FourFans

BrewMaster: Alright dude. Don't misread these replies. No one is saying you had malicious intentions. We are saying they were poorly planned intentions. Is it legal to walk through bear country with a slab of raw meat strapped to your back? Is it legal to drive from coast to coast without stopping for a night of rest? Is it legal to have a friend shoot an apple off your head with a rifle? Yup, and if you think it's a good idea, Darwin thinks you should do it. "I'm legal and we're all vigilant so I'm good" has potential to lead to the worst accidents possible. Combat fliers use an extensive risk management process in our planning to mitigate the dangers of that exact logic process. I doubt your 5 minute airborne risk assessment was as thorough. Plan on the ground, execute in the air, in that order. Depending on your experience level (somewhere at or below 500 hours, i'm guessing) talk to a flight safety rep to find out what history says about how dangerous you really are. Believe it or not, as a young GA pilot stretching your wings, you are in fact, at your most dangerous. Keep that in mind when you're feeling invincible. We're not trying to hammer your skills. We're just say that your risk vs. return assessment was severely flawed. (unless you think your and 8 other human lives aren't worth $50) You're a flyer, so grow some thicker skin. Don't take it personal, accept the critic, do better next time. Cheers, FourFans

...wait...you mean it's more than flying from point A to point B?! Terp is right. Two different skill sets. Tex: Believe it or not, if you can fly a fighter well, that don't mean you can fly a heavy well. Honestly though, the flying skills aspect pales in comparison to the mission planning aspect. Flying a big plane into multiple countries and all the coordination involved is a little more difficult than keeping the one TACAN tuned and tanker in sight. Throw the DV mish into the mix, and it gets more complex.

I think my favorite was last year at Salem. C-17 is taxiing in to park and has to reverse taxi into one of the finger parking spots. As he's about to do this, you begin hearing his loadmaster start with the reverse taxi briefing responses...on ground freq. Immediately, about 7 different Herk crews started transmitting every .5 seconds telling him he's on ground...but to no avail. He performs the longest reverse taxi i've ever heard...on gnd freq. But it gets better...his hot mic up...we hear: "Keep coming...keep coming...give me more...keep coming...start turn...give me more...keep coming...keep coming...that's great...bring it back...keep coming..." Maybe it's a Budda thing, because I've NEVER heard a Herk loadmaster use phaseology like that. Cheers, FourFans

Thanks for reminding me! He had it coming... and yes, that's genuine duct tape underwear. Seriously though...I had nothing to do with this...

It would be even funnier if you hear that in the desert. I've always been a fan of Ali Center complimented by Eagle Ops. Cheers, FourFans

After 6.9 minutes of searching, I couldn't find a decent place to put this in the Squadron Bar. Post pictures of some of the great pranks you've pulled. I'll start: This is what happens when the squadron commander goes TDY and leaves his car at work. Yes, a bunch of loadmasters got training on this. And yes, it was JAI'ed. Not sure how well it would have survived a drop though... Maybe we can get a link to the "Nasty Prank" Thread, but that one is still on the general discussion side. Cheers, FourFans

Shack! Serious dude, how did you know what I was thinking!

An awesome capability. But if you have to ask, don't bother asking.

Heard F-bomb had problems with that...but that's another story... Bring back: - M-16 training - wall to wall councelling sessions - the C-27

Anyone got the story behind this picture?

Concur. Let me reiterate...DO NOT steal lines for stuff you didn't do. It's ok to reference them and get an idea of how to write your own, but don't just steal bullets. When an exec sees 3 OPRs in a row that all have 10 out of 23 lines that are the same...they're gunna say something. Trust me when I say, you do not want to highlight yourself like that. If you didn't do it, don't try and take credit for it, everyone know's who does what in the squadron, so don't try and lie about it. (edit: Be VERY careful about how you apply joe1234's advice. Good execs will see through BS bullets and ask you for some real info.) Oh yeah, and leave extra bullets for your rater before you deploy or go on leave. It's a whole year's worth of activity. 23 lines is not that hard and 25 wouldn't be too tough. But if you hose your rater and give him nothing to work with and then go on leave or deploy, guess what the OG and the WG CCs are gunna see...a nice shiny turd of an OPR. Alright...back to building bar furnatur....i mean exercise exercise exercise duties...yeah... Cheers, FourFans

Mustache march. It's your job! All joking aside. It's a warfighter tradition. Don't let it die.

I'll take "Lock This Thread" for "right now" Alex.

So does Mildenhall have Cat III? I understand the WX can be rather iffy there. Just out of morbid curiosity, how much does it cost too keep a field Cat III ready? Nunya say's it's expensive, but how expensive? Is big blue kicking out lots of money for the civie airliners, or is it a minor inconvenience? More importantly, are the civies paying are is the AF?

