General Discussion

Hey everyone, I recently became aware of an "issue" that has been making the rounds on Facebook and which is also the subject of a recent JQP post. My response to his article was "detected as spam." So I'm re-posting this here with a desire to see what the BO rank and file thinks of this latest spear from JQ. As follows: JQP, much like the previous article on the Thunderbird mishap, you are way off base. "But things have gotten sideways. The question now on the table is what happens to those who lock in early only to find that the bonus increases in value significantly following year. This year’s ARP package is offering pilots in some career families…

https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=79432 CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- A U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, Nev., crashed today at approximately 3 p.m. PST on a U.S. Navy range training complex, approximately 70 miles east of NAS Fallon. Navy personnel are en route to the scene. The Navy has not officially confirmed the status of the aircraft crewmember. The aircraft was conducting a training flight prior to the crash. A safety investigation will be carried out to determine the cause. For more news from Commander, Naval Air Forces, visit www.navy.mil/local/airpac/. Prayin…

I am looking for an old buddy who I served with a long time ago and who separated from the USAF in the early 90s. I am lucky in that I have an old set of orders that has his SSN on it. I tried Intelius but only got a listing of possible cities. A full report costs $50, and I want to be sure the info is worth getting before shelling out the cash. I did a search on his name and in those cities via WhitePages.com; but the one best lead (same exact name) I got was not the right person. I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations. The driving factor behind all of this was my being contacted by a guy who served with my bud's father in Vietnam, and who was wit…

Discuss...

So my fiance and myself (OK, mostly me) are wondering when the heck we'll find out what his orders are for after he commissions? He got a pilot slot last March, goes for his flight physical the last week of August and will graduate and commission June 10, 2007. When do ROTC guys typicaly find out the when and where for their first base? Is there a typical order of what they do (ie. ASBC, then IFS, then UPT?) Does anyone know the typical wait for UPT right now? We're hoping to get married 3 weeks after he commissions - so I was just wondering what anyone else knew. Thanks!

From War on the Rocks: https://warontherocks.com/2019/04/air-force-manned-reconnaissance-at-a-crossroads/ From the article: The world today isn’t the Cold War world of yesterday, and Cold War requirements should not justify acquisition of new assets for tomorrow’s military needs. The RC-135’s innocence has long been compromised as it has evolved from its original peacetime role into a valuable combat asset, but both missions must be performed in the future. No single replacement solution can meet both of these disparate operational requirements. The U.S. Air Force must look beyond its obsession with warfighting to identify and procure a second manned big-wi…

Disclaimer: I only know what is posted in the article. https://rt.com/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/ The article claims that Russian air defenses shot down at least one meteor. If so, this would be impressive considering the speed the object was probably traveling at and the very short (presumably) window that would exist to identify, track, and engage it. The article doesn't say what weapon was used to hit it either. IF this proves to be true, this poses some interesting questions about Russian capability to destroy targets coming from space at high speeds (MIRVs).

Does an oxygen mask (like an MBU-5/P) provide any kind of protection from noise to the microphone? I fly a noisy biplane and I already have a military helmet. I was thinking that using an oxygen mask I could improve the quality of my radio transmissions. Of course the free end of the mask hose would not be connected to an oxygen system, but it would be secured at the back of the cockpit where the noise level is somewhat lower. Another question: does the oxygen mask seal perfectly on the face of the pilot or in airplane with an oxygen system, some of the oxygen seeps out of the mask? Thanks

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/...mmander_050708/ The fun police at Salem is now the Wing King.

Local media reporting an EA-6B down near Spokane, WA. Three possible fatalities. Thoughts and prayers for the Navy Bros… Media link: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/mar/11/naval-plane-crashes-harrington/

I did a Google search this morning and this came up. A guy posting on a Warcraft board telling people to ask him any questions they want to know because he is "a F-22 Raptor pilot." I didn't read the whole thing (I'm at work right now), but in one part it says he's at Elmendorf. Here's the link: WoW Page - link updated Go sick 'em boys.

