afnav

The answer I received was that they would not move my dependents because I had just completed a controlled tour and had been "extended" past my date because they were going to send me on a 365. I do not have three years of retainability when I return, so I was not eligible for a follow-on assignment. Because of that, they said they would not move my dependents. They also did not give me any clue as to where I would be assigned once I returned, other than it would be at the base I came from. The prick that shoved this on me with 12 days' notice would not even answer my question as to this topic, but referred me to the MPF - who didn't know shit. This case only applies to washed-up types like me, but it tells me my loyalties have been misplaced for a very long time.

If these 'things' come to the Deid, I'm grabbing my battle rattle and heading for Kandahar.

Unless you have an inside track on information above the four-star level or in a cabinet position, I stand by my statement. Believe me, I thought the same way you do. I was crushed at the COCOM, by insiders and big AF. Even deployed, I am still reaching back and reading briefings and point papers that are giving direction from the highest levels of the military and the government. We can compare notes after the QDR and the START treaty negotiations are completed.

Kowalski was my OG when I got to Barkatraz in 2000. I didn't have much time to interact with him. T-Ray was my commander in the 96th. He was there during the big ops-mnx merger, so his schedule was full keeping up with mnx. The DO ran flying ops. We'll see how long Global Strike Command has to live. There are a lot of powerful people with a hard-on to unilaterally eliminate the US nuclear capability or eliminate it through treaty. It is definitely not a growth industry. Take my advice, don't volunteer to become an expert, even now with this renewed "emphasis".

Reason number one I'm climbing into the gear well of an RJ or Lincoln tanker for my escape from hell. FZ is the way to be. The rotator coming over reminded me of the last time I rode Greyhound. Definitely a good idea to take your expensive stuff with you, regardless of what the 70-year old flight attendants tell you on the way out the door.

He was definitely not prior enlisted. He's already ancient, and came in in '73 as an officer. I would think he would wear his wings if he had them. My guess is that he got the AAM on an Open Skies flight. This guy looks like he's primarily an academic that did some ops time (his bio stresses academic achievements more than most). He has a huge amount of time in nukes, and probably knows more about the general knowledge of nukes than any aviator. His vice will need to be a strong aviator, probably bombers, to keep him honest. The problem is that the Air Force has not grown nuclear-knowledgeable aviators in a very long time. They might make Carpenter at 8th his vice, then line up someone like Northrup at Minot to eventually get there. I knew of him when he was at El Forko Grande, but since he was Deuce, we didn't talk to those guys much. I remember back in the day they had a MMII on the roundabout pad at Barkatraz. I wonder if he'll get rid of the model airplane and put one back...

I can ######ing relate to that one, brother. The wing king said he would back me up, and then let me die as he left for his new job.

He was only a student. That's like listing a Boeing 737 because you flew on Southwest Airlines.

I'm at the CAOC. There will be huge changes by the time you get here. I can't elaborate on here. It depends on how long you'll be here as to where you will live. If it's shorter than six months, O5 and below, you will be in CC (trailers). If it's six months or longer, you will be at the BPC, assuming you are SSgt or above. I can only tell you about the CC as far as what I hear from the three people in my office that live there. The rest of us are damned and live in BPC. I've never used WiFi in CC, but if it didn't work, I doubt so many people would be there with their laptops. The signal is okay at the BPC BX, but most of the time you will not find an unused power outlet to plug your computer in. It works okay at the BPC dorms, but the bandwidth has gone down in the last couple of weeks. It could be widespread booster use, but I can't confirm it. Early in the morning or prime time, you will barely get a signal. It might get much, much worse in the next six months or so, but again, I can't elaborate on here. See if you can get a number for your section. They will be able to get you all the information you will need. If you can't, PM me and I will try to track them down.

It is true that they are increasing the bandwidth all over base. As for signal strength, I don't have any direct information about the BRA area, other than people seem to get internet at least 50 yards away from it, perhaps farther. The wing king has said he will not put WiFi in the dorms, but he changes out in a couple of months. There will be changes in a couple of months that might make access as bad as it was before, but I'm not going to talk about it here. Most of my friends use Skype. I just use MSN Live Messenger, and it works fine. Most of the people I've seen at the BPC BX were emailing or doing cam, not playing WoW. Every time I've gone to the common area at the BX, every plug was being used. If you plug in a power strip, the nazis will kill you. I'm getting 26 Mbps in my BPC dorm as I type this post. At peak periods, it can slow down, but it isn't as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago when they first put WiFi in the dorms. Since then, we have had squatters in our day rooms doing the WoW thing, and when they were there, it kicked us off webcam on a consistent basis.

