Clayton Bigsby

I'd think side sticks would make sliding into and out of the seats dramatically easier - no gymnastics involved. Also I believe Airbus has a full QWERTY keyboard on the A380, that slides out from the top of the footwell, and pops in right where a yoke would normally be. That way you can do the Electronic Flight Bag/Mission Computer thing with a REAL keyboard instead of a hunt-and-peck keypad, surf the internets for porn, and do some word processing through the flight.

almost as retarded as a Honda Element. If ure gonna do a Toyot SUV, go with a WhoreRunner new Chevy Camaro coming...and Dodge Challenger...yeYEAH!

All the Embraer Junga Jets have those too, I think it's called the "motorcycle yoke" or something like that. Think BAe had it on some of their products too. btw Boeing wins the award for dorkiest name for an airplane...the 747-400 LCF has been dubbed the "Dreamlifter" gay!

plus it's $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

oh f*ck yeah, she's a TI? The AF could do well to keep ones like that around, instead of bulldog dykes... "Do something amazing", don't think that's what they had in mind! [ 12. January 2007, 00:18: Message edited by: Jumper Bones ]

I live in Lakewood, and it really isn't that bad. It's worse closer to the bases. Most of the COPS episodes were filmed awhile ago, I guess Lakewood and the Pierce County Sherriff had some sort of agreement with COPS that had them filming a bunch here - before they got a clue and figured out it made their cities look bad. It isn't paradise, but it isn't nearly as bad as people say. However there are plenty of other nearby places people live that are fine - University Place, Puyallup, Graham, Orting, Bonney Lake, Gig Harbor, Steilacoom, Lacey, Olympia, etc. Traffic can be a real factor, and having to drive on I-5 to get home during rush hour straight out blows, IMO. Plenty of places to live that don't deal with that. C-21, we've had a pretty active and dramatic winter, far more than usual - usually it's rain/drizzle/mist, and less windy. However you'll love the summers - usually temps in the 70s and 80s, little humidity, sunny skies, etc. It's beautiful! It's usually nice enough to make most places not have air conditioning; however that can make those few days of 90+ or so really painful. But that only happens about 3 or 4 times all summer long. [ 09. January 2007, 09:39: Message edited by: Jumper Bones ]

Kyrgyzstan threatens to evict Air Force By Erik Holmes staff writer A diplomatic flap between the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan has escalated to the point that Kyrgyz lawmakers are threatening to evict the U.S. Air Force from Manas Air Base, the only remaining U.S. base in a central Asian country other than Afghanistan. But observers say that is unlikely to happen and wouldn’t be more than an inconvenience to the Air Force even if it did. “The risk of [the U.S.] getting kicked out … I think is fairly low,” said Olga Oliker, a senior international policy analyst at the Rand Corp., a defense research organization. “We’ve been using Manas for a while, [and] it’s certainly important. [but] it doesn’t mean we couldn’t get by without it. We could. We will find work-arounds.” The U.S. has flown refueling and airlift missions supporting Operation Enduring Freedom out of Kyrgyzstan since 2001, but the relationship between the two countries has grown increasingly strained. The most recent disagreement stems from the Dec. 6 shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver by an airman from the 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Manas. The incident is still under investigation, but the Air Force said Dec. 8 that the airman acted in self-defense after the truck driver threatened him with a knife. Kyrgyz officials have demanded access to the airman, but the U.S. State Department has agreed only to allow Kyrgyz authorities to submit questions to the airman and to observe questioning by Air Force investigators. That offer apparently was unacceptable to Kyrgyz authorities. The Kyrgyz parliament passed a resolution Dec. 15 calling for the government to review whether the U.S. should be allowed to continue operating its base in the country, the publication EurasiaNet reported. The resolution said a “list of incidents connected with the airbase [has] provided a negative perception of the U.S.” Recent incidents include a Sept. 26 collision between a KC-135R Stratotanker and a Kyrgyzstan commercial airliner, the expulsion of two U.S. diplomats in July and the Sept. 5 disappearance of Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger, who was found and quickly flown out of the country despite Kyrgyz requests for more access to her. Oliker, an expert on central Asia, said Kyrgyzstan is unlikely to expel U.S. forces in part because the U.S. pays the Kyrgyz government about $150 million per year for the right to operate the base. “They’re not going to give that up,” she said. “Kyrgyzstan isn’t terribly wealthy, and it’s kind of at a place where it needs all the help it can get.” Kyrgyzstan’s government had a 2005 budget of about $540 million, according to the CIA’s World Factbook. The more significant concern, he said, is the importance of Kyrgyzstan — which borders China — as a strategic foothold in the region. “We should look at this in a long-term perspective rather than just worrying about what we need to support Afghanistan,” he said. “What do we need to support our interests in that whole region?” https://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1...925-2441183.php

Just going in to pay for the gas was an event of itself - you have to sign like 40 identical forms, and 100% of the writing on them is in Cyrillic - you have no idea what you're signing. Plus when you get into the van, like 6 other locals all hop in too, surrounding you - feels like you're getting rolled up or something.

