M2

As one of the moderators on here, we all do our best to remove any spam as soon as we can can. But I have to admit I had a spam-related chuckle this afternoon worth sharing... Some dope spammer posted a thread along the lines of "should I exercise or use diet pills" complete with links to the pills they were pushing. The post even had a person's name at the bottom, and included the "sorry if this is in the wrong forum" comment to try and make it look genuine. But as that poster just signed up here, had a grand total of 1 post, and there was no mention of the USAF or even the military, it was obviously spam. Maybe not as obvious as the porn spam we get, but pretty easily ID'd. Well, almost obvious, I guess, as one unnamed individual on here did give a honest, sincere and somewhat lengthy reply of "diet and exercise are better than pills;" which could only leave me to believe that he didn't realize that the original post was spam. Said thread has since been schwacked, but I had to thank that person (and you know who you are) for giving me a good laugh on this dreary afternoon. Cheers! M2

"2" Cheers! M2

My best friend and best man was also in his mess dress (and had more medals than I did); and one of my groomsmen was in his Marine formal uniform. The two other groomsmen were in tuxes. To be honest I just looked at the pics and it doesn't look bad; it just shows you the diversity of buds I had. I've been to weddings that had everyone in mess dress, and that was cool too. No one went around checking to see who had the most medals either. It is a moot point, and anyone who fixates on it needs to reassess their priorities... Cheers! M2

I did four years at Ramstein, 95-99. That was pre-Doc and the place was already crowded then. We lived up past Sembach and we loved being on the economy, but with a deployment and a newborn, we decided to move into stairwell housing our last year. it was a smart move, as the African embassy bombings caused a massive lockdown on US installations in Europe. At least my wife and son were on base, where she could walk to the BX, commissary, 24-hr shoppette, etc. Kaiserslautern is the largest contingent of Americans outside of the 50 states, and it is obvious that around the US facilities most of the signs are in English; but there is a lot to do and see in the area and if you make an effort to get out and about, you will have a good time. You are not far from the Black Forest, decent skiing (although not the Alps, they are a bit of a drive to get to, about 4 hours or so to Garmisch). The Rhine and Mosel rivers are beautiful, and try and get out to the local fests when you can. Volksmarches--organized hikes with prizes--are popular weekend activities. Check out the Thursday edition of the Stars & Stripes, you can read it online here. And you had better enjoy yourself! Otherwise, you suck! Cheers! M2

Not to make light of the situation (I do hope everything works out for the best for you), but I know a guy who used to jokingly call his spouse his "current wife." Big surprise, they are no longer together... Do whatever you can but also understand you only control half of the situation. Have a back-up plan in case things don't go as hoped. And know that the USAF is made up of people too, and most will understand how stressful the situation is. If you need more time to sort things out, there is a good chance you can get it; but you won't if you don't ask. Cheers! M2

I am no insurance expert, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night; but if I understand it correctly renter's insurance only covers the contents of the property. Basically, the renter's stuff. As the property owner/landlord you need insurance on the property itself. It also covers you if someone, say a repairman, came to the property and injured themselves. Or if they people upstairs have a water leak and damage is done to your property. A "fire policy" is too restrictive, and wouldn't cover those situations or others such as flood, hurricane, tornado, etc. That being said, I have always believed in having good (read: a lot of) insurance coverage. The few times I haven't, such as having only comprehensive on an old car that was paid off, it has bit me in the ass. Know your policies and talk with your insurance company. Good ones like USAA will be more than happy to walk you through the different coverages. And I concur with the property manager recommendation. A good one is a major stress-reliever. Unfortunately, a bad one can add stresss as we have found out the hard way... Cheers! M2

Seriously, you really have to wonder about people who worry about other people having more medals than they do...especially on their wedding day! And I think it is ridiculous to go the tux route. If you are not proud enough to wear your uniform on a formal occassion such as this, then maybe you shouldn't be wearing it at all! Cheers! M2

Tertle The DoD has weight standards, and the USAF has them for accessions, which affects you. Applicants to join the Air Force who exceed weight requirements (max of 191 lbs for someone 5' 10") are measured for body-fat. Procedures to measure body fat can be found in DoD Instruction 1308.3, DoD Physical Fitness and Body Fat Programs Procedures. Based on the BMI equation given in that instruction (BMI=704.5 x wt/ht2 (where wt is in lbs and ht in inches)), at 215 lbs your BMI is over 30. You need a BMI at or below 27.5, which for your height is 197 pounds. That could be a show-stopper. Talk with your Det about it, and good luck! Cheers! M2

How in the hell are you suppose to score with a bridesmaid if you don't show some bling? Plus, it might be worth some free drinks at Hooters after the ceremony. And if you see some lieutenant with only one, be sure to walk up and spin it around. Always good for a laugh! Technically, I didn't think there was an option for wearing "some" decorations on the mess dress. Is there? Cheers! M2

Toro You, or one of your buds, is a sick bastard. I am off work for the rest of the week...thus it would be a good time to send this to 69 of my best buds! Cheers! M2

Either way, knowing the regs is smart...and a great place to start is here. Cheers! M2

