brickhistory

Redundant...

I'm assuming that since this is "lesser known" flying movies is why "Dr. Strangelove" is not mentioned. Absolute classic, funny, ironic, witty movie. "2" on "12 o' Clock High," "The War Lover," and "The Battle of Britain." Another one related to flying but no flying scenes is "The Great Escape." Both the movie and the book by Paul Brickhill are really, really good. True WWII POW mass escape in Germany by Allied flyers. Steve McQueen on a stolen German motorcycle. Nothing cooler than that...

The RAM material and joint sealing compound was, at one time, very classified. I'm betting it still is. You'd have just an ugly jet without it though. That would be one component that would be hard to "safely remove prior to delivery."

A huge UFB!!! As in no drinking off base? Or even on, for that matter? How in the hell is that a lawful order? Ok, an order in Muslim country where they, notionally, don't drink and we are 'guests' on their soil, but in Central and South America? What is the rationale for that? Was one given? I'd be writing to my Congressmen/Senators.

Not a nav, only C-130 time was in the web seats, so take this for what it's worth: E-8C JSTARS nav does sit just about even with the leading edge of the wing join with the fuselage, not on the flight deck. He has a mission console just like the ABMs/intell/Army dudes plus a set of flight instruments. The nav does the standard nav stuff plus the self-defense stuff - mostly coordinating running away (not that there's anything wrong with that), plus some mission stuff which isn't for open forum. The jet is a pig, the mission avionics - radar/computers/consoles - are freakin' cool. Warner-Robins is one of the ugliest base towns ever. Schools pretty much suck. Cost of living is good. Macon is a very easy commute should you want a little bigger town. Perry is also close if you want really small town. If you go E-8s, as mentioned, you're life is pretty much going to be E-8, E-3, maybe to some other form of the -135 at Offut. C-130s would seem to offer much more variety in both missions and locations. C-130 has the smaller crew, thus easier logistics. E-8 has a legion of folks on board so the logistics/ass pain can be greater. It is what it is and provides a great picture to dudes on the ground who need it. Good luck at whatever you fly. brick (former E-8C SMO (pronounced "SMO," and yes, I've heard every Three Stooges impression, "Hey, SMO....")

Not sure if this is a perfect fit, but I think it at least works on this thread. I'm not always a fan of Peters (sts), for example, the thinks the USAF should be 100% CAS and the rest is 'toys,' but he is spot on on this one: https://www.nypost.com/seven/03122009/posto...five_159152.htm

Me either. Don't paint me as some Cindy Sheehan ally type, but we haven't been the guy who hits first in a war. Somehow this went from China's ever-increasing share of GDP towards its military to this cluster. A 10% cut doesn't make a lot of sense with the threats facing our country. Even as part of the economic recovery, buy new stuff makes sense.

And we're off..... Spanish-American War: result (probably wrongly) of the USS Maine explosion. That act was considered an act of war. Hence, the declaration of war following it. Bay of Pigs: ?Que? As poorly as it was planned/executed, it was Cuban rebels on the beach, not more than a handful of Americans. Don't remember any war. If JFK had manned up and supported the invasion with the USN sitting off shore, then it might have succeeded. I'd also argue that his pussy-ness on the Bay of Pigs led JFK to try to stand tall in the saddle for Vietnam. Vietnam: Little measue called the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that Congress voted to allow the President to respond to military actions in Vietnam as he saw fit after the North's attack(s?) on USN destroyers. No pre-emption there. If you want to say that a Declaration of War should have been issued, I'm agreeing. Grenada: We were asked to protect the citizens of the island by the deposed Governor-General. Not to mention our own medical students there which were under threat by the bad guys. Again, asked in. Panama: the repeated attacks on US citizens and installations by Pineapple Face were provocation enough not to mention the warrant for arrest of Noriega. Again, acts by the enemy first, then our response. In any event, I'd hardly call Grenada or Panama "wars." Military actions? Sure. Wars? Not by what I was taught. As to the "second invasion as justifiable as the first," you are unclear. What was/when was the first by us? But in any event, the legal justification for OIF were the lack of compliance with UN resolutions regarding destroying and verifying that destruction. Saddam rolled the dice that he could stonewall the world. He lost. But seeing as how we pissed away the USAF for 12 years for ONW and OSW keeping him in a box (sts), I don't think the calling "fight's on" by President Bush was a good one. Once it was, however, it should be win it quickly and in a big way. Secretary Rumsfeld botched that. Now that it appears to be won by some incredible work by our guys on the ground, there does seem a way for us to go. The Iraqi government in place now has signed an agreement with the US for us to leave by 2011. Ok, let's abide by that.

