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  1. RHINOWSO

    USN Should I go Naval Aircrewman or a Submariner?

    Brings us full circle back to the word "service", and not "serve yourself".
  2. RHINOWSO

    USN Should I go Naval Aircrewman or a Submariner?

    Someone has to fly the cargo planes full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong.
  3. RHINOWSO

    USN Should I go Naval Aircrewman or a Submariner?

    Oh, I'm not saying enlisting isn't a good or meaningful thing to do, I just don't see it as a primary method of obtaining a commission. I knew plenty of smart Es who were engines / avionics / etc and loved it. That is certainly their choice and we need hard, motivated workers like that...
  4. RHINOWSO

    USN Should I go Naval Aircrewman or a Submariner?

    Yup. I have a cousin who was a HS football star. Was gonna play college ball. Was goofing off with his friends and rolled an ATV (high maybe) and broke his arm right before his senior year. So no college was gonna take him not seeing him play. Did half a semester at community college...
  5. RHINOWSO

    USN Should I go Naval Aircrewman or a Submariner?

    Yeah, if you don't want to study, consider a different career path. Believe it or not, aviation is a lot more than just stick and rudder skills. Between the 3 sources, you have to choose what you are looking for. OCS may offer some guarantee, but then again OCS classes can ebb and flow with...
  6. RHINOWSO

    USN Should I go Naval Aircrewman or a Submariner?

    Either (1) not physically qualified or (2) not motivated enough to get their act together to get a pilot slot. USNA has it's fair share of dirtbags and all the "I got screwed out of XYZ billet" holds zero water in my book, aside from the highly competitive process to get a NSW Officer slot.
  7. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Nah, they thought AIM120s would be a good idea against that in Indepenance day 1... :D
  8. RHINOWSO

    Recruiter just informed me Pilot is very competitive this time around.

    I think the Navy recruits used car salesmen to become recruiters. They are just trying to make the "sale".
  9. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Agreed. Theoretically the weapon could still have a Pk of .99 and this was the 0.01 instance - 1 combat shot in this case is not statistically significant. Embarrassing to the manufacturer of the weapon? Maybe. But 1 single event means nothing by itself, without further investigation of...
  10. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    It's simply where the rubber meets the road. Testing and simulation are great, with all the work the 50# heads put into things, but bang a weapon system on and off a CVN, put it into harms way, and can shit happen.
  11. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    The last line of the article sums it up "Beat-off"
  12. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah I figured we'd see some flight simulation game setup like the 'incident' posted on YouTube as well, complete with the commentary and explainations from I-think-I-knowitalltypes.
  13. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    The poor F15C drivers... they ain't seen nuthing since Kosavo... Even the F22 guys have dropped bombs in Syria! http://abcnews.go.com/International/years-trouble-22-raptors-combat-mission-success/story?id=25709236
  14. RHINOWSO

    Navy SEAL to aviator

    We'll just have to agree to disagree and leave it at that, in a public forum.
  15. RHINOWSO

    Navy SEAL to aviator

    In short, if you want to scratch the SEAL itch, you need to try that first. You can try to transfer to aviation later, or find other aviation related activities, or take up flying on the side. One of our enlisted maintainers who had private ticket and was working his way up on the side...
  16. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Only when the stick monkey is flipping the jet - but then that's understandable. ;)
  17. RHINOWSO

    Navy SEAL to aviator

    Correct - plenty of ways to cut it, just depends how far the onion has to be peeled back. E2/C2 Pilot or Jets? P3 NFO or E2? CH53 guy or AH1? ECMO or WSO? FAC(A) or Strike Lead? CAG Paddles or just Sqnd? Wing Qual? HAC? Lots of particulars out there. But considering most NFOs fly...
  18. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Word is the backseater was a "tactical maintainer", whatever that is.
  19. RHINOWSO

    Navy SEAL to aviator

    I was just clarifying that a retired MCPO SEAL who 'flew' in the Navy on active duty wasn't a trained Navy pilot / Navy flight school graduate. He's a SEAL who got civilian flight training. There is a difference (to me, anyway), I've flown with both. Not a dig on someone being enlisted or...
  20. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    ^^^^^ Doh! That VIP / Reporter is going to have a story to tell... :eek: Kind of like the two times Turkeys were giving rides to VIPs - one the CG Skipper ejected himself and the other had a no shit emergency with another ships company guy in the back, but they had to shell out eventually as...
  21. RHINOWSO

