General Discussion

Both my wife and I are PCSing to Beale around Sept. What is our BAH based off of? Is it the zipcode for the base or where we choose to live? Also, anyone have ideas of the housing out there? We are planning on renting so we can get a larger house and invest some of the xtra $. Thanks.

If Congress doesn't fix the U-2 divestment really soon, this will likely be the last Beale Airshow with a U-2 flying. Lineup is coming along well, to include TBirds, F-18 TACDEMO, USMC Osprey Demo, C-17/KC-135 Demo, Aarron Deliu, T-33 Demo, Vicky Benzing If interested in bringing a static to the party, drop me a note. It should be a large time.

WASHINGTON — U.S. fighter planes intercepted two Russian bombers flying unusually close to an American aircraft carrier in the western Pacific during the weekend, The Associated Press has learned. A U.S. military official says that one Russian Tupolev 95 buzzed the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz twice, at a low altitude of about 2,000 feet, while another bomber circled about 50 nautical miles out. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because the reports on the flights were classified as secret. The Saturday incident, which never escalated beyond the flyover, comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over U.S. plans for a missil…

" Unknow Rider - Unknown Rider..." Bombers to Cuba

I was looking for some CONUS gouge on Beaufort, SC. There wasn't any on the main B-ops page. Does anyone have any recommendations for hotels, eats, activities, etc? Thanks

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…

About 4 years ago at Ramstein I was in the O club eating lunch. The waiter asked me and my bud if we wanted a beer. Naturally I said I wanted one but since it was the middle of the duty day and I was in a public-ish restaurant, I'd pass. As only a dedicated German would, he actually tracked down some reg that stated I was allowed to consume 2-8 ounce beers per day during duty hours. I was obviously very pleased and shocked, and then enjoyed a couple of Bitburgers. The best part was when a penis major rolled up on us and asked if we thought it was profesional to be drinking during the work day. We asked the waiter to cite the reg, which he happily did, and the major …

I will be putting in my nav package in January...hoping to get a Strike Eagle slot. I will have 3 years active in January, and won't start UNT until May at the earliest. So, I wouldn't be at my first actual assignment until around Jan '08 at the earliest...making me a 2 year captain at that point. Will lack of flying hours affect career progression, and will it be harder to get selected for Weapons School?

So apparently certain members of the Armed Forces stationed in Germany are being taxed by various local German authorities. They say if your job is not essential to the defense of NATO you are there voluntarily and not only are they taxing you on you base pay but also consider the on-base gym, commissary, BX, shoppet, clothing sales, etc. an additional benefit to your tax liability! https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2022-04-12/tax-germany-us-troops-eucom-pentagon-5661053.html

Any of my fellow FAIPs here can assure you: Becoming a FAIP means a few extra kicks to the gonads. It's a fact of life. "Ah...2Lt Xxxxxx...you're going to need another 'fuge ride before you can become a T-3X IP...since you're not a MWS guy..." "Ah...2Lt Xxxxxx...we don't have any SERE slots available right now...so you'll have to wait until one opens up..." "Ah...1Lt Xxxxxx...still no SERE slots available in the near future...so maybe you'll just have to go at the completion of your FAIP tour." "Ah...Capt Xxxxxx...we finally have a SERE slot for you! Aren't you happy now?" "Ah...Capt Xxxxxx...are you ready for your THIRD 'fuge ride? This one will be fun…

Okay...I know I am not the only one to gripe about this, but here it goes I am sick and tired of you FAIP tools and active duty IPs treating UPT students as inferiors throughout training! Not only am I an officer, but I have earned my right to be here just as you did...what gives? And its not only the IPs that do it, but also many of the enlisted people around the base. I have had countless two stripers completely blow off saluting me just because they don't see wings on my chest. Another example...the MPF "customer service" representatives have been overheard saying "why are you calling him sir? isnt he just a student?" Dont treat us as inferior, treat us as y…

People often asked me if there is anything to do at an overseas base if you could not get off-base. They were surprised that there were restaurants and clubs to go to, I guess they assumed that that it’s something like Full Metal Jacket. I joked that at Ramstein the Belgiums sole purpose in NATO was to run a night club! Apparently I’m not alone in my belief that they are the black sheep of NATO! https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2023/09/shared-threats-unequal-efforts-belgiums.html

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/t-6-emergency-landing-texas/ ..having executed a belly flop landing.

