General Discussion

The VML came out recently and a few people didn't get assignments and were told to standby for more words. The story from the rumor mill is that AETC is doing some restructuring and that anyone with a AETC assignment is being told to wait for their assignment. Anyone else seeing this at their base or have any SA on the situation? Crate

Hi all. I know there is a lot archived here but am having a hard time with the new search since the site upgraded. Mainly wondering about good sources for t6 gouge that I can scrub before my class starts. In particular are boldface and ops limits up to date on the following site? https://www.t6driver.com/gouge_boldface.html The page looks like it was last updated when geocities was the hot shit but has lots of resources. Would hate to put time into something super outdated.

I'm in the market for a new watch and for those of you who have been through UPT, would you suggest a watch that has an E6B function? Is it more advantageous than than fumbling around with that gargantuan wizz-wheel in the airplane?

Howdy folks, just graduated school and I'm on my way to Laughlin to wait (APT) for an IFT/UPT class date. I'd sincerely appreciate any and all wisdom y'all have on PCSing, inprocessing at a new base - especially Laughlin/UPT, the IFT/UPT pipeline itself, etc. Thanks a bunch! - Ike

OffAviation topic... We had a great little snackbar with all kinds of sandwiches, cakes, candy, chips, drinks, subs, etc. It made enough money that we never got hit up for dues, never had to pitch in for going-away plaques, and had a great Christmas party last year, FREE. Last week, the AAFES boss got pissed that we were making money, and he was not. So he got legal involved....long story short, we were ordered to shut everything down. I'm sure the expenses will remain (going-away gifts, Christmas party, etc.) but the income will now be painful...dues, etc. NOW THE POINT: I know there are regs on this, and legal issues that MUST be adhered to. My question is: …

We had a TH-67 go down in Ft. Rucker today. 1 pilot is confirmed dead and the other was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. There are no further details as of now.

Holy crap...as far as I can tell, this is actually a pretty damn good idea. Base gyms to be open 24/7 Summary: On commander approval, gyms will stay open 24/7, with access via CAC and security cameras in place. Surely, something or somebody will f*** this up.

Previous thread was from 2007 and lumped in with the HC, I'll try and keep this first post up to date. Command: AFSOC Crew: Pilot, CP, CSO, LMs Mission: Commando II flies clandestine, or low visibility, single or multiship, low-level air refueling missions for special operations helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft, and infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces (SOF) by airdrop or airland intruding politically sensitive or hostile territories. The MC-130J primarily flies missions at night to reduce probability of visual acquisition and intercept by airborne threats. Its secondary mission includes the airdrop of leaflets. Sele…

Colonel Robert L. Howard, age 70 and believed to be the most-decorated living American before his death, passed away Wednesday from pancreatic cancer in Waco, TX. Here's to him! Biography: Colonel Bob Howard is a native of Alabama, with his home record San Antonio, Texas. He entered military service on July 20, 1956 and was medically retired on September 30, 1992. He received a direct appointment from Master Sergeant to First Lieutenant in December 1969. His thirty six years of military service included over 33 years on airborne status. He participated in two movies concerning airborne and special operations missions, both featuring John Wayne. He made …

Heard today that the 6th will be losing its FID mission. Sad if it's true, very unique capability just never seemed to fit.

If you had the chance in a non-attribution environment, what inputs would you give if you had five minutes with CSAF, General Jumper? [ 22. November 2004, 15:31: Message edited by: Clearedhot ]

Trying to decipher DoD regs regarding Time-in-Grade (Lt Col) and retirement. Lets say I have 20 years, been an 05 for two years, and I put in paperwork to retire. Lt Col TIG requires 3 years to retire as a Lt Col...what does that mean? I understand that I can't wear a retired Lt Col hat to the BX but does it drastically effect benefits? Or...can I not even apply to retire until I hit 3-years TIG? As I read it, under the high-3 retirement, they average out your highest 36 months of service...so if you have 1-year of 04 pay and 2-years of 05 pay...thats the average, right? Not quite as much money as getting 3-years TIG...but better than never having been paye…

https://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/23/vietnam-era-fliers-buried-side-by-side-at-arlington/ Major James Sizemore and his navigator Major Howard Andre were found in Laos last year and were recently buried in Arlington. Unfortunately due to sequestration and being the end of the fiscal year the USAF said they couldn't provided a flyover. Thankfully pilots from the non-profit Warrior Flight Team stepped in and provided not one but two flyovers the second in an A-26; the same plane Sizemore and Andre flew into Laos 44 years ago. No one could come up with 4 hours to support this? I spent 30+ flight hours last week flying "medievac" missions for retired dudes with spr…

