M2

JJ Clearances are for jobs, not rank. You will get clearances as you need them, and no more. Beyond TS there is Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and Special Access Programs/Requirements (SAP/SAR) which are even more restrictive. I cannot go into detail on what specific clearances are for what types of information, but the extra ones I have are to access intel from specific sources. They are tightly controlled to protect the source. Someone posted this web link on security clearances a while back, it is pretty good and worth reading...it may answer some of your questions. Cheers! M2

JJ I don't doubt you begin the process, most likely filling out the form which is reviewed by your local security rep. Trust me, it is a pain in the ass, and it gets worse over time as when you do an update you have to complete the form for your entire lifetime, not just since the last investigation. BUT, if you can get a TS, do so! It is worth bucks on the outside, should you ever decide to get out or when you eventually retire. Some estimates say it is good for an additional $10-15K on your annual salary.

JJ Some free advice for ya...don't believe anything cadets tell you. Someone's yanking your chain. DSS is way behind the power curve on adjudicating clearances (see this), my five-year update took over three years to complete. They wouldn't be wasting their time following a cadet around or listening to his phone calls (illegal without a court order anyway, read USSID 18). Anyhow, your fellow cadets may have filled out an EPSQ and an initial interview was conducted to make sure it was properly filled out, but at this point in their "careers" it is extremely doubtful that the process would begin. Honestly, they don't even know if they are going to make it through UPT, much less what airframe they will be flying afterward. As I said, unless they have a billet requiring a TS clearance, the SSBI is not likely to be completed. I got my first one when I was tapped to be a B-52 aerial defensive gunner back in 1981 (never got the job, the billets--including mine--were cut), and didn't get my second until I was going through intel school. Cheers! M2

Sorry, can't tell you. Seriously, not all pilots get TS clearances, it all depends on the airframe and mission. Honestly, having loads of clearances is really quite boring, some of my job is so classified that even I don't know what I am doing! Cheers! M2

In this morning's Stars & Stripes: Cheers! M2

Got this from another (RAF) forum, when someone asked if DG was close to the epicenter: Still, haven't heard from anyone who was there. Maybe they are all out surfing? Cheers! M2

Hacker Any shot minus your mug would be better! Sorry, as a habitual smartass I couldn't resist! Happy Boxing Day! Cheers! M2 [ 26. December 2004, 05:11: Message edited by: MajorMadMax ]

Close, but no Cuban...the Fourth Fighter Group logo like Hacker has on his Strike Eagle looks like such... Cheers! M2

Tyler You must really be bored to be doing internet searches on my nickname...but nothing suprising there, just a few of the forums I frequent (including this one and a few motorcycle ones). Go back to harassing Hacker! :D Cheers! M2

This is a better pic of the "real" Shangri-La, with Johnny Godfrey, who usually flew Gentile's wing, taken from the back cover of Airmman magazine about ten years ago. I framed it and hung it behind my desk. Sorry it isn't that sharp, the scan doesn't do it justice! Cheers! M2

Forgot to mention, I went by Debden last October while over in the UK on my motorcycle. The area around Saffron Walden is beautiful, it probably hasn't changed much over the past 60 years. The base is now a British Army munitions base (Carver Barracks), but the airfield is still in tact. You can see it here. There is a memorial to the 4 FG at the gate. Cheers! M2

Yeah, Gentile was buzzing some reporters at Debden when he went a little too low. There are pics of it in Grover Hall's book, which I picked up at Moron AB in Spain while TDY back in the early 80's. That book is coming apart at the seams, it has been read so many times. I have several other books on the 4 FG, including Goodson's and Gover's. Those guys lead some exciting lives, first as RAF Eagle pilot's then later flying P-47's and eventually P-51's. Makes for some great reading! I think the original design of the boxing eagle was on a Hawker flown by Wendell Pendleton, that from The Eagles' War (pg 98) by Vern Haugland. Cheers! M2

