JarheadBoom

Holy bureaucrat-ese Batman! Can anyone translate this into plain English, or should we just say "waste of time and effort" and call it a day??? Hey, let's re-name the KC-45 and F-22... we'll surely get funding then! SECAF: "Ah yes, Senator, we're requesting eleventy-billion dollars annually over the next 20 years to fund the 45-KC and 22-F programs." Senator Fellon: "Well there Mister Secretary, what precisely are these programs?" SECAF: "Senator, these two programs will revolutionize air and space warfare in the 21st century via a synergistic interaction with each other, and through independent interaction with other battlefield-shaping, battlefield-superiority and NTISR platforms... <insert 10 more minutes of new-age buzzwords and ridiculous acronyms without saying anything of substance>" Senator Fellon: "Hmmm, that's very interesting, Mister Secretary. These programs don't currently exist?" SECAF: "No, Senator. They do not."

Standard in other communities & other branches of service too...

Don't forget the flip side of the coin - there will be females to torture you. Get used to that concept now if you're the type who'll have issues with it...

1. Don't forget about your Airmen's (and women's) basic needs when "playing the game". I won't spoil the fun any further, you'll find out the hard way if you forget. Remember the basics... 2. Remember ALL of your Airmen, not just the ones within your line of sight. 3. WHEN you forget something, don't get wrapped around the axle over it to the point you can't comprehend your name as it's being screamed at you by a large evil-minded foul-tempered person. Damn good advice right there. Enjoy!!

I honestly don't see the big deal from a personal standpoint. But then again, both aircraft I've crewed in my career were not parachute-equipped. Blue-water ops off the boat, in a helicopter, has a way of resigning you to your fate if the fuel-to-noise converters fail all at once. BUT... From a professional standpoint, I find it quite troubling that Big Blue has decided that safety gear (whether recently used or unused) is fair-game in the cost-savings game they're playing. Makes me wonder what's gonna come off the -10...

Believe me, I know. I spent 11 years in a branch of service that teaches delegation of authority to everyone... yet it rarely happened in real-life.

Wow... delegation of authority. What a concept! I wonder if it would work on this side of the pond???

Of course it is. How could it possibly be the fault of someone who didn't double-check who he was sending sensitive info to (that probably should've been sent via SIPR anyway)??? Just so there's no misunderstandings, that's a healthy dose of sarcasm...

I think it's a Browning Hi-Power. As long as he keeps his finger out of the triggerguard when he draws it, he's good to go. Surprise, surprise - an American media outlet leaked it....

1. Several. 2. It's a totally fly-by-wire airplane - it IS impossible to fly without the computers.

Correction - That was an EA-6B, not an E-6B. Vastly different aircraft... Weird to think I just saw both of those aircraft shortly before their loss, when I passed through Andersen a couple weeks ago... Good to hear the crew's OK.

Huh... must be just us WRI AFRC-types then. So the REMIS email is their only reason for existence at each base? Why can't the fuels HMFIC for the USAF send REMIS to everyone in the Global with a 1A0x1 AFSC? Seems like it would be easier, cheaper, and more in-line with what I was told the purpose of AMCART was. Oh well. So much for common sense...

Nice. We had a whole pack of dogs on the runway at Utapao last week... which didn't stop Air Thailand from departing in their ATR-42. Almost got ugly. And now to return to the topic... Heard earlier in the same trip - Salt Lake Center was having radio troubles: SLC: "Citation 6969, if you hear this transmission change to my frequency 1xx.xx" Citation 6969: [thick Southern accent] "SLC, gotcha loud 'n clear now" SLC: "Citation 6969, roger, we're experiencing radio problems, switch to SLC freq 1xx.xx" Citation 6969: "Well hell, we thought it was our problem... switching 1xx.xx"

Or is it just WRI that can't seem to figure out how to properly get our computers to mesh with another USAF network??? We haven't been able to get into AMCART reliably since November, and the civilian fuels dude (who AMCART was supposed to replace... yet he's still in the same job) insists we're the stupid ones, and AMCART works just fine.

Cool link. Interesting that both seats have NWS tillers. IIRC, Airbus uses the same cockpit layout on all their models (other than the A300). Also, I think the A340 has the tailcam as well. The display has boxes to signify where the gear is, and IIRC it'll project lines to show where the gear will track based on NWS displacement. Handy feature for jockeying an A340-600 through tight taxiways, I suppose. I saw the A380 depart Dubai Int'l after the airshow last year. Shut down departures for 5 minutes while the dust cloud settled from the outboards. You can see the beginnings of it here:

On that same note: "Hey Boom, your PDI's are all flashing at once..... uhhhhmm....." [C-17 gets smaller in the sighting window] "Sorry 'bout that, Boom" Last week, F-16 on the boom, 5 others on our wings: me - "x4, forward limit, back 5" [F-16 proceeds to back out rapidly to the aft limit and I kick him off the boom] Lead F-16: "Beer" "2" "3" "5" "6" [brief pause] "Damn..."

