Seriously, there's "bills to pay" no matter which service chooses you. If you want to learn more about what's going on in the USAF, do a google search on "TAMI 21". Not pretty.
Well put, and I had never heard of TAMI 21. You're right about it, it's not pretty for you guys...
Sure they can! These are the same guys that insist the USAF irons their flight suit. Don't spoil their fantasy,...
Our fantasy is based on our limited interactions with the boys in blue. When I was going through VT's all the AF studs in VT-3 ironed their flight suit (and I thought I was bad because I de-IP'd it). I don't know if it was required, or if they were just stressing for no good reason. I think it was probably more of the latter than the former. Makes for good ribbing material though
To make such a statement is seriously ignorant of what each branch brings to the GWOT fight. It's even worse that you're just repeating something someone told you.
I'm never going to downplay the role that ANY service is playing in current combat operations. It's a joint environment out there, and the O-6s and above who are organizing the show see to it that one service doesn't get more glory than another. The burden is shared, as are the contributions.
I agree wholeheartedly. Once you get into the fleet, you see just how joint the world is. You also realize that aviators (regardless of service) are consummate professionals. Save for a few anomalies, I have been impressed with all of my brothers-in-arms. Although as a Marine helo guy (who thought that the Navy treated their helo guys like red-headed step-children), I wouldn't wish AF Helos on my worst enemy. When we were doing the NEO in Beirut, we had a couple of AF MH-53 Pavelow guys on board to coordinate with us. During lunch, one of them told me that his instructor told him he "ruined his career" by selecting helos. Damn.
The only problem I see with the current purple group hug is a loss of identity/focus on core mission. Each service brings a different flavor to the fight, and the more we try to branch out/meet the joint objectives, the less effective we become at our primary mission set. That piece can't be lost, because then we will become services that are a jack of all trades, master of none.
With that being said, I will embrace the following stereotypes:
The AF is a bunch of creature-comfort hungry Nancys, that iron their flight suits and wear gay scarves. Their uniforms look like they belong at Greyhound and not in combat, and they are a publicly traded corporation (ticker symbol AFX).
The Army is just a bunch of guys that wish they were Marines. Just look at their new uniforms.
The Navy is full of fat, coffee drinking slobs that try to avoid work and cuss too much. Any service that voluntarily goes under water for months at a time (and comes up with a bunch of life partners), or really thinks that sitting off the coast on an Amphib deserves a combat action ribbon is delusional.
Of course, I can say all of the above because I am looking down from the sheer rock face that I climbed, after battling a fire breathing lava monster.
If you think I seriously believe any of the above stereotypes, I don't think you're going to pass your next flight physical because you're insane.