dmeg130

Didn't see any HWPR while there, but I highly recommend English Ales -- the brewery is in Marina, but you can get it pretty much anywhere around the Peninsula and parts of the Bay Area.

If your instrument test has bogus questions that don't apply to your airframe, talk to your group stan/eval. They're the ones who determine which questions off the MQF (and local, airframe specific questions) get tested. If they're using PEX, they may use the "random" question generator, which has the dual bonus of testing irrelevant stuff and never hitting the same question enough to develop any meaningful trend data. If not, you can tell them to leave out HI TACAN questions or NDB station passage indications as applicable. Same goes for the IRC -- there's stuff that instructors must cover, but a lot of it is at their discretion. If it sucks, tell them so, and figure out how to make it better. I personally feel that the CBT is a big cop-out. Our IRC, for instance, walked through several scenarios that might be encountered on a multi-day trip from homestation to a deployed location, with stuff like departure alternates, Jepps approaches, 1801 filing, etc. It can be a very productive, useful tool that generates discussion and real learning. Or, it can be a waste of six hours. This is one professional training course you can actually influence, so make it worthwhile.

That's why you don't read sentences by themselves. Except this one. Paragraph clearly refers to takeoff and landing. Although I've never once taken my shoulder harness off in flight and kept the seat belt fastened. But then I also don't wear my parachute or flak jacket or helmet, so whatever.

Corners, please.... First, when we say "Army", we mean the 160th, not DUSTOFF. Great Americans, noble mission...but see Bengal 15. 160th have plenty of specialized training and a boatload of hours to boot. What they don't train for is interoperability with conventional air, which would be tough to reconcile in a big shooting war. But likely still do-able. Second, You may think we're giving a motivational speech, but until you get a FLIR, they're going to pass the HH guys all of the low-illum missions. That probe also means that they don't have to go from FARP to FARP, which speeds up the overall response time dramatically, especially in a theater where you're gross-weight limited already. Third, everyone trains to (or should) the highest standard, so that everything else is easy. Should we tell Talons not to do TF because no one is looking for them? Better yet, should we get rid of the M1A1 because we're not going to fight any armor-on-armor engagements any more? Should we be training more toward an irregular environment? I think so -- not all conflicts will be irregular, but the majority probably will be ("Most likely") . Does that mean we shouldn't keep looking at the "Most dangerous" eventuality? No. What we're trying to avoid is an unexpected situation where we have to throw our hands up and hope that SOF has enough extra resources to do their own missions and cover down on CSAR too (DS'90-OAF'99). We either give SOF the mission and resources to match, or maintain the capability elsewhere. That's the crux of the CSAR-X debate/cancellation, not the relevancy of CSAR/PR across the spectrum of conflict.

There goes his Ultimate Frisbee career.

I was giving the SecDef the benefit of the doubt until this: SEC. GATES: Well, I think if you look back at the last time we had a pilot down in hostile territory it was in the Balkans. And it ended up involving several services, including the Special Forces, to rescue that pilot. First, let's talk about OIF. F-14 crew (mechanical failure) picked up by HH-60s on night 2. A-10 gets shot down, picked up by US ground troops. Sounds pretty hostile to me. Second, let's talk about the "services" involved. The JSOTF was tasked with CSAR because rescue was still on its ass from OSW/ONW commitments and unable to provide coverage. The SF contingent's contribution was "ground security" aboard the helos, although some would argue all they did was extend the time the package spent on the ground. So it's not like the Army said, "send in the SF!". And A-10s provided SANDY coverage. Although there were some kinks in the mission, all ended OK. Services involved: AF + half an ODA. What I've heard out of OSD leads me to believe that nobody on that side has an inkling of what the hell they are talking about. Perhaps if rated staff allocations weren't manned at 3%, there might be some SMEs to brief them. The path this is going right now looks like: 1) All tankers and PJs to AFSOC. 2) Army gets all helicopters. 160th gets the -60s or more -47s. Big Army gets more -60s for MEDEVAC/CASEVAC. It is POSSIBLE that their answer would be keeping AF rotary, but it'll either be HH-47s or CV-22, and it'll be in AFSOC. And by AFSOC, I mean SOCOM, not Half-SOC like '03-'05. We'll see how this plays. Norty is a SOF guy too....

