SuperWSO

Just got this today from my dad, passed along from friends of his. They flew during the Vietnam era. I put it in this thread because I think it captures what many of us were hoping to be a part of. What's wrong with the Air Force? People are less and less likely to say the following or even be able to relate after a career. --------------- Don't know who wrote this, but the sentiments are real and apply to more than just fighter pilots. A lot of the WSO's I know were more "fighter pilot" than anything else, because after all, being a Fighter Pilot is a state of mind. Mugs As we get older and we experience the loss of old friends, we begin to realize that maybe we bullet proof Fighter Pilots won't live forever, not so bullet proof anymore. We ponder -- if I was gone tomorrow did I say what I wanted to my Brothers. The answer was no! Hence, the following few random thoughts. When people ask me if I miss flying, I always say something like -- "Yes! I miss the flying because when you are flying, you are totally focused on the task at hand. It's like nothing else you will ever do (almost). But then I always say "However, I miss the Squadron and the guys even more than I miss the flying." Why you might ask?" They were a bunch of aggressive, wise ass, cocky, insulting, sarcastic bastards in smelly flight suits who thought a funny thing to do was to fart and see if they could clear a room. They drank too much, they chased women, they flew when they shouldn't, they laughed too loud and thought they owned the sky, the Bar, and generally thought they could do everything better then the next guy. Nothing was funnier than trying to screw with a buddy and see how pissed off they would get. They flew planes and helos that leaked, that smoked, that broke, that couldn't turn, that burned fuel too fast, that never had auto pilots or radars, and with systems that were archaic next to today's new generation aircraft. All true! But a little closer look might show that every guy in the room was sneaky smart and damn competent and brutally handsome! They hated to lose or fail to accomplish the mission and seldom did. They were the laziest guys on the planet until challenged and then they would do anything to win. They would fly with wing tips overlapped at night through the worst weather with only a little red light to hold on to, knowing that their Flight Lead would get them on the ground safely. They would fight in the air knowing the greatest risk and fear was that another fighter would arrive at the same six o'clock at the same time they did. They would fly in harm's way and act nonchalant as if to challenge the grim reaper. When we went to another base we were the best Squadron on the base as soon as we landed. Often we were not welcomed back. When we went into an O club we owned the Bar. We were lucky to have the Best of the Best in the military. We knew it and so did others. We found jobs, lost jobs, got married, got divorced, moved, went broke, got rich, broke something and the only thing you could really count on was if you really needed help, a fellow Pilot would have your back. I miss the call signs, nick names, and the stories behind them. I miss the getting lit up in an Oclub full of my buddies and watching the incredible, unbelievable things that were happening. I miss the Crew Chiefs saluting as you taxied out the flight line. I miss the lighting of the Afterburners, if you had them, especially at night. I miss the going straight up and straight down. I miss the cross countries. I miss the dice games at the bar for drinks. I miss listening to bull shit stories while drinking and laughing till my eyes watered. I miss three man lifts. I miss naps in the Squadron with a room full of pilots working up new tricks to torment the sleeper. I miss flying upside down in the Grand Canyon and hearing about flying so low boats were blown over. I miss coming into the break Hot and looking over and seeing three wingmen tucked in tight ready to make the troops on the ground proud. I miss belches that could be heard in neighboring states. I miss putting on ad hoc Air Shows that might be over someone's home or farm in faraway towns. Finally I miss hearing DEAD BUG being called out at the bar and seeing and hearing a room of men hit the deck with drinks spilling and chairs being knocked over as they rolled in the beer and kicked their legs in the air, followed closely by a Not Politically Correct Tap Dancing and Singing spectacle that couldn't help but make you grin and order another round! I am a lucky guy and have lived a great life! One thing I know is that I was part of a special, really talented bunch of guys doing something dangerous and doing it better than most. Flying the most beautiful, ugly, noisy, solid aircraft ever built. Supported by ground troops committed to making sure we came home again! Being prepared to fly and fight and die for America. Having a clear mission. Having fun. We box out the bad memories from various operations most of the time but never the hallowed memories of our fallen comrades. We are often amazed at how good war stories never let the truth interfere and they get better with age. We are lucky bastards to be able to walk into a Squadron or a Bar and have men we respect and love shout out our names, our call signs, and know that this is truly where we belong. We are Fighter Pilots. We are Few and we are Proud. Anonymous

Sarcasm detector is reading moderate to high. I just wanted to answer your question by saying that the crack team that coded the healthcare website is ready and waiting to take on this new challenge. It might not be ready on time, and it might launch a full scale nuclear response against some guys dog in Denver, but you can always expect a few glitches in something this big.

