HuggyU2

Keep in mind, they are on P-TDY and do not appear to get per diem. You and I make $71/day in D.C. on meals and incidentals alone when on TDY orders.

Well,... if you've always wondered about it, there is a thread on Baseops.net where you can ask U-2 related questions.

Wow. The media got it wrong. I'm very surprised. Morons. Good narrative. Some very good lessons can be learned from this.

Not for me. I was at United for ~18 months. About 6 weeks prior to 9/11, I started the application process to come back onto active duty. And here I am.

Well,... I have an addiction.

Bingo. I do not want to give up my retiree pay to do this. Well that's just dandy. To clarify: I'm active duty, with 26 years and 1 month of active service (plus about 20 months of inactive Reserve time during my break in service). So IF I can get the 18 year waiver that Noonin mentions, I'll still have less than 2 years before I must leave due to hitting 28 years. And that's unlikely to get waived, since the Reserves follows active duty. Do I have it right?

Although I've been on active duty for over 20 years, please forgive me for not knowing more about the nuts-and-bolts of the Reserves. So, I'm an O-5 with over 20 years. Let's say a Reserve unit wants to hire me into a flying position. And let's say it will be full-time for a while, and then part-time ("traditional Reservist"?) - can I retire from active duty so that I get my retiree pay on days I'm not working as a Reservist? - on active duty, an O-5 has to retire at 28 years of service. Does that also apply to part time Reservists? - what other pitfalls and considerations are there for someone over 20 years?

Agree or not, let's hope this 19 year old's actions will get the attention of many. Like the story of Sun Tzu and the concubines: King Ho-lú wanted a demonstration of Sun Tzu’s theories in action to see their effectiveness. So the King’s concubines, some 300 women, were summoned and divided into two companies. He placed one of the King’s two favorite concubines in charge of each and gave the women armor and weapons while explaining a set of drills he wished them to perform. After he had shown them what he wished to be done he then ordered the King’s favorite concubines to lead their companies in performing the maneuvers. This almost predictably led to laughs from the concubines who did not believe him to be serious. They were, after all, not warriors. Sun Tzu then repeated his orders but again the concubines laughed and failed to heed. This is when he summoned the executioner and had the King’s favorite concubines beheaded. Sun Tzu then brought forth two more concubines, placed one in charge of each company and then he again ordered the drill completed. This time the remaining concubines performed the exercise flawlessly.

And you can't spell "Spoo" without "poo"... I don't know what that means, but after a lengthy bar debrief with Dingle and Butcher, I'm feeling pretty good,... and that seems pretty funny.

https://superdaveairshows.com/dave-mathieson/ Read the second to last paragraph. It really doesn't do the story justice, though. I've heard Dave tell the story twice, and it is fantastic.

You know these 3 guys?! Wow. You need to hang out with better people at the airport, my friend!!

No real argument with you, gearpig. It is up to you and the other Mods on how you want to do this. However,... it is up to you and the other Mods. And that is my point. Do as you see fit. If you feel there are folks on here that are a cancer, then cut them out. If you believe they enhance it, then keep them. I simply do not subscribe to the implied feelings of others that it is flat out wrong for you to censor if you feel it is in the best interest of the site. They don't like that? Then they an always leave.

It's not a democracy, folks. If CH & Company want to delete posts, or delete unwanted people, that's their prerogative. Don't like it? Vote with your feet, and go start your own site.

Is that a bad thing?

Tragic oversight. https://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/29/17521724-pilot-ejected-when-small-airplane-dives-near-chattanooga-search-under-way?lite=

Shaft... I kill you later.

I had a great time at Laughlin. Learned to wind surf, did a road rally, excellent motorcycle riding, great weekend trips with the UPT class to San Antonio and Austin. If you're personality is conducive to meeting locals, you won't find a nicer group of folks than the people from that part of the State of Texas. But,... they all have their positives. When you show up, I guarantee you'll be stoked to be there, and really won't care where you are.

I'm not seeing your point. I don't know much about CAP forums,... but I'm guessing they have nothing in common with the type of content that you'd have here (with all of it's associated malcontents, whiners, and egomaniacs). Apples and oranges. BTW, kind of an odd first post.

He doesn't have much of a choice?? This is a significant problem. If a general officer doesn't "feel" that his position allows him the ability to use judgment when he knows that the current policy is detrimental to the overall situation, then either he or the system (or both) has failed.

Well, sort of. Except that was based on - the F-4 being about 10 years ahead of the fighters it was compared to the F-35 being about 30+ years on similar comparisons. - the F-4 having no sensor fusion, per se. - the F-4 having no stealth capability - the F-4 having no reliable long range air-to-air missile - the F-4's tactics being from half a century ago. Keep that in mind. The time from the Wright Bros first flight to the 1st flight of the F-4 was 55 years. And now, it's been 55 years since the first flight of the F-4. Is it possible some things have change in aerial warfare, and maybe we can quit scoffing at errors from the past that might actually have no significance in the current threat scenario?

The F-35 is maturing quickly, but still needs some more time to develop. All part of the "normal process". Don't believe everything you read in the press... do I really have to mention that? Barring any major setbacks, it is an aircraft that will eventually replace 6 or 7 fighter air frames. Air frames that we are wasting on 5 hour sorties over Afghanistan, doing non-traditional ISR. While you complain about F-35 costs, where is the indignation over the cost of throwing away the useful life of capable fighters currently in the fleet? We will need a multi-role replacement. The F-35 makes is a new ballgame. As one F-35 experienced pilot told me, "if we end up in a BFM engagement,... well, that just should not happen."

Call your squadron,... find out who lives in Cambridge,... go from there. Seriously. There should be a bunch of aircrew that do, and they would be a better place to start than here.

That's a "heritage" old-school 1st Aero Squadron patch from days gone by.

Hold on before you throw all bands under the bus. Many of you rip our willingness to abandon heritage, yet you wholesale throw the baby out with the bathwater. Please be a little more "surgical" if you ever become a flag officer, and have the power to influence. Case in point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Drum_and_Bugle_Corps https://drumcorps.mbw.usmc.mil/ These guys still train a basic infantrymen. A Marine friend was telling me about a change of commands in the USMC. Big production, with lots of good tradition, including the band and marching. He mentioned a commander that didn't get the band. Everyone was saying "what did he do to screw up and get the band turned off?" It turns out there was a pressing need for the band members to deploy as riflemen, and for a period, that overrode the need for the band. Seems that they have a good perspective.

Will one of y'all post the picture of the 100th anniversary nose art on the jet in the desert that got sent out today? I believe folks here will like it.