jango220

Thanks stract and B*D*A, I'll give them a call.

No, Penn State. The way the courses are set up makes it impossible to do something like what you propose (see here). I'll probably give Laughlin's education office a call and see what they recommend. And then call Maxwell's and see if they say the same thing. Two different ed offices saying the same thing, it could happen, right? -sarcasm off- Worst comes to worst, I'll just wait till I report and then see if I can work out getting credited.

Quick question... I'm about to EAD and I'll be working on 2 classes while I'm down at ASBC. ASBC will be en-route to my base. The first class starts before my EAD date, and therefore I'm ineligible for TA for that class (from what I've been told). However, the second one starts during my last week of ASBC. How would I run the gauntlet for this? Should I apply through Maxwell's Education office before the course starts, or wait till I get to my base a week and a half after the course starts?

I've started using Flightlogg.in. It's free, allows for mass entries and edits, and does have some cool things like plots all your routes on Google Maps and tells you when you meet mins for various civilian certs or currency reminders.

I'm currently almost a full semester into Penn State's Master of Systems Engineering program (http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/MasterInSys...gineering.shtml). Did my undergrad in AAE and was looking around for a technical program to keep the possibility of TPS open for the future. The program is completely online and relatively new (I'm in the second online class, the in-res classes have been going for almost 20 years though). The cirriculum was developed by GE/Martin Marietta/Lockheed back in the day and they have a lot of their employees involved in the program, which speaks volumes when searching for a future job. Set up: Like I said, completely online. 12 courses, no thesis (final project instead). Each course is done one at a time, every 7 weeks, for 2 years. And since it was developed for working engineers, the professors have streamlined it so all of the classwork and homework fits into 4-6 hours a week - which so far has been successfully crammed into Saturday and Sundays. Coursework is pretty interesting too; very multidisciplinary, hits on a lot of topics like modeling, simulations, and analysis. Some of the work is a little weird, especially for engineers (like the psychology class I'm in now), but still interesting. Also, everyone helps out and contributes on the class discussion forums, which are a huge help for working on homework and prepping for the exams Downside is mainly the cost. Cost per credit is $825 ($2475 per class). Also had to buy a printer/scanner for submitting homework too. Homework and all can be difficult at times, but hey that's engineering. Application didn't require the GRE but I took it anyway. Fairly military friendly, about 8 people in my class are former or current military, including a NASA test pilot and a USAF MX O who's working on this over at Lakenheath, so it is possible to fit it into a high tempo schedule. For guys at McGuire and Dover, there are also in-residence classes at the Philadelphia Navy Yard which follow the same curriculum. I do know for a fact that you can switch over to online from in-res too, as one guy in my class just did that. AFIT offers Systems Engineering as well, but their program did not seem to be set up as well as Penn State's. Plus it's a great excuse to fill my closet with Penn State gear. It's a great option if you are looking to get a technical degree.

To be fair, MagicJack is VoIP, just as Vonage and Skype are too. The only difference is that Vonage gives you a standalone container that plugs into a router whereas MagicJack plugs into your computer. Haven't used it yet, but have heard pretty decent reviews of it. Only problem is that as far as I know you need to haul a no-kidding telephone with you, whereas skype/msn/whatever program allows you to utilize the mic and speakers built into your computer or a USB headset. Another benefit is that you can use a MagicJack for a fax line, which is what I will probably end up doing, seeing as I swore off landlines in favor of cell phones long ago.

That is seriously the funniest thing I've seen in quite some time. Make sure you keep 3 of them pre-filled out in a ziploc bag along with your ID and 69 copies of your orders in your right pocket.

Not stationed at McGuire, but I'm from the Philly area. Living on the good side of the river (aka not in Jersey...) has it's advantages & disadvantages. I'd stay away from downtown Philadelphia because the commute will kill you in the morning & evening. You can either do the Schuylkill expressway (parking lot) or Route 1 (slower parking lot) to the PA turnpike and then Turnpike bridge to the NJ turnpike (Indy 500). Once you are across the river, it's still a good 20+ minutes without traffic to the front gate. So all in all, considering traffic, you'll be pushing almost 60 min each way during rush hour. If you are still pushing for living in PA, then consider the Levittown area. Right over the bridge and a lot more upscale then Northeast Philadelphia, but not as pricey as the Langhorne/Newtown area can be. You can find a decent place to live there, but this is still a pretty expensive area, so keep that in mind since you're a single dude. Also, taxes and auto insurance are immensely cheaper in PA compared to NJ. Jersey is getting nicer, especially the Mt. Holly area. Very up and coming. If you are more interested in living by the shore, I have known of some people living all the way in Toms River. It's all a great area, real close to Philly and NYC (less then an hour either direction) with DC being a couple hours away, and you can party it up down the shore in the summertime (expect a lot of cheap places to rent this summer too). And don't worry, the guidos are more towards Jersey City and Long Island. Shoot me a PM and I'll give you tons more gouge.

