Mark1

It's only the tip of the iceberg my friend. The only progress I've seen made at Cannon AFB in the last 2 years was seeing Group and Wing (to a lesser degree) leadership move on to bigger and better things, leaving room for what could only possibly be an improvement. His impact, although still severely detrimental, was kept in check and therefore lessened on a few significant occasions by the SOW/CC. I can't imagine what you are all in for with nobody above him to keep things from going completely insane. The only plus side is that he's much further removed from the daily business of the Squadrons, so he may not mettle as much. He's established dominance with the firings, now just wait for the LORs related to uniform violations to start flowing. As far as he's concerned they are, and you'd better get on board from his perspective. Ask him about it one day, he's got a prepared response for you. Your only other option is to keep exercising sound judgement, but lay low. Dontcha know, somebody who can't be trusted to dig into the uniform reg and conform, or chooses not to, can't be trusted to dig into 11-2MDSv3 and conform...its been proven. Does nobody understand that the ACTUAL problem is that you're asking people who you don't trust to distinguish between the two to operate highly complex machinery in a dynamic environment. If you truly believe that the people you have doing that can't tell the difference, THEN GET THEM OUT OF THE DAMN JET, THEY AREN'T MENTALLY COMPETENT TO OPERATE IT. F&CK F&CK F&CK. I've been counting the days until eligibility for separation. It makes me sick to my stomach that I'm even considering leaving this profession that not long ago I would have done without pay as long as my basic needs were met. He's not the only reason by a long shot, and he's merely representative of the greater issue, but his 'leadership' contributed heavily to my transition from awe that I was lucky enough to be a part of this, to wishing the days and weeks would move faster so that I can punch out for good. May god have mercy on your souls at Hurlburt. At least you've got civilization and the beach to fall back on.

We shouldn't be inflating action that legitimately deserves recognition, but isn't extraordinary, in order to rise to the level of combat medals that are being handed out like candy to people who have never seen actual combat and have never done anything to deserve a medal for combat service. We should be deflating the accomplishments that are undeserving of such recognition back to where they're intended to be. Good on this kid, but he doesn't need a Bronze Star for doing what is (or should be) expected of him seeing as he's a member of the military.

There is infrastructure on the base. The local area network is fairly robust and comparable to any college/company in the U.S. Tapping into the INTERnet is a little more complicated in the 10th poorest country in the world and has nothing to do with the base itself. I'm sure if you've got suggestions on how to deploy a country wide fiber optic backbone connecting all the major U.S. bases to the outside world effectively and cheaply, somebody would listen. Keep in mind your only option is run it north to the former Soviet republics. You'd better open it up to the local populace as well in order to make the consequences of disrupting the network too steep for the enemy to consider, or it'll be knocked offline in hour number one of operation. Yes, WWII veterans all over the world are rolling in their grave. If you've got the option to talk to your family on a daily basis and you take it, I don't have a problem with that, but to complain as if the world owes you something when it doesn't work is weak to say the least. God forbid you have to revert to relying on the mail system. Sorry, it's a pet peeve.

The pipeline to FCO route was tested on an extremely limited basis recently. What drove the decision at AFPC I have no idea. AFPC chose to disregard the historical data and as a result the units were forced to 'learn' the lesson over again that it just doesn't work. The results were not good. Whether the pipeline was closed off as a result I don't know, but as recently as about 7 months ago it was not impossible to see a FCO drop to a UNT class. It is certainly very rare regardless (i.e. far less than 1 drop per year).

Sweet Jesus, no. Dragon Spear implementation is bad enough, we don't need every AMC aircraft/crew out there strapping on guns and going to town so that they can "bring more to the fight". Gunship guys don't do night low level terrain following threat penetration airdrop for a reason. The same logic works the other way around as well. Schwartz was at one time qualified in gunships although I wouldn't classify him as an "old gunship guy". He was also qualified in the YMC-130. You don't see that every day.

Cut him some slack. While Brabus and his squadron mates were busy maintaining the last bastion of Air Force tradition at their squadron bar, and talking down to those who don't contribute for whatever reason, they forgot to pass around the old "FNGs should keep their mouths shut and ears open" adage. It probably wasn't worthy of being brought up because time spent in the vault is precious; you can't really blame him. He would probably prefer that you just say "thank you" and go on your way.

