Congrats to any and all who got selected for promotion to Staff Sergeant earlier today!

One way or another you earned it. Wear it with pride and be prepared for all the new challenges and responsibilities!

~The NCOIC

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-worl.....h-1481194.html

In a nutshell, for you click-a-phobes: Pentagon has approved, DoD wide, for the wear of military uniform by members wishing to participate in the upcoming San Diego Gay Pride parade.


Thoughts? Opinions? Good Idea/Bad Idea?

I don't agree with it. For several reasons. I feel it sets a dangerous precedent.


In previous situations, COs have made judgement calls on a case by case basis. But to have a fully-backed Pentagon approval is a first.

So let's get some takes on it.

~NCOIC

Air Force announces an app for iPhone and Droid dealing with being an MTI:

http://militarytimes.com/blogs/flig.....s-new-mti-app/


I downloaded it. It's pretty useful if you're interested in becoming an Military Training Instructor, outlining the requirements to apply, the shadow program and the details of the tech school.

So if you're interested or might consider it an eventual Special Duty, check it out.

~NCOIC

This happened early Saturday afternoon as 2 other airmen and I were walking across the infield at Daytona International Speedway. We had volunteered to help unfurl the football field sized American flag during the pre-race ceremony and were dressed in our Blues, doing the typical fan thing: Taking pictures, signing the start/finish line, commenting on how great of experience it was thus far, etc.

As the 3 of us were standing at the bottom of the track, a woman approached us and asked if we would be so kind as to have our picture taken with her. Of course we agreed without hesitation but before going further, she started telling us a small bit of her family history...

It seems she had an 11 year old nephew who loved airplanes and wanted nothing more than to join the United States Air Force one day. It was his boyhood dream, she said... She paused for a moment and took a deep breath... and went on to tell us how her nephew passed away recently in a tragic accident (the details of which I wont get into here). She said that it would be a great honor to her if we would stand for the picture so she could post it on her nephew's memorial page on Facebook.

We posed for the photo and expressed our condolences for her loss. She thanked us from the bottom of her heart and was practically in tears, hugging us and saying how much she appreciates what we do. We didn't ask her name. We each just gave her a hug, waved, and went about our business.


It's the little things like this that are so very humbling. To think that in that small moment and with a simple gesture... we provided a stranger with some measure of comfort in the face of a horrible loss.... all because we were wearing the uniform and represented something great, memorable and inspiring.

Never underestimate what you do or the impact you have, especially on the civilian population. Wear the uniform with pride and remember that it stands for alot more than you might think.

Just thought I'd share that tidbit.

~NCOIC

It was brought to my attention earlier that, because as military members, we already get free healthcare... that I shouldn't have an opinion regarding the recent reformation.

Now... that aside... anybody got any opinion on it? Granted those of us that are Active Duty already get free health care (dependos notwithstanding). But what do you y'all, as military members/affiliates think?

~The Management

(Your humble moderator is out of EPME)

Quite a few new faces in the past couple months so welcome and all that. Look around, explore, meet and greet etc. That is what this page is for after all. Feel free to give an AFSC shout out to see if other like-minded folk are around.

Have a wonderful Air Force day!

170 watchers! Nice to see the decent sized collection of current or prior service members, dependents, enthusiasts, and probably a creeper or two :P

First off, I want to take a moment to thank everyone here for their service and/or support of the USAF and the US military as a whole. We might not all have glamorous jobs but we all joined up of our own free will to serve our country or you support someone that has and I tip my hat to all off you.



That being said, I seem to be playing a broken record when I say content will come more and more while things stay stagnant. I take full responsibility for that. I'm not as attentive as a probably could be here but that just comes with the territory of my life. Between work, college, social obligations, deployments, and enjoying downtime away from the computer, this page gets pushed to the back burner. And with a pending TDY and a trip to ALS looming for yours truly relatively soon, I doubt that that will change in the near future.

