I'm digging the QD II in the background!

Good job, Stract! I figure you'd notice!

Crappy place to keep it,.... you need to be a contortionist to swivel the right arm back there to get it... but the only functional place to keep it

I dunno who it is, but there is someone rolling around BAB with a BFMKCCO license plate. Bad Ass.

White BMW? One of the dudes from my squadron, wish I had though of it. Chive on.

Simple high-contrast chromatic aberration. You can see the same thing on the top edge of the U2 wing where it meets the bright concrete. Either it was a relatively cheap camera or the photographer used the wrong (or no) filter.

Intense photographic analysis of the photo reveals that the halo effect was actually swamp gas reflecting off the top of the off camera crew chief's flightline kitchen chef's salad container tethered to a random weather balloon.

Those guys are all real, really...

Our Craniums are 100% legit. Spoo is not pictured (on staff currently assigned to a job that does not require wear of the FPS), Huggy is UA (WTF?), I am the good looking one...

Sorry, the term "on staff" makes me a little uncomfortable.

Released by Beale today... Fueling the High Flyers

Having tasted (/gagged on) the Apple Pie, I don't envy any of you guys up there!

Personally, I was a big fan of the peaches, applesauce, and an occasional beef & gravy. The cold fruit was very good, and the hot b&g was okay, but like any food, there were different preferences within the crew force.. At one time we got a new beef & rice "entre". Unfortunately, it had a little too much "gas" in the mixture which we discovered when the guys started using them. The food heater tube was on an automatic 12 minute cycle, but about 10 minutes into the cycle the pressure from the expanding gas would build up too much and explosively "unwrap" the end of the toothpaste tube. You'd be flying along doing something else when all of a sudden there was a loud explosion and the interior of the cockpit was covered in a greyish residue. I don't mind saying that the first time it happened to me it scared the shit out of me. Needless to say, that item quickly disappeared from the menu. The crew chief's weren't too thrilled either, since the dried food was like an organic cement stucco material be the time we landed!

Another great treat were the little Kraft caramel squares. Take a few out of your pocket and set them on the canopy rail for a while and presto, hard candy treats to suck on.

The chicken a la king is pretty good when heated.

The manufacturer FINALLY is coming out with some new flavors. I didn't go taste test the new stuff, but it got great reviews. The spaghetti was apparently fantastic.

That said, I rarely bring any tube food anymore. Instead, I do a few bottles of Myoplex meal replacement. Too bad the AF won't buy that: $2 per package vs ~$12 per tube food.

That said, I rarely bring any tube food anymore. Instead, I do a few bottles of Myoplex meal replacement. Too bad the AF won't buy that: $2 per package vs ~$12 per tube food.

We're only 1.5 trillion Space MREs away from solving the deficit!

The chicken a la king is pretty good when heated.

The manufacturer FINALLY is coming out with some new flavors. I didn't go taste test the new stuff, but it got great reviews. The spaghetti was apparently fantastic.

That said, I rarely bring any tube food anymore. Instead, I do a few bottles of Myoplex meal replacement. Too bad the AF won't buy that: $2 per package vs ~$12 per tube food.

Please Huggy, quit referring to your disgusting Ensure/prune juice cocktail as "Myoplex".

We had some of the new stuff last year. Hashbrowns with bacon, Key Lime Pie, and Cinnamon Zapplesauce (w/ caffeine) were all winners.

so can you guys just pack up any kind of liquid that you want in a special container with a really long straw?

side question...

pertaining to specialty quals, airdrop, etc:

Any weight/value added for what you guys are looking for in U-2 candidates? Or any consideration for having fewer flying hours when holding specialty quals?

Edited February 13, 201312 yr by Dingle

side question...

pertaining to specialty quals, airdrop, etc:

Any weight/value added for what you guys are looking for in U-2 candidates? Or any consideration for having fewer flying hours when holding specialty quals?

No.

Hmmm... A few years ago the general recruiting goals were: Is the guy/girl a douchbag (you gotta go TDY with the guy for months and work together)? Can he fly the airplane with a "seat of the pants" feel (hard procedures don't work well in the duece, you have to be able to feel and finesse the jet)? Was he a valuable asset in his old community (part of the douchbag/capability issue from a historical perspective)?, Is he flexible enough to work on his own, follow the rules and not do stupid things? At that time we didn't give a hoot for previous MWS quals except as they related to the interviewee's basic skills and attitude. I doubt if much has changed.

There's a similar post about B-2 recruiting in this section and I think the attitude very similar. Basically, if you're inviting him to join the team, why invite a douchbag?

I'm not sure why, but HiFlyer calling people DBs is funny.

Edited February 14, 201312 yr by Spoo

Wow, incredible vid. Great recruiting tool. That guy starting at 1:20, Lt Col "John" sure uses a lot of big words though. Also, was that a garmin GPS tied to the rear view mirror with pantyhose at 1:57?

Yeah, "John" likes to run his man-pleaser quite a bit. Almost sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

Yes, it is a Garmin. Big rubber band,... but I like the pantyhose idea too.

We carry about 4 Garmin's on an operational sortie.

"John" or "Jon"?

Yeah, "John" likes to run his man-pleaser quite a bit. Almost sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

What's with the first name only/no name tags?

MAJCOM ISR OPSEC thing.

Yes, it is a Garmin. Big rubber band,... but I like the pantyhose idea too.

You could just recycle the ones Kuma wore under his suit.

MAJCOM ISR OPSEC thing.

You could just recycle the ones Kuma wore under his suit.

Sorry gentlemen, those are already at the Smithsonian...

MAJCOM ISR OPSEC thing.

I was figuring as much, is your participation classified or the AF just doesn't want your names openly broadcasted?

I believe it is just the standard policy of "no last names" you see when the press talks to aircrew.

But your guess is as good as mine.

I know in CENTCOM redacting last names was a rule specific to ISR aircrew, but it was very arbitrary in its application. We had a video story published last year with full names and ranks which aired on AFN, online, etc. PA came back a week later, said they had to pull all names. They scrubbed it and reissued it. Yeah, brilliant. It may not even be a rule anymore, as a quick google search seems to indicate.

This is fascinating isn't it?

so can you guys just pack up any kind of liquid that you want in a special container with a really long straw?

Uh...usually just urine, I'm guessing.

Wait, are we talking about the same thing?

But seriously, now I'm curious too. Can you pack whatever beverage you want?