First--I love the fact that there's 9 pages of CSAR-related thread anywhere on here. Second--"Too much Jack" is an oxymoron. Third--I've never heard anybody call the MH-53 (a platform designed SPECIFICALLY for CSAR) too big even though they got the crap shot out of them in Cambodia. -47,-71,-92, who gives a shit, so long as it works. Fourth--Why do we still do rescue? I'd love to punch Mr. Young right in the face if I meet him, but he's got a point. Why in the hell are we looking at spending billions of dollars on rescue helos and tankers that have no AF misison? We've lost on the order of 30 aircraft to enemy fire in the past thirty years of combat. How can we justify the cost of these forces (me) when we have no justification for our existence? If an f-22 guy was killed in combat it would be a tragedy, sure, but that's the cost of doing business. But if he bails out, it somehow justifies throwing scores of aircraft and other dudes to try to rescue him? Ours is a mission that makes no TACTICAL sense (as I've said on several occasions) but is solely about STRATEGIC objectives. We have got to get out of the alert business and start supporting the actual wars that we are prosecuting directly and indirectly. In some cases, that equals trash hauling. In others, that means doing exercises or doing MA-1 kit patterns with host nation. It currently means doing MEDEVAC in crappy environmental conditions because nobody else can. The current CSAF knows this (former one was clueless). Truly, I believe we have a much brighter future in a more 6 SOS-type existance than what we've been tasked with lately. If Army MEDEVAC could fly in zero illum, where would we be right now? Why do EUCOM and PACOM have assigned RQ forces while SOUTHCOM and AFRICOM do not? Doctrine and dogma are not so far apart. Time to move on.... Discuss.

I found the one missing variable in his equation was the Reflective Belt factor, which has increased exponentially since 2003. This is inversely proportional to any financial gain to be derived from ACP, and basically cancels out our whiny entitlement pay with loads of shoe bullshit that takes any fun out of being deployed. Analyze that, assclown, and I'll fund your research.

Several nuances within your question. 1) The best chance of using a language as a pilot is English. Everywhere. Caveat: if you ever consider doing an exchange tour outside of UK, Canada, or Australia, pick something that might apply. Same goes for attending a foreign school for IDE or an attache job. 2) Language training is usually provided for these and Fulbright/Olmstead scholar programs. Proficiency is not a requisite, DLAB is. If you commit to a language now, it could curtail your later options. 3) Think about what you're signing up for. I have two buddies who speak French; one is going to Paris, and the other is in Chad. If you take Thai, there's only so many places you can get sent. Same goes for Farsi or Urdu. If you must, pick a colonial power that avoided shitholes (eg Dutch). 4) You won't always be in the military. Being from the NW, I took Japanese in high school and college. My assignments in Colorado, Arizona and California would have made Spanish handy, but I can book rooms downtown from Yokota like a mo-fo. If you roll into some F500 company with an MBA and speak Mandarin, I'd say they'll take you. French is handy too, but see #3. 5) Maintenance is an issue. If you do an immersion now, you'll still need a refresher to get back up to standards. BL: Pick a language you like, or is spoken somewhere you like. You weren't hired by the USAF to be a linguist, so in this case, needs of the Air Force do NOT come first.

