ClearedHot

Military Med care can be both extremes...these days it is a huge pain in the ball (no Doc I don't have a tumor), to get a routine appt. It has gotten so bad that I am moving my wife and kid over to Tricare Standard. That being said, some truly outstanding military doctors saved my wife's life in 2005. Approaching 48 hours without an answer since I sent a Micare request for Viagra....errr Motrin to the doc.

Gunships have always been and will always be a high demand low density asset. As a result the Ops tempo can be higher than most, especially in times of conflict (always). That being said, there are other platforms that have a higher ops tempo. Gunship squadrons tend to be very tight and the families have a strong social structure that provides balance and support when you are gone. Having done this gig for a long time, if she is a reasonable woman, she will be just fine. If you've put all this work into becoming a pilot, I would suggest you follow your dreams.

NOTHING is perfect...well Pappy Van Winkle is pretty close, but sometimes you just hope there is more good than bad. This forum has helped many people for many years (myself included), and I hope it continues to do so.

Could be in the Russia or Ukraine threads but worthy of separate discussion, the genie is out of the bottle, I hope you can fight without GPS. http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Satellite_Navigation_Failure_Confirms_Urgent_Need_for_Backup_999.html

His wife sent a Mass Facebook note to all friends a little while ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zl-Yw19utQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6fmQZx9nko

Pete is a good friend of mine. he writes on a range of topics with a heavy emphasis on space. If you want to read more check out this link.

Incorrect, I know of a sitting wing/CC who got a DUI while we were in UPT.

You obviously don't know crap about gunships or the A Code. The ACW is a work in progress...as we've seen on the battlefield. The HUD will change some of that and the J will be a completely different as well. All things being equal CSO, I'd rather have the gas.

Need this wallet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRQxzRfE83M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk2dyF5Fvv8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggHWRpsMEmk

The Founding Fathers are drinking bourbon and mocking us...how far we have fallen.

Let the shenanigans begin... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOoXJI4vBns

Thats hot.

I Googled "Pictures of MATMACWC's Mom", and that what came up...sts.

Can't find words to describe. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ba7_1396066171

Holy Fuck

Crap, I was not trying to sound like Al Bundy and derail this into a UPT thread...I failed. Apologies I am old, crotchety and deployed without bourbon to clear my thoughts. The point was to address how we get folks into the proper group, we probably get it right most of the time, but just like the outside world, shit is not always fair. The bigger issue is how we resolve the shortage, most think crossflow won't work, other have said the system is already at max capacity so what does the AF do? Targeted bonuses will get some to commit, but I am betting it won't fix the problem. We need an out of the box solution but that is exceedingly difficult to do in a force management system that practices rigid institutionalism on a daily basis. In the end they will probably just employ the ultimate force management tool, Stop Loss.

Thanks, glad I got my point across.

In my opinion, a completely false argument to say “experience” is the issue, if that were the case how would a new UPT grad ever be successful going through Fighter RTU? Truth. One of the more important lessons I learned in UPT, just like life, the Air Force is not fair. The order in which people finished is VERY subjective and in my personal experience corrupt. Ultimately it was straight up flight commander rating (25%), not flight performance, that determined who finished in what order. It was not until after graduation that I found out just how bad it was in my class. Example #1. A female in my class slept with her check pilot the night before her contact checkride. Example #2. The Academy grads in my class had all of the academic tests (and answers), ahead of time and they did not share with the rest of the class (perhaps I was naïve, but I never thought about cheating in UPT). Example #3. I busted zero rides in T-38's, had a no downgrade “O” on my form check, a two downgrade “E” on my contact check, a two downgrade “E” on my Instrument check, and a one down grade “E” on my Nav Check. Our class leader (prior Nav), was on a hard crew with our flight commander and their wives were best friends(the class did not know). The class leader had multiple down grades on his contact check, six down grades on his Form check, I don't remember the Nav check scores, but he busted his Inst check with 17 downgrades...and he finished #1 in our class. I am sure I sound like a disgruntled dude, I am not, I LOVE what I do...or did...it was what I was meant to do...but the current system is FAR from perfect. How about we get over our fixation on fifth generation and use less than 1% of that money to buy a metric shit ton of light attack aircraft and fly 120,000 hours a year for the equivalent of what it costs to fly 6,000 hours in one F-35 squadron. We could afford to surge a group into light attack, fly the crap out of them for three or four years to season and weed out the weak swimmers, and build a cadre of “fighter-minded” and semi-experienced dudes/dudettes. We need out of the box solutions that will help us absorb more single seat folks without breaking the FTUs...it won't happen because ACC does not think props are sexy, but for the love of god, for a small investment we could move the ball a lot further down the field. To be fair, I was not talking to you, in general I avoid talking to rotorheads all together, it seems to confuse them. You might want to hold your replies until you catch up to the fight, which at your current airspeed of 69 knots, should be about four days from now. Before you brag about fixing your little pop guns forward and get all manly doing HH60 strafe, maybe you should actually do a real CSAR mission instead of making AFSOC do it for you. I will pass some props to you, just like Army Slick 60's, you guys make one hell of a dustoff platform.

In other words...its not your fault you are not as good as us...Christ.

France Surrenders to Russia

Hiding under their kitchen tables.