...Saparmurat Niyazov, the President-for-life of Turkmenistan, has died. Wonder if we'll still be able to stop in Ashgabat for overpriced gas, once the succession settles...looks like he left the lines of succession as clean-cut as Saddam did. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6198983.stm Turkmenistan's 'iron ruler' dies State TV said Nizayov's death was a "great loss" to the Turkmens Turkmenistan's authoritarian president Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled the Central Asian country for 21 years, has died aged 66, state TV has reported. Mr Niyazov, who named cities and airports after himself in a personality cult, left no designated successor. Turkmenistan, which has large gas reserves, now faces an uncertain future with rival groups and outside powers scrambling for influence, analysts say. Mr Niyazov died at 0110 local time (2010 GMT Wednesday) of a heart attack. Last month, the president publicly acknowledged he had heart disease. His funeral is set to take place on 24 December in the capital, Ashgabat. BBC correspondents quote witnesses as saying the capital has been quiet since the news broke, with many people staying at home, shocked and unsure of what may happen next. Deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been named head of the commission handling the funeral, state television said. According to Turkmen law, the president is succeeded by the head of the legislative body, the People's Assembly. But this post was held by Mr Niyazov himself. Turkmenistan has called an emergency meeting of its highest representative body for 26 December to decide on Mr Niyazov's succession, the government said. Mr Berdymukhamedov has also been named acting head of state until then, according to government sources. The cabinet of ministers and the National Security Council in Turkmenistan have held emergency sessions to discuss the situation. Uncertainty Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for power in Turkmenistan to be transferred "in the framework of the law" to ensure stability in the region. "We hope that a new leadership will act to benefit co-operation with Russia and to benefit the region as a whole," he said. The president of neighbouring Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, said he was saddened at the news of Mr Niyazov's "unfortunate" death. Mr Karzai said Mr Niyazov "played a key role in strengthening bilateral relations" between the two countries. Many in the region fear it is less the bizarre style of his rule and more the lack of political institutions that could prove to be the real legacy of Mr Niyazov, says the BBC's Natalia Antelava in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Education, healthcare and society generally are regarded as having crumbled under his rule. "President Niyazov was in effect the state and what he decreed on any subject, from politics, to culture to science, was absolute law," says Michael Hall, Central Asia project director for the International Crisis Group. A mostly Muslim nation, Turkmenistan boasts the world's fifth largest natural gas reserves as well as substantial oil resources. Cult of personality Mr Niyazov became Communist Party chief of what was then a Soviet republic in 1985 and was elected first president of independent Turkmenistan in 1991. In 1999, he was made president-for-life by the country's rubber-stamp parliament. During his reign, Mr Niyazov established a cult of personality in which he was styled as Turkmenbashi, or Leader of all Turkmens. He renamed months and days in the calendar after himself and his family, and ordered statues of himself to be erected throughout the desert nation. Cities, an airport and a meteorite were given his name. Mr Niyazov was intolerant of criticism and allowed no political opposition or free media in the nation of five million people. His laws became increasingly personal. It was forbidden to listen to car radios or smoke in public, or for young men to wear beards. An alleged assassination attempt in 2002 was used to crush his few remaining opponents. All candidates in the December 2004 parliamentary elections, at which there were no foreign observers, were his supporters. SAPARMURAT NIYAZOV Became head of Communist Party in Turkmenistan in 1985 Styled himself Turkmenbashi, Father of the Turkmen Built up a cult of personality, with cities, airports and months named after him Introduced bizarre laws, banning young men from wearing beards and listening to car radios Poverty remained rife in the energy-rich country

