LJ Driver

Are you saying that they should not have taken off in a Cessna 310 because the airplane cannot climb out IMC? Or are you saying that the weather was simply too poor to takeoff? Ultimately why would the aircraft type matter in whether it was IMC? This airplane seems to have executed the takeoff portion just fine because it crashed 1/2 mile away from the departure end. I think once they were airborne some spatial disorientation may have been a factor. Just because the weather is 1/4 mile doesn't mean a crash is soley weather related.

Live by it, die by it. Gouge is great until its wrong. Nothing I like more than GKing some cocky little d-bag that thinks he has it all figured out because he has what he thinks is good gouge. When I ask him to pull out the -1 and show me where xyz is, he can't find it for 20 minutes. Hey knucklehead, your gouge sucks, the -1 is the best gouge you can get. We all used it in UPT. So what. I flew the T-37, the damn thing was built in the 1800's, people created 'study guides' for 100 years, we now call them gouge. Like I said, live by it and die by it. The source document is always right, at least that's the AF answer.

Well fellas, since no one else wants to do it, I'll take the bullet and be the first to volunteer for this gig... It's gonna be a big ole pain in the ass, but at least I'll learn something. LJ, where do I sign up?

The MC-130H uses the monitored technique as standard when doing our self-contained tactical approachs. While not an instrument approach in the strictest ways, it does bring you down to 200' in IMC. The copilot always flies it, the pilot always lands it, and the nav always makes the calls to get us on glideslope and course while the flight director cue drects the airplane down the pipe. Overall, the method works really well and I like it for all the reasons described above. For normal instrument approaches we have no standard but I do know some guys that use the typical monitored approach method. Ironically, the reason we do this is a holdover of the Talon I days when the pilot would wear NVGs that had no inside the aircraft capability (due to a rubber seal enclosure around the eyes). The copilot was required to fly the self-contained approach without night vision while the pilot would be looking outside on NVGs to find the runway. Even now, when the pilot takes over the copilot and nav make calls of altitude and airspeed until we are on the ground.

Dude, you cannot be serious. You are coming across as THE biggest a-hole on this site, and there are plenty of others. The biggest really goes to someone special, someone like you. Congratulations idiot, you and your "CAS expertise" have really found all the nooks and crannies to explore about this issue. Bring out the TF radar and 50 cal gun boys, Boxhead has it all figured out!! You're a joke. Absolutely agree. Once the shooting starts, LL altogether gets thrown out the window, along with AD and infil/exfil.

Precious metals are likely a good investment to short right now, considering their absurd rise in value of late.

Agreed, and understood, but lots of advice here is better served at that level. That doesn't mean we shouldn't say it anyway.

Holy shit fellas, you are defining SNAP for all to publicly see. Take off your panties, this board is not all about giving advice to everyone and cuddling with each other. Some of us (yourselves included) like to bitch about things. In fact, I would argue that over 50% of the posts on any given discussion thread (complete guess) are related to griping and complaining, this particular one included. I am not the one getting personal, you are. I am simply calling it like I see it. For the record, I am giving advice: Don't take on the CAS and LL mission at the same time or you'll likely kill yourselves and others. Sage advice that was also given by others (where is the OUTRAGE!!) The fact that the 73d is the only squadron contemplating doing this kind of narrows down the beam of criticism, don't you think? And no, we don't need a 5th truth for reasons already mentioned. I'd love to see us comply with the first four.

Dude, you're so right. My bad. Your inexperienced squadron that has a grand total of about 15 dudes that have some sort of TF or CAS background coupled with the majority brand new dudes out of UPT and slick guys that don't have a clue WTF TF or CAS stand for are absolutely perfect for the job.

