General Discussion

Glasses, shirts, stickers, mandatory fun, matching panties, etc... How much cash is UPT going to require? Just a curiousity. Every school I've been to thus far has hit me up for something or the other.

Anyone have a line on a brand of t-shirts that doesn't either have a 3 inch neck line or stretch down to your balls after one use? All the mil clothing brands suck...only one rocking the black T today so I guess my union failed and I need some new shirts...

Very tragic day for military aviation. Just after a Thunderbird crash earlier today. Thoughts and prayers to the family. Nickel in the grass. https://www.rt.com/usa/345242-blue-angels-plane-crash/

I was cruising through some recorded ATC comms on liveatc.net, and came across this of a U-2 trying to get back to Sigonella, and apparently getting some grief from the controllers. Audio doesn't have the controller comm, just the U-2. Pretty interesting stuff though - gotta love VFR on Top at FL600..:) Dragon 20 on 25711.1.wav

Folks, I got the text from my work account, but be on the look out for an article running in the AF Times regarding the force management stuff included in the latest NDAA. I will try not to violate the copyright, but some of the highlights I remember -15 year retirements - VSP - Early Retirement Incentive Pay The two bits of commentary in the story stuck in my memory 1. The author mentioned that the NDAA was rolling out force management options not seen since the post Cold-war Era drawdown 2. A congressional aide was quoted (under anonymity) that law makers said that the services were not planning for large drawdowns...but it seemed quite s…

Do fighters ever practice intercepting airlines, or are they allowed to over the CONUS? I remember seeing a site a while back where French Mirages routinely intercepted USAF flights travelling over their airspace, and have also seen pictures on airliners.net where they'll fly on the wing of an airliner as well. Thanks

https://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1025605 I'm voting for photoshop. The jet's exactly the same height above the ground it would be if the gear were extended. There's no blur which one should see if the photographer was panning to keep a 300 knot AC in his viewfinder. No heat signature. Don't know enough about fighters to comment on nozzle position. It also looks like he's offset from the centerline. (#2 in a taxiing formation?) I'm just a stupid airline pilot, but if I were beating up some airfield at 300 knots or better, I'd be glued to the centerline. Discuss... [ 02. May 2006, 05:33: Message edited by: Toro ]

According to this: https://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20130708/OFFDUTY02/307080019/Vance-background-AF-Lt-Col-s-novel And we all know how pivotal the yellow-helmeted 2lts are to KGB info ops. I keed, I keed. Hopefully it's good & takes off. Anyone got it on pre-order?

It seems that AC upgrade takes different amounts of time depending on the airframe you are in. Can heavy drivers give input on how long (on average) it took for guys in their specific aircraft to upgrade to Aircraft Commander?

Apparently certain year groups in the MX Officer career field have significant short falls at my base and they are asking aircrew to help back-fill AMU OIC and MX Ops Officer (MOO) positions. The deal is that the rated folks would be allowed to continue flying and maintain currency but their main job would be MX for a given period. I was essentially offered such a position and since I am a former MX officer thought it might be a good fit/opportunity. My understanding is that in my case it would be to take over a MOO position. Apparently, also, It's an initiative that the WG/CC is a big proponent of. Does anyone on here have any experience with this sort of situation …

Asking for a friend because I am not experienced with the heavy side of the house. Trying to get a feel for how much time are units asking out there. "My current unit (heavy) wants 8 days a month. I have seen other units as little as 2 days. I am losing a ton of money with the airlines at this point (CA at a legacy) but still have a service commitment. " Thoughts?

