General Discussion

Is it me or does this sound like hitch hiking? From af.mil: 1/19/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Rush-hour traffic in the national capital region can be frustrating. To fend off the bumper-to-bumper blues, several servicemembers and civilians have taken to "slugging" -- the nickname given to instant carpooling here. To use the high occupancy vehicle lanes on many of the highways here, drivers must have other people riding with them. The lanes are set aside to encourage carpooling and help commuters skirt highway congestion. “Slugging is a great way to get yourself to and from work without having to drive yourself,” said two-year Fredericksburg, Va., resident Mas…

Central Coast AirFest in Santa Maria CA is this weekend, 21-22 Sept. It's right by Vandenburg SFB, and the best warbird airshow in the nation. Two of the only 5 De Havilland Mosquitos will be flying in formation... the first time that has happened since 1987. The F7F Tigercat just cancelled but the flying lineup includes: P-38, F8F, SBD Dauntless, TBM Avenger, P-40, lots of Mustangs, B-25, MiG-15, Yak-3, P-63, Sea Fury, the only P-47 Razorback that files... Also, F-18 Demo Team. And the A-10 Demo Team in their 3rd to last airshow before the team is disbanded (thanks a lot, Frank Kendall). https://www.centralcoastairfest.com/

OffAviation topic... We had a great little snackbar with all kinds of sandwiches, cakes, candy, chips, drinks, subs, etc. It made enough money that we never got hit up for dues, never had to pitch in for going-away plaques, and had a great Christmas party last year, FREE. Last week, the AAFES boss got pissed that we were making money, and he was not. So he got legal involved....long story short, we were ordered to shut everything down. I'm sure the expenses will remain (going-away gifts, Christmas party, etc.) but the income will now be painful...dues, etc. NOW THE POINT: I know there are regs on this, and legal issues that MUST be adhered to. My question is: …

I think I'm Jinxed. I was down in SC a couple of weeks ago for the Blue Angel crash. Now I'm home in Montana and was up at the airport this afternoon meeting my Brother and watching the Snow Birds taking off for practice for this weekend's airshow. I was driving down the hill into town and saw smoke. The first thing I thought was I hope they didn't crash. Unfortunately I was right the #2 jet went in at Malmstrom AFB. I'll give more details as I get them. Man, I hate to see anybody lose their life in an airplane. From what I'm hearing on the local news the pilot didn't make it out.

Snowbirds jet down around an hour ago it seems. The video is awful to watch , doesn’t look like chutes had time to deploy.

The 41st AS was officialy re-alligned from Pope to Little Rock today. To my utter horor I had to take off the "cloud 9" patch and put on a weak ass 2 AS "Flaming butt dart" patch. The J model guys stand up at the Rock next month from what I hear, but it's definitely sad to see the flag rolled up and shipped off. To all the current and former Blackcats (Mr. Baseops.net himself included) Here's to 31 years at Pope; hacking the mission and getting sh*t done. Anywhere, Anytime.

So it's the annual Brit Halloween party at their establishment last night, an awesome time. It comes to closing time and about 50 or so folks (USN/AF/USA/USMC) decide to head for the bus after closing time. We all pack on to the bus, 3 guys to a seat and all that and head for CC. As we're trucking along we're all singing the Team America F*** Yeah! song, like good aircrew do. When all of a sudden this Major stands up and starts yelling and I quote, "I want a name and an ID card of the person who just said F*** You!". He then begins to berate everyone on the bus (including the O-5's in the midst of us) on how unprofessional we all are and how degrading it is to th…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nCrY4Frdgn8

Per the VSP thread, I agree it's a good idea. Post all your FY14 & 15 VSP/TERA/PC/seperations lessons learned here. The intent seems to be so that guys can speak somewhat directly to those leaders staying in so they in turn can better create an environment where buckets of experienced guys aren't trying to leave at the first opportunity. I'm getting out soon (non-VSP or PC unfortunately) and will post my own contributions when I'm not on my phone.

Just saw this... https://socialmedia.defense.gov/index.php/2010/02/26/dod-official-policy-on-newsocial-media/ Basic summary is that Social Networking Sites (SNS in the document) are to be opened up on NIPR to get with the times. Doesn't mean it will happen...maybe we can get BaseOps unblocked at Vance now...

This is from the SSA Web site. NOTE: In most cases you must specifically request these benefits.