You didn't clear anything up, and you don't need to. Most of the dudes that are participating in this thread know as much about this as you (or likely more). And really? You don't understand how non-SOF is important? Does SOF have any space assets? No. Do we have any heavy airlift? No. Do we have any fixed-wing AR tanker capability? No. It's almost so obvious that it should't be a truth because only a moron wouldn't know that these things are a multiplier. How could this be a mystery to you? Not sure what your background is. Know that CAS and AD are two completely different mindsets and skillsets. When you add TF into the mix there is absolutely no doubt that you will not be doing both. It cannot happen. To be even remotely proficient at both these you would become a training squadron and do nothing but fly for currency and proficiency. There are simply too many events to do. When the T2 had its last accident (Albania) the AIB published the fact that T2 copilots had significantly more events to log per half than anyone else in the USAF. This was being balanced by letting guys get noncurrent and then flying them with IPs. Clearly not an effective long-term strategy. You cannot maintain proficiency in both. It doesn't work. We learned this lesson already, and it falls perfctly into the fact that you cannot mass produce SOF. People will get hurt, likely killed.

I'm not surprised you feel 'butt hurt', whatever the F that is. WE are not breaking them on a regular basis. And NO. YOU are not as good as the SOF standard, and you're right, the shooters deserve our best. Not a bunch of faggy last in their class d-bags that are jaded and pissed off to be here. They should be applying. And begging to get in the door. When they get here they should be so g-damn happy that they are on the pointy end that they STFU and do their jobs as good as they can. But they don't do that. They show up and walk around like they know something, and have done more than fuck-all in an airplane. It makes all of us look like buffoons to our SOF users. Why is the Army looking for more organic fixed-wing?

Don't go disparaging the entire command with that crap. You knuckleheads in the 319th and others may do it and give us a bad name, but that doesn't mean we all do that.

What is the issue here? They were in a SECURE CREW REST AREA. And they were resting? Ummmmmmm, ok then.

I'm SURE there was a legit reason for the VC-25 and 2 F-16s to be flying around NYC, but a PA phone call to a few news stations might have been a smart move considering past events in the city... http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/F-16s...ty-on-Edge.html

I like the portal ARMS product. Its very accurate and easy to use. This comes down to people tracking their own shit and getting properly crushed if they go non-current.

Questions: In 2009 I will likely be in a CZTE area for 2 months. I will get paid the bonus in June, and not be in the zone until Nov-Dec. I would like to deposit the entire bonus, plus the 16,500 into the TSP. - Is this possible/legal? Do I need to be in the CZTE area the month I receive the bonus to deposit the entire amount in the TSP? (With the obvious risk that if I don't get to the CZTE in 2009, I am royally fucked) - If not, could I up the amount deposited each month during 2009 to total (25,000) + (my standard percentage), then live off the bonus? - Or, could I elect to deposit 100% of my pay in Nov-Dec and live off the bonus in those months as required? - If I am in the CZTE area for only one or two months in a year, am I still eligible to deposit 49,000 in the TSP?

I think the GWOT-E requires deployment to somewhere other than Afg or Iraq. I just went around the horn about this with A&D also, and the requirement has indeed changed from what it was originally.

Some would, most wouldn't. There would have to be a stop-loss type program enacted prior to a whisper of this type of thing escaping into the press, and frankly, I think we would see a Coup d'Etat within weeks of announcement.

Umm, except for the undercarriage gun, TF system, Radar jam, etc etc etc. Not semantic, significant...

On a checkride, maybe. It depends. Otherwise, I disagree. Sometimes the AFI is wrong. Sometimes we need to exercise our authority as aircraft commanders and experienced aviators to get important shit done. Sometimes we need to request forgiveness rather then permission. That's called judgement. And that's why I fly airplanes for a living.

Class call signs? WTF? Is that a joke?

Do we think that a married officer banging another chick is inappropriate? Hmmm. Considering you can get an Article 15 for adultury, yes. Do you really need to ask that in an open forum like this? What did you think the answer was?

Fellas, TSP Question: I am approaching eligibility status for the pilot bonus (probably 25k again). I know that I can put 46k into the TSP if I go to a combat zone during the year. --Can I put all 25k of the bonus into the TSP? --If I can indeed put the entire amount into the TSP, do I have to be in the combat zone the month I get the bonus or do I just have to go sometime during the year? Thanks

This is not a secret fellas. The cat is out of the bag and should be discussed within normal opsec common sense rules. http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/09/...d_rc12_091708w/ http://www.tsjonline...y.php?F=3729972 http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArchive...piAirGuard.aspx http://www.fox40now....l/28454504.html