Air Force v.s. Navy Culture Differences

[Raymero]

The crew rest thing is interesting now that I’m on the blue side. I made as much fun of AF dudes and crew rest as any other but I can say the timelines are warranted. I’ve had multiple flights with a 24 hour duty day, logging almost 16 hours in that 24 hours, so I definitely needed the 12 hours prior to. Plus, controlling agencies (TACC, AOC, etc) like to push the boundaries and short you crew rest, not a few minutes but hours less than what’s mandatory.

That said, it’s also very community dependent on the interpretation. In my old community, people wouldn’t fly if they weren’t officially notified by Skeds to enter crew rest, even though that notification isn’t required per instruction. So, if a local 2.0 pattern only sortie came available, dudes still refused to fly even though that had more than 12 hours time off and plenty of crew day left.

Compare that to my current community, if a line comes available during the day, it’s up to the pilot to verify they have had sufficient crew rest and then go fly.

I have seen dudes milk it to the point of absurdity. On one flight my crew got alerted 10 minutes earlier (so 11:50 crew rest vice 12), and the AC cancelled the flight.

So, some of the criticism is warranted but the rules do actually protect the pilot pretty well.

I knew an insanebikerboy at NAS Fallon. He rode a Chevy V8 Harley chassis.

 

[Sonog]

I feel like the difference in call sign culture would probably speak a lot to the broader cultural differences. But at the end of the day, I don't know many AF dudes. One time I saw a post of an acquaintance on social media praising a recent weapon school (or whatever they call it in the AF) class with call signs such as "Laser, Rage, Scud, Metal, etc." Not exaggerating either, going off memory but reality isn't that far away.

 

[wink]

Really seems the AF assigns callsigns because they sound cool. They mean nothing. When someone asks me how I got my call sign I have a story. Someday someone will ask Paul "Laser" Smith how he got his call sign and he will have to reply, "the committee thought it sounded cool." Lame

 

[0621 Hertz]

I've seen a video with B-2 pilots with callsigns like "Lonewolf" and "Ghost"

I'm assuming AF callsigns look cooler on the nametag, but the stories behind them are just as embarrassing.

 

[Flash]

I feel like the difference in call sign culture would probably speak a lot to the broader cultural differences. But at the end of the day, I don't know many AF dudes. One time I saw a post of an acquaintance on social media praising a recent weapon school (or whatever they call it in the AF) class with call signs such as "Laser, Rage, Scud, Metal, etc." Not exaggerating either, going off memory but reality isn't that far away.

The USAF fighter types seemed to be more inclined to do the 'cool' callsigns while the fighter-bomber/attack and bomber guys were a little bit better about it. We often 'improved' on the USAF Prowler guy/gals callsigns and they almost always took the Navy ones back with them when they returned to the USAF.

I have noticed an definite uptick in use of acronym callsigns, they've always been around but I see a lot more than I used to and it is a nice way of getting around the callsign police.

 

[nittany03]

I’m also reminded of doing debriefs in Nellis where you’d unironically hear things like SAM battery X took shot at F-16 Y, which wasn’t validated/successfully defended/whatever, so “VIPER51 will continue to rage.” Do you fuckers have a clue how douchey and unprofessional that sounds?

Also was always amused at how the NAWDC staff would always make a point of referring to the “F-16 Fighting Falcon” just to make Air Force types grind their teeth.

 

[gparks1989]

I’m also reminded of doing debriefs in Nellis where you’d unironically hear things like SAM battery X took shot at F-16 Y, which wasn’t validated/successfully defended/whatever, so “VIPER51 will continue to rage.” Do you fuckers have a clue how douchey and unprofessional that sounds?

Also was always amused at how the NAWDC staff would always make a point of referring to the “F-16 Fighting Falcon” just to make Air Force types grind their teeth.

My favorite: the cease rage line. Granted, WS staff were trying to get that squashed as a term, but still made an appearance in LFEs.

 

[sevenhelmet]

I’m also reminded of doing debriefs in Nellis where you’d unironically hear things like SAM battery X took shot at F-16 Y, which wasn’t validated/successfully defended/whatever, so “VIPER51 will continue to rage.” Do you fuckers have a clue how douchey and unprofessional that sounds?

Also was always amused at how the NAWDC staff would always make a point of referring to the “F-16 Fighting Falcon” just to make Air Force types grind their teeth.

As the nerdy USNTPS grad, I'm still wondering why TOPGUN-style debriefs are always done in future tense, after the flight has already happened.

e.g. "Stop tape, time XYZ, Rage 12 timeout, track 8. Will that shot guide and fuze?"
"It will not guide due to probability of weapons effectiveness"

I just figured it was one of those "when in Rome" things, and went along with it.

 

[Austin-Powers]

Really seems the AF assigns callsigns because they sound cool. They mean nothing. When someone asks me how I got my call sign I have a story. Someday someone will ask Paul "Laser" Smith how he got his call sign and he will have to reply, the committee thought it sounded cool. Lame

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The best way to earn a callsign.

 

[sevenhelmet]

The callsign spectrum:

USAF Callsigns: Made to sound "cool", to protect fragile egos. Examples: "Burner" and "Razor"

USN Callsigns: Cheeky and fun. The best kind of shenanigans. Examples: "Yogurt" and "Dingle"

USMC Callsigns: Cruel and tragic. Check your insecurities at the door. Examples: "FUNGUS" and "Dummy"

(yes, all of these are actual callsigns I've heard in my career. Some are good friends of mine.)

 

[wink]

USMC Callsigns: Cruel and tragic. Check your insecurities at the door. Examples: "FUNGUS" and "Dummy"

My USMC F-5 pilot nephew popped in for a night the other day. As we lunched with my son and his girl friend at the airport, the discussion turned to call signs. As we told various call sign origination stories, I did notice this trend among his USMC tales. And lots more acronyms than in my day, to sanitizes great stories.

 

[croakerfish]

My USMC F-5 pilot nephew popped in for a night the other day. As we lunched with my son and his girl friend at the airport, the discussion turned to call signs. As we told various call sign origination stories, I did notice this trend among his USMC tales. And lots more acronyms then in my day to sanitizes great stories.

I think the fact that they keep their callsigns off their name tags and signature blocks etc lets them stay under the radar and keep the good ones.

 

[wink]

I think the fact that they keep their callsigns off their name tags and signature blocks etc lets them stay under the radar and keep the good ones.

His was on his nametag, but in Cyrillic . Was also on his helmet visor cover, in English. But he is a reservist.

 

[nittany03]

His was on his nametag, but in Cyrillic . Was also on his helmet visor cover, in English. But he is a reservist.

Had a guy in my squadron get caught in the Great Callsign Purge of 2011. Skipper didn't make him change it, but wouldn't put it on the jet. For his helmet, well, his wife was Japanese. So it ended up spelled out phonetically on the back of his helmet in katakana.

 

[sevenhelmet]

Had a guy in my squadron get caught in the Great Callsign Purge of 2011. Skipper didn't make him change it, but wouldn't put it on the jet. For his helmet, well, his wife was Japanese. So it ended up spelled out phonetically on the back of his helmet in katakana.

Well, what was his call sign? Inquiring minds want to know…