Catbox

Anyone have any thoughts on the Smith and Wesson MP 15-22? Having a friendly debate with a co-worker who is dying to get one for his kid with all the bells and whistles, red-dot, every rail accessory imaginable, etc... Of course its his choice to make and maybe I'm overly traditional but my take is that kids should learn to shoot with a quality rifle, wood furniture and iron sights. I loved my Ruger 10-22 when I got it and it still holds a place of prominence in my own personal collection because it is the gun on which I learned to shoot. His take is that all weapons are evolving to pistol grips, modern sights and Picatinny rails so its better for the kid to learn on the starter version of what he may be shooting in the future... Any thoughts?

I remember from my field training days at our “intro to Dover” brief that we were told that the Port Mortuary was the only one in the CONUS that handles all DOD service members who have died overseas. So all of the nations war dead are processed through Dover regardless of service. Here’s the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Mortuary

Shack... But the big question is how to get congress (if they give a shit), the general public (if they give a shit) and the wider AF community (if they give a shit) to see the correlation that AF leadership's misplaced priorities leads directly to mishandled nukes and mishandled remains. To my mind it doesn't matter that Swartz was directly involved but if a shit load of Capts/Majors can see that the light at the end of the tunnel is a ######ing train...why can't he?

After reading that...is Gen North "...the most-feared and hated man in the U.S. Air Force..." I worked with him several times at the Died and knew several of his aides and by all accounts he was/is a decent guy.

Things have changed a lot from my days at P'Cola but on during our Air Force inprocessing they told us specifically that we were not allowed to persue any outside education.There is no reason, to either...unless the pipeline is accelarated I think you will be surprised at how much time between UFT and initial check out in your MWS you will have. Work on your Masters then.

I've heard this over and over and I'm sure it happened from time to time but I never witnessed it to the degree that the FAC system seemed to necessitate. In fact the ridiculous subjectivity of the FACs that affected nearly everyone ( either as a testee or a supervisor fighting with the FAC) was far worse than a few isolated cases of cheating.

Hey Ice, I realize its been a couple of weeks so things may already be rolling but having been through the MEB process a few things I can recommend. First of all there are several different outcomes, retain, retire or separated. If you get retained you may have an assignment limitation code which will limit some options for you in the future (as I'm finding out now and am beyond pissed). My advice on this BE PATIENT and don't plan for any particular outcome. Go to your appointments, take your meds and be 100% honest with the docs who are treating you. The other piece of advice...if you do get into an MEB, go to Transition Assistance Program ASAP. I wish I would have, but most of your questions regarding post service disability, insurance will be answered there or at least you will get the contacts who can answer your questions. But remember what I said don’t plan for anything, you are just attending TAP to put yourself at ease and figure out what MIGHT happen with two of the three MEB outcomes. Please PM me if you have more questions...happy to chat over the phone or email if needed.

Any docs perusing this board (or anyone experienced), a keg to you (I mean it) for any help you can provide. I'm getting out of AD for family reasons and have been hired at a non-flying reserve unit that needs rated folks. I’m also on the short list for two IMA positions so at the unit level the Reserves want me and my experience. I had absolutely counted on getting into the Reserves to continue my service, work towards retirement and still get to feel kind of cool. While on AD I had several bouts of kidney stones that ended up with an MEB and an ALC (C-2). I have been symptom free for over a year and as long as I take my medication (urocit-k) it looks like I have a great chance of being stone free for the rest of my life. According to all AD medical staff I can still deploy but it would require extra paper work and the appropriate facilities in case I gave birth to another stone. After getting scrolled, getting hired, etc... it came time to submit my medical paperwork and in about a week the answer came back that I was ineligible to enter the reserves because I was not WW qualified. I never actually saw any correspondence or official rejection, this just came from the inservice recruiter (he also told me that there was no waiver process…in my experience there is always a waiver). The unit that hired me is looking into this but all the med staff is TR and don’t drill again for a few weeks. Anyone else been through this or are there any Docs/Nurses with experience that can tell me if my ALC instantly DQs from the AFRC? If you are a medical type I’m happy to share any docs, etc… that might help. My eyeballs are literally about to explode I’m so pissed at what may be one last screw job from Big Blue so I would kill for any help or advice.

