JarheadBoom

WTF? When did we start having to license & register machine tools? [/sarcasm; rhetorical question] I have a friend whose garage is better equipped than the no-shit machine shop at one of my previous employers (a Part 145 Repair Station). He's an IT geek by day, and makes stuff on his lathe & mill (that he converted from manual to CNC) because he likes to make stuff from metal after wrangling 1s and 0s all day. That makes me think it's perhaps not a good idea for me to finish an 80% (or even a 0%) lower in his garage, on his machines, for my use.

Flexibility: As a Traditional Reservist (and, I suspect, as a Traditional Guardsman), your individual scheduling flexibility is dependent on your currency needs vs. what the SQ has available for locals & trips. The more currency items you need to bang out, the more flexible you'll need to be WRT flying on a day/night/trip that you're really not into. As a for-instance, last year I got a short-notice .civ contract job that was going to keep me away from home and out of the local area for a few months. I was also going to go non-current for a cargo load during that time, and the contract was ending shortly before my desert rotation was leaving. To avoid being non-current for deployment, I had to go on a weekend trip that had scheduled cargo, on my last weekend at home before I left for the .civ job. Wife was not happy (we had already made family plans for that weekend), but it was what was required to maintain currency in the short time I had available. Min participation: Once I became a true TR (after the days of "MPA for errbody" ended), I quickly realized there was no way to stay current in the jet, much less proficient, in just one UTA weekend a month. I averaged two double-teeps (AFTPs) a month in addition to UTAs to stay current & proficient, along with at least one trip per quarter. As a boom, my list of currency beans is a hell of a lot shorter than a pilot's list, so depending on a pilot's particular currency needs & training level, they may need to do 3-4 additional days/month on top of UTA weekends. Or, reschedule their UTA days to mid-week to take advantage of trips, local mission profile, etc. Forced into missions: Not in my experience. As a Traditional Reservist, about the only way you can be forced into duty outside of a UTA or AT period is through a mobilization/activation order. The approval level for that is way too high for someone to pursue that for a training mission; to get to that point you'd have to be violating several SQ/WG policies, and you'd be more likely to be booted from the unit than mobilized solely for a mission for training. This is not to say, however, that you will not get pressure from your scheduler/DO/CC to "make the time" and get your ass on the schedule. The flying Reservist/Guardsman's obligation is to maintain currency & proficiency in their airframe, along with all the ancillary bullshit Big Blue has piled on over the years. If you are unwilling or unable to maintain the *family - .civ job - Guard/Reserve* balance and stay current in the jet, you're gonna have a bad time.

Watched the Youtube live stream; pretty damn cool. Probably the first time I ever wished I was in Kansas as opposed to whatever my current location was. Now they need to get Fifi and Doc together for some form flights. THAT will be epic.

KC-10 (I'll caveat up-front that my view is that of an enlisted Reservist, who's been out of the jet for over a year) 1. Ops Tempo/Deployment: Busy. AFAIK, deployments are still 56 days a pop, with AD guys seeing ADAB anywhere from 2-4 times a year, every year. The Reserves are still on the partial mobilization that started 5 years ago, and as of March of this year my SQ leadership said there was no end in sight. Plenty of TDY when you're not deployed - it's AMC. 2. Lifestyle/ Family Stability: It's AMC. Be prepared to spend at least half your time away from home. 3. Community morale: Not too bad (I think) on the Ops side. It's a relatively small community (59 jets, 2 bases), so after a few years of Dhafra deployments everyone pretty much knows who everyone else is. MX has been slashed and beaten to a bloody pulp, which causes availability issues and the occasional Ops vs. MX firefight. 4. Advancements & Future of the airframe: They're still modding the jets for the CNS/ATM mod, which is good. There was once talk of flying the jet into the 2030s, which was the whole point of spending the money on CNS/ATM. However, they're also still talking about the KC-46 turning into a KC-10 replacement... which is bad. I'm hoping they don't finish the CNS/ATM mod just in time to start parking them at AMARG, but the realist in me knows that unless Big Blue finds a shit-ton of money hiding in some dark corner of the budget (or if Boeing suddenly forgets how to build the KC-46), the -10's days are numbered. 5. Preferred PCS locations: Only two choices - McGuire or Travis. McGuire folks can live in PA and have a 30-40min commute to work, and pay half the property taxes vs. living in NJ. Philly is <1hr, NYC is ~1.5hrs, the NJ shore is ~40min depending on your beach choice. Travis is not far from the SF Bay area, and Reno/Tahoe is an easy day trip (I skied Squaw Valley once with half my crew, on a 36hr stop at Travis). If you're a gun guy/gal at McGuire, you can live in PA, get your PA LTCF and carry concealed (or open carry with no permit/license), possess any ammo variety and/or magazine size you'd like, and even own suppressors with nothing more than the usual ATF stamp. Just stay out of NJ with ANY of that on your person or in your car. At Travis... you might still be able to buy Guns & Ammo from the magazine rack in the BX.