I seem to remember reading a while back that the Air Force was looking into buying a few of the B-models just to keep the costs down for the Marines and allies for that variant. I'll search around and see if I can find a no-kidding source. EDIT: the only credible source I could find during a 6-9 sec search was one from Gen. Jumper saying the AF was going to buy "more than a handful" of the B-models back in 2004. Who knows if that has changed. Link

Aviation Week has an update on the jet... Cliff Notes: -Engine computer system isn't completed yet, slipping the testing timeline -Weight creep, dropping at least 7 tons from max payload, now below 30 tons -Engine gearbox cracks (possibly due to harmonic vibrations? pure speculation on my part but with odd-shaped huge f-ing props, it seems likely) -Unable to fly the steep approaches favored by a certain cabinet secretary to avoid hostile fire... Link

The first two A-10 pics are jets from the 111 FW out of Willow Grove, which is due to have their planes taken away sometime in the next year or so. I've been watching them fly over my house as long as I can remember and they were my motivation to join the Air Force and become a pilot. Sad to think that now as I'm at the start of my Air Force career, these jets will flying low and slow over the Philadelphia area for the final time. And to add to the mix, some classic warbirds from the WW2 Airshow in Reading, PA

There's a space-a thread and a whole 'nother forum that goes into a lot more detail. Long story short, cadets are restricted to CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and USVI. CHS does happen to fly down to St. Croix though a few times a month, so that's always a possibility for you.

A friend of mine is the nephew of the guy that did the pyro work for this movie, as well as countless airshows (Rich Gibson of Rich's Incredible Pyros). He helped out on this movie too and told me of a scene that didn't even make it on the movie. They packed a target tank with a crapton of AMPHO and set it off. Took out several of those pricey IMAX cameras too.

2 on that! I met Col. Anderson this past summer at an airshow. Awesome guy and his stories are amazing, especially about how he got his 1/4 kill. Read that book in about 16 hours.

"Goin' Downtown," "Thud Ridge," and "Rupert Red-Two," all by Col. Jack Broughton. "Thud Ridge" was mentioned way back on this thread, but it is an outstanding book. Most of the book is the transcripts off of Col. Broughton's in-cockpit tape recorder when he was Vice Wing Commander, leading strikes into North Vietnam. The other two books chronicle the rest of his time in the Air Force, from Korea all the way up until he was court-martialed and forced into retirement. Too much to even list. All in all, an outstanding autobiography (albeit broken into three books).

Yeah, the cops at Willow Grove are a special kind of slow. And ever since the Air Force got rid of car passes, it's been even worse. These kids just weeks out of basic have some sort of vendetta against any ID with an Air Force logo on it, and as a result make you wait 10-15 minutes so they can write up a vehicle pass, and then inform you that you should be grateful that they are letting you in. Also, one of the Flying Club guys there got jacked up a few months back when he landed after having a total electrical failure in the pattern. Tower didnt see the guy frantically rocking his wings, so he just landed. Apparently one of the controllers woke up as he was on short final, sounded the alarm, and the cops ripped him out of the airplane the second he came to a stop. After some yelling from both sides, and base ops finally checking on the roster, the guy was released a couple hours later.

Pulled from -2903: Formal Dress: Configured same as mess dress. Wear white bow tie with square ends. Chain fasteners are not worn on jacket. White shirt is commercial design full dress with wing collar (the collar with the little triangle collar things). White, single-breasted, low-cut, rolled collar vest with pointed collar...wear instead of a cummerbund. So you wear a white vest, white bow tie, and lose the chained buttons. (In theory) a more white-tie version of mess dress.

Back from the great white north. Actually a cool base if you spend the right amount of time there (i.e. anything less then 2 weeks). As much fun as it all was, I can see how being there in the dead of winter, in -40 temps with 130 knot winds minus any sunlight would suck hard. The entire places looks like the surface of Mars with 3 glaciers and an icecap coming right up to it, all overlooking a bay complete with icebergs. Our flight crew flew us around the area just checking stuff out too both arriving and leaving which was awesome. Majority of the base is Danish and Greenlandic contractors (approx 600) with 140 blue-suiters handling mainly the operational stuff (command, early warning radar, etc). After 2 days there we knew everyone on base. Like was said earlier, drinking is essentially the only hobby up there. Luckily the BX has surprisingly decent prices for being within spitting distance of the north pole. There was a lot of crazy stuff that went on there back in the 60's and 70's that has been forgotten. At one time, there were 10,000 people up there, several fighter and B-52 squadrons, and the Army even had a camp buried in the polar ice cap just north of there. All that is left of most of that is rusting scrapyards and giant UXO areas.

I'm heading up to Thule AB for a TDY for a week and a half. Checked the TDY gouge and it was empty. Everything I've heard about the place is all hearsay, but not much of it sounds good, which sucks because I'm actually excited to go. Anyone ever been up there and have some info on it? I'll be sure to update the gouge when I get back too.

This question was brought up a while back on the Pepperd forum (to search the archive and see the posted schedules you have to be a member). The short answer IIRC was your old detachment commander. If that works, definitely post back. I'll be commissioning in December and have a base about 5 minutes from my house, and would love to spend all those months waiting for EAD hopping across the country. Reservists & cadets are stuck CONUS and American territories. The plus side to that is Hawaii, Guam, Alaska, and the Virgin Islands are included in that. I know for a fact CHS and McEntire go to St. Croix all the time (PM me for details). Also, make sure you sign up at other bases so you can get back home. http://www.takeahop.com/signup/ makes it real easy. Just put down a whole ton of bases (you can do the process more then once since the site just emails your info to the respective AMC terminals) to keep your options open. Have fun and as always PIREPS/SITREPs are appreciated..