BUT!!! Part of why I'm putting this out here is to encourage more user interaction. I know this site isn't a group or forum website like some traditional ones. Trust, if I had the skills or knowledge to do so, I'd work on a forum site for military furs (and for all I know there might be one). However, since I don't know much about that shit, I'd like to have this be more member-involved. If something is on your mind relative to the Air Force, if you have a picture you'd like to see posted, if you see something you think should be fav'd etc... then by all means send me a note either here or on my personal page. I check my personal page daily and this one maybe every other day or so and I will see it. :) As much as I love contributing, the more people I can get involved in this, the more content and discussion we can have.

Or y'all can not say anything and I'll keep doing updates/posts when I have the time. I'm fine either way. I'd like to see more participation and content but if everyone is happy with it as is, then I'll press on.


So. Hope everyone had a good St. Patty's day, that we all managed to avoid a DUI or something else detrimental to your careers/lives and be sure to watch out for signs of depression and suicides, as those are still on the rise in and amongst the Military/Air Force

Carry on.......

~The Management

So once again we find ourselves on the cusp of another ANOTHER change in how the Air Force conducts its PT Testing.

As of 1 April, the Civilian PT Testers will be gone. A short lived experiment that unsurprisingly failed.

We'll go back to military testing military, At least 1 observer per 12 testers and it has to be someone outside of your unit.

This is where the lines get rather hazy for me... or maybe I'm just a bit more set in how things should operate than most... Granted under the old (and soon to be new) system, military testing military probably led to the fudging of some numbers in order to get your buddy points. It'd be dumb to say it didn't happen. But it wasn't the norm or even that common of a problem from my experience. I tested numerous times under the old system with co-workers or guys from the squadron doing the counting and it was all by the books. Integrity First, right?

So putting the stipulations of other units having to test each other, SNCOs involved, etc... begs the question of the Air Force not trusting its own people to get the job done. They are in essence doing away with the notion of Integrity by flat out insinuating a lack of trust.

now... this is just my opinion on one small portion of the new system.

Anyone got any other thoughts/concerns about going back to Military over Civilian testers? Any negative experiences on either side of the coin (if you've been in long enough to have had both)?

~The Management

http://militarytimes.com/valor/air-.....ningham/262885

(The entire story for those of you that don't know it... skip to the end if ya already know it)

Air Force Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham
Died March 4, 2002 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom
26, of Camarillo, Calif.; assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga; killed during a rescue mission during Operation Anaconda on March 4, 2002, in Afghanistan.

* * * * *

Surrounded by death, a young pararescueman chose to save lives — and lost his

By Sean D. Naylor

Staff writer

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — They call it the Battle of Roberts Ridge.

The 15-hour firefight cost more American lives — seven — than any other engagement to date in the war against terrorism. It was named after the first American to die amid the snowy, 10,000-foot mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

But so many troops performed with such extraordinary courage during that long night and day that it could easily have been named after any one of at least a dozen men. This is the story of the March 4 battle and one of those heroes.

Surprise attack

It was approximately 3 a.m. March 4 when an MH-47E Chinook, code-named “Razor 3,” approached Takhur Ghar mountain, known to U.S. forces as “Objective Ginger.” The mountain dominates the southern end of the Shah-e-Kot Valley, and the dug-in al-Qaida forces there had proven impossible to dislodge in the 48 hours since U.S. troops had launched Operation Anaconda.

Riding in the back of the Chinook were a handful of Navy SEALs moving to a position where they could observe a series of cave complexes where al-Qaida fighters were concentrated. No place offered a more commanding view of the Anaconda battlefield than the top of Takhur Ghar.

But as the pilot from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment brought the Chinook in to land, the helicopter was met with a fusillade of enemy machine gun and rocket-propelled fire that severed vital hydraulic lines. The pilot jerked the helicopter up and away without inserting the SEAL team.

It was then that the crew realized that in the chaos one of the SEALs — Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts — had fallen out of the helicopter.

With the controls seizing up, it was all the pilot could do to limp north about four miles to a safer, flatter part of the valley, where he put the helicopter down.

Back at the U.S. headquarters at this sprawling air base, the night crew in the operations center maneuvered a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor the movements of Roberts. What they saw was profoundly disturbing. Within minutes of falling from the helicopter, Roberts was captured and taken away by al-Qaida guerrillas.