The videos coming out of France are insane. Granted, no one loves rioting more than the French, but they've taken up a notch. They're making the George Floyd riots look tame. Sure seems like the frequency and magnitude of chaos in "civil" society has sharply increased as of late. It is really about people being victimized by the police? Buy lowers.

I just got a notice from a fighter wing in the NE to apply with their unit for an upcoming board. First off, I've never talked to this unit in any way. Has this ever happened to anyone? I don't even know how they got my info. Regardless, I'm staying loyal to my sponsoring unit.

The post about the B-1 mishap made me think about this paper I recently wrote. Maybe there's some things in here that other pilots will find valuable. Feel free to steal and plagarize as desired. Some Things I’ve Learned Till Now I’ve been fortunate to be able to fly the A-10 for a long time. I started out on active duty, then spent time in the Air National Guard, and now fly full-time for the Air Force Reserves. I’m not yet ancient, but I am old enough to have witnessed some major changes in the way we view the world and the way we fly airplanes in the fighter/attack community. Around long enough to see some devastating mishaps, I’ve lost squadron mates, c…

I'm confident that in approximately 15 minutes this article will be in the inboxes of every resident of the free world and maybe even few people in France. Chris Thomas, Air Force Pilot: I would like to add my two cents about my John Kerry experience. During my career as an Air Force pilot, I spent two years flying a small twin engine prop plane around the Pacific from my base in Okinawa, Japan. On one trip we had to fly Senator Kerry, his congressional aide, and a Navy Captain (Vietnam, A-4 fighter pilot)who was also in Kerry's party to various locations in Vietnam and Cambodia as part of the MIA/POW talks. When I met him, he was wearing a sh…

Wildfire Forces Evacuation in New Mexico FLOYD, N.M. (AP) -- A wind-driven grass fire sparked Wednesday on a military bombing range in eastern New Mexico destroyed two buildings, charred 27,000 acres and forced dozens of people to evacuate this small farming community. After clearing out the residents, authorities blocked the highways heading to Floyd and discouraged people from trying to return to their homes. Residents were taken to area churches for the night. The blaze started on the Melrose Bombing Range to the north and west of Floyd. The town was evacuated early in the afternoon as wind gusted to more than 30 mph. Firefighters got a break when …

The most ridiculous item of the day: BBC: Medics condemn Gaza sonic booms

Anyone know exactly the weight of a SOS training report and its weight on an O4 board? I know if you get top 1/3 or DG it reflects that, but are the rest of them canned or what? I have consistant strats throughout most of my OPRs as well as the other required crap, so I would assume combat time, deployments, strats, awards, decs etc would hold more weight than the SOS training report?

Just curious if any Guard or Reserve guys here have done SOS in residence...alot of the pilots in my unit laugh at going to SOS in residence, but I think it might be kinda fun to hang out with some other folks and get four weeks worth of days. Anyone do it and think it's better to just go correspondence?

NSA is also a sinking ship... https://www.cyberscoop.com/nsa-morale-down-keith-alexander-mike-rogers/

This is probably going to be a significant event, so I'm making a separate thread. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol just declared Martial Law for the entire country. He said there are North Korean Sympathizers in the Parliament and they are attempting to Sabotage the Government with "Anti-State Activities". The President said he is going to “Eradicate Pro-North Korean Forces and protect the Constitutional Democratic Order.” In other words, the political party in power is accusing the opposing party of colluding with a foreign adversary, and is using it a pretext to "pause" democracy. Tanks…

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-south-korea-tours-longer/ Would you guys have wanted to do 2 years at Osan/Kunsan? Salute to the "Juice Girls" who ruined marriages and caused a few Airmen to lose clearances by marrying them.

Read this: https://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/03/donald-trump-should-end-americas-defense-welfare-for-south-korea/ Not sure if a forward presence as KFOR is now is the right choice… not saying bring everyone and everything back but food for thought.

SEOUL, South Korea — Search crews recovered the body of one of two pilots of a South Korean fighter jet that slammed into a mountain Thursday while flying home from a mission. https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/s-korean-f-15-crashes-body-of-pilot-recovered-search-for-co-pilot-to-continue-1.520517 Fly safe - this spike of incidents is troubling.

I'm putting down Space and Missiles as my first choice on my 53. I know most of the stuff on this site is flying related, but if someone has some insight in to the Space & Missiles field, I'd appreciate a little guidance. Things like what to expect for my first assignment, bases (good ones, not so good), training, lifestyle and such. Thanks a lot