USAF teaching Iraqi's to fly airstrike missions. Iraqi crews ‘ready to go’ on mission Part of slow transition from Air Force reliance By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Sunday Jul 12, 2009 9:42:57 EDT Airmen deployed to Iraq are teaching their Iraqi counterparts to fly airstrike missions. Today, after fewer than a dozen training flights, two Iraqi aircrews — a pilot and a mission-sensor operator make up an aircrew — are qualified to fire Hellfire missiles from AC-208B Caravans, a military version of the single-engine turboprop Cessna Grand Caravan utility airplane. A third aircrew is in training. “They are ready to go,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Spi…

https://www.kcentv.com/story/25146842/reports-of-shooting-on-fort-hood Thoughts and prayers to those injured... edit: second local outlet reporting https://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Active-Shooter-situation-reported-at-Fort-Hood-253639761.html?llsms=780041&c=y third local news reporting: https://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Active-Shooter-Situation-Reported-At-Fort-Hood-253635771.html Big 3 (CNN, FOX, MSNBC) are spinning trying to find something to report (some worse than others). Linked to Drudgereport and others... Nothing solid on motives.

https://www.jqpublicblog.com/curbing-wrongful-termination-in-the-air-force-four-common-sense-reforms/ I've been hearing a lot more lately about a lot of the toxic leadership problems in the Air Force and a few victims of wrongful firings. Thoughts on the content of the post and topic? Has anyone seen or hear about this happening to someone they know?

I started sport skydiving a couple of years ago after completing Freefall at USAFA. I know you can jump on active duty if you watch a hazardous activities brief or somethings like that, but does anyone know if it's allowed during UPT? Preciate it.

From af.mil 3/10/2006 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- "Recognition" is being reinstated here after a three-year hiatus. Recognition 2006 events start after classes March 16 and conclude with a celebratory dinner March 18. Recognition marks the transition of the fourth classmen to upper class status. It is the ceremonial acknowledgement that the fourth class as a whole has successfully met the military training requirements expected of it and is prepared to continue its four-year journey through the rigors of academy life. In 2003, the decision was made to end Recognition as part of an overall culture and climate change at the academy. By professionall…

I'm nearing the end of my MEB process and will be medically retired in the next few months. Unfortunately, I probably will never fly again (my MEB condition is Bipolar, and after the Germanwings incident in 2015, I don't think the FAA will grant a waiver). I applied for grad school this fall, doing a total career change in my thirties, and although my retirement paycheck is nice, it isn't enough to live on. So far I've gotten the following advice from a variety of folks: - Use the VR&E program to pay for school since it has an expiration date and save the GI Bill for later - Get the following three documents while still AD: Memo rating (done), civil service …

another stellar piece of USAF R&D news.... https://defensetech.org/2012/01/30/usafs-big-penetrator-needs-to-be-harder/

https://taskandpurpose.com/marine-aircraft-crash-off-japan/ Haven’t seen anyone post this yet. No words on the crew but a total of 7 to be involved. Hope they all made it. 🍺

Apparently they took a little sight seeing trip around Guam. Nice little "show of force." I have a hard time believing they were armed with "nuclear tipped" missiles though. https://www.foxnews.c...territory-guam/ The Air Force confirms that two Russian bombers on Tuesday circled the U.S. island territory of Guam, prompting U.S. jets to scramble and respond. Two U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter aircraft, operating out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, intercepted the Russian Tu-95 bomber aircrafts, which left in a northbound direction, said military spokeswoman Capt. Kim Bender. Bender said no further action was taken but declined to give more details, citin…

I feel like I am getting screwed by the Air Force. I am AFROTC and was awarded a navigator slot as a alternate in Novermber of 2004. 5 days later I was given a pilot slot. In January 05 I went to Brooks. On the 10th of this month, I was told I was DQd from pilot because of my eyes, but I was given a waiver for navigator. However, no navigator slots are available at this time. Because of this, and the timing of it all, I have been slated to be a missile/munitions maintenance officer, but I have not been given a base. They said that I may get a nav slot back if one becomes available prior to commissioning (14 May 05), but if not, I have to take the missile/munitions …

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Well, who's the best? Who's the biggest asshole? Who's the best wingman? ps if you don't know who Rainman A-10 is then you best stay out of the fight. Go watch cartoons or something.

Breaking news not far from here... https://www.thundermustang.com (Not the plane that crashed) From Wikipedia...

Just finishing up advanced training and was wondering if there was a way into the Guard before I graduate (I am AD Air Force)....I have heard of occurances before.