Maj. Gen. F.L. “Buster” Hagenbeck, the commander of all U.S. forces in Afghanistan, approved the urgent request from the remaining SEALs on Razor 3 to return and look for their buddy.

“The reputation of these guys and how they treat prisoners is pretty much known,” said an Army official in Bagram. “We did not want to leave one of our people behind.”

Forty-five minutes after Razor 3 had made its forced landing, another MH-47E — “Razor 4” — landed beside the damaged Chinook. Razor 3’s crew and remaining SEALs climbed aboard the good aircraft, which flew to a U.S. base at Gardez, 15 miles away. There Razor 3’s crew got off, and the Chinook sped back to the valley. Aboard were five SEALs and Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, an Air Force combat controller.

As the Chinook approached Ginger, the troops aboard received constant updates on the whereabouts of the enemy fighters who had captured Roberts. Razor 4 landed near where they believed him to be. Enemy fire again met the helicopter, but this time the crew managed to offload the special operators and fly off.

Meanwhile, leaders at Bagram ordered the quick reaction force to launch. On the flight line, the twin rotor blades of two more MH-47s — “Razor 1” and “Razor 2” — slowly began to turn. On board Razor 1 were about 15 Rangers, as well as an Air Force enlisted tactical air controller, or ETAC, a pair of Air Force combat search- and-rescue pararescue jumpers and another Air Force special operations combat controller.

Sitting on the Chinook as it flew south into the heart of enemy territory was Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, a 26-year-old para-rescue jumper on his first combat mission.

‘He was all about saving lives’

Cunningham was a bright-eyed kid from New Mexico who always had a smile on his face. Married with two children, he had only been a pararescue jumper for eight months, but his infectious enthusiasm had already made him popular with his fellow PJs. Even among the highly trained professionals of the special operations world, Cunningham’s dedication to his job stood out.

“He had more motivation than any one man should have,” said Scott, one of Cunningham’s pararescue colleagues. “He was all about saving people’s lives.” For security reasons, Scott did not want his full name used.

The two years of grueling schooling it takes to earn the pararescueman’s badge requires an airman to become skilled at dealing with mental and physical stresses few others could endure. The washout rate can be as high as 90 percent.

Cunningham personified that endurance.

The pararescuemen arehoused in the ground floor of the Bagram airfield tower building. Fifteen yards down the corridor are the expert field surgeons of the 274th Forward Surgical Team. It wasn’t long before Cunningham’s hunger to improve his medical skills had propelled him down the corridor. Soon he was spending a couple of hours every day with the medical staff, learning by doing under their tutelage.

“Every time we had a casualty event he was always the first one here offering to help,” said Dr. (Maj.) Brian Burlingame, the surgical unit’s commander. “His enthusiasm was just genuine to the core, which was what endeared him to us. He was like a little brother.”

One of the outcomes of Cunningham’s time with the surgical team docs was a decision to start sending the pararescuers out into combat with blood for transfusions. The use of blood in the field is a controversial topic, according to Burlingame.

“Blood is an FDA-controlled substance,” he said. “It’s very, very regulated.” Special training, not to mention lots of paperwork, is required before medics are considered qualified to administer blood in the field. After Cunningham and Burlingame started talking, all the pararescuers here took the classes and filled out the paperwork.

“We then pushed blood forward with [Cunningham’s] group,” Burlingame said.

Despite his hard-core attitude, Cunningham had never been in combat, and he yearned for a chance to do his job in that most demanding of environments. As the first two days of Anaconda passed without him being sent forward, his frustration was palpable.

“There were two things he was really passionate about: medicine and shooting,” Scott said.

Now, as the Chinook soared toward the heart of enemy territory, Cunningham was going to have an opportunity to put both skills to the test.

Another surprise

On Ginger, the al-Qaida fighters had executed Roberts, and the SEALs’ rescue mission had become a desperate fight for their own lives. As he called in close air support to keep the enemy at bay, Chapman was cut off from the SEALs. He was later found dead.

