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I'm just going out on a limb here, but I bet Ben fixed more of your submissions than you fixed of his. Of course, if I'm wrong feel free to say so now....

Little harsh there, Chuck. I would have felt like a tool saying that from my point of view (and I'm a little further down the road than you). Go ahead and cut him a little slack, if for no other reason than that you may want/need some at some point in life.

Honestly, I've just been kind of poking at this thread for fun. The nature of our jobs (and many of the Navy's jobs, for that matter) simply do not require any advanced physical fitness, no matter how much appeal that a higher standard holds for a lot of you. For all the scorn the Navy's...

Bad knees aren't a problem in my aircraft - welcome aboard! And you are absolutely right that the uniform itself ought to be squared away. It would have been better to say that I don't care what a sailor's body looks like in uniform. If they are in standards then that is good enough...

Nope. I'm asking a specific question here. I'm never going to run a sub 3:00 hour marathon again like I could in my 20's (no amount of desire is going to change that). But would you rather fly with with my old, admittedly broken down self as I am now or a LT who can max out the PRT? Do you...

(VX-30 bird) That looks a lot like Frenchy to me - if it isn't a VX-30 bird then it sure has an evil twin of their CO. I've known John for 25 years - great guy and there are a lot worse CO's out there.

Just curious, but I will throw this out there. I'm 40 years old, both my knees are wrecked and while I am technically in standards (thanks to being able to swim the PRT), I will never max a PRT again or even score much beyond sat. In fact, my flight surgeon only gave me an up-chit after my...

A large part of the reason why the rotary wing Navy operates the way it does is because it can. Our manning supports the ability to launch every aircraft with at least one senior/more experienced pilot instead of two newbies. Since the helo world has that luxury, there is no good reason to send...

I like to think we all figured out the issue pretty quickly, plus he even said he is waiting on a new keyboard/computer. Anybody who can't figure out the gist of what he is posting is welcome to move on to a reality tv thread on some other site.

Obviously, other XP's have been involved in UAS programs, but apparently this guy is the first to get a "drone" billet at a TPS.

You and I aren't talking about the same things - I'm not disagreeing that the people who want to be airline guys ought to cross over as soon as they can (while I can't claim to know crap about the airlines, this seems pretty self evident); airline pilot systems are based on seniority and that...

This is the key right here - HAL looked at it, saw what he needed to do, and decided that his goal was worth the cost (and if you read his posts you can see he is pretty happy with his job), then paid the price with his eyes wide open. Whether it is the "show" or any other job, you have to be...

No chance of hurt feelings - if you read my posts, you'll notice I didn't say anything about whether or not the airlines are a good deal (since I have no idea) or whether or not some people would be better off getting out before twenty to push for the airlines (they are big boys, they know their...

I have indeed, and "minus 50% of my base pay to not fly" can't clear the bar. I will have been lucky enough to do 18 of my 20 in the cockpit, but I have no illusions about my fate if I try to hang on - I've pushed my luck enough in that regard and I don't think I need to actually try being in...

Can't speak for the Fleet, but it is being used in the test world. Not really a fan myself, but some guys were liking it.

Because at 20 Uncle will pay me ~40k a year to go away and get another job? If you have the foresight to build a resume in your 20 years that can get you a job that will pay you as much as your active duty job then staying past 20 years just doesn't make a lot of sense unless you are still "in...

Too small to make a significant difference, but still a good thing.

This is USAF's last chance to design a manned bomber. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to justify the added expense of a pilot.

This goes back to one of the most basic truths you have to understand if you don't want to end your career disappointed: It is o.k. to love the Navy; it is not o.k. to expect the Navy to love you back.

Scrub it before you look for a real job also. I know a lot of major contractors who will look at anything of yours online that they can.

I can't muster a lot of outrage in either direction on this. On the one hand, the worst thing that is going to happen to him is that he will be retired as an O-6. Not exactly the worst "punishment" in the world. While I do wonder whether he thought the vids would never get out, thought the fact...

You can't directly compare 84/85 and TF 160. The funding/manning/commitment of senior leadership is different by orders of magnitude. The Navy's WO program might have been able to achieve it's goals if Big Navy had made a large enough commitment to it, but the force shaping picture has...

To the original question, the certification process is expensive and the demand is probably not sufficient to lure potential competitors into the market to bring the price down, so I don't think we will see prices drop anytime soon.

I've been reading this thread with a certain amount of interest, and I have to admit to being impressed/surprised that for the most part folks have kept it from getting personal. For myself, I don't see this as a big deal from a readiness point of view, and I just can't see the Navy having...