faa.gov shows 11 707s with valid registrations still on the books, including one registered to Air Force Systems Command (N404PA). Omega Air Refueling still flies at least two 707s, so there are at least two US-registered 707s still actively flying. John Travolta still has his, although I've heard it doesn't fly often. I can't speak to FSDOs handling of "that pilot shit", but on the MX side, FSDOs have been notorious for having their own interpretation of FARs, ADs, etc., and not accepting other FSDOs determinations on things. I once worked for a FAR Part 133 operator that had an aircraft enroute to a jobsite impounded for nearly a week by the FAA, and the PIC's license temporarily suspended, because a particularly visible aircraft modification that had an FAA field approval from the company's home FSDO (back when field approvals were "easy" and commonplace) wasn't recognized by a FSDO rep in another region. Call a FSDO in another region if your "home" FSDO won't cooperate; as an individual, you are not locked into using the FSDO whose region your home is located within. Back in the days of the Philly FSDO being a bunch of lazy, geriatric, anti-military fucktards, many former military mechanics living in the Philly area went to the Allentown or Harrisburg FSDOs to get their "permission slips" to take the written & oral A&P tests.

Slightly off-topic (but not by much) - I wonder how many people noticed that there were six separate links to six separate incidents in that sentence...

I tried the Dave Clark single-ear several times during a week-long trip, when they first became available (the other boom on the crew was one of the first in the SQ to get one... little scammer). I didn't like the way one ear was dead-quiet except for radio calls, and the other ear dealt with all the cockpit noise (some of the jets have a lot more ventilation system flow noise than others, for some reason) along with the crew communication. Dealing with that aural difference gave me a nasty headache after about an hour, but it's possible that my pre-existing hearing damage had something to do with it. I much preferred my in-ear Telex, with the molded plastic earpiece the dental hobby shop cast for me. I will say the DC made hearing radio calls very easy, even when the radios were... challenging... but for me the headache-induced negative SA outweighed the positive SA of hearing radio calls easier.

I know that he was a previously-qualified -10 guy that did time in the GH. I don't know if he volunteered or was voluntold to the GH. I don't know whether he Palace Chased, or ran his ADSC down to the last day. Sorry, that's the best I can tell you - I wasn't around the SQ much when he was hired, and I never had a chance to fly with him.

Yep, my SQ hired a former -10 guy out of Global Chickens a year or so ago. Whatever the standard requal course is for -10 pilots is what he flew in the sim and at FTU (I don't know what that timeline is, and I wasn't around the SQ much during that timeframe). Not sure if he has since hired on with an airline or not, but he IS flying a manned aircraft again.

Plenty of Guard & Reserve folks out there who are also business owners; I had a few in my SQ at one time, and I'm friends with a fellow Boom who is making it work right now. Depending on the nature of the business, and how involved you are in the day-to-day workings of it, it can get difficult to manage time away to maintain currency/proficiency in the jet. Bear in mind that as Guard/Reserve, when you're on AD for school tour/seasoning, Big Blue expects your head to be in THEIR game, not yours. Especially as a new guy, getting wrapped up in your .civ business issues while on a school tour might be an acceptable excuse/reason for unacceptable AF performance once. More than that will not garner any sympathy, and will likely be met with negativity you really want to avoid.

I read "The Martian" twice, then decided I wasn't going to ruin the experience by going to see the movie. Then I saw a couple trailers... and ended up watching it last Friday night. OUTSTANDING movie! There's no way they could've packed as much detail into a film as there was in the book, but they did a pretty good job of getting the point across. The film is pretty faithful to the book, with a few exceptions, but IMO the exceptions didn't detract from the overall experience. I did not feel like my money was wasted.

Recently read: "Legend" by Eric Blehm. The back-story of then-SSgt Roy Benavidez, and the events that led to the day he earned the MoH. The description of the battle is incredible, both in detail and intensity. "Redeployment" by Phil Klay. Several "short story"-style accounts of people's time during and after their OEF/OIF tours, and how they deal (or don't deal) with their demons. In work: "Hit The Target: Eight Men who Led The Eighth Air Force to Victory over the Luftwaffe" by Bill Yenne.

