HerkFE

Another useless fact but I have to chime in here. I (me and one other guy) installed the very first F-16 SADL. Did the kit proofing for the TCTO that eventually went out to mod all of the jets that got modded. A "kit proofing" is basically after the engineers have designed the system and written the instructions for the installation. They brought the kit to us and said "here ya go, install this". We took the kit and their instructions and did the install with them standing there over our shoulders. We provided them with feedback to make corrections to the final TCTO that went out to the field. Essentially, when problems were encountered, they would tell us that "this is what we want you to do here" and we would say, "well the wording in the instructions should say 'this' if that is what you are wanting". The SADL TCTO was a pretty big/complicated mod for the field to perform. It was pretty cool in the end in that I got a few good TDYs to travel around to help other units out and also got a free ski trip....ahem, I mean "Post kit proofing meeting" at Hill after it was all said and done. ETA "F-16 SADL"

http://magazine.good.is/articles/tea-never-looked-so-good Okay, I'm not smart enough to get the video in here so I posted the link. Funny as hell video comparing sexual consent with drinking tea. This should fulfill everyone's periodic SARC brief. Trust me, worth the watch.

We take care of each other. Just remember when you are home and your buddy is deployed and his wife calls up and says her water heater just exploded. You go over and take care of it. He does the same for you six months later. It's tough, but we just learn to deal with it.

I guess that is what I was getting at. There is always more to the story. Since I'm an O.R.F. now, I don't get to hear some of the behind the scenes stuff.

I read the article too. Is this REALLY all there is to his firing? One part of me says "There has to be more to this" but the other part me CAN believe it as thin skinned and pussified as we have gotten as a military and as a society. If this is really the only reason we fired an otherwise exemplary general (and I don't know him other than having been at Salem when he was the boss) then dear God, we are truly screwed.

Damn Bro, four in a year? I spent 23 years in and may have had 6 total in all that time. I'm with the FAA now and damn near have to piss in a bottle to get through the gate to go to work.

I found this link a few days ago while doing some research on federal personnel/hiring/retirment, etc. issues. I sent an email with my question and got an emailed answer the next day. Email: fedexperts@federaltimes.com Website: http://retirement.federaltimes.com/ They seem to know their shizzle

I'm a NRSA and have never had a problem using Delta's Sky Lounge with my standby seat request. i don't have a card that allows free access (retired, not going to pay the annual fee) but I have bought day passes and just showed my seat request, no issue.

Thanks. I thought the name sounded familiar.

MG Keltz...was he wing king at Salem back around 2004?

-I should have my 15 days of military leave right off the bat though? I believe you are right and should be good there. -Can I use a day of military leave each pay period to continue my leave accumulation? I don't think so. I was under the same impression once. I retired in 2011 and my last mil leave episode was in 2010. I thought I could take 8 or 10 hours leave each PP and still accrue my 8 hr A/L and 4 hrs S/L but I was wrong. Had the personnel chick explain it to me and, after the 10 minute explanation, the answer was "No". I think she said something like I could take 40hrs and earn half of my entitled A/L and S/L but I've killed too many brain cells since then to swear to that. Whatever the cost/benefit was, it didn't matter anyway because it wasn't good math. -My understanding is that even if I'm on LWOP status for the duration, the time still counts toward retirement, correct? Fairly certain, Yes. You will probably have to buy back that time but it should be pocket change. FWIW, I work for the FAA. I am pretty sure these issues are OPM driven so they probably are fairly consistent federal gummit wide. Your agency MAY have some caveats.

Just received my new shells for my Alien Gear holsters yesterday. I'm FMC now.

Bought a Springfield XDS in .45 on Monday. My previous carry gun was a Colt .380 ... only for its concealability. Always worried about it not being enough umph. The XDS is the same size in every dimension except length. The XDS is about an inch longer which doesn't really matter for concealabilty. Not at all worried anymore.

You are right about that! I joined the Navy in 1988 against the advice of older, wiser friends and relatives who had been there and "dun it". But I knew everything. Decided to go ahead with joining after a visit to the Navy water survival school in Pensacola and a tour of the AVCAD area. All those people who were in told me how great it was. Most miserable time of my life. Went on a six year contract and was able to work a six month early out and was in the Air Guard two weeks later. Spent the next 18 years between the Guard and Reserve. In those 18 years I can't count as high as the number of people I saw jump ship from all the other branches to an AF component. Less than five did I every see leave the AF for something else and those were all to go fly helos in the Army.

