BQZip01

PFT measures your medical FITNESS, not your capabilities. A fit woman should not meet the standards of a male and vice versa... BUT But your PFT should not measure your capability to do your job. If anyone (male or female) cannot do the job they are assigned/volunteered for, then they need to work harder at it or find a new job! You may be able to max the PT test, but if you cannot lift a zodiac with your teammates or haul one of them 1.5 miles on your back, then you don't need to be a SEAL. I will be honest, I don't really care about gender (or even homosexuality). I care whether you can do your job.

FinanceGuy Excellent help. Thanks for not being one of "them" and saying "It's in the regs and those guys should know it already."

That depends on what your mission is. I know for a fact that "downrange", maintainers will put off needed maintenance to get a combat sortie ready to go. They will cannibalize parts and do other things, but those tactical fixes come at a strategic price. Maintenance is worried about "what happens if we have to go to war tomorrow with everything we've got?" That 100% miscap rate in January could translate into 50% in February & March if they are using the aforementioned techniques to generate sorties. There may be a valid reason to do so, but it needs to be considered at the Wing level (or higher). If you let maintenance have the jets and do the proper maintenance on it, they will tend to provide you with a better airframe in the long run. Yes, "that jet flew yesterday" and was fine, but it needs repairs. Let the maintenance guys do their jobs.

2

I think it's a piss-poor video relying completely on exaggerated stereotypes (idiot flyer + maintenance blaming everything on something else). While some of the points are certainly true, anyone who has flown a few years know that the guys on the line are generally doing the best they can, but are also not being given enough support to get the job done properly. Add to the fact that we have aircraft that are, on average 10 years OLDER than the people that maintain them, we are going to need better planes. Our Air Force is a testament to "penny wise, pound foolish". I'll work from what I know: The B-52's engines could use an upgrade to make them VASTLY more fuel efficient, drastically increasing range and capability, and saving millions of dollars. We won't invest the money this year (or any other year) because it would cost too much up front. Hell, we could do some modifications to the C-17 and create an unarmed bomb truck and get a replacement PDQ. However, we won't do that for any of a number of political reasons...so to save money, let's fire a few maintainers and aviators. That way we have more money for spare parts! ...what do you mean we don't have enough people to fly and maintain the jets?

That's because the USMC explicitly prohibits them!!!

ALWAYS know your surroundings...especially if they are important... Rainman, just for you. Here you go 2...and a real Texan certainly wouldn't have a string holding it on and wearing fringe with it...

1. Outstanding performance. Well done. I particularly liked the mix of rifles, brass band, & trumpeter bugle choir. Excellent dynamics and clear musical ability. Again I'm VERY impressed. 2. Not THE best I've seen as far as military band and/or rifle performance goes, BUT was pretty dammed good considering all they had to go by was peripheral vision. There were a few spots in there where the lines started to waver (sometimes by as much as 3-6 feet). The countermarch by the band seemed a little lackadaisical and could have used a little more power. 3. Better than USMC's silent drill team, I don't think so. It is FAR more difficult to march and stay in step with almost no sound at all than with clicking heels or a drum beat. That said, they were COMPLETELY in rhythm and did an excellent job not rushing things. 4. These guys<USMC's silent drill team<FDT 5. These guys<<<Fightin' Texas Aggie Band I offer the following video links as evidence (judge for yourself): (note the drum major standing in the middle of the entire maneuver) (group of all-freshman A&M cadets [new personnel each year] that has won the national championship 6 years in a row) [yes, I know I've been drinking the maroon kool aid, but I also think these guys are better...and the maroon stuff tastes much better than the USAF blue kool aide]

The idea that "Heavy aircraft shouldn't perform demonstrations" is laughable. We fly low-level and these kinds of maneuvers all the time. 2 demo crashes in 16 years is an amazing safety record; even the much-lauded T-Birds can't beat that average. From this article (from this paper only & without any knowledge of the SIB's findings), it sounds like the guy had little/no oversight. He was using modified checklists without any authorization. The lesson I take from this would be to have proper oversight of your personnel. Do random checks on aircraft for proper publications. Review entire sorties from beginning to end. If you are going to have a demo team, they need to CONSTANTLY be reviewed for competency and that their routines are safely within the margin of error and within the flight envelope of the aircraft in question. Their should be high-level reviews of ALL routines; any deviations from the plan/outside of the -1 parameters should have to be signed off by a squadron commander/Stan Eval. Your thoughts?

