ClearedHot

Toro is dead on, there is a huge difference between a break in discipline and equipment failure. One thing about flying, sometimes weird things happen for no reason. I will never forget my first OEF mission. Some knucklehead with a 23MM started popping off at me, I rolled into to kill him and the NVG mount on my helmet broke off. Next thing I know it is pitch black, my NVGs are flopping around hanging by the battery cord, part of the NVG bracket is wedged in the throttle quadrant, and the AAA battery is still wailing on me. I feel for the Eagle driver, lucky he didn’t break his neck.

Last I heard it will be SDB not JDAM. Small Diameter Bomb

Back in the day we used to stop at Elington Field for Gas on our way east. The local FBO hired a few "hotties" to serve as ground crew. They wore short shorts and tight cut off T-shirts. They would clean the front windshield while they gassed your jet. On Friday afternoon there was always a mass gaggle of jets. One Friday afternoon I counted and there were 43 T-38's and T-37's from Laughlin, Williams, and Vance, all lined up getting gas. What a sweet deal that guy had until the political correct nazis rolled in.

Going back 15 years... Dicks Last Resort was always a blast. There is an Irush Pub, O'Neill's? that was also a good time.

Intermediate Developmental Education or IDE changed two years ago to give more opportunities for mid-level officers to go to school for a year. Currently, the USAF sends about 20-25% of each year group to school. The traditional schools consist of Air Command and Staff College, Army Command and General Staff College, Marine Command and Staff College, College of Naval Command and Staff. Each one of these schools is joint certified and you receive an accredited Masters Degree when they graduate. Additionally, there were opportunities to go to school on exchange programs with 12-15 different countries like Australia, England, and Spain. Recently, the USAF added other schools to the list to include; Joint Military Intelligence College, Naval Post Graduate School, and the Air Force Institute of Technology. AFIT is more technical in it’s degree programs and from what I heard, not a pleasant place to be. I have also heard there are more programs coming that will provide additional opportunities, possibly at public universities. All total the USAF sends about 600 majors to school each year. Once selected for IDE, you can apply for the second year program called the Advanced Studies Group (ASG). There are four programs under the ASG; The Air Force has the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), which has 40 students, 25 of which are USAF officers. The Army has the School of Advanced Military Studies, which has 80 students, not sure how many USAF officers, but at least a few. The USMC has the School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW), my school which has 24 students, 2 of which are USAF officers. Finally, the Navy has the Naval Operational Planner Course (NOPC), a fairly new program and I don’t know if they have any USAF officers. Hope that gives you a better idea of what is out there.

Ouch!…Actually a Spectre kind of guy J PM me next time you are in DC No we can’t use any of the papers we wrote at ACSC. I think the crap we wrote there was mainly a regurgitation of what they pummeled us with everyday, “Joint is the future, airpower rules, and we gotta have the F-22…blah blah blah.” This school is a completely different game as we only have 24 students. All of the papers are one page and one page only. Sounds great right? Typically there are 600 pages of reading for a single page paper… and you are hard pressed to work your analysis and recommendation into that small space. Our audience is supposed to be three star and above and we are constantly reminded that we need to get better. One huge plus, they bring in the experts and heavy hitters to give us the real scoop. Last month we had Supreme Court Justice Scalia. Next month General Zinni is on the schedule, the list goes on and on. Another great part of the school is the staff rides. Last month we did a tour of Civil War battlefields. I am not a big Civil War buff, but it was an outstanding trip. Walking the battlefield gives you a new perspective. As does standing at the Appomattox courthouse where it all ended. In January we are off to Europe for three weeks with stops at Verdun, Sedan, and Normandy. In the Spring we are going to Vietnam for three weeks, trips of a lifetime. Keeping with the theme of this thread, most of the Marines in the class will go work for a three star or above and my guess is at least half of them will become general officers themselves. Alas I am not in the high-speed crowd. I am more of a 20 and out kind of dude, but it has been a great experience thus far. I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to apply for SAASS or SAW, it may be a lot of reading, but it beats working for a living.