The email was real. Really real. I couldn't make that shit up if I tried. The Brits in my office had a good laugh. They went and found an Army guy. He laughed, too. He probably went out and told the French. The bottom line is that Big Blue isn't just embarrassing us in front of our sister services. They are making us the international laughing stock of this part of the world.

Senior Leaders; With the close of this AEF Rotation and the start of the new…Requesting your assistance with re-iteratering the guidance on “Croc” footwear at ###. Please ensure “all” our Expeditionary Warriors are aware that the only colors authorized are: 1. Black 2. Silver 3. Gray 4. White 5. Blue 6. Brown **Note: This applies to everyone assigned to/transiting ###…US Military, Coalition, Civilian, and Contractor personnel. While AAFES sells more colorful versions…they “are not” authorized for wear on this installation…period! Let’s ensure all of our Warriors are fully aware/are in compliance. Would not want to prohibit the option to wear this type footwear (6 colors stated above) because a few “knuckleheads” wish to make a fashion statement! …Someone already used the excuse that they are “color blind”…that was the second time (first & last)...! Remember our Core Values: 1) Integrity First, 2) Service Before Self, and 3) Excellence in all we do. More than just a catchy phrase…they are our way of life. Reference (Foot wear with PT Gear): Issued desert combat boots, ABU boots and sandals with a strap are authorized year round. Sandals are only authorized in coalition compound and Blatchford-Preston Complex (BPC). "Croc" style shoes constructed with a commercial strap are authorized in the following colors: black, silver, gray, white, blue, or brown. Shower shoes and flip-flops are only authorized to wear to- and from- the "Cadillacs" (toilets/showers). No temporary stops authorized while wearing flip-flops or shower shoes; i.e. quick stops to the laundry, smoking pits, memorial plaza, pool, DEL, or BX area. Thank you in advance for your continued leadership…V/r, ###

Apparently so. The guys in the office next door took an office call the other day to the pool trying to catch those chicks doing some last-minute baking before this thing started. Have no illusions that this is the norm out here. Pretty much every night of the week, especially Friday and Saturday, 75% of the crowd is on their computers chatting or WOW'ing under the BRA, with senior NCOs in twos and threes patrolling the perimeter. These hulking 'ubermenche' are an extremely small minority. It's a far cry from the day when I deployed regularly where the mission on the weekends was to get in the pants of the opposite sex. God, I feel old.

For those of you coming out here, you'll love Right Start. "Sir, you have to move all the way down the aisle. We can't have any blank spaces." I guess they need everyone crammed together for weight and balance for the theater. "If you don't have your LES, and you come to finance with a problem, we will not help you." Okay, I'll bring my LES when I come to finance with a problem with you. I'll bring a knife, too. "If you wish to initiate anything with anyone here, you must have verbal consent. Written is better." Instant flashback to Chappelle's "Love Contract" sketch. "We need you to wear your PT gear for force protection, so we can tell you from the bad guys. The foreigners (Brits, Aussies, French) are on their own." Yeah, like terrorists have never dressed in the uniforms of the people they are attacking in this part of the world. Someone tell Sadat they do that sometimes. Oh, my bad. "You can rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, ..." Nails on a chalkboard. Lay off the Red Bull, Mikey. I read a post about the redeploying Right Start brief. It is true. It's called Right Finish, and you will not be allowed to outprocess the base without it. One week down, 51 to go.

If anyone gives a shit, there is now wireless internet hubs in all but one of the BPC dorms, the BPC mall, and a 100-yard area (conservative) around the BRA. The last BPC dorm had the equipment installed today, and should be up by the end of the month. That dorm is mine, so I don't know if the signal is strong enough to penetrate the foot-thick walls to the rooms. You are not allowed to plug in power strips into the outlets at the BPC mall, so if you have peripherals that need them, don't go there.