ZB-Did my master's at UofA while at DM. It depends on your program and your schedule if it's do-able. I did a mix of night and regular day classes; I usually changed out of my uniform for class, but never got anything but positive comments from students/faculty while wearing a bag despite typical college political climate. I know the MBA program there is way over tuition assistance and not amenable to mil schedule. Talk to your DO/CC and let them know you are very interested in taking advantage of the opportunity while there; most will do their best to help you out. There are no real houses "downtown", but there are many nice, older neighborhoods near UofA and Reid Park that are walking distance to the stuff around there and a quick commute to base. There are a couple other islands among the strip malls, such as the aforementioned Broadway/Craycroft area, that have cultural amenities, but not so much for walking. Town is freakishly bike-friendly, and there is an In-n-Out at El Con now. I can recommend a realtor if you like, too.

Search function works on other sites as well. From Wikipedia: PAVE is a U.S. Air Force program name relating to electronic systems. Some state that it is just a codename, rather than an acronym. Others point to the definition of PAVE in some military glossaries as "Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment" or "Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry". Just get a large, Farva...

All staffs are not created equal. Perhaps it's merely the confluence of events and people, but there are some amazingly good things going on at AFRICOM. It may all come to a jaded crashing halt in the near future, but right now, there are a lot of seriously squared-away dudes leading across the board. As a rated guy on the staff, I am regularly pinged by all directorates for SME input by people who actually seem to give a rat's ass about the output of their work. I feel fully confident walking into my O-6 boss or 2-star Director's office and saying "we need to do this" that they will back me because they know what I'm talking about. I would much rather be flying the line; however, I got a great location for a staff job. I feel I've learned a lot about the big picture way that COCOMs set themselves up to fight, rather than my squadron-level view of "why is my squadron STILL deployed?" Sorry to hear that there are so many with negative experiences, but I know that if I wasn't in the spot I'm in, there would be somebody who knows a lot less about this job trying to do it, and they'd make all the same mistakes I bitched about as a junior guy. I have the actual ability to make a difference in how stuff is employed, and how PR in particular is viewed here, so yeah, there are some good deals out there on the rated staff.

For grins in the Lear sim, we used to do dual-engine flameout on takeoff. Turned 45 degrees off runway heading, then 225 back around pulling to the stick-shaker and blowing the gear down. Could do it at about 500' with practice. Stalling the plane is almost always fatal. Landing straight ahead may be ugly, but somebody usually walks away. Know what you're going to do before you run it up. Don't quit flying the plane, even when the 'green screen' is coming.

For all you future AFRICOM-ers: SPO-hope you'll get regular billeting; Kelley Hotel not bad, but Millenium and SI Suites rock. Except I've heard rumors that incoming TDYers may be getting shacked up together in apartments, ala Khobar (for you old guys). There's a ton of people coming in right now, and not many places to put them. And we don't have any more money. Kind of sucks, but I'm sure we can find somebody at Balad who'd be willing to trade. Things to bring: 1) a laptop. Wireless is expensive as hell in the hotels (except Kelley, where it's free), but most of the bases have free wireless at the BX/bowling alley/etc. 2) A jacket. It's going to be cold as hell in about two months. Plus you'll want to go skiing. 3) An extra liver. Oktoberfest starts 20 Sep. The Stuttgart Cannstatter Volksfest starts the week after that. Then the Christmas markets. Then Springfests. 4) flight suit or ABUs. Have yet to see/hear anybody take any grief over any unifrom stuff here. Only time I've ever ever seen a reflective belt was Army PT formation running on Patch. I'd like to personally extend an invitation to anybody in town to PM me or Herk Driver; we'll do what we can to make you feel welcome (dimed you out, G). I'll also make a plug for AFRICOM: we are working our asses off, and probably will for a long time. If you want a chance to come to Europe and actually do something productive (instead of occupying space over at EUCOM), we need all the help we can get. Particularly those with tac/strat air and SOF experience, or previous joint staff experience.

At least one of the Lockheed sim instructors flies with the -130 unit in Colorado Springs. They flew a plane down to ABQ pick up guys for drill weekends. Other than Cheyenne, no ANG/Reserve -130s southwest except for Channel Islands.

