JarheadBoom

A strip of duct tape makes gravity MY bitch.

Not in the -10 world. I'm not even sure what AMC has to say about external batteries (never bothered to look it up, I just assume they're not permitted). Since I have an AMC-approved charging method on my jet, I don't worry about it.

KC-10 crew have iPads individually issued as well. Booms are also issued a small WiFi printer for printing the Form F out of the W&B program. They're locked down in an AMC-approved EFB configuration; no other uses permitted. Required to have 10% charge per planned flight hour, min. 50%. We're approved to use the standard iPad wall wart charger, plugged in to the 110v outlet in the lav, in flight. I haven't heard about any iPads ending up in the blue juice bowl, but it's just a matter of time (if it hasn't already happened). We also have a standardized password rotation, mandated by OGV. Technically, you can be Q3'd for wrong password, along with insufficient charge, not being in airplane mode on the jet, and the pubs not being up-to-date; all those items are supposed to be verified on checkrides IAW 11-2KC-10 Vol 2. Personally, I think an iPad/ePubs Q3 would be an indicator of something else going on... but that's just my non-evaluator opinion. No USB on the -10. I heard a rumor that ARINC had offered to hard-wire a couple USB power ports in as a value-added part of the CNS/ATM mod, using FAA-approved parts, for some ridiculously low dollar figure (at my .civ job, we could hard-wire two USB power ports, with FAA approval, for around $2000). AMC said no... just like they said no to ARINC's offer to provide a cable on each jet to connect the mission laptop to the ACARS printer.

** Third-hand info ** From what I've seen after 8 years in my Reserve SQ, the non-airline commuters start with the best of intentions. They come in for 4-5 days, usually with the UTA somewhere in that block, do some flying for currency, bang out some ground currency items... then we don't see them until the next month. This usually lasts about a year. It's been my experience that a fair number of these folks are merely "current" in the jet; they're not very "proficient". Then, the downhill slide begins. Weather somewhere in the commute made it "not worth the hassle this weekend", or "last-minute tasking at work", or ________. They start going noncurrent for little stuff. As time goes on, the noncurrent list gets bigger as they show up less frequently; pretty soon they need to fly 4-5 times just to get current on everything (and this assumes no wx/MX/customer CANXs, which almost never happens when someone has an epic "need to reset currency on everything" plan). If it keeps up, you see these folks ending up in CC-directed requal... or they finally reach their personal breaking point and retire/go IRR/separate. The last two commuters to retire from my shop were both non-aviation guys - one from northern CT, the other from TX. Both wanted to keep flying and earning points, but both said the asspain of the commute, justifying time off from work/away from family, and constantly going noncurrent, just wore them down. Don't get me wrong, we do have a few non-airline/aviation commuters who do manage to make it work, but they'll be the first to tell you it's HARD to do.

NO, we most certainly are not. Maybe in the hallowed halls of the Pentagon the AF is envied, but definitely not "down in the trenches" by anyone who is capable of independent thought.

And those 18 pallet pallet positions will be even more contour-restricted than the -10, which is already pretty restrictive. 767-200SF pallet contour chart This doesn't even take into account the requirement for an emergency access aisle... unless AMC is planning to drop the requirement to be able to access the cargo in an emergency (i.e. cargo leak, fire, etc.). [/threadjacking]

Not quite. There are procedures for these situations... U.S. Marines say they destroyed weapons before leaving Yemen ...and those procedures seem to remain the same as I was taught in boot camp. Marines do not surrender their weapons.

There's potentially a shit-ton of money to be saved long-term by having a common logistics tail across multiple MDSs. This of course means the idea is a non-starter for the AF.

Even worse. E-8 (Ret) will tell all the young'uns not to do all those financially stupid things while mixing in some possibly-half-true "war" stories, but will not get around to discussing specific financially intelligent things until 2min before the class ends. Been there, done that as a young E-2 in 1994. Still in the top-10 list of the worst mandatory briefings I've endured in almost 20 years of service. EDIT: format

Haven't heard about that yet either. Hopefully they will...

The CNS/ATM mod is fully funded for FY15, with several jets completed. One modded jet left OKC today (as scheduled), the next one in line for mod arrived at OKC on Monday. The partial mobilization of the AFRC KC-10 squadrons continues on. When questioned about it, the quote from my SQ/CC this weekend was "There's no end in sight.". I'm expecting my mob notification/orders for my next desert rotation in the next couple weeks. We're still hiring; we just had a pilot hiring board this weekend. I think we'll be around for at least a few more years...

AF Times reporting (10hrs ago) 8 US Airmen injured, one -15E known damaged, one -15E status unknown (too close to the crash site to inspect yet). https://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/01/27/eight-airmen-injured-in-spain-crash/22394571/ To the French and the Greeks...

The new CMC always releases his Commandant's Planning Guidance soon after assuming command.

Good to know, thanks.

That was cool!

