Toasty

First things first- go talk to your commander and fill him/her in on what you want to do. With his/her consent, start calling the unit to talk to someone in the position you want. Ask alot of (intelligent) questions! Do your research. Put in your (reviewed and proofread) application, follow up that they received it. 1.5 years in MWS isn't alot of time/experience, so keep that in mind. That being said, I just got accepted to a Guard unit with 2.5 years on station as a rated nav.

Haha, I've also heard this story before!

Hit severe windshear and turbulence in VFR conditions in OIF. Even at 50 flaps, throttles completely firewalled, and 7 degrees nose up, we kept descending, and recovered just under 1000 feet. Plane got put into ISO for cracked dry bays after that. Honestly thought she was going to fold up into two.

Herks are a mixed blessing, as I'm sure Herk Driver is alluding to. You fly a real airplane, with a real crew that you have to manage and lead, and you are capable of doing some really cool sh*t with tactical airlift. That being said, you have an extremely high ops tempo (3 to 4 back to back 120 day rotations can be expected in some squadrons). You'll probably never fly to the level that you are trained (expect alot of NVG airland, no formation, and very little airdrop). And despite the ops tempo, you will be hounded for the 4 months you are home to complete the same semi-annuals that the rest of the Air Force gets 6 months to complete. You'll take twice as many PFT's, checkrides, and CBTs, to keep you from coming due while deployed (god forbid). Now with THAT being said, there isn't much in the world more fun than taking a two-ship to Canada for a week of booze, low-levels, and women, which is what we do best. Its a mixed blessing.

Ironic you should say that you wore the reflective belt in blues, because...AFN has a commercial that plays constantly showing a "good little Airman" putting on his reflective belt, while wearing blues w/ tie, before going outside his office. It really makes me want to throw up.

A) That's a cop-out for the leadership's lack of ability to use common sense and veto a stupid rule. B) No one's complaining about tucking in a PT shirt. We're complaining about having to have it tucked in during PT, and requiring courtesies between ranks (when it is impossible to make that determination). I'm sorry, but if your "physical fitness training" doesn't result in your shirt becoming untucked, then you're doing some weak sauce PT. C) There are much, much bigger things to be worrying about that changing 2903 and increasing the stupidity. Reflective belts should be worn as the situation dictates- flightline and certain other traffic-way personnel. If you get hit by a truck, let the commander make a line of duty determination, and be done with it. We're all wearing the f*cking diapers for one idiot who takes a steamer.

Has anyone else heard of this happening yet? Just got word that PT shirts are now required to be tucked in at all times, including during PT (which is absolutely ridiculous!). Who makes these rules?

Would someone please forward this thread to all deployed base commanders? They obviously have no f'ing clue.

The vast majority of any running-related injuries I suffered in college can be attributed to slow formation runs. Yeah, the 6-foot runner going the same pace as our 5-foot shapely individual is PERFECTLY healthy. Less PT uniforms, less rules, more actual hard metabolic training for those who NEED it. PT only mandatory for scores 75 and below, and make it a CrossFit-mentality workout. If it doesn't hurt, you're not working hard enough. ::off soap box:: F'ing USAF PT.

Does anyone know if Dyess MX can support two airframes? Right now the MX squadron mixes their people deploying with both squadrons, how will that change if we try to do both J's and H1's?

I love Herks, and think we've got the best crews in AMC, but that being said... ...airlifters fly to all the crappy places. In my Herk experience, good deals are few and far between, even when CONUS side. ...tankers never have to worry about spending the night in Mosul (or ever even going there). ...tankers don't get shot at. ...airlifters (well, Herks..) have long ground times in 120+ degree heat with no air conditioning. Depends what you want. If you're a down-in-it kinda guy, go airlift. If you're a help-the-mission kinda guy, go tanker. I'm pretty sure they make alot more bucks on TDY's than we do too.

Those AN-12 guys will do 50 knots taxiing down the west ramp at Baghdad with inboards shut down just to save a little gas. Seriously, look both ways before crossing that street.

There are ALOT of musicians and bands in the States who would jump on the chance for a paid tour overseas to a guaranteed good audience with good pay and free publicity. The USAF does NOT need to be using its money on this bullsh*t, they should be paying born-and-raised professional (and struggling) musicians to do what they love doing. I met the guys from Hollowell in Baghdad before their show at Ali, and they were a good group. Their story is common- traveling musicians in the USA have a tough life, and getting paid good money to perform for our guys and get loads of free publicity is a great move for them. Leave the gov't paychecks to people actually hacking a mission, pay the willing civilians to do the rest. Oh, and put some young CGO's or Airmen in charge of the selection process- they know a helluva lot more about what the troops are going to enjoy watching than the 40+ O-6's.

Certain experiences, man. We had one guy refuse to do our ERO because of the "heat stress condition", even though it was under 100 and the sun was already down. Eventually got an ATOC Captain out on the ramp to clarify with the guy what hacking the mission means. Oh wow, I almost didn't say it: I totally agree with the AMD thing. I'm sure we're all just looking through toilet paper rolls compared to what they see down there, but sometimes things just don't make sense.

::cough:: ATOC ::cough:: While you're sitting in your non-air-conditioned E-model in Baghdad and its 150 on the flight deck with engines running and the loadmasters are sweating their balls off behind the plane...take your time guys...

Most common exception being the desert, where you're in the window until the last possible second, then counting down the altimeter while simultaneously strapping in the lap belt. The shoulder harness is an asspain to try and juggle while you're doing the countdown on NVG's and the harness is lost behind your seat somewhere. That being said, don't let an EN catch you. There's CONUS flying, and then there's real world.

Anyone know the typical deployment cycle and lifestyle for ALO's?

Great post Huey. Forcing active crews to participate in exercises is complete BS. I think it should be pretty clear that if you're in crew rest or alerted for a mission, you are untouchable by any/all external forces. I think AFN reflects alot of that "pat on the back" mentality in the commercial advertisements about other military folks doing their jobs. I've never seen an aircrew being featured for saving lives, flying on NVG's to low-vis fields, and working regular 16+ hour days.

Can't speak for your career field, but I'd say leave all the toiletries at home and just buy them here, so you don't have to carry them. The BX is fully stocked on soap/shampoo/razors/shaving cream/etc, and your pillows/blankets are issued to you. Bring running shoes, two pairs if you're here for 120. Chances of getting off base as a non-flyer are close to 0%, but I'd bring a pair of civvies anyway. Bring nose plugs, the TCN's shower once a decade.

This is true- the strings would be lightly attached to the pilot's arms, and whichever arm felt a tug, he would turn in that direction.

The Wing/CC at OKAS is into Crossfit, so our gym here got all new equipment for it this year. Full set of kettlebells, new pull up bars, more wall-balls, and two lifting mats for cleans and whatnot. Its great! They even have twice-weekly Crossfit classes for beginners, and the daily workouts are posted on the wall. Big fan.

I guess alot of you are missing the difference between military operations and international politics.

C'mon now, you guys are just picking fights. The "Global War on Terror" has been a scapegoat for getting as much money as you need and the political rights to bomb whomever you want for the last 8 years. It goes right along with the "Axis of Evil" mentality that creates more enemies around the world than it does friends. I totally agree with hunting down those who attack our people with violent means. But drawing lines in the sand politically only pushes the most important nations away, instead of drawing them in closer for real political dialogue and progressive actions. "My way or the highway" is not a sound political strategy.

Do you want to actually work for a living? Go slicks. The location and the mission are both way better for the nav, and although you will be away from home more, you'll also see far more of the world. Man, that's a no-brainer.

Hey- none of that. We're trying to start fires, here.