brickhistory

Out-fcuking-standing!

Doesn't it hurt just a little inside that America is pretty much #1 at everything? Man, a nation of rednecks, gangstas, liberals, cowboys, Wall Street execs, and WalMart greeters, and we kick your ass at nearly everything. Oh, except the early death rate. edited to add: Do your Russian officer friends have chats about what type of BMW to buy? Or just about what type of bread they hope is available?

Ok, to clarify for the last time for me: I am not slamming or against the Super Tucano. We can probably use it; I'm not knowledgable or expert enough to say whether it's a good choice or not. I trust that those that did the testing do have that knowledge and expertise, thus it being purchased and deployed to assist the guys with knives in their teeth. But just as SecDef Gates says the F-22 doesn't bring anything to today's fight, neither would, necessarily, a Super Tucano to the next fight where we might not have air dominance. In that case, more than a few F-22s sure would be a "must have" not a "nice to have." I say both are good, necessary capabilites that the US should possess. Not either/or.

I don't argue the need for COIN. I do argue the need for undisputed air superiority. 187 F-22s may/may not settle a future fight or deter said fight from occuring. 300+ probably would. I do argue we can and should have both.

Why do you argue the either/or? Both are vitally important. By the way, this COIN is all fun and games until somebody gets an SA-14 or better as Ivan found out before us.

The only way for "leadership" to show they are leading is to hammer their folks for any infractions. As the song goes, "Same as it ever was." Unless something goes boom or somebody breaks something, there is no difference in a guy pulling an alert exactly according to the book and a guy who skates. Thus, the only way for any squadron leader to know how his guys perform is to notice the ones who don't get their attention which is an oxymoron. As noted above, that leads to either covering up mistakes instead of learning from them or applying a sledgehammer when a quite chat would do. SAC missiles prided itself on eating its young, so most fled ASAP. I did.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/airforce_cosmo_bachelor_071109/ Wha?! I'm just sayin'... edited to add: a friendly beer if I could find those icons...

Riding Rockets by Col Michael Mullane. NASA class of 1980 astronaut - RF-4C backseater, Shuttle Mission Specialist - did three trips. Good, humorous descriptions of the selection process, the life of an FNG astronaut, some behind the scenes NASA gossip, great descriptions of training, the fear/exhileration (sp?) waiting to launch, and the wonder/grossness of being in space.

I own one. Got it as my retirement gift to myself last year. Never could manage anything like that as an Lt. Put your money in investments; retirement or separation gets here before you know it. Oh, and you kids get off my lawn!

2 Out of the 12 guys from my IQT class, I was one of the two to not get an Article 15 or LOR during my sentence, er, assignment.

Agree. It's just that this newest one was a professional before he entered Congress.

"Lone Survivor" by Marcus Littrell. Jeezus... I learned much about that particular mission and about SEAL training, i.e., that the absolute sh1t they do in training is not just Hell Week, but the period before, and pretty freakin' tough training afterward. to guys who can do that.

It's official. Congress is a clown act.

Where is, by now I'm assuming he's at that point, Col Masters? Has he gone ops to ops to ops to ops? What're his thoughts on UAVs? Is he scoping out the Iranian threat for any nuclear production strike? Any hot Israeli or Russian babes on his arm?

Tailhook 91 Sep 8-12 Just because they were there. And THAT, I submit, was the beginning of the end.

2. Is there a federal, state, or local law or base regulation that requires a POV to be locked, i.e., all members parking must secure their vehicles when not occupied while on Snuffy AFB? If not, while it would take some balls to fight it, those so screwed could. Drop a dime to AF IG, the numbered AF/CC, the local congressman, or the local/biggest liberal newspaper/TV station in the area. Or a blitzkreig of all them simultaneously.

M2, thanks. Obviously, if I modify my shotgun, I'd practice with it, but for the first shot at the range, I wanted to have a clue about a proper hold/technique and not risk breaking/spraining something due to ignorance. Can't see the vids due to work nazi precautions. Will view tonight.

I'm pondering modifying my Charles Daly Field Tactical 12ga. with a pistol grip to shorten it up for a house gun. Before I do it, however, I've never fired a shotgun except for the old-fashioned stock to the shoulder method. What's the method/stance for the pistol grip firing and how many rounds did it take to get used to it?

7 or 8 on Sailor Jerry's. My favorite is a Canadian whiskey is an out of production blend called "Order of Merit." Aged either 15 or 16 years, depending, it is up there with Crown Royal Reserve. If anybody comes across a bottle, snag it and I'll buy it from you. Look on the 'never sells shelf' in smaller Mom n' Pop liqour stores. Currently have 9.5 bottles, gonna have to try to time running out with pulling a coronary down the road. Bourbon: Woodford Reserve.

His fly by should've been met with a 21 shotgun salute... PULL!!!!!

Alarm Red, Thanks for the analysis. My original question was me only thinking about the technical aspects of the job. Your assessment of the difference in the communities was actually pretty good and got me thinking (which is difficult at my age...). Obviously, there are individual variations for both F-15 pilots and ABMs, good ones in both, bad ones in both. But as a community, I agree with your analysis of assertiveness. Sorry, fellow weapons controllers, er, ABMs. I hope you are some of the good dudes/dudettes, and I hope the community continues to improve, but my opinion - please note the use of the words "my opinion" - is that we don't do a good job of instilling aggresiveness/assertiveness into young'uns. Partly by necessity, a weapons team in a combat support role, i.e., we help vs. a shooter. Any ABM ALOs here to provide a counterpoint?

2 on retiring 15 months ago as well and being glad of it. I recently moved jobs to a place that flies recce stuff really, really, really high; almost cosmic, you might say. Overheard a conversation recently that was a genuine coffee-spewing moment: "Well, I'm an operator. I think that those not working on the ops floor shouldn't be allowed to wear a bag." Note: only wings in evidence were the ersatz space ones. *and I usually don't chime in on the wings thing as the weapons controller/ABM ones I had are often scoffed at as well. But I digress...

I rarely butt into pilot-specific threads, so I hope I'm cut some slack for asking an uneducated question on this one: What to the guys stacked up waiting for an IFF/RTU slot do during their substantial from the sounds of it break in training? Do they get any flying? Will/does that break from currency/regular flying have an impact in performance at IFF/RTU? Would it make fiscal/manning sense to make 'em FAIPs for the duration if the break is 8 months to a year or more? Or would that just clog up the UPT IP pipeline? No dog in the fight, just curious. A UTFSF brought no answers - but then I suck at defining the parameters...

Any of James Clavell's books: King Rat - ok, it is military as the setting is a WWII Japanese prison camp, but the story is much deeper than WWII Shogun - 17th century Japan Tai-Pan - 19th century Hong Kong Noble House - 1960s Hong Kong ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colleen McCullough's "Rome" series The Grass Crown Fortune's Favorites Ceasar some others I forget the titles. None of either of these two authors' books are thin. I found them to be good TDY books - other than the weight of toting them factor - as they were substantial works that took more than an evening to read.

"The Path Between the Seas" and "The Great Bridge," both by David McCullough. The first one is about the building of the Panama Canal. Very interesting, very inspiring that man, and the US especially, could 'git r done.' The second is about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Also very interesting.