Been thinking about getting one of those little cheap mini-helicopters to fly around the house...looks like fun; but I am not interested in spot painting all the marks I am gonna make when I crash into the walls... Cheers! M2

So now we know who to blame! Seriously, I don't know who you pissed off to get that additional duty; but I hope you've learned your lesson! Now, since you have insider knowledge, what kind of medals do the uniform board bubbas give each other?!? Inquiring minds want to know... Cheers! M2

All due respect, but do you seriously expect that to happen? (Sorry, gotta keep up my post count in this thread! I feel it is my duty! ). Nothing the USAF can do now will repair the damaged relations between us and the Kyrgies. Apologizing and saying we (the USAF) was involved in a cover-up concerning a golden child's abortion will do nothing to mend fences. What I am surprised is that State isn't all over this. You'd think the US Embassy in Bishkek would be catching the biggest shitbomb from all this. But in the big scheme of things I guess Kyrgyzstan is not high on State's list of concerns... So, nothing is too good when it comes to Jill Metzger, and that is exactly what we will hear about her...nothing! Cheers! M2

(Sorry Rain...) If she was raped, and I don't believe it for a second, but for the sake of the argument if she was, and it was reported, it would have been handled and there would have been probably some mention of it without details or names in the AF Times. But if our theory is true, the USAF has painted itself in a corner and unfortunately this is exactly how I would expect it to play out. Seriously, put yourself on the CSAF's 'think tank' and at this point what else could you do? Keep quiet and hope it blows over (and for the most part except this forum and militarycorruption.com it has) is about their only option. Say she has PTSD and no one will come near her. Assign a 'handler' to stop anyone dumb enough to approach her anyway. Temporarily retire her and she'll go away, tell her if she doesn't keep her mouth shut, she'll be recalled to active duty and court martialed. Exactly as I would have planned it, if I had... As I said way back on 8 Sep 2006 (when this thread started), I am sure we'll never hear the truth about what happened... Cheers! M2

You asked for it... "You are out of your element and shut the "f" up!" Seriously, your hypothesis is worse than the that is spewing from AF/PA! There is no compelling evidence that any of what you espoused happened, but there is a helluva lot of it showing that she lied about her actions, and even more anecdotal evidence that she was seeking an abortion. I don't think if she had been raped that she would have taken this route, if she was and did, then she is an even bigger idiot than I originally thought! Sorry, but that has to be one of the worse alternative scenarios that anyone could have come up with. I hope you aren't planning to propose that the psycho female astronaut's actions were the result of some pre-menopausal condition as well… M2

Have you done a financial estimate as to how much it all has cost the taxpayers??? (not to include the on-duty time spent on this thread by our active duty and Reserve/Guard participants, of course! ) Cheers! M2

Just to clarify that Kelly Inn is not on Lackland but on KellyUSA (250 Goodrich Dr, 78236 if you want to map it), which is the new industrial park that formerly was Kelly AFB. It is one of the many facilities that remained after the base was closed, and it is a part of Lackland billeting; but just keep in mind that you are not on base and that the building is accessible to the public. As you may know, this is not the best part of town. But that said, San Antonio itself is really family-friendly. There are a ton of amusement parks here (SeaWorld, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Schlitterbahn and SplashTown USA) and of course the RiverWalk and Alamo are popular destinations. If you have the time I would recommend visiting the other missions, there are four others in addition to the Alamo. We also have a nice Zoo and numerous museums. Plus you have the Texas Hill Country just northwest of the city, and the Gulf of Mexico a few hours away. This message brought to you by the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau... Cheers! M2

Not just the desert, I also wore one while in Bosnia the summer of '98. As we had a hardcore US Army commander, I made my team wear the normal BDU cap in garrison, then switch to the boonie once we went out the gate. Then he went out on an op with us, and as usual my crew swapped for the boonies as soon as we cleared the compound. I figured I would catch hell, as this guy had a hard-on for regs,; but to my surprise he agreed that the boonies made much more sense as we spent most of our time outside in the heat and sun. Of course the Army went to the black beret for everyone in 2001. Whereas I understood Shinseki's logic behind the decision, in reality it was a bad idea. Nothing funnier than seeing some '4x4' Army Sergeant (4 feet tall and 4 feed wide) busting out of their ACUs wearing either a too small or too large beret on their cranium. Honestly, unless you are airborne, Ranger, SF (the real ones, not our cops), Combat Controller or a PJ, you shouldn't wear a beret. OK, I'll include the TACPs and even the weather guys in that group, but no one else. Hat rant over... Cheers! M2

Cheers! M2

It has, but not at this level... Cheers! M2

Are you serious? Cheers! M2

Yep, from over 26 years ago. Funny thing is the entire time I was enlisted and overseas, I kept getting letters asking for address updates (this before the Internet, kids!). I sent replies with my APO address, explaining that I didn't think I'd get drafted as I was already in. A few weeks later I would get a ncie form letter thanking me for updating my address. I hope the system is run better nowadays... Cheers! M2

Oddly enough, I was on the Selective Service web site getting info for my periodic reinvestigation (security clearance update), when I came across this little nugget of info... Nice to know being "equal" doesn't apply in all situations... Cheers! M2