By the time Razor 1 approached Ginger, the sun was rising. The rescue force had lost the advantages of surprise and darkness. The enemy was waiting. Heavy machine gun, Kalashnikov and grenade fire erupted from the snowy mountainside as the helicopter came in to land. At least one rocket-propelled grenade hit the aircraft in the tail rotor. With the helicopter still 80 feet off the ground, bullets shattered the cockpit glass. A round smashed one pilot’s thigh bone, another knocked his helmet off. To his right, a bullet or fragment ripped a silver-dollar-sized hole in the other pilot’s wrist, while yet another tore into his thigh.

Seriously damaged, and with its pilots barely able to control it, the Chinook hit the ground hard, just below the peak of the ridge. Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt in the crash landing.

But the helicopter — and the troops inside — were now taking heavy fire from a series of well-protected al-Qaida positions 100 to 200 meters up the slope. As rounds peppered the aircraft, the Rangers ran off the back ramp into a hail of fire. Two or three dropped immediately, dead or badly wounded. The pilot with the broken leg popped his door open and flopped out into the snow.

As the Rangers on the ground sprinted for cover, the Chinook’s door gunners laid down a base of fire with their 7.62 mm miniguns. Then those watching the action via the Predator feed back in the operations center saw the left door gunner — Sgt. Philip J. Svitak — fall from his perch and lie motionless in the snow.

“He’s a black dot on the ground,” said a senior NCO who watched part of the Predator tape. “He’s dead. You just keep looking at him, and a minute’s gone, and another minute’s gone. You sit there [watching] and your heart sinks.”

When it was clear that the “landing zone” was in fact a free-fire zone, Razor 2 was waved off without dropping off its Rangers.

But the surviving members of the quick-reaction force on the ground were putting up a fight. A Ranger M-203 grenadier quickly destroyed the nearest al-Qaida position, but not before an enemy fighter there had launched a rocket-propelled grenade at the downed Chinook. That guerrilla then walked almost nonchalantly back to another fighting position, where he picked up another grenade and fired it at the helicopter.

Operating in ‘a bullet sponge’

The quick reaction force’s medical personnel, including Cunningham, another PJ who was a technical sergeant, two Ranger medics and a 160th medic, had their hands full. The Chinook’s cargo area became the casualty-collection point.

It was in there that Cunningham went to work, putting into practice all that theory he had absorbed, and doing so in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. He was trying to save lives in the back of a helicopter at the top of a bitterly cold mountain, under constant fire from enemy forces that had him and his colleagues surrounded.

Just when things seemed as if they couldn’t get worse, the forward compartment of the helicopter caught fire.

“The helicopter’s a bullet sponge after it gets shot down, because it’s just a great big target,” Scott said.

As Cunningham and the 160th medic worked inside to staunch their buddies’ bleeding, the enemy fire increased. Incoming mortar rounds bracketed the Chinook, landing within 50 feet of the helicopter’s nose.

About four hours after the helicopter hit the ground, Cunningham decided the cargo compartment had become too dangerous for his patients. Using a small sled-like device, Cunningham dragged the wounded troops to a safer spot away from the aircraft. In doing so, he crossed the line of enemy fire seven times.

The quick-reaction force had landed perhaps 330 feet from a well-fortified enemy command post at the top of Ginger. Enemy fighters in one bunker were raining accurate fire on the U.S. troops. As the mortar fire intensified, the quick-reaction force commander decided to assault the bunker, and Cunningham volunteered to join the attack. But the senior pararescueman held him back, because the force had taken more casualties and Cunningham’s medical skills were needed.

The Rangers gave it their best shot, but the assault stalled in the deep snow. However, the bunker — and the fighters inside it — did not survive for long. A U.S. jet destroyed it, one of countless occasions that day when pilots flying close air support missions came to the rescue of their colleagues on the ground.

“When our guys cried for help, everybody in the theater answered,” Scott said.

