stract

if they find the KPP was improperly changed (from "mission ready" to "flight ready" in 3 hrs), then that means the Chinook most likely won't win (again) since it could BARELY make "flight ready" in 3 hrs, with the help of 30 people and 2 cranes.

Don't discount AMS, either. If you want to become an O sooner rather than later, they direct commission into the Guard/Reserve and you are NOT required to have your degree at the time of commissioning (but you must complete within 7 years, I think). obviously not a grad.

when my group was returning home from OEF in Jan 07, the Delta ticket agents at BWI gave us the 1st class upgrade. They made an announcement in the gate, thanking us for our service and here's your upgrade. All the taxpayers knew it was Delta's dime on that one. And it was a pretty awesome gesture.

per the reg 10-248 I think, commanders are REQUIRED to allow time during the duty day for PT. "1.13.4. Ensures all members are permitted up to 90 minutes of DT for PT 3 times weekly (Regular component only)." DT = Duty Time

Here's a toast...

That article that mentioned the 16 SOW was from a midair 12 years ago. Today's rescuers were Coasties. We got stood down before we could launch. We were an hour and a half away, the Coasties were only 17 mins away. They win (not that it was a contest, it's just frustrating to get a mission drop and someone else beats you to it, even when it's the logical call). Glad the pilots are ok.

when the RCC stood us down, the USCG was 17 min out from the location. And that's where I fell out of the loop.

you may be right. I'm going to talk to the Moody vet next week when I take them in for the blood draw. If I go rotator or C-5/C-17/whatever, how would my cats travel? Can I carry them on in FAA approved carriers or do they go in crates? (what's the flight time and are there any stops in between?)

yeah it changed in 05 I guess. 180 days after the FAVN blood draw. If the 180 days at home is done before you arrive in Japan, it's just a quick stop to clear your pet through. Otherwise whatever time is left out of the 180 days might be in one of those quarantine places, which I want to avoid.

so, I've got a RNLTD of 30 Jun 08. My 2 cats will still have 2 months left of the 180 quarantine, so my plan is to leave them with my mom and then ship them out at the end of Aug so they don't have to hang out in a quarantine facility in Japan for who knows how long. Anyone know of a decent company that does this sort of thing well, and it doesn't cost an arm/leg?

I think the rest of these folks are already in the AF, trying to get picked up for pilot. Completely different than a civilian looking to do the OTS -> pilot thing. OPR = Officer Performance Report

first 3 are from when I augmented with the 210 RQS up in AK a couple years ago. That's me in the first one. Bottom pic is when we flew "near" the Grand Canyon returning home from Desert Rescue in '05

so, the DLOs for any given fly-by aren't very grandiose, but there is ALWAYS some training benefit when you go out to fly. Whether it's just getting more of a feel for your aircraft, getting more comforatble flying in close formation (core pilot skillz), more comfortable talking to ATC and flying at the same time, or recovering with an instrument approach to get more proficient with IFR regimes, there is ALWAYS a benefit to flying vs not flying at all. When we go do a static somewhere or an airshow, whatever, we get cross country experience, flying in the IFR structure experience (something we don't do much of otherwise), working with the crew, etc etc.

there was an IP at Rucker back in the day who decided to go do a tour in Global Hawks. The unit was excited to have him b/c he was also a CFI. Apparently to keep up the flying skillz the UAV drivers go fly Cessnas, etc with the Aero Club. My guess is the flight docs tag along?

https://www.edodo.org/rumormill/viewtopic.p...;hilit=downtown

here's another, Vietnam era. This one's also on the KIKR patch wall.

Path: UPT --> SUPT-H (Rucker) flying the UH-1H or TH-1 when it comes online --> Schoolhouse (Kirtland) --> Unit TDY: for 60s, I know my unit goes down to Hurbie and up to Pope every once in a while, various Red Flags, etc.... I'm pretty sure DM goes to San Diego for water work and shipboard ops, Red Flags, etc. Not sure where Nellis goes. Have no idea about the overseas units and their TDYs. Currently in 60s deployments are 4 on, 4 off, repeat. Sometimes you get lucky with a 3 on, 5 off... due to the extra taskings in both theaters right now. We also have this thing called GRF (global response force) where any one unit at any given time is on the hook to go anywhere in the world on XX (short) notice. I got to go to Pakistan in 06 for two weeks on this sort of response.

no, we're not immune, but we are pretty undermanned with all these additional taskings we're getting, which is causing all the huey folks to get the 365s to teach Iraqis and Afghanis how to fly helos. AFPC isn't even letting us PALACE CHASE to 60 Guard/Reserve units (there are some exceptions, I know, but for the most part people are getting turned down).

my first AOC at the Zoo went to Keyna for his next assignment flying C-12s. He was an Army Major who flew Cobras previously, and the Keyna tour was accompanied for him (I think his official title was Defense Attache or something along those lines). When I was casual at Rucker prior to UPT, the C-12 office was part of the 23 FTS, but they then became Det whatever under AMC and moved their office to Cairns AAF or Dothan (that's where Flight Safety International is).

the only RW dudes who've gone went voluntarily (the 2 I'm aware of). One was medically DNIF for his back but he wanted to keep flight pay, so he took a job with preds. I've heard he's trying to get a waiver and come back to the 60 community. The other guy did a tour in Global Hawks and now he's back at Mother Rucker as a huey IP. Our community is undermanned, so the quick answer is no, no UAVs for us.

1100-1200 pph baybee!

that's not our AF, but still funny.

what's ######ed up about the Navy UPT grading process is that you could FINISH your training (i.e. not wash out) and still not get wings b/c you had too many "belows" and not enough "aboves". This happened to some folks while I was there. They didn't do poorly enough to get kicked out, but they apparently didn't do well enough as the completed their training to get wings. ######ed up Navy logic. There was a Coastie in one of the other squadrons at Whiting (VT-6 I think) who was on his initial solo after contact check. Goes out into the area, has a good time, and then coming back into Whiting, gets the ole' waveoff lights from the RDO shack for whatever reason (too steep or something like that), so he goes around, and this time he porpoises the landing. Hit the ground so hard he actually collapsed the nose gear. So after the plane returns to terra firma after the hard bounce, the prop doesn't fare so well being that there's no nose gear anymore. So T-34 skids down the runway throwing sparks, prop gets bent all to hell (handlebar mustache...) and the stud decides to egress the plane. But it gets better! The engine is still running, and the props are still trying to spin (tick, tick, tick on the runway), and the stud neglects to do an emergency shutdown before egressing. So the RDO has to come shut the plane down. At least the kid detached himself from the parachute before getting out (which is about the ONLY good thing he did during this whole sequence). Needless to say, the next week, there's one less Coastie in pilot training. I saw that T-34 in the hangar and it was NOT a pretty sight. If you ever see a T-34C with teeth painted on it, that means that particular A/C has had a gear-up landing in the past...

https://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0712/00854COPTERV061.PDF it's hard enough trying to figure out which road is "Natchez Trace Parkway". I did this one on a severe clear day and still couldn't ID the road we think they wanted us to follow.

the 301st deploys, too. In fact they just got back from their 4 monther to OEF. Granted they don't do it that often like us AD units, but they DO deploy. a good friend of mine from UPT (I went through Whiting) flies HH-65s for the CG. She was in Houston, but just recently PCSd to JAX. Let me see if I can dig up her new contact info for you (she moved while I was deployed and I've just upgraded to Vista so this might be a challenge).