HuggyU2

2! That's a false "urban legend". Yes, the owner asked someone to remove their hat. Said person refused, and was asked to leave. His feelings got hurt, and he bitched to the base. The Wing CC got involved, and Chicaros got the bad rep about this.

Any of you remember PSAB around '03? There was about a 3-day period where the omelet line got so long, that they decided to shut it down. Yep: it was so popular that it should be STOPPED! Now, the billeting compound was a good drive from the main base, e.g. the flightline. Most folks rode a shuttle bus. However, higher ranking officers had cars, and as they departed the compound, they would swing by the bus stop and offer to fill any empty seats in their car with riders. Well, a couple of days after the omelet ban, the 2-star picks up a couple of enlisted guys. During the ensuing ride to the flightline, he asks "so gents,... how are things going?" Turns out the only gripe they had was the omelet ban. And they apparently bitched about it well enough that the following day, the Wing/CC was told to get the omelet line up and running again. Victory. As for these stories of E-7's and up running to some CC after getting in an argument, and the CC coming down on their officers, I've got to ask: are all the commanders that y'all work for that spineless? Honestly, I've seen a few that would do this, but they are in the extreme minority. Being a passed over guy is a nice thing: I say what I think is true and correct. Maybe that's why I'm a passed over guy.

Yep... TDY to HMN... or NZY?? Tough choice.

Although I'd favor the Guard slot, which Guard unit is it? What is their outlook for the next 5 years? BRAC? Predators? Change from Vipers to A-10C's?

"Combat Service Squadron" changed the name from "Muff's Place". They can't leave anything alone.

I can't speak for many other places, but in ACC, we wear the green flightsuits year-round when in the CONUS. I believe the Wing Commander has the authority to change this, at least for the short term.

"Mail"?

The mechanics of the implementation haven't been decided yet. For example, if you are ex-military, and your last Form 8 checkride was 4 years ago, is that the date they put on your certificate? If so, you'll get issued a certificate that is already outdated. And if that were the case, you'd need to accoplish the checkride,... although it wouldn't be an "initial CFI", so you could use a Designated Examiner for the redo. Also, they haven't figured out how to implement the provision that allows your military flight physical to be used in lieu of the Class II/III form. More to follow...

Typical gov't bureaucracy: they have to wait until the very last day,... and then not really finish the job. Looks like it's going to go tbrough,... but don't plan on getting your certificate issued before mid-January. https://www.sheppardair.com/milip2.htm

What new airframes would you suggest they switch to?

I've heard F-22 test pilots tell me they are disappointed at a number of the design features of the F-35. I am curious how many of the problems are directly attributed to the fact that there are compromises that must be made so that it will accomodate all the Services.

Anywhere with another U-2 pilot in the bar.

I read that it could also be held in the right hand, while the right hand was over the heart. That would put it up over the shoulder. HOWEVER,... I believe this is what has led to the masses believing that holding the hat over the heart is the correct posture: folks see it held up there, and assume the hat should be over the heart. They probably won't do it, but I'll be dropping this PPT off to the principals at my local high schools,... once rotorhead says it's ok.

Last week, I went to my local high school football game. During the National Anthem, about 6 kids were grab-assing, and really cutting up. I was about 10' away. I gave it a few seconds in case they decided to KIO,... then broke from my position of attention, and very loudly chewed their asses for about 5 seconds. My reaction, while you could construe as disrespectful, got their attention,... and the attention of an otherwise quiet section. Should I have waited until the end? Maybe. But the impact on these kids was much stronger. I got a number of "Thank you"s from the crowd after the Anthem. I do this anytime I see it required. The point that many folks do not know what to do is well taken. For example, many men place their hat over their heart, which is incorrect. I've announced two airshows now, and it's a "paid hobby" I'm probably going to pursue. I use my venue as an airshow announcer to remind folks what to do when the Anthem starts. Seems to work pretty well. Rotorhead, I'd like to send this briefing to my local school district, and maybe use it elsewhere. Would that be ok?

Jrobe, Good call. This patch really should be a high quality product (not like the crap my UPT class put out). FWIW, I like the idea of building on M2's vision.

Thunderbirds are GO!!

Not to mention some that have been around for 50+ years.

I still wear V-neck T-Shirts. The problem is that a few years ago, the major brands changed the "V" to make the opening smaller. So, with the new one, the white T-shirt shows prominently inside your flight suit. If you find a brand with the older, more open V, post it here. I only have 1 old one left.

XL, Base housing had a fire about 2 months ago that supposedly destroyed a number of homes. That's all I know there. I see a lot of civilians in David Grant Hospital, but don't know how easy a nursing position is. However, realize that there are a number of good civilian hospitals around. UC Davis Medical Center is right off highway 50 in Sacramento, and about 45 minutes from Travis: very top notch. If you're going to be deployed a bunch, look at some of the older homes in Sacramento: your wife will be close to work at least. Your fellow 21 AS pilots should be able to point you in the right direction.

You might be wasting your time: Mike at Sheppard Air already IS talking to the belly buttons on both the testing side, and the certification side of the FAA. He posts updates as he gets them. I occasionally speak to the certification side, and there's really no other information to provide. The FAA will figure out how they are going to run the testing, and they will let us all know between now and 10 Nov.

As someone who got out, did the airlines, and came back, why did I do it?? Because I missed it. In July '01, I decided I had to get back to the people, the airplanes, and the mission. The airlines wasn't doing it for me. So I called my old U-2 squadron and said "please". They said "ok". My timing worked out: I was near the front of the line when 9/11 hit. We've got another guy who was on his airliner and saw one of the jets hit the WTC on 9/11. He had Captain's seniority, but that didn't matter. He wanted to take the fight to the enemy. He went to a USAF assignment, and 4 years later, we got him in the U-2. He's still intense, and intent on ensuring his actions cause the destruction of the enemy. There are quite a few guys I fly with at Beale that got back into the military. And they stay here because they like the assignment, the mission, the people, the jet.

Actually, you had 5 U-2 guys between 1999-2004

May have changed, but as of a few weeks ago, there were only 2 jets there, and they were there for the MX folks. However, there are some late model T-38A's you can go see near base ops...

Maybe the fact we can't even wear our Service's own uniform correctly validates the fact we should be "practicing" until we can figure it out.

The older I get, the less likely I will ever abort a takeoff once I'm rolling at even a moderate speed. It seems nothing good ever comes from an abort. The designers made aircraft good flyers,... not good aborters. I'll get airborne, figure it out, and land when I'm ready.