nsplayr

That makes sense since none of the instructors there have ever been called CSOs in their airframes. And that's great, but realize that in some platforms that will be CSO. To me, CSO ties all the 12xxers together, but obviously within individual communities there's gonna be some variance because of the problem of having more than one nav/ewo/etc. on board. I really don't think anyone at all is butthurt. I for one think it's just an interesting change. Anyone who cares what you call them doesn't have their priorities straight. Because there have been EWOs and WSOs and FCOs for some time so it was never universal. Before that there were bombadiers and etc. The Navy has it right IMHO just calling everyone NFOs but it's kind of hard to go back and change history. It'll probably take a while but my money is on that by time I retire every 12xxer will be a CSO in reality versus in name only the way it is now. It's just easier to group people into one large group rather than numerous smaller ones. Your comment about nav school @ p-cola is true, but it has more to do with lack of resources, leadership, and putting the cart before the horse WRT the new syllabus than anything about the concept of combining all 12xx training in one location. The problems being experienced there now would exist no matter what you call the school, it's growing pains and it will get figured out just like any new program eventually stabilizes a little bit.

Goddamn it...TIB performing with a "star" from the show Glee. At least they just stood there and sang and didn't make too big of fools out of themselves. Props to the Air Force MSgt who played the snare drum for the color guard...that's some military tradition I can get behind.

Yea, that's a good point; works easier when there's only one 12xx on board. That's kinda covers -15Es, slicks, U-28s, tankers, & AWACS though. Not sure about bigger crews but first names/call signs work well too on small crews, usually clears up confusion. It'll be interesting to see how the products of P-cola see all this since they will have been calling themselves CSOs from the start. I'm sure that can be corrected in the various communities as necessary.

Quick google search...try it sometime. I'm also positive this has been discussed elsewhere on these boards. From this article. BL = IFS @ Pueblo -> RND -> FTU

I agree both with CSO being a good umbrella term and keeping WSO because it ain't broke so why are we trying to fix it. I'm actually surprised they didn't just changed the term for any 12XXer to WSO since we all fly in "weapons systems." Hell, the portal is now a "weapons system" so maybe the comm monkeys should be called WSOs too... There's also this:

I bet one day it will. Heritage be damned, this is the Air Force after all...

Damn...that guy has multicam beat.

See above. Really liked it, hope it wins best picture.

So you're saying the Air Force was bullsh*t-free for 6 years. Highly dubious claim...

Agreed...they're great for some communities and/or crew positions. Otherwise let's leave well enough along. The ones we just got issued were ABU colored, but ACU pattered on top, kind of 1-piece flight suit pattered on bottom. Not my fav pocket layout and it goes without saying that the ABU color is less than desirable. I borrowed a tan-colored two-piece from a buddy of mine and liked it a lot...better pocket layout, and it was really thin & comfortable, so it kinda felt like I was a ninja. A really tan ninja...

Bullsh*t, part of AF Heritage since 1947. Thank god it's part of the pre-game that hopefully people will miss rather than part of the half-time show...what a waste.

The point with multicam is that it is superior in almost all natural environments. If you can spot the person in either of those shots then good on ya (unless you've seen them before on the website). Diverse environments, same uniform. Why don't we have this again?

Yea, because they actually got something that works well, looks good, and provides real camouflage. It's not the one-pattern wonder that multicam is, but their uniforms are actually nice so they can keep them if they want. The other three services should go to multicam; the jig is up. We just got them issued and I don't really know if I like them. At best it's a push, and if I'm honest I don't like the pocket layout as much as the one-piece; probably just out of habit. There's no reason I need one or the other for my platform (i.e. fighters clearly need one-piece, helo dudes may prefer two-piece from the couple of dudes I've talked to), so I say don't fix what's not broken. I don't plan on bringing them on my next deployment.

I don't understand and I'm a UFPM who's pretty intimately familiar with the regs. You need to get minimum scores in each component, as well as an overall minimum score of a 75 to pass. You can choose to accomplish that 75 any way you like. For a male under 30, your maximum run time for that component is 13:36, giving you 42.3 points toward your 75. It's not very difficult to gin up 32.7 more points out of a possible 40, so I'm not sure how you can say that if you "min run the AF PT test you fail." That's simply not true. What is true is that if you get the minimum for each component, you will fail overall, but just getting the minimum in each category wasn't the deal to start with, you still need a 75. It allows you to really really suck at one component (within the bounds of the minimums) yet still make up for it by being good at a different component. None of this is to say that the test is a good measure of fitness, that I like the test, or that I endorse the scoring system; just pointing out what I think is an incorrect statement. Let me know if I'm reading what you wrote wrong. Also let's add that if you can't run faster than a 13:36 twice a year like your job depends on it and you're 30 years old or younger, you should be cock slapped. Just my personal opinion.

Yes! We need this to catch on so when someone harasses you about your uniform at the deid or any other shoe infested location you can reference the STFU with a straight face.

Saw a few good ones lately. The Fighter was excellent, highly recommend, especially if you have fond memories of '90s fashion. Also saw The King's Speech, which while not for everyone, was pretty good too. Good acting, surprisingly funny.

I've only every worn a flight suit on the rotator. YMMV

I love your last one...I also enjoy wearing the Standard Tan Flight Uniform (STFU) while serving in deployed locations

I seriously doubt Soliman (said intel chief now VP) will actually make it to power. I think this thing is going down big time unless the Army starts really bloody crackdowns ASAP. If they hedge or even join the protesters as has happened in some places, the whole regime is done for and who knows whats next. ElBaradei seems ok in principle because he's an educated, articulate, moderate with lots of experience on the world stage, but A) he's not that connected to the people on the streets since he's been abroad so long and so recently returned, and B) he's not exactly thrilled with U.S. policy in Egypt the last few decades, so no one knows how he'd move forward WRT us.

Real mature. Not quite as eloquent as the Dear Boss letter and definitely addresses some different issues...either way it's popcorn worthy for the discussion alone. Either way, sir, you have huge balls for a post like that and thank you for your many years of service

Wow, ::popcorn out::

This is exactly the problem. Despite talk about al-Qaeda "hating us for our freedom," their real beef is with our support for dictatorial Arab regimes and for U.S. troops basing/operating on historically Muslim lands. Our long and deep (sts) partnership with Mubarak is going to be a problem if some of the more radical elements in Egypt gain power, and the same situation exists for many of the other Arab nations this could spread to. Are you talking about the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war? I'm thinking a closer potential parallel is Iran circa 1979; seems that the Egyptian protests aren't as ideologically fueled but I'm no expert and it's hard to know how this is going to turn out. Edit to add: CNN reporting looters on motorcycles are wielding samurai swords...now those guys are ready for the Zombie Apocalypse!

Question is though, what conditions would warrant a mass evacuation? The current government is an ally of ours, but that's not to say the next government won't be. Unlike say Vietnam when our allies were getting their assess handed to them by a mutual enemy, I don't think any of us knows who will take over if Mubarak is thrown out. I think this is my greatest concern for the region: We've all seen what happens when mummies get disturbed...

One of numerous stories on the ongoing protests in Egypt. Figured it's an appropriate topic since Egypt is both a big U.S. ally in the region & also unfortunately has quite an iron-fisted regeime. For all the talk of us supporting freedom we need stability too and those competing interests have put us in a tough spot. Thoughts on implications for U.S. interests?

Blog doesn't always equal shady. The one you linked is by the editors of Foreign Policy Magazine, not some Joe Blow anonymous who posts on the weekend. Anyways, well done China, you've successfully demonstrated your ability to shoot down F-5s from 1986...