To Lt Riggan

Great, like we need ANOTHER plane for the FAA to "track"... http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-3h_Flq9Ac07utz5BP3o8d3vCLQ?docId=a62a5815d6954f51bf04174db9309c1b

2!!!! Well, there are 3 guys who aren't doing anything and one is only making altitude calls. There were also several B-52 crews that died due to exposure. Making a mayday call if you aren't doing anything else seems apropos, especially in a remote area with bad weather. just sayin'

2!

Link to said video?

Thanks abmwaldo

Out of all the gifts I've been given related to aviation, I always thought the watch I got from my folks and the knife "from" my wife were the best. The watch is a Casio Pathfinder that includes an altimeter and compass (was quite useful in SERE and when we had pressurization problems in the B-52). The knife is a benchmade switchblade (these are not illegal for military personnel, but they are illegal for civilians to purchase...might need help from a military neighbor for this gift); it has been EXTREMELY useful no matter where I am in my career. If you are looking for stocking stuffers, I'd recommend a gerber multitool. Models are nice, but after 6 moves in 7 years, mine are also pretty beat up. Save those kinds of things for retirement gifts, IMHO. If you are going to get a truck and your hubby is in the F-15/going to the F-15, why not get a Ford F-150 and remove the last zero...making it a Ford F-15? (not an original idea, but it's still humorous...)

Short version: set yourself up. AFPC regularly puts out short-notice requests for 365s & OIF/OEF billets. Let your commander know and keep your eyes peeled for any requests that pique your curiosity. It also doesn't hurt to make friends with your UDM and make sure your mobility folder is 100% ready to go. If you want to just get out there and do something, I know for a FACT they are always looking for pilots to pull scheduling duties at many undisclosed locations; there are always Exec jobs out there as well. It isn't "war", but you are contributing a little more directly to the war than back home within America's Educational Toy Company.

2

Not a marine, but the emotion is still the same: semper fidelis, my brother-in-arms

Thoughts and prayers. Let's pray the pilot is ok.

I could be wrong (it's happened about once a decade...), but I'm pretty sure we refueled from a reserve 56 tail number. Those new engines on the 135s are significantly newer than ours (by a "mere" 30 years). That hot, dry air in the desert is a pain for the crews (I did 2 tours in the kitty litter), but it's relatively good for the engines. The island deployments cause a LOT of corrosion with the salt in the air, just ask the B-2s.

The BUFFs are mostly 60/61-XXXX tail numbers, I've seen quite a few -135s with 56-58 tails, but I'll admit I'm not sure about the average -135...consider also that -135s have new engines while the B-52 still has their originals. We cannot fight wars everywhere, so it is impossible to cover EVERY contingency. We should always have enough tankers to cover our needs in any one war. (This is a general statement and does not necessarily reflect our operational capabilities)

Obviously SOMEONE missed the lawsuit notice from the AF times. Don't quote the entire article.

I've heard multiple people complaining that the testers are making up rules just to make their jobs easier; "For the situps, your hands must be flat on the tops of your shoulders." When queried why, they responded, "It just makes it easier on us to see if you are doing a situp from a distance." F*** it! If it isn't in the AFI, I'm not doing it!

Coming soon to a PRF near you. Captains competing for the bottom 10%: "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom.....and has started to dig." "His men would follow him anywhere...but only out of morbid curiosity." "I would not allow this employee to breed." "This employee is really not so much of a 'has-been', but more of a definite 'won't be'." "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap." "When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet." "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle." "This young lady has delusions of adequacy." "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them." "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot." "This employee should go far...and the sooner he starts, the better." "Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together." "A gross ignoramus - 144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus." "He certainly takes a long time to make his pointless." "He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier." "I would like to go hunting with him sometime." "He's been working with glue too much." "He would argue with a signpost." "He has a knack for making strangers immediately." "He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room." "When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell." "If you see two people talking and one looks bored...he's the other one." "A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on." "A prime candidate for natural deselection." "Donated his brain to science before he was done using it." "Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming." "Has two brains: one is lost and the other is out looking for it." "If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week." "If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change." "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the oceans." "It's hard to believe that he beat 1,000,000 other sperm to the egg." "One neuron short of a synapse." "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled." "Takes him 2 hours to watch 60 minutes." "The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead."