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  1. ryan1234

    Road to 350: What Does the US Navy Do Anyway?

    You're completely missing the point. Ukraine gave up Crimea without a fight. Why and how? It's not what they did, it's how they did it that should cause alarm. Furthermore, Crimea and Eastern Ukraine are two distinctly separate case studies on how Russia employs coercive diplomacy. No one is...
  2. ryan1234

    Road to 350: What Does the US Navy Do Anyway?

    In any case, we shouldn't be handling Russia like the Soviet Union, which is how many in the DoD seem to view them. Whenever a few units in Russia move around, the DoD has a panic attack. If we take a step into understanding how the Russians are using coercive warfare and how they interact...
  3. ryan1234

    F-14 to F-15

    The E-model did replace the F-111F, however the E model is dual-role. The F-111 training syllabus didn't have a strong background in Air to Air, so those that didn't previously have F-4 or F-15A/C time had some difficulty adapting to the air to air environment - or so it's been said. The initial...
  4. ryan1234

    F-14 to F-15

    One of the design features of the Strike Eagle was its Terrain Following Radar, allowing it to go exceptionally low even at night or, theoretically, in bad weather. The A/G load gives it a relatively high amount of drag compared to the A/B/C/D Model. Many of the first F-15E pilots transitioned...
  5. ryan1234

    Air Force Mulls Low-Cost Fighter Experiment

    The AT-6C has much more of a fit into the AF than the A-29. And, as far as I'm aware, the AT-6 is not off the table for what is being purposed now. The AT-6C has an MX-15, uses the A-10 MMC software, and a 1760 bus - all of which the A-29 doesn't have unless something has changed lately.
  6. ryan1234

    Air Force Mulls Low-Cost Fighter Experiment

    I think it's important to note that what's happening in Syria isn't really CAS. In that regard, it's easy to skew what's needed in a CAS role vice permissive DT. The A-29 is a POS.
  7. ryan1234

    What are you reading?

    I think that "The End of History and the Last Man" is a good reason why everyone should take even the 'seminal' works with a grain of salt. Some works influence the self-licking ice cream cones of rhetoric, for better or worse. As a side note, "The Craft of International History" by Marc...
  8. ryan1234

    Saudis unable to break US shale industry

    There is reason to believe that lower oil prices would further increase instability, particularly in respect to state security. Starving ISIL financially is great and all, but there's an entire civilian economy there as well. After ISIL suffocates, Salafi political ideology 3.0 will rise to...
  9. ryan1234

    Professional Reading Drop Box

    I think you'll find resounding themes in nearly every conflict, most notable are those that deal with bureaucratic archtecture and dynamics. The inertia is real. Hindsight is certainly a tricky thing. There seems to be a trend among academics of turning history into something linear, which then...
  10. ryan1234

    What are you reading?

    I picked up that book based on your recommendation - I'm about halfway through as well and it's one of the better books I've read in the past year. The book has very in-depth research and tells a great story. You can't help but wonder the parallels and differences of current tactical and...
  11. ryan1234

    Professional Reading Drop Box

    This is a semi-popular speech given at USMA in October of 2009 by William Deresiewicz called "Solitude and Leadership." I think it's worth a read every year or so. https://theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/#.Vy0FO7QleYV
  12. ryan1234

    Europe under extreme duress

    I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that overplaying the threat of Russian armed forces launching a Desert Storm style offensive to take the Baltic countries may be backfiring for NATO. Like I said before, I don't believe that Putin is on an idealogical crusade to spread communism, rather I...
  13. ryan1234

    Europe under extreme duress

    Call me crazy, but I think the overt military threat of Russia is overplayed a bit - even for certain strategic interests. I hope both sides are careful about reading too much into the agitprop, lest an unpredictable escalation cycle. I think that Putin is more of a Czar rather than a typical...
  14. ryan1234

    What are you reading?

    Realpolitik: A History by John Bew - I thought it was a pretty fascinating journey of the intellectual history of the term as well as the strategic application in US foreign policy as well as European politics. Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - It's along...
  15. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    Airframe age is a part of it, but it has to do with a few other things like it was said before. The F-15D is actually one of the more expensive fighters on paper. The "costs" are usually defined by POL with total annual cost divided by number of hours flown that year. Depending on the type of...
  16. ryan1234

    Waste to pay for private pilot's license?

