HerkDerka

That's true, but that's because military is the only type of flying I know. I don't pretend to know anything more about airline flying than I posted above. Hopefully you could deduce a few conclusions from it though. SnakeT38 would be a good guy to ask airline questions. HD

The reason you don't understand the mundaneness of going from A to B is because you haven't flying long enough. It gets old. It's also different when the bean counters are breathing down your neck to save every ounce of gas and get the gear on the pavement on time, no matter what. Not to mention being gone from home all of the time. For military flying, add that same type of noise to a combat environment with a bunch of ragheads taking pot-shots at you because they're too stupid to know better. Then throw in things like waiting four hours on a rolling ETIC on a Friday night tac line, flying through thunder boomers because you can't go around, sweating bullets inside a hot aircraft on a ramp in the desert, and going through all of this to land at your destination to find AMD has no requirements for you. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Each type of military aircraft has their own unique things that increase the suckage. Military flyers are pushed to the limit tens times more than your basic civie-raised pilot. This also means that military pilots experience the types of adrenaline-fueled flight that civie guys only dream about. Low level, NVG low level, assault work, formation, combat, BFM, TFM. When you are used to flying like this, going from A to B is just driving a big bus in the sky. These things lead to guys losing sight of how great it is to fly. But when you are paid to fly, it's a job. Eventually the realization will come. There are still plenty of times when I'm in the airplane that I get a good rush and think about how great my job is. But for professional aviators, flying is no longer a dream...it's a reality. That reality changes how you look at things. To address your last statement, guys who are new to flying altogether, still have ambition in their flying. The older farts, long to go back to consequence-free flying. Same old story with a different title. The grass is greener on the other side. HD

Commercial flying is a gamble. It will be expensive and take time for you to have enough hours to get a job with a regional that barely pays the rent. And even when you're making bank flying the triple seven, everytime your airline takes a hit, your job is in jeopardy. ATC is a government job, so a little more security. But the pay in civie ATC changes depending on where you are working. You'll make a load more cash if you're working TRACON in New York or LA as opposed to ground, tower, AND approach in Bum F-ck, Montana. Just figure out which one would suit you better. Whether you're flying for food or not, you can still fly. HD [ 17. June 2006, 18:18: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]

Yes. Cheyenne is standing up an AD/Guard associate unit. I sure as hell would take it over No Hope Pope. HD

Ummm...we never said they weren't. We weren't talking about bourbon slushies. HD

Absolutely. But I'm sure I can't afford to drink it regularly. If you want to buy me a bottle to prove me wrong, go right ahead! :D HD

In all of your idealistic honor code training did you ever learn about things like taking care of your bros or camraderie? You outlook on cheating is the exact same type of "f*ck-your-buddy, look-out-for-myself" rhetoric that the shoe clerks use to destroy our AF If you keep that attitude, you won't make it far in any ops squadron. Remember, things change when you leave AETC and go to the real AF. HD [ 10. June 2006, 18:31: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]

Well done. HD

MPD's aren't getting the amount of left seat time that the program is designed for. Crude reality of the ops tempo. When you get back from a rote, the EPs and IPS have to get recurrent to get the rest of the squadron recurrent. The MPDs tend to not get a lot of priority other than your currencies. But that will change up as the number of right-seaters starts to dwindle. All of your pro checks are done in the left seat, your first tac check is in the right. HD

The purpose of a margarita machine is to make frozen margaritas I look at it this way: 1) Don't whine about having a bar in the SQ. Way too many fun-nazis these days taking it away. 2) I'm a bourbon-hound, but I don't personally have a problem with margaritas. That is, of course, unless you break HD's seventh rule of good booze consumption: No man should take his margarita frozen...ever. I'm pretty much on your side here Gator. My guess is he's a SNAP who drinks vodka and powerade while everyone else is guzzling Black Label. HD [ 06. June 2006, 17:03: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]

Lots of queep. The BX is small, but awesome. In other words they sell stuff that you actually need as opposed to garden hoses and floodlights. Food is horrible. Make certain you bring at minimum an IPOD or whatever you have. Playstation/Xbox. A good latptop with a router is a good idea too. That way you can set up a LAN with your buddies and play some games/share MP3s and movies. The laptop is best becaus you can also watch movies. Bring all of the DVDs you can. Don't forget suncreen. You'll thank yourself. Bring a bit of warm clothing, it can get damn cold in the desert at night. Also don't forget semi-nice neutral looking civies in case you go off base or break somewhere nice (yeah right). HD