If the ROK negotiated a new SOFA that wanted the US out, then, yes, we'd leave. They haven't felt that need yet, although there have been a gazillion protests - mainly the all-knowing university students arguing that it is time - to that point. Iraq wanted, and got, a SOFA that said "U.S. out in 2011." Their country, their rules. As as far as basing in Japan, it's what we did from about July 1950. Tac air flying from carriers and Atsugi, Japan. B-29s from Okinawa. Ground troops from the Army of Occupation (read about Task Force Smith, poor bastards), etc, etc. That's assuming, of course, Japan let's us. During the first party, Japan didn't have a say in its own future. We were the rulers. It was something like 1954 before the treaty giving Japan sovereignty back to itself was signed. Agreed that we have a strategic interest in seeing Iraq succeed as a nation at least not inimical to the US. As a democratic state, it's a nice philosophy that is utterly alien to the region and mindset as a whole. Absolutely I can see us going toe to toe with China without NATO and, especially, the UN. First there's the little matter of a seat on the Security Council. China will, obviously, veto any move against itself and the rest of the world will use that lack of UN decision as an excuse to do nothing. Been done before, why is it a stretch to think it'll happen again? Particularly as China holds a lot of those other nations' debt? Agree, we do have to deal with both. But mortgaging the future for the present has never been a good strategy. You argue more UAVs now vs F-22s later. I vote for both. But that would cost some beloved social entitlements. As to "strategic interests in seeing Iraq succeed as a democracy," no, we don't. We have interests in seeing the oil continue and it be a counterbalance to Iran. Democracy would be nice, but after some 1,000 years, it hasn't taken root yet. Not sure where this came in, perhaps a bit of self-deprecation, but unless you count SOS as "fancy PME," neither did I. The square-filling correspondence, yes, but simply taking the tests, never reading the garbage. Attending such a school or not doesn't add or detract from one's opinion. As I'm in the past category, I'll have that beer with you. Bottom line: don't try to put me in an anti-war category. The original idea was flawed - pre-emptive war goes against our traditions and history. Once there, we should have gone in strong (more troops) and not disbanded some of the army and infrastructure. Now that it seems to be getting better (or beyond where we can effectively do anything about it), it's time to call it a win and come home. I'd be fine with bases/forces left behind to train/provide some backbone. To the Arabs, that's unacceptable. Ok, fine, here are the keys... For Afghanistan, I don't know. Do you?

Are the two mutually exclusive? But to answer each part - nope and yep. Per the signed agreement of all out by 2011, yes. As that's the Iraqis wish as well, perhaps it is time to let them have the keys and the issues associated with them - insurance, payments, leaving it parked outside at night, etc. I'm very curious as to how this turned from China's military budget vs ours and how a cut in the latter can compete with the former in the future. As a related aside, part of Obama's reduction in the deficit plan is to count the money not being spent in Iraq in the future as savings. UFB. BTW, thanks for what you do.

I'm trying to follow your logic in tieing my posts to that question and failing. My point was that more, not less, F-22s, F-35s, new tankers, etc, etc, etc, are our best guarentee of not having to take on China toe to toe. Well, that and paying off our debt to them. But to answer your question, no, I don't think so. The SOFA agreement signed by President Bush is about right given the current situation. Obviously, that could change for better or worse. However, our job is pretty much over. It is time to hand the keys back to Iraq. As an aside, I fully expect another strong man to arise after we're gone. That's just how that culture is, in the main. Regarding Afghanistan, I simply don't know. Massive troop invasions in the past - Brits x 2, Russians - didn't work. I don't know that we can do much better. Not a slam to the dudes doing the humping on the ground and in the air, just an observation on the overall picture. But, I've never been there and have never experienced it first hand. Is it time to go home? What is a win there? How do we get to that point?

Wow.

From the article: Remain calm, all is well. 183-ish (Ok, less due to depot, testing, replacements, etc) Raptors can handle hordes o' Commies, right? Besides, we've got the oldest -C model Eagles (did anyway) at Kadena to ride to the rescue as well. What could go wrong?