The S-3 transitions were a different creature - people wanting to transition from a still-living community just cannot expect the support that the S-3 guys got. In 18 years I've only seen a couple people pull of a transition from one 1310 community to another without serious issues. Having...

But are SWIT billets really given to the best pilots, or are those billets given to community favorites as another ticket punch? I've just seen too many instances where "good enough" pilot + cover sheets on all their TPS reports trumped a better stick. Given a choice between a team player who...

Tactical proficiency means next to nothing on a CO's FITREP - it just isn't what the Navy cares about. As for switching on your first tour, failing to leave your first tour with a competitive EP is supremely difficult to overcome. Doesn't mean it hasn't been done, but it will drag down your...

I also did my first tour at 5 (or whatever they call themselves now) and went on to the RAG and bought a house out in Chula Vista (Rolling Hills Ranch). Worked out great for us and the drive wasn't bad unless I was trying to come in right at 0800.

That's a shame. A smiley would really have brought the whole thing together.

I'm a 1510 if you have questions.

31st MEU. They shutdown all 7 skids (after we've asked twice if they have wheel kits), then the Huey crews stare at each other uncomfortably. Then the flower calls home and they spend a half hour deciding whether it is faster to send them with a Phrog or send a Huey back. It gets the...

No, the worst is when they fly-on the skids first at the start of cruise, but nobody brings any wheel kits. On two consecutive fly-ons. By the same squadron.

Like the Navy, people are a huge cost driver for a state government. When you factor in the cost of benefits (especially medical and pension) for all the state employees associated with MD's model of operations and the upfront cost of purchase this isn't a sound financial descision, it is more...

If the quoted figure is the fully capable, fly-away price I'd say it is a very good one even before you consider any O&M support, and the S-70 probably can't touch that price even before you look at operating costs. Using $6M as the fly-away cost for a -60M is a little deceptive unless you...

Harrier Dude is spot on. USMC leadership is better than all the others at keeping their people "on message" within the acquisition community. The Osprey is living proof of that.

The Foxtrot sim in Jax can do fixed-pitch tail rotor EP's now - very good training (most of the Navy 60 sims are really only simulating stuck pedal and you still have control mixing). UK does a fantastic job with their sims - they spent the money and did it right. Best t/r training I've had...

Yes, and we had water landings in the syllabus at HC-3 until the transition to the Sierra. Lots of fun as a stud or instructor.

Unless your height above water is < sea state, I would think that if ground effect is holding you out of the water, then translational lift is going to make you even more happy and I would be flying it out from there. (I lost an engine in a doppler hover once in a phrog, but I was pointed into...

This is exactly it. This policy isn't about the E-4's and below, this is a lesson being taught to the leadership on these boats.

I don't think I am missing anything, I think we are arguing two different points. Don't read too much into my comment: I'm not defending this new effort, I'm just saying it isn't going to have any kind of large impact. I'm not slamming the "golden child" aspects of the current system - it is a...

Are you really going to argue that every single one of them made it on merit and your community has never greased the skids for somebody who hadn't earned it? I like to think that most of them have (and certainly want to believe that the benefits I got before I jumped ship on my community were...

I can't really muster any outrage over this: each community already has a close-hold list of their players and golden-children. Those people already get special treatment - access to orders others can't get, PRD/tour length adjustments to keep their timing on track, favorable job assignments...

NFO's are marginally cheaper to train and should be cheaper to advance through their fleet quals and keep current. Having said that, "cheaper" really is a relative term. In the long term the personnel costs become the dominant driver. The Brits have done it with no issues, but I would think...

Left seat. Seems more serious than the earlier Bravo discussions, but to be honest I've paid no attention. It wouldn't be hard to do, but obviously there would be ricebowl issues. I don't think it really saves a significant amount of money, but it would give a lot more seats to the 1320...

Check back in 5-10 years. The question of NFO's in 60R's has received a lot of attention.

Revived for a quick question: which is the better Navy course in Jax and is there any problem getting out as a single on weekends? (I'll be there later in the week but probably only have time to play one).

Well I hope you turned the air conditioning off first. Or are you on her side....?

I've never had a dealer not provide a loaner when the car was still in the 50k window (6 dealerships in 4 states, none of which were the one I had bought those cars at). I've had the opposite experience: I've got one with 140k miles and the only issue I've had was the result of killer...

He has zero chance to be elected, but (just for fun) explain to me how he wouldn't have to compromise when neither house of congress agreed with his "principles"?

GPWS is there in the software for R and S, and CT was completed a couple of years ago. I don't know the status of the DT/OT on it or Fleet doctrine for use but it does exist.