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Stretch

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Everything posted by Stretch

  1. Shit, I'm a Space guy and I don't even know everything space does. Skip to the last line if you really don't want some rant. Here's the rift - and this is all assumption because my ass has spent all its time firmly in an office chair: aircrew has community. It doesn't matter the type or mission, there are very core tenants to your world. Lift, grav, drag, thrust. Stay between the spacy and earthy parts of air. 2 gets the fat one. At least from the flyers I've met, they all have a pretty good, if not functioning, understanding of what each other do. From that, you build identity, history, and comradeship. Sure. The next CSAF or whomever gets crap for the type of mission he flew, but as long as its someone who's been there and done that as an operator, he might not be immediately dismissed. Look what would happen if a Logistics guy got the glance at the job - doubt galore. Why? He doesn't have that common thread available to the rest of the (still most visible) Air Force - aircrew. Space isn't like that. In my impressively short time in this AF, experiencing nothing other than the Alcohol Sex and Booze Course, I was given a ten week course containing only three weeks of information about the rest of the Space world. It was barely in the secret level, and my instructors all deferred to ignorance for all details not contained in the lesson plan. I get to my first assignment and am promptly cut off from the entire space community at a geographically separated unit, like the vast majority of my and other wings. No Flags, no higher education unless you claw for it, and a four year tour doing something of questionable relevance to the last twenty years of war. If I stepped on Schriever for a little while and tried to shoot the shit with my 'peers' in Space, the disjunct between their ops world and mine would be difficult to bridge, what little information we could exchange for security or understanding reasons. So, foul on the 13S guys for not being able to know ourselves enough to have that community. Without community, you can't build a heritage, for ourselves or as a part of the larger Air Force. Very few, without being burnt out by a few isolated tours and some bullshit staff work, really seem to have that span and connection to the rest of the field to have that community build - I'm thinking the Weapons officers and some of the really good bros that are here to get the job done (also, the only reasons I'm considering staying in). Its easy to drop into the trap of office days/crew shifts and not see the reason for doing all of it. Operators become checklist monkeys, myopic to the ripples that they could induce. If we can't even get our shit straight, how can we expect you guys, an established community and force, with real and tangible results in your work, to follow our occasional frustration? Most of our guys couldn't care about getting praised for their day-to-day work, so making our efforts known is a low priority to the operators. Our photos and stories are the best and latest in Christmas Party planning, poorly coordinated exercises, and DWI abatement efforts. Our CGOCs are active as hell. In other words, the only parts of our work that most people see, to include many of us "on the inside", are the parts we hate the most. It's epidemic of the AF as a whole, but seemingly all the worse in our little part of the force. Others do the same thing, keeping the Silent Professional card close to the chest, but these people also know the connection and difference they make to the world. That's not an easy jump for some wearing the Space Insignia (I refuse to call them Space Wings or Spings). I'm lucky. I had good mentors that have crossed my path and really set me straight. They got me to apply to WIC, to hunt down the best and most training I could outside of my lane, and recognize that shitty leadership comes and goes, but the bros get shit done because that's what we're here for. Space has a future, both in mission and community. Gravedigger, I'll guess you've got more time and experience than me, so call me out if this is bullshit to you - it's what I see. I'll be heading to the Springs in the future, so maybe that will change my tune. Don't mean to step on your toes, man, but we've got to work on ourselves before anything else gets better. Unappreciated? Maybe. Sometimes. But all I could give a ###### about is that somehow, somewhere, some ripple that I started in the process is helping some 18 y/o kid with a rifle lay waste to some stone-age ###### in the most expedient way possible. They don't (always) assume room temperature themselves. Rant off.
  2. Eh, whatever. If any U-2/MC-12 folk need a couple of new 44L FDUs, they may just find their way down to the flightline. I don't need them anymore.
  3. (Italic Emphasis mine) I wasn't going to Grammar Police this, but the typo was just too fitting not to point out.
  4. She was being clearly pursued.
  5. Stretch