I heard some rumors at the KMC sports bar that two C-5M's collided during taxi and another C-17 landed short at Dover. There might have been some beers consumed by various crew members at said bar so I don't know how true either of these incidents are.

OK guys, I have some Brit buds who volunteer at the Bentwaters Cold War Museum and they have been working every angle they can to get a static display A-10 and/or F-4C for their facility with no success, so they asked if I had any other ideas. They've already contacted USAFE who tried getting the Spang BDR jet sold off to them as scrap, but the proposal never got anywhere and returning that particular airframe to display condition would have been too costly for the museum. They also asked for a Hog via the NMUSAF, but that organization changed its loans legislation after 9/11 so that it does not provide artifacts to non-government based agencies outside of the US.…

So, the AF Times put together a list of all the CONUS bases ranking quality of life according to "everything from school quality to the local economy, crime rates to traffic, and climate to on-base amenities, such as commissaries". I don't agree with their list and am pretty surprised by where some of the bases ended up. I'm curious what everyone's opinion is of the best base. Here's the AF Times list.

In the spirit of the other Died post, I thought this might be intresting. Everyone who has done their time has at least one good Morale Suppression Police story. Let's hear yours. I'll get the thread rolling: So there I was. I was sitting Alpha with my crew and we jumped into the alert van to go to the chow hall. The AC (female) was wearing a pair of short shorts with the words "Roll Tide" on the back of her britches. So we head back to the van and a Major who had just gotten off the rotator one week earlier crosses the street out of her way to stop us and then berate the AC in front of the rest of us. Basically her reasoning was that her shorts were out of re…

Taking a hint from rumblefish, what are the best spots you've been deployed to? This can be anywhere. A certain base that hosts the 380th AEW is mine. You can go off base to some great spots, the base itself rocked, with a smoothie shop within walking distance of tent city. Base life was pretty cool; not as much of the @sspain of Al Udeid or (I'm told) P-sab. And best of all, schwarma night which happened to coincide with bingo night and KC-10 rotators. Granted, it was alot better before 9-11 and khobar, but it was still great during and after OIF (excluding hornitschek's rein-O-$hit of the refueling sqdn). What is yours, and why? Edited: For possible OPSEC buff…

What's the best earplugs for the pilot and shooter?

The Charbroil finally rusted itself useless and with the new Infrared grills out there, anybody have advice on a good grill. Been sticking to gas because of convenience but thinking about trying out wood/charcoal or the infrared.

Got a weird one. I applied for a ADSC waiver (personal hardship) for retirement. The request was denied, however, due to manning (11M), the request was changed to “best interest of the AF” and the waiver was approved for 9 months off ADSC. My question, if it’s Best interest of the AF, does that still qualify me to keep the final bonus payment? TIA

We are getting past a rough spot of flaming and since the board is getting back on track, I thought we might keep it moving in the right direction by sharing a few stories about your most memorable moments in your particular aircraft. In 1990 I took a T-38 to Eglin AFB for the weekend. My girlfriend lived in nearby Shalimar and I thought it would be a great place for a weekend stop. I called before I left Houston and she assured me she would be there waiting for my arrival. I got lucky on the way and found a 200 knot tail wind up at FL 390. As I started the let-down into Fort Walton Beach, I noticed I was very fat on gas. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was…

Just thinking out loud, looking for some opinions. I'm up for assignment, not soon, but soon enough to begin thinking about it. I have nothing to weigh me down and have pretty much decided that I want to go OCONUS. I'm not a flyer but Intel, and will not be restricted to just AF billets - wouldn't mind joint billet. Thoughts on different locations in terms of quality of life, things to do, cost, mission etc etc.? Wouldn't mind a beach..

If you weren't a pilot name a officer job in the AF that you wouldn't mind having. I know there is a huge list but sometimes it takes some working with people or knowing what the job is like/having friends to understand the full description of the job.