Ram

Any idea if that shipping deal helps at all for overseas APO addresses? I know it can't be as fast as 2 days, but any improvement over the standard "wait 3-4 weeks at least" would be nice.

Uh, is all that DG stuff really THAT freaking important? If this PME is "so essential," shouldn't the main drive of every captain at SOS be to learn as much as possible and NOT try to run up a high score? You'd think the behavioral analysis goons at AU (who put the "anal" in "analysis" btw) who know so much about interpersonal BS would be smart enough to find a better way to motivate captains than to dangle a DG carrot for the shoeclerks to stab each other in the back for.

Uh, how does any of this work with security clearances?

Sidebar, but BGPOS drivers using terms like LGPOS make me laugh. BQ: You DO know that Rainman doesn't fly the "LGPOS," right? Also, only Double Ugly drivers are allowed to use the term. It's something we Viper guys begrudgingly allow because we feel sorry for them and their lack of a radar. Also, Rainman won the thread on page 3 with his driving analogy. DaddyMac, copy/paste his post into a Word doc, format into something acceptable IAW the "Tongue and Quill," and drop it on the ACC/A3's desk. If I have to start WAGing my gas and putting it on a form, you can bet yer ass that the ENTIRE CAF is going to be "buying" gas in multiples of 69 pounds.

Agreed.

Bin Laden at least got a burial at sea. American servicemembers in a fucking DUMPSTER? Criminal.

Dear Israel, Arab League, et al - We are broke. Please take care of this yourself. Sincerely, The United States of America PS: Oil below $50/barrel would be nice.

Email to the dudes in my flight already sent. (No face to face [sTS!], as I'm on leave.)

I wasn't aware of this either. In fact, I scanned my mil ID while registering with Oakley's mil site TODAY. I'm a felon now?

No thanks, Learjetter. Purely from the fact that the LPA is WAY too small (or even nonexistent) in most (if not all) CAF squadrons. We have enough Capts in MQT that were former FAIPs, thankyouverymuch. (Myself included, FAIPs, so don't vag out and get all butthurt.) There's something really awesome about having a LOT of LTs in a fighter squadron.

Good comments and questions. The words about changes to the Viper FTU really stuck out to me as a "let's do more with less again" mandate. I didn't notice a lot - if any - fat in the Viper FTU when I was a Luke stud in '08-'09. The syllabus had just changed from an OPSAT focus to a more TGP/CAS/SCAR focus due to what most of the CAF Vipers were doing in CENTCOM. Because the TGP/NVG top-off course had been incorporated into the B-course syllabus (it was previously a 2-month add-on), the overall length of the B-course had increased. However, since an NVG/TGP top-off wasn't there anymore, there wasn't a net change to the "CAF-ready" timeline. Given the very wide range of Viper missions in the CAF/USAFR/ANG, I don't see any stand-out places to trim the syllabus. Viper studs need to see a little bit of everything just to ensure they're not dangerous or incompetent when they get to their CAF squadron and begin MQT. My opinion is that anything trimmed from the B-course syllabus just gets shoveled into the CAF squadron's MQT burden...which is already fairly high. Combine this with reduced flying hours/RAP requirements CAF-wide (for Vipers, at least...I can't speak for others), and something's got to give. The fighter generals know that we need to increase our manning numbers, yet we don't have the ability to increase how much iron is on the ramp. I'm sure they know the simple math involved, but I don't think they have much choice...decisions had to be made.

Really? I'd thought that nothing says "Merry Christmas" like listening to a high-school caliber jazz band. SARCASM - OFF

Bio: https://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=7833 It's rare to see someone with two silver clusters on their longevity service ribbon. Respect. Sad to say, this is the ONLY guy who can figure out why I have a voucher that's gone unpaid for 7 months...and he's retiring. Looks like I'm screwed.

Those are the same kind of push-ups your mother does.

PYB, is that you?

Or FUCKING AWESOME if we got to bitchslap Iran like they've been BEGGING FOR IT.

Damn it - you beat me to it.

ALR extreme.

Avionics, not airshow demos.

Correct me if I'm wrong...but if you're due in court (i.e: brought up on speeding charges), isn't it a requirement of due process for you to be NOTIFIED by a servant of the court? Who's to say that the ticket didn't just get lost in the mail? Was it delivered via an agent of the court? Did a police officer hand it to you? Was it sent via certified mail, and then signed by you or your wife? If not, I'd say you weren't properly served and, therefore, aren't due in court to plea/defend yourself/be convicted. The USPS screws-up ALL THE TIME.

Why watch a VUL when it's more fun to be IN the VUL? You can always watch the shot eval...but don't be late to say STOP! (Pk miss for gross buffoonery.) Fairbanks night life has its fun if you know where to find it, but I can't imagine it's anything like Clark was back in the ol' Dubya Dubya 'Nam days. :sigh: Sometimes I think I was born 20 years too late.

Go. Bring your wife (family). Enjoy 6 hour days. No brainer.

No Showtime for me...I'm going to the one you probably know as Cope Thunder. PACAF has its own Red Flag now, ya hear? I think the RTO's callsign is TwoBears or something like that. It's my second time around. Not exactly my first rodeo, but I'm no expert yet. There might be some hornets there that I can get a look at. The thought of ANG units flying hornets is just strange. I've heard some good things about the E/F variants...