FourFans

Are you kidding me?! There's only one acronym in that sentence! No combat bullet!? No "My John Deere powerhouse! Built tractor in one day!" No "My #1/1 dictators--god incarnate!" Terrible exec skills! FF

Thanks Brick for getting back on target. The only thing we really have that's close to the "50 mission crush" is our desert floppy hats that is now bleeched white and our dirty name tags. If you think you've "earned" crushing your cap, then you're probably "entitled" to prop-and-wings and an army air corp patch too. If you want to crush your hat and call it heritage, fine, but don't say you've earned it. That was their generation, find your own thing. If you feel the need for validation that your existence is important...start doing your job and stop worrying about who sees you and your crushed hat. People notice a job well done. Actions speak louder than hats. Stop talking about the BS you've earned and go earn something! The defense rests. Lets get back to bring the Demotivational Poster Thread back to the top. FF

Leather jackets, asside from being an MR rite of passage, are just as important a uniform item as AF ribbons and medals.

That just sent a shiver down my spine. Dragon Ladies...as in "The Dragon Ladies": Avoid at all cost when they're out in numbers. I'll leave it to Huggy to educate us more all on that subject... FF

Do you know where the train station is!

Same team! Same team! Save the hate for the T-tail mafia! The upgrade syllabus is not being waived for anyone so far as I can tell. Neither are the 16 hours of GT associated with it. Also, as a prior C-130 AC/IP you still have to do one deployment before you upgrade. Granted that's the holdover guidance, but I don't see it changing with the new leadership. While it's rather frustrating for a prior AC/IP who already knows how to do the job, Slowmover makes a good point that it's better to go through the upgrade training again and be overly ready than to get upgraded too soon and bend metal. (gotta keep up with that lowest common denominator...) Some people would say that right now the squadron needs to upgrade guys that are ready, but with such a small instructor corp, how are the DO and CC supposed to know who's really ready? Different points of view. Both have valid pros and cons. Right now the squadron is slow rolling the upgrades and it's not going to change any time soon. That's just the way it is. Not to fan the flames...but...I was at the Sim yesterday and saw 3 majors (from T-1s and T-44s) and two Capt WOs in the pipeline training. The two WOs were headed to Ramstein (retreads I think) and the Majors were coming to the 41st. So here's my question. When are they going to start sending people to the 41st who AREN'T there for career advancement? Seriously. I heard from a reliable source that next month, we'll have more Majors than LTs. Someone please tell me I'm not alone in thinking that is completely upside down. FF

Sounds familiar. ...the uniform is: long sleeve blue shirts, a-jackets, parkas, hoods worn down... When they keep saying "back to basics," what they really mean is "back to basic." Apparently USAFA isn't the only leadership laboratory... FF

...and more. Some of the DZs and LZs we've hit over there are pretty much untouchable for other herks. That being said, it's sad just how much our focus ISN'T on tactics. Hell we don't even have a WO in the Sq right now! FF

Any word about gayness like this at OAKN?

You animated LockheedFix!!

I think I spotted M2 sporting a nicely trimmed vandyke beard in the middle there somewhere!

Buffoonery is taking this classic thread the wrong way. Reminder. Just because it's not classified doesn't mean it's not sensitive. Stop BFMing the rules to make yourself sound informed. FF

Alright. Who wants to take one for the team with me and be my spotter. It might take a while...but I think with a box of 3006, we could take care of this problem.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Buckle down boys. The next decade for the military has a high likelihood to be rough. Less money, more threats. That's what you can plan for. Suck it up, figure out how to do more with less. Because if we don't no one else will. SNAPS: Start learning Chinese and Russian now, we'll need you later. FF

Unfortunately that is the only kind of need that gets any kind of real support these days. FF

