General Discussion

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/30/ISIS-says-it-forces-abduct-pilots-to-train-fighters.html

One pilot rescued, still searching for the other one. Hopefully he's found safe soon. https://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/12/two-navy-fa-18-hornets-crash-over-western-pacific-ocean/

Concerns the Navy, but how long until the Air Force needs it? The Navy restored the Aviation Command Retention Bonus...a bonus Navy Commanders receive once they assume command. Looks like 36K for agreeing to serve a set period of time, or at least until they are fired. Is the Navy losing too many O5 command potential/promotable officers, or is command just that undesirable that the Navy has to shell out the dollars to get some interested? Not a good sign to have to compel/pay officers to serve in a command position. Don't get me wrong, I am all for bonuses in attempt to shape the force and keep critical skills (pilot, enlisted specialities), but command has always…

NATO Is Acting Like It’s 1985 ‘Maskirovka’ Is Russian Secret War Good articles on next-gen warfare as practiced by the Russians. Question comes to mind: Can we do the same to them in areas that they tenuously control or destabilize their allies the same way? If so legally, then morally? Thoughts?

The jungle drums are beating in the UK planespotting community with the rumours of some USMC F-18's that are visiting Lakenheath to fly through the "Roundabout" in LFA7 in the coming weeks If anyone would be kind enough to confirm this either way then please can you drop me a pm Thanks in advance Alex

This is a good article on what happened to all those Dornier's that used to fly for the regionals: https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/check-out-the-us-department-of-state-air-wings-shadowy-1634123990

So I hit 20 years of service on 31 May 2015, and requested a 1 June 2015 retirement date. I have an ADSC for Advanced Flying Training (MWS Requal) that takes me to 10 December 2015. I put in my retirement request with a waiver asking to waive the final six months of my 3 year ADSC. The guidelines state that the waiver has to show that it is in the best interest of the Air Force. My justification included the following: 1) Letting me go six months early saves the Air Force six months of O-4 pay + six months of flight pay. 2) The AF is actively Force Shaping. I did not take the recent TERA offer because I was deployed, and doing so would have required me to s…

Hello, I plan to go into a 4 year university, enlist in the ANG, and major in aerospace engineering. When I graduate college, I plan to score high on the AFOQT and apply to fighter units. I have a few questions regarding this path. I really want to become an F35A pilot preferably with the Vermont ANG. My first is" Will a high AFOQT score make up for a low GPA in college?" I am worried that since I am majoring in a tough major, I will have a low gpa, therefore making my fighter wing application look less competitive. I also plan to have my commercial pilot license/rating by time I graduate also, plus my enlisted service, to make my application look competitive when applyin…

https://www.kadena.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123427236 Yeesh... Word is they were taking pictures of the storm and 4 got washed into the sea. One made it back to shore, one was found by the coast guard and pronounced dead, two are still missing. Prayers to them and their families, friends, co-workers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-29544064

The soon-to-retire Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, gave a speech on 15 Oct, saying: On 1 Oct, Stephen Colbert interviewed ADM Mullen (Ret), the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying: And lastly, the Huffington Post had a rare moment of sanity and intelligence to publish an opinion piece a few years ago from one retired Lt Col Astore.https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-j-astore/why-its-wrong-to-equate-m_b_655611.html These three pieces have stuck with me and I believe they perfectly encapsulate a major part of the Zeitgeist for the last 5 years, and probably for the next 5 years. They correctly describe the subconscious…

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/obama-authorizes-national-guard-reserves-ebola-fight-n227336

I couldn't find a recent or highly relevant thread for this topic. This thread can be for any drug abuse incidents or news stories that affect military personnel. Biden’s Son Hunter Discharged From Navy Reserve After Failing Cocaine Test - https://online.wsj.com/articles/bidens-son-hunter-discharged-from-navy-reserve-after-failing-cocaine-test-1413499657 Joe Biden’s Son Hunter Biden Discharged From Navy After Positive Cocaine Test - https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/joe-bidens-son-hunter-biden-discharged-navy-positive/story?id=26257601 Biden's son discharged from Navy Reserve - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/16/obama-joe-biden-hunter-biden-naval-re…

I'm in UPT right now about 3 weeks out from drop. One of my dream planes is the AC-130 out of Hurlbert but I'm having some friction with my wife about the deployment schedule and what AFSOC does to family life. During our MWS brief, we had a major (not AFSOC) come up and tell the wives that AFSOC kills families and that if we were to go to a AFSOC platform you'd better be single or you'll wind up being single. Obviously this freaked my wife out and she went from "meh" to "hell no". I'd like to hear some opinions from people that have been in AFSOC or have flown the AC. What's the deployments like? Does it kill marriages? Will I miss every single milestone of my so…

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article3159084.html Everyone OK!

My bro created an app that helps reduce the time required to review notams. It's especially helpful for local flying. Check it out and post your feedback here! https://itunes.apple.com/app/id921275153 The trick to the NOTAMs is that once you've scrolled through them, you just swipe away the ones you don't want to see again. Now the same stupid NOTAMabout some tower that has no impact on you doesn't show up every time you look. Obviously, this does not substitute a thorough NOTAM review. It's only available for i-devices right now. I may port it to Android if it has enough interest.

A few questions regarding the rotary wing world. Firstly, does the 23d Sq have their full complement of TH-1H aircraft at Ft Rucker? Lastly, must ALL AF CV-22A pilots attend the Helo pipeline?

Elders, Our class's drop sheet came out this past Friday and today we were snooping around AF Portal and came across AMS. We found that when we put in 2LT and C-17 with "All" as the base selected, the bases that showed up exactly correlated to what was on our drop sheet except there was a number next to how many slots were available. The same held true for other planes we typed from our drop sheet. Was this coincidental, or did we stumble upon a way to find out how many of each plane/base we dropped?

NASA's unmanned Antares rocket explodes on launch Looks like it is MREs for the Space Station crew for a while.

Jack Broughton 1925-2014 Thud Ridge is one of the best books that I have ever read. In my opinion the chapter Longest Day is one of the most heart wrenching and infuriating things published about the US air campaign and leadership during Operation Rolling Thunder. He would have been awarded a second Air Force Cross but it was denied by Gen John Ryan was denied due the "Turkestan incident." His willingness to go to bat for his subordinates is something that I feel would never happen in today's Air Force.

Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 out of Pt. Mugu. No ID yet. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-plane-crash-port-hueneme-20141029-story.html Him him....

Report 1 dead 1 Serious injury

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/f-16-jet-crashes-gulf-mexico-crews-searching-pilot-n243011 Here's to hoping the pilot is ok. Update here: Wreckage found. https://www.mypanhandle.com/story/d/story/f16-loses-contact-with-tyndall-air-force-base/12899/39JZdLsPnESY7jdYTqodoA

Anyone remember the names of Afghan students who have graduated UPT in the U.S. I think most of them were sent to Columbus, but with continuity over here (none), it's hard to tell. Working on yet another pet project and this would make things much easier. Please PM me names if you remember them, and do not post them to the public forum. .Mil addy available upon request.

I've heard that the F-117 has been flying since it's retirement. Pics prove it. Now here's an explanation. https://intercepts.defensenews.com/2014/11/we-now-know-why-the-f-117-is-still-flying/