I know that most will disagree with me but in my mind the only correct option is to refuse to give into the PME "requirements" and either: -Accept that you'll retire an O-4 or be forced out as an O-3 -Punch at 10yrs and MAKE IT KNOWN that you're leaving in large part due to the inflexibility of the current illogical PME system The only other option is to get your PME done and waste your time obtaining a basket weaving degree that brings no truly applicable knowledge/experience to your job, then hope you're promoted to CSAF while having not succumbed to the Kool-Aid where you can make significant changes. Not likely. The reality is that the majority will continue along the blueprint path. They'll put their brain on the shelf for a while and get their PME/basket-weaving degree done that they know does nothing for anybody beyond getting them promoted, and your departure will hardly be noted. However, if enough good guys punch out at 4/6/10yrs and cite the ridiculous PME system as the reason, there will eventually be change. Sadly it won't be in time to benefit you, but I really do believe it serves the greater good. I hear another young Capt bitching and moaning daily around the squadron about how they've just enrolled in an online degree program that makes no sense and benefits nobody but that they see no alternative but to fall in line if they want to progress. It's the same mentality that leads to flyers being turned away from the chow hall after a long combat flight because they have the wrong size socks on..."well it makes no sense but it's not worth fighting over, I'll just go get the correct socks/reflective belt/hat/holster/PME/basket weaving degree/etc/etc.

So by your logic if I can provide at least two examples of poor healtcare or malpractice in the U.S. system then we can conclude it's worse than the British system and write it off completely? It's so easy to find horror stories ten times worse than this in the U.S. healthcare system that I'm not even going to put in the effort to hotlink one. It doesn't prove anything.

Yes, I know, there are solutions and they've been found in the few cases that have come up so far. But that completely misses the point. The real estate professionals in Portales would dispute your "butt-load of rentals" assessment, but again, not the point.

I guess I didn't get my intent across. It sounds like the 16th members are just bitching and moaning about the quality of life issues but what I'm saying is that the complaints about Clovis are largely misplaced frustration over an illogical move...because it has been shown that complaining about LEGITIMATE mission related issues is pointless and falls on deaf ears. In that, the 16th IS unique and that's why you get a "unique" amount of complaints. The 73rd is probably affected by performance issues to some (but lesser) degree, I can't speak to that very intelligently, but I doubt highly that the NSAs are significantly affected by the base location. There are too many issues other than density altitude that limit gunship training effectiveness to bother listing. Some will be worked out by implementing creative solutions, some are unavoidable. I don't really have a huge problem with the intent of the letter although it could have been done in a better manner. Regardless you can't attribute that letter to the 16th as a whole. Despite the sign off, it came from a few individuals. I'm already in Clovis. I've seen the plan to "figure it out" in the future. Believe me, it isn't pretty. If you could take a snapshot of crew position experience, qualification, and seniority 3 years ago versus what it will look like when the move is over, you wouldn't claim that we haven't experienced castration. Let alone the guys that separated, we've got guys sitting at Hurlburt that WANT to come to Clovis and can't because their dependents are EFMP and the Clovis area can't support them. Don't get me wrong, the Squadron will make it work, young and inexperienced or otherwise, but it should have never been put in this position. For the record, I don't believe you've seen me complaining about quality of life issues associated with the Clovis area here.

