Ram

Byron York (Washington Examiner) took the long view: https://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/04/reforming-entitlements-key-strong-military This is the Goddamn BRITISH FUCKING NAVY we're talking about. Running out of CRUISE MISSILES in two weeks. York goes on in his article to warn about HOW the Brits got to this position. Take note.

I'm not one to scoff (my earlier NOTAM joke aside), but NONE of the legit chick fighter pilots I have known would be ANYWHERE NEAR any of this bullshit. Just like Rainman's attitude toward the media, any fighter pilot (or WSO) worth his/her salt should do everything possible to avoid this bullshit PA stunt. The fact that 4 (probably more) chicks thought this was a good idea, pushed for it/raised their hands to volunteer makes me cringe. Standard PA/media response should be as follows: Lean to avoid, abort outside of max effective range. Weave cold and grease to the merge if required.

I hope they published a NOTAM warning everyone else.

For fighter guys, I think a 2FL qual is required for UPT instructors.

"Daytime IR pointer" = Laser Spot Search/Track, no? I'm going to agree with Rainman about the iPad/fighter cockpit relationship: it shouldn't exist. There are already PLENTY of sensors/screens that divert my attention from the big window. FCR/HSD/HAD/HAS/RWR/TGP/YGBSM. Also...how is it absolutely taboo to use a geekstick ANYWHERE, yet we're assuming it will be just peachy to bring a WiFi/3G device in and out of the vault/mission planning room? YGBSM...it'll NEVER happen.

Rainman, that reminds me of my first AOS movement in the Viper. Somewhere over the Pacific (maybe near Shemya, I can't remember) while flying as #4 eastbound from the ROK to AK, I did this: "1, 4." "Go, 4." "Can anyone tell me what this sound is?" (Then I keyed the mic while tapping my coin against the metal frame on my mask.) "1, negative." "2, negative." "3, negative." "It's the sound of my coin hitting my mask. Can anyone else do that, or am I the only one who didn't put my coin in the travel pod?" "1, negative." "2, negative." "3, negative." "Beers." If only I didn't fall off the boom next time around...

Damn...I might actually have to buy an AF Times to see where this goes.

Is this guy your insurance adjuster?

Here's a no-shit true story of what happened to me at the Osan FAC: It's Feb '10 and I'm doing my sit-ups with the FAC civilian lady. There's a toe-bar in the little room we're using, but I ask for her to hold my toes down with her knees (as is my option per the AFI). Whenever I've used the toe bar, my feet have slid around loosely, and having someone kneel on my toes makes it easier for me to max the test (57 reps required...piece of cake). The FAC lady is a little ruffled by this...maybe because she's not used to kneeling on the toes of men, or maybe because she doesn't have enough hands to hold my feet down AND use her little "clicker." Whatever it is, she's unable to use the clicker, and it causes her counting to go like this: "36...37...38...39...50...51...52..." I let her get to 55 (really 45), and then I stop (resting in the up position, of course) so I can say "hey miss...your count is off by 10. I'm really on rep 45." This completely confuses her, so I continue to crank out reps because I only have 20 seconds left. "56...57...58...59...60!" she says, and she STANDS UP with 15 seconds left on the clock while I'm MID-REP for 61 (really 51). "Great job," she says, "you did more than the required max." I'm still on the floor trying to convince her that I need to do 7 more reps to max the sit-ups, but she has no idea what I'm talking about. I stand up and try to explain to her, but she's not getting it. She writes "60" on my sheet, and I say "hey, that's not true...you counted 60, but I only did 50 reps because you mis-counted." She says "oh...thanks for your honesty," erases the "60" and replaces it with "50." When I see her do this, I say "well lady, let's get back on the floor so I can knock out the remaining 7 reps I need to max this." "We can't do that sir...your time has expired," she says. When I hear her say THAT, I'm about ready to go ape shit fucking crazy. She has robbed me of the 7 additional reps I could have EASILY cranked-out in the time I had left. I explained her error to her and she began to understand, but her only "fix" for the situation was for me to just do the sit-up test again. Uh, no...THAT was not going to happen. I told her she had 2 choices: (1) we both stop all testing immediately and walk together to the FAC office to sort this out, with all the witnesses around us to back-up my story, or (2) she lets me do 7 more reps so she can write "57" on my sheet. Instead of doing either of those, she just writes "57" on the sheet, hands it to me, and says "don't be late to the running portion of your test...you should get moving, sir." UFB. So, what if she had shorted me 10 reps instead of giving me 10 free reps? How many other people has she screwed up the count with?

Dolla dolla bills, yo. Really, what the Raptors need is something to see on radar. Something capable of flying a "fighter-type" profile for realistic presentations. T-38s do this on the cheap. I know of several IFF deployments to Raptor bases for red air.

The T-38 has been used as the USAF's IFF platform for ages. If student pilots can hamfist the T-38 through repetitive BFM sets, I think it'll work just fine as an adversary platform.

Cluck cluck, the sky is falling! Jesus Christ...it won't be that bad. This is how it used to be done...

aeroplanez, I want to swap my face for the ball in your avatar.

I don't have access to the Global from where I'm at...can someone look her up on there to see if her email address can be found? That would be pretty decent confirmation...

I went to Purdue wtih Joel Gentz. Even though I didn't know him for very long (he graduated a few years after me), he was one of the most impressive cadets I've ever met. I have no doubts that he was an outstanding officer and CRO. The last time I saw him was at Fairchild. He was there as part of the CRO training pipeline, and I was there for SERE. He was very excited about the job he was training for, the bros he was working with, and the prospect of making a difference in the AOR. We spoke at length about the Pilot - Rescue relationship, and the things he mentioned about his training gave me confidence that bros like him would be ready to do incredible things to save pilots who were having really bad days. Godspeed to these fine men. They will be missed. Joel: you were always hardcore and committed to excellence. Thank you for your sacrifice.

This is the most interesting one I've heard of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UVB-76

Contrary to popular belief, shirtless volleyball does NOT occur at USAF UPT. The Navy version might be different, but I can't speak on that. Keep your shirt on and you'll be fine.

The cool thing is that Strike Pig drivers always have a "buddy" to call their break turns and flares... ...kinda gives a new meaning to "I got your back." (No...there's no so to speak required.)

Hacker& Toro, in all fairness, we Viper bros have it rough when it comes to bodily functions in the cockpit. I mean...it's not like we have a dude there to shake it for us (no so to speak) when we're finished. You guys really do share ALL of your cockpit tasks! Amazing CRM!

Damn, these regional airlines are really showing their true colors as "fly-by-night" operations, eh?

Personally, I love wearing my reflective belt while in bed with my wife. She can see me coming.

...and if your family doesn't understand, you've fucked up somewhere along the way. Go get your wife some remedial training (sts) so she'll let you hang out 'til 6 (GASP!) on a Friday night. Case in point: I came home last Wednesday (the 23rd...Christmas Eve was a PACAF family day) after hanging for a while at the bar. As I walk through the door around 1836 and kiss the wife, she says "you smell like BEER! GOOD JOB!" Ah...she's a keeper. ("I love my wife, yes I do, yes I do...I love her truuuuuuuuuuely...")

The world needs ditch diggers...