    Navy SEAL to aviator

    Yeah but he's not a Naval Aviator. Yes he did, but without wings of gold. And getting that requires even more hoops to jump through. I know two guys in that same program, retired MCPOs, flying for a major - they did some contract flying for us as well several years ago. Again, the are SEALs...
  22. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    "Navy officials are also trying to determine why the aircraft's canopy landed several feet away from the aircraft, and if Kleemann could have been trying to eject before the craft rolled over. "All of this is just speculation at this point. We have no real clue as to what could have caused the...
  23. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    http://articles.latimes.com/1985-12-04/local/me-470_1_landing-gear "A Navy pilot died Tuesday after his FA-18 fighter skidded for 5,000 feet as it landed on a slick runway at Miramar Naval Air Station. The plane then flipped, trapping the pilot upside-down in his aircraft. Lt. John Semcken...
  24. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah, best time for a Hollywood shower is during the Big XOs happy hour! Just got rip through all that tape people put up!
  25. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    That is my understanding as well.
  26. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Correct, Hank Kleeman (Skipper flying -1) was in that Hornet that flipped and was killed several years later. The wingman RIO (Jim Anderson) also died a couple of years later in a skiing accident.
  27. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    I'm to the point if I see a Bronze Star with no V, it's just another NCM type award for a Navy type. Looks pretty, but likely another participation award.
  28. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah, 1 silver star for each of his first two kills (separate engagements). Navy Cross for his triple kill mission. ;) Beat to the punch by Flash.
  29. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Just make sure you post it on YouTube to stream it. :D
  30. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Shit, that's twice in one day. He did, however run himself out of gas on his first mission. If we are taking Wikipedia a face value, that is. I have his autobiography around here somewhere.
  31. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    I know, I don't get that either. I read about a Marine who was strafed by A10s in both Desert Storm and OIF...
  32. RHINOWSO

    Combat Time . . . .

    Those USAF types have got it with the ribbons and medals tho. You see a USAF E-4 with a full rack of PRT participation, GMT training extra credit, etc. O-3s that looks like Russian General!
  33. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yes, Hartmann (and lots of the other high ranking German aces) were shot down / bailed out multiple times during the war. Hartmann said his secret was never get greedy. Swoop in for a single easy kill and get away. Wash, rinse, repeat for years. Flying multiple missions per day, it adds up...
  34. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    It was well before my time, so I can't speak to smack talking between the Turkey and Hornet drivers. USAF F15s ended up with somewhere in the low 30 kills during and immediately after the war.
  35. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    VF-1 got a MI-8 Hip helo kill. There were other opportunities for the Tomcat, but none that were realized or resulted in a kill for the F-14 during Desert Storm. The F-15Cs had the game set for them in Desert Storm, however if you read some of their engagements, some weren't so textbook - like...
  36. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah I've seen the tapes, everyone in the world has heard the audio. -2 did great work though, it would have sucked for lead if he had got both of the Gypsy kills.
  37. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah, until people get to Erich Hartmann's level, it's all chump change really. (352 kills)
  38. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Flash - You are correct, I checked my reference on the Vf-41 shootdown and they received DFCs as well. My apologies for the bad gouge, I could have swore I recalled it being Silver Stars, but apparently not. Which is how it should go, action based vs automatic. So we'll see what the Rhino...
  39. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah, I know. ;)
  40. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yeah, that was a case (for the lead) of better to be lucky than good. ;)
  41. RHINOWSO

    Trying To Get Back In, Do I Stand A Chance?

    To the OP. Do you have a chance? Sure, there is always a chance. Unfortunately I've see the other side of the story - we had a female in my company who made it all the way to the end of second class year outside of BCA and having never passed the PRT. They gave her every chance in the...
  42. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Yes, a USAF type. In fact the USAF had ony one 'ace' (5-kills) pilot and three backseaters in Vietnam (one of them being the 6 kill guy you mention). The Navy only had one crew with 5 kills in the Vietnam war (former CA Representative, turned felon Cunningham and his RIO Driscoll). Even...
  43. RHINOWSO

    Trying To Get Back In, Do I Stand A Chance?

    We were in with the ships PAO and he would bring a stack of chocolate chip cookies to the ready room in the evening so he would hang out and place acey-deucey. Nothing like eating hot cookies watching your buddies bolter and drawing them a 'box' on the plat-TV. :D
  44. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    And in those first kills of the Vietnam War I mentioned, they both came from complete radar intercepts with the RIOs steering the fight until the pilots got visual ID and pulled the trigger for forward quarter AIM-7 shots. So the RIOs had done a ton of work making them happen, so that kind of...
  45. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Typically yes. After the first MIG kills of the Vietnam War, the Navy tried to give the two pilots Silver Stars and the two RIOs DFCs, but the crews said we all get the same or we aren't taking any award. So they all got Silver Stars and the unwritten policy still sticks. Granted the last...
  46. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Not my rules, just sort of how it has gone. There is that allure of an air-to-air kill which 'they' seem to want to recognize for the difficulty and rareness of it occurring. And while it may seem 'easy' in hindsight, those opportunities are very rare and fleeting, and have been F&^$ed away...
  47. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    In the past they have also given DFC for shootdowns of non-fighter type aircraft sometimes. I can recall an instance in the Vietnam war were some F-4 shot down some AN-2 Colts in a relatively benign night overwater intercept and got DFCs instead of Silver Stars. It isn't written down, it's...
  48. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    Almost gotcha, was gonna point you to the awards manual / order of precedence. ;)
  49. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    A Silver Star is pretty much standard in Naval Aviation for a 'kill'. The VF-32 Gypsy's got DFCs in '89, as some thought they shouldn't have waxed the MIG-23s, or so the story goes... plus it wasn't a very pretty engagement.
  50. RHINOWSO

    USN Splash one SU-22 (merged threads)

    "A Syrian regime SU-22 dropped bombs near SDF fighters south of Tabqah and, in accordance with rules of engagement and in collective self-defense of Coalition partnered forces, was immediately shot down by a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet," the command said in a release."...
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