Ram Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Rainman, that's exactly what happened. Surprise surprise...we have a pretty legit wing with high morale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breckey Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We have the same thing up here in the great white north. Except our squadron and ~40 aircrew are but a small pond in a ocean of missileer queep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt4fans Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) Part 2 is out. Edited February 29, 2012 by capt4fans 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bergman Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 So true. We eat our own. I like listening to old hands who were in during the eighties! C'mon now! Eighties? That's a bit before my time. Maybe Rainman or M2 can shed some light on that decade. Jeebus - I'm glad I'm not in YOUR squadron. No beer AND dudes trying to fuck me? No thanks. Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 C'mon now! Eighties? That's a bit before my time. Maybe Rainman or M2 can shed some light on that decade.: Ronald Reagan was president. What else needs to be said? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 C'mon now! Eighties? That's a bit before my time. Maybe Rainman or M2 can shed some light on that decade. I have. It is a little difficult for many to contemplate or even believe. Eagle guys were going to ball walk to the merge inside the threat rings and outnumbered 10:1 BUFFs sitting on nuke alert 24/7/365 with a game plan to penetrate low level and bail out on the return somewhere over the polar ice cap. Hogs had a thirty second life expectancy above 100' (total exposure time per sortie). Land on the highways to FOL, quick turn forward firing only. No CSAR so make sure you step with a compass and a good pair of boots. LGPOS were tasked with Kamikaze one way nuke missions. F-111 drivers stepped with eye patches. Tankers were for the bombers. Airlift was for bringing as many families home from USAFE as possible assuming there would be some warning and they were not coming back because the bases were all going to be slimed. To sum it up, you could fly under bridges and not lose your wings. This is what we've all been waiting for boys, launch the fleet...Ivan's finally movin' west! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQZip01 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I have. It is a little difficult for many to contemplate or even believe. Eagle guys were going to ball walk to the merge inside the threat rings and outnumbered 10:1 BUFFs sitting on nuke alert 24/7/365 with a game plan to penetrate low level and bail out on the return somewhere over the polar ice cap. Hogs had a thirty second life expectancy above 100' (total exposure time per sortie). Land on the highways to FOL, quick turn forward firing only. No CSAR so make sure you step with a compass and a good pair of boots. LGPOS were tasked with Kamikaze one way nuke missions. F-111 drivers stepped with eye patches. Tankers were for the bombers. Airlift was for bringing as many families home from USAFE as possible assuming there would be some warning and they were not coming back because the bases were all going to be slimed. To sum it up, you could fly under bridges and not lose your wings. This is what we've all been waiting for boys, launch the fleet...Ivan's finally movin' west! ahhhhhhh,,,the good ol' days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 ahhhhhhh,,,the good ol' days... Not all glory. We used to put a lot of jets in the dirt training for this. Of course, we had 43 full up three squadron fighter wings in the USAF, including over 700 A-10s. And we didn't fly at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKopack Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) I have. It is a little difficult for many to contemplate or even believe. Amazing just how much times have changed. Almost reads like bad fiction today - who'd believe it? From an enlisted perspective, all of the exercises from our "deployed location" ended with a nuke elephant walk and we knew, "real world", in that scenario our LGPOS's were never coming back. Not only that, but we were told, by number, the Soviet airborne regiment that was assigned to drop on our location along with the timing. Once our birds were gone, our part in the show was over. Edited March 1, 2012 by MKopack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
338skybolt Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 BUFFs sitting on nuke alert 24/7/365 with a game plan to penetrate low level and bail out on the return somewhere over the polar ice cap. Along with 24/7/365 Looking Glass flights. I was an RJ guy ('86-'94) but shared the same flightline (along with NEACP). Pretty interesting times indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WABoom Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 It's so sad that some kid in 15-20 yrs will say these were the good ol days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B52Herc Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 So true. We eat our own. I like listening to old hands who were in during the eighties! It was different in some ways . . . (and though I would never have seen the whole SIOP . . . . "bail out over the polar ice cap" . . . . our location was a little warmer!), but the captains in 1985 are the senior leadership today. One of the best officers I knew at that grade was the subject of some ridicule on this thread, and having not seen him for 20+ years I've no basis to dispute the posts. Old heads asks here and on other posts "what happened?" My sense of it is that the more dramatic shifts in structure and subtle abdication of leadership have occurred mainly in just the past 10 years . . . but things that were understood and accepted in 1983, were already out of sync by 1990, and that pattern continues. Things will change, and the challenge is to try and influence change in better directions so that we can keep bringing the fight (or supporting the fight). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Napoleon_Tanerite Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) It was different in some ways . . . (and though I would never have seen the whole SIOP . . . . "bail out over the polar ice cap" . . . . our location was a little warmer!), but the captains in 1985 are the senior leadership today. One of the best officers I knew at that grade was the subject of some ridicule on this thread, and having not seen him for 20+ years I've no basis to dispute the posts. Old heads asks here and on other posts "what happened?" My sense of it is that the more dramatic shifts in structure and subtle abdication of leadership have occurred mainly in just the past 10 years . . . but things that were understood and accepted in 1983, were already out of sync by 1990, and that pattern continues. Things will change, and the challenge is to try and influence change in better directions so that we can keep bringing the fight (or supporting the fight). The problem isn't the Air Force, it's the "everyone's a winner" mentality that has permeated American society as a whole, and thus has also infected the military. Keep in mind that the majority of O-4 and below and E-7 and below (myself included) come from the "participation trophy" generation, and the WORST thing you could possibly do to someone is hurt their all-important self esteem. This leads to stupidity like a services squadron with "tip of the spear" as their squadron motto. Far too people are not willing to accept their role as a supporting player, and have been fed the line of bullshit that the world revolves around them for FAR longer than they have been in the military. Edited March 2, 2012 by Napoleon_Tanerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matmacwc Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Your tip of the spear reminds me of my trip to Misawa from Osan, saw that motto while I was in Japan, made me laugh/pissed at the same time. We joked they were more the shaft than the tip compared to where they were living to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger41 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 The problem isn't the Air Force, it's the "everyone's a winner" mentality that has permeated American society as a whole, and thus has also infected the military. Keep in mind that the majority of O-4 and below and E-7 and below (myself included) come from the "participation trophy" generation, and the WORST thing you could possibly do to someone is hurt their all-important self esteem. You said it, brother. Watch this video about the Iowa Hawkeye wrestling team from 2002; Specifically listen to what Tom Brands says from 4:53-5:18. That is the type of attitude we need in this country. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B52Herc Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Far too [many] people are not willing to accept their role as a supporting player, . . . I'm cautious about attributing these changes to any one thing . . . but I suspect that you're hitting at least one of the nails squarely on the head. Do you think the USAF Creed reflects this, or contributes to this? I'll admit to finding that thing a little cult-like (I just sort of feel repelled when this gets chanted). I don't see the shooters out there memorizing it, but it's HUGE with support folks and seems to resonate particularly with the mid level NCOs. Don't mean to hijack L-ship at the Deid, but I think there might be a link. Please don't interpret as a knock on support (it's pretty much what I do now) - most still "get it", but it does not take many to alter the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tank Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Tom Brands is the man. Great quote and totally relevant to the topic at hand but Brands is an ass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAMInated Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 J Robinson is the man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1NG Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I've been out for 20 years, and I was just an enlisted life support puke (do they even call it that anymore?) Everybody wore BDU's, us, the Army, the Marines, the Navy...we all wore the same shit, with black boots and black or tan t-shirts and nobody gave a shit if you rolled your sleeves up or not, or if the zippers on your flight suit were up or down. Baseball caps with squadron insignia. Pilots bringing us beer on Fridays (this may still happen) The missile wing and guys in silos (I was at Ellsworth) and nuke-armed B-1's on the alert pad. Getting jacked up hard at the same pad for forgetting my password. PLZT goggles. The wing king walking in the shop one Monday morning to catch most of us lying on the counters and floor hooked up to 100% O2 to cure our hangovers, and he just laughed at us. I never wore a reflective belt, and in 4 years I never once witnessed an enlisted person of any rank try to correct an officer for anything, let alone a uniform issue. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQZip01 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I never wore a reflective belt, and in 4 years I never once witnessed an enlisted person of any rank try to correct an officer for anything, let alone a uniform issue. Since you've been out, the Shoeclerks have taken over WAY too much. Al Udeid is their Mecca (irony intended). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM this Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Since you've been out, the Shoeclerks have taken over WAY too much. Al Udeid is their Mecca (irony intended). AKA: the inmates are running the asylum Edited March 2, 2012 by BFM this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Your tip of the spear reminds me of my trip to Misawa from Osan, saw that motto while I was in Japan, made me laugh/pissed at the same time. We joked they were more the shaft than the tip compared to where they were living to us. That's weird because when I was at Misawa I actually fought in a war, shot at people and got shot at while the dudes in Korea sat and pulled their puds like they've been doing for the last 60 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tank Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 That's weird because when I was at Misawa I actually fought in a war, shot at people and got shot at while the dudes in Korea sat and pulled their puds like they've been doing for the last 60 years. But were you always "Ready to Fight Tonight"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 shot at people C'mon dude. I know you know how to handle a weapon. You don't shoot "at" people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 C'mon dude. I know you know how to handle a weapon. You don't shoot "at" people. Well, they were HARMs, soooo.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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