I know I am dredging up old news, but I remember a couple of people were planning legal action after being non-continued on the 2011 LC board. Anybody have any ideas what happened there? I decided to steer clear since I was going into a Guard job. At the time, it seemed like their best case scenario was to be let back in as a passed over Maj and spend 4 more years doing back to back 365s.

When you have 2x MOH, you can show up in a pink ballerina costume with a yellow ducky pool floaty and still get respect. I'll still salute. But that hat? It's way too effeminate.

I was going to post this in the "Whats wrong with the AF" thread just so we could get SEA's take on how awesome this will look. During all the uniform changes and modifications, the Marines have been able to say with pride that their uniform doesn't change. Glad to see they refuse to be left out of the stupidity. Welcome to the club, here's your hat.

You were over tasked by two paragraphs? I know Twitter is setting pretty low expectations for literature these days, but is your Dash 1 all pictures? I'd abuse you some more but I don't want to exceed your capacity.

Glad to hear the seats still work. At least Powder River MOA is close to home.

Wait, did you miss the Public Affairs story that Kelly was using the Yard a pult to get rid of unserviceable aft ray domes? They were just piling up all over the base and they needed to do something. Sequestration.

We have AT days for techs, but they have to document what training they are accomplishing. RUTAs also through August.

What! What the fuck are you talking about? I think Navs can provide very insightful feedback on any number of topics. Why just the other day I was telling the pilot that When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve [insert full text Declaration of Independence] And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor which is why I think you are completely full of shit! But yeah, he did have some hellacious run on posts. Ain't nobody got time to read that shit. Out (edited down for brevity)

Bet the salesman had to go in to change his shorts. The Thunderbirds are unemployed. Lets get one of them to go to a UPT base with a pepsi can. "So you call this a dollar ride?"

The Navy flies BAMS (That is the Global Hawk with an anchor). Fire Hawk was canceled. Army and Marine UAV operators are usually forward deployed in theater. So who has the preponderance of UAV and Cyber operators conducting Distinguished Warfare from CONUS?

Because the Navy won't give medals out for "Distinguished Warfare". WTF is that, fighting a war in a tuxedo? In case you are counting votes, I went through 1.5 years of Navy training and one deployment run by the Navy. 200 something years of tradition unhindered by progress. They brag about flexibility because they start every day without a plan.

Raven or Desert Eagle?

Two. I got in trouble. I was trying to talk to my wife on the phone and started laughing. Then I had to explain.

Imagine if he saw a BUFF take off. Their chem trails are brown.

I would say these two are not mutually exclusive. You know what they say, longest answer or all of the above.

I wasn't sure if this belongs here or in the Sword of Damocles thread, but either way, it made me throw up a little bit. I got this piece of news from AFA this morning. Its like all the sarcastic jokes were taken as valid advice. "Maybe if we fly less we can catch up on CBTs"...

So the solution is ban cars and "High capacity" pill containers. Nobody needs more than 10!

I love when we get people debating the value of guns who have clearly never fired, used, been trained on or even touched a pistol or rifle. The latest from FoxNews. I've checked and I still can't get 40mm HE at my local Wal Mart, and Cheaper than Dirt is always out. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/24/history-gives-mixed-grade-to-impact-assault-weapons-ban/

I've stated on here before that I stopped using USAA because their prices were not competitive in home or car insurance in Colorado Springs, and their customer service was so bad that my wife still gets high blood pressure when they are mentioned. They have a great reputation, but they are not what they were back when my Dad's day.

I'm living with opposite ends of the spectrum. My Guard unit just sent the word that our blues can go back into the back of the closet. Meanwhile, AETC/Goodfellow have announced that we will continue doing what we are doing until we get clearer direction. As if the Chief of Staff was vague...

What do you think of a MAJCOM that only wears the minimum number of pieces of flare?

I think Danger41 just self-identified as a C model driver. Danger - for JDAM deliveries, the pilot has to hold a standard red laser pointer over his cranium while circling the target. That and a bushnell rifle scope on the HUD can replace a pod.

That just cannot happen. What sort of credibility would you have after making the statements Kerry is famous for? "Not isolated incidents, but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with a full awareness of officers at all levels of command." "They told the stories of times that they had personally raped, cut off the ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in the fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country."