StainedClass

Damn. What a shame.

That's OUTSTANDING! Is that an actual Letter of Something-or-Other?

Please accept my sincere apology...

A retired Hog buddy of mine told me about Hog Sweeps and "walkin' the balls" at England AFB in the late -80's. Can you help me out Rainman? SC

When I sit on the ramp after engine start and wait an hour for a micap part, I think of the logistical challenges those guys faced and just shudder in awe. Between 800 and 1100 of these men die each day, many in nursing homes far from the loving embraces of those that love and remember them. We owe our way of life, everything we have, to the sacrifices of such heroes. Gentlemen, a toast to you......

"Where do we get such men?" --Fredric March as RADM George Tarrant, The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)

Any reason we hug now with no salute? Look at the surprise on the kid's face at 21:44.

2

Why? It's kind of like my uncle putting side pipes on his cherry '67 Corvette. Are they (the sidepipes) original? No. Do they look cool? Yes. Is it his car (her body)? Affirmative. As for me, I like the pipes.

I reserve my best salute(s) for the kid at the front gate and the kid blocking me out after busting his ass to get us fixed and out safely. The rest are queep. SC

That is exquisite. Now SHE can pull off a felt hat with a feather in it :-) SC

The dude. Kneeling over the slain buck. Has a felt hat. With a feather in it. WTF. SC

Shooting that buck must have been a real feather in your hat. WTF. FWIW, with my crazy schedule, bowhunting allows me a lot of flexability on when I can hunt. You can usually hunt from late summer to deep into the winter. Public lands aren't as crowded and farmers/landowners seem to be more open to letting you bowhunt than gun hunt during the overcowded gun seasons. Down side, it's a lot of work and you have to pay a lot of attention to detail; practice, stand placement, scent control, etc.

Man, I hate to be the a-hole in the room, but has anyone seen a body? How about a photo with a 7.62mm hole in a forehead? I'm not near a SIPR or an intel brief, but we had pics of Uday and Qusay within hours. Why not this time? No disrespect to our brothers that probably killed his ass dead, but does anyone else have a wierd feeling about this? SC

I used to be an airman and now I'm a field-grader with 25 years nearing retirement. I can say without hesitation that none of the above would have happened in the mid-80's when I was an airman, when BTW the drinking age on base and off base (in some states) was 18. The reason why? Leadership and accountability from the junior NCO corps, specifically E-5s. Let's pretend for a minute it's 1985... That airman puking in the hallway? I'm certain that night you describe there was an E-5 or even a senior E-4 in the area. Did he/she just leave that airman behind puking up his guts in the hallway? I'm sure of it. That E-5 should have grabbed two of that airman's boozehound buddies, had them take the puker to a bathroom stall to purge what was left of his intestines, then have them mop up the mess and put their buddy to bed. The puker gets his ass chewed by said NCO the next morning and the two unfortunate puke moppers are now owed a big time favor the next time the boys decide to tie one on. No LOCs, no LORs, no A15s, no officers or first shirts involved and no $7/hr maid having to clean up some asshat's puke. The junior NCOs take care of their own airman with the authority granted them by the UCMJ. Can't handle the responsibility of telling a drunk 19 year-old to shut up and go to bed? Kill yourself. Same deal for the second floor rail puker, the loud lobby fighters and certainly the jackass who uttered the 'N' word. Be a ######ing NCO and take care of business. I'm curious, GasMan, surely you are an NCO or even an officer? Why didn't YOU take care of it? Not my job? I'm not their supervisor? Bullshit. As an NCO, you're every airman's supervisor. But see, today's junior NCO force wants to be their airman's buddy, not their superior. They cower behind a closed dorm room door while airman puke, break shit, fight and disturb folks in crew rest and then complain the next day about "today's airmen." I truly believe drinking and having fun are part of the process of airmen maturing and that's where the junior NCO force comes in; to allow them to have fun but to step in when it gets out of line and protect your airmen from themselves. The worst ass chewing I ever saw given was from a E-8 I've know for 22 years. We were loading the jet at big AMC base in Germany when there was a problem with the load. The two APS airmen out at the jet ran our SRA loadmaster some lip about some obviously jacked up cargo while my SMSgt buddy watched (he was giving the SRA a checkride). The SMSgt stepped in and asked for the duty officer. An APS E-5 shows up (apparently he was the DO) and asks what the problem was. As the E-8 loadmaster explains that the load was jacked up and the two APS airmen refused to fix it, the exasperated E-5 looks at the E-8 and says, "I have no control over these guys." No shit. Commence mentoring session. Airmen (and junior officers for that matter) reflect their supervision. Attitude reflects leadership. IOW, shitty NCOs, shitty airmen. The next time a SSgt complains about "today's airmen", remind him whose airmen they really are. Edited to reflect that a SMSgt is an E-8, not an E-7. I'm retarded.

