one at DECA has come down on us about it, and it is pretty obvious when a major and a captain buy four carts full of sodas and munchies. AAFES has always been assholes about snackos, don't know why because lots of times they make their profit off the initial sale. I ain't no JAG officer (thank God!), but if it goes real ugly then have the squadron wives (oops, should I say "spouses") run it. What is AAFES going to do to them? Of course none of the above is guaranteed to work, I would advise trying to find a halfway cool JAG officer (good luck), especially one who doesn’t like AAFES, who could maybe help. Nothing like fighting fire with fire! Good luck, let us know how it works out! Cheers! M2

Easy, commissioned officers outrank all noncommissioned officers (NCOs). Optimally, the officer will respect the NCO's experience, and the NCO will respect the officer's authority. It is called mutual respect. Don't get wrapped around the axle about this, when you start your accession training (AFROTC, OTS, USAFA, whatever), they will explain this (and a whole lot of other things) to you. By the way, the first Saudi lieutenant I met (waaaaay back in 1981 when I was a mere slicksleeve just out of basic) scared the shit out of me because he had stars on his shoulders, and I only knew that to mean one thing... Of course back then I also got hammered because we were told at basic that only officers wore shoulderboards, but the AF had just came out with shoulderboards for the top three NCO ranks. Guess who was the first person to salute a SNCO?!? Cheers! M2

Yeah, but going onto NAS Jax with a USAF ID card that said 'captain' on it was always a hoot! Wanted to park in 'CAPT' slots at the NX, but thought I shouldn't press my luck. Cheers! M2

Morg Clearances take forever, especially the higher ones. I did a five-year update interview before leaving for Belgium two years ago and I still think it is being processed. I filled out the paperwork for the update 18 months before the interview. So at this rate by the time they get done I will be ready for my next five year update! But, In the mean time, I still have full access to everything you could imagine. The collateral (secret) clearance all officers hold is pretty straightforward. I was born in Germany and I had no problem getting mine. Now I hold clearances that many people have never heard of. Heck, we always joke that our jobs are so secret even we aren’t allowed to know what we do! It’s all a part of the wonderful life we live in our giant bunker below Belgium. Florescent lights, stale recycled air, putrid walls without windows…are you sure you want that clearance?!? Chuck's got it right, don't sweat it. Australia is a close ally of the US and having lived there won't effect your ability to get a clearance. Most likely it is just the administrative bumpf that has to happen before you are blessed to know "America's deepest and darkest secrets!" Cheers! M2

I dunno, PAB, the CNN cartoon only shows a Herk dropping the MOAB ( Ka-BOOM), thus it must be the only MWS for it! Also, the C-17 isn't on their cool 3-D Weapons Models web page, so it couldn't be a real weapons system, could it?!?! I too must be bored.... Cheers! M2

Slip It's easy, but as you have probably found out FormFlow is a mother. Best to work in MS Word, use <Shift> F7 for a quick thesaraus, then copy/paste over to form flow to make sure the bullets fit. As for content, BS as much as you can without blatantly lying. Use a "action-result-impact" format and don't let the admin weenies tell you what you can/cannot write (unless it directly violates regs, such as promotion recommendations). You are signing the damn thing, you can say what you want! PM me if you really get in a bind, I will send you some of my copyrighted gems! [ 03 October 2003, 16:12: Message edited by: MajorMadMax ]