flyerpapa

In today’s world there won’t be another commentator like him. He was the epitome of wisdom. One of my favorites was his lighthearted, yet pragmatic advocacy that the remedy to depression is to lower ones expectations; i.e. if you don’t expect much, you won’t be disappointed. In an effort to sustain a little sanity, I remind myself of that several times every day. God bless him.

That's Donald Rumsfeld.

This thread is nearly 700 posts, so if any of this is a repeat, I’ll be screwed blue and tattooed. If you live in or travel to the Pacific Northwest, Bi-Mart (one hellofa name, eh?) has specials on ammo that can't be beat (sts). Also, Cabelas in Post Falls, ID (not usually known for deals) has had American Eagle 5.56 NATO for $400/1000 round case; that price may be offered at other locations. On an ancillary note, you may find this Comparison of Pocket Semi-Automatic Handguns useful, amusing or bemusing.

And, I have heard it said, "under the Rock of Ages you will find a bottle of Makers Mark".

Never, ever give an Engineer tools, whether it be man or woman.

Good Lord, I hope they shave the hair off the new model!

I did cursory Google and BaseOps search but didn't hit upon a definitive answer. Can Guard and Reserve go ENJJPT?

Dumb Assed Question: How does this MASS mumbo-jumbo play out for Guard/Reserve UPT fighter folk. Because they already have an airframe, do they have to concern their selves with it, or just ‘pass’ and off to -38’s they go?

F/B-130 !

.... and funkier. Sexy e-mails shed light on astronaut's bizarre behavior POSTED: 5:39 a.m. EST, March 7, 2007 ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- The space shuttle pilot at the center of a bizarre love triangle that now has astronaut Lisa Nowak facing attempted kidnapping charges told detectives Nowak "seemed a little disappointed" but accepting when he told her he was dating another woman, court records released Tuesday show. That conversation was in January. On February 5, Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando to confront the other woman. Police say Nowak, a mother of two, donned a wig and followed Colleen Shipman from an airport terminal to her car to confront her, then pepper sprayed her through a cracked window when Shipman wouldn't unlock the door. Police who arrested Nowak and searched her car reported finding a BB-gun, new steel mallet, knife and rubber tubing. Nowak, 43, pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping and burglary with assault and was released on bond with an ankle monitoring device. Investigation documents released late Monday and Tuesday by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office shed some light on the astronauts' relationships. They include the shuttle pilot, Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein's, conversations with detectives about the romantic relationship he had had with Nowak since 2004 and how she reacted with no emotion when he said he was dating another woman. "She seemed a little disappointed, but she seemed to be accepting of that," Oefelein told detectives, according to the documents. The documents also include an undated letter to Oefelein's mother in which Nowak wrote that she was taking steps to divorce her husband so she could be with Oefelein. "Bill is absolutely the best person I've ever known and I love him more than I knew possible," Nowak wrote. A NASA spokesman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday. Since her arrest, Nowak, has told police that her relationship with Oefelein was more than a working relationship but less than a romantic one. But Oefelein, 41, told investigators they had been romantically involved since 2004. Nowak's frantic road trip to confront Shipman -- she wore adult diapers to avoid having to stop for breaks -- may have been sparked after she uncovered steamy e-mails Shipman sent to Oefelein, including one he received during his mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in December, according to documents released Monday. The e-mails do not mention Nowak. "First urge will be to rip your clothes off," Shipman wrote to Oefelein. "But honestly, love, I want you to totally and thoroughly enjoy your hero's homecoming." In the letter to Oefelein's mother, Nowak thanked her for supporting her relationship with Oefelein, "especially since my parents are not as supportive right now." "It really means a lot to me to have another mom to turn to," Nowak wrote. She and her husband separated a few months ago after 19 years of marriage. Source: https://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/06/astronau...d.ap/index.html