God, don't get me started on the 365 thing. AFPC violates so many of their own rules for them that the whole thing has become an abortion. At least the Army gives you a year to get ready for deployment, instead of three weeks. Unless you are a vol, you will get the minimum of notice. I hear you about the living conditions at the Deid, and they are probably good. That is probably the only thing going for it in my book. However, as someone whose ALO assignments have been refused THREE (3) times, posh living in a "war zone" isn't one of my priorities. I have camped out in temps from -15 to 105 in rain, shine, and snow. I have camped out under tanks, halftracks, tents, and shelter halves in the rain. The mission is what drew me to try to become an ALO. I would be more than happy to trade my Deid 365 for one in Iraq or Afghanistan right now. I did the 'static ops' thing for OPC/ONW/OSW for YEARS. A person can only wash away the "you must tuck in your t-shirt because we are in a combat zone" bullshit with near beer for so long. From the information I've read on the Deid second-hand, the place has been turned into a Limnadia camp by those who have never been anywhere near combat, and the leadership has allowed it to happen in the interests of keeping a firm control on the population. This is what happens when the mission has become secondary to "support" for the mission. On Diego at the beginning of OIF, the leadership was too busy fighting a war to let the queep to get out of control. It was only after the "Mission Accomplished" speech that the support bosses took over the mission side of the wing, but they were kept in check by the Navy and the Brits who owned the place. There is no such check to their power at the Deid. In fact, the Qataris probably laugh at the silliness we inflict on ourselves. I am hoping to God that I'm wrong about the place. I'll let you know Friday morning.

True, I'm sure there are a few creature comforts that will do a reasonable job of reducing the suck factor. However, for a washed-up old guy with five young kids at home, it will be painful. The Limnadia exercise by the SNCO mutawa will pale in comparison to what my wife and children will have to endure. It sucks, but it's my job for 2 1/2 more years. And yes, I'm sure it's better than what the Army guys have to put up with, but there is a reason I didn't join the Army.

Best TDY ever: A month at MacDill with a furnished apartment, car, and cell phone (back when they were uncommon). Worst TDY ever: I think I might start it next Thursday (365 to the Deid).

I bought a fitted and measured, thick cowhide jacket at Pop's 13 years ago, and flew with it every flight since then. Yes, I even flew with it when ACC told us we couldn't. It has as many combat hours and almost as many combat support hours as I have. I am (was) a B-52 guy, and am heavily influenced by tradition, and not that tradition that each CSAF and CMSAF tries to make up every time a new one comes in. My forebears wore leather jackets when they flew and died over Europe, and I wore mine over Baghdad during OIF. My jacket looks used, with leather wearing off in the usual places. It has a few nicks and cuts where my plane bit me. It does not look like it's brand new, like some of the jackets worn by personnel who are in a more comfortable setting that are now issued leather jackets. When I did that job, I did not get a leather jacket, but the blue Gortex jacket they gave me served very well. Every blues day during winter, I proudly wear my leather jacket with wheel cap. On my final day in the Air Force, I will rip the stiffener out of my wheel cap and crush it, and will put on my newly modified jacket with nose art, mission bombs, and old bombardier wings on it. For that, my friends, is tradition.

God, with all this going on, I think I'll drag a mattress in the CAOC and never come out. This is going to be a fun year. I'll make sure to bring some 341s with me, too.

That sounds like the old Wurtsmith tail flash. That's weird, since the WG/CC was originally out of Griffiss. It should have a Statue of Liberty picture on it.

No shit, is this coming from the WG/CC, or his band of senior NCO mutawa he has terrorizing the place? Christ, what's next?

39 days and counting before I'm boots on the ground at the Deid. Is there any sign some of this may change when the leadership changes out in July?

Here's some: - Tornado Down: Relatively hard to find, but well worth the search. It was written by Flt Lts John Peters and John Nichol, a Tornado crew shot down and captured during the Storm. I flew with JP on E-3s in the OPC/ONW days, and a finer gentleman you'll never meet. He's now a motivational speaker in the UK. - A Wing and a Prayer: Written by Harry Crosby, a navigator legend in the Bloody 100th. A great story, with vivid descriptions on how much my navigator forefathers were oppressed by the man. The experiences of the 100th were supposedly adapted into 'Twelve O'Clock High'. - Courage and Air Warfare: Absolutely vital for my masters thesis, it describes how American and British bomber crews endured the terrible missions they had to fly during WWII. 8th Air Force losses were half of the entire Army Air Corps. - On Killing: Lt Col Dave Grossman's research into the act of killing in war opened my eyes on what I went through during OIF. I used it as reference material for my masters as well.

A little off topic, but AF Times is running a story from last week on medal disparity between O's and E's. One medal in particular that caught my eye was the AFCAM. According to their figures, only 1,520 officers have been awarded the medal. With as much ordnance dropped as has been the case over the last 8+ years, I have a hard time believing that only that many aircrew have 'shot' or been 'shot at'. There was a post not long ago on this topic, but this is the first time I've seen the numbers on how many have received it. It really seems too low. My only guess is that various approving organizations have different criteria for it, just like for the campaign medals.