contraildash

Ask and ye shall receive!

I'm 6' and wear an XL PT shirt. I'm trying to figure out why the shirt goes almost to my knees. In fact, if I tuck it in all the way it hangs out the bottom of my shorts in places. Not to mention those shorts are XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXL so I'm not rocking the 70's NBA look. Hell, I could take a safety pin, pin it off and make a wrestling suit. Why do I need PT shorts if my shirt can do that?

I used a Leica for high altitude, wide area photography! That camera, the RC-30, rocked! So I'm guessing that their point and shoots aren't all that bad.

You aren't kidding! Never get between two folks in the continental breakfast line who's combined weight can be defined in terms of 'tons.'

So typically you can get half decent beer at the class six for fairly cheap. Well I didn't feel like driving to base to get beer last night so I hit up the local German beverage store for the first time. I expected to pay an arm and a leg since the Euro is kicking our butt. Not so! Talk about heaven! I picked up two cases of beer for €30 or around $45. So whats the big deal? Well thats 40 1/2 liter bottles of fresh beer...so just over $1 a beer. Sorry class six...ya got nothing on this shit!

I just want my car to get here from the states... Gearpig: which G-shock is that, I've been looking for a new one. I got my wife a boxer puppy so I can pretty much get whatever the hell I want for xmas this year. I just pre-ordered a RC V-22...I look forward to blowing a hyd line and crashing in my backyard. Good times! My next self-gift is going to be a wireless surround sound set up for the living room.

I have a Nikkor AF-S 18-55 DX I use for my traveling. I like it, works fine for what I do with it. I'll have to do some hunting on Amazon for a telephoto. Any suggestions to start with? I'm still rather new to the photography thing, so I'm open for suggestions. Here's some pics I took before I left the states, the sun was great and these statics were easy to shoot.

most guys/gals I know here in bags hide them under jackets or put em in a pocket till needed. The people i just bought a dog from are enlisted and were telling me how out of hand the RB wearing rules here are getting in thier side of things. For example, as I previously posted about RBs with PT gear, this E4 was telling me that now the rule is unless you have the full jumpsuit on you have to have a RB. Despite the fact that the shorts and shirt are more reflective than the pants/jacket are....basically everyone wears them all the time because certain individuals make a huge deal out of it if you don't. It's not that they want to, just the asspain is too much to deal with.

I got a nikon d60 over the summer and despite being an entry level DSLR it is great for my needs. I will throw a few examples of planes I've shot up on here in the morning. Just wish I could get a half decent zoom/telephoto lens now....

They make good roommates:

It's going to come down to the guy/gals that sacrifice their own 'career' to take a stand on changing things. I'll be the first to admit that, as of right now, I need this job. It's a disgusting catch-22. I want to change it, but changing it means I'll probably not be in for very long, but I need the job and hell I just got here. I just need to win the powerball so I can say f-it, I've got a few mil to live off of comfortably, let's rock the mother-f'ing boat and start changing shit. Oh passed over for captain...shucks...I'll just go be a ski-bum and enjoy my millions. I'd even start a 'retirement fund' for anyone else who wants to join in the quest. Now I just need to win the powerball....

Awesome post. Did you go that route or just familiar with the process? I'll second the quality of life statement. With the exception of TPS, I saw my pops all the time. Was at our soccer/hockey games, scouts, ect. When we owned a boat, seemed like every weekend we were at some lake water skiing. It was great as a kid, and the locations are awesome too. Cape Cod, LA, Corpus Christi, Houston, were all great. E-City was my least favorite, but I was in college and only visited there.

Maybe that wife running around base with a RB is married to said shoe clerk and is testing this up-coming EPR/OPR bullet for enhancing safety.

For sale here

I need to start taking pictures of what I see on a daily basis. I could be wrong but if you are wearing the official AF PT jumpsuit/coleman tent, you don't have to wear a RB correct? I ask because I saw a bunch of dudes running around in full PT gear, with RBs. Time of day: 1330.

...and this is why I don't piss anyone off (well I try my hardest) and on that note, some folks here have silly ridiculous internet skills. I'm still trying to get past the reading and writing thing...

Ouch that sucks for the RAF. The US Coast Guard is a larger armed force... Those guys are stretched super thin as it is (who isn't) but cutting 1/4 of the force is just nuts!!! Sorry mates...good luck.

What's even more awesome is how the German recycling/trash guy mentioed him at our base intro brief the other day...

We moved every four years when I was growing up. They got much shorter after my pops went to USNTPS, Air War College, was CO of an air station, and held staff jobs. So I would say up to him making O-5, it was every four years. After that, it depended on the assignment but there was never a 4 year gig again. As far as the time in service waivers, I'm not sure. I'm also curious though on how flexible they are with the age limit and also the 13 years of service towards retirement requirement. You may solve the TIS issue, but run into two others. I'll ask around.

I guess I should have searched "hardcore crazy" instead of "soccer chicks cat fight".... Can't blame me for a double post though, the thread wasn't appropriately visible:

Enjoy

HU&W nailed it..essentially it's a use it or lose it kind of thing. For me, I'm getting an OHA of €1196. But our rent is €1200. Hell I'll pay the extra €4 a month for a nice free standing house with a yard, in K-Town. Monthly utility allowance is where you make your money, don't waste energy and you'll make bank. Now, if you are thinking, "I'll just have the land lord include utilities in the rent and bank the €615/461!" be forewarned that housing is on top of this game (I was warned like ten times in my initial meeting). They'll cut off your utilities allowance apparently. Don' forget all the other allowances and such for being overseas, moving, ect, ect. If you are smart, you can come out pretty well. If you don't go through AHRN, expect housing to be an epic pain in the ass about it. Heaven forbid you make them do some work and go inspect another house. Expect the 20 questions game about why you didn't use AHRN. Expect to get shit about having to use a realty agency to find a place, never mind the fact that AHRN listing suck currently. There are no exceptions to the rule, no waivers, no helping a dude and his wife out. What is really retarded about the whole thing is the way the calculate how much a place is 'worth' and thus how much of your cap they will give you. It's 90% based off square meters of a place. For example, a 100 sq meter house is no more valuable than a 100 sq meter apartment. They do take into account garages, yards, ect, but it's only the difference of a few cent's per sq meter. It's absurd and a huge ass pain as I'm finding out. So my suggestion as far as looking for a place, in order of least ass pain: 1. Find someone who's moving out, since their place will already be inspected, ect. 2. Go through AHRN if you can, pickings can be slim, and it's very cutthroat come summertime, but less pain with housing. 3. Use a realty agency, aka immobilien, yes you have to pay a user fee, but they do find nice places quick. See my warning on housing's opinion of this route.

Are these guys legit? US Standard Issue

Spouting the company sales pitch... Not sure how "training and a limited operational capability" equates into proven COIN capability. Sensor package, avionics, armor, weight, weight, weight, more weight... The AT-6B is beginning to sound more like a F-16, albeit with a prop and without the ability to air-to-air refuel. edit for sarcasm