My contribution...

Yep.

NSTFSs... -We step to the airplane not too long ago, see it has 150k onboard. Planned was 115k. Crewchief admits misunderstanding "115" vs. "150" over the radio. Can't T/O with 150k due to rain, crosswind, and a short runway. No biggie, we'll just call for a defuel - we've got over 2 hours 'till T/O....... DENIED! - How 'bout not flying locals in KC-10s with the seat kit installed? 5000lbs of dead weight to lug around just because they "dont want to" uninstall it... - Went on a trip not too long ago to drag a couple airplanes and their gear back to their home, from halfway around the world. One broke hard, with a 1-week+ ETIC, so they sent us home. Burned over 500k and accomplished absolutely NOTHING. - Airborne spare for DVs - If they're not a service Secretary or higher, denied. If the airplane breaks, deal with it - just like we do.

Jeez, forgot I posted this. Lemme try again tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's this: http://www.infinityaerospace.com/infgrip.htm

I won't even get started on the TSA. Decent idea, piss-poor execution. I've tried using the mil ID as well... to no effect. Pet peeves: - Mr. & Mrs. 8-pieces-of-carryon-luggage. - The FA's who stand there zip-lip as they smash/grind/force their shit into the overheads. - People traveling in coach who don't shower. - The jackass in the window seat of a 3-abreast row who insists on getting into his carryon (which is, of course, in the overhead) 5 times in a 2hr flight. - Parents who don't stop their demon-spawn from kicking the seatback in front of them.

FlightSafety and the FTU here get the Italian Booms for initial qual.

The cop stupidity isn't limited to the AF - many USMC MP's are living proof of the stereotype "Muscles Are Required; Intelligence Not Essential SIR!" I once got a ticket for failure to stop for 3 seconds at a stopsign on MCAS Tustin. The base traffic court judge (the MAG Sergeant Major, who was NOT known for his leniency or sense of humor) chewed the MP's ass and tore the ticket up, and told me to make sure I stopped at the stopsigns on-base. A few months later I get a ticket for doing 12mph in a 10mph zone in base housing at MCAS El Toro. PFC Fumblenuts refuses to concede that I couldn't accurately judge 10mph, when the car's speedometer starts at 20mph. His partner/trainer LCpl Shitforbrains refuses my request to drive behind them at 10mph so I can see what the tach reads, so I can more accurately judge slow speeds and not violate the base housing speed limit. He then decides I've "got an attitude problem" (silly me for thinking a Corporal outranks a Lance Corporal) and calls for backup. The Sergeant of the Guard shows up 10 minutes later with the full light & sound show (I'm now late getting back to work at this point) and immediately writes me up for "disrespecting an NCO". I ask the Sgt who & where the NCO was that I disrespected, since I was the only NCO present until he showed up; he says I can explain it to my Sergeant Major in the morning when I show up on the MP blotter. The pain finally ends when, "against his better judgement", the Sgt "allows me to proceed" back to work with my 12-in-a-10 citation and the disrespect charge sheet in-hand. Of course the Gunny wants to know where the hell I've been, since my 1hr good-deal-dont-f*ck-this-up lunchbreak has turned into a 1+45 f*ckoff session. I show him the paperwork, explain what happened, show him my car's speedo, and then we go see our SgtMaj. After explaining "what the f*ck is all this?" to the SgtMaj, the 3 of us proceed to the cop shop and he commences to "educating" the Sgt of the Guard, the MP's who originally stopped me, and the MP SNCOIC about attention to detail, common sense, the USMC rank structure and it's day-to-day applications, and the reasonable-man theory. Citation went away, charge sheet went away, I got apologies from all MP's involved. No further troubles with the MP's for me. Of course none of this helped the sergeant from another squadron who DUI'd at the front gate later that night with: - expired vehicle registration - no insurance - unregistered pistol under driver's seat - 3 loaded magazines under passenger's seat - box of loose rounds on backseat floor "hidden" under papers, trash, etc. That left a mark. BTW....... Nice resurrection, Toro!

Our flight surgeon, based on his track record, would DNIF me for just asking the question... Thanks for the info; good to know it's not a "Go directly to jail" type thing. It could end up being no factor, but the possibility is there.

We've got one on one of the kegerators in my shop. I'll take a pic tomorrow...