    Actually yes... sort of... about 4 years ago when we had our initial in-brief at Pensacola, our commander warned us specifically against such things as one of the young 2nd Lts in a class ahead of us became very "emotionally distraught" after his "girlfriend" (from Sammy's) had just left him for...
  17. ryan1234

    Waste to pay for private pilot's license?

    If you actually enjoy aviation and flying, get involved with it. I'm not sure if it's still around, but there was a glider club near Pensacola that had a great group of people. Small airports are a pretty unique thing. You'll find a lot of people both civilian and prior military that have a...
  18. ryan1234

    B-1's and B-52's as flying arsenals of air to air missiles?

    What kind of fight are you talking about? And.... guess the APG-82/70 E models and 63v3 C models are out then - we can cancel tomorrow's sortie.. the B-1s and Super Hornets have this thing all figured out.
  19. ryan1234

    B-1's and B-52's as flying arsenals of air to air missiles?

    Well it depends on whether you want to shape an OCA / DCA picture or you want to trim the military fiscally.
  20. ryan1234

    B-1's and B-52's as flying arsenals of air to air missiles?

    Are you talking about picture shaping or force shaping?
  21. ryan1234

    B-1's and B-52's as flying arsenals of air to air missiles?

    Completely leaving alone the kinematic shortcomings and tactical application of a fatty shooting air to air missiles... the greater tragedy here is the capability based planning without a specific strategic or even operational context. I'm not sure "victory" against China looks like the Battle...
  22. ryan1234

    Are military operations in the Middle East ramping back up?

    There's more than a few people in the military who have strange pasts with law enforcement who go on to do some pretty amazing things which sometimes includes sacrificing their lives. There's also a few who had a completely clean record and go onto make a series of bad decisions resulting in...
  23. ryan1234

    Are military operations in the Middle East ramping back up?

    You don't have to be perfect, just smart :)
  24. ryan1234

    AMEX Platinum

    A bit further down this is what it says: "The Platinum Member must present his or her valid Card, government-issued I.D., and same-day corresponding airline ticket to club agents. Code-share and affiliated lounge agreements may not apply to provide complimentary club access in all case" I...
  25. ryan1234

    AMEX Platinum

    FYI... If you have an AMEX platinum and you book a ticket through Delta and your "Delta" flight is scheduled through a "partner carrier" of say... Virgin Atlantic with a Delta flight number, you'll be DENIED entrance to the Delta Sky Club. Also, your Priority Pass does not auto renew, so you...
  26. ryan1234

    European Vacation

    Since we're stationed here, we usually bounce to a new country every few weeks on the weekends. Since January, we've hit 15 different countries... will be 20 by the end of the year. If anyone goes to England, come stop by The Eagle in Cambridge. Bring a squadron zap and shoot me a message, we...
  27. ryan1234

    Air force ROTC vs. Naval ROTC

    I usually fly about 3-4 times a week for a 2.5 average ASD, our squadron hot pits once a week which ends up being about 4.5-5.5hrs that day, or if we're part of a NATO exercise and/or with a tanker it's about a 4.0 that day as well. We get a tanker probably 4-5 times a month. Combined with PDMs...
  28. ryan1234

    Where are the T-34Cs going?

    The PT6 is pretty expensive overall I think for most things like hot sections, overhauls, etc. However, the Walter (GE) M601 is a pretty impressive, relatively inexpensive motor that suits a lot of civilian applications.
  29. ryan1234

    Backing out of AF OTS to pursue Navy.

    I'll just chime in real fast. I had a similar dilemma, but stuck with the AF slot... and I'm now a WSO in the F-15E flying out of England. It's a really awesome job and we get to do a lot of really awesome stuff: For example, today I flew 5.7 hours with 2 hot pits (refueling while one motor is...
  30. ryan1234

    ATP Multi Engine Changes - Do it now!

