HuggyU2

Kind of like asking "can my family go to Florida while I'm TDY to MacDill?" It's part of America. Though I'm a bit surprised that a passport is usually required for Americans.

Side note: i now see a lot of people with the same avatar. Mine got changed yesterday without my knowledge. Can I assume my case is not unique?

I'm not seeing your point. Could you elaborate?

I'm so, so proud of my Air Force. https://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/05/17/airmen-play-hungry-hippos-for-team-building-experience.html Being Travis, I guess this may get the spotlight off of forcibly throwing people out of retirement ceremonies. BTW... remember that cringe-worthy video from 2-3 years ago from a Resiliency Day at Seymour Johnson? I recall they yanked it down after all of the negative comments. Can anyone post a link to it? In this day of "digital is forever", it must still be out there.

Add Beale to the KC-135 list of Reserve bases.

Discus, I must agree wholeheartedly with you. There can be no Substitute in the CSAF role for a true visionary... one that can see for miles and miles. And while battling with the politicians, he must ensure our ability to provide airpower anyway, anyhow, anywhere.

Whether he is or isn't doesn't matter, from the view of those in my generation. We just need to be sure we won't get fooled again.

Ok... I literally started laughing when I read this. Yes, the bottle of wine helped. No... I apparently do not have a life. p.s. Spoo... is it HANDLES or HANDGRIPS? I cannot remember p.p.s. Get OFF my lawn, Ram.

Chicago?? Aren't there some financially-savvy politicians there??

Great find, MD. I never knew the cause of this until your post. That Herc hit right in front of the Base Ops hangar, and it could have killed a lot more people had it been another 75 meters to the left.

News you can use.

- Avoid a Wing CC letter that is a regurgitated OPR. The letter needs to have only two sentences. 1, "I fully support Capt Smith's application to the U-2 program". 2. "Capt Smith is available to PCS after 1 December 2017." Anything else he writes is pretty much ignored. So save everyone the time that will be wasted on crafting a literary masterpiece. - Print your OPR's head-to-foot, like the directions say. They are put in a folder by punching holes at the top. To read the back, they are flipped up. As such, we like to be able to read them that way. - Official Photo. Don't know what that is? Ask around. It is NOT taking a selfie in your flight suit. It is NOT a flight line photo in front of your jet. - Why I want to be a U-2 pilot letter. Don't email me or anyone else and ask for advise in writing this. This is YOUR letter. - If the directions tell you to redact your SSN from OPR's, do it. As with everything, check with Shooter and NoMo for the latest expectations on the application. DSN 368-4447.

I had a long rebuttal to your post in mind..,. but figured it would be more productive to open a nice bottle of Cabernet. No worries... I'll hit the gun range after church on Sunday.

Well... Theres 5:54 of my life I cannot retrieve.

The FAIP Mafia is much more powerful than you people will ever know.

AFPC is a shitshow. She should be fired by the CoS: https://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/108712/major-general-margaret-b-poore.aspx AFPC is a mess. She is accountable... especially after 32 months in command. He should be fired by the CoS: https://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/108722/john-w-bill-snodgrass.aspx AFPC is a mess. He is accountable... especially after 25 months as the E.D. With the plethora of AF manning/personnel issues, WHY does the CoS accept the failures of AFPC? Grow a pair, Mark. FIRE them... announce it... bring in a new AFPC leadership team... give them 15 months to have significant improvements with the understanding that they will go places if they do... or be asked to leave if they don't.

Plus a JSTARS... and 2 ANG C-130's... according to another thread.

Just spoke to one of the two pilots that flew the photo op. Great story... great support by Beale PA (again)... and hopefully they will release some great photos in the near future. I'm officially the Doubting Jackass of the Week. Foot inserted into mouth, and humble pie has been eaten.

This is one of those time I'm ecstatic that I've been told I'm wrong. Had it been shot with wet film instead of digital, I'd have been more likely to believe it... something any U-2 pilot or Intel officer can appreciate. I'll gladly buy drinks to all involved on my next visit to the squadron,...probably this week. I'll drop a bunch of $2 bills in the kitty. Kudos to the leadership there for approving it. Despite the institutional issues in the AF, Beale and the U-2 Program is a great place to be, and a great place to fly.