    Booze Talk

    It would be. Almost everything on the menu is made by hand in the kitchen: breads, mustards, butchering of meats and sausage making, etc. All of it is traditional Irish styles, to include some oddities you don't see often in the States such as black and white pudding. No, not the dessert type pudding. Between that and the rear wall full of scotch and whisky, its a regular haunt for me. Highest recommendations. for what its worth.
  6. It does sound very... "Air Force".
  7. Stretch

    Booze Talk

    Just had some Lagavulin 16 year this past weekend, by coincidence. Fantastic - I've always been a fan of the heavier scotch varieties. There's a bar down in Sacramento that has the largest library of scotch and whiskys in the area and it might as well be a small slice of heaven. I'm slowly wading through them dram by delicious dram. Also, the bourban standby, Basil Haydens - it never disappoints.
  8. Vaguely related. https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/03/afghanistan-massacre-video/ Right time, right place for the blimp, apparently.
  9. https://m.zdnet.com/photos/u-2-spy-plane-keeps-on-soaring-photos/6346203 A link to a photo-essay that was forwarded to me. Enjoy.
  10. Hey guys - I've been getting a variety of (mis?)information from sources and was looking to get something straightened out. I'm a 13S, barely maintaining a FCIII with errors of -8.0 and -7.0. Yep. Blind. Stable for two years now and looking for surgery. From my research, it looks like LASIK is the better option for me, but that's up to a pre-screening to determine still. My two questions: 1. Am I even eligable? I've seen limits and I'm right at them. Is the -8 limit based on military corrective capability (and maybe done on the civilian side) or based on aerophys limits? 2. I'm looking at some training at Nellis that I am required to be medically cleared for all the FCIII items by June. The earliest I could get this surgery is March, leaving three months recovery. Even if I were eligable (question 1), how long is "average" before being able to get back to full up? Note: I'm not saying I'd get it done before the course (should I be selected), that'd be my "Hey, you made it" or "Hey, you failed out" gift to myself afterwards. Like I said - lots of information from people who aren't in the know. Why not throw some rando-internet opinion in there? Thanks -- Stretch
  11. Good thing I'm not promoting, or else I might miss that $122 a month.
  12. ClearanceJobs.com is a site used for finding those jobs that require a clearance of some sort to apply or accept - whether that is an acceptable way to filter your opportunities is up to you, but it's an additional resource. A lot of companies use that clearance (especially active ones) as a serious plus/minus in their considerations. https://www.clearancejobs.com/ For what its worth.
  13. Not exactly "WTF", but someone put this together. https://www.ilovebagram.com/index.html
  14. The rest of the pictures from this douchenozzle, along with some amplyfing info, can be found here... https://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=24149 Turd.
  15. You don't have to believe it. Different spokesmen, same ground.
  16. Should have just thrown the pallet jack he used to cart his giant brass balls around on to get a few more. Wow.
  17. Quick look-up link -- https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
  18. Stretch

