kkboris

Given that the full GI Bill (with Yellow Ribbon) can be worth upwards of $250k, I'd seriously consider sticking it out the extra 6 months.

2 tours in ABQ, left in 2011. Lived in Far NE Heights both times, public schools are the best (La Cueva HS) but still so-so. Would have sent my kids to St. Pius for HS, but elementary and middle schools were fine. Pretty easy commute to base, close to everything else (tram, hiking/biking, golf, etc). East Mountains definitely a different flavor, recommend a visit if you have time. Not a fan of Nob Hill, but have a close friend who lives there and they love it (of course, they've had one home burglary already). Friends who lived in Rio Rancho liked it, but spent a lot of time in their cars commuting (and they were going to the west side of the base; your commute to the safety center on the far east side would be worse). Weather (other than the wind in the spring) was phenomenal. Beer/food scene excellent as well. Abq is an underrated area, IMO. Some negatives, but a lot of positives as well. A bit like Tucson, without the blazing heat.

You get 36 months of tuition, so give each kid 9 months/year desired (9 months of tuition per school year for most schools). As far as the expiration date, put the date the child turns 26 to give yourself maximum flexibility. Not sure about the wife, I haven't looked into that. You can change it later through the VA. I just did the transfer, it took less than a week to get approved. The GI bill website (through VA.GOV) has a lot of info, you just have to read it carefully (and often more than once) to understand it. Great program, though. Will save me maybe 25-75k in tuition/room and board.

As far as "liking it low," that's true unless the threat dictates otherwise. We decided very early on in OEF that high was the way to go, ditto OIF (after the radar threats went away). I flew from Bagram to J-bad in Nov '01 at FL320 and felt very comfortable. I'm not sure "impressive" is the right word for the CV. Unique, innovative, maybe. Very few people in SOCOM are impressed with a machine that can't carry an ODA team with its vehicle, or a seal team with an inflated zodiac. I have a feeling that the CV-22 guys will find themselves sitting a lot of QRF alert while the chinooks do the infils/exfils and resupplies.

Typical ACC attitude about patches: Fall 2000, deploy to Jaber on JCS orders (for something that never went down, but that's another story). Deployed OG commander wants us to wear the 332 AEG patch, we reply "we'll stick with the American flag, thanks." Since we're AFSOC, and not under his command, we get away with it. Fast forward 6 months, we're back for an OSW rotation. The same OG is there, and literally hands us the AEG patch as we get off the airplane. Not "glad you're here" or "how was the trip" or "hot enough for you," but "take off that American flag." Good sense of priorities.

It wasn't 20/20 in 1991, when I went to UPT with 20/35 vision (correctable to 20/20).

"I've always been taught that a leader takes responsibility for a subordinate's mistake." Anytime any subordinate makes a mistake, his superior takes responsibility, regardless of the situation? By that logic, the flight lead for the T-Birds (see thread on wingtip strike) should be Q-3'd immediately. Blanket statements like that absolve a commander of using judgement. I don't want to work for someone who hides behind absolutes.

Cleared Hot: From the information given, how did you determine that this A/C was taking short-cuts or tolerating breaches in air discipline? Hacker: I understand the theory of responsibility, but in this case I think it may be taken a bit too far. I don't want to be in a SQ where the CC is going to Q3 me for something another crewmember failed to do, unless he is pretty sure I created a situation that led to that outcome (which we were not told is the case here). Explain to me how a C-17 pilot is supposed to ensure that a fire bottle (which he cannot see) is clear of the nose after the load says it is clear. Is he supposed to say "are you sure it's clear" every time?

I disagree with the theory that because 11-2xx says "A/C's are responsible" it's Ok for a commander to Q3 a guy because another crewmember didn't do his job. Does that mean I need to carry a copy of everyone's checklist, asking "eng, did you do x,y, and z"? Does that mean I need to go to the back of my plane while I'm doing an engine-running on-load at Konduz, to ensure that my loads have secured the HUMMVE correctly? A sentence in a reg placing all responsibility on the A/C is no substitute for commander judgement, and it appears the CC in this hypothetical decided to CYA by throwing the A/C under the bus.

It's not a rumor. An active/associate unit will open up at Cheyenne (and Col Springs) if the BRAC recommendations stand. Pope is not closing, just becoming an active/associate unit in place run by the army (Pope AAF?). All 3 active/associate units basically allow the active duty AF to use the newer guard/reserve airplanes. Elmendorf wasn't BRAC'd, but it is transitioning to C-17's, so I'm not sure there will be any assignments there in the future. Dyess for Cheyenne/C Springs, not a bad trade.

Rocker, If you've got a ".mil" e-mail, PM me with it and I'll reply from my work address.

Not necessarily your whole career, probably until you are an O-5/O-6. AFSOC is not going to want to move an experienced Talon II pilot (probably an IP, maybe an evaluator) to gunships. It is bad for the officer, and bad for the command. 1. You leave behind your expertise in low-level, airdrops, NVG landings, air refueling, etc to go to an airframe with a completely different mission. 2. You find yourself now competing for jobs/promotion with guys who have been flying the gunship for 10 years, and who know all the senior leaders in the gunship community. I'm not saying crossflow between AC's and MC's doesn't happen, but it is very rare until late in your career.

FYI, The EC-130s at D-M are not AFSOC, they are ACC. AFSOC's only EC's are the Guard guys (Commando Solo) at Harrisburg, PA. It's not easy to predict the best way to change airframes later on, but as a general rule LJ Driver was correct, AFSOC (HC-130's) to AFSOC (AC/MC-130's) would be easier. Slick C-130's would be next (since he'll already have low-level experience). If AFSOC is his ultimate goal, I think EC-130's might be the toughest way to go. But you never know, I went from EC-130's (ABCCC) to MC-130's 6 years ago. Also, Tucson is an outstanding place to be stationed, my wife and I had almost 5 great years there.

For the C-130s, the real answer isn't as simple as 3000'/6000'. For contingencies (aka combat), the min runway length for landing will be different than for takeoff, and both numbers are highly dependent on a/c weight, outside temp, and pressure altitude. If you want a really general rule, 3000' will allow a Herk to land and take off at most weights and temp/PA combos. Both numbers can get under 2000' in the right circumstances. If you want all the rules, see the 11-2C130 series regs.

My crew and I took our MC130 on an off-station trainer to North Island for a week. One day, we flew a day low-level through SoCal up to the air refueling track in western AZ. We were a little early, so we decided to fly down Lake Havasu to kill time. Three pilots on board, so I decided to watch from the ramp. Sitting on the open ramp, feet in the breeze, watching us fly down the lake at 240 indicated at 100 feet (practicing the old threat penetration). Every boat we passed either had someone waving at us or falling into the water (depending on whether they saw us coming). If it had been spring break, it could have been even better, but it was still the best 15 minutes of flying I've experienced.