Those servicemen here familiar with the battle speak in awed tones about the quality of the close air support provided by the Air Force during the battle. When the fight started, it was an AC-130 gunship circling overhead that was keeping al-Qaida heads down with devastatingly accurate fire from its 105 mm howitzer. Then, as daylight forced the slow-moving gunship to retire, fast-moving, high-flying F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons picked up the slack, hurling bomb after bomb onto enemy positions with pinpoint accuracy.

The enemy’s movements forced Cunningham and the 160th medic to move the casualties to a second and then a third location outside the helicopter, exposing themselves to enemy fire. During the last movement, the 160th medic was shot twice in the abdomen.

Shortly thereafter, at 12:32 p.m., Cunningham’s luck ran out. An enemy round hit him just below his body armor as he was treating a patient. The bullet entered low from the right side and traveled across his pelvis, causing serious internal injuries.

“Untreated, you die from that,” Scott said.

Cunningham must have known he was in serious trouble. But despite his worsening condition, he continued to treat patients and advise others on how to care for the critically wounded. One of the two blood packs he had brought saved a badly wounded Ranger. The medics gave the other packet to Cunningham himself, whose life was slowly flowing out in a red stream onto the white snow.

Back at the surgical unit, word of the situation on the mountain was seeping back. “We’d heard that one of the 160th medics was hit, and one of the PJs severely wounded,” Burlingame said. If a medevac helicopter could get in and pick up the wounded, there was time to save Cunningham.

“The combat controller wanted so bad to say the LZ was cold so they could bring in a helicopter to evacuate the wounded, but he couldn’t,” Scott said. In the early afternoon, leaders directed that no more rescue attempts be risked until darkness. It was a decision made to save lives, and it probably did. But it sealed Cunningham’s fate.

As the hours in the snow lengthened, Cunningham grew increasingly weak from loss of blood. Seven hours after he was hit, the other medics began to perform CPR on Cunningham. They continued for 30 minutes, until it was clear nothing more could be done. There were other lives to save. At about 8 p.m. on March 4, Jason Cunningham became the first pararescue jumper to die in combat since the Vietnam War.

As night fell, the level of enemy fire ebbed. The determined close air support from the Air Force, combined with the Rangers’ and SEALs’ own expert marksmanship, had done their job. Hagenbeck later said 40 to 50 enemy fighters died in the battle.

As air power pounded the enemy positions on Ginger, the sky filled with MH-47s. Three landed and lifted the survivors — and the dead — from the mountain. Seven American corpses were carried away in the bellies of the helicopters.

Back at Bagram, the medical staff was preparing for mass casualties. Word had come through that Cunningham was among the dead, but information on casualties up to that point in the war had been notoriously unreliable.

When the casualties arrived, Burlingame and the other doctors went to work in the operating room. All the wounded troops Cunningham and the other medics had treated in the battle survived.

As head of the surgical team, Burlingame also was responsible for filling out the medical paperwork on the deceased.

One by one, the doctor unzipped the body bags. As he methodically noted the likely causes of death (most had died instantly or almost instantly from bullet or fragmentation wounds), he found himself slightly relieved that each corpse wasn’t Cunningham’s.

“I was hoping against hope that he’d survived,” he said. Then he unzipped the last body bag and found himself staring at Cunningham’s lifeless face. It was too much, even for the experienced trauma surgeon, and he broke down.

“This was probably the least professional moment of my career,” he said. “It was a very, very difficult moment.”

Sharp though the pain of Cunningham’s death was to those who knew him here, they also know that he is one of the main reasons Burlingame only had seven, not 17, body bags to open.

Cunningham’s chain of command has written him up for the Air Force Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor. In the supporting documentation, it says: “As a result of his extraordinary heroism, his team returned 10 seriously wounded personnel to life-saving medical care.”

Of the 21 Air Force Crosses awarded to enlisted airmen since the medal was created in 1960, 11 were presented to pararescuemen.

Cunningham’s colleagues console themselves with the knowledge that their friend died doing the job he loved.

“He was right in the thick of it, doing it right up to the end,” Scott said. “Jason was right where every PJ wants to be. He was where guys needed him, and he was saving lives.”

* * * * *


It's a harrowing story. One that should make anyone reflect on their service and the sacrifices, big and small, that we all make.