Wnaana, Please seek some help in the form of a Chaplin, doctor, or close friend if you are having "off the wall" thoughts. I have personally lost three very close friends in crashes over the past 14+ years and there are no easy answers. Life does go on and the best way to honor your friend is to live your life to the fullest. If that means doing something other than flying jets, so be it. In the end it is a question that only you can answer. PM me if you need to talk and I will give you my number. You can call anytime.

It is actually made to hold a survival knife. I think new flight suits still come with a small piece of thin white nylon cord in that pocket. Get rid of it, your G-suit has a purpose built pocket. If you go to heavies, as a new co-pilot they won't trust you to hold a knife anyways.

Toro, Refreshing to hear that approach. My old squadron used to give a lot of incentive rides and it seemed to be a contest to see who could make the “guest” sick the fastest. I always took a different approach because I thought this is a once in a lifetime experience for most of these folks. I would only do what they wanted to do with in the bounds of the mission profile. Cudos to you for seeing the bigger picture.

Since we are bringing out the oldies and this forum is protected by non-attribution... Why do women have smaller feet then men? So they can stand closer to the stove. Why don't women need a watch? There is a clock on the stove. What's the difference between a woman having her period and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist. Why is it called PMS? Because Mad Cow Disease was already taken. What did they replace the airspeed indicator in the A-10 with? A calendar. How do A-10 evaluators give checkrides? They plug in and run along side.

AG, I got picked up for SAW (USMC version of SAASS), which meant a move to DC and another year of school. Keeping in line with this thread, it looks like I will go to the Air Staff for a year, then back to fly.

As I recall last year's Air War College class lost two people. One left when he was non-selected for O-6 (extremely rare), and another was removed for a UCMJ issue.

There are a multitude of staff jobs out there. Organizations vary from Air Staff, Joint Staff, numbered Air Force. The jobs themselves vary from bean-counter, money dude, to policy and strategy types. “Good” staff jobs depend on what your desired outcome is. For promotion, Air Staff and joint staff offer the best opportunity, but usually at the greatest cost in blood and toil. Going to one of Command and Staff Colleges as a Major is a big indicator that you will go to a staff, but around 30 percent of all graduates go back to ops. Graduating from one of the War Colleges (for O-5’s and O-6’s), has about the same spread of OPS and staff assignments. My roommate last year while I was at ACSC was going through Air War College and he went back to fly. From my limited experience, the guys that graduate from War College and go back to fly are typically on the fast track, not true in all cases, but usually a big indicator.

Hacker, I hope that attitude is gone now. I left the WIC two years ago they and simply did not tolerate that kind of BS. The Commandant a few years ago, Col Rand, was huge on Weapons Officer Training (WOT Blocks). He spent hours covering the ethos of weapons officers and the school. His biggest message was humility. The last thing he wanted was the ivory tower syndrome and the resonated with those of us who had seen it out on the line. I felt lucky to be selected to go, let alone come back and teach there. I also saw it as an obligation to share what I learned so we could all be better when the balloon goes up. I also knew I couldn’t do my job if it wasn’t for the dudes out on the flightline busting their ass to keep me in the air. It probably doesn’t mean much now, but I apologize for that BS in the past and the next time I am in Valdosta (December), beer is on me. [ 17. October 2004, 11:46: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

The U.S. supported the Mujahideen during the Afghan-soviet war, not the Taliban. While many members of the Taliban came from the Mujahideen, the Taliban is actually a collection groups that were both for an against the U.S., mainly on tribal lines. The Taliban came offically about around 1994 when Mullah Omar too the helm. Using the Taliban is a poor example, although there are others that will make the case. Bottom line, it is a nice world and sometimes you make choices that align you with bad people. That said, you have to do what is best for and will ensure the survival of the U.S. France on the other hand, makes choices that embarrass or deliberately go against the U.S. There is a difference.

HercDude Well Said!

Hacker, Someone actually said that? If a Crew Chief or MX dude asked, I always gave it up (STS), partly because I hated wearing the damn thing, mainly because they deserved it. At one point we were actually ordered to wear the scarf...I know tradition reigns, but I thought it was just something else to carry around.