"Ah, Mr. USA, the People's Republic of China has decided that we want full possession and political domination of that little island you call Taiwan. "Umm, without meaning to cause offense, we fully expect you to stand by and do nothing while we play through. "Oh, and those specks called the Spratleys? Yeah, we're taking those too... "Really?! You object? Well, that's nice, but if that's how you feel, we'll need to call in our loans. Yeah, all of them. Now, please." That is a very realistic scenario and besides the military realignment in the region, no other "ally" in the world would stick with us. You'd see dust from the stampede to buddy up to the new boss man. We'd be (are becoming) the Britain of the 21st century. To the British baseop'ers, that's not meant as a slam. Technology just speeds up the political merry-go-round. Rome was king for what, 1,000 years? Spain for 3-400? Britain for 200? The US for 50-75? China is probably due...

discus, I hope your old man is still around. If so, please pass on my utmost respects to him. If not, for his service in that place. Not voluntary, I'm sure, but damned tough. How long? Apologies for the thread hijack...

amwaldo, that is essentially what I did. After escaping SAC ICBMs, I went to a FACP (manual system, pre-MCE/CRC), controlled a lot. Then went to E-3s at RODN. Still controlled a fair amount as compared to KTIK guys (not a slam on Tinker guys per se. If you don't get the practice, you don't get the practice), then to E-8s. We do a disservice to the young guys by not getting them all the missions they can get as a 'controller' before becoming an Air Battle "Manager." Even then starting as a young captain, I was behind the guys who started as 2Lts and had controlled many more missions than I had prior to becoming an SD. I think I was competent, but not great. There were (still are, I'm sure) some really good controllers. There were (probably still are) some complete morons as well. There is nothing like experience to build SA and capability. Thank God all the 'customers' have it from day one and never screw the pooch. Oh wait, they aren't on center stage for everybody, everywhere to listen to them, so their buffoonery, usually, is in front of a smaller venue. And have perfect SA on every player, everywhere, at all times. (Note: sarcasm switch to "on.") But, for krab's question, I'd work the phones and talk to folks doing the mission.

krabs, Learn the system, listen to those who have the experience (on both sides of the scope), study your ass off on your particular systems capes/lims, good guy aircraft/weapons/tactics and bad guy aircraft/weapons/tactics, and don't be a tool; i.e., do your job the best that you can. Ignore the tools that have nothing constructive to offer when providing a debrief, listen intently to those that do. Understand what you can and cannot do or offer with the system being employed. Offer something constructive during a brief or debrief if you have it, otherwise STFU. Never miss an opportunity to not make a SA-draining radio call, but don't hesitate to make the one that will get someone's eyes (Mk I or electronic) onto the threat. Make that call with the fewest words possible. Contact E-3, E-8, and ground, both mobile and not, units and talk to the younger Lts and a couple of field graders. Good book is "AWACS and Hawkeyes" by Edwin Armistead. He was an USN E-2 NFO, don't know if he's still on active duty or retired. Dated, but still interesting: https://www.pinetreeline.org/ Some of the history of where ABMs started is in some good WWII books; check out stuff on the Battle of Britain, night fighters, GCI development. A couple of good books for those include "Night Fighter" by C.F. Rawnsley and Robert Wright, and "Radar: A Wartime Miracle," forgot the author. There are numerous others. edited to add: sorry about the pilot DQ thing. Sucks...

A little different spin: having a secondary AFSC on my SURF scored me the foot in the door for an AFRC AGR billet. They didn't look at OPRs, etc until after I made the initial cut. Depending on what your goals are, the secondary AFSC is not a bad thing. 16G will identify you as an experienced staff weenie. Careful what you wish for...

This was/is a red flag to the press. Being told 'no' is an insult to their 'integrity.' They want to 'cover' the story but actually use the fallen as their prop for an editorial slant. I'd put money on it. Nothing sells paper like the picture of a dead GI or his/her coffin. But a cartoon of a dead chimp is right out... If a family wants to publicize their loss, that is their right. They should do it at whatever venue they choose for their personal use. Asking a family to make such a decision in the midst of receiving such news is a bit much.

"2" on Rampant Raider.

STFU, It would someone be like you that CH's original drunken post is directed. He knows you exhibit all the sharpness of a marble, yet he wants to help you in your professional development because he believed in trying to develop those traits in those under his command. How many times have you seen that before? You see not all leadership is grown in the "Me" laboratory. Most is, granted, but not all. I predict at least a wing commandership in your future, if not a MAJCOM. Ever had the callsign "Doc?"

Quizmo is the F-111 driver in my Weasel story thread. https://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/index...showtopic=11369

Thanks.

Been a long time since I read the book. Did Bowden say that or quote someone else saying it? Not arguing, seeking clarification.

Good article, good author. Bowden gets it right in my opinion - "Killing Pable," "Black Hawk Down," et al. Awesome photo. Should be a briefing room standard viz-aid.