pawnman

Must be nice.

This thing must have been mislabeled and given to commanders on their first day.

That's the one. The enlisted shoe got his SQ/CC (services, I think) involved. Sadly enough, the OG, much as I like him personally, folded.

I can tell you I know someone personally who experienced the opposite. Not only did they NOT back down, they got their squadron commander to threaten charges for insubordination. Cost the guy his job back home, and he was essentially blacklisted from teh Deid while the current WG/CC is still there.

I think plenty of B-1 guys also think having a SOF at the Deid is a dumb idea...especially since the job is basically reduced to fielding calls from protocol every ten minutes when some DG is flying.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Harsh. Even the WSOs aren't subjected to that kind of treatment.

So I guess that master plan to move MORE people into BPC isn't going so well?

Is that the Koreans or the French?

The story says that the longest range shot (the 1.54 mile one) would have taken 2.64 seconds. Acceleration due to gravity (i.e., how fast the bullet falls) is constant regardless of whether it's fired at mach 10 or dropped straight down. So we can calculate how much drop there was: 1/2*(32ft/sec^2)*2.64^2 = 111 feet.

Can't confirm the type of aircraft, but it's also fun to listen to the AC give the copilot instruction on how to program the navigation system on the BLVD freq.

Not at all discounting his achievement, because at that range I couldn't hit five targets witha box of ammo...but he does say it took nine shots to dial in on the first guy. Apparently he found his range, though, because 5 in 28 seconds is not a trivial task. I can't even do that in Modern Warfare 2 against a bunch of cocky teenagers.

I was listening to Dennis Miller the other day...while I think it is pretty dumb, I also wonder if the principal wasn't also just trying to keep these kids from getting shivved on the playground. I have no doubt someone would have taken enough offense in a S. California school to stab someone. One wonders, will we now ban Mexican flags during 4th of July celebrations? Probably not...because Americans are, by and large, known for their tolerance, and it's unlikely they'd stab someone for having a little national pride in their home country.

They didn't give him the option for a check or paying back over six months...or even a phone call. They just took it all out of his LES in one lump sum, with no warning.

I think it should. Got it. I'll be sure to liquor up before I hit the road. Just for your benefit. At my DUI hearing, I'll be sure to quote your statistic in my defense.

Got it. If I steal one flatscreen from the squadron, I should get a stern talking to from the commander, but four flat screens is a dishonorable discharge. So how over the limit do you have to be before you think someone deserves punishment? And on a related note...isn't that why the limit IS the limit?

Just remember to get the tax free turned off when you get home. One of my buddies, despite repreated visits to finance to correct this problem (each time he was told "No, you're LES is right, don't worry about it"), just had $2500 in federal taxes taken out of one paycheck. And our finance office didn't even have the courtesy to pick up a phone or send an email before taking 90% of his paycheck.

Are you implying that there should be a difference? Over the limit is over the limit, and if you're impaired, it's still DUI even if you're only at a .01 BAC.

I'm a big believer in people not infringing on my right to, you know, live. Don't drive drunk, you won't get a DUI. Maybe instead of sleeping it off in your car, you can plan ahead and have a ride home.

Fair enough, but to fire someone for trying to help in their time off seems a bit extreme.

I always knew cats were evil.

I'm curious. Hypothetically, at what point WOULD you be OK with something stronger than forced retirement? If he had actually killed someone while DUI? Theft? Violating DADT? Insubordination? I'm just trying to establish a baseline here.

No one said that. That's the hypothetical example-setter talking to the younger guys. Further, boo-hoo. Most of us will never see even O-7 retirement pay. But it's still pretty standard, it seems. Once you hit O-6, the USAF's response to any wrongdoing is forced retirement...probably to get it out of the news as fast as possible. I'm just saying, with the emphasis the USAF puts on DUIs, maybe he deserves a little more. Whether you believe DUIs should be such a large focus is another matter. Personally, I'm all for outright crucifying anyone got with a DUI...we go out of our way to prevent them with SAFE RIDE, wingmen, taxis, etc...there's really no excuse at all for doing something with the potential to end a life, especially one other than your own. Especially since, not too long ago, we had the story on here about the pilot killed by a drunk driver.

Gotcha. Setting a strong example for the young kids in the crowd..."Work hard, and eventually the only way the USAF can punish you is force to to retire with full pay an benefits."

I think, if the Air Force wants to turn this into the big deal they claim it is, yes. He shouldn't just be allowed to retire after a DUI. We'd pull stripes off a SSgt who did this, but this 2-star will retire at a rank most of us will never see, and that's supposed to be "punishment"? This guy is going to make more on his retirement pay than I make deploying 6 month out of every 18 and that's "punishment"? And he's likely going to use his buddy-buddy connections to land a plush contracting job with a six-figure salary on top of it? This guy is not being punished, but then, why would we expect any different?