General Discussion

The USAF can't even outfit the A/G fighter with pods continuously.......how are they gonna get 177 for Eagles. Any 15C model guys know if/when this will happen? https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/10/air-force-f-15-upgrades-aim-double-service-life-102912w/

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.…

Looks like the Boeing folks have a new cruise missile up their sleeves...no, not literally https://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/10/25/boeing-successfully-tests-microwave-missile-that-takes-out-electronic-targets/

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…

Folks, can anyone help me out with a list of pubs, flashcards, checklists and the like that will help me succeed at UPT? I have been an Army Aviator since 2002 and will surely have to "unlearn" as much as I will have to learn. The rote memorization required in Army flight school was obscene and I can only expect that the Air Force school will be a lot of the same. Anything I can start to study ahead of time I'm sure will be better than showing up cold. Thanks! Paul

Coach Christensen can't handle losing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaJDqBNo4cI EDIT: Potentially NSFW due to language.

What is everyone's take on the new policy at Dafra? How long do you think this policy will last? Warriors, Effective immediately, civilian clothing is authorized for all Al Dhafra personnel in the Phantom East and West compounds while engaged in off-duty leisure or physical fitness activities. Members are required to be in uniform during any official duty (including in/out processing) and on all other US portions of the installation including MOTOWN, Munitions Storage Areas, Patriot Battery Compound, etc. Clothing worn off the US portion of Al Dhafra AB must still comply with AEWI 36-2903, Community Standards, Chapter 3, para 3.1.1. This policy consider…

Maj. Garrett Knowlan was struck by a boat and killed during the single man raft isolation exercise. https://www.pnj.com/a...text%7CMilitary

I'm putting the final touches on a novel and would appreciate help with the following re: C-130s. 1. The antagonist, an arms dealer, owns both a C-130, and a small island in the Gulf of Thialand. Bearing in mind that 1. artistic license is acceptable but still must be believable, 2. his pilots are "down-and-dirty" former GRU Spetsnaz, 3. it's an island! it can't have a long runway, what would be the minimum runway length? 1700 feet feasible? Less? I'm aware of the record landings and TOs on the Forrestal. Maybe I could put that in the book. 2. does the Herk have the ability to start without external generator? (can't remember the equipment name - been a few years …

This is probably a question for finance guy. When you elect to take a pay advance when you PCS, when would you be taxed on the income? I will be deployed all 12 months in 2012 so I have zero taxable income. I’m trying to figure out if I can take 3 months of advance pay in December while it’s tax free, then pay it back next year resulting in essentially 9 months of taxable income in 2013? Any help is appreciated.

https://chronicle.com...oud-the/134830/ Interesting article by an English Professor at USNA. The primary points and recommendations seem to be as follows 1. Academies are superfluous because more officers are generated from ROTC and OCS/OTS than from the academies themselves. Comment: It is true ROTC and OTS provide more officers than the academies. It is also true that Lts from the academy are generally no better than those from ROTC or OTS. Based on my own experience, the most effective JOs are prior service from OTS, ROTC and/or the academy. Largely because they are more mature (age) and more committed. By the time they reach Capt/Lt they all kind of ev…

So the new USAF captain board just posted their results and many of us believe there were some mistakes made. There are people who were wash backs in flight school who got promoted and others who graduated in the top half of their flight school class and top of their FTU class who were nonselected. There is a certain airframe in which everyone at that schoolhouse when the packages were sent in was nonselected. My understanding is that a promotion board cannot discriminate based on the job. A promotion board has to select based on job performance while a retention board can discriminate based on the job. Maybe there was a paperwork issue out of that FTU? Has anyone had exp…

"What outsourced company would be so stupid as to not bolt down seats?" Oh, gee, I dunno. Contract depot maintenance has such a sterling record.... Things don't seem to be looking too good for American. They're on the downswing while their major competitors, especially Delta seem to have righted the ship. If I were a betting man I wouldn't be putting money on American right now.

We're PCSing to Fairchild in 16days (just had orders cut yesterday, I think?)! Any and all information will be accepted--what's the base like? what's the deployment temp like? etc etc etc. I fly out tomorrow to start the house hunting process woohoo!!! Thanks!

Thought this was pretty interesting. Proves that the tanker boldface of "Throttles - Cut-Off after touch down" is probably a good idea if you crash land and survive. https://gma.yahoo.com...topstories.html

Morning All, Just an invite for all members here that we have expanded Cleared HOT to include all things military aviation. If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of the magazine each issue just send me a PM with your email address. Cleared HOT is totally digital and we have some cool plans for including multimedia. Cheers Everyone. Rick.

Decent article about the decade-long camouflage uniform screw up that has seemed to plague every service but the Marines.

So I PCS'd overseas, and got an APO address ahead of time from my sponsor. I forwarded all my mail, mailed myself some things and even ordered a few things online to my new address. I had been on station for about 2 weeks (3-4 weeks after I started forwarding), and repeatedly asked the mail clerks why I wasn't getting mail. They just laughed and said it takes a while. After the third week I forced them to examine my box (yeah, I said it), and it turns out the previous owner's name was on it...they changed it and the next day I ended up getting a mailbox full of mail...but none of the stuff I ordered. I had ordered around $500 worth of stuff from various companies …

https://warnerrobinspatriot.com/bookmark/20267416-Source-says-J-STARS-aircraft-may-have-been-sabotaged-at-contractor-location If they catch who did it, he's going under the jail. I heard stories from friends in the Herc community about an airman that was discovered partially slicing the loadmaster restraint harnesses a few years back. Hopefully that guy is still in Leavenworth.

Will anyone with a personal review of working with Lt Gen Salvatore A. "Sam" Angelella please PM me?

I have been unable to access the Aircrew Pubs Library either on .mil computers or at home for several weeks now. This was really nice to be able to access at home since I'm a Guardsman and live away from the Guard Base. Anybody else have this problem? or did they take the site down when we went to iPads?

I found this online and felt it deserved sharing. Enjoy.

So I showed up at my downrange location to start my 365 deployment and the second thing I was told (after "no booze, sex, or porn") was that I was in charge of the Squadron Change of Command. Well, turns out it's not just a change of command. We're deactivating the current squadron and activating a new squadron under a new commander in its place. I tried reaching out to the Wing (located on another base) for guidance and both the Exec shop and the Protocol shop kind of shrugged their shoulders and said they could help if it was just a change of command but they don't know how to deal with a deactivation/activation. From the answers I've been getting, you'd think the A…

https://freebeacon.co...are-for-combat/ There is supposedly a mass of 1000 Chinese fishing vessels enroute as they both continue to press to test ownership over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and all the mineral rights/shipping lanes they entail.

Thoughts?