General Discussion

I recently graduated this past May with a degree in Electrical Engineering and I'm awaiting my EAD on 1 Oct. So, I've been sort of bumming it out and relaxing. The 10 hours of sleeping each day, drinking, watching showtime, working out, and gaming is getting pretty old (I know this actually sounds pretty awesome)... and I decided that while my months off have been chill, I might as well make use of the time I have left. My UPT is set to start sometime in February, so I'll have an additional 4 months of casual down at Laughlin and I've been advised by a few buddies to start taking grad classes before/after UPT... as I will eventually need my masters to make Maj. 1. W…

The script at the front gate of Nellis, "home of the fighter pilot" has been taken down. WTF.

The two leading members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have formally requested an estimate of the cost of terminating the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, according to a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today. The letter comes from Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ), the chairman and ranking member of the committee, respectively. McCain has been especially critical of the F-35 program in recent months and failed in an effort to cancel the program during the committee's recent mark-up of the fiscal year 2012 defense authorization bill. In their letter, Levin and McCain request more information from the Defense Department about …

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?

Ninety-years ago today Billy Mitchell dropped a bomb that at least indirectly started the Air Force. “It is a very serious question whether airpower is auxiliary to the Army and the Navy, or whether armies and navies are not actually auxiliary to airpower.” General William 'Billy' Mitchell Surface area view of the captured German battleship Ostfriesland after it was attacked by Martin MB-2 bombers of the U.S. Army Air Service’s First Provisional Air Brigade, led by Brig. Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell, on July 21, 1921.

I had the honor of meeting GEN Shalikashvili back when he was the Chairman and I was a young captain. I was in Slovakia at the time on a military liaison team, and he and Madeline Albright rolled into town. We helped the embassy with the arrangements, so we were at the location where he was meeting the Slovak military leaders. He saw us from across the room, and made his whole entourage take a detour so he could walk over and meet the team. He was very friendly, and made time for us to take photos with him. Actually, we all got two pics each with him, as he made an excuse for the second picture with each individual but we realized he did that just in case the first p…

FAA Shutdown So does this mean they have no governing authority during the shutdown? Also scary, other things are probably next. (Like us)

F-35C carrier-variant test aircraft CF-3 has made its first catapult launch today (July 27) using the land-based steam catapult at NAS Lakehurst, where the U.S. Navy's version of the JSF is undergoing carrier suitability testing. Source: https://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3aad00342f-3d8c-47ea-b3b3-afbfe02c64e2&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest I wonder if it has the autopilot hands off take offs like the F/A-18's...probably does since that seems to…

PLAAF Su-27 Going U-2 Hunting?

Don't know any details. Nose gear collapsed, ended up in the grass.

Turkish military command quits Doesn't have all the details but interesting regardless.

Dozens of U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Chopper Attack Also in the WSJ: Afghan Chopper Crash Kills 31 U.S. Troops, 7 Afghans

USMC Corporal Dakota Meyer

The Charbroil finally rusted itself useless and with the new Infrared grills out there, anybody have advice on a good grill. Been sticking to gas because of convenience but thinking about trying out wood/charcoal or the infrared.

Interesting demo. And it seems India will get at least 150 of them...

PCAS reaches first design review ...The programme will use an unmanned A-10 Thunderbolt II or ‘Warthog’ for the demonstration in 2015... ...It is understood that DARPA is considering four munitions including the JDAM, Laser Maverick, 2.75-in rocket and gun...

AT-6 dry lake bed Why is it that the following gear looks to me far less scary? But then again, what do I know?...

I'm probably like everyone else here, I have a love/hate relationship with the Air Force. But I think when it comes right down to it, as an organiztion the Air Force has its self screwed tightly into the wrong hole (no sts on that, sorry). I think baseops is a pretty good representation of the officers and some enlisted who truly care about what is going with the service and the most active boards and threads are the ones where people bitch and complain about Big Blue. 90% of the time I agree with the points being made, or at least where the frustration is coming from. When I was at SOS and they brought the War College guys in for Capt/Col discussion. I will never for…

All Female KC-10 Mission

Looks like the Red Arrows has an accident near Bournemouth today. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3764622/Red-Arrow-crash-at-air-show.html

This is a great story in ADN about PJs serving in OEF, recounting one day during Operation Bulldog Bite. It was a phenomenal story to hear first hand, and the ADN reporter actually did a good job. This is what should be in the press, not some all-female crew flying a KC-10. Makes me wonder if any shoes at Bagram had any clue what was going on outside the wire while this was going down... ADN Article

Libyan Rebels Are Flying Their Own Minidrone

So I returned from my deployment to see the McConnell BX under renovations. I really wouldn't be saying anything except that it was under renovations when I left. They are adding a food court, GNC, and who knows that else in the BX. Guess my thoughts are: 1) Considering they have the space to build a new and better BX, and it would have been cheaper (yes, go figure that one out), why wouldn't they go with that plan instead of renovations. 2) If you are doing renovations to an already sad and pretty pathetic BX, wouldn't you want to make it somewhat BIGGER than what was originally there? For those that have been to or at this location, I would like to hear your t…

I know I am cynical, but 15 years? Really? Wasn't the U-2 designed in 120 days or something? The mighty KC-135 went from proposal to test flight in 2 years. Our acquisition process is jacked up. Glad to see they're keeping at least one good-location base open for business at least.

OK, I admit it, I work in the AMC Fuel Efficiency Office (FEO) and I was responsible for the whole Mission Index Flying (MIF) project. For a little background, I am a reservist flying for a major airline and took the job in FEO to get away from the airline for a bit in January of 2009. Originally I signed on for 9 months, but it lasted 2 yrs and 9 months...it's the military. As a commercial airline pilot I was appalled that the MAF did not use cost index algorithms in our flight planning system or in the aircraft. I was more appalled (and disappointed) when I learned that it would cost about $40-$50 Million dollars to put it into EACH fleet. No way we had the money f…