Sure you are. If you're not cheating...you're not trying. Pack away all the helpful items you can into your ruck. Also, make sure you take a walk down to the rescue flight and find out who is going to be flying the signaling missions while you're out in the woods. Have the guys in your element all buy some snacks from the survival BX and pack them up in something tight and taped shut that can survive a 100 foot fall. Make sure to beer up the fling-wingers. After that, expect a nice airdrop for you. Suggest: As much jerky as you can pack, small cans of Chef Boyardee/vienna sausages, and a few packs of smokes or cans of dip. HD

For all of those guys who have hollywood-movie delusions of grandeur about combat, this is the queep you have to look forward too. I mean in the early days of OEF/OIF, combat was still a man's game. Thanks to our "expeditionary nature" and "warrior ethos" we are putting shoe-clerks into theater who have no business in the combat zone. And to be honest it's like the brass just puts these people into theater just to get them some of that big-bad "combat" stink. Like I said earlier, if you are a finance guy and you go to Baghdad and work finance, you are still a finance guy albeit receiving HFP. This picture is a perfect example of the stupid shit that goes on in theater. It's ridiulous, unbelieveable, and absolutely endless. HD

"Derka derka derka abakallah. Hakka sherpa sherpa mohammed jihad." HD

Kill yourself. I especially dig the slammin shades on the k-pot ensemble. HD [ 01. June 2006, 21:44: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]

That's what the programs are based on. However with the ops tempo comes high turnover and it ends up depending on the squadron. Some squadrons are upgrading ACs to IPs veeeery quickly. I've seen some guys go to IP school less than a year after being certed as an AC. If this isn't the case in the squadron, some guys might stay at their first assignment for an extra year to upgrade since it will be faster in a squadron they have been in for awhile. The point here being I've seen a few guys go into Phoenix programs for their second flying assignment. Keep in mind they were all shit hot pilots and most of them stayed longer than three years at their first assignment. As always, it's a toss up and telling your rater your desires (which means it will get to the boss) is the best way to get info and figure out what you need/want to do. HD

You won't be in the best position for it. The programs are competitve and the purpose it to make you a mobility expert. They are designed for your second/third flying assignment. I guess it's possible, but I don't think it's likely. HD

For the Phoenix programs, there are three: Phoenix Reach: 2 year tour. First year at TACC and second year at HQ AMC. Phoenix Mobility: 2 year tour as an AMLO working/commanding TALCE units or Aerial Ports. Phoenix Crossflow: 3 Year tour crossflowing to another AMC airframe. Basically (as a Herk guy) you're going to go to a tanker or strat airlift platform to learn the other side of the house. After this tour you'll most likely go to staff and then back to an MWS. But you might not come back to the Herk. For example, if you flew a tanker for crossflow you'll be eligible for leadership in a tanker squadron. The basis of these programs is to teach you more about mobility than you know so they can promote you quickly. The programs are very competitive as well. For the exchange tours, don't worry about this until you are an IP. Then you can talk to the exchange guys at AFPC and see what they have. For both of these, you can start looking at them now, but you probably won't be eligible until you're at least an O-3 and an IP. HD [ 30. May 2006, 04:12: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]

Here's some video of the one-star doing the Frankenstein impression. HD

That is one of the best pics posted in a long time. HD

Amazing how they manage to mention "how you can influence the final choice" in every PR release within the last week. That plus such quick talk about the "final choice" leads me to believe the brass was going to spring it on us with the decisions already made. Also consider that whoever "leaked" the original pics HAD to know they would be caught. I mean a closed door meeting can't have more than one photographer. That or they might just be dumb as shit. But then again I loves me a good conspiracy. HD

Incredible feat of airmanship. HD

Come on Red, the stache is deployment boldface for Herk drivers. HD

Dos on Chickenhawk. Absolutely. Hmmm, I think I've said that before. Thud Ridge is also another good read. Flight Of The Intruder and the sequel, The Intuders are both excellent reads definitely worth your time. Coonts does an incredible job. Not to mention, if you email him he'll email you back. He's a good shit. Another one of my favorites is Flyboys. Graphic, but an incredible read about the air war in the Pacific. Finally, I know many have seen Band Of Brothers. But if you haven't read Ambrose's book, it's worth your time. HD [ 21. May 2006, 06:20: Message edited by: HerkDerka ]