Understood. I was refering mostly to the potential "conflict" of combat ground ops and a checkride at the same time. I've seen this affect engineers and loads more in this scenario. I believe at one time this was specifically addressed in the OPORD. Not sure if it is now. SC

My checkrides have always ceased on the ground in the AOR (per directive or not) and reengaged after departure from the AOR. But I've always flown jets where that was possible.

My old Vietnam-era DO once told me many years ago, the higher you get up the ladder, the more people you have looking up your skirt. This guy was probably cool as hell and he paid dearly for it. While it is possible to go from enlisted troop to officer to wing CC in an ANG/AFR unit, it's probably not a good idea. People know you too well and will use your past against you. Then when a "have" turns into a "have not", the people you thought had your back will turn on you. A valuable lesson for those looking to move on up the ladder.

"2!"

Fury: I first read this post a little over a month ago and I want to personally let you know how you've ruined my life. I think of this post almost every time I encounter some "shoe-ness". It might be at the MPF, at Travel Pay, in one of the wing commander's tri-weekly meetings or, of course, every time I visit my personal house of pain at that large cesspool of humanity in Qatar. The problem is it causes me to laugh out loud, uncontrollably, at the most inopportune times. It happens driving in my car, when I'm talking with the wife, and it's even happened behind the tanker. I'm a respectable senior officer, how can I be an effective leader when I'm thinking about screaming, "EAT A COCK, HOMOS!" at TIB prancing around on the stage? Damn you, G-Damn you. SC

I just joined my state's chapter. Now I have to buy a Hog. Sorry, babe, duty calls

You are correct. Patriot Guard Riders Mission Statement The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us. We don’t care what you ride or if you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a hawk or a dove. It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where you’re from or what your income is; you don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect. Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives: Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities. Shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors. We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means. To those of you who are currently serving and fighting for the freedoms of others, at home and abroad, please know that we are backing you. We honor and support you with every mission we carry out, and we are praying for a safe return home for all.

Isn't there a group of Vietnam-vet Harley Davidson types that provide "security" against asshole groups like this? Seems to me they showed up in my hometown a few years ago to provide a perimeter at a young GI's funeral in my hometown.

Actually, the uniform Nazi was a C-17 pilot from CHS, active duty, with an Army guy high and tight haircut that thought he should push around my 2Lt partner. I wish I had been there, but I was back in the room watching the ball game and drinking my Ensure. Shoe clerks fly jets, too.

Approaching 23 years in the Blue, I witnessed firsthand the tail end of the "glory days" of the O Clubs (lingerie shows at Barksdale, Langley, Auger/Oceana/Mirimar on Friday night, etc.) and I also saw firsthand the gradual dismantling of the clubs in the aftermath of Tailhook. There is one place I know of that still has the feel of the old school O Club--Charlie's at Altus. Grill your own steak, sassy barmaids, somewhat controlled debauchery and lots of bros looking out for you if you get out of hand. Friday night usually brings out a few shoe clerks/uniform Nazis, but they're usually out of there by 2200. The local Altus businesses even sponsor a "drunk bus" to haul your drunk ass to/from the local watering holes. Charlie's is open every night except Monday, and I can't imagine three months in SW OK without that place. Big surprise that Charlie herself says Services is trying to close the place in order to increase revenue for the largely unpopular <gasp> All Ranks Club. But my old ass says we don't need a club to preserve our heritage. The old school clubs are dead; a thing of the past, like "walking the balls" or "hawg sweeps". WE, as FGOs and senior CGOs owe it to our young dudes to keep it alive, pick them up when they fall, look out for them, and back them up when they run afoul of the shoe clerks. I know of a squad that has an annual camping trip, where members rent 8-10 campers and go to a state park and act like complete idiots. We don't need the clubs, we need each other. SC