Mambo

Don't forget to bring a copy of whatever paperwork from home station supply that says the flight suits are on back order. Depending on where you are going and what the supply situation is, you should be able to get a request letter from your deployed CC to get your stuff once you get there.

Brick, what a great story. I just turned 18 when that mission was happening. Little did I know that less than 2 years later I would be working on the F-111 at Mt. Home. My flight chief had a plaque with a pitot tube on it from one of the aircraft that participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon. I'd heard that our OG/CC at the time, Col Vic Andrews, was a pilot in that raid. Don't know for sure, maybe M2 remembers. The F-111 is one bad-ass aircraft! Thanks for posting that Brick.

Here ya' go boom... E Model - buck o' nine

Back in the late 80's we had a four ship of F-111A's coming back to Mt. Home from a TDY. When they checked in with us upon landing (they used to pass their squawks directly to the avionics truck) we noticed their callsign...POTATO. So check-in went "Potato check..." "One potato, two potato, three potato, four". We got a good laugh out of that one. How are the overseas callsigns chosen or approved?

The no Crocs or Flip Flops to and from the shower rule is alive and well here at Balad!

If you'd like to get a regular team patch try idatasports. I just got a Steeler patch from there, minus the velcro, which you can get sewn on easily enough.

Wow...I was hoping it was fake. That is just unbelievable.

Actually I read that here at BaseOps...Conveyor belt thread

Couldn't find that link within the real SWA website, I'm gonna say fake.

But what if the airplane and truck were on conveyor belts that had the belts spinning at the exact same speed as the tires......

That day was supposed to be my first flight in the E-3 as a flight engineer. The 966th is a training squadron and the aircraft was packed full of students and instructors. During engine start we sheared a starter on the number 3 engine. While MX was replacing the starter the pilots were monitoring the radios and noticed that OKC was diverting airplanes and landing them as fast as they could. Then one of the mx guys came up the airstairs and told us a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center buildings. All of us assumed it was a small plane, maybe a crazed Cessna pilot. A few moments later another guy told us it was an airliner. Then we got word that another airliner had hit the other tower. By now the ramp at Tinker was filling up with aircrews and mission crews stepping to every flyable jet available. We were told that no students would be allowed to fly and were taken back to ops. We stayed there for a few hours glued to the TV. The jet I was supposed to be on escorted Air Force One on its travels. The controllers said later that the skies were absolutely empty except for military aircraft. They had never seen anything like it. Planes were getting cleared direct from one side of the country to the other. I ended up sitting in a hotel room for 3 weeks while Noble Eagle was going on.

Now that is a great story AK....and since you've been verified on baseops.net as NOT a poser, a great believable story As with Steve, had to get in on the historic thread.

About damn time! I'd like to see them bring back the DCM also.

I think we need a separate thread just to ask Huggy questions about the U2. Great shots by the way.

Why don't you level the playing field and just have everyone wear tuxedo's?

Congrats CH! Hope the little one is doing well. My friday nights went away alot of years ago...thank god for TDY's!

I guess my first airplane is my favorite. I loved working the F-111, even though it was some what of a MX nightmare, it was a labor of love! Wicked fast and deadly accurate with great long legs...

Black Adder Pilot

They walked into Syria from Iraq...5 of the 8 survived. Bravo Two Zero

Ok...

I took it to mean that the new kids were telling him that the Eagle has no mission because there is no A/A threats in the current conflict and that he should have picked something else, maybe back to Gunships.

I'm sure we'll read all about the Major's story in her upcoming book or TV special...

