HercDude

Having sat in a few towers at various bases, I can say without a doubt that the best controllers I have ever seen were the guys at bagram - all civilians, all ex-military (I think). Controlling 3 C-130s in the pattern is one thing; controlling a C-130, a couple Antanovs, a handfull of Mi-8s, a 2 ship of strike eagles, and a Viper calling min fuel, and some retarded NORDO ISAF IL-76 on a 3 mile final to a closed runway - all with a cool, calm, professional voice - is quite another. Don't know what the hell goes on in Antarctica, but from what I've seen I couldn't disagreee more. I dunno. I don't remember him actually getting anyone to make us fly instrument approaches, but what was told to us was that when the DO & Sq/CC brought up to him that we were getting delayed 30 minutes or more waiting for airspace to open up, which put some crews close to Bingo, and other way behind frag, his questions was "Well why don't you just fly the ILS and be done with it." In an OG Call he spoke directly to the Herc guys in the crowd and said we over-estimating the treat, and that's why we weren't on time (which didn't hold a lot of water with most of us because we were only getting about 60% of the sorties off the ground on time due to Mx - and guys were getting shot at going in to Balad and Baghdad several time a week). Stuff went back and forth for a few months before he fired the C-130 Sq/CC out there. Very ugly.

Part of the problem I've run in to is that we frequently deploy under leadership we've never met. On all of my deployments the EAS has been made up of crews & support from more than one squadron/base (in one case I think we had crews from 5 different squadrons). It's a two way street where you may not be comfortable bringing some things to the attention of a commander you don't know, and since they don't know their crews they have trouble figuring out what gripes are legit and which are bullshit. It was even worse when I was at the Deid and the OG there was a Viper guy whose OG included hercs, -135s, Rivet Joints, and E-3s. Don't know how common that is and I'm sure in many cases it works out, but in that case it was a damn travesty. He made it a habit to armchair quarterback airlift missions - going so far as to ask out loud why C-130s weren't flying the ILS in to Baghdad (this was in '04), since our tactical approaches were such a nussiance to the airspace there.

My last deployment we were briefed by the EOG deputy, the Sq/CC, and the Sq/DO seperatly that OEF is now in the sustainment phase, we have plenty of airlift in theatre, and that for 95% of the missions we get fragged, there is nothing we do that can't be picked up by someone else or done tomorrow. If something was critical we would know it before we walked out the door. I had 3 cases where dudes from my Sq called crew rest - mostly for idiotic scheduling that jacked up peoples sleep schedule combined with ATOC/AMD shenanigans. In all three cases neither the Sq or OG made any attempt to backup the guys calling crew rest, and informed them that "that's not how we do bussiness." The last case resulted in the AC standing at attention in front of the OG. I'm all for leaning foreward and hacking the mission. That's what I was raised to do. But it pissed me right the hell off to get the message that we don't do that any more, then crush nuts when someone calls crew rest. You can't have it both ways. This was a leadership failure. The kicker was that on the way home after we broke in Germany the day before the airfield closed for three days, I didn't call crew rest when I could have, in order to get people home for the hollidays like I was told to do. The day after my reconstitution I was standing in front of the Sq/CC learning how lucky I was not to be facing a FEB.

One of the absolute best side-effects of pinning on O-4 is putting their pain-in-the-ass shoeified emails behind you. When I was an idiot 2nd Lt on causal I decided to check out the CGOC (which I distinctly remember was at 1500 on a Friday afternoon and guys weren't going back to work when it ended). I walked in and when I told people I was with the fighter squadron I kept getting eye-rolls or some other feedback. When pushed they told me that "pilots get all the attention and accolades already. This group is for non-rated people who need to get Wing level visiblity and strats." I didn't really understand what that ment at the time, but it sounded stupid. When I mentioned it to the bros on Monday I got some of the best mentoring of my career.

The Honey Bucket.

Christian Bale has him beat: IN 2000 IN 2004 IN 2005 IN 2006 IN 2008 IN 2009 And his next flick is The Dark Knight Rises.

This is going to get ugly. Might want to start a seperate thread.

"Fuck you. I fly airplanes."

He needs to retire and go coah at his Alma Mater. Pronto.

If you go inside the "Russian" tower (which is now full of shoes so be careful), inside the conference room on the first floor is a pretty cool picture of that same room from 2002 when it was an opertaing room. I think there is a sign below it stating it was the only certified OR in theatre. This is a memorial to Soviet SU-25 pilots that were KIA. Unfortunately it we destroyed it to make room for runway expansion. https://www.themoscow...ial/201961.html

How long before Airman magazine posts a rant from a deployed E-8 railing against uniform infractions in this vid?

https://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/03/01/2-troops-killed-by-afghan-soldier-civilian/ 2 more American advisors killed in Southern AFG: A district chief in southern Kandahar's Zhari district said the shootings took place on a NATO base when an Afghan civilian who taught a literacy course for Afghan soldiers and lived on the base started shooting at NATO troops. Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi said the shootings occurred at 3 a.m. and that NATO troops returned fire and killed the man and an Afghan soldier. Mohammad Mohssan, an Afghan Army spokesman in Kandahar city, confirmed the incident occurred at a base in Zhari and involved two Afghans, one of whom was a soldier, who opened fire on coalition troops from a sentry tower. He said both were killed. Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/03/01/2-troops-killed-by-afghan-soldier-civilian/#ixzz1ns8jhkoW

Sorry, I need more details. How is it even remotely possible to not pass ASBC?

