Fud

Technically, there is a "boob" in this picture.

cut it out yourself...with a rusty nail.

Letting everyone wear the black beret was a bad idea, since it was a "ranger" thing. As soon as it was authorized, the rangers went to wearing a tan beret. It would be like a missile guy wearing a bomber jacket, simply because they are issued one. It doesn't make any sense. It will be interesting if my kids ever want to serve, because we will fight our wars with robots, and uniforms will be khaki pants and a polo shirt. At least they don't make their people wear baseball caps...WTF?

"While the rest of the human race descended from Apes; Redheads descended from cats" -Mark Twain-

Air Force requests 100 light-attack planes By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Monday Aug 3, 2009 16:49:24 EDT Air Force pilots could be flying light-attack airplanes in less than three years. On July 27, the Air Force took an early step toward buying small airplanes able to fly attack and reconnaissance missions. The “request for information” came from Air Force Materiel Command’s Aeronautical Systems Center. According to the center, the Air Force seeks to buy 100 fixed-wing aircraft starting in 2012 and declare initial operational capability in 2013. Air Combat Command would operate and maintain the planes. Specifications call for the plane to have two seats, four positions for weapons or external fuel tanks and an onboard laser designator. The plane must also have the ability to carry a minimum of two 500-pound bombs, launch 2.75-inch rockets and fire a gun. Other standard gear requirements include an armored cockpit, night-vision compatible cockpit displays and defensive measures such as chaff and flares. The warplane should also be able to land on runways 6,000 feet or shorter, cruise at about 200 mph and have an unrefueled range of almost 1,000 miles. ***I'd love to be able to fly one of these birds. Hopefully the timing will work out if they go through with it.***

2 Also, you do not have to have a 32'' waist. As long as you are not above 40'' when they tape you, you are good to go. Look up the AFI for physical fitness, and you will get further details.

2 Extremely retarded and another reason why I drink in my basement.

I haven't heard of anyone in the field caring if the birds are manned or unmanned. I think the most important thing is getting the desired effect on the ground regardless of the platform.

I tried to get off of their distro list by writing the president an email, and got a scathing one back from some Lt Col. He told me it was my duty to be a part of the organization, and that I was basically a slacker for not going. I have also never seen CGOC bullets on any OPR that I have written, and would worry if I saw it on there that the individual was not doing enough at work.

If you don't like it, then I'd avoid the forums...This is one of the last places dealing with the USAF where this type of stuff can occur, and seeing "Boob" makes me happy.

2 on everything you said Brick...and yes it is next to impossible to do anything else. I know about ten people that just got out, and three of them are going to reserve jobs so they can do what they wanted to do originally. We are all praying that the new START treaty shuts every missile wing down.

The problem I have with this statement is that there is no human being possible of not making a mistake. I constantly hear this contradiction in terms from my leadership "Perfect Ops, but we we know mistakes happen" which makes absolutely no sense. An unforgivable mistake in nukes is the accidental detonation, theft, or damage to a nuclear weapon that yields radiation. Other than that, everything else is forgivable. A note on the backstabbing that goes on in the missile world, which seems to be more prevalent to me than any other place on earth. When you have a mission that is only capable of ending in a "Doomsday" scenario, it makes quality of life pretty difficult. There is no satisfaction in mission completion other than "Damn, I'm glad it was a quiet alert today" or "I hope I never have to launch these things". On the other side of the spectrum, the bomber crews have to rely on each other to live through a flight. Whether you like your crew or not, you still have to rely on them to get the job done. It is also difficult to be called a "warrior" since all I do is sit on my ass and watch a computer screen. There is no incentive to do well in the job, simply because you will get extended. There are no deployment opportunities, and it is difficult to get a job of your choice, or try to cross-train into another careef field. When extreme punishment for even the smallest mistakes happens, you will end up getting a culture where people cover things up. I see this every day in small mistakes that happen. When people are late to meetings, briefings, formations, no LOCs or MFRs are made. When you don't do the little things right, you end up having incidents like you see in "Darker Shades of Blue". The culture of compliance will end up hurting you in the long run, whether it causes death or not. A last note about nukes...I don't know who keeps changing the procedures every 3-6 months, but this crap needs to stop. Any job dealing with nukes should be so incredibly simple, that it leaves out all room for error. If you want fewer mistakes, make processes more simple. A blinde, deaf, dumb, retarded invalid should be able to operate a nuke with the proper clearance level. Changes can be submitted even at the lowest levels, but I rarely see them come back approved. In my opinion, it will take a dynamic leader to change these things, but I haven't seen many of these in the USAF. I've only read about these men in the past who were snubbed for being free-thinkers and mavericks by today's standards. Edit: adding more madness!!!

This is typical behavior in the missile world. The problem is that we live in a huge world of "What Ifs?", and the leadership punishes to the extreme. When a sortie (I don't know why they call it that) is targeted incorrectly, everyone flips out. The common statement will be "Well, if we had gone to nuclear war, then we would have hit the wrong target." The other factor is that we really don't do anything worthwhile in the job to distinguish ourselves, so people feel the need to get ahead by stabbing others in the back. I see this in some aircraft communities, but not all since you guys have to rely on each other to survive. 2 on what someone here said about alert outbriefs. That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard of, and I'm glad that I'll be done with this shit real soon.

