HuggyU2

Last week, I went to my local high school football game. During the National Anthem, about 6 kids were grab-assing, and really cutting up. I was about 10' away. I gave it a few seconds in case they decided to KIO,... then broke from my position of attention, and very loudly chewed their asses for about 5 seconds. My reaction, while you could construe as disrespectful, got their attention,... and the attention of an otherwise quiet section. Should I have waited until the end? Maybe. But the impact on these kids was much stronger. I got a number of "Thank you"s from the crowd after the Anthem. I do this anytime I see it required. The point that many folks do not know what to do is well taken. For example, many men place their hat over their heart, which is incorrect. I've announced two airshows now, and it's a "paid hobby" I'm probably going to pursue. I use my venue as an airshow announcer to remind folks what to do when the Anthem starts. Seems to work pretty well. Rotorhead, I'd like to send this briefing to my local school district, and maybe use it elsewhere. Would that be ok?

Jrobe, Good call. This patch really should be a high quality product (not like the crap my UPT class put out). FWIW, I like the idea of building on M2's vision.

Thunderbirds are GO!!

Not to mention some that have been around for 50+ years.

I still wear V-neck T-Shirts. The problem is that a few years ago, the major brands changed the "V" to make the opening smaller. So, with the new one, the white T-shirt shows prominently inside your flight suit. If you find a brand with the older, more open V, post it here. I only have 1 old one left.

XL, Base housing had a fire about 2 months ago that supposedly destroyed a number of homes. That's all I know there. I see a lot of civilians in David Grant Hospital, but don't know how easy a nursing position is. However, realize that there are a number of good civilian hospitals around. UC Davis Medical Center is right off highway 50 in Sacramento, and about 45 minutes from Travis: very top notch. If you're going to be deployed a bunch, look at some of the older homes in Sacramento: your wife will be close to work at least. Your fellow 21 AS pilots should be able to point you in the right direction.

You might be wasting your time: Mike at Sheppard Air already IS talking to the belly buttons on both the testing side, and the certification side of the FAA. He posts updates as he gets them. I occasionally speak to the certification side, and there's really no other information to provide. The FAA will figure out how they are going to run the testing, and they will let us all know between now and 10 Nov.

As someone who got out, did the airlines, and came back, why did I do it?? Because I missed it. In July '01, I decided I had to get back to the people, the airplanes, and the mission. The airlines wasn't doing it for me. So I called my old U-2 squadron and said "please". They said "ok". My timing worked out: I was near the front of the line when 9/11 hit. We've got another guy who was on his airliner and saw one of the jets hit the WTC on 9/11. He had Captain's seniority, but that didn't matter. He wanted to take the fight to the enemy. He went to a USAF assignment, and 4 years later, we got him in the U-2. He's still intense, and intent on ensuring his actions cause the destruction of the enemy. There are quite a few guys I fly with at Beale that got back into the military. And they stay here because they like the assignment, the mission, the people, the jet.

Actually, you had 5 U-2 guys between 1999-2004

May have changed, but as of a few weeks ago, there were only 2 jets there, and they were there for the MX folks. However, there are some late model T-38A's you can go see near base ops...

Maybe the fact we can't even wear our Service's own uniform correctly validates the fact we should be "practicing" until we can figure it out.

The older I get, the less likely I will ever abort a takeoff once I'm rolling at even a moderate speed. It seems nothing good ever comes from an abort. The designers made aircraft good flyers,... not good aborters. I'll get airborne, figure it out, and land when I'm ready.

Wasn't on the schedule today, so I decided to be a team player and wear mine. Funny thing though: I hadn't worn my Corfams in years,... and I guess after a long time, the leather and glue deteriorate. After about 2 hours at work, they began to disintegrate,.... badly. Pretty funny, actually. But I'll be buying a new pair in the morning. The old ones are already in the trash.

Andrews?! $20 says it's a base in the Western US.

Lockheed has a maintenance presence in our community, and we go through the Lockheed site lead by giving him the date you hit your milestone. They ensure the certificate and pin are delivered.

Bad news, but packing 30lbs into 15lbs bags isn't limited to UPT,.... and having a tough time finding time during the 10-12 hour duty day to go to the gym isn't limited to UPT either. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking with my OG as the Med Group CC called on the brick saying "heading to quarters" at about 1600. The look on his face told it all: he still had at least 3 more hours of meetings and office work to do. Not all Group Commanders are created equal. Yes, there are a lot of folks that have lots of time to get to the gym. Many of us will not ever be a part of that group.

Not sure, but the address of what I'm referring to is: US Dept of Trans - FAA 800 Independence Ave, SW Washington DC, 20591

I called Mike at Sheppard Air this morning and told him what I knew. He sounds like he's been engaged, and this new change surprised him. I just looked at their website, and they've pulled their test prep software until the FAA makes a solid determination. It seems the problem is that the HQ FAA guys in DC are a different group than the OK City FAA-guys that make the tests.

