Spoo

Before I submit any advice, I have a question for Tracer: When you go out on the town, does your attire include the items listed below? - Polo shirt (w/ or w/o unit insignia on left breast) - Blue jeans that just barely, but sensibly, touch the top of your shoes - Braided belt with excess length fashionably looped and draped - White reeboks polished to a high gloss. - Accessories that include giant G-Shock watch (duh) and AF-issue silver frame specs (Maybe substitute said polo for squadron T-shirt or cool black airshow T displaying an F-22 flying across a futuristic grid.) If the answer is yes, and I know it is - I saw you on the Riverwalk the last time I was TDY in San Antonio, go for it. What do you have to lose? Seriously dude, what possible shirt & tie combination could you have that make blues pants a viable option? Take the money you saved when you got "totally wasted", while not buying any rounds at the bar, and head to Wal-mart.

Sweet, you're that guy... That's what you think. Don't take offense, I'm just messing with you. In my opinion Q-2's are worthless. Whatever you Q-2 a guy for can likely be called a downgrade.

The guy who told me they had their feces consolidated worked the security side before going to UPT...go figure - he was biased the other way. Thanks for the info. My opinion: SP's are just like every other organization in the AF: there are some good cops out there, but the idiots in the community ruin it for everyone else...just like finance, MPF, services, or the angry, bitter, old, rotund, civilian TMO biatch at Beale that wouldn't give me my plane tickets at 1530 for a flight departing at 0525 the next morning for a deployment, because I didn't have a paper copy of my orders or a signed out-proc checklist or some other BS that defies common sense, forcing me to spend three hours...GRRRR... Whoa, what just happened? Weren't we just talking about SP's? Sorry, this post probably belongs in another thread, but I feel a lot better now.

No worries brother. A sense of humor and a little common sense go a long way... Good luck on the ride.

That's priceless... Anybody remember the days when there were two different types of SP's? Two career fields - base defense guys and the meter-maids (moving violations, etc.). Those BD guys sorta' had their S together. Anybody? C'mon, some of you old heads have got to remember that.

OH GOD! There's volcanic activity up ahead! What do we do?!? WHICH VERSION OF THIS DATED PUB IS THE MOST CURRENT!?!? Wow, that's really weak. Explain to me which dire emergency or extreme flight planning session would have you totally task saturated, furiously looking though pubs, and leave you confused over which version of 202v3 to reference. True, there are some pretty dramatic changes from version to version. What...does the old one tell you to strip down, open all doors, and fly-by the Wing King's house at 500 kts prior to landing gear up in the weather? Besides, if you're carrying pubs in-flight you're likely in a crew airplane. Wouldn't the co say something like, "Hey dumb-a$$, it's this one." What the H is wrong with saying, "Q-1 buddy, but you may want to get rid of the crap in the front of your binder."

Ah, memories... I hooked my Mid-phase in the Tweet when I forgot to retract the speedbreak during one practice TP stall recovery. Didn't even know I did it. Set up for the next one and retracted it that time. Favorite part was how the IP/EP let me fly the rest of my relatively flawless ride without saying a word. Got into debrief and he told me how awesome the ride was. Proceeded to go down the list, grading me as he went. Got to TP stalls..."Now here, you see, you forgot to retract the speed break. I'm afraid I'm going to have to bust you." I honestly remember thinking: "Wow, A-hole, thanks. Good one, you really got me." Followed by: "You know, that thing flew fine at 12,000' and mil power. What's the big deal?" He was an angry non-vol guy who couldn't wait to get back to the -141. Damn I'm old. This sucks.

Huggy, (Let me set the scene first - I'm working at the Pentagon and I'm really busy.) So I'm goofing off on the internet for a couple hours and I come across a U-2 forum. Honestly - I have no idea how I got here. Anyhow, I noticed my name mentioned and it left me with one question: Huggy - I've known you for a while...but when have I ever spelled CLARK with an "E"?!? I'm a little late here, but my 2 centavos can't hurt. The following thoughts will be somewhat random. If you are even vaguely interested in this job, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Seriously, next to meeting my wife and having a kid, going to the U-2 was the best thing I've ever done - period. Don't let anyone fill your head with BS and rumors. Unless you talk to someone who's done it, you don't have the real picture. TDY's are no worse that any other airframe, but more predictable. I wouldn't worry about the medical thing. Huggy just had his old-fart "POOP" hip or knee replaced and he's flying again. Worried about career? I was in AFSOC for almost seven years, flying U-boat's. I was an evaluator and they wanted to send me to the WIC. Granted, blowing S up was cool, but I wanted to really fly (I know that sounds cheesy). I was just sick of hauling around 13 booth monkeys and gunners while plowing endless circles over Iraq, Afghanistan, and southern Alabama. Seriously, it was rewarding and I highly recommend going to the Gunpig, but it was time to move on. Went to the deuce and never looked back. Got promoted to Major w/ a school slot. Finshed that last year and now I'm working on the Air Staff. Can't wait to get back to Beale. Dead end? Doesn't seem too bad to me. I could go on and on about how great the community is, the quality flying, northern California, etc, but I think others have hammered that home already. I remember flying a T-38, driving the car, and flying the deuce all in one day. That's sick. Got any questions? Don't be afraid to drop me a line. HAIL DRAGONS!