C-5 Galaxy, air interceptor

This past drill weekend, I had to do a Self Aid Buddy Care CBT, and attend a few hours hands on course that was as basic as basic gets. Forget the fact that I've been an active EMT for a little over 20 years and in the fire service, nope, can't "CLEP out of it".

One of my favorite things about the FAA is that in 2 1/2 years I've been in I haven't had a single CBT reminding me not to rape my coworkers while the AF felt like I needed to be reminded every 6 months, plus again at every commanders call, which we're always on Friday at 1500 after working a day shift.
 
To be fair, I remember sitting around, BS'ing with some F-16CM dudes for a couple weeks on a det off the boat. They were all bummed that they were at this particular place in CENTCOM vs being in Afghanistan (like we were at the time). Long story short, we kicked off OIR about a month later, and I heard plenty of those same voices getting their dumpex on within the next few months. Never know when you will be in the right place at the right time, unless of course you are on a CVN, in which case you probably will be.
 
One of my favorite things about the FAA is that in 2 1/2 years I've been in I haven't had a single CBT reminding me not to rape my coworkers while the AF felt like I needed to be reminded every 6 months, plus again at every commanders call, which we're always on Friday at 1500 after working a day shift.

The FAA apparently doesn't treat everyone like a bunch of E-2s
 
To be fair, I remember sitting around, BS'ing with some F-16CM dudes for a couple weeks on a det off the boat. They were all bummed that they were at this particular place in CENTCOM vs being in Afghanistan (like we were at the time). Long story short, we kicked off OIR about a month later, and I heard plenty of those same voices getting their dumpex on within the next few months. Never know when you will be in the right place at the right time, unless of course you are on a CVN, in which case you probably will be.

My recollection of 2012-13 Afghanistan went from "this is awesome!" To "I will burn this place down if you waste our time and effort and more importantly put our lives at risk so we can not do our jobs!" At Shank the term "shooting war" mostly meant we got to watch them implace S-5 rockets in the same places day after day from the PGSS camera and then the shooting would happen but from them and we weren't allowed to react.

Iraq has just over the last few months gone kinetic for Apaches. Prior to that there have been entire battalions sitting in Iraq/Kuwait not even flying, just here in case but prevented by political leadership from actually doing anything. The guys I know that did the deployments between when the "war ended" until it got busy over here with the Mosul offensive did not in any way enjoy that time deployed.

The part that really sucks though, is the 3-4 months of your "home time" spent anywhere but because we have to rebuild your unit so we can deploy it again.





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My only memory of Shank was a near blue on blue when the FOB/base defenses fired at some A-10's doing some sim CAS with our JTAC. All of that absurdity/general retardation aside, yes, you read that right………..training CAS in a war zone……...
 
My only memory of Shank was a near blue on blue when the FOB/base defenses fired at some A-10's doing some sim CAS with our JTAC. All of that absurdity/general retardation aside, yes, you read that right………..training CAS in a war zone……...

We downloaded live ordnance to take on TP rounds and conduct a "gunnery."

It wouldn't have been so absurd.... if we weren't simultaneously the QRF line for the night in RC-South. I guess they figured 4 live hellfires was fine if anything kicked off and worst case we could beat them to death with the slugs from the Gun.

Don't even get me started on that damn C-Ram system. Occasionally they'd want to have us fly so they could validate it tracking. So here you are flying around, watching a 6 barreled anti aircraft gun follow you with the promise of some guy that it's totally safe. Seems legit...

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