I'd like to once again apologize for sporadic content lately. Getting back from a deployment, prepping for an ORI and studying for promotion takes a lot of precedence over keeping up with an FA group.

No offense.



There is quite a bit going on for us though. DoS rollbacks, budget cuts, re-enlistments being denied in over-manned AFSCs, etc. Restructuring of the deployment buckets, retirement plans, medical benefits. It's all going crazy... and having listened to CSAF General Schwartz talk about these matters twice in the past month and a half, I can honestly say its not going to get better before it gets worse but at least efforts are being made.

So yeah. I'm still around. The group is still active. I still check for comments, notes, watchers etc as often as time allows.

As you were..........................

~The Management

Your humble moderator would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the staff writers of Stars and Stripes (Middle East Edition) for another compelling article...

http://www.stripes.com/news/sex-wit.....itary-1.162890

Reminding us all in their latest issue that, contrary to what some are thinking, sex with animals (IE: Bestiality) is still very much illegal in the United States Military.

The reason this was brought up (for those that don't want to follow the link) stems from a current bill working its way through Congress that will re-write Article 125 of the UCMJ which outlaws "unnatural carnal relations" between members of the same sex, opposite sex and animals. Article 125 is having to be revised due to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to allow for same-sex couples to engage in "unnatural" things like buttfucking.

Of course this lead some to question White House and Pentagon officials on whether this change up would allow for bestiality to occur among uniformed service members...

The answer, obviously, is no. As good ole Article 134, having to deal with actions bringing discredit to the Armed Forces or that which governs the maintaining of Good Order and Discipline, would still apply to cases of human/animal relations.


So for those of you out there that occasionally get the urge to pump yer dog or take the ole Red Rocket to the Moon, nein. Nein Nein Nein. It is still a violation of the good ole UCMJ.


Though some speculation was sent around my unit that there must be some relation between the printing of this article and all the stub-tailed Military Working Dogs we've seen in the AOR... easy access?


But in all seriousness...it would seem that someone was either curious to the fact or was secretly hoping to get to engage in bestiality, thus the need for clarification.



Finally: It should also be mentioned that the wording of Article 125 essential equates gay sex to bestiality. Or buttfucking in general, same or opposite sex, to bestiality.

That is all......

~The Management.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of those members of the Air Force (and any other of our Armed Forces watching this page).

Those of you back on the home front, make the most of the time you get with your loved ones and eat hearty. Those of us in various AORs around the globe, make the most of your DFAC dinner (its better than nothing, right?) and try to catch some football on AFN.

Above all, whatever you decide to give thanks to, I hope this day has meaning to all of you and that is a safe and happy holiday.

~The Management

Coming to you directly from an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia...


Rapidly approaching 1 November when all of our lovely uniform changes take affect.

Tis time to say Goodbye to the BDU, the black boot, the black and brown t-shirts and, unless you're in the AOR... no more Tan boots either.


I think it's time for a moment of silence for our long lost friend, the Battle Dress Uniform (as well as the end of Throwback Thursday). No more Squadron hats or Command patches or Wing patches. No more polishing boots or workin to get a legit crease in yer sleeve.

Part of me is ok with having an ABU...more specifically the cotton ABUs...even if the lack of ironing makes my collar in this light weight fucker look like I'm trying to take flight. It's less maintenance and all that plus I get the nifty pockets in the sleeve... *Air Dice*


Since we're on the topic as well.... I also miss the old school PT gear. The tshirt/shorts, sweatshirt/pants combo from when I first joined up. This track suit shit is ridiculous. And while they are trying, what with this nifty new sweatshirt (new to me anyway, since I still dont have one)... nothing will ever replace my comfy as fuck AF PT sweatpants.


I'm sure somebody somewhere thinks all these changes are for the best and studies indicate this that and the other about price, durability, effectiveness, yadayada.

But this particular AirMan misses the days of yore... of polishing boots and oversized sweats that just said AIR FORCE in big letters...and by the time you left Lackland, the asses were stained red from the exercise yards.

