General Discussion

I recently got tasked to go to Balad for 120 days. I've never been to The Sandbox before, although I have wanted to for some time. I leave some time in March. I just wondered if any of you guys/gals who have had the experience could tell me anything about their trips.

Gunmen using silenced pistols shot dead a senior Iraqi general in Baghdad on Thursday, an official said, the latest in a spate of assassinations of top military and civilian officials. The killing of Brigadier General Mohammed Alaa Jassim was the fourth of a senior Iraqi official in the past week, with at least three others having narrowly escaped death in that time. Jassim, the deputy commander of the Iraqi air force's Al-Muthanna base in central Baghdad, was in his car on a busy thoroughfare in the Ghazaliyah neighbourhood in the capital's west when he was killed, an interior ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Not a good month or two …

I am trying to put together a list for an acquaintance who is selling their house near Randolph due to a job relocation. They wanted to know if there are any web sites specifically targeting military personnel looking to buy a home. I've heard of Military Homes For Sale and Military By Owner, but after that point I am out of Schlitz. Can anyone suggest any others? By the way, I've got no gouge on this particular home; but if anyone is interested I can get some contact info for ya! Thanks! M2

Dudes, I'm about to buy my first house and I was curious what y'all do to prepare your house for both long deployments and 3-6 week trips and TDYs? I'm expecting about 250+ days gone in the next year... I'm single and was just wondering if y'all have a checklist of things to do/shut off/hire people for, since no one will be there to take care of the day to day stuff? Googled a bunch of stuff but it was just random things here and there. I'm looking for more of an all/mostly encompassing checklist. Thanks, Banquet

pretty interesting... Full Story

Article w/ Video When do we get the CVSLP again?

Glad everyone's OK. A couple Herks are going to need some TLC, however... From AFA's Daily Report: FlightGlobal: Full article/post with pictures.

Speaking of bullshit media headlines... First Lady Onboard Plane That Reportedly Just Misses Military Jet Really? Just misses? I love the quote burried in there "The FAA is investigating the incident. The Boeing 737 landed safely after executing the go around. The aircraft were never in any danger." Is it really that big of a deal? Obviously making the first lady's plane go around is not ideal but c'mon, this shit happens every day at multiple US airports. I guess it's sensational news when you've got other stories out there of controllers falling asleep. edit: sprrelling

https://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123252966 Looks like you'll need 300 days in an 18 mo period or 548 in 3 years. Lots of folks will already hit those numbers. Others, not so much.

I have seen a few people post graduate thesis related questionnaires on here lately and thought I might broaden my population a bit as well. Essentially, I am trying to find any correlations between types of electronic planning systems used, aircrew experience level, and time lost during flight planning. It is a quick 10 question survey (linked below) and would definitely appreciate your time and input. My apolgoies if some of the content does not apply to your respective communities. Thanks in advance! https://surveymonkey.com/s/NVQNMWN

NATO's Bomb Supply Is Running Short ..."Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials"... Libya “has not been a very big war. If [the Europeans] would run out of these munitions this early in such a small operation, you have to wonder what kind of war they were planning on fighting,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank. “Maybe they were just planning on using their air force for air shows.”…

10 years ago this month (April 1-11) this happened. I work with the only AF guy on that plane (now a Capt) and he is a really cool guy. A couple of gee whiz stuff about that: The Chinese Pilot's name is Wang Wei which when pronounced sounds like wong way The pilot got a DFC for landing safely (and handing over tons of secretes to the Chinese) while the crew got AMs.

https://www.freep.com/article/20110413/NEWS06/104130333/Michigan-dad-wants-answers-son-s-combat-death?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5guMfinZBAN37m9ioE9ubA4hlljqQ?docId=91916fa7c8ec4cbfb1177ab12856bc05

Can't find the original thread using either the SF or Google Search Site... ...but the outcome of the Ohio State flyby has been released (although the investigation is still ongoing, apparently). Pilot has relinquished his wings in exchange for honourable discharge. Non-AF Times linky: Press-Citizen

Ok this is not the standard "will I get BAH/S in OTS" question, it is a little different. I am currently an Airborne Linguist (1A8) and from what I understand I will retain that AFSC through OTS, untill I graduate. My question is, if I retain my current AFSC, then do I still get my Language Incentive pay and Flight Pay? I ask because for 3 months that is about 1k in extra pay and I dont want to lose it because no one asked the question. Thank in advance for any advice given to me. Also, I am going up for a rated board and I was wondering if my time on AOs will carry over to my new rated career field? Thanks again.

2 killed in F/A-18 crash in California Not again...

Sounds like a no-gyro PAR...Fun. Jet Makes Blind Landing in New Orleans

Does anyone have any information or a link to some information about ASBC?

Hey all, Just wondering if anyone has heard of doing a lateral pilot transfer to the Navy from the Air Force. I am a T-38 grad from Vance that got assigned C-21s to Ramstein, which is a pretty sweet gig. But I just got word that I'll no longer be able to compete to go pointy-nose for my next assignment and will be forced to the heavy world. I love being in the Air Force, but my dream has always been to be in a single seat jet, and I'm just not ready to let it go. I've got just over 8 years left on my pilot training ADSC and I've been researching ways to get to a fighter after my assignment at Ramstein. I've looked at Palace Chase to a guard or reserve unit, bu…

US Military Plane Crashes in Germany Anyone have any more information than the 1 liner on Fox News?

Found this on another site and thought it might be of interest. Anybody heard anything about it? New gunship flies to Paris Air Show debut By Stephen Trimble on June 6, 2009 12:14 AM | ShareThis https://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/AT-802U_2.jpg https://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/AT-802U_3.jpg The Air Tractor AT-802U is now en route from Olney, Texas, to Le Bourget, France, to be unveiled at the Paris Air Show, said Lee Jackson, design engineer. Featuring an armoured fuselage, a 10hr loiter time and the ability to haul more than 8,000lb of payload, unarmed AT-802Us have been operated by the US State Department in South America since 200…

Sounds like a massive storm/tornado went through Sun 'N Fun a few hours ago. Here are some pictures of the destruction from the EAA facebook site. https://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=192081688622&aid=358039&closeTheater=1

Do most bases offer language courses? If not, are there any options for officers to learn a 'high value' language besides on their own time? Thanks

I am just curious with all the pilots. What is one of the main reason you think plane crashes happen? Is it the plane, pilot, both, ATC what? My main area of interest is proper flight instruction and safety in flying. I became concerned in this area after being a flight attendant and having a very scary flight experience. I would love some feed back! Thanks!

No, it's not Dwight Schrute's "horse-boat", but I'm sure his Iranian counterpart was integral in the acquisition process. https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-09/irans-boat-plane-thing-would-strike-fear-other-flying-military-boats-if-they-existed