viper154

The video by CSAF is also safety privileged. Standard disclaimer at the beginning and end. I am always skeptical of leadership, but I give CSAF some respect for this one. Unfortunately (my opionion only) our safety process has become to bound by red tape. My MAJCOM has been very open about making sure aircrew see incedents and learning from them. I am in the process of going through a course outside my MAJCOM, and taking to instructors at the unit/MAJCOM of the course I am going through to much red tape has been strung to allow aircrew to see safety resaults.

Standard stuff taught in the T-1, 5 degrees of bank in the working engine, step on the good engine, I’m sure variations of that procedure are standard in all non centerline aircraft Still sad. Some footage of the accident is on a video released by CSAF that all aircrew are suppose watch in the next few weeks about preventing mishaps. It’s also probably out there on the internet.

Was always interesting driving around to other side of base through sniper alley with that house right there as well. There were a bunch of locals (I think, they had afghan style clothing) contracted to remove the old Russian mines that were within a rocks throw from the fence. For 4 months I was always on high alert, no one else in the crew can ever seemed to care but it had the makings of a great attack.

Nope. Spot on. Much like the O senior leadership I have found myself speechless at some of the bs that comes out of our senior Es. Mostly being the near 20 year types that were prob young NCOs around the safety belt/sock inspection era. Don’t get me wrong, some of these guys are shit hot, but more than a few are off their rocker. My old unit had a shirt that was non aircrew, he spent most his day wondering the squadron correcting people for “only having their backpack on their right shoulder”, (didn’t know that was even a thing) asking the last time they shaved, open zippers and other non sense. Meanwhile some of Es had real issues that needed mentoring/help and were to afraid to talk to him because he was such a dick. I would say it’s a systematic problem with our E culture to blindly follow rules to the T, without ever wondering if they have meant the intent of the reg/pub/rule/course.

Hell ya we would. Most of us take 1.7 hour drive that way monthly. Always depressing leaving Lubbock and going back to Cannonistan LBB has some commercial traffic, more than CBM/END/DLF, but nothing crazy that couldn’t be worked around. Every flight I’ve ever taken out of LBB was east, the opposite direction of Reece.

I don’t see why we can’t wear squadron/MWS ball hats, (besides the man keeping us down) Navy dudes rock the ship hats. The ABU And OCP patrol caps suck, and the flight hat does not perform to well in the cold/wind.

Massif makes their flight jacket in olive drab, I think those old green issued flight jackets are $350-$400 bucks, (don’t quote me, it’s been a few years since I worked in the RA office) I believe the massif ones are $500, and it’s a way nicer product, the AETC base I’m currently TDY at has issued them to all the instructors.

Only would work for bases with water access but what about a ramp to a dock and a specially made barge to secure the aircraft to. Would probably only need 1 or 2, just to get the jets that aren’t flyable out. Figure 12 hours from notification to tow the jets and get them loaded. Not a boat expert but I would think 12-24 hours after that would leave enough time to tow the barge to another base on the water or a port that’s at least out of the devastating winds of the eye. I was thinking about the comment made earlier about trucking them out, I would guess that in theory you could probably crane a jet onto a flat bed, bigger issue would be clearance iof wings and vertical stabs, also would a police escort, take up most the road, and add serious congestion to the evac routes.

Valid. Vodka + auto correct = fail

I have flown in many AORs with no E-3s, but I get your point, it would wipe out a majority of the E-3s. Same outcome to pretty much any of the ACC C2ISR fleet, every airframe is pretty much at one place. Loosing Hurlburt would have been a big blow to AFSOC. I vote we give Cannon back to ACC, all that great airspace right next to the base to conserve fuel in those F-22s.

Same could be said for a lot of bases, if that hurricane went 60 miles west, Hurlburt and Eglin (and pcola) would be leveled. We had several tornados when I was at CBM that missed base by a few miles, I’m sure Vance has been in the same boat. Altus is right there, Lots of areas are subject to natural disaster, south has the Hurricanes and long track Tornados, mid west tornados, west coast has wild fires. I would say the safest areas of the nation natural disaster wise are the upper mid west, inland areas of the northwest, and inland areas of northeast. All areas we have few bases.

Unfortunately most the AFSOC squadrons have picked one or the other for home station wear, at least at Cannon. MCs, CVs, and 2/3 of RPA squadrons rock the 2 piece, AC-W, U-28s are bag only. The other RPA squadron can wear whatever their heart desires. Personally, I don’t see why we all can’t do that. God forbid we give pilots the choice to wear the uniform they prefer. I love the bag in fair weather/and if I didn’t eat Mexican the night before. 2 piece is great if I need to layer up for the cold or take a layer off for heat, or if I am expecting a emergency jettison at some point in the day.

Holy shit. So sad. Honestly looks like Mosul and Raqqa after the push. Curious what the base looks like. My wife was asking me what happens to the mil families and AD members after a event like this, and I honestly don’t know. PCS to a place that the jets went? TDY with dependents? Send the wife and kids to family while the AD member lives in a hotel?