"ESPN apologizes for racist Lin headline" https://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/knicksblog/espn_apologizes_for_racist_lin_headline_K6t1xZL0lDXB4kya0osrwN "Chink in the Armor", AYFKM?

00:41 History fail. The Washington Monument wasn't completed until 20 years after Lincoln died. In fact during the length of the Civil War it stood half-erected (STS) while building stopped, and if you look closely you can see about half-way up where construction stopped, and was resumed with a different shade of marble. That is unless the book/movie takes place after 1884, in which case I've just wasted 30 seconds of your life spouting off useless trivia.

If you had bothered to read the article before offering your opinion on it:

To be clear, the flag will be flown at half staff for him as well: https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2012/02/gov_chris_christie_issues_executive_order_for_flags_to_be_flown_at_half-staff_for_fallen_north_arlin.html

When I went through Requal, I left the wife & kids at my prior base. Simliar reasons, she had friends and family in the area, but not in Little Rock, plus the rugrats were in preschool. I kept my BAH the entire time I was TDY (~3 months). I stayed with a friend after signing a refusal of quarters letter, but sticking w/ billeting would have obviously been paid, so finances shouldn't be an issue. I actually made more money I think because the AF paid for 3 PCS: one for me from my base to LRAFB, one for me from LRAFB to my new base, and one for my family from my old base to new. Plus I got family sep pay.

Live off base. No reason whatsoever to need a year to "adjust" to ENGLAND. Amazingly, the people speak ENGLISH. Just like you and me they eat with forks, count on their fingers, and like puppies. Depending on what kind of commute you want and how close you want to have the conviences you are used to, I'd look at Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds, and Newmarket first - those are larger towns that will have things you are used to like supermarkets, conveince stores, and department stores. Lots of charming villages closer to base, but they won't have anything more than a pub and a post office. You can drive an American spec car easily enough, but you do have pay for the adjustments you have to make them street legal. Roads are different over there though - in general rural roads are more narrow and will have tall hedges that block curves. Gas is more expensive too, so getting a British spec VW or Rover that gets 45 mpg might end up saving you thousands of dollars vs. bringing over your SUV. I bought a 4-door when I got there for around $3K off the lemon lot, then sold it when I PCS'd a year later for $2700. The lemon lot will be FULL of cars for you to chose from, in addition to the local dealerships. The one thing I wish I knew when I went there? Your only 22 - and single - and living in the UK - and making a shit ton of cash (relative to a college student) - with no responsiblities at work - once in your life: DON'T SPEND YOUR WEEKENDS AT HOME.

I'll go:

Bullshit. It's not the 40's anymore. It's not the dawn of the jet age. The MC-12 is not an experimental platform. This is a combat asset in the AOR and if its true than these guys were shining their ass. There is no way you can logically argue that doing an aileron roll, barrel roll, whatever in a damn King Air is anything other than self-aggrandizement. That's why the comparison to Sitka 43 and Czar 52 are way more appropriate than invoking legends like Hoover. Maybe this guy/these guys thought they were Chuck Yeager - they aren't. There was a time when we needed men like that. I'm sure that mentality exists and is needed in places like Edwards and Pax River - not in the AOR in a friggin' MC-12. If these guys bent metal and are keeping a critical assent out of the skies then the DO is certainly not where the discussion should end.

https://www.foxnews.c...test=latestnews At least six people were killed when two military helicopters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord crashed Monday night during a training exercise in Washington state, sources told Q13 FOX. Two people were also injured, the sources said. The accident occurred about 9:15 p.m. local time in an area just south of the base. Sources told the station that four people died on one chopper and two on the second. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to KING-TV that it was responding to a crash at the base. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a US military facility located nine miles south-southwest of Tacoma, Wash.

If you pay for the wifi through the local ISP, you can skype from your room. If you use the free Air Force wifi, you can get away with skype as long as the video is turned off. You likely won't get a strong enough singal to do that in the RLBs, but if you are in a B-Hut you probably can. USO & AF Morale center have computers with webcams attached that you can skype from, if you are inclined to do that in a room with 20 other people. I've heard guys get better voice quality with Google Talk than with skype, but haven't used myself. Quality of life is decent. The flying is awesome. The weather sucks. Endless sternly worded emails from "leadership" about fleece jackets, patches, and moustaches really suck.

Settle down Chicken Little. As has been pointed out a couple times, this all stopped 3 years ago, when T-Mike was CSAF. And what in the shit does "the Congress, the Senate, the whole place" have to do with the inner workings of Dover AFB? There are plenty of problems in this country that you can blame on our elected leaders, but the disposal of remains in Delaware is not one of them.