I had a 10% VA rating when I joined the AF Reserve (2.5yrs of .civ time ["broken time"] after leaving the other service). From the medical standpoint, I told everyone who asked, and disclosed it everywhere the question was asked in writing, in the interest of honesty (against my recruiter's advice, I might add). Aside from a couple extra questions from the flight doc during my initial flight physical, it didn't affect my enlistment/flight status. HOWEVER... At some point a few years ago, the VA apparently reviewed my case and changed my rating to 0%, based on my continued service. If you need to maintain a specific percentage for something (vocational training, etc.), keep this in mind. *** ETA: I wouldn't expect the VA to do ANYTHING quickly. It'll be a nice surprise if it does happen, but I wouldn't count on it. I just re-read the OP's questions, and what I've written doesn't really answer them. Posting anyway, in the interest of providing a data point.

When I worked for Sikorsky, they would make up the difference between my .civ "normal" 40hrs/wk gross pay, and my .mil gross base pay, if I was on orders for more than 30 days (their definition of "long term" military leave). I had to provide a copy of the orders, and a copy of a recent LES. Nominate them for an ESGR award if they play along... hell, nominate them even if they don't. It can't hurt the decision process.

-135 booms definitely get more out of the new remote system than -10 booms, for all the reasons Azimuth states. The -10 ARO station was designed with much better ergonomics. The biggest thing -10 booms lose is the giant sighting window... the long walk to the back... and the hill-climbing workout when walking back up front after A-10s. I will freely admit I'm not a big fan of the remote AR concept (I love the view from the window in my office...), but night AR in LLTV and/or IR, the ability to actually see what the receivers are doing on the WARPs, and the much larger FOV are hard to argue with. Yes; the -10 boom is FBW in all flight control modes. The ALAS system Azimuth referred to is one function of the Boom Control Unit (BCU), which is the flight control computer for the boom. The main job of ALAS is to minimize loads on the boom nozzle (and, by extension, the telescoping tube of the boom and the receiver's receptacle) while in contact, by back-driving the boom flight control stick to a position that gives minimal loading on the nozzle (there's load sensors in the nozzle). The stick shaker is part of ALAS, but not all of it; you can still push through the stick shaker and bend the boom. There's a shit-ton of engineering and structural reinforcement required to cut out a large chunk of structure in the fuselage of a pressurized aircraft, and replace it with a large transparency. Much more than what's required to scab a half-dozen or so cameras & fairings onto the outside, and drill small holes to pass the wiring through. Might be cheaper in the short-term; I dunno. If it is, I highly doubt the remote system will come out to be cheaper in the long-term; thats a lot of lowest-bidder avionics to maintain. You also lose a pallet position by having a door in the cabin floor to get access to a boom pod/ARO station. Since one of the main selling points of KC-X was it's cargo capability, it's probably fair to say that neither A nor B wanted to give up a pallet. Their initial cadre boom operators were trained in the USAF KC-10 pipeline; there were two in the FTU at the same time I was going through.

The KC-10 ARTs in our WG (can't speak for the C-17 bubbas) were briefed a few years ago, by our then-new WG/CC (an ART himself), that the ARTs would NOT deploy; they were "too important" to leave home station for those extended periods of time. Keep in mind we're talking standard KC-10 deployments, so the time involved ain't too bad. He then promptly took a 179 to the Deid for himself. A handful of our ARTs have deployed since that briefing, but they've all said that the asspain they went through to get WG/CC approval was ludicrous. Not to mention the catch-up ball they have to play when they get back to their office jobs post-deployment...

As they repeatedly said in the other service... "If we wanted you to have a spouse, we would have issued you one." [/sarcasm] Back to the topic - E-6 at WRI is down $6 (yes, that's six bucks), both with and without dependas. E-5 with dependas went up $189, without went down $9. I'm personally in the Willow Grove region of the BAH calculator. E-6 with dependas went up $27, without went down $12.

Is there an AFI reference that clearly states: 1. Members do, in fact, have the ability (right??) to see their waiver package; and 2. The DD2870 is the form to file for this? In my shop alone, I know of a couple folks who could use this info in the battle against our local clinic...

Wonder if these two are related somehow... Michele Flournoy; BG John Flournoy

I'm not disagreeing, just repeating what's out there as rationale for the short-bus fuselage. I don't work for Boeing or the AF side of the KC-46 program, so everything I'm saying here about the jet is repetition of stuff I've seen/heard elsewhere, or my own conclusions based on 20+ years in the aircraft maintenance and aircrew business. I thought so too. Maybe the 767-400 cockpit IS based on the 787 cockpit, I dunno. EDIT: It would appear that the 767-400 cockpit is sorta based on the 777. Here's a page from Boeing; the "More" link gives explanations and screenshots of various display modes of the PFDs/MFDs. Interesting info. Now, whether the KC-46 is running 767-400 avionics, driving 787 big-screen displays, is another question entirely. The 787 is fly-by-wire with electrically-driven flight controls; the 767 is fly-by-cable with hydraulically-driven flight controls. I knew the 757 and 767 shared a type rating with the Feds. I found out while reading up on this that the 777 and 787 also share a type rating; hadn't known that before. The more I read about this thing, the clearer the reasons for delays becomes. Until this thread, I haven't read too much about the -46, since I'll likely be retired by the time it reaches IOC, much less a Reserve squadron.

Subtract ~12in for the boom in the stowed position; doesn't leave much "wiggle room" at rotation for hamfisted O-2s/O-6+s... KC-46 boom under construction