I know I'm about 2 weeks behind the curve on bringing this up but missions (and a lack of reliable comm in this particular part of the AOR) comes first.


Anyway.

September 20th came and went...and the military kept on functioning as it always does. Aside from an already obviously gay NCO bragging openly in the DFAC about her sexual preference that day, no significant changes seem to have taken place.

More to the point...in a conversation held with a SSgt in my shop that day, the point was further driven home that while now homosexuals can't be kicked out based on that fact alone, nothing has changed. It's not like there aren't any gays in the military and now suddenly we'll see an influx.

The point of showers was brought up and the counter-point was made that chances are, a gay man has already looked at your ass in the gang shower. And you're still here and nothing terrible happened. So why suddenly worry about it now?


Now...obviously this is still a touchy issue. Lets be honest...some will always be dead-set against it. Same with women in combat rolls, allowing women to serve at all, allowing blacks to serve, etc. All of these things have been challenged, broken down, and implemented without much detriment.

so...has this changed anyone's career thus far? Granted it's still in its infantile stages...but did anyone see an immediate impact? Anyone take action to let those they work with know? Anyone holding out for Same-Sex Couple benefits one day?


Just throwing it out there since it seems relevant again until the shine wears off of this new policy...

~The Management

Since it's officially 18 September here in sunny Kuwait...

I'd like to take this time to wish the United States Air Force a happy 64th Birthday.

CAKE AND ICE CREAM FOR ERRRRRYONE!!!

~The Management

Updating from the AOR.

Again I apologize for lack of recent updates in journals and content. Bouncing between various bases out here so my access to the net and any real down-time is spotty at best. And what I do get is usually spent on personal business not related to FA :P

Wish I was at Arifjan or Ali Asleem but my little slice of FOB heaven isn't that bad. We finally got hot meals a few days ago :D And we managed to get days off scheduled. Progress is being made.

Anyway. Just letting most of ya know that the group page is still active and as I keep saying, I'm workin on more updates, photos, etc...just gotta get the time to do it.

If anyone else is currently in the sandbox, drop a comment or a shout. Surely I can't be the only one taking part in all of this fun.

~The Management

Your humble narrator has been given a short-notice tasking to parts unmentionable for a duration yet to be determined.

Don't know what the internet situation will be like in my AOR (def wont be a swimming pools and hard shelter setting) but I'll do my best to keep things going here. Try to post more interesting stuff as it happens or comes along.

That being said: Congrats to all those that made Staff. If you didn't, better luck next time.

~The Management.

Your humble Narrator took his annual PT test this morning (I passed easily, so this isn't a rant about the process).

I know each base seems to do it differently and at this particular location, you are paired up by jersey number and count the other person's reps, then the person you counted for moves down and someone else counts for you, all under the watch of 2 to 3 HAWC employees.

The guy I counted for during both the push-up and the sit-up portion was, admittedly, not in the best shape. And while he managed to make it on the push-ups, he missed the sit-up minimum. By three. When the HAWC individual asked for his total, I gave it and thus...regardless of whatever else he did, the guy was going to get an UNSAT.


Now the question I pose to you, because it was minorly remarked upon when I returned to work was, should I have fudged the info to "help a brother out"? With as much weight as we currently have on the ole PT system, should I have let it slide? I personally don't think so. I didn't ask for help or expect a hand out. I did my test, got my scores, and passed legit. Yet some people say I shouldn't have been "an asshole"?

Was I an asshole for not spotting him 3? Should I reward an apparent lack of physical effort? Would any of YOU have given a false number, even if it was to help a buddy not fail?

Just something I thought up that might be relevant.

~The Management

Whether you are for it, against it, or indifferent (much like your humble narrator) to the change we are facing, 20 September 2011 marks an end to the ban on sexual orientation being a disqualifying factor in military service.

It should be marked as a time of progress and understanding of the changing times, much as the ban on African Americans and women being able to wear the uniform. Neither of these events have caused great calamity to befall the United States Military and allowing Homosexuals to serve will no doubt have little to no real affect on daily life throughout the DoD.