    Gun Talk

    M2- Any review of that SAIGA you bought a while back? Forum search showed you acquired one and I happen to have one in my view... what's the word?
  19. Credits are credits- you get them or you don't, regardless of when they're attempted. Time to drop it down a gear and put some power into it.
  20. I thought this was brought up before somewhere. Failing a class is a problem. Most schools/courses use the "F" as the standard nomenclature that you didn't get the job done. What 'failure' really means is 'did not perform at a level to receive credit'- 'failed to receive credit', etc. This is how the AF interprets it. Some courses, like many of the engineering courses I've taken, will only give you credit with a C or better. Therefore, any D or F was a "failure". I hooked a final and ended up with a D in a class; the AF treated it as a full failure, because it was. That should make sense. 2.5 is a whole other matter to consider.
  21. Devil's advocate: Beyonce does earn a point or two for her "dancing". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbGV2_8Yqg4 (Video embedding disabled, sorry) Just skip to 1:15 or so and hit mute. The lovely Ms. Swift still edges out, though. Edit- none spell too good
  22. Amen. 2001 1.8T as well and have nearly dumped as much money into it as I did to buy it used. Approaching 130K right now and fearing for my financial life- my supervisor just has his 2000 GTI shit the bed on him last month, and one of our NCO's just dumped almost 3K into his '02 for upkeep. Absolutely correct on the general mechanic statement, but I'll go one further- I've never had competent from the "trained" VW mechanics either- days late, hundreds more, etc etc. For a while now I've had a problem with the turn signal relay sending erroneous feedback to the four-way switch, causing the turn signal clicking noise to go off constantly. VW's trained and professional mechanics wanted $300 minimum to rip the dash out, replace everything, and take a full day doing it. A quick Google search reveals the real problem (copper pieces worn off from the turn signal mechanism and embedded in the lube grease creates a short in the switch, causing the feedback and the noise) and the $5.25, 15 second solution. Run while you can!
  23. Mini thread-jack... 2... they're trying to hit me for $2550. And now back to your regularly scheduled thread.
  24. https://www.au.af.mil/au/soc/asbc/asbc.html New site.
  25. Sorry, missed the request for info there. Here's the relevant portion of the letter: "HQ AFROTC/RRFP will perform a selection board using a numerical order of merit. The top five cadets from the board will be nominated to participate in the beta test. All five nominees will attend the Air Liaison Officer Screening Course (ALOSC), along with five nominees from USAFA, and five active duty nominees, between 20-24 Jul 09. Nominees attending ALOSC will be in TDY status. The location is TBD. As an example: 2d Lt Doe is currently classified as a maintenance officer with an assignment to Minot AFB, ND. If selected as a beta test nominee by AFROTC, his orders will be changed to maintenance officer to Hurlburt Field with a TDY enroute to ALOSC (location TBD). If selected for ALOSC, 2d Lt Doe will be reclassified to a TBD AFSC for C-ALO Student. If not selected, his EAD orders will be amended to maintenance officer at Minot (as originally classified). 4. The top 10 of the 15 nominees who attend ALOSC (assuming 10 meet minimal qualifications) will be selected for 9-10 months of specialized training at the Air Liaison Officer Basic Course (ALOBC) at Hurlburt Field, FL. Selectees will PCS to Hurlburt for ALOBC for class dates starting 4 Aug 09 or 8 Sep 09. Selectees who fail to complete ALOBC will be reclassified by AFPC/DPSIP based on needs of the Air Force. 5. At the conclusion of all formal training courses, new C-ALOs (13L AFSC) will be assigned to an operational Air Support Operations Squadron at various US Army and USAF bases worldwide. IF THIS BETA TEST IS TERMINATED OR THE OFFICER IS ELIMINATED, THE OFFICER WILL BE REASSIGNED BY HQ AFPC IAW CURRENT ASSIGNMENT GUIDANCE. 6. Eligibility criteria are as follows: a. Must be a volunteer b. Must be currently classified to a line of the AF specialty. Those classified as an Air Battle Manager Trainee or Electrical/Computer Engineer are ineligible for this class. c. AFROTC cadets cannot have already entered on EAD, but must be available to enter on EAD prior to attending ALOSC enroute to a PCS to Hurlburt Field, FL. AFPC/DPSIP will cancel and reset EAD dates for AFROTC nominees as needed as soon as they are identified. d. Male only. e. Must be able to obtain and immediately apply for a Top Secret clearance, if not already accomplished. f. Must be a volunteer for hazardous duty (Atch 2). g. While not a specific criteria, it is highly recommended that each potential applicant review the physical fitness requirements for the TACP career field listed in attachment 3 before applying. 7. Detachment commanders must forward nominations and required paperwork (ALO Candidate Summary Sheet (Atch 4) and completed Hazardous Duty Volunteer Letter (Atch 5) to {contact} NLT 18 May 09. AFROTC/RRFP will obtain the most recent PFA score and CGPA from WINGS for the selection process. After 18 May, RRFP will notify dets of selected cadets and forward paperwork on to AFPC." That's the info. I'll PM the contact information if your det doesn't have it.
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