Not great but the window is adequate MOA work was 180-220 KIAS, and I was at 35-60 flaps in the T-38 I had the U-2 fly 190-200 KIAS on the low approachs with the Gust Up (the flaps are -6 degrees), and I flew with 60 flaps in the T-38. We did it 2 or 3 times, and I had 1500# when we started. Normally, the U-2 would fly the final turn at 90 KIAS... Slowing to around 75-80 by the time it reaches the threshold. I remember getting a good look at the ILS glideslope antenna on each low approach. It was filmed over 2 days. All of the T-38 shots and external shots of the U-2 were done on Day 1 with aviation photographer Sagar Pathak in the T-38 with me. The pilot of the U-2 was Slam. All shots taken from inside the U-2 were on Day 2, using a two-seat U-2 with Sagar in the backseat. The magic of video editing allows me to be the pilot of both jets in the video.

Yes... no doubt it's photo shopped. I tried numerous times in my career to get U-2's in formation. Disapproved, Captain! I coordinated the photo shoot that ended up on the cover of Flying Magazine in 2009, and after months of work to make it happen, it didn't get approved until the 11th hour... and it took COMACC approval. Yes... as crazy at it is, a 4-star had to bless it. Not a 1-star... not a 2-star... not even a 3-star. No, it took the full-four-star power of Gen Corley (who is actually a great leader) to decide that this was something us lesser mortals could pull off. Seriously? Somehow, Kuma and I executed the photo shoot leaving Oshkosh in 2008, and managed to not kill anyone or break any gov't equipment in the process. A year later... getting a dissimilar U-2/T-38 photo chase would have never happened except that AF Magazine asked for it, and it got approved in 2010. Oddly enough, this got quietly delegated to me and a few others, and we just did it quietly. As you can see from the video, we got some great shots. Literally, the Group and Wing leadership... although having been notified it was approved by HQ... were completely unaware of what we were doing. No wonder it went so smoothly. A still photo from the shoot ended up on the cover of Air & Space Magazine: But getting approval to fly TWO U-2's... in formation... over the Golden Gate... at 1800' MSL... in the current climate of sequestration and risk aversion... are you shitting me? Or just taking crazy pills? Well... I'm no longer on the A-Team. Instead, I quietly cruise the aisles of the commissary in my velcro-strap tennis shoes, sans-a-belt jumpsuit, and "USAF Retiree" ball cap... but I'll bet my last dollar this is a photo shop. I cannot imagine "my Air Force" allowing a couple of professional aviators to do something as "CRAZY" as what this photo appears to show. P.S. on the subject of "risk aversion", let me get on my soapbox... <rant on> Back around early 2012, Maj Gen Lyon came to visit Beale AFB when he was ACC Director of Ops. He decided that Beale's T-38 program shouldn't do extended trail, close trail in excess of 60 degrees of bank, and 'four-ship formation', along with a few other things that His Eminence figured was beyond the capabilities of the unwashed pilots of the Recce community. This didn't apply to other ACC T-38 bases, only Beale. Never mind the fact that UPT students do this shit solo, and that there has never been a Class A at Beale involving U-2 pilot buffoonery. He promulgated this edict verbally... and it became law via FCIF. Not Vol 3... just a local FCIF. Lyon retired about 2-3 years ago. However, since then, has anyone at the O-6 level rescinded Lyon's off-the-cuff restriction to Beale T-38 flying? A purely verbal policy that is not in print anywhere except the local FCIF? An unwritten, undocumented utterance from someone who is no longer on active duty?? Nope. Four years later... still in effect. I suppose this thread derailment belongs in one of the "What's Wrong with the Air Force" threads... so I'll shut up now. Please... carry on. Wow... I feel much better having gotten that off my chest. P.P.S. Fvck off Ram... and go get me an Ensure.

What was his class ranking?

Not retiring in 2019? Who would have guessed that??

Sinking? Haha...! Go get my Ensure, Ram.

Do you honestly believe there is a pilot shortage?