...and if you don't do things our way, we'll kick you out. Even though you are, by far, our biggest moneymaker. https://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1...925-2426163.php Kyrgyzstan government reconsidering U.S. presence The Associated Press BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament on Friday questioned further U.S. military presence in the country after a U.S. serviceman fatally shot a Kyrgyz civilian. Lawmakers in the former Soviet republic voted unanimously for a resolution asking the government to reconsider “the expediency” of allowing the U.S. military to maintain the Manas Air Base on Kyrgyz territory, following an incident on Dec. 6 in which a U.S. airman shot to death a Kyrgyz truck driver at the base. In an official statement released soon after the incident, the base said the serviceman fired in self-defense after the driver threatened him with a knife. Lawmakers accused officials at the base of hindering an inquiry into the incident by not allowing Kyrgyz investigators to question the airman and examine his gun. “The Kyrgyz people are seriously indignant at the fact that the American side is slow in responding to, or completely ignores, Kyrgyzstan’s requests,” the parliamentary resolution said. The resolution also called for the lifting of immunity of U.S. troops deployed in the country. Status of Forces Agreements between the U.S. and countries where U.S. military personnel are stationed grant American service members varying levels of legal immunity. In the resolution, the Kyrgyz Parliament also said the shooting “extended a list of incidents linked with the base that create a negative U.S. image among our people.” In September, a U.S. servicewoman deployed at the base vanished while shopping in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. She reappeared several days later, claiming she had been kidnapped. She was flown out of the country hours after reappearing and Kyrgyz investigators complained they could not properly complete their inquiry. Kyrgyz authorities also blame the crew of a U.S. military tanker plane for a September collision with a passenger jet that caused a fire, but no injuries, at the nation’s main airport. The U.S. air base near Bishkek supports operations in nearby Afghanistan.

Thread revival. Kyrgyz are faulting the Airman in the encounter, and demanding the US hand him over. Looks like lots and lots of fallout from the Metzger affair... https://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1...925-2411990.php Airman shot Kyrgyz man in self-defense, service says Staff reports A security forces airman at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan shot and killed a civilian truck driver on Dec. 6 because he believed the man was threatening him with a knife, an Air Force statement said. The Air Force’s explanation of the shooting comes at the same time the Kyrgyzstan government is calling for a change to an agreement that prevents U.S. servicemen at Manas from being prosecuted by Kyrgyzstan. Earlier in the week, the Kyrgyzstan Foreign Ministry sent a request to the U.S. Embassy demanding that the United States waive the immunity of the 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron airman, whom it identified as Zachary Hatfield. The incidents leading up to the shooting began when the fuel truck driver stopped at a base checkpoint at about 3 p.m. for a routine inspection of his vehicle and then went into a security tent to wait for his truck to be searched, the Air Force said. Kyrgyzstan authorities identified the driver as 42-year-old Alexander Ivanov. When the security forces airman approached the tent, Ivanov threatened him with a knife, the Air Force said. The airman drew his 9mm sidearm and fired in self defense, the Air Force said, striking Ivanov twice in the chest. A knife was later discovered at the scene. Air Force medics arrived on the scene and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Ivanov, continuing their life-saving efforts while en route to the base hospital’s emergency room, where a team of doctors tried to revive him. Ivanov was later pronounced dead. That the airman fired twice and struck Ivanov in the chest was in line with the training security forces airmen are given, the report said. If an airman’s life is threatened in a close-quarters situation, the airman is trained to fire two shots to assailant’s the upper torso to ensure the highest opportunity to stop the attacker. Security forces are taught to act immediately and instinctively, the report noted. Following standard procedures for a shooting, the airman was asked to turn in his weapon and has been placed on off-duty status. The airman remains at Manas. The Office of Special Investigations is looking into the incident, working jointly with Kyrgyz investigators, the Air Force said. Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called Thursday for U.S. troops deployed in this former Soviet republic to be stripped of diplomatic immunity. “It would be reasonable if U.S. military based in Kyrgyzstan were brought to account for their illegal actions in accordance with national law,” Bakiyev told U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, according to the president’s press office. Under an agreement between the U.S. and Kyrgyz governments, U.S. personnel deployed in Kyrgyzstan have immunity from prosecution under Kyrgyz law. About 1,000 troops are stationed at Manas. The Air Force set up the base as transit point for troops rotating in and out of Afghanistan and as a cargo and airlift hub for the region.

I lived at Edwards for a time as well (as a dependent though). I enjoyed it, it wasn't such a bad place to be. Get a 4WD truck or dirt bike, lots of desert and trails to explore... Also, if you want a quick change of climate ever, just drive up to Tehachepi. About an hour away or so.

googled this one...some japanese or asian site kinda wierd. [ 13. December 2006, 14:28: Message edited by: Jumper Bones ]

I've seen a couple pics in Aviation Week and other places, showing the canopy opened forward. Is it forward-hinging?

That or a boomer named Mike Cahill...

That has got to be THE best usage of a reflective belt I've ever seen!!!

I'd say we're flying more. I talk to friends in AD squadrons, and I fly a ton more than they do - at least one stage a month, sometimes two. Our stage length overall, however, has gone down - we do 7 to 10 day trips now instead of 14 day'ers. I've had numerous SRT busts, but usually not much more than 2 or 3 days. Good news though is that we spend a lot less time at the deid. Before, it was almost guaranteed.