    I didn't even know you could take the ATP written without the new pre-reqs now. I took the written and checkride in NC last year. Used the Sheppard Air prep... easy.... studied a couple nights at the most and then the day of the test with the test prep material.
  31. ryan1234

    Civil vs. Military aviation

    Whoever was writing the "F-16 Safety Officer" piece was more than likely not a fighter pilot. Those comments are asinine. I can't speak in depth about the F-16 community, but as far as F-15s go... we're perfectly happy flying 200-250 knots prior to configuring and then around 170-200 knots. I...
  32. ryan1234

    Officer first pilot second

    Stand up and be someone, the first part of leading others is to first lead your own life. Each day is not guaranteed, take hold of who you want to be and make it happen. You may not be officer material, but that is for you to decide.
  33. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    Usually clean jets are about a 1.5 sortie... 2 bags end up 2.0-2.5 depending on where/when/how. We have those huge CFTs, so "clean" is 23.3k fuel... two ext is about 31.5k fuel. At least once a week is a fight (or low fly, etc)/pit/fight, occasionally a fight/tank/fight. Did a fight/pit/fight...
  34. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    Except for a couple weeks, we wear them year 'round at Lakenheath. It's just awesome to go for a 2.0-2.5 of BFM/ACM, hit the hot pits, then do it again. All about the delicate balance of keeping just hydrated enough to not have to use the piddle with the dry suit.
  35. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    Unfortunately, Tyler Rogoway is not really an expert on anything except for writing wildly speculative articles targeted at the uninformed.
  36. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    The Raptor does some really awesome stuff, you'll find out more in due time! It's hard to have a fruitful discussion outside of a vault, unfortunately.
  37. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    The Raptor takes care of itself just fine in a BVR fight!
  38. ryan1234

    Interesting Air Superiority article

    The author, unfortunately, is not very well informed and just doesn't really know what he is talking about. Just for the record the Air War College paper that was quoted was written by a Comm/Space officer, not someone who was/is flying in tactical aviation, let alone fighter aviation.
  39. ryan1234

    A-10 article

    Any significant knowledge points would really need to take place in the vault, particularly from platforms currently training to and executing DCA... otherwise it's a pointless discussion to have on an internet forum.
  40. ryan1234

    A-10 article

    The important thing is that the pilots aren't all going away, their skills and knowledge will benefit the airframes they go to, particularly the SANDY roles.
  41. ryan1234

    Plane nerd F/A-18 question

    Correct. From what I've heard, there may have been a couple times in combat where the front seater was not yet familiar with the smart weapons and it needed to be dropped at that specific time in a LAR or what not...or a fini flight here or there. It's obviously not a regular occurrence. I...
  42. ryan1234

    Plane nerd F/A-18 question

    Also...The pickle button is hot A/G MM in the rear seat in the F-15E.
  43. ryan1234

    Drinking and driving.

    Just don't puke in the cab, cause then it gets really expensive. Additionally, there are some nice ladies (albeit interestingly shaped) at Sammy's that will drive you home. It may be a little more expensive though.
  44. ryan1234

    What happens if you don't pass flight school?

    Obviously can't speak to the Navy fighter RAGs, but from the end of the AF B-course... it was unspeakably harder than our primary/advanced. Now, it's way more about tactics and how to execute things as a 2 or 4 ship. Every waking minute seems to be spent in the vault learning how we fight and...
  45. ryan1234

    Turning down a slot

    Dude, some people just don't have what it takes or just simply can't fit into the community. There's no harm in it, it's not for everyone.
  46. ryan1234

    Turning down a slot

    I'd like to think I'm of average intelligence, but I'm still slightly confused. Professional degree? Care to elaborate? Are you in Med School, Law School, Engineering etc? What are the "very good reasons for not applying to NFO"? Are you trying to be a test pilot eventually? Maybe pull some...
  47. ryan1234

    Turning down a slot

    It all depends on what you really want to do in life? Are you content with not serving or would you rather serve in some capacity. I was previously a civilian pilot, working as a pilot, long story short... I ended up getting selected for the AF equivalent of an NFO. I was getting old and had a...
  48. ryan1234

    Question regarding application and other branches

    Ultimately it's your future no matter what your recruiter says. You're working in a finite time frame of the accession climate. If your priorities are serving your country and then serving through a specific job, then service preference may be less important. Bottom line, it's your career.
  49. ryan1234

    Question about the AFOQT.

    Mar, Good on you for being enthusiastic about your possible career path. The last and only time I took the AFOQT was quite a few years ago, I had some type of lower level calc course the semester before taking the test, I personally think it helped a lot. A private pilot certificate will...
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