Typically, one or the other would be your over-riding first choice, but there have been some exceptions. There have been a couple of PJs who have gone to OTS and then become pilots, including Dave Ruvola (NYANG), the pilot of the -60 that ditched in "Perfect Storm". Matt Shozda, who was a -53 pilot, later became a CRO and squadron commander. We've had a couple of navs who have seriously looked into becoming CROs, but none have made it to the pipeline yet. CROs are pretty new, but Special Tactics was always an option -- but both fields are very small, extremely competitive, and ridiculously demanding. Great guys. Oh, and "3"

Redstone Arsenal should be the first clue.... This is an Army-only buy. USAF has HH-60Gs. And AFSOC doesn't have -60s anymore, so -53 and CV-22 numbers are irrelevant. With the delay of the CSAR-X programme (that's for you Steve), the current HH-60s are getting some money for service-life extensions. See also: CSAR-X

I gotta go with U-Taphao. THAT place has ended more flying careers than HK... (Or Souda if you're a rescue guy)

Check out the replies to the article -- student comments sound shockingly familiar! My personal favorite is "If Doc's so hung up on things being aesthetically pleasing, why doesn't he take a bushhog to his unruly eyebrows?" FYI - pedagogy is an academic approach where students are encouraged to be messy and make mistakes rather than follow pre-established guidelines. Sounds like ol Doc was a perfect fit.

Good on the Navy -- glad to see they can shoot down something other than Iranian airliners. Suck on that, China, I mean possible future aggresors!

You've got a couple options. First, take them on the plane with you, either as carry-on (my cat meows like a mo-fo when he's in his carrier, so that was a not an option) or as checked baggage. Airline policies vary, but you usually just pay an extra fee and they pick them up at the ticketing counter and drop them off at baggage claim. If they do need the extra quarantine time and you bring them later, you could have somebody fly with them (like your mom) or send them as cargo. Again, airlines vary, but you typically drop them off at the air cargo facility and pay a much higher price. There are services that will do this for you, including out of Sea-Tac. I would absolutely recommend a direct flight if able. Temperature out of Sea-Tac won't be a problem in the summer, but ATL will, and Delta and some others don't ship any pets in some months. You can try these guys too: FlyPets Good luck. Our cat is staying at my brother-in-law's while we're in Germany. At least now you'll have palm trees to look at while you're sweating your ass off during preflight.

"Do not fire unless fired upon!" Maybe they had a broken cat before they could launch Maverick and Goose off Alert-5.

Good to see that the Sunni Triangle of the Springs includes the church I got married in and the sites of our rehearsal dinner (Phantom Canyon) and reception (Antlers) attended by my 90-year old great-grandmother. Guess we dodged a bullet. Just remember this kind of thing when your boss is demanding you do something after one of your troops gets hurt. As my former DO said in a cert board, "BS safety is our first consideration. If that was true, we'd never fly. We've got a mission to do, and sometimes people die." An experienced Stan/Eval copilot should know better. C'mon, Sue!

First, "AFSOC" CSAR-X programmers were never "SOCOM" guys, they weere -60 guys and we were all under AFSOC. Second, you're telling me that the 2 hour time difference between unfolding a -60 and putting the rotors on a -47 would account for "arriving late in theater"? This is a bs argument forwarded by Sikorsky and Lockheed and those in the community who can't publicly say they don't like the -47. And I'm pretty sure that a MAJCOM can't unilaterally rule out a potential contender for a weapon system. That's what the whole acquisitions program is for. I don't know what the best platform for CSAR is. I'm more concerned that we've planted a couple -60s and lost some great guys in the mountains because they're overloaded and underpowered. The -47 would be an expeditious fix to the problem, but it has drawbacks, sure. I wish they would just make up their minds and get the hardware in the field so we can get back to being abused and ignored by Big Blue. More on CSAR-X

Some good friends of mine are a pilot/doc couple, and have so far been very lucky with joint spouse at all of their locations. Now when all your buddies have to go see her for their physicals...let's just say she'll know who the best man really was.