There are REAL problems with the city of Clovis and Cannon AFB that deserve "bitching" about. What happens when a junior enlisted guy PCSs in to Cannon and there aren't any dorm vacancies? They probably can't afford the $190,000 homes that are on the market and there is a NON-EXISTENT rental market. I'll tell you what happens. They live out of the squadron's alert facility or they pay $1400/month out of pocket to live in a hotel room. It's ALREADY happening, and the biggest surge of people has yet to come. These issues should have been solved 2 years ago when it was decided that the 16th would be moving to Cannon, but they weren't. The squadron move date should have been tailored to take place when the base was ready to accept the influx of people, not some arbitrary target day set years ago, but it wasn't. The base/area is not ready for what is here/coming and those are real, legitimate, complaints. But ultimately those seemingly significant problems are secondary issues. The moaning and complaining about the quality of life in Clovis is partly just growing pains. You'd get the same if you opened Altus II or Minot II and moved a bunch of guys from Hickam to staff the base. Clovis is not a fun place to live for certain demographics of people, but NOBODY is saying that they won't do their job because the Clovis area doesn't offer their favorite restaurant. Even if it may sound that way at times. The other portion of the complaints are misplaced frustration with the move. Unfortunately the real concerns about flying gunships out of Cannon were ignored and so now you get the seemingly self-centered complaints about quality of life take their place. Ultimately however, the source of the discontent with the move still lies with the ridiculousness of flying gunship training sorties out of Cannon no matter how it is verbally conveyed. The move is castrating a squadron that is arguably the most important platform in the entire Air Force to the guys on the ground in OEF (EKIA in direct support ground units would support that). Onlookers will say, "you need to adapt and find creative ways to operate out of Cannon, quit focusing on the negatives of the move". If those onlookers could see what the squadron is doing to make this work, they would shut their mouths. But the important question is why. Why were all these hurdles put in front of gunship operations? Leadership gave up on trying to give a coherent answer to that question a long time ago, because they realized their efforts to fabricate answers were digging holes for themselves. AFSOC wants a new western base? Fine. Put all the NSA, UAV, V-22, and future platforms there that you want. If there was a legitimate mission related, non-political reason behind moving gunships, you wouldn't be getting this resistance. It's as simple as informing the people doing the mission as to why they've been moved. The fact that they haven't been notified tells me that there isn't a reason to be given. At least none that anybody wants to hear. The squadron's focus is on hacking the mission because there are real people on the ground that count on it. Leadership's focus should be IDENTICAL...on creating an environment that best facilitates hacking the mission. This move was a departure from that, and that is why you get the resistance, not because Clovis doesn't have a McGuire's. You can say. "it's over, it's done, deal with it and move on with the business at hand", and the squadron has, but that's no reason to excuse the failure of leadership, so you continue to hear about it until it gets old.

It's not that they've tried valiantly and simply failed to deliver on the promise, it's just that the promise was always a trumped up carrot at the end of a stick that didn't exist. Of course everybody who it affects always knew the carrot didn't exist, but it was enough to give some (just some) bogus credibility to the plan among the decision makers. It's inevitable, no matter how hard the operators struggle to make it work, that it will negatively affect training/currency/competency, and I hope that the people who made this happen can carry the burden of knowing that real people downrange on the ground will suffer as a result. That reality taking a backseat to political motives makes me physically ill.

Well, I guess I need to go talk to the sky cops tomorrow and a get a clarification. Maybe there's a nuance that I'm not seeing. But if there is, it wasn't explained to me while I was having my ticket written. It was certainly represented as, "you're out after dark with no reflective belt". But I didn't ask many questions because my jaw was on the pavement the whole time.

Nope, they've already got those too. Reflective belts are required anywhere on base at KCVS after dark, regardless of what you're wearing. Uniform, civvies, it doesn't matter. Hubble better be able to keep track of you. And don't think for a second that the sky cops would use some judgment and look the other way. You're walking the dog around the block in civvies after dark with no belt? BAM, ticket. You can write me all the tickets you want gents, I'm not going to carry an emergency reflective belt in the back pocket of my jeans for the occasion that I get stuck in the BX checkout line longer than expected and come outside after dusk. Keep chipping away at common sense and morale you spineless CYA leaders. Don't worry about the fact that you've got a probable performance related gunship class A looming on the near horizon and GUARANTEED reduced training effectiveness for its crews. Don't worry about the war efforts we're currently engaged in. Just make sure that in the event that a car comes careening across 100 yards of open field into the playground I'm sitting in, and I fail to realize this and move out of the way, that the driver can't possibly fail to see me. And if the driver, after abandoning them during the 100 yard drive across the field, suddenly comes to his senses and acts on the visual of a radioactive person sitting in his hellbent path by swerving to avoid me, leadership can certainly be credited for the save. When can I sign my separation papers again?

It's been a long time since my last PCS and for some reason I thought that I wasn't eligible for dislocation allowance for my recent move so I didn't apply for it. Now post-PCS I find out that I am in fact eligible for this move. Can I apply for DLA after the fact? I'm less that a week past my report date, is it too late? Thanks.

Shack. At the beginning of this mess it was brought up around the squadron that nobody would be available for DNIF coverage if anybody scheduled to fly dropped out. It was suggested that we bring a flightsuit/boots/socks/undershirt/etc with us on Mondays to alleviate that problem. No, sorry. You've made it clear that looking "professional" once a week is more important than operational capability. I'll take the cue and leave my bag at home.

When did they start 24hr operations? It must have been very recent. Probably because there isn't enough capacity and it was impossible to get a seat during peak hours. It's great when you're only awake for 2 meals a day (and are frequently flying during at least one of them) and you can't sit down for either of them.

Shepherd started in class 06-10 at Randolph and finished up in a later class (06-11 or 12, I can't remember). RIP

My information comes from Dengler's book "Escape from Laos". There were two survivors of this and their stories cross-checked. They didn't make it out together so they couldn't have gotten their stories straight ahead of time. I have no reason to believe that any of their independent stories are untrue or exaggerated. I can't imagine that Herzog has any sources other than the publicly available first hand accounts, so the parts of the movie that differ from the real life accounts must be creations of his own mind to "improve" the drama of the story. For the portion of the escape that Dengler and Duane were alone together the only source of info is Dengler's recount of the story, and it doesn't match with the movie. I did find this video on youtube: Dengler himself in a 2000 interview. His comments contradict two of the main themes in the movie: That Dengler masterminded the whole thing, and that the other prisoners were monkey's on Dengler's back. I can't speak for "Little Dieter Needs to Fly", but it's by Herzog, and the movie was adapted from it, so I would imagine it's half truths also.

Terrible movie, and horrendously offensive to the real life characters, I'm sure. I suppose it would have been entertaining as a fictional story but as a portrayal of real life events that it insinuates it is, it's pure garbage. First off, the real life prison camp housed 7 POWs, not 6 as in the movie. Dengler was not some superhero mastermind carrying the other prisoners on his back as in the movie. The other prisoners had already escaped the camp once only to be recaptured and had the new escape plan (depicted in the movie) formulated before Dengler was even brought to the camp. During the escape the movie shows everyone abandoning Dengler to execute the plan on his own with no support. No such thing occurred and it's blatant character assassination of the other prisoners for the sake of creating a dramatic scene and making a hero out of Dengler. Then following the escape Eugene is portrayed as going insane (moreso than normal) and just wanders off into the jungle for no reason with no explanation of where he went or why. In real life he left the group to return to the 7th POW (inexplicably not portrayed) who was too sick to participate in the escape. His conscious wouldn't let him leave his friend behind and he payed for that with his life only to be portrayed as a raving lunatic in this movie. Duane was killed in real life after intentionally compromising himself to villagers in the hope of securing food for himself and Dengler...the villagers hacked him to death for his efforts. In the movie Duane is killed in a scene where he and Dengler accidentally run into a villiager, with no mention of Duane's sacrifice. Those are just a few of the many ridiculous inaccuracies. Werner Herzog took some theatrical liberties and in the process slandered everyone among the group with the exception of Dengler in order to create a heroic figure. The sad part is that the true story is BY FAR more interesting and impressive than Herzog's adaptation and he could have easily created an accurate movie with just as much impact. Worst of all, at the end of the movie there is a summary of Dengler's post-POW life with absolutely no mention of any of the other's fates, including Pisidhi who ultimately also survived, as if they didn't matter at all. The movie made me sick. And Herzog is free and clear because "any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, are unintentional." What a coincidence that he unintentionally chose the name "Pisidhi Indradat" out of the blue to star in a his movie as a fictional character. What an ass. Sadly most people will come away from the movie believing it was an accurate portrayal.

Not to mention this is supposed to be an improvement over the current situation. And for the cost, both monetary and in lives, it should be a BIG improvement. I think they fell short. The TIME article may have been biased but god the cover page was hilarious...if you have a roommate who flies the thing.

Just move to the Colorado Front Range area and be done with it. All the benefits of Utah (plus more in my opinion) without the fuss over fitting in or having someone else's belief system influence what you can and can't do in public venues.

With the exception of any post-birth checkups that I don't remember (and those records were long gone) I didn't have anything. The only times in my life I ever saw a doctor was for a yearly box checking "assembly line" sports physical (I never kept a record of that shit, a dead man could have passed). I may have written a statement explaining why I didn't have records but I don't even remember doing that, and it didn't cause any problems for me while being put through the AF system.

You're probably talking about the air commando bush hat. I think they originated in Vietnam when airmen started borrowing them from South Vietnamese troops. Eventually they became official uniform items for commando units. I don't know if that was ever changed. It could still be buried in some regulation somewhere that they are approved but I haven't seen anybody wearing them lately.

Yeah, like more reflective belts.