And the story gets funkier... NASA fires astronaut Nowak POSTED: 5:38 p.m. EST, March 7, 2007 HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak's detail as a NASA astronaut will be terminated, effective Thursday, NASA and the U.S. Navy said Wednesday in a written statement issued jointly. Nowak, 43, is charged with attempted kidnapping for allegedly confronting her former boyfriend's new love-interest in a parking lot at Florida's Orlando International Airport on February 5. In addition to attempted kidnapping, Nowak was charged with battery and burglary of a vehicle with a weapon. She is scheduled to be arraigned March 22, but has already entered a not guilty plea. Nowak's attorney said the charges overstate her conduct. The public relations company hired by her attorney, Don Lykkebak, had no comment on Wednesday. Navy Cmdr. Bill Oefelein told investigators he and Nowak had been involved in a sexual relationship that he ended in January 2007, two months after meeting Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman. He said Nowak "appeared to take the news well." Prosecutors contend Nowak, a mother of three who is seeking a divorce from her husband, drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando -- wearing adult diapers to reduce the number of stops she needed to make -- in order to accost Shipman. At the Orlando airport, Nowak allegedly disguised herself in a trenchcoat and wig and sprayed pepper spray into Shipman's car when she refused to open the door. Police found a BB gun, a steel mallet, a 4-inch knife and rubber tubing in a bag Nowak was carrying and in her car, authorities have said. "We are not surprised nor concerned with Lisa Nowak being fired as an astronaut or whether or not she wore a diaper," said Shipman's lawyer, Kepler Funk, in a written statement. "We continue to focus our concern on Colleen Shipman as a crime victim." E-mails detail love triangle Court documents released Tuesday detail Nowak's romantic relationship with Oefelein. Oefelein told investigators he and Nowak both served on the bicycling team at NASA and had been involved in a sexual relationship for some time. He said he met Shipman in November 2006 while he was involved in pre-launch training at Kennedy Space Center. In January 2007, Oefelein said, he told Nowak he wanted to date Shipman "exclusively." In her statement, Shipman told investigators she questioned Oefelein about his relationship with Nowak after he told her he was dating someone he worked with. "I point-blank asked him. When he told me that he had this relationship and that he broke it off with her, I asked him, 'Are you sure that she's OK with this?' Because you know how these things go," Shipman said, according to the court documents. "And I said, 'Is there going to be some crazy lady showing up at my door trying to kill me?' and he said, 'No, no, no, she's not like that, she's fine with it, she's happy for me.' " Also released in court documents was a steamy e-mail sent from Shipman to Oefelein in December while he was flying a space shuttle mission, as well as an e-mail he sent to her. Prosecutors believe Nowak found the e-mails on Oefelein's computer. (Full story) Flying career Nowak, an active duty naval officer, began her detail with NASA after her selection as a member of the astronaut class of 1996. She flew one mission, STS-121, in 2006. NASA said it requested Nowak's detail be ended "because the agency lacks the administrative means to deal appropriately with the criminal charges pending against Nowak. Because Nowak is a naval officer on assignment to NASA, rather than a NASA civil servant, she is not subject to administrative action by NASA." Nowak is to get her next assignment from the U.S. Navy. "NASA's decision to terminate Nowak's detail does not reflect any position by NASA on the criminal charges pending in Florida," Wednesday's statement said. A Navy public affairs officer in Washington said Nowak has been assigned to the staff of the chief of naval air training in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is on leave, scheduled to report March 21. Source: https://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/03/07/n...owak/index.html

Source: https://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/03/02/D8NK66BO0.html Astronaut Charged With Kidnap Attempt, Not Attempted Murder ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Florida prosecutors charged an astronaut Friday with trying to kidnap a romantic rival, but they declined to file an attempted murder charge recommended by police. Lisa Nowak, 43, was formally charged almost a month after she was arrested at an Orlando Police have said the Houston mother of three had raced 900 miles in her car from Texas to Orlando on Feb. 5 to confront a woman she saw as a rival for another astronaut's affections. She donned a wig and trench coat, then sprayed a chemical into the woman's car when she wouldn't let Nowak in, police said. In addition to attempted kidnapping to intent to inflict bodily harm, state prosecutors charged Nowak on Friday with burglary with a weapon and battery. A spokesman for Nowak's attorney declined to comment because he hadn't seen the charges. Nowak is free on bond with an ankle tracking device. Nowak believed Colleen Shipman was romantically involved with Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, a pilot during space shuttle Discovery's trip to the space station last December, according to police. After the confrontation, Shipman drove to a parking lot booth for help. Nowak had been a top astronaut who flew on Discovery last summer and won praise for operating the shuttle's robotic arm. NASA relieved her of all mission duties after her arrest.

The recognition that management is not equivalent to leadership.

“A New Paradigm of Female Leadership” was the theme of the 2006 3rd Annual AcademyWomen Symposium where (then) Commander Lisa M. Nowak was the Keynote Speaker. “AcademyWomen members are the women pioneers who bravely sought military training and now represent a new and outstanding paradigm of female leadership”, so it says. https://www.academywomen.org/Events/3rd%20A...tent_101406.pdf Excuse me, but WTF! Kid, quick, bring me a bucket, I’m gona puke.

Scooter, seems like I either read or heard that the sensor operator was a civilian.... a law enforcement agent, e.g. DEA, Homeland Security, IIRC.