I agree with everyone about this program...I was second classe to graduate and IMHO you get a much better and useable education that the people who are doing the truly ridiculous box checking masters degree programs. Beyond the price of books (which I got smarter on as the program progressed, there are ways to save money on books) it is completely free. I actually had some quality professors/instructors that really did give a crap and I learned more than I intended. After the first few 300 word discussion posts you really can go on auto-pilot if you want. I paid attention to the subjects I gave a crap about and tended to do the minimums on the one's I didn't. The time spent is up to you, average for me...maybe 4 hours a week but I only took one class at a time. Very flexible with our schedule, I was on the BWI rotator for two of the finals weeks both times they worked with me. No tests, but there is quite a bit of writing, especially your final paper. I was able to sneak in most of my discussion question answers during slow times at work. One of the biggest eye openers for me was interacting with the other O-4s I would never meet in person. There are some quality people in the AF and some slack jawed ######s that have no place manning a drive thru. Again not sure of the viability for the outside world but it was a shade better than traditional corespodance-ACSC when I was pledging different reserve units. If you don't get picked up in residence I highly recommend this over any other "check the box" masters out there.

Ok I'll believe you one more time but if you're lying...

All right the flood gates are open...there's a few copilots that are going to be hearing from my lawyer.

Y You are probably right, but the more hits the article gets the more it will show people are paying attention. It seems to me he deserves it and it would sure be nice to have a hot shit enlisted AF member at the White House getting this award.

Interesting read on why SSgt Robert Guiterrez deserves the Medal of Honor: http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/why-staff-sgt-robert-gutierrez-should-receive-the-medal-of-honor/

Cool, thanks for the info. Since I've never had a uniform that chicks dig, I didn't know the collar folded over like that.

This guy is a hero...no doubt so not taking anything away from him. I've just never seen the MOH worn without the neck ribbon, anyone have any idea why his is displayed this way?

just and another

Here, here to learjetter. My dad and I used to make kit muzzle loaders so when you "build" a gun start to finish you get a great appreciation for the quality and how small things like a properly sanded and stained stock can have a big impact on the finished accuracy of your gun. I'm a huge fan of wood and steel, the hipoints are plastics and pot metal. But again I've never shot one so I could be missing out. Have fun on the range...since you are physicist are you running the equations through your had as you pull the trigger?

I'm pretty sure Hi-point first got thier bad name for being used in the Columbine shootings. The press picked up the connection between kids shooting and an inexpensive "assault rifle" and ran with it. I'm definitely a gun snob, but like M2 said if someone likes these weapons its up to them. I have to admit the appearance of a cheap weapon turns me off but that's just me.

Interesting story on Fox... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/15/general-reportedly-said-was-pressured-to-change-testimony-on-white-house-backed/ I don't know much about General Shelton but I have been following the lightsquared issue for a while now and it sure seems that have been able to fast track through the FCC despite the frequency proximity to GPS and power of their network vs. the GPS signal.

Yeah always been my impression as well, not just ugly but unsafe looking. Some people seem to love them, but I don't get it. They're warranty is crazy...no questions asked return or replace (no matter how many drive bys or school shootings it was used in).

Can somebody more familiar talk about the Hi-Points? When I first encountered them at a gun show I thought they were almost scary for their poor quality (not making fun of you Masshole, BTW) but I've definitely noticed they have a steady stream of defenders on the internet. Anyone know more about them? Does the cheap price tag mean poor quality?

Good luck man...I've been through the whole thing, long term DNIF turned medically DQ'd from flying which turned into an MEB which turned into a duty limiting code. Go into this like a prize fighter...if you are expecting those first few hits they don't sting as much. There will be good docs, bad docs, minimum wage bureaucrats who's sole purpose in life is to be a road block and 1 or 2 people who actually get things done. Most of all there is a lots and lots of waiting. Be patient but don't be afraid to pick up the phone and pester the f--- out of people to get you answers. Most of all remember that you are absolutely doing the right thing.

Uh, Rainman...he wants an answer...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ioNh0o-3eu6miHsGD9FL-WbWPZVA?docId=CNG.12fae9f5b2df1acd6ae8fd3824d0c3d4.61

Ahh, Rainman you are always there for the community. How many baseops regulars will loudly and proudly proclaim thier love for you come 20 September?