MD

You're correct, many nav-rated guys become ALOs from any number of backgrounds (Nav, WSO, etc). The ones that are the FAC-As are only NFOs in the USMC/USN F/A-18D/F VMFA(AW)/VFA units, respectively. They used to do it in the F-14 VF units, but they're obviously all out to pasture now. Still a GFAC to me....

I took him to be referring to FAC(A), which is where I posted the difference between AF and USN. On the ALO side, I knew a good number of them who were Nav-rated guys from various backgrounds, just like your example.

The Phoenix area and Luke are trying to do what they can to keep Luke viable, since Luke has been hit by severe encroachment in the past decade. Sucks that a base with its history is potentially on the brink of going either direction.

Related: Why did the AF stop assigning pilots to the joint VAQ squadrons at Whidbey? Just EWOs/ECMOs now (and has been for a few years).

They say Eglin has noise complaint and encroachment issues..........Luke's lucky to avoid BRAC.

Time to pull the E-models out of the boneyard, I suppose. And maybe the 111s, green 75-77 model A-10s, a few squadrons of F-4s, and the 130Es for that matter too....

AF Navs don't. NFOs in the F/A-18D community can when they perform their FAC/TAC-A duties at the VMFA(AW) units. Again, just the difference in how the services view and utilize their respective "backseater" personnel.

Their problem, IMHO, is they've gotten to thinking they're the only game in town in this business; and that's been reflected by what you describe above.

The AF has never given Nav's and associated fields (WSO, EWO, etc) the credit they're due. The USN/USMC on the other hand, treat their Naval Flight Officers as equal crewmembers, with many NFOs having operational command opportunities that AF Nav-rated officers wouldn't have, or very few would have. Why the difference in culture? Someone with more in-depth knowledge than me would have to answer that one.

Even the A-10 likely wouldn't be operated from dirt/austere fields like it was touted to be at the beginning, and even operated as from the Bicycle Lake AAF at Ft Irwin. With all it's fancy upgrades, I doubt it'd ever be seen doing this.....granted, a holdover from the Cold War as you mention. Only time overseas I saw Harriers operating in a VSTOL mode was during their FCF flights or for currency; since they were operating out of the main airfields, not some FOB; and likely wouldn't.

Wow...that's interesting. Talking to the guys behind the counters at the stores, rumor is that any upcoming gun control measures or attacks against the 2nd Amendment will begin with pistols, hence the run on ammo purchases for those. Only remaining on the shelves were some .44 JHP, and some Cor bon of the same caliber. Most of the 9mm, .357 (SIG and magnum) .40 and .45 were long gone off the shelves; and they didn't know when they'd be getting replacement stock in.

On a separate note, today I went to go buy some ammo to go target shooting in the local desert area with. Simple stuff (.38 special) for a Smith & Wesson model 15. Wal Mart, as well as both a gun store and a Sportsman's store were damn near slim pickings on any pistol ammo, and a good amount of rifle ammo. The assistants working the counter at the Sportsman's and the gun shop both stated that ammo stocks have been bought up quick post Obama being elected, as well as (at the gun shop) many of the AR-15s and variant he had in stock. Even said that the online ammo distributors have been running low as well. That was a surprising event for me. Anyone have similar stories from their neck of the woods?

I reccomend the BDU pants instead of the blues pants.

I thought he played the part of the O-6 in BAT-21 pretty good.

Wasn't that number even reduced fairly recently?

Not entirely true. During the Vietnam War, 19 May 1972, the USN destroyer USS Higbee (DD-806) was attacked by North Viet MiG-17s during the battle of Dong Hoi and was hit by 250lb bombs on it's stern, destroying its aft 5-inch mount and wounding 4 sailors.

More F-22/F-35? How bout we concentrate first on getting a KC-X. Maybe getting that right might set a good precedent. Oh, and a CSAR-X wouldn't be bad either.

Breaks of the game, IMO. You live that life, you roll the dice.....you may win hands, but at some point the house odds will catch up.

Thats pretty shitty news....

IMO, just playing into the pirates' hands; proving their system indeed works, and encouraging more of it.

lol....STS

Amen, my brother...preach on! On that note, I just dropped my resignation package for the ANG in order to transfer to the AFRC. Pending any hiccups, the next RQWC class at Rucker is apparently in June/July timeframe. Be nice to get going on this. To tag onto what you were saying, in addition to me, there were (IIRC) 4 other guys hired; one an Army CW-2/UH-60 guy, and the other 3 Army O-2/O-3 UH-60 or OH-58 guys. So pretty lucky with my lack of applicable background to have been accepted (helo time that is....have a background in CSAR from the Hog). I suppose it did help to have some fellow Customs pilots from my air branch flying with the unit also. On the CG C-130 thing...interesting thing: when we need airlift for outsize items at CBP, the CG C-130s usually do it, since they're part of DHS just as we are. Oddly, the CG usually sends a J-model, since apparently the J's are used for airlift but not just yet for patrol as the H models are. This info is about a year old, so it may have changed. On the CG H-models, do the pilots train at Little Rock? And do thy carry Nav's? If so, are the Nav's Naval Flight Officer's (or CG equivilent), or are they enlisted types in the same way the Marine Air Navigators are on USMC C-130s?

Sidenote: Don't want to call it Williams.......management there is adamant about the new Phoenix-Mesa Gateway name for the airport that gets rid of the whole Willie heritage once and for all..... clowns.

Though I fully agree with your rant, we as a nation have effectively screwed ourselves in this endeavor. Even illegal aliens coming across the mexican border have damn near just as many rights, if not seemingly more, than our own US citzens. That's BS I have to put up with in my job daily. The problem with Guantanamo was there was no end state. What was suppose to happen with the guys there? A perpetual state of limbo? Something had to be done with them one way or another....after so many years, their intelligence value declines due to no recency of experience, so to speak. So far as the precedent set, look at Jose Padilla. Enemy combatant held in a U.S Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. for years with no status, no contact to lawyers, no charges, nothing. Not a good precedent to set at all. Am in no means saying we should baby prisoners, but we need to do something with them...one way or the other.

Translation: You won't need it in UAVs?