HuggyU2

nsplayer, Are you really an officer in the Air Force? I know you say you are,... but do any folks on here actually know you and can attest to it?

Completely disagree. This "equality" doesn't work in the extreme situations found in many combat units, because it violates "societal norms". And when you violate the "societal norms" of the people within that unit, I believe no good can come of it. Here's just 1 example (from today's Wall Street Journal): The Reality That Awaits Women In Combat A Pentagon push to mix the sexes ignores how awful cheek-by-jowl life is on the battlefield. By Ryan Smith America has been creeping closer and closer to allowing women in combat, so Wednesday's news that the decision has now been made is not a surprise. It appears that female soldiers will be allowed on the battlefield but not in the infantry. Yet it is a distinction without much difference: Infantry units serve side-by-side in combat with artillery, engineers, drivers, medics and others who will likely now include women. The Pentagon would do well to consider realities of life in combat as it pushes to mix men and women on the battlefield. Many articles have been written regarding the relative strength of women and the possible effects on morale of introducing women into all-male units. Less attention has been paid to another aspect: the absolutely dreadful conditions under which grunts live during war. Most people seem to believe that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have merely involved driving out of a forward operating base, patrolling the streets, maybe getting in a quick firefight, and then returning to the forward operating base and its separate shower facilities and chow hall. The reality of modern infantry combat, at least the portion I saw, bore little resemblance to this sanitized view. I served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a Marine infantry squad leader. We rode into war crammed in the back of amphibious assault vehicles. They are designed to hold roughly 15 Marines snugly; due to maintenance issues, by the end of the invasion we had as many as 25 men stuffed into the back. Marines were forced to sit, in full gear, on each other's laps and in contorted positions for hours on end. That was the least of our problems. The invasion was a blitzkrieg. The goal was to move as fast to Baghdad as possible. The column would not stop for a lance corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, or even a company commander to go to the restroom. Sometimes we spent over 48 hours on the move without exiting the vehicles. We were forced to urinate in empty water bottles inches from our comrades. Many Marines developed dysentery from the complete lack of sanitary conditions. When an uncontrollable urge hit a Marine, he would be forced to stand, as best he could, hold an MRE bag up to his rear, and defecate inches from his seated comrade's face. During the invasion, we wore chemical protective suits because of the fear of chemical or biological weapon attack. These are equivalent to a ski jumpsuit and hold in the heat. We also had to wear black rubber boots over our desert boots. On the occasions the column did stop, we would quickly peel off our rubber boots, desert boots and socks to let our feet air out. Due to the heat and sweat, layers of our skin would peel off our feet. However, we rarely had time to remove our suits or perform even the most basic hygiene. We quickly developed sores on our bodies. When we did reach Baghdad, we were in shambles. We had not showered in well over a month and our chemical protective suits were covered in a mixture of filth and dried blood. We were told to strip and place our suits in pits to be burned immediately. My unit stood there in a walled-in compound in Baghdad, naked, sores dotted all over our bodies, feet peeling, watching our suits burn. Later, they lined us up naked and washed us off with pressure washers. Yes, a woman is as capable as a man of pulling a trigger. But the goal of our nation's military is to fight and win wars. Before taking the drastic step of allowing women to serve in combat units, has the government considered whether introducing women into the above-described situation would have made my unit more or less combat effective? Societal norms are a reality, and their maintenance is important to most members of a society. It is humiliating enough to relieve yourself in front of your male comrades; one can only imagine the humiliation of being forced to relieve yourself in front of the opposite sex. Despite the professionalism of Marines, it would be distracting and potentially traumatizing to be forced to be naked in front of the opposite sex, particularly when your body has been ravaged by lack of hygiene. In the reverse, it would be painful to witness a member of the opposite sex in such an uncomfortable and awkward position. Combat effectiveness is based in large part on unit cohesion. The relationships among members of a unit can be irreparably harmed by forcing them to violate societal norms. Mr. Smith served as a Marine infantryman in Iraq. He is now an attorney.

I thought a number of aviators got command of ships. Is that wrong?

This is the best post you've ever made.

Never... EVER... say "sleep apnea" around the FAA. I'm not an expert,... and don't know why this 2-word phrase is such a big deal. I just know people that did say it... and they don't fly any more.

I believe your service time is pro-rated, so he should get full credit for his time. Any one else want to chime in to confirm this?

Seems to be a common occurrence. .

Good info, Moose. I'm sure,... like with anything of great value,... plenty of folks will try to act fraudulently. Thanks for the perspective.

In essence... what Prozac wrote. While I appreciated the OP pointing out to me that this wasn't an archaeological dig, it was obvious to me he didn't know the significance of the plates. You can google these names if you care. BL: they like airplanes, and have money.

On leave... at an airshow.

Yeah... I guess finding 130 Spitfire data plates wouldn't be worth much. No market for them. Just ask Kermit Weeks,... or Tom Friedkin,... or Rod Lewis.

Good point! Ha!!

I think you're prone to "conspiracy theory syndrome". The photo is legit. Possibly, it is the white turtlenecks that are giving you the impression that something pas photo shopped.

As long as they can find some data plates, it will be worth it.

The murder and sexual assault thing is pretty heinous. But what's wrong with a little lingerie fetish? I mean, we hired Spoo and Kuma anyways, and they are actually ok guys.

Shot by a friend. You are looking south. The wingtip is on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. Downtown Reno is visible, as is Reno-Stead airport just north of Reno. That's where the National Championship Air Races take place each September.

I had to reduce the file size, so it's grainy.... but here's a shot of San Fran.

About 22:1 clean. The equates to 37nm per 10,000'. With the gear down, it drops to 31nm per 10,000'.

Does it matter to you? These are the type of threads I get some real good info on. It's called "learning".

We had a U-2 pilot who was arrested for paragliding over some state park, and violating some rule. I don't remember the details, as my memory is failing due to my extreme age. (Ram?... Ensure already???) Bottom line: he took it to trial, and the lawyer grilled the park ranger on her training in recognizing the altitude of aircraft over the park. Case dismissed.

Cool. I missed getting to interview in the C-model by 2 years. HiFlyr: that must have been pretty cool, flying a U-2 with a thrust-to-weight ratio of better than 1:1.

Senior O-4's & O-5 selects: case-by-case, but possible. Call. Staff job pilots: you have 3 sorties to knock off the rust.

No. Never have. Never will. As for inter-service transfers to the U-2, yes,... we've had a few in the last 6 months.

On the contrary. Mr Armstrong was simply an introvert.

So, do any of you have "the list" of approved green flight boots? Is Converse ok? Tactical Research? And do any of you have recent experience and preferences with any of the approved flight boots that haven't been discussed on this thread?