Does the Cat III ILS REALLY add that much to Ramstein's ability to generate productive operations? Is the weather THAT bad THAT often? I've never flown there so I don't know. FourFans [ 04. January 2007, 22:31: Message edited by: Toro ]

True. True.

Images altered to protect the guilty.

Darth Load and his combat reflective belt. [ 07. December 2006, 00:45: Message edited by: FourFans130 ]

Well, it sounds like this thing is just another in a growing line (F-16, C-17, MH-47?) of airframes that are designed to do some of a lot of missions and no mission in particular. Having spoken to several Budda drivers in the desert, it sounds like they are frustrated about the Tac/Strat fence they have to saddle up on. I'll bet we'll find the pilots of the tilt-a-whirl saying the same kinda things in a few years. High and fast enough for quick deployment, but not high enough to take advantage of the altitude. Tactical and versitile, but not nearly enough to fill the -53's and -60's shoes. Sadly, I think the days of a specific role aircraft are fading fast. Hopefully we figure out how to make the new system work without killing too many people. FourFans

F-22 First. Global Hawk before strike. Predator for everything else we do.

The same reason there are 22 chiefs on this base who overpower the will of the Wing King. In his own words: "I got off the plane here with plans for no PT gear, flip flops, KBR food, and none of the stupidity like there is at the 'deid. But the chiefs here have killed every single idea." Don't ask me how that sh!t works...but it is completely f'ed up. Chiefs who have never been incountry coming here for their "combat" when they're less than a year from retiring. I had a chief tell me I needed to shave after my first flight, while I was still in ops...still wearing my weapon...while I was taking a piss! Anyone whose been a deployed commander type: How would you advise young LTs and Captains to deal with this kind of chickensh!t without getting themselves hosed in the process? I have yet to find an effective notch for these chief flyer-haters. I've mixed it up with these guys before (one example: see about) and every time I'm the one getting told to back down.

There is no "typical UPT class." There are only other classes and the class you are in. Every class has its on personality. In my experience, sadly, the classes that are populated by I-want-to-be-number-one dudes are generally the classes that suck to be around. However the classes with dudes that operate like a team at work and are best buds on their time off are generally the tighter classes that probably do better in the their drops. Do your best, have a good attitude, and accept what you get. If you just so happen to be in a class full of prodegies, accept it and learn as much as you can from them. Personal effort, Timing, and Attitude. Those are what impact where you go. Worrying about something you can't control will only distract and discourage you. Enough said on that. Be wary of your understanding of the "warrior type." Not all fighter dudes are cold blood killer, and all heavy dudes are pedestrians. Combat pilots in general should be smart and deadly. I personally believe that fighter dudes should also be able to transform into unibrowed, fang toothed, knuckle dragging killers that live in a container labeled "Break in Case of War", however, experience tells me it's not always like that. On the contrary, just because the plane doesn't have a gun on it doesn't mean warriors don't reside there. I'm currently deployed with some dudes who have more warrior in their little finger than some of the fighter guys I've met. Just something to keep in mind. Remember: It's all perspective. FourFans P.S. Make it two beers while you still can. [ 11. October 2006, 23:02: Message edited by: FourFans130 ]

You've got that right! I've been here since June. The priorities are ALL jacked up here! The way the shoe clerks have been winning, it's amazing I can still access this site! edit: I need a beer... [ 02. October 2006, 15:41: Message edited by: FourFans130 ]

Question: How is a descent profile that you can HEAR from 50 miles away "tactical." Extended thrust reversers may drop the plane faster than beer bottles on a weekend at Benders house, but when everyone within a 2 state radius knows you're there, you've kinda defeated the purpose of being "tactical."

Froggy, If you really want to make the decision that will lead to your wife being happy, let her decide for you. That way there's no burden on you! Now that you've realized you're not going to do that; sack up, and go where YOU want to go. Your family, your education, and the rest of your life will still be there no matter what path you take. Just realize that ALL paths require a lot of hard work, none are EASIER than the others. Fork in the road. First: Decide that you will be happy no matter where you go. Don't discount anything or say that if you end up in such-and-such you will hate your life, because you will. Second: Go kick ass where ever your path takes you. Focus on your job. If you are trying your best and you are happy with your job, your family will want to follow you, and your career/education will progress as it needs to. Bottomline is that there is no magical piece of advice that will make this choice an easy black and white, right-way-to-go wrong-way-to-go choice. Grab a pair, throw the dice where you think you should be, and see where Big Blue sends you. FourFans