I did. Took me a couple tries to remember which one I had used; maybe the multiple attempts with incorrect email addresses had something to do with it. Gonna ops check the New Content issue I had; I'll report back. Works as advertised. Thanks again, to DFRESH and the rest of the admin/moderation team, for all your efforts to keep this forum going.

Finally got back on; had a huge problem resetting my password (didn't recognize my old password, and the reset password page wouldn't recognize my new password until I used "password". Yes, it's changed from that now...). I use the "New Content" feature. When I click the new content button, and try to go to the second page of results, I get this message: Sorry, there is a problem Please wait 12 seconds before attempting another searchError code: 1C205/3 Regardless of how long I wait, I get this message. Win7, IE11

He did mention Palace Chase.

Because 99.69% (maybe more) of the cargo that those operators move in their 767s is in ULD containers that have already been packed, weighed, and sorted for best aircraft CG. They're not dealing with pallets of randomly-shaped HHG crates with fucked-up nets, T2s without proper restraint, pallets contoured incorrectly, and other oddball shit that shows up late to the jet. Their entire air freight organization is dedicated to loading and dispatching the jets as quickly and efficiently as possible, to maximize profits and make their delivery schedules. They're not closed for "training" every Thursday afternoon, bending over backwards to accommodate the latest hot-button social issue, or continually trying to define their identity by systematically destroying any sense of identity they once had. They will. The loadmaster will be called a Boom Operator, and he/she will be just as trained on the specific cargo handling procedures for the KC-46 as any other loadsmasher is on their jet. edit: words

Huh. Never would have guessed that would be a valid tactic. Guess you learn something new every day. HEY, I've got a great idea! Maybe we should have some Infantry types use that tactic, too... [/sarcasm]

Back in '96 at the MCAS Futenma Open House/Flightline Fair, the Japanese (Coast Guard??) brought in a US-2 for static display. Older one (obviously...), with T-56s and 3-blade props. I got to walk/climb through it with a very enthusiastic crew member as an escort, and just like every other Japanese military aircraft I've ever been on, you could safely eat off of just about any surface of the aircraft. It truly was that clean. Not a spot of corrosion visible, either. Monday morning I made sure I was out on the line when they departed. Very little pitch change at rotation, but it looked like it just levitated off the runway after about a 1500ft roll. It reminded me of a Harrier rolling takeoff, just much slower & quieter. With the AE2100s and 6-blade props the newer ones must climb like an elevator...

The same way any other Reserve/Guard MAF unit keeps their missions manned - ARTs/Technicians, troughers/bums, and traditionals that have enough flexibility in their .civ employment to take time off their "real" jobs to play Air Force. Re: jets always being on the road - I can't speak for other locations, but there's always several jets, both -17 and -10, sitting on the ramp at WRI (AD/AFRC Associate wings). Training fences, MX headaches, and random "static jet" taskers will all conspire to keep a portion of the jets on the ramp at home station, even for units that "own" their jets. Stewart jets have been in the system for a few years now; their tailflash has an apple and the Statue of Liberty in it. Martinsburg sent their last C-5 to AMARC in May '15; they're flying the C-17 exclusively now. Dunno how many jets they have; they're supposed to get 8. EDIT: Add Toasty quote & reply, and Martinsburg info.

DISCLAIMER: Not a Guard guy or MacDill guy. Speaking in broad generalities, prepare for much more AD-like attitudes from the AFRC side than you're used to from the Guard. AFRC went on a Big-Blue-AD Kool-Aid bender some years ago, and there's no visible signs of recovery...

Yep. Also infuriated. Every fucking year we get officially harassed about Information Assurance/Information Protection/Cyber Awareness/etc., and every fucking time I log onto a .mil computer on base I get several popups telling be how I'll be burned at the stake if I let PII out of it's encrypted and access-controlled cage. Then a .gov agency with more of my personal info than the fucking IRS says they didn't bother trying to encrypt because "their hardware is too old". Fat lot of fucking good that one year of credit monitoring will do if the Chinese (or whoever they may sell/trade the data to...) decide 6-9 years from now to get really asymmetric WRT cyber warfare.

That may be so, but it's not my sandbox, therefore not my rules. I suppose if nothing happens here (no thread consol), we can assume there's been a change of heart WRT keeping all topic-related posts in one thread...

Maybe one of the mods can do some cleanup on aisle 6 and consol... then start swinging the "UTFSF" hammer again.

I asked our DO this afternoon; it was the first he's heard about it.

I haven't heard that one; I think I know what I'm asking at Commander's Call this weekend. Edit: emphasis