My roommate, who was maintenance, had gotten ahold of a "contractor" nametape and sewed it on his DCUs...any time he wanted to get away with something, he'd throw that DCU blouse on. Pretty easy, actually.

BTW I wanted to stress I'm not b1tching about per diem rates - hopefully there's no perception that I am. They are what they are and I don't get to set them. But it does bother me if I see Finance making up the rules as they go along, and it seems that's what's happened - and as mentioned, their mistakes rarely go in your favor. And they're the first people to suck back money from your check, without warning or explanation, if they even think they've ever overpaid you on something. For many months as a young Airman I had random "Debts" listed on my LES, at random, and even if I went to Finance to ask WTF was going on, sometimes they couldn't explain it. A big deal when you're an E-2 living in the dorms, that can be a big percentage of your limited pay. Especially on top of your MGIB and other payments. [ 26. November 2006, 01:05: Message edited by: Chuck Farleston ]

The basic issue, as I see it, is the chow hall/deployed facility thing - 3.50 is used (after the first day) for places like the 'deid, manas, balad, bagram, etc that have a DFAC or chow heezy or whatever you want to call it, where you sign in upon entry and that's how the contractor gets the money for the food from the gov't. Otherwise, if you're on your own with the local economy (PK Inn, Mean Gene's, Sailor's Club, stupid-ass-rules-central Navy chowhall, CPO club, etc) where you pay for your food, then you collect FULL per diem. That's how it's worked for every TDY I've been on, until this one. I mean, if we go to the 'lik, it's 75 bucks a day every day, and there's a chow hall there too...but I gotta pay for it, and I can't always make it there. It makes sense if you're a part of a deployed AEG, like at the 'deid, and if your meals are contracted and at no cost to you personally. However, when that's not the case...especially when our finance shoe clerks need to do their homework - AMC crews are NOT a part of a BOMBER expeditionary wing, and can't eat in their free chow hall anyway! And that wing (and chowhall) doesn't exist anymore anyway!...that makie no sense. Oh well, guess I get to go argue with all the shoes on monday. Maybe I should show them pictures of the no-more-tents in Camp Justice, just to prove it's been abandoned. They'll probably say I photoshopped them. Retards. And yes *******, I have seen those that choose to schedule themselves to get the 'double ching' at the ends of months, but I am not that guy - I disagree with it too. If I'm there around the end of the month, I've most likely already been there a couple times before in the month so it really makes no difference to me. Not really sure how that became subject matter appropriate for this issue/discussion, but ******, if it makes you feel any better, I don't do that.

I recently passed through Diego, and ended up staying there a couple days. Voucher finally paid, and for each succeeding day after the first, only $3.50 was paid for per diem, instead of the usual $27.50. My only beef with this is that we were not a part of the deployed AEG at all, but rather a transient crew...in fact, Camp Justice (or whatever they were calling it) is completely shut down now, the tents torn down, and no free chow hall like you get at all the other $3.50 locations. Now Diego isn't exactly expensive, but...I was certainly paying more than $3.50 on sundries, incidentals and meals on a daily basis. So, anyway, if you're paying for meals shouldn't the per diem be the full rate? If you're not a part of the deployed AEG (that isn't deployed there anymore anyway!!!), shouldn't you get the full rate? Thanks

Funny that the TTR airfield is even being discussed in any way...I thought it wasn't a suitable subject of any discussion, despite the press going there once the F-117 was declassified. Cool to see the AF finally own up to at least some of this - some those MiGs have been circulating around the AF for some time, popping up at museums or being used as gate guards or static displays for airshows...kind of like the MiG-29s we bought from Moldova to cockblock the Iranian sale. One pops up every once in awhile. This all was also discussed in the "Dark Eagles" book. One thing though...no tech data. Yeah that'd be fun. My crew chief roots don't like that idea, one bit... [ 19. November 2006, 12:34: Message edited by: Chuck Farleston ]

Lots of people do stupid things, worthy of bashing. Do I have to know all of them to criticize in any way? Like Flav-a-flav the Major from Manas? And to the comment of "the tools are the ones looking at the internet on friday night", NOT EVERYBODY WORKS M-F 8-5. Think about that. What are you, his ROTC fraternity boyfriend or something? Personally I couldn't stop laughing after what Jenna said at the top of this page. Good stuff!

You know, in about a year, he'll be whining about all the constant deployments, how they take him away from his love life/family back home, how The Man makes him wear PT uniforms downrange and even enforces how long and what color his socks can be, and how he can't get out of this job, just BEGGING for Palace Chase or VSP. yeah, whatever.

So why is it that O's have to do what the Shirts say? If you can get your CC to back you up and agree that the requirements are retarded, can't you tell your shirt to sod off?