Update. I spoke with FAA HQ today. - 10 Nov 08 is the release date, but it won't get "implemented" for an additional 30 or 60 days. He couldn't remember off the top of his head, but thought is was 60 days. Some sort of Federal requirement. - If you already have the written for the CFI or CFII complete, you pretty much meet the intent of the rule. However, you might have to get an exception to allow these tests in lieu of the new tests coming out. He didn't think it would be a huge problem, but said no one had asked him that question yet. - Military medical: they hadn't determined what they wanted military pilots to carry when they flew to prove they had a military medical certificate. More to follow. - yes, if you were a "former" IP, you should be good to go. So sayeth the FAA.

I hope you are kidding.

You know, I've worn the flight suit for a long time now. Shoot, I rely on GRRAnimals when I wear civies since I have no fashion sense. I don't even have all the requisite parts for my Blues. I relish my green bag more than any piece of clothing I'll ever wear. But The Boss says this is what he wants, so there you have it. He's asking me to wear... a uniform. Something I was pretty thrilled to do the day I got commissioned. Something I enjoy doing everyday I go to my squadron. I haven't worn that Blue one much over the years,.... but it's still MY uniform. The level of outcry on this forum is stunning, given the "level" of the event. This certainly didn't take much to implement, and this is not proof that CSAF is diverting his attention away from the big tasks at hand to ask us to wear a different UOD on Monday. I certainly know there's no culture of complacency in the Ops squadrons, so how about we operators do what we do best, implement this, and make it happen? There are just so many different issues I have to deal with each and every day, that this just gets buried in the noise level,... hence the reason I'm worn out at the end of the day. Let it ride for a few months, and see where CSAF goes with this. This is not the end of civilization as we know it.

Yes, I saluted him because that is the Military Tradition for someone who wears the CMH. And, for the record, I was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Texas. I'm certainly no poster child for the perfect drill team-like military customs guy, but I do think it's worthwhile, and do not blow it off.

Disagree all you want, ZRooster, but military tradition shoudn't go the way of "hey dude, yo,..." It's not YOUR call to decide whether YOU will comply with the tradition or not. And the tradition is that you salute officers senior to you. So, what's "your criteria"? Got to be a field grade officer before you'll salute them?? Or should an A1C salute an O-1?? This isn't some "new" tradition in the American military. It goes back,... oh, many, many decades. And I'm sure someone will tell me about how their pappy was in Korea, and he said 1Lt's weren't worth saluting. That's their opinion. But it's not our military culture. And if you don't like the culture, then you should find a new vocation. What, exactly, is it that chaps so many people's asses about saluting an O-2? Don't get me wrong,... I've heard this discussion for years. I'm not trying poke you in the eye, but remember it's not about US. It's about our service to the Uniformed Services. And there's a rank structure. Just like there was when a 1Lt in WWII decided to take his crew (with a 2Lt co-pilot) into harm's way. I, for one, did not say a word if I wasn't saluted by an O-2, when I was an O-1. But you can be sure I salute each and every senior officer I come across. And I enjoy doing it. It's my professional greeting to them. Do you find it demeaning?? If so, you are missing the point. John Levitow died a few years ago,... but I saluted him when I met him. He was an enlisted man, and I was an officer. And I have great respect for him. Don't know who he is? Your loss. However, although I admired him, I followed military tradition,... it wasn't about "me" deciding who I would salute and who I wouldn't. That's not the military way. It might be what they teach at liberal colleges,... but it doesn't serve us well in the military. I've seen O-9's salute their buddy who was an O-10. I think you can deal with saluting an O-2 if you're a 2Lt. And if you can't, then reconsider your "calling".

Sorry about the delayed reply. Lead time to visit: at least a day. If you can't do that, we'll make it work. DSN 368-4447, and ask for Mert. DSN 368-3838 and ask for Huggy (I gave up the "Recruting job" officially, and run the T-38 program now, but still help Mert out). Reservists: yes, we'll hire you. We've done it many times (including yours truly). However, AFPC wants you to have been an Active Duty Officer at some point in your career. Being on "active duty orders" as a Guard/Reserve pilot during UPT doesn't count. If in doubt, call DSN 665-3708, and talk to CJ Smith at AFPC. The answers he will give are from the AFPC perspective, not the U-2/9th Recon Wing perspective. Remember,... there's a waiver for everything. BTW, my T-38 took a turkey vulture yesterday on the front canopy: damn bird!! Oh, yeah,... the FY10 POM will be dropped in the next couple of months (probably). I think a lot of you will be looking for a manned cockpit job, so don't forget the U-2.

Maybe "a douche" for pointing it out. But bad form on you for not saluting him.