backseatdriver

Rough day for the SOF community. Here's a toast... If you are looking for a way to honor their sacrifice, please consider making a donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). For those of you not familiar, SOWF provides scholarships for the children of special operators killed in combat or training. They are a well respected charity within the SOF community.

Why did you stop?

"Culture of correcting standards" "Proper Airmanship is correcting each other about things such as "your sideburns are too long," "take your sunglasses off the top of your head," "tuck your PT shirt in," "why didn't you pay proper respect to the flag," and so on...." Ugh...

This is how the process was explained to me by an O-6 that used to work in AFSOC/A1. It depends on if your RDTM (Rated Distribution and Training Management) code changed with your move to AFSOC. Your RDTM can be found on your SURF (among other places). The RDTM decoder table is in AFI 11-412, Table 6.2 (link below). If your RDTM reflects an AFSOC platform, then you'll meet the SOF DT, if it still has you coded as an RJ guy, you'll meet a different DT (CAF?). This is how the SOF DT controls AFSOC dudes even if they leave AFSOC for other assignments - for instance a Gunship dude who works in DC or instructs at the WIC (i.e. is assigned to ACC) still meets the SOF DT. I'm not sure how long you have to be in a new airframe for a new RDTM to be assigned. AFI 11-412

Why the hell is he e-mailing the 3 star AF/A1 to sing the praises of TIB? I'm sure the AF/A3 doesn't get a lot of e-mails when the Thunderbirds put on a good show.

Kandahar > Bagram, regardless of airframe.

Ahem...so to speak.

So let me get this straight - we hide deployments on promotion records and limit discussion of deployed experience in PRFs and OPRs, but the FIRST item under "Considerations in Evaluating Records" in the instructions to the board is: "Air Force personnel performing duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas of the world are developing...skills THAT NEED TO BE RETAINED AND UTILIZED FOR FUTURE APPLICATION." (emphasis added) Then why the eff are deployments not listed on promotion records?

Did guys actually get an e-mail notifying them of RIF eligibility from AFPC? I haven't seen anything (03 guy).

20 years ago today, on 31 Jan 1991, SPIRIT 03, an AC-130H from the 16th SOS was shot down by a MANPAD while providing close air support for Marines during the Battle of Khafji. All 14 crewmembers died. It was the single largest loss of Air Force personnel during the Gulf War. Please take a moment to remember their sacrifice... Major Paul J. Weaver - Pilot Captain Clifford Bland, Jr. - Co-Pilot Captain Dixon L. Walters - Electronic Warfare Officer Captain Arthur Galvan - Fire Control Officer Captain William D. Grimm - Navigator Senior Master Sergeant Paul G. Buege - Sensor Operator Senior Master Sergeant James B. May II, Gunner Technical Sergeant Robert K. Hodges - Gunner Technical Sergeant John L. Oelschlager - Gunner Staff Sergeant Timothy R. Harrison - Gunner Staff Sergeant John P. Blessinger - Sensor Operator Staff Sergeant Mark J. Schmauss - Illuminator Operator Staff Sergeant Damon J. Kanuha - Flight Engineer Sergeant Barry M. Clark - Gunner Here's a toast...

Could you be a little more vague?

Catch Darby O'Gill and the Little People at McMullens on Wed nights or Hennessy's (old strip) on Thursdays. Fucking hilarious/awesome.

Why does 548 in a 3 year period count for a short tour and 365 in a 3 year period count for a long tour? That doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. Can anyone explain the reasoning?

Went through the WIC with Dave - good dude. Hate to hear this. A toast...

Agreed.

I'm a strong proponent of the enlisted sensor operators staying on as well. AFSOC thinks they need to go, only looking at the money that comes with a larger crew complement. Why have these SOs when we can just have CSOs point and click and run the sensor with all this bright shiny technology we have? The technology out there IS awesome - and much better than anything on the Gunship now. BUT - technology will NEVER replace the experience of that TSgt that has been a Gunship sensor for 10 years - in the squadron. An officer that has to PCS for career reasons after 4-5 years will just be getting the hang of things and getting experienced. It's those highly experienced SOs that have been running that sensor for YEARS that can tell that those couple of darker pixels on the screen are actually a Muj hiding under cover versus just a hot spot.

A toast...

The first step is admitting you have a problem. Effing awesome.

Holy FAIL Batman. Awesome.

What is it you do again alwyn2d?

The difference being they filled the HARVEST HAWK program with guys with CAS experience. Multiple pilots from air-to-ground platforms, some FAC(A)s, have been in the program from the beginning to ensure it's done RIGHT. I agree the AF can learn a thing or two from that.

He means it was a horrible idea to create a plane without a niche and then give it to guys who don't know the first thing about the mission set. Every SOF aircraft was always created after a niche had presented itself. DS is a failure to fill a niche that DOES exist, but that DS DOES NOT fit. Round peg, square hole. The concept that led to DS was the AC-27 (okay - AC-XX). That aircraft had a niche it was going to fill - one that is still out there. When Congress (Murtha) squashed it, AFSOC decided it had gone too far to just kill the "Gunship Lite" program, so something had to be built. Enter the Dragon...Spear. Now we find ourselves trying to figure out exactly what this plane will do: who will it support? What mission sets will it do? WTF is "Battlefield Overwatch"? etc, etc. Let's complicate the problem even further - we're going to take a squadron full of guys who have lived and breathed the airlift, low-level, airdrop, HAR missions...and give them weapons and throw in CAS for good measure. Bad idea. We're going to PCS a MINIMUM number of guys with Gunship/CAS experience into the squadron - but we're going to do it after the concept and initial TTPs are developed and the plane is well on its way to fielding. Worse idea. We're going to deploy this thing without a clear sense of its purpose or employment concept. Worst idea. This was all the initial plan. Thankfully along the line, the roll has been slowed a little bit. METLs have been whittled down, and effective (as possible) training has been instituted for the crews. However - the niche the aircraft fills is still elusive - which I feel is a crucial piece of the puzzle for a SOF aircraft. The issue is two-fold - the way the aircraft came about and was/is being implemented, and the way it was dropped in the lap of airlift guys. It's the equivalent of the Talon 3 being delivered to the 16th SOS along with a couple IPs and INs with the guidance of "figure it out". Only in that instance you're probably only going to kill yourself, not a friendly ground party. Don't get me wrong - I'm bashing the conception and implementation of the DS program - not the guys in the program. The dudes standing up the DS program are solid guys who are working hard to digest the shit sandwich they've been served. I hope and pray they will be successful on their first deployment - if not it reflects on all of us in the AC-130 community as much as them. I am however strongly against the way the program was developed and fielded. AFSOC went about this the worst way possible - hopefully the 73rd will be able to successfully polish the turd.

No, no, no, no. CAS is not just an extra mission set that can be thrown on a community or crew (as proven by the majority of airlift METLs getting dropped from the MC-130W). We shouldn't give guys who don't have a shred of experience a gun to shoot in close proximity to friendlies simply because they want to "get in the fight." You are awarded no points and may God have mercy on your soul. Besides, the AC-130J will be along soon enough. Please lock and delete this thread before somebody at AFSOC HQ sees it and gets another stupid idea.

The schoolhouse is ~6 months from start to finish.

MC-130 = Kirtland AC-130U = Hurlburt AC-130H = Academics at Hurlburt, then Cannon