Re-attack. Alarm Red: Seriously? You're gunna crap on the dude doing 12 months in that hole? Have you been there?! Of ALL the people on this forum...you choose him? Throw yourself from the staff tower. You Fail. Chuck, sorry brother...Bias wins this one. C-130s and C-17s compliment each other nicely. But see the caps for what they really are. Sure...C-17s can go into little fields. And I can stick my thumb up my ass. I don't need to experience either to know that neither one is comfortable or necessary. It's not about ability, it's about mission effectiveness. C-17s are great for big fields with big ATOC. OIF is ALL yours. Take it. We can't have enough C-17s in Iraq. I love seeing you guys over there. Perfect platform for that mission. However... If it's a 3000 ft dirt strip, it probably has about ONE (ok, maybe two) forklift. So what's the point of putting 18 pallets in his lap and severely reducing the runway life in one sortie when you can space it out over 30-45 minutes with herks while saving your runway at the same time? Herks are better for short ground time on a tight ramp that's unimproved. C-17s aren't. Will there be a rare occasion where something too big for a herk needs to be moved out of a small field...sure. But not that often. If the army needs THAT much stuff RIGHT NOW...it's time for some airdrop as already discussed. Leave the dirt strip INTRAtheater airlift/airdrop to the pros, that's what we do best. B.L. The guy on the ground with the gun is the mission. EVERYTHING ELSE IS SUPPORT. Whatever combination of airlift/airdrop does that best is all that counts to me.

Well said. Airmanstranded: If you're at Kandahar and you think life sucks. Just wait a few weeks...it's about to get a whole lot suckier...the shoeiest operator I've EVER seen is headed your way...with authority. Enjoy that one. I'm not say'n, but I'm say'n. FF

Aurora85, here are your takeaways: - Diet is at LEAST 80% of the weight loss equation. Make smart choices, and try to establish dietary habits that you can continue post-deployment. Otherwise, you'll go back to your old habits and your old weight. - Do your homework before you take any supplements. I personally found that protein is the only thing that I really need supplemented while I'm out there. But your case will be unique to your routine and goals. Do your homework. - For the energy drink stuff...well...some people swear by it, some people call it crap, some people claim it'll make your heart explode. I say do what works for you. I tried a bunch of different things, some aforementioned and other not. I like no xplode because I can see a marked difference in my workouts when I use it (I train for distance running and overall muscle strength). In my experience, NEVER take the advice of "experts who know what YOU need." Usually they only know what works for them, therefore it MUST work for everyone. Try different things and find what works for YOU. Once again. Do your homework, trust me, you'll have the free time to do the research online (health/workout forums are a good place to start). Good luck and fly safe! FF

- Avoid the dessert line. - Go the gym at least once during every period of time you spend awake ("day" and "night" and "work shift" are meanless phases once you start flying) - Use N.O. Xplode to make your workouts more effective. - Set goals for how far you want to run / how much weight you want to lose / etc... during the deployment. Working towards a goal is ten times easier than just working out to get in shape. - Workout with someone if able. A crewmember works best, if you can get the whole crew on a health kick, even better. FF

With all the old school dudes here I'm surprised it took so long to hear the standard AF checkride tradition. Please tell me that Champ and I are not the only ones who bring booze to an evaluation, preferably the EP's drink of choice. FF

True. True.

I've gotta say I'm with Huggy on this one. Checkride superstitions are silly. Good habits are different. You should do the same things on a checkride that you do on any other flight. If your daily rides wouldn't pass a checkride, you need to re-think some things. You want to do good on a checkride? Fly as much as you can and attempt to master every flight regime of the airplane. Be a master of your craft. sex, sleep, and sustenance are important, and all statistically proven to help you focus. But proper prior preparation is paramount. On the day of a checkride I remind myself of three things. Something weird WILL happen. I WILL make mistakes (no matter how small). I WILL be taught something new (EPs were IPs first and they probably like instructing better than evaluating). That's the closest thing I come to a ritual. FF

If they had that program running at Salem the last time I was there, there would be TONS of pissed of dudes in the gym who were clearly "tubs-o-lard" by BMI standards. A couple of'm could bench press over 500lbs. But that fits. The AF took a broken ass system of bodily health (BMI indexing) and decided to use it as the gold standard. Thanks air staff! Morons. I guess this is what we get when commanders no long make it a point to actually know their people and understand what's really happening with the members of their command. Just impliment mass policies that will "take care of any problems" instead of tailoring solutions to specific problems. So much for leadership. FF

For the same reason there is actually a KC-135 WIC. FF

If you don't think we need to get our nuke forces in order and do it RIGHT NOW, here's some light reading for you. BTW, It's not just the nuclear force that needs a re-attack on mission focus and purpose. While the bad guys are getting stronger, we're wearing reflective belts on our blues while putting together awards packages. The metal's gunna meet the meat someday soon. Source