pawnman

Totally agree...especially for guys like us who never actually set foot anywhere other than Qatar. I'm always tempted to tell them that when we "emigrate"... "Where are you going?" "Qatar...we're going to fly a round-trip mission from here, and land back here, and there will be no intermediate stops". Combine that with the fact that our squadron customs policies change on a daily basis and you have the makings for some real long stays at the immigration building. We'll see how the Qatari AF dudes do with customs once they start flying.

I don't know about that...but the "combat" Delica we're driving for pre-flight crew will do a decent peel-out if you side-step the clutch. The things you learn when you're deployed with a former racecar driver....

Speeding. 30 klicks in a 25. On his way to preflight a jet for a 12-hour sortie, BTW. That checks too...but I was thinking more of the shoe clerks that need the exposure...what else are they doing? Charter a bus one day a week, go pick up some extra shoes from around their offices, and make them hang out in Ops Town until the next one shows...carefully supervised by an operator, of course...we don't want them running loose in Ops Town.

So, we're coming back from a 12 our sortie yesterday...with brief/debrief and attending a Fallen Warrior ceremony right after debrief (Sorry...tangent...Fallen Warrior ceremony really put things into perspective for me. Here are two Marines who have paid the ultimate sacrifice...almost makes me feel that my own petty gripes are completely insignificant. If only more of the people on this base showed up for those things, maybe they'd have some clue as to the mission we're supporting rather than building their little desert empires.) Anyway, we're on the way back through the gate that separates CC from Ops Town. There's like 3 enlisted dudes checking IDs...awesome, we should fly right through. Except that there's a SFS Capt (well, Capt is a strong term...she looked more like a beachball in a uniform) screaming at all three of these guys. Now, I'm not an SFS guy, but I was pretty confident that checking IDs was not that complex, and these guys probably had it well in hand before she started berating them and distracting them from checking IDs. As one of my buddies put it while he was getting a ticket..."The guy who serves me dinner at the chow hall is providing more support to the war effort than you are right now." Now that your Desert Storm book is finished, maybe you can start one about how mandatory reflective belts and sock color regulations helped OEF/OIF. VSU...I've been wondering the same thing...unless maybe they're trying not to get sunburned? I have noticed that it seems actually be HOTTER in PT gear than my flightsuit, probably because in my flightsuit the sun isn't directly baking my skin like a convection oven.

Where can we buy one for RCA? It would really help with the back door of the squadron...it's like that area was BUILT to catch snowdrifts.

Hmmm..this sounds like it could be a golden opportunity for some well-placed shenanigans by the LPA.

That checks. USAA will insure your primary residence in FL, but not "investment property", i.e., a rental unit. Can't say that I blame them, they seem to be one of the few insurance companies who have figured out FL is in a hurricane-prone area. I wonder if they have a similar policy for the areas of California that are prone to wildfires?

Anyone else notice that his reply here was almost word-for-word what it was on AF.mil? Minus, of course, the "pilots are whiny bitches" comments (after all, leadership might actually READ the AF.mil one). I wonder if he's got it saved as a Word document on his desktop at work so he can just cut and paste it everytime someone bashes TIB in a public forum?

Begin? I suspect you've already been making operator's lives a living hell long before you found this forum. It's not whining, it's calling people out for not doing their jobs.

Social Activities Officer? Jesus H. Christ, it's a deployment, not a goddammed cruise!

I've never thought it was the MX dudes causing problems. At home station, their leadership and our own will get into tugs of war over how many lines we need, and at what point a line becomes a MX canx (8 hours of butt-hanging for a 1.5 to a local MOA is not unheard of). but in a deployed location it seems to be (to me, at least), Ops and MX (the guys with an actual job and hacking an actual mission) vs support weenies (finance, personnel...the kinds of people with the time on their hands to organize and attend CGOC meetings while deployed.) Just my impression, anyway. As we all know, shoes can be found in any career field...it's just that some career fields encourage shoes more than others.

Vegas sounds like she's got a good sense of humor. These emails are pretty funny, and the sarcasm is obvious...unless, of course, you have close, personal knowledge that Vegas actually believes what she is typing. I find it hard to believe anyone who uses the words "speech" and "assassin" to describe the same event is being serious.

That really brings the war home for me, at least. I knew Tom personally...my first Thanksgiving away from "home" was at Tom's house in PCola, with a whole group of young student WSOs. I remember sitting around his house, playing Wii bowling...I remember that he was an AVID golfer, and that it was rare for a day to go by when he didn't play at least 9-holes... Godspeed Tom. I'd kind of lost touch with him since graduation, so I've got no contact info for his wife...I hope she's being taken care of. Hacker, if you've got an address, if not for their home, then for the squadron where I could send her my condolences, I'd appreciate it.

I was told the reason was if you eject, the steel toe could catch something and chop off your toes. Of course, if you catch something like that in a non-steel-toed boot, I'm guessing you're going to lose your toes anyway. Also, there is NO truth to the myth that a steel toe boot will cut your toes off if you drop something heavy enough on it. Once you're to the point of bending the steel in the toe, you are talking about powdering your toe bones without a steel toe.

Yep. Around the entire perimeter of the bar at ceiling level, we have a strip of velcro...everyone that leaves the squadron has a callsign nametag up there.

Since we're on deployment questions... I'm leaving soon for my first one...any advice? Anything you wish you had known before setting foot on the rotator?

Which makes them not really shenanigans at all...

Take heed, young'uns...forcing you to buy and provide beer is illegal. You can't force people to drink, especially with the hyper-aware culter we have for alcohol-related incidents. I'm not saying you shouldn't drink...I'm just saying, you have an out to present the next time someone tells you that you "must" buy a certain number of kegs.

On the bright side for ALFAs (at least for you single dudes)...A year in Korea often ends up being closer to 10 months, and if you take a checkride before you leave, you'll still be fully qualified (just non-current) when you get back. One of our guys already has his RIP to come back, and it seems like he just left. Good news on the WSO side...I knew there was the possibility of PCSing at the two-year mark, but I was hoping to stick around. Also, Ellsworth > Abilene. Green trees, green grass, actual seasons, literally square miles of public land for hunting, fishing, camping and hiking...I'll be depressed when I get my orders back to Dyess.

Of course, she also finds out that you don't actually own your own helicopter...I'd call it even.

Between this and Biden giving away the VP bunker, I feel really bad for the secret service guys right now.

How about being able to pay minimum monthly payments until you get paid on your personal credit card, thus protecting your credit rating. Others have said they just don't pay the GTC until they get paid...a valid technique, but it will ding your credit score when BOA reports you late on your payments.

I've got a dumb "newb" question...coming up on my first deployment...that tax free, does finance know to stop withholding taxes while I'm deployed, or do I just expect to get a giant tax return next year? Or option 3, do I have to tell finance to stop withholding taxes?

Well sh!t....how about one of those pre-paid Visa cards then?