Toro

You have to wonder what the guy who made the flyer was thinking. "Hey, this is an Air Force celebration...they fly jets...this is a jet...I guess it'll do." Original email below, including flyer.

Doesn't seem like a big deal. Only folks on 365s and permanent party will test, and that's just to ensure they're in compliance with the new PT policy (once every six months). Sure, taking a PT test in the blazing heat sucks, but there's plenty of places in the world where it's 100+ temps and PT tests are given. Been there, done that.

It doesn't matter what you give them. The stories continue.... --------------------- With the RSAF recently acquiring AMRAAM, they decided to do 4v2 SAT sorties. Sounds great in theory except for the fact that nobody wants to try to practice their AMRAAM tactics, they want to keep doing the same thing they've always done. On this first sortie I was #2 of the 4-ship; the plan was for 3 and 4 to run in low as strikers while 1 and 2 push in high with no intent of killing the bandits, but rather turning tail at 20 miles to get the bandits to follow us off target and clear the way for the strikers. I ask why we don't plan on committing on the bandits and killing them rather than trying to lure them away. Flight lead tells me it's his plan and we're gonna do it. Uh...okay. Fast forward to the push - flight lead calls commit and I go blitzing into 30s before I realize that lead is hanging out back down in the 20s because he doesn't intend to shoot. As I approach a WEZ, I have to roll and pull back down because I'm padlocked on lead. I still manage to get a shot off and even though the missile goes active, lead goes out. Of course, lead's plan doesn't work and the red air is not lured off target. Instead, they commit on the strikers at low altitude while we are running away like little bitches. Strikers try unsuccessfully to climb to commit - 2 dead strikers. We pitch back hot with no SA other than the comm-jam that's occurring on the radio between the read air and dead strikers. Terminate the entire engagement for loss of SA and strikers ghost to the target. Great plan ------------- Note: Spades is a brevity code for an aircraft with no friendly modes or codes, paints is an aircraft with friendly codes. I'm leading the RSAF blue 4-ship. My plan is to marshal and ingress in a 4-ship wall. As I brief this, one of the RSAF guys raises his hand and says, "Why do we do this? 4-Ship wall is hard - why do we not do Fluid? It is much easier." I tell him "noted" and we press with the plan. I brief red air that they have standard threat replication limitations, but they can run whatever game plan they want. 30 miles from the target my wingman (low looker) picks up a contact down in the weeds. I press 3 and 4 to the target and tell 2 to target the group. Shortly after that I hear "Spades .... Paints....Fox 3". Turns out #2 put our IFF into their interrogator for some reason - and obviously got paints - then decided "WTF" and shot him. In the debrief I asked the bandit what his game plan was and he said he was beam-capping over the target at 500 AGL at 250 KCAS. After I put my jaw back in my mouth, we had a little discussion about Training Rules and the fact that his presentation was not only stupid, but completely tactically unsound unless he was trying present the picture of a MiG practicing his VFR traffic patterns. During the debrief I didn’t review the tapes for the target attack, but asked if everybody hit their target. 3B raised his hand and said that he didn't get a chance to map - because I did not build a mapping leg into the route and he therefore forgot - so he dropped on a NAV des despite me briefing A/G ROE of an 0.67 HRM des (they have no TPODs). Let's summarize those objectives: • Detect, Target, ID, Kill all Red Air...nope. • 100% valid shots IAW ROE...nope. • 100% DMPI capture IAW ROE....nope.