I can confirm many of these things, and I also agree with BigSkyGuy, F16Rooster, and everyone else that has pulled crew. Let me start by saying that the USAF, and the US in general, is a reactive culture. Instead of being proactive, we tend to react to things with full force when the situation does not call for it. The unofficial story goes something like this. Four crew members were out on alert at the Alternate Command Post (ACP). This is where you send, or should send, your most knowledgeable people. The four crew members were out in the field for five days, and on the fifth day, they were relieved and came upstairs. The concept of A-1/A-2 crews exists so that two members can deal with all of the maintenance during the day, and then go topside while the other two man crew comes down to fill out paperwork, ensure dispatch information is correct, and get everything in order for the following day. Three of the crew members were in the crew rest area awaiting the call to get to go home. There has to be separation between the components from each capsule; this is why they were waiting. They all dozed off, when the other crew member came in the room and discovered they were sleeping. After ensuring that nothing was wrong or missing, the crew talked about how they would go about reporting the incident. They decided to keep the incident quiet, but if they were going to tell they would do it together. Six hours later, the female officer met with her commander alone telling her what happened. The proper thing was done per the regulations, but as you have already said in this post, it should not have been done. I think it is better to keep things at the lowest levels if you can, because the leadership will typically react in an "over the top" manner. Three good officers were removed from the Air Force, simply because they committed a procedural violation, which is wrong. I can comment further, but I'll refrain for now.

I just started the new SOS course 20, and they have a couple of Foglesong articles throughout the course. I never knew or served under him, but know many similar to him. It really makes me question the validity of a course like this, and also makes me wonder how so many good people get passed up for promotion. Edited: Should I really expect to learn much from a course like this anyway...

I agree with naming these guys, but that is walking a thin line IMHO. I think just naming position will suffice. It would be interesting to see how many of these people can get fired. Granted, subordinates simply bitching won't get anyone fired, but it could help. I know I always quote Boyd, but there is a very interesting passage in his book about the odd behavior patterns that senior officers begin to exhibit once higher in rank. I don't have the quote on me, but I'll try and get it on here.

I'm glad someone finally posted, and I'm glad guys like this get shitcanned.

You beat me to it...I'm glad to see guys like this get fired. We had a similar situation with one of our group commanders recently. I have a question for anyone serving under him. Did you guys fill out climate assessment surveys before his firing? I hear those things can carry significant weight when talking about a firing at that level.

"The Kama Sutra", and "Having sex while flying"...shit, that is an aviation book.

I don't think any of us would mind helping buy some of Robin Olds' gear, because it needs to be in a museum.

This is awesome!!!!! Read the article, and we also need a link on how to donate. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/06/...in_olds_060509/ I had not seen it mentioned here that the donations were to save his memorabilia, but this removes all doubts from my mind.

I'm surprised the MTI didn't get counseled on his use of lewd and "unprofessional" language. Seriously, we are asked (well, some of us) to kill people, and they worry about this shit? I don't think there is any plausible solution to any problem that we face on AD. When you make a suggestion, you are black-listed as someone who doesn't play by the rules, and someone who poisons the unit. At least that's how it works where I am. The best way, as I've seen, is be someone who is constantly happy no matter what. The type of happiness that you can only get when medicated, and they also have to constantly say things in regards to the core values. When a subordinate says "Sir, XX was a terrible idea, why didn't the NAF listen to our feedback before implementing this policy." The superior then responds with a smile..."Lt X, you have to realize that we need to be flexible, and we can't always get what we want..." you get the idea. Then you have the guys who think they can get to the top and change things, but by the time they do, they don't remember the buffoonery, and it all starts over again. I need a drink.

Try looking him up on global and selecting the actual base. Some of my classmates in technical school got in trouble for sending emails to Lt Smalley. I foresee a future general officer in our ranks (smalley). I wonder what he thinks of tobacco use.

Stories like this are what almost caused me to join the Army. I find it humorous and maddening that we really never trained for anything we will do. The Marines fire rifles, and every single one of them has to qualify on a weapon. The Army learns land/night navigation, and has worthwhile things to teach their cadets. The Air Force grades people based on how much ass they kiss, how well they march in a square, and the size of your waist. I think we have it all wrong, and it causes me to shake my head at least once a day when I ponder the bullshit. It's only gotten worse during my time on AD, and I don't really see it getting any better. Does anyone else notice this? That and the fact that my boss calls me a "warrior" every day, even though all I do is support the actual warriors?

To the A&M grads...please STFU and PM each other about your mutual experiences at field training. I liked this thread until I read all of your posts. This is about Lackland being gay, not about the school you went to an hour and a half away from the guadelupe river. *I went to A&M, I'm proud of it, but I don't talk about the past on internet forums.*