busdriver

Great rant CH. Those self fellating OPR bullets are the hardest thing for me to do. I suck at providing OPR bullets for my raters. I'm finally a shop chief, and I'm finding that I'm surprisingly OK with stiff arming leadership to give my guys room to work. I end up taking heat and looking bad in the short term, but screw it I'm not going to be a micro managing ass. I'll pass the importance of whatever the boss is pinging about, but I refuse to take over.

Well, I just had a run in with my debit card number getting out, and based on where the random charges were made I can only assume it got out while I was in Iraq. With that said, I fully support the Eagle Cash card. It was stupid easy to set up, and you pick how much cash you put into it. It's not a credit card that can hurt your rating, and I honestly don't see any downside.

I would go so far as to say, owning that little gizmo and any pistol it's compatible with could get you into trouble. Even if you never attach it, the ATF would get you for intent to manufacture.

We're flying between the runways at a desert location practicing. We're flying our patterns at ~50ft agl. On downwind we're passing a 130 on approach, I don't remember how close we were, but it was apparently closer than comfy for the 130 landing. I hear "Dude, not cool! Tower, we almost just hit a helo." Tower responds "that helo wasn't anywhere near you." 130: "we'll talk about it later." Good on the 130 AC for not yammering on tower freq. On the other hand, well I guess the 130 types aren't used to the separation we helo types are used to. In all honesty, he probably didn't see us at all until he said that, and it startled him. Still, my whole crew had a good laugh.

The pred community is already short manned, there is no way they could support two aircraft.

Despite the super secret squirrel nature of the PC-12, they do in fact have routine training flights, keep in mind they've got lots of new guys showing up these days.

I don't understand why new AF badges have to "me too" wings. Spwings, now these. If anything, making other badges look like wings degrades their significance. If you're a space and missile guy, having the pocket rocket sets you apart, Spwings makes it seem like you're a wannabe which is hardly true. I'll also add that if I was going to sit around in an office (essentially) all day the last "utility" uniform I'd want is a flight suit. I'd want a two piece uniform that was light weight and soft. I'm thinking a BDU type uniform made of something like a dacron/cotton blend, no boot blousing though so you could wear a low cut boot.

So it's more a logistics/MX supply issue than a concern for the operator?

What's the deal with different engines on the same airframe?

Buddha, great points.

Fair enough, keep in mind using terms like "SEAL basic" sounds a bit off. Sort of like I was going to be a SEAL but decided to fly the Raptor instead, the Air Force recruited me for a new special ops F-22 unit.

SEAL basic?

Adding to what stract had to say, I have more important things to be doing than watching the PJs leave the aircraft like an adoring fan.

of course they can fix it, different pot of money....

Laser beams would probably not be an optimal solution for our fictional space force. There are limits to the amount of cooling you can get through radiation.

The reporter got confused over the HH designation. To my knowledge the HH-60M is an Army MEDEVAC bird.

For shooters on a budget, go with a used Glock in 9mm. They're not sexy like a 1911, but they always work and they'll last for a very long time. The benefit of this is you can buy one used for a reasonable price and be confidant it will perform as advertised.

If you weren't in the AF and lacked the history behind this swill, why would you drink it? In other words, do they still make this crap just for us?

The military doesn't just calculate an average housing cost, they decide what kind of accommodations you should be living in and then average the rental cost for that. So as a single captain they figure you should be renting a two bedroom apartment and a married captain with dependents should be living in a house. Now this example doesn't apply too well for the current housing market as housing costs are inflated, but over history mortgage payments and rental rates should be pretty close. So dependent BAH should pretty much cover the mortgage payments on a house. This allows the married captain to buy a house and build equity, while the single captain is stuck renting. In the long run the dependent BAH pays a lot more than the single rate.

I know what you're saying and intellectually I agree 100%. There's just a part of me (not the logic using part) that wonders....

Interesting way to look at it. I guess I'm just cynical. It may be that the IG is what saves the whole program.

Boeing may be able to save themselves if they can prove that that change didn't impact their proposal. It does seem unlikely you wouldn't need an FCF after rebuilding the heads like that though.

Reviving this long dormant thread. This doesn't look good for us getting anything in my career: DOD IG is looking into KPP change

I think I know where he's getting these ideas. He's incorrectly applying fourth generational warfare ideas. I'm thinking this since he keeps harping on tactical outcomes being irrelevant. The idea is best shown by the first intifada. The Israelis attacked with tanks, helos and guns; and the Palestinians responded by throwing rocks. By all tactical accounts the Palestinians got run over, but in the court of public opinion the Israelis were turned into monsters. The idea is an insurgent attacks his enemy's moral credibility, if successful the world's and even his enemy's people's opinion favors the insurgency. He is confusing tools with tactics/strategy. Ground troops, airpower, armor, and ships are tools no more, no less.

M2, I consider my M9 a last ditch weapon that I only plan on using if I'm stuck in my cockpit and hadji is rushing me (ala Mogadishu) so I would prefer a chest mounted holster. I have a feeling in this case though, he carries in the manner shown only wandering around base since a drop holster gets annoying after awhile.