Ya actually. Every time a 18x er says they are a “pilot” I have no problem pointing to their wings and correcting them. I’ve been stuck in drones for 3 years, the 18x product is not a pilot. It’s a glorified system manager. Do they bring a lot to the current fight? F ya they do, probably more than 95% of the current manned platforms, but do they risk life/limb? Or have the training manned dudes have? Hell no. They can’t transit frome point a to b in the AOR without having a published route, don’t get me started on system knowledge. Take that weak ass shit out of here.

As Moose said, there are only a handful of U-2s and U-2 drivers. There are what, 3 combat AC-130 squadrons, crews of 7-8 ish, plus the training units/test stuff. Fairly sure y’all are the largest community in AFSOC. I’m sure the U-28s, CVs and everyone else would love to hand pick everyone in the community, but it’s just not feasible.

Ya but then you taxi down the wrong taxi way and clip your wing on a building! Ha!

I can ask my Es at work on Tuesday the current details, if it’s your first duty assignment (assuming it is) you will probably have to live in the dorms. Expect to be in them for about a year, maybe less. They recently were kicking dudes out of the dorms that had chose to stay in them longer than a year. We have had a huge influx of young guys at this base. If you are a RPA sensor I heard you can opt out of the dorms as soon as you complete your mission qual because of shift work/crew rest/roommates on different schedules, not sure if they are allowing the other enlisted aircrew guys the same deal. Highly recommend finding some bros and splitting a place if/when you move off base. The nicer houses in good neighborhoods have rent prices that will far exceed your BAH as a young airman. It’s shitty but the owners do it to keep the rift raft away.

When is the summer notification window? There are still people from the Winter window waiting for assignments, I highly doubt AFPC can pull its head out of its ass in the next 55 days to give you the blue anal dildo.

If you are referring to fatal crash that was not the case at all, report is on AFSAS.

Doesn’t mean you won’t get screwed. Ask the 15-13/14/15 dudes.

FWIW, When I saw that T-1 on the screen at track select one of my first positive thoughts was “well at least I’ll never do a ELP again” Joke was on me, I’m now 2/2 on being assigned aircraft with one engine. I think we have two valid points here, we spent a hell of a lot of time doing them in UPT, and that time could have been more focused on building other skills that would more likely apply in day to day aviation. On the other hand, it was a great airmanship builder, and it was a challenging task that you needed to demonstrate you had the ability to learn the task at hand in a given amount of time to pass. Probably could have made it a item you needed to demonstrate the ability to do before the end of the contact block but didn’t have to do on a checkride. I see no reason a student that is allowed to area solo and do advance aero alone shouldn’t also be expected to at least attempt to recover a engine out jet in glide back range. If they mess it up, sure punch no questions asked, soon as you realize you can’t make it, and if you dead stick it in as a student the squadron will meet you at the jet will top gun music blaring and high fives. If the drone bros are practicing them and expected to land a engine out robot plane we should probably expect our youngins with their ass on the line to at least give it a shot.

Disclaimer: I have no idea how long a 11F syllabus is. Your average RPA pilot (18x) gets about 3 months of T-6 instrument SIMs and about 30 events (sims+”flights”) in a MQ-9 to be CMR. Keeping in mind that is basic transit procedures, basic ISR/CAS, and with the autopilot hold modes always on. No formation, no takeoff/landing, and not ever putting their ass on the line Take a average ish UPT grad or heavy cross flow dude and throw them in a LA program and I would say 30-40 flights and another 30 or so of SIMs would probably get you in the ball park. Assumption being they have a good basic pilot back ground, a CSO in the back running the sensors/mission set, and a expierenced Flight lead.

I’ve promoted the RPA expierenced dudes on this forum before, but they are getting more scarce. Most of them are 11m guys getting pulled back to their airframe, some have recat to 11U and haven’t been in a cockpit for a long time, and some were dudes that got kicked out of prior communities and probably shouldn’t be in a jet. There was a time period a bunch of 38 dudes went U-28s and CV-22s, I know a couple that are mid level Capt types, but to my knowledge those airframes aren’t exactly in a position to release bodies. Most plausible answer is probably to open up the assignment to anyone with wings, don’t place them at Cannon, and my guess would be enough people would volunteer to fly this beast with a variety of back grounds you could take a couple from all over without killing one community. That makes to much sense though, so they will all be at Cannon, they with drop orders on 11Fs to fly them, who will all 7 day opt.

They all left the AF to fly for the airlines or be Space Force space shuttle door gunners. For real dude, call the unit, use google if you are a civilian, or global if you are already in. No one is going to say anything more than what you can find on google on the interwebs. Things are that way for a reason.

What do you mean? The rules are fairly straight forward now. If you show up to interview (or to any military recruitment center) with a Mike Tyson face tattoo they are going to show you the door. (99% of civilian companies are as well) You want to fly airplanes? Keep the tats off the face, hands and neck. That leaves you with 95% of your body you can get tatted up. No one military wise is going to give a shit if you have your back tatted up as long as it doesn’t show on the neck I have several tats including a half sleeve and some forarm work, I would say 40-50 % of the guys at work also have tats in various places. It’s prettt common and the new guidance is very reasonable.