I guess I must have been born without an inner ear or the mechanism that connects the inner ear to the puke valve. Never had the slightest desire to puke from anything motion induced. It's probably a good thing because I am completely useless after I puke. Got a ride in a Viper once and, of course, the crowd was gathered when we landed. Popped the canopy and the first question..."Well, did you puke?" Me: "Hell no, why would I puke having that much fun?" Anyway, God Bless those who do suffer and can press on.

Not puke but.... One of our crews dropped off a load of Marines at some Iraqi $hithole one night. At some point after the Marines left the plane a load found that someone dropped a deuce in between the web seats. Not sure if he just didn't want to crawl over the others to get to the can or if he just hated the AF.

I figure the WTF thread was the best place for this. So there I was. Space A at Hill AFB Billeting. I get to my room and discover that I am in a "Designated Shelter in Place" room for the second floor of the building I'm staying in. I opened the closet thing and find a "SIP Kit". I bet some Colonel lost many nights sleep coming up with this idea and got promoted to General for it. Notice that, "If an item is missing it could cost lives" ] 1. Flashlight --- I have one of those on my cell phone. 2. Batteries--- (for flashlight), useless 3. First aid kit -- band aids, alcohol pads, and I'm sure, some Motrin. 4. Bottle of water --- I have two sinks and a shower with an endless supply of water 5. Duct tape -- now we're getting somewhere. If she's making too much noise, this could come in handy. 6. Scissor, not scissors -- I guess if you can't tear duct tape with your bare hands then maybe you need these. 7. Plastic sheets...throw in a bottle of baby oil and this could be useful. 8. Towels -- I guess the two full size towels, two hand towels, two wash clothes, and one of those step out of the shower unto towels already hanging in the room isn't quite enough. Maybe a couple more towels could save a life. 9. Pencil -- There is a pen on the night stand. 10. Note pad -- There is a note pad under the pen on the night stand. 11. SIP sign on the door. Doesn't matter, I'm not letting your ass in my room anyway. Not one damn thing in there would save a life, or cost one if missing. If you want to make a no $hit shelter in place kit, all that's needed is an M-16 and a thousand rounds. Oh, and a bottle opener.

Any recommendations for a really good, must go to, authentic Bier Hall in the "area" around K-town, or in any of the towns we are likely to go to (Trier, Neuschwanstein, etc). I know most of K-town probably won't be as authentic as I would like and probably overrun by Americans, but relatively nearby. We are all really into good beer and I would like to take the F-I-L to a good beer hall. I know there was a recommendation over in the "Last Beer You Drank..." thread for one in Munich but I doubt we are going to make it there on this trip. ETA: Ones with hott chicks in Dirndls are a plus and will likely end up with pictures on here when we return.

We did go to Brussels, Bruges, and Amsterdam last spring. Took the Flanders Field tour out of Bruges. I would highly recommend anyone in the area doing that. We used a tour company (Quasimodo Tours) for a guided tour. I would highly recommend using them to anyone. The tour was extremely fast paced and I would have liked to have spent more time at some of the places but there just wasn't enough time in the day to spend a lot of time at any one place. We were there just about two months prior to the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1.

I can imagine. We went to the cemeteries in the Flanders region of Belgium last year. The German one was definitely different from the others.

Thanks for the recommendations. The wife and I have been to Munich and went to Dachau. Definitely a good trip. I'm not sure if we are going to spend any time around MUC this trip. I was originally thinking that this was just going to be a ski trip and spend most of the time in Austria but I was corrected recently. Looks like most of our time will be around Ramstein and venturing out from there due to the sista wife's schedule. We are still going to try to get at least a day of skiing in down south. I may try to just take the paw in law to MUC for a guy trip later. The wife works for Delta so it's easy for us to get over there.

I guess I need to get some suggestions on where I could send the father in law out on his own too for a little while...

The sister-in-law will have a rental for her entire TDY (not sure how she managed that). We aren't sure of her schedule yet but we will be able to have her drive when she can go with us. We will probably rent one when she can't go with us.

Okay Fellas, I UTFSF but couldn't find what I was looking for. The wife and I are going to Germany in about two weeks. My wife's twin sister is over there TDY at Ramstein so we are using that as an excuse to go. We are taking my father-in-law with us and he has never been to Germany so I really want to show him a good time. He's in good shape so getting around isn't a problem. He's cool, likes beer, and is up for about anything. Looking for suggestions on things to do. I'd really like to find some "off the beaten path"/ "best kept secret" places if anyone has suggestions for those as well. I've been to Trip Advisor looking and it's almost overwhelming and you have to pick through the blue hairs suggestions and the people traveling with 12 kids, etc. Thought I would come here for some suggestions from some like minded bros who have spent some time there. We are going to try to get in a ski trip if it works out as well. Thanks

M2, you are cleared straight in ... in front of spaceman