I am not an AWACS guy so take this with a grain of salt. 1. Driving heavies in ACC is not usually a good thing unless you are at a separate wing like AWACS and the Bombers are. Things are somewhat different now that the composite wing structure is all but dead. In the old days there were horror stories when it came to PRF’s and awards. 2. AWACS go to EVERY Red Flag. 3. AWACS pilots do not go to Weapons School. However ABMs do. 4. I believe AWACS are like some of the other LDHD units, you can camp if you want to but might still get tagged for a white jet, UAV, or other Alpha type tour. [ 14. October 2004, 18:52: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

I know of a gunship crew that broke at Mildenhall for 30 days!

The subsidies to Airbus and the competition with Boeing just came up in the Presidential debate...

Actually there was a Eagle Driver flying the Mig-29 with the Germans a few years ago. Not truly east european, but still flying the Fulcrum. [ 13. October 2004, 16:20: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

Gearpig, If you read my posts you will not find me slamming the airlines. I already posted that of course the airlines will purchase the cheaper product because they are in business to make a profit. I have flown on the Airbus with United and I think the other was Air Jamaica. Boeing can’t win the contracts because of the way Airbus and the French government sell aircraft to the airlines. Airbus receives huge subsidies from the EU (mainly France), so they can sell their aircraft at what would otherwise be a loss and rely on the government to provide the difference. There is no way Boeing can compete in this unfair market. It is an economic model that has been applied by other countries on everything from cotton to wine. It has also been ruled illegal by the world court. However, when it comes to great powers of the world, it is very rare to apply sanctions for fear of starting a greater trade war. Congress has been looking at legislation for the past two years that would apply a tariff, but the airline industry is in such dire straights post 911, it has been put on the back burner. They funny thing is Airbus has blatantly stated they want to put Boeing out of business, when that happens they are free to charge whatever they want. The whole situation reinforces the conclusion that I have come to over the past ten years in the USAF, France is an enemy of the United States. It is one thing to vote independently on UN mandates and resolutions. I understand the argument that they are a sovereign nation and want to exercise policies that are in their interest. It is another to sell munitions, weapons systems, technology, and information to countries that mean to do us harm. I am going to France for two weeks in may to walk the battlefields of Verdun, Calais, and Normandy. Every time I think of the American lives that were lost making sure the French didn’t speak German for the next 100 years, it makes me sick to think how they have repaid us. Sorry for the rant, but I have actually done a lot of research on this subject and I truly hope our government finally decides to do something. [ 12. October 2004, 21:36: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

I had no idea the Cirrus SR was so popular. A great friend and UPT classmate was killed on a test flight five years ago. Glad to see it was for a worthy cause. I have also noticed the FAA has lightened up on allowing major sections of homebuilts to be assembled by third party companies (51% rule).

If you want to be insulted that is your issue not mine. I can throw the family tree around as well. My great-grandfather, Pilot #26 in the world, was a barnstormer and worked on the Spirit of St Louis and for Ryan Aircraft Corp. My Grandfather also a pilot, worked for Pitcairn Aircraft. My dad flew three tours in Vietnam in the F-4. All of that means diddly-squat to your argument. You might want to look up the word isolationist in the dictionary, let me help you, Isolationism = A national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries. I said we need to level the paying field based on subsidies the EU (Mainly France) pays to Airbus to make it fair for U.S. aircraft companies. I agree with preemption which is about as far from isolationism as you can get. As for the Airbus 380, great plane I am sure, but when I look at it I see the technology France has shared with our enemies. I see the Roland missiles and all sorts of other military technology they sold to Iraq, even after the UN resolution. I see my buds in the squadron who risked their lives fighting them during ONW, OSW, and OIF while you were laying in your room starring at pictures of the Airbus. I am not for isolationism. I respect a free market economy that is FAIR. However, this is not a zero-sum world, and if someone has to lose, I choose them.

RedDog, I would never question your decision to take care of your family first. I also understand the argument about cars and that is a topic no one wants to talk about, (Hell my wife is buying the new Acura next month). Take a longer view and you might find that if the trend continues your kids may not have jobs when they grow up. It is a free world and competition is one thing, but when we have to step up to bat with one hand tied behind our back, something has to change.