Keep reading, I'll keep posting. Here are a few more.... ------ As we’re debriefing, lead is watching our tape and can hear a loud beeping in the middle of our engagement that he recognizes as the ILS beacon. So he asks me how I can fly with the ILS that loud. I told him that I never turn up my ILS volume and that the VTRS records the system volumes based off the settings selected by the rear cockpit. Now all eyes turn to my WSO. “Oh…that’s the ILS?” he says, “I thought that was the RWR” --------- We were in the VFR traffic pattern and the student was practicing his landings. He seemed to think that the aircraft throttles were a Popeil “Set it and Forget It” cooker – he slammed them up to full power and forgot about it until I told him we were about to overspeed the gear, then he pulled them back to idle until the jet was about to stall Me – “Push your power up, you’re slow” Him – “Okay, copy” Me – “Push your power up, you’re slow” Him – “Okay, copy” Me (as jet begins to buffet approaching stall speed) – “HEY, POWER UP NOW!” Him – “Okay, copy” Me – “I have the jet (power comes up). Do you understand me? Do you understand that I’m telling you to push up your power?” Him – “Okay, copy” ---------- Note:Fox 3 is an AIM-120 AMRAAM radar missile, Fox 2 is a heat-seeker (AIM-9) I briefed my sortie today with a senior-ranking major IP SEFE as my 2B. I briefed the motherhood, but had him start out with the BFM exercise - Radar Heat to Guns. It's the first time these guys have ever seen a BFM setup and he briefs 90% of the setup as "standard". Then he starts talking about taking shots and goes into a total tangent on his thoughts on weapons employment. He says that in this exercise "we will shoot the Fox 3," but normally in a close fight you don't want to "shoot the Fox 3," because....are you ready....I swear to God I'm not making this up, "the AMRAAM is a very expensive missile." I don't even know how to respond to this, and as I get on my G-strain and start to get back some of the light, he says, "The Fox 2 is cheaper to shoot, and it is much harder to defeat." Major SEFE IP with over 1500 hours. Un-f***-ing believable.

Irony exemplified. I have nothing else to contribute other than to reiterate that AF Decorations are

How does that bypass it? It's still removable media, which is what is prohibited. Our systems will flag any sort of external media that is connected to a computer and send a message direct to the administrators.

ACC guys don't pull FDR data, they watch their tapes - just like they do after any other sortie. Assuming they don't debrief their profile like the fighter guys, the only reason to pull heavy FDR data is if somebody on the ground questioned the flight profile. It's been said several times before, but this is a truly ignorant statement. Before you make any more remarks about the Fairchild crash, read the attached document in its entirety. Recorders in the B-52 wouldn't have prevented shit, somebody with the balls to Q-3 Bud Holland would have. And the OG/CC...and the WG/CC....and sometimes GOs....and tens of thousands of people. A Darker shade of Blue (Bud Holland B-52 crash).pdf

In case you were wondering what started all the fuss - Defense official discloses cyberattack. Highlights:

True, but I would tend to agree with the dissolving of the single NAFs under a MAJCOM. The NAF staff could easily be absorbed into the MAJCOM staff to accomplish the same missions. It would mostly allow for the cutting of a bunch of higher level NCOs and officers (O-5 and above) who accomplish similar missions.

No, it sucked. I set a low expectation bar and the Expendables failed to reach it. 10 action heroes does not a good action movie make. I don't expect my action movies to have a whole lot of plot or acting, but you gotta give me something. Perhaps the idiot couple in front of me who brought their 4 and 6 year old kids to the movie would disagree.

I have a metric shitload of Saudi assclownery stories. These are not mine, but good... On the flying front, Saudi S-model crew has UTL A failure, decides to take cable. Lands well past cable (about the same distance as Seymour’s). Decides to stay on runway and take departure end. Never uses any braking (aero/emer/nothing) and takes dep end at nearly 120 knots. Drags it nearly past the overrun. Not a word spoken in jet for last 5 minutes of flight. Saudi demonstration team lines up for 8-ship deployment (2+2+2+2 departure :15 second spacing). 1st two ship, uneventful. 2nd two ship, one gets airborne, one has problem, does way high speed abort, then punches out at end of runway. 3rd two ship decides 15 seconds is way too much and does about a 5 second spacing departure and high speed aborts behind wreckage (one more ejection apparently for mutual support). Last two ship again decides spacing too much and does high speed abort through wreckage. Remaining airborne 3 ship decides now to "land back on the single runway" to see how the bros are doing. FOD all quads. Demo team now grounded. C-model starts/taxis/makes it through arming, with door 3R still propped open. Wingman finally notices while lining up for form T/O. I finally got to fly last month. Second sortie (no-shit Blue vs Blue where the goal apparently is to keep aborting until Bingo) I say fuck this and press to merge. End up gunning the King’s son. In debrief he said my shot was not valid. I asked if he saw the tape. He says “No, but didn’t you hear my terminate for gas call a minute earlier?” to which I replied “well, why were you still putting out flares then?” He’s not happy with me.