So I ask: Opinions? Thoughts? Concerns? Does anyone expect a drastic change to THEIR military life come the end of September? Or are most of those directly impacted by the changes still waiting on DOMA to go away so they can get spousal benefits for their same sex partner?


~The Management

Alarm Red/Blue, MOPP 4.

We've all heard it. We've all dealt with it. We've all had some IG stand there and time how long it takes us to put on the mask, gloves, etc. We've all sat on the floor or in a vehicle, sweatin balls and waiting for the varies stage of release and all the PAR/DART teams to do their thing.

But are these training scenarios really all that accurate? While understandable in a place like Korea where the threat is considered viable and constant, some are saying we should put less and less emphasis on "Cold War Tactics" and focus more soundly on Base Defense.

According to a recent conversation with a high-ranking officer, that is exactly what the Air Force is pushing toward. Of course there is no discernible time table, but before too long we should be seeing less and less MOPP training and more and more anti-aggressor training.

I'm sure there are varying opinions on the matter. Just because we haven't been "slimed" in recent memory doesn't mean its not impossible and we should prepare for the best. Which of course, I understand. But it seems we put so much emphasis on stanchion marking and proper placement of M8/M9 paper and in turn neglect other, more important aspects.

Thoughts?

~The Management

At the rate things are going, I see us becoming the Army Air Corps again... at least from a CE perspective.

Thoughts?

~The Management.

http://www.moody.af.mil/news/story......p?id=123257578

An update from the base site


Moody Airman dies during physical fitness training


5/26/2011 - MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --

In regards to a news release posted yesterday, Senior Airman Michael Hudson II died May 24.

Airman Hudson collapsed during squadron physical fitness training and was transported to South Georgia Medical where he was pronounced dead.

Airman Hudson, 22, of Indianapolis, Ind., was an aircraft fuels systems journeyman with the 23rd Maintenance Group. He entered the Air Force on June 17, 2008, and arrived at Moody on October 15, 2008.

The cause of death is under investigation.


Again I ask. Keep SrA Hudson and his family in your thoughts and/or prayers.

~The Management

From the Valdosta Daily Times...

Moody airman dies

VALDOSTA — An Airman assigned to the 23rd Maintenance Group at Moody Air Force Base collapsed on the base’s running trail during squadron physical fitness training this morning. The member was transported to South Georgia Medical Center, Valdosta, Ga., where the Airman was later pronounced dead.

The name of the deceased Airman is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

“Members of Team Moody are saddened by the tragic loss of one of our own and my thoughts and prayers go out to the Airman’s family and friends,” said Col. Gary Henderson, 23rd Wing commander. “The 23rd Wing will work with the Airman’s family and others affected by this loss to provide the support and any assistance they need.”

The cause of death is under investigation.


No specifics yet....but I'll update as more comes down.

Keep your thoughts and prayers with another of our Fallen. At home and abroad, we continue to give all in service of our country.

~The Management

Sorry I've been a bit laxed on the updates as of late. 2 TDYs sandwiched between 2 weeks of leave and working on a special duty package, I haven't had much time for furry group related happenings.

That being said, we all have the Critical Days of Summer briefings coming up, if you haven't had it already (mine is at 0545 tomorrow), and being that I am a safety rep, I feel I should mention to everyone, not just my fellow airmen but anyone else reading this, to be smart and safe as the weather warms up and we start branching out. It doesn't take that much extra effort to make whatever you happen to be doing safe/safer.

And while I doubt that this will realistically apply to anyone reading this...if any of you happen to make Master :P Congrats!

~The Management.

Anyone taken the CBT on ADLS yet? Anyone dreading having to do it?

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints?

~The Management

...for the 2 Airmen shot and killed at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany earlier this week.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123245189

Senior Airman Nicholas J. Alden , 25, of Williamston, S.C., assigned to the 48th Security Forces Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England.

Airman 1st Class Zachary R. Cuddeback, 21, of Stanardsville, Va., assigned to the 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.


To all Airmen past, present and future...we are all brothers and sisters. Every loss, no matter how remote or distant, has an impact.

Never Forgotten.