Davie, this tells where the RC-26B is now stationed. https://www.ngb.army.mil/ll/analysisdocs/07..._electroops.pdf The following from https://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2005/08-Au...BO-00861392.htm "The C26B/RC-26B is a militarized version of the FAA-type certificated Fairchild SA227-DC aircraft. The aircraft is powered by twin Honeywell TPE331-12UA-701G turboprop engines. The current fleet consists of 22 aircraft, 11 Air National Guard (ANG), and 11 Army National Guard (ARNG). The aircraft are currently based at 19 CONUS and 1 OCONUS locations (see below). The ARNG (C-26B) mission is to provide time-sensitive movement of personnel and cargo, as well as limited medical evacuation. The ANG (RC-26B) aircraft have been modified as counter-drug support aircraft carrying specialized electronic equipment to provide aerial surveillance and reconnaissance for law enforcement agencies. The aircraft Main Operating Base (MOB) locations are provided below. The MOB locations for the ANG are: Fresno ANGB, CA; Clarksburg, WV; Jacksonville, FL; Kirtland AFB, NM; Meridian MS; Houston, TX; Syracuse, NY; Fairchild AFB, WA; Tucson, AZ; Madison, WI; and Montgomery, AL. The MOB locations for the ARNG are: Clarksburg, WV; Wheeler AF, HI; Madison, WI; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Buckley ANGB, CO; Dobbins AFB, GA; Rickenbacker ANGB, OH; Otis ANGB, MA; Columbia, SC; Little Rock, AR; and Ft Belvoir, VA" Also, see https://www.dynamictruth.com/ubb/ultimatebb...1/t/005600.html and https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/sys...rcraft/c-26.htm

As a native East Tennessean, I can sure-the-hell tell you this guy ain't from Tennessee! Likely he is from Las Vegas or North Dakota; maybe Seattle.

It ain’t exactly military – some of it is just plain Broke Back Mountain - but check out the cool tools at this place https://www.kk.org/cooltools/ . Cruise the “Categories” in the column on the left. For the truly wild $hit, visit the “Street Use” link.

My kid is a crew cheif in a tanker unit. Being a college student he doesen't have the time to go the boomer route (have to fly 4 times a month, then some). He loves working on the flight line and takes several flying trips a year with “his” plane during school breaks. He says if school commitments won’t allow him participate as enlisted aircrew he would rather be a grease monkey on the flight line until he graduates and goes for a pilot slot, rather than be confined to a non-flying Ops job (e.g. Intel, CP). On a side note, when he flies, Momma sends baked treats for the crew. When the time comes, any “receptors” setting on the pilot selection board are sure to remember those.

It is a well research fact that sonic boons make girls miss their period and cows quit giving milk. :D

fly_guy78, Check out https://www.goang.com/careers/category.aspx and in the “Select Category” box scroll down to Officer Positions. Be aware that all vacant officer positions may not be listed on the web site. As Sleepy said, you need to check with the particular guard unit you are interested in, and it can be a political process. Depending on your particular goals and circumstances, one option is to enlist in the guard and go up through the ranks. That would give the unit an opportunity to get to know you. And, AE6400T, as a point of information, I work with a guy who, as an officer, went from the ARNG, to the Army Reserves and finally to the ANG. The last move involved an unmentionable amount of politics, but the ANG was where wanted to be, and he did all the “networking, holding hands, shaking babies, etc.” to make it happen.

C Z, the so call “efficiencies” banner that the pea counters wave is based upon aircraft cost, not necessarily pilot cost. And, there is trickle down effect. For example, a private contractor could likely pay the pilots twice the salary of the AF and it still be cheaper because they could maintain pilot currency at a lot lower cost. Personally, I am mightily opposed to privatization of the military, both officer and enlisted, on several accounts. Not the least being the availability – or lack thereof, of a trained and ready surge force when the $hit REALLY DOES hits the fan. More that several WW II and Korean vets have told me that cooks, orderlies, mechanics, admin staff, etc. made the difference in several campaigns. In the event of all out battle, contract employees, whether they be pilots, private security guards, landscapers, aircraft maintenance personal or hospitality specialists, simply can not be called upon as a combatant force. There are other reasons, too…but that is another fume.

Did the search but drew a null. Here's the deal. Boy is starting IFR and CFI has recommended Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2OO4 to get him up to speed on procedure... says it will save him flight time, i.e. $$$, in the long run. Here's the question: Does anyone have experience - good, bad or ugly - with the yoke and rudder pedals made by CH Products? (see https://www.chproducts.com/retail_flash/index.html) Before the fool goes out and poaches a neighbor’s heifer to pay for the outfit, I want to know if the hardware is worth the effort.