Pissing contest over, conversation back on. Offenders will be put in time out if it happens again. While it wasn't an airshow in the US, them 1988 Ramstein AB airshow disaster was at a US installation and resulted in 67 deaths. True, BUT I have on more than one occasion used one of the demo jets as a spare (we had more than one). Not true for us. We don't keep our guns loaded unless we plan on strafing (which is rare), so realistically none of them can strafe. But our demo jets were no different than other jets and, given the lead time, can be configured like any other jet.

This is a couple months old, but I just had it sent to me. Seeing a fallen soldier home There is more to the article where the author does a good job following up with Lance Cpl. Wilson's parents, but this first half just blows me away. What in the world in your life could be so important that you can't give up your seat to a family who is trying to get home to their son's funeral? This showcases what is wrong with people these days. It's too bad there aren't more folks out there like the author.

Yes, it is their full time job. They may be able to do other flying on the side, but the demo training takes priority. No, the profile is a set profile that does not change throughout the season. For the F-15E demo, the Wg/CC and Chief of Wing Safety had to view the profile before it could be approved. No, there is a massive amount of training and preparation for demonstrations. They use a step-down training where they run through the profile at medium altitude and gradually bring it lower and lower to the ground. They are not cleared for demonstrations until they are 100% ready. There's only one demo pilot/crew, at least for the F-15s and F-22.

True, but that ownership could (in theory) be transferred up to the MAJCOM, or to another GO. Take USAFE, for example. While Gen Brady (USAFE/CC) probably has too much on his plate, he could certainly delegate oversight to one of the other 10-ish GOs in USAFE. While the AOC works for the NAF/CC, we have little to do directly with the rest of the A-Staff and we are a self-sufficient entity. Something like this came up recently where methods of combining duplicate forces was plotted out to see where we could cut funds. Bringing the AOC under the MAJCOM/CC was one of those propositions. It creates a whole new (even more) confusing system of reporting/command/responsibility, etc., but the bottom line is it's doable.

Saudi tactical. Don't even get me started on these idiots.

There's a Steven Slater Facebook page that is about 24 hours old and has over close to 74,000 fans already. There are a couple other support websites popping up as well. Sounds like the general public is pretty much supporting him and decrying rude passengers.

Western European countries are moving towards a lower tolerance for Muslims displays. This is Germany, banning the burka in France and Belgium. If only Britain would stop riding the pussy train with the U.S.

Stars and Stripes link While I'll hold my opinion on the cutting of the command, I will say that it's refreshing that we're finally taking aim at budget target that will actually make a difference rather than trying to nickle and dime massive amounts of smaller areas.

I don't know for sure on the first two (I would guess "PCS Rate" and "Yes), but for Family Separation Allowance, you receive it if you are gone for greater than 30 days.

Pissing contest removed. If you want to talk about AIBs, SIBs and other issues of such, start a new thread or take it out of respect for the crew

Yeah, the cracks are just so easy, though - it's like clubbing baby seals. We certainly have our black sheep as well. Yeah, how'd he not get named "Goblin"? 2

What the fuck is it about C model guys that makes them feel the need to put themselves in the spotlight. First there was now we have The hardest working fighter pilot in America. I mean obviously this guy is the hardest working person in America - he is a father, husband, pilot, works long hours, goes TDY, gets his masters, does EVERY FUCKING THING EVERY OTHER PILOT IN THE AIR FORCE DOES! What an absolute embarrassment to the community. Not just the C model community, not just the fighter pilot community, and not even the pilot community as a whole - but the fucking MILITARY. This shit makes me sick. Evil Eagle - do you know this dipshit?

This is why this thread is 14 pages long. - No.

Don't be - take their advice. I've worn my mess dress to non-military formal events. Wear it with pride.