ram02

I also lived in Mexico Beach for about a year while going through the ABM schoolhouse. It was nice to say that I lived literally across the street from the beach and owned a boat that I kept in the canal slip behind my condo, but I don't know if I'd live there again. The commute was very easy -- just set your cruise and head up to base, it should take you about 15 minutes to the front gate then add in a few more minutes to get to your squadron. It's a very nice commute compared to those who live north of the base and have to deal with the traffic abomination that is Highway 98, the main road into Tyndall from the north and home to quite possibly the most uncoordinated traffic light system east of the Mississippi. HossHarris is totally spot on in that there are really no amenities down there; be prepared to do all your shopping at the commissary or BX before you head back to your house because the little grocery/general store won't be open past 8:00 PM or so and the only option left is the gas station with a Subway that's open until 9:00 or 10:00. Toucan's is the local beach bar that most people frequent, but when I was there they pretty much have only one cover band that plays on the weekends (it seems like the same set list every time they play) so it pretty much turns into Mexico Beach Groundhog Day if you stay in town on the weekends. All in all, be prepared to do a lot of driving if you live down there. Your midnight ketchup run will take you about an hour -- 15 minutes to Tyndall, another 10 minutes or so north of Tyndall on Highway 98 to the nearest Walmart, then reverse the trip back home. Eventually, all the driving just got old, since all my classmates either lived in or wanted to hang out in Panama City Beach, which will take you about 45 minutes or so one-way, so on the weekends you're looking at a few hours drive if you want to hit up Destin and the like.

Said individual was actually Roman Catholic. http://www.becketfund.org/index.php/case/2.html

I recognize the Ripsaw callsign from a fight I controlled not too long ago, F-22s v T-38s out of Holloman. They usually fly something like a 2v4 OPSAT with Raptors on the blue side and T-38s on the red side.

On Cardigan Mondays, I believe that a pair of BCGs would be final piece of flair to make the outfit complete. So, let's see...that brings the uniform up to wheel cap, cardigan, short sleeve blue shirt, tie, ribbons, full-sized badges, flight boots, and BCGs. If that doesn't deserve a hearty "Airpower!" then I don't know what does.

Right after I pulled my last alert (Feb 2007), all the missile wings switched from a 2 crewmembers/24 hour alert schedule to a 3 crewmember/72 hour alert schedule. That's why there were three crewmembers down there. In theory, this was supposed to reduce manning, save on gas and maintenance costs and cut down the exposure of crewmembers to the "hazards" of driving. Go figure, after over a year with the 3 crewmember concept, it turned out that it in fact required more people to stay with the schedule, and recently they switched back to the 2 crewmembers/24 hour gig and gave everyone back their missile badge -- AFSPC at its finest. As some background info, a "procedural violation" is a catch-all term used to cover any number of incidents involving ICBM code components, and can be invoked for something as small as stopping by the shopette for a snack before leaving base with code components. Some PVs are big, some are small; I'd say this one was on the smaller side. A news article like this is honestly the equivalent of someone writing an article entitled "B-52 Executes Missed Approach...Nuke Safety in Doubt." Oh yeah, and nice shoutout in the article to the fine folks at "Patterson AFB."

Spings are still mandatory, pocket rocket is technically optional.

Speaking as another former conehead, I can also vouch that no real missileer would talk like that. Within the community, it's simply called "pulling alert," not a "combat mission." It sounds like this particular individual suffers from the "my job is cool, too!" syndrome.

I think the dollar tradition may be quite older than one would think. Supposedly, it dates back to the colonial army when the Americans copied the British tradition of paying an enlisted man to be their servant. In return, the enlisted man would keep the officer's kit serviceable at all times and teach them about the unit's history and customs. Apparently, the tradition was still in effect as recent as 1816, when a second lieutenant still received a $1 monthly allowance for an enlisted advisor. While the allowance doesn't exist today, that enlisted advisor relationship may be where the "dollar salute" originates from.

If you earned it, then yes, it should be accurately reflected in your records. We're not talking about some silly ROTC award like the "warrior flight ribbon" or whatever. DGs are one way to set yourself apart from your peers in a positive way -- don't cheat yourself out of an opportunity down the line (i.e. promotion to major, selection for special programs, etc.) just because it might look "toolish" to have the fact you DG'd a commissioning source appear on your SURF.

If you were a DG from ROTC, it should appear next to your commissioning source info in your SURF. It won't go in your OPR as it's more of a background piece of info. If it isn't there, ask the personnel types how to get it updated. I think I wound up showing the folks at the education office my DG certificate to get it changed, but that was a number of years ago, so my memory regarding that is a little fuzzy.

PRP stands for "Personnel Reliability Program" and constitutes an additional set of requirements for military members that deal with nuclear weapons. Wikipedia does in fact have an article about it -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personnel_Reliability_Program