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lazlo

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Posts posted by lazlo

    Track Selects and Assignment Nights

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On March 3, 2017 at 11:26 PM, Mark1 said:

    One night North of JBAD we were supporting a routine nightly DA from the bottom of an air stack 20 miles high.  Upon infil the objective village came to life and a large group with small arms, RPGs, and recoilless rifles headed for the high ground surrounding the objective.  We kept track of their movement with 25% of the capacity of one of our two sensors while supporting other tasks with the rest.

    When the F-16 flight finally finished yo-yo ops and got both birds back onstation from JOKERing out prior to infil due to a 15min slip in the timeline, we talked them on.  The group stopped and set up a fighting position in the terrain above the objective leading the GFC to decide to engage prior to entering the objective village.  Friendlies were still several clicks away and the targets were in the middle of nowhere.  As a result, and because it wasn't a critical or time sensitive engagement, the JTAC decided to throw a bone to the F-16s.  A way to get them in the game as thanks for showing up night after night and watching in the background while we took care of the meaningful engagements.

    In the process of 9-line coordination, the F-16s lost sight of the targets (which hadn't moved) and were unable to reacquire.  We moved out, found them, and talked the F-16s back on.  We then attempted to confirm basic fighter/gunship integration procedures to allow us to remain overhead at the time of strike, but it caused confusion on their part and the JTAC opted to push us off rather than spend the time to un it.  The initial drop incapacitated 2 or 3 of about 15 and the re-attack turned into a shitshow that never left home plate after the F-16s lost tally again.  After giving the targets a 5min headstart to run in a bomburst pattern off the original impact site the JTAC got fed up, aborted the re-attack, and called us back overhead.

    Despite having been in BFE for the initial strike, the first round left the aircraft ~3 seconds after arriving overhead without aid of the assets that were supposed to have custody of the target.  The remaining 12 or 13 spread all over the mountainside were cleaned up in 1/5 the time that it took for 9-line coordination on the initial strike, while the F-16s faded back into the background.

    I knew right then how different our worlds were.

    So there I was also, at night, same place, in my Viper almost getting hit by a gunship opposite direction, 1,000' into our stack. I even mentioned it in my stack brief when the bros ripped us out- there's xxxx at ### k' who tried to kill me. I digress.

    We watched 15 min of fireworks from said other platform try to hit one building. 15 min of MISSING. We didn't follow your technique of trying to re-talk us on to a target though, just got our own 9-line and dropped the building ourselves.

    Two sides to every story. Everyone has a bad day, it's just extra bad when combat is on the line. As the deployment turns....

    Single Seat or Strike Eagle?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I've flown both, and each have their own pros/cons.  The Strike Eagle crew can be a great capability enhancer when both pilot and WSO are working well together. Some crews just gelled. Flying in silence and being on the same page was awesome, and reflected on mission success. The flip side is a crew can also easily drain each other's SA and things go terrible. It is also my understanding that the new WSOs showing up from a program with fewer flight hours/requirements, as opposed to the old Navy WSO/NFO program, and are struggling a bit and taking much longer to reach the level of proficiency required to perform.

    The Viper is awesome, doing everything I used to do and flying the jet at the same time. The same SA draining example mentioned above can still apply, it just moves out to your element/formation level instead of within the cockpit. (experiences have been few and far between) I do miss the big radar and more bombs, but I wouldn't trade it.  Call me a wuzzo WSO hater, but single-seat is awesome.

    Hope that helps, hopefully you have UPT IPs from both communities that you can ask questions as well.  Good luck.

    • Upvote 1

    2017 Active Duty UFT Board

    in Pilot Selection Process

    Posted

    When I got picked up in the supplemental 2011 UFT board, our wing leadership focused heavily on scores.  I had a 99 PCSM which I saw dropped into the 70's or 80's when the calculation process changed. (Luckily I was already at UPT)

    Good luck to everyone boosting your scores and on the board!  Hopefully the pilot shortage bodes well with a high selection rate.

    Navy to AirForce transition (Do you have to go through SERE - again?)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 2:11 AM, GoGoJuice88 said:

    Thanks Lazlo. Also, if they haven't been, would you mind asking me how they avoided it? I look forward to hearing from you.

    Sorry for the late reply, opposite schedules on the deployment. My Marine bro said he submitted a (ARB?) giant package (sts) to turn his gold into silver. He included all training certificates and did not re-do SERE or water survival. The issue wasn't brought up any further.  I'll confirm this was the same case with my squid bro as well. 

    Hope your experience goes pain/slapless as well.

    Cheers,

    Lazlo

     

    • Upvote 1

    Mass ANG F15C Crash

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    We lost a really really good guy. I know people always say this, but Moose was one of the nicest guys I've ever met. I'm just shocked and saddened.

    Not sure what channels are using, but everything I read says the name is still being withheld. Slightly inappropriate to share even a call sign without this playing out. With all due respect...

    Nickel on the grass...

    • Upvote 1
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