Score three for Hacker, your answer came in while I was replying to HD. The tough one to ID was retired four-star Gen Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech, who in the 1970s turned around the languishing TAC and oversaw the development of such modern air weaponry as the F-117 stealth fighter. Creech passed away on 26 Aug 2003, age 76. The picture above was while he was DO for the 37 TFW at Phu Cat Air Base, Vietnam. Later, while TAC/CC, TAC bases were covered in "Creech Brown"...rumour had it that it was his wife's idea... Good on ya! Cheers! M2

HD That's one ID'd. Surprised you don't regonize the guy in the middle. The dude on the left is the toughest to ID...but if you were in TAC in the mid-80's, you'd know him based on a certain color...(hint hint). Cheers! M2

Talk about cheesy 'staches, I found this pic while doing some reading at SOS and had to scan it in. Bonus points for naming the three amigos pic'd here, and what positions they would eventually reach. I've blacked out their nametags to keep it from being too simple. Two are easy, one's a bit tougher... BTW Hacker, how did Tyler get your pic? :confused: Cheers! M2

Hacker I know I've said it before but I gotta sy it again, that's some sweet noseart on that bird! Good on ya for keeping Gentile's name and the 4FG tradition going! Cheers! M2 p.s. Cheesy 'stache...good on ya!

Dear God, NJP for a ****ing video? I wonder what candyass it offended. Shit, maybe it is time to retire... Cheers! M2

GUNNER PALACE reveals the complex realities of the situation in Iraq not seen on the nightly news. Told first-hand by our troops, 'Gunner Palace' presents a thought provoking portrait of a dangerous and chaotic war that is personal, highly emotional, sometimes disturbing, surprisingly amusing ... and thoroughly fascinating. Filmmaker Michael Tucker, who lived with 2/3 Field Artillery, a.k.a. "The Gunners" for two months, captures the lives and humanity of these soldiers whose barracks are the bombed-out pleasure palace of Uday Hussein (nicknamed Gunner Palace), situated in the heart of the most volatile section of Baghdad. With total access to all operations and activities, Tucker's insider footage provides a rare look at the day-to-day lives of these soldiers on the ground -- whether swimming in Uday's pool and playing golf on his putting green or executing raids on suspected terrorists, enduring roadside bombs, mortar attacks, RPGs and snipers. You can visit the web site here, or watch or download the 4.65MB trailer here. Cheers! M2

It's a Panton, not a lion. Cheers! M2

Irish I think your comment "congrats on being a top pro internet searcher" was what ClearedHot was referring to, and rightly so. Take your beating like a man, especially when deserved. Anyhow, most if not all UPT bases (and most operational bases as well) sell them at Clothing Sales. Cheers! M2

Medium or fine point? Cheers! M2

Sorry guys, I ended the auction using the 'Buy It Now' option! Cheers! M2

..or let me know, I also have it and can easily send it out. However, some US ISPs (to include AOL) block my Belgian ISP. Cheers! M2

That link pretty much covers it, I would just like to add that all USAF officers have a secret clearance as a minimum. Others will be granted higher levels as appropriate. As the article says, the highest you can get is Top Secret, but there are caveats such as Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and Special Access Programs (SAP) that are in addition to that. There are also specific clearances for specific types of intelligence, depending on its source. Trust me, I drown in this shit every day. We joke that our jobs are so classified, even we aren't allowed to know what we do! Cheers! M2

Yep, it is a 555th bird from Aviano, but not sure if it is kept at Ramstein all the time. Why he can't fly a jet from one of the two Viper squadrons up at Spangdahlem I don't know... Honestly, most of you guys don't have to put up with all his commercials on AFN Europe. I have even had buds in Qatar give me shit because they see him there too. These "forced morale" programs rarely work, they may make Doc feel good about himself, but I have yet to hear anyone else in USAFE that likes them. By the way, in case some of you don't know who Doc is, here's a pic... Cheers! M2