ClearedHot

ARGH...... Best gunship ever is NOT a C-130. Unsure why folks want to see an evolution in capability like you will with a C-130J, rather than a revolution like you would with say a AC-757. Why do we insist on a platform that keeps us squarely in the heart of most threat envelopes? With all the 757/767 airframes parked in boneyards around the world, why not put the sensors and weapons on a platform that can overfly a vast majority of current lower threats, cruise to the target are at high subsonic speeds, and has the unrefueled range to fly across the ponds. For the record, the C-130 platform WILL handle the GAU-8 vibration...as will a 757 with a beefed up floor. Christ, sometimes it is like pushing a noodle trying to get people to think 20-30 year sin the future. Trust me. with 3,000+ hours in the gunpig, I LOVE the 130 platform, but it is NOT the best solution for the future.

My guess, a force management issue for two reasons; 1. The RPV/U-28/RC-12 programs have consumed most of the extra fight pilots and an ever growing portion of UPT graduates. 2. There is most certainly a force reduction on the horizon, as the wars draw-down in the next few years and the budget crisis grows, there will be enormous pressure to reduce the size of the force and it will be difficult (but not impossible), to field this in large numbers, especially if the intent was to establish an IW wing (like I am in favor of). The disconnect that I see is the cost savings. SECDEF is putting a lot of pressure on the system to limit costs. CNXing the F-22 and other big systems, coming out (STS), in the press this week calling for a smaller pay raise for the military, and over the weekend more questions about the size of the military's TACAIR programs/fleet. Also, Light-attack fits what QDR and a lot of the thought coming out of think tanks, we will likely fight small wars for the next 10 years, light-attack makes sense financially, tactically, and strategically. CSAF said our traditional platforms will continue to provide the capability which will cost a LOT more, in some cases 10X the cost of light-attack. This story is FAR from over and I suspect there is a LOT more going on behind the scenes.

Fucking California... American students punished for wearing American flags to an American school on a day that celebrates a war between Mexico and France...UFB!!! Someone please pass mensurated coordinates for Berkley.

No shit...welcome to 1970... This thread has turned into a SNAPfest.

They would be better served to send them to Doyle Brunson's Poker Boot Camp.

Rainman, not sure how long it has been since you made a visit to Nellis, but "the room" changed under K-9. BLUF - Forced fun is no longer forced. CORE I first Friday still happens, but that is about it on the mandatory side. All the Squadron (division) boards, came down and a lot of old prints went up turning the place into more of a "Heritage Room". Drinking returned to the squadrons with the exception of as you pointed out, the GSU Squadrons. Not perfect, but not the days of old.

Lighten up Francis...it was a line in a poem.

I would just wash out the entire RPA WIC class... WIC - 5 LPA - 1

Yes

Whoever gave this dude shit needs to go fuck themselves...I get the big blue party line...but give the guy one night...he needs to deal with it. Expecting him to embrace the suck an hour after he finds out is fucking stupid. These are real people with real lives...let him work it out himself over a few beers you fucking retards.

Having recently done a LOT of research on this topic..."giving them away", is not as simple as it seems. The law needs to be changed and Congress is in no hurry to do so. For now, everything has to go through Foreign Military Sales, which is a nightmare that can take years and it completely contaminated by politics.

She was my T-38 IP in UPT and is a sincerely good egg and a great aviator. I took a gunpig to Andrews when she was the Wingking and she met me on the ramp, gave me a big hug, and drove me around like I was a DV. She is about as down to earth a person as I have ever met. I am glad to see she is going to 18th and it probably means she is on the 2-Star list.

DOD press Release DOD Identifies Air Force Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died April 9 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a crash of a CV-22 Osprey. They were assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla. Killed were: Maj. Randell D. Voas, 43, of Lakeville, Minn. Senior Master Sgt. James B. Lackey, 45, of Green Clove Springs, Fla. For further information, please contact the Hurlburt Field Public Affairs office at 850- 884-7464. ************************************************************************************************************** A dark day for AFSOC... Randell Voas was a prior service Warrant Officer in the Army and flew helos for a number years before taking a commission and flying MH-53s for the USAF. "JB" was a phenomenal human being. He worked for me for a few years and was simply one of the best people I have ever known. God bless your families brothers.

This is a horrible loss of some truly outstanding individuals...true professionals who LOVED their country and took great pride in their service...you will be missed. Godspeed brothers.

