HuggyU2

I would say that I'm of the opinion that your comment is misplaced, not well thought out, unprofessional and poorly timed. But we can discuss it in the future when we actually have some facts about what happened, rather than hashing out opinions and speculation before we even know the names of those involved... people we share the uniform with... in this tragic and unfortunate mishap.

It was just before Stone, IIRC. I recall it was a fighter guy who was the T-1 SQ/CC... but it's been a while. I've seen different AETC leaders push back at various times. Anecdotally, Vance seemed to do it the most. Ironically, we got a lot of good U-2 pilots from Vance. Side note: next time I run in to you, remind me to tell you the story of Stone being a German spy who infiltrated DoD and became the first foreign spy to fly the U-2.

He believed it was a dead-end career move. I asked him if he knew any U-2 pilots personally. Surprisingly, the answer was no. I also asked him if he'd ever seen a U-2 in person (not that it really mattered). Again, no. I'm guessing he believed in his strong gut feeling. Maybe because the last jet would be parked in the boneyard in 2011. Hold that thought...

Is there any truth to the rumors that Vance leadership is strongly discouraging their IP's to apply to the U-2? Feel free to drop me a pm, which will remain in total confidentiality. A few years ago, when I ran the U-2 Recruiting shop, I met with a Vance SQ/CC who did not want his IP's coming to the U-2. Interesting conversation and perspective.

Play by the rules of the USERRA law and tell Delta Airlines to kiss your ass. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/VETS/legacy/files/USERRA_Private.pdf In other news... I'll have 28+ years at United when I retire, and I will not be able to hold a widebody leftseat based on current projections. When I was hired, we had 5 year Captains on narrowbody. But after bankruptcies, mergers, 9/11, 2008 economy down-turn, china-virus, and a plethora of other events... I've learned that the question of "when can I upgrade..." is an unanswerable question. Who knows? The variables are entirely unpredictable. A bud of mine was in the first UAL class after things shut down for a year (May 2021). Pilots hired a year later will be 2000 numbers junior to him. To put that in perspective, those pilots currently 2000 numbers junior to me were hired 15 years after I was. And I'm not even going to discuss the ramifications of those who were Continental pilots during the merger. If you do not understand the significance of my statistic, then you need to talk to someone who does. The whole "where will I be?" is a stupid question. If you want to dress up and play airline pilot, then get ready for a fucked up career.

Any chance the A-10 community is interested in hiring a slightly overweight guy in his 50s, with a receding hairline and bad breath? My "friend" would be interested.

I had always wanted to try my hand in something where I was organizing/running a group or organization. After a lot of networking, I accepted an offer to run an aviation non-profit (basically, a club of jet owners) as their Executive Director. I could write a small book on the experience, but I resigned after 18 months and went back to the airlines... from which I had been absent for 15 years. Glad I worked in the ED job, otherwise I'd have always wondered if I should have done it. With the experience behind me, I know now that I have a much better quality of life where I am.

https://www.rtag.org/events/annual-2021-rtag-convention

Odd request... When you go into a classified briefing room, there's usually a storage bin into which many people put their cell phones before they enter the room. Most of the ones I've seen are poorly designed. If you have a picture of a wall-mounted unit that is exceptionally well designed, would you send me a link to where you got it, or at least a photo of it with the dimensions of the storage slots.

Oklahoma State? Oh, you're in luck. PM sent.

Jacksonville Center is where the rumor about the vax is coming from. A majority of controllers called in sick Friday in protest of the Biden mandate.

^^ Pretty much what this guy said ^^. Very hard to argue with him.

So true. And thank you for stating it.

It's been said already, but the AF and the FAA are apples and oranges. There are pilots in the airlines with one eye. I haven't seen that in the military. AF buddy of mine was grounded for multiple sclerosis. But, he is asymptomatic... got his FAA Class I... and is flying for a major airline. He's doing fine.

di1630, Do you also lose Disability pay for the days you're working for the military?

It's been about 6 years since Miley Gate. What ever happened to the three guys that were wrongly accused?

I remember that too. He was at his buddy's WIC graduation, from Kadena... IIRC.

That's crazy talk.

Haha! I separated at the 15 year point of my AD career. Came back to the U-2 two years later and on AD. A few years later, I retired from AD while flying the U-2. Returned to AD again to fly the U-2. We have another pilot here that did the same thing as me, albeit a few years after I did it. The U-2 is The Land of Misfit Toys. We are an odd lot.

Reason #6 why Big Blue doesn't always win. Because Big Blue is made of up of a myriad of sub-organizations that don't communicate with each other. Excellent work, SkiBum.

I was at Laughlin for 4 years and had a great time.

It will.

Haha. So very untrue.

Haha... Hacker, as usual, bringing "the clarity". Good to see your posts... always. But you gotta love it: - Kabul's going to shit; USAF base infrastructure is in shambles; budget money is nowhere to be found; pilot retention is at an all time low (except for the overmanned 11R's... duh)... and someone Q3's a qualified military IP for a safe landing on a large runway, in US-controlled friendly territory. BTW, if it was a T-38 (was it?), the checklist directs a shutdown after clearing the runway... because the generator could be burning. Hmmm... I suppose if the engineers felt it was that significant of a threat, then I suppose landing "as soon as conditions permit" could be interpreted as landing where he/she did. Honestly... is this how "the greatest Air Force in the world" focuses it's energy in 2021?

RedEye, Are you an officer in the US military? I'll admit... I'm pretty taken aback by your comment.