Sorry if this has been beaten into the ground I tried using the SF and nothing came up. Additionally this is not a thread to expose or raise any BS flags regarding this individual, Im sure there is useful information included in this program. Im only inquiring the thoughts or feedback from anyone using this program? Is it mostly rah rah get off your a** stuff? or what? More specifically Id only use it for info regarding the Age ETP process.....

Can someone please explain what military cap and flying cap is? Thanks.

I'm putting down Space and Missiles as my first choice on my 53. I know most of the stuff on this site is flying related, but if someone has some insight in to the Space & Missiles field, I'd appreciate a little guidance. Things like what to expect for my first assignment, bases (good ones, not so good), training, lifestyle and such. Thanks a lot

I have UTFSF but haven't been able to pull up an old thread with any good info. I'm seeking some help from fellow Exec types, former Exec types, or casual UPT types that might be able to give a little input. I'm trying to find good/somewhat recent examples of Duty Titles that have been used for junior CGOs who are on casual for an extended period. We have several 2d Lts, 1st Lts, and a couple Capts that have been doing an administrative assistant type role and we also have a couple who have been assigned as the lead casual. I'm curious about what Duty Titles folks have had in the past or know of. Any input is much appreciated.

Just an opinion question here. Do you think MX is inadvertently torpedoing efforts to modernize and upgrade older aircraft by reporting a higher than actual mission capable rate? Not to take anything away from MX, those guys are miracle workers; however, from a bystander's perspective, it seems like it is a lot harder to pitch "we need new engines" when on paper your aircraft is reporting an 80-100% mission capable rate. The obvious retort to the request for new engines then becomes "well, if your airplane is functioning so well, why do we need to spend the money on new engines?" I have a strictly ops oriented point of view, with no real grounds in MX or acquisiti…

I'm trying to switch from cable to Dish Network or Direct TV before football season. Both places want an 18-month or 2-year committment to get a decent deal. If I sign up for one of these, would I be able to cancel my service when I leave for OTS without paying a fee? I know there's something like this for renters, just wondering if the same applied here.

Air Force Times Link Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will be the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War. On Thursday, President Obama spoke with Giunta, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, in Vicenza, Italy, to inform him that he will be awarded the nation’s highest valor award, according to the White House. Giunta, 25, will be honored for his actions during a fierce firefight Oct. 25, 2007, in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. According to the White House announcement, when an insurgent force ambush split Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade …

I read a report recently in which an officer wrote that he graduated ENJJPT in the early 1990s and was designated a 'banked pilot'. He then did seven months of school cross-training to Intel. I don't know if he returned to the cockpit. Can anyone say whether such a categorisation was either common or permanent? Seems odd to spend so much money training someone who then ends up doing a completely different job.

Did a search and only found a couple posts from 5 years back or so regarding the time between UPT graduation and follow on training. I'll be graduating UPT here in June of 2013 and am planning on getting married shortly after (like the weekend after). I'm just wondering what the current average amount of time is between graduation and follow on training, i.e. SERE/Water Survival/MWS training/etc...? Any help would be appreciated.

All, What's the largest aircraft in an air-to-air kill. I'm pretty sure it's the B-52D (2 kills in Vietnam during Operation Linebacker II), however I can't find a reference for whether it is the largest aircraft with an A-A kill. Any help would be appreciated.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/ I thought of Squadron Posters the second I saw NASA's poster art. I thought maybe Squadron Posters did some of the design... Maybe the style is just one of those viral/in vogue design things that I don't keep up with. Like Squadron Posters, I think they look cool.

How cool is it that the very first jet there was also the same jet to fly the fini-flight? For once the AF gets it right!