Go fishing, drink beer and tell stories about how copilots tried to kill them. There isn't much of a market out there for civilian FE's. I believe UPS and FedEx still use them on the older 747's and DC-10's. I don't think any passenger carrying airlines use them anymore. Alot of guys get out and go to guard/reserve units. There are some GS jobs available at the schoolhouse but that is all about timing and who you know. Or you could invest all of your TDY money wisely and retire with a nice little nest egg. I was flight line avionics on F-111's and F-15's. I had no idea about FE's till I was going to be force crosstrained to F-16's (which meant Kunson/Cannon rotation, no thanks). It was the only other job available so I took it and don't regret one day as an FE. For me it's the flying and working with a crew getting the mission done that is most appealing. I was married when I retrained, but my wife is military also so she knew what to expect. I would guess it would be the same as any PCS, except you'll be TDY for a few months while you attend the different schools. If your wife can handle you being deployed now, then it shouldn't be a problem. Again it all depends on the airframe/base that you get as to how much you are gone. In C-130's most guys deploy at least 4 months out of 12, some guys have done 2 four month rotations in a year. Plus all the little 1 and 2 week TDY's that we do. AWACS is much more stay at home friendly. I'm sure some of the KC-10 and C-5 guys can enlighten you on their deployment schedules. If you or your wife have any more questions feel free to PM me. Good luck.

The first Eagle kill was on the first night about 10 minutes into the war. The Iraqi helo getting shwacked by a Hog happened February 6.

Boom beat me to alot of the questions, but since I already typed them out here ya' go.... This is true for the most part. They did put a few guys through the FE pipeline straight out of Basic (fixed wing), but 99% are retrainees. Most FE's have a maintainence AFSC background. There are waivers for everything though and I've met FE's that were prior POL, cops, medical and admin guys. Depends. Different airframes have different deployment rates. C-130 guys don't fall into the typical AEF rotation and are deploying to the AOR quite often, roughly 4 months there and 8-12 months home. KC-10 and C-5 guys are home more often but are out on the road for weeks at a time. Helo's and AFSOC guys deploy quite often also. AWACS...not much lately. Family life is the same as any other career field that deploys...if you have a strong marriage then it is the standard stuff. For those of us that are Mil to Mil it is a little tougher when your spouse is deployed and you have to juggle work, flying, kids ect...but it can be done. Likes: Working with some very professional dudes. Being part of a crew and working together to get the job done is a great feeling. And no matter what anyone else tells you, when you put a flight suit on, you are treated a little differently (whether better or worse depends, but mostly better). When you go TDY you are travelling with officers and they like to stay at nice hotels and know how to party. Dislikes: Nothing big enough to list here...you know the standard stuff, deployments, additional duties ect. We're not being phased out too quickly though, but the writing is on the wall. It will be many years before we are gone because they still have to replace the KC-10, AWACS, C-5, C-130's and helo's. Oh, the Osprey has 2 FE's, so they'll be around for awhile. 2 week class down at Lackland where they teach you about being in the Enlisted Aircrew career field. Learn about airplanes and 781 forms and career path stuff. If you are coming out of maintenence then it will be pretty easy (good opportunity to party). A blast. Search this forum...I think there are a few threads about survival school. Down and dirty...2 weeks of classroom, hiking in the woods, learning really cool stuff and playing POW. Basic Flight Engineer course. 6 weeks at Altus where you will learn basic aircraft systems and theory, takeoff and landing data, forms, weight and balance. A long time ago this used to have a high washout rate but with the shortage of FE's that is no longer the case. I'm not saying they made it easier but they give you every opportunity to get through it. At the FTU course you might get 1 or 2 that wash out either in the sim phase or the flying phase. Flying isn't for everyone and this is where they find that out. After BFE you'll go to your particular airframe schoolhouse. Herks are here at Little Rock. AWACS is Tinker, C-5's at Altus, KC-10's I think is at Maquire. Lenght of course depends on airframe. Herk one is 3 months at the schoolhouse and then a month in one of the training squadrons where you will fly with an instructor. You can contact our functional at Randolph and tell him what you'd like to go to, although as always, needs of the AF come first. But they are pretty good with working with you to get what you want. PM me and I can try to answer any more questions for ya'. Overall I'd say it's one of the best career fields in the Air Force for an enlisted guy.