JarheadBoom

I've been sending them (ARPC, I think) qualifying orders from '08 on, periodically, over the past 2 years. They recently emailed me and said since I'm not eligible for retirement yet, stop sending them and wait until I'm less than 90 days from retirement. I'm sending them this year's orders to the desert, as soon as I get back. Not waiting until 90 days prior for them to lose something, not receive something, or fuck it all up...

Those wood blocks under the vehicles are called "sleeper shoring"; it's purpose is to keep the vehicle's suspension from compressing/bouncing and allowing the restraints to go slack or shift. It's not to keep the vehicle from rolling on (or off) the pallets. Even if the 747 had rails & locks for centerline-loaded pallets, it would've been a challenge to get the required restraint on those MRAPs with the load limits of the pallet rings (7500lbs).

Ahhhh, Bridgeport. Funny how the three Marines the mule is supposed to be helping, are doing the most work...

Fuck me running, that's horrible. I'm far from an expert on the 747, but the last time I was on a cargo-configured 747-200 (the NAC jet was a -400BCF) the floor was definitely not configured for rolling stock. The photos I've seen of MRAPs loaded in 747s (in this thread, in fact) had them loaded on 463L pallets, in order for them to roll on the floor rollers in the jet, and to be uploaded/downloaded via K-loader. Turning the wheels in any direction, chocking the wheels, setting parking brakes... none of it matters if you've got 28k of mass sitting on what amounts to a skateboard with little restraint. Thinking out loud... maybe USTRANSCOM should let Fred and Barney handle the big rolling stock, and let NAC, Atlas, Kalitta, et.al. handle the pallets of styrofoam trays and rubber dogshit. Also... https://www.nationala...ght_NCR102.aspx

Yawn... done in the '80s.

https://www.dailymail...rs-engines.html In related news, at least two CAREER OVER lights have been spotted around BA's LHR hangars...

So what you're saying is...... Your personal feces are not odorific. Roger.

Relax, no flames. It was a serious question, indicated by the use of the phrase "Serious question".

Serious question: Have you ever fired a shotgun with a no-shit, full-up defensive round, like 3" 00 buckshot? Ever tried a double-tap, or the good old "2 to the body, 1 to the head" drill with a shotgun and full-up defensive rounds?

Semiauto shotguns can be very selective WRT what ammo will cycle the action reliably. The round that gives best reliability may not be the best choice, or even a *good* choice, for home defense (i.e. birdshot rounds). Having said that, I've never heard anything negative (aside from price) about the Benelli semi shotguns. Good call on the M&P. The gun that feels good in your hand is almost always easier to shoot well than the gun that feels like you're holding a brick.

The Army continues to classify the shooting as "workplace violence", and not as a terrorist attack. I'm not sure whether I should be hoping that the Army is being driven to this classification from on high... or if I should be hoping that the Army really is that clueless. Both are scary thoughts.

Christ, those last two pics are haunting...

Yeah, because we all know -135s don't go anywhere or do anything that results in a "busy lifestyle". edit: fix quote, better pic

Our DO fights the MX canx vs. OPS canx battle almost every time we don't fly. Some of the stories he's told us, about the lengths MX leadership management will go to pin a canx on anything but MX, are both entertaining and despicable at the same time. My community has been flying essentially the same jet for over 30 years; there's been some changes, but they're still all A-models. How is it possible that the crew pubs and MX pubs STILL disagree about what is acceptable for flight, and what is not? /thread derail

I don't fucking think so. There's many reasons I've avoided the Bullet, Capstone, and the other similar missions; ludicrous shit like this is one of 'em.

Doubtful. I know the last time I was seriously looking into the Breitling -10 watch (few years ago), there was NO option for personalization/changes.

Wow... The entirety of the Baseops forums*, summarized in one paragraph. Well done, sir. ETA: * except the boobs and guns.

The last time I was in a 747 (Atlas -200) there were no tiedown rings in the floor. Seat tracks running fore-aft, with small portable tiedown rings that snap into the seat tracks where needed.

What a clusterfuck. Like the squid on that PBS documentary on the aircraft carrier who was the sexual assault prevention NCO for the boat (or however the Navy chose to title that particular duty) that sexually assaulted a female sailor... but 1000x more serious. My entry for the caption contest: "I didn't Fly, Fight, and Win, but she sure as hell did Aim High."

I hope someone, with the power to do so, has made that decision. :jd:

Hell no. Good luck getting even ONE decent measurement. You might want to double-check your regs... Specifically prohibited in the KC-10. This video clip literally silenced the breakroom at my .civ job. Ugly. Also was a hot topic this past weekend at UTA. I think I (and all the other booms, too) fielded more questions from pilots and engineers about cargo restraint this weekend than I've heard from them in nearly 6 years of flying in the AF.

Felt like I was right there. Fuckin' awesome.

It's official - our 1-day home-station ATSO event later this summer has been CANX'd due to budget issues.

Because changing the big things takes, among other things, a leap of faith, something today's AF management is (for the most part) deathly afraid of.

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell The story of an 10th Mountain Division infantry platoon and their 2006-07 Afghanistan deployment, written by their platoon leader. Excellent read.