I am unfortunately in the process of being medically disqualified from flying related duties. I finished three months of training but had to be removed because of my medical problem. I am currently preparing my reclassification package and was wondering if anyone with experience can tell me the proper protocol to ask someone for a letter of recommendation when you are no longer in their chain of command? Most of the people going to the board commissioned through ROTC and received really good LORs from their leadership at ROTC. I am prior service that commissioned through OTS so that avenue is not available for me. I am hoping to get LORs from my past leadership but mo…

So I've been seriously considering applying for a pilot/OCS seat within one of the service branches. I've narrowed it down between the Navy, Air Force , or maybe even the air national guard. I'm currently leaning navy but having second thoughts because I've heard that don't do too much flying. Can anybody attest to this? Any advice or how to choose between these three branches?

I think my squadron has an archaic way of tracking currencies. How does your Sqdrn track semi-currencies and the metrics associated with them? First aircrew fill out a GMAR or Flying MAR. Then our HARM puts everything into an excel spreadsheet, then in Training we MANUALLY transfer that info over to another Excel spreadsheet which we give to our schedulers. They in turn schedule people based on "beans" left. Weekly the Training Shop computes metrics from the currencies and briefs them in the Squadron meeting. And finally every other month we conduct a Training Review Board. I believe nearly all of the metrics the Training Shop produce can be automated through Ex…

Ive done this before but this time I'd like to add a limit on classes. Please post the oldest guy you can remember attending UPT in the last 4 years. Search function has not been helpful with this inquiry. Thanks for the info. Cheers

Well it's about that time... and I'm waivering on what order to rank the fighters. Now I'm set on the fact that I want to fly fighters, hands down, but with very little experience in the AF I'm having a tough time ranking them. My current sheet looks like this 1) A-10 2) F-15E 3) F-22 4) F-16 5) F-15C For those with more wisdom than myself (which doesn't exclude many) can you tell me your thoughts on the A-10/F-15E world and the foreseeable future for Lt's in the airframe. Also, many of the guys around here say I'd be crazy not to put the F-22 first. And I'm honestly considering it. Insight into that world would be great, as well. Moral of the story is my dream sheet is …

Could someone please write something interesting on this topic? Anything. I'd really like to learn something. Just please don't write anything about flightsuits, hats, or ROTC, and try not to turn it into a pissing match. Or you could also write about how important the FE is...(just beginning to realize that myself) Not a Herk guy? Feel free to write something cool about your airframe. Thanks! Just trying to swing General Discussion back towards intelligent commentary. [ 14. September 2005, 18:26: Message edited by: Rocker ]

This is a question I've always had: I know a guy who is a retired Air Force pilot. He has his old helmet (complete with oxygen mask) on display in his office. Does the Air Force typically allow you to keep your helmet or at least let you buy it or is this not done anymore?

Current Army C-12 aviator here. Since the demolition of the Air Force FWQ, I'm assuming that on occasion you get some high hour Army fixed wing bubbas and/or prior helo guys in upt. I was just curious if they go through the exact same curriculum/same hours/etc as the regular students (Seems silly that I'd need the full academic curriculum/the full flight hour load if I already had 1000+ hours in a C-12 and 500+ in a Hawk). Also curious how many guys you all see going through UPT above age 30. Thanks!

Couldn't find a relevant existing thread for this one: https://taskandpurpose.com/military-children-born-abroad-citizenship The part that seems confusing to me is making the child take the oath before the 18th birthday.... So, sometime after learning how to understand human speech and learning how to speak English but before 18th birthday. This would have been interesting for me since I had a kid in January 20XX and moved back to the States two months later. Would have had to apply for an immigrant visa or something?

All, I have a somewhat unique question for the board. One of my guys is transitioning from the HH-60 to a T-6 instructor gig. The problem begins with the our schoolhouse. We graduate the school house as an 11-H3E, which is an aircraft commander. When we get to our units, the standard has been an administrative downgrade to a mission co-pilot/first pilot. The problem is that there is really no definition of a first pilot in our 11-2HH60 v1/2/3. The way it is used is that a guy fresh from the school house can act as aircraft commander for non-combat sorties, i.e. he can take it cross-country. This is the first of many problems. The second problem is in a tabl…

https://m.kcra.com/news/plane-crashes-at-travis-afb-air-show-in-fairfield/25806746 Apparently this was the performer: https://www.eddieandreiniairshows.com

I keep hearing the ANG/AFRC is under a hiring freeze but I just don't see it here or other locations, anyone can attest?

What is your perception of the fighter lifestyle versus the heavy lifestyle? I.e. time spent TDY, length of the workday, attitude of guys in the squadron, etc. I ask because I know there are a lack of fighter guys in tweets and texans, and maybe there are some misconceptions about fighters out there.