General Discussion

https://www.navytimes.com/article/20140117/NEWS/301170009?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter "The Pentagon is considering sending U.S. troops back to the Middle East to help train Iraqi forces, defense officials said Friday."

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/17/remarks-president-review-signals-intelligence Some significant changes to US policy on intelligence gathering.

A Southwest flight bound for Branson landed at a small GA airport tonight. I'm sure the pilots experienced what the TPF C-17 crew went through when they realized they just touched down on a 3730' x 100' runway. At the end of the runway was a nice 30' drop-off onto a highway. Apparently they smashed on the brakes and stopped about 40' from the end. https://www.kspr.com/news/local/southwest-jet-bound-for-branson-lands-at-wrong-airport/-/21051620/23895590/-/n08v03/-/index.html

I was in an at-fault accident almost 3 years ago when I tapped a car in front of me and the lady decided to start a lawsuit (a total BS frivolous lawsuit btw). My recruiter told me that he believes a current CIVIL lawsuit is disqualifying for pilot applicants. Does anyone know if this is true, and is it possible to get a waiver for it? Any advice is helpful.

Nickel in the Grass for a 7+ year Vietnam POW. RIP Brother. From vansairforce.net on 9 Jan 2014, Link: https://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=108462 One of the pioneers of RV [Van’s Aircraft, homebuilt experimental aircraft] formation standards and a founding member of the Blackjack Squadron, Wesley Schierman passed away this weekend. Wes, Marty, and Dick began flying their RV4s in close formation together in the late 80’s and expanded their group by developing a structured training program in the early 90’s that continues to this day. Over the years, nearly 50 fortunate aviators have been ‘patched’ to fly as Blackjacks. There are extraordi…

Virtual Town Hall today w/ new SECAF. This ought to be interesting. Let's hope there is enough bandwith to accomodate everyone. https://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/467898/afs-top-leader-to-host-online-town-hall.aspx WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force’s newest and most senior leader will hold a service-wide, online town hall meeting Jan. 9 at 3:30 p.m. EST, addressing issues relevant to today’s Airmen. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James will answer questions from Airmen at the Pentagon, and also speak to her goals and priorities as the service’s 23rd secretary. Viewers can live stream the town hall at www.af.mil/live.aspx, and a…

Reported by UK news media... https://www.itv.com/news/story/2014-01-07/helicopter-air-crash-cley-north-norfolk/

Hmmm... an intersting concept - especially since the USAF was the Army Air Corps through WWII. I'm not sure I fully agree with the notion of the USAF being created only to prosecute a strategic war... But there are certainly redundancies between the services. At any rate, its an interesting concept and given our current fiscal realities, one thast may not go away quickly. https://www.boston.com/opinion/2014/01/06/time-abolish-the-air-force/B1BQF31AkNjl0GcQS8msHO/story.html

Searched the ATP thread and the site and didn't come up with any gouge/opinions on ALL ATP in Houston/David Wayne Hooks. Don't know if they just started or what. Anyone out there used them recently? Don't want tol just going in cold, but not a lot of driving options in south Texas.

Those clowns at the CAOC will now have to deploy to the actual combat zone to get their extra $225 a month: https://www.stripes.com/news/dod-announces-changes-to-imminent-danger-pay-1.260479 WASHINGTON – On Friday, the Defense Department announced that many areas will be removed from the list of places where U.S. servicemembers qualify for imminent danger pay. “Today we are announcing the recertification of some locations as Imminent Danger Pay areas while we are discontinuing that designation for others,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters. Of the areas previously designated for IDP, about one-third were decertified. IDP is intended to provide …

Hey guys, does anyone know if BAH is prorated? For example, I am departing my current duty station on the 1st of x month. My BAH is much higher here than at my next base. I have 4 travel days to get there. Will my BAH for said month be at the higher rate for the entire month or will it get prorated to a certain amount of days and the rest be at the lower rate? Thanks for any help!

Would you use one?

Required

New Guidance Memorandum for AFI 36-2406. New AF 910, AF 911, and AF 707 (EPR and OPR forms). All available at e-pubs ( https://www.e-publishing.af.mil ). Highlights:

Hey all, My wife and I are both military and according to the FY14 Force Management Program I fall in the "RIF Board" category but my wife falls in the "Force Shaping Board" category (based on our year groups). Does anyone know what the difference is between being RIF'd vs being Force Shaped? From what I understand, they are both equivalent to being laid off by the military, but there has to be a difference (if there are two separate categories). Thanks in advance. ~Just a Regular Dude

Hopefully this turns out Ok and just someone going overboard with holiday 'min manning' : Quick Google search indicates they went public with this early Sat 28 Dec. Sent from my phone using Tapatalk 2

Because it's great to know about the awesome shit that happens out there! ------------------------------------- A-10 Pilots Honored For Ground Fight Rescues In Stormy Weather: https://www.airforcetimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013312220008

Not sure how many folks visit the Aviation Medicine section, so I am including a link here to maximize visibility. Please go to and read. Cap-10

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_SOUTH_SUDAN_US?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-12-21-07-08-38 AP Reports that it looked like an Osprey, 4 injured, one reported critical. Now they are saying a UN Helicopter was downed as well. Might have fit better under the operation deny Christmas '13 threads.

Has anyone finished the new SOS i-c? Everyone in my unit finished the old easy version years ago or hasn't even looked into starting it. How quickly can you finish it if you put a lot of focus on it?

BBC is reporting a crash in Zabul province killing 6 people, anyone have more details?

can any LZSO types tell me if your V1/V3 or a MAJCOM sup require periodic refresher training? Or is it a one-time thing with the guidance contained in AFI 13-217?

Interesting WSJ on the downside to automation . https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304439804579204202526288042

https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/10/us/colorado-town-drone-ordinance/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 This is why I love 'murica.

Looks like the USAF is on the hook to support a French deployment to the Central African Republic (CAR). Currently its airlift (C-17s) burt Tankers and ISR will probably follow. Chrstmas time in Africa :-) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/us-to-fly-african-troops-to-central-african-republic-8994230.html