Ram

Wow. The three fighter pilot non-selects for Major in my ops group are going to roll their eyes so hard their optic nerves might snap when they see THAT at the BX.

Holy fucking shit...the whining in this thread makes me want to kick a crate of kittens down a flight of stairs. Second to watching my baby girl's birth, flying fighter jets (specifically the F-16) is the coolest mothafuckin' thing I have ever seen or done. I am a fighter pilot, and no amount of mind-numbing queep, bullshit, or organizational ineptitude can take that identity away from me. Nor can anyone take away all those hours in the vault, hours spent sitting alert, hours spent boozing at the bar with the most incredible group of human beings I've ever met, and - most importantly - the hours I have in that hot, sexy bitch of an F-16 I've strapped to my back for the most amazing years of my life. You either like it or you don't. Until you can buy a crystal ball, sack up like a man and make a decision. No amount of internet message board nerdery can absolve you from a decision YOU have to make. Holy fuck, the whining. Fuck.

He's talking about the "Dear SOS" letter several pages ago.

Mother fucking TWO.

Wow, I didn't realize that 3-1 term came from a dude. Just thought it was weird Brit slang...cuz it's all weird.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIfOjkB17BA

Standing by for your PPT slides...

One man? Maybe not. But I think the CSAF sets the tone for the rest of the service. Also, the CSAF is a mouthpiece (sts). Our current CSAF is doing decent work in DC communicating our limits and the impacts of budget cuts, but I don't feel like the information is running both ways. Every "message to the airmen" I read from him (on the Portal, etc) seems like such politicized BS that I can't accept it anymore. His doublespeak about the F-22 destroyed what little credibility he had left, IMHO.

No, I was not excited when the last CSAF was named. I wasn't a big fan of Gates, and his decision to force Gen Moseley out only reinforced that opinion. And his first "public" decision? Blues Monday. Fail.

The U-2 and SR-71 operate(d) at those altitudes, but a pressure suit was always involved. Raptor pilots wear typical fighter egress gear...flight suit, helmet/mask, harness, g-suit...that's it.

Let alone the time when technology will replace the need for navigators... ...oh wait...

Former student of mine in T-38s. Excellent patriot and pilot, and an all around great bro. If anyone hears words regarding memorial services / memorial funds, please pass it along. This kind of news never gets easier to hear.

Ah shit.

Standard NROTC activities.

Oh wow - best of both worlds!

I never actually LOL, except for this time. LOL.

-1 for grammar, Rainman.

That all makes sense if you fly a multiplace aircraft. We single-seaters don't always have much of a choice. Alert sorties flown after broken rest periods, pond crossings flown into/out of night...the list goes on. A pill isn't a substitute for good ol' sleep, but it's a gap-filler when the only alternative is mission failure.

Go pills are fucking awesome. Coming down off an operationally necessary Dex high, though...is not fucking awesome.

Not butthurt...just surprised you have a comment on this topic. I'm not used to my "nav" making any more noise than the dull THUNK it makes when I plug it in and lock the handle.

Shut the fuck up, nav.

For the uninitiated, "DAK" means Dumb Ass Korean. NODAK is the term utilized for the DAKs that are north or the DMZ.

douche (doosh) n. Someone who gives a shit about the difference between balogna and baloney.

Men making bullshit "crew rest" calls is a fucking integrity issue in my book, and it makes it all the more difficult for the next guy (who might have a no-shit legit reason not to step).