brickhistory

The senior officer reverting to "like all that and sh1t" at the end...

We could take payment in beer.

CIA's Oxcart History (U) Less than 20 years after WWII, and they are doing Mach 3+.

A 365 TDY, is by every other definition, a short tour PCS. Calling it a TDY is crap. Thus my "felony" connotation.

That's not a TDY, that's a felony-length sentence.

"Bomber crush?!" WTF? As noted on the first page, it was normally referred to as a "50 mission crush," as the USAAF wheel hat had the grommet in it to keep it circular-shaped. That grommet made the headphones then in use not fit right, so the grommet was removed and the headphones worn over the now relaxed, floppy hat. After a combat tour, bomber, fighters, transports - try telling the Hump pilots they weren't in combat/doing some really dangerous sh1t or the C-47s pilots who dropped on D-Day or Market-Garden they weren't in "combat" - the hat was permanently misshapen and was the sign of an experienced veteran. I also think you'll find that most WWII B-17 and B-24 dudes wore something called a 'steel helmet' as flak protection far more than they did a hat during actual missions. Separate but related, the RAF fighter guys unbuttoned the top button of their coat/tie uniform as their version of "sticking it to the man" esprit de corps. Both services would fly missions, not all, but certainly a lot, wearing a damn coat and tie either under a bag or even without a bag. That would blow. Kinda takes the sting out of "blues on Mondays." Besides, any of the WWII combat vets earned to wear whatever the hell they wanted to wear.

I'm not sure which side of the fence you are taking, but let me be very clear. The book doesn't, in my view, take a position on it. edited to add: that I recall. My position is it pointless to talk with Iran. Live up to the agreements you made with the UN and we can chat. Otherwise, they are not ever going to see past the "Great Satan" politically and we can't deal with Armydinnerjacket as the front man for the ayatollah. They will/do see us as weak by sucking up to them. Fine you think otherwise, I'm not interested in a debate. Sorry for the minor thread hi-jack here.

CIA's A-12 (SR-71 predecessor) unclassified history Pretty good read and photos for the single-seat A-12 - CIA version of the program. It is a CIA site, so enter at your own risk for black Suburbans showing up at your house...(Omegas for Steve D.)

"It shall be the policy of the United States Government that a nuclear weapon detonation upon any target in the Middle East shall be considered an attack on the United States' vital national interests. Further any such nuclear weapons use will be considered as originating from Iran and thus will draw retaliation to the full measure of our capability."

Dunno, but I thought it worked...

First entry for the most unused/unusual word in a thread contest. Well done!

I think you are right regarding the Administration. I don't think you'll get any additional money for either more F-22s or new flavors of Eagles.

Rest of the world?! B-52, KC-135, C-130, even the F-15/F-16/A-10. Hardly a novel concept that the US has ignored. The question is, how long do you keep putting lipstick on the old sow(s)? Until a jet breaks up in flight? Ok, milestone achieved already. Can't blame Boeing for trying to sell. Or another country for wanting to buy. We need new build stuff to replace our old and getting older stuff. The object is win big, not have a duel with evenly matched opponents.

CH, ever thought of becoming an ABM? You tossed around the (correct) acronyms pretty good for a fist full o'throttles guy... I keed, I keed...

That's him. As I said, he may/may not know of this as NMUSAF is essentially it's own entity despite being part of the USAF History and Museum program. Tell him Brick said hello. He'll no doubt go deer in headlights as we only briefly chatted a year ago when I was job hunting for a USAF/HO job.

As would be appropriate, Washington, D.C. (and on Anacostia Naval Station). As well as at MAJCOMs, each base, and each deployed location. Being the historian at Nellis could be fun. At Minot, not so much...

The USAF Historian, a civilian SES, is the heritage advisor to the CSAF who would make the final decision. Separate but related, the NMUSAF is part of the Air Force HO organization, but for practical purposes, it's an independent fiefdom.

You show those anti-gun, anti-2d Amendment rights California hippies, boy.... Sorry, couldn't resist being a d1ck...

Redundant...

I'm assuming that since this is "lesser known" flying movies is why "Dr. Strangelove" is not mentioned. Absolute classic, funny, ironic, witty movie. "2" on "12 o' Clock High," "The War Lover," and "The Battle of Britain." Another one related to flying but no flying scenes is "The Great Escape." Both the movie and the book by Paul Brickhill are really, really good. True WWII POW mass escape in Germany by Allied flyers. Steve McQueen on a stolen German motorcycle. Nothing cooler than that...

The RAM material and joint sealing compound was, at one time, very classified. I'm betting it still is. You'd have just an ugly jet without it though. That would be one component that would be hard to "safely remove prior to delivery."

A huge UFB!!! As in no drinking off base? Or even on, for that matter? How in the hell is that a lawful order? Ok, an order in Muslim country where they, notionally, don't drink and we are 'guests' on their soil, but in Central and South America? What is the rationale for that? Was one given? I'd be writing to my Congressmen/Senators.

Not a nav, only C-130 time was in the web seats, so take this for what it's worth: E-8C JSTARS nav does sit just about even with the leading edge of the wing join with the fuselage, not on the flight deck. He has a mission console just like the ABMs/intell/Army dudes plus a set of flight instruments. The nav does the standard nav stuff plus the self-defense stuff - mostly coordinating running away (not that there's anything wrong with that), plus some mission stuff which isn't for open forum. The jet is a pig, the mission avionics - radar/computers/consoles - are freakin' cool. Warner-Robins is one of the ugliest base towns ever. Schools pretty much suck. Cost of living is good. Macon is a very easy commute should you want a little bigger town. Perry is also close if you want really small town. If you go E-8s, as mentioned, you're life is pretty much going to be E-8, E-3, maybe to some other form of the -135 at Offut. C-130s would seem to offer much more variety in both missions and locations. C-130 has the smaller crew, thus easier logistics. E-8 has a legion of folks on board so the logistics/ass pain can be greater. It is what it is and provides a great picture to dudes on the ground who need it. Good luck at whatever you fly. brick (former E-8C SMO (pronounced "SMO," and yes, I've heard every Three Stooges impression, "Hey, SMO....")

Not sure if this is a perfect fit, but I think it at least works on this thread. I'm not always a fan of Peters (sts), for example, the thinks the USAF should be 100% CAS and the rest is 'toys,' but he is spot on on this one: https://www.nypost.com/seven/03122009/posto...five_159152.htm

Me either. Don't paint me as some Cindy Sheehan ally type, but we haven't been the guy who hits first in a war. Somehow this went from China's ever-increasing share of GDP towards its military to this cluster. A 10% cut doesn't make a lot of sense with the threats facing our country. Even as part of the economic recovery, buy new stuff makes sense.