Absolutely correct...the points spread in my class was less than 1% and the Flight Commander ranking decided EVERYTHING. We had a Capt in our class who ended up finishing #1 solely for that reason. He was a good, but there was a 2Lt who was better and crushed him on all checkrides, but the FC lined it up so the Capt would finish first. A few months after graduating we found out the FC and the dude who graduated #1 flew together when the Capt was a Nav. In fact, they were on hard crew for a while, their wives were friends, neither one said a word...absolute bullshit. The guy who should have finished #1 wanted a B-52, loved the plane since he was a kid...none available at the #2 pick so he took a KC-10, served 8 years and got out, (#1 guy took a B-1). I didn't play golf and did not get along with my FC. I think I was #6 in T-37's and performed even better in T-38's..."E" on every FORM ride, "O" my checkride and still went to a banked job for almost three years. My class got creamed by the bank...no fighters for active duty guys and only six flying assignments for 19 active folks (3 guard, 1 reserve). If only...The first banked classes graduated in Mid-August as I recall...by the time I graduated in October they decided to take the Palace Chase option off the table...without telling us. I was hired by Jacksonville after traveling on my own dime only to have my Palace Chase package disapproved afterwards because "they we loosing too many folks" and were going to end up with a shortage in my year group in the out years. The irony after all the non-sense with the banking gig, my year group was decimated by the program. When my year group was up for the bonus we were told the USAF needed 64% of our year group to stay for the USAF to break even, I think the final number was 28%. Of my class of 23, only 4 are still in at the 19 year point. I learned a lot...mainly about people and yes it did help me through the rest of my career. However, there were challenges....many MX officers hated us and saw us as just "passing through", so they did not want to give us meaningful jobs. I had one nasty bitch tell me I was "diluting her career field"...she was pissed because I was selected to be an AMU/OIC as a 1Lt and she felt they had "skipped" her as a Capt. The real joy was working with the enlisted folks. Most really cared about the planes and were absolutely dedicated to "their" planes. I had a superb Chief as my Prosuper, he taught me the ropes of the flightline and kept me out of trouble. It was somewhat ironic that on the day I took command of a squadron, I still was not supervising as many people as I did when I was a Capt AMU/OIC. By law it was not supposed to exceed three years, because you had to get your first flying gate. It was odd, but they knew they were going to have a problem in the out years. My class of 23 was replaced by a class of 5 and they were all guard and reserve. The 1990-1993 rated year groups are a mess because of the decisions they made back then. I saw a stat in 2003 that said the 1991 year group only had 13 F-16 pilots left in it...12 years after graduating it was destroyed by the low-retention which led to the big bonuses our classes got. The only thing that saved the USAF was 9/11 and what it did to the airlines, had that not happened I think they would have been forced to extend the stop-loss.

Secretary Gates likes the Idea... https://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1439

It was VERY ugly...no fighters period dot...half the active duty guys went to desk jobs for three years...and it showed when retention options came around. Of the original active duty folks, only four stayed past their original commitment, one of those was a Captain in UPT, his commitment took him to 14.

Guys bitch about assignments today so I thought I would post the drop from our class. Like some of the other comments, some in the top of our class did not want fighters...not that it mattered, our class did not have any available for active duty guys. 1. B-1 Ellysworth 2. KC-10 Seymour Johnson 3. F-16 (Guard - Duluth) 4. C-5 Dover 5. C-130 Little Rock 6. F-15C (Guard - New Orleans) 7. C-130 Dyess 8. KC-135 Grand Forks 9. Banked Transport 10. F-15C (Guard - Klamath Falls) 11. Banked Transport 12. Banked Transport 13. Banked Transport 14. Banked Tanker 15. C-141 (Guard DC) 16. Banked Tanker 17. Banked Transport 18. Banked Transport 19. Banked Transport 20. Banked Transport 21. Banked Bomber 22. Banked Transport 23. Banked Transport

So to stir the pot you decided to put your ACLU card away for a few hours... Let me get this straight, by your new definition, legally purchasing weapons is now probable cause to; 1. Send SWAT to your home. 2. Seize your weapons. 3. Force you to undergo a mental evaluation. 4. Keep your weapons even after you are released. Your analogy is a Red Hearing, of course I would expect the authorities to "look at this guy", but in accordance with the law, I would expect an investigation and common sense. If we were to send SWAT to his house and take him away for questions, morons like you would be screaming about his Miranda rights. Let me guess, according to you, the Constitution only applies to terrorists. For the love of god, leave this forum. All you do is throw shit, and despite your posts, I don't think you are a monkey.

#1. What AC/EC/MC-130 can AR at 20k? #2. You COMPLETELY missed the point. I understand the limitations of ATC, the point is don't wait until we ask to coordinate. Huh? How much AR have you done? The POS boom interphone rarely works to the point of comprehension.

NOT always the best solution and sometimes that actually makes it WORSE. Depending on KC-135 versus KC-10, flying slower will increase your angle of attack and thus your bow wave, especially if you are heavy and have the flaps down. Seen it several times on drags to Korea, the KC-10 thought he was helping and younger receivers might think it is better to go slower, but from my experience behind the KC-10 on a long pacific crossing, increasing to 195-200 made a HUGE difference. Remember, Spending that much time on the boom and taking that much gas, our CG is going to shift aft, and I would assume yours is moving forward. The other key is to PLAN on a toboggan with a AC that is going to take a lot of gas. We usually don't ask until we really need it and at that point we don;t have time to wait for coordination.

Your comments are way out of bounds, but in all honesty, his situation does raise the issue of a perceived double standard. Not because of the safety award, but because he was promoted below the zone to Lt Col and is a designated SDE select, less than three years after the crash. Anyone know what happened to the B-1 guys who landed gear up?...or the C-17 guys that landed gear up? I don't know the specifics, but from everything I have ever heard, he is an outstanding dude and perhaps the AF was right to overlook his mistake, but I don't think others who made similar mistakes in recent years have been so lucky.

"Two"

I truly wonder if the community will tear itself apart. I wonder what will happen when large numbers of dudes/dudettes get to the end of their commitment. For folks in the business; Are the claims of high job satisfaction true? What is the divorce rate? What is the DUI rate? What is the retention rate? I am a simple man and it would seem to me the answer is NOT to train more dudes...NOT to create UAV only pilots who lack SA. The answer has to be technology. We need to develop systems that allow one pilot to fly multiple systems and only intervene when completely necessary. We need to develop sensors that don't simply stare at one spot or are limited to a soda-straw view of the battlespace. When we can open our aperture and have one person controlling 4-8-12 RPAs with each RPA have a field of view and field of regard that covers many miles in a single look, then we will have arrived at something we can sustain. Oh...and I am completely in favor of putting GCS' in move favorable places like Fl, Co, Ca, and Hi.