tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post8659684547853548432..comments2024-03-28T16:26:35.679-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: Last Guy on BaseOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-88277912129471753652014-12-31T22:07:47.794-08:002014-12-31T22:07:47.794-08:00PS: a back story: I only knew Col Brett was headed...PS: a back story: I only knew Col Brett was headed to the 81st because I was among several jr officers chosen to brief him when he toured the 366th at DaNang. I already had my orders to the 81st and my Sq commander said: Well, VX, Col Brett here is shortly to assume command of the 81st, so he'll be your boss. (Thanx, Col, I thought, nothing like being singled out--a marked man--known by name and face by your Wing Co before you even hit base! Thanx a lot for the favor.. LOL)virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-80322008681180475572014-12-31T20:43:04.479-08:002014-12-31T20:43:04.479-08:00RE: ORIs/ They could be HIGHLY political, as coul...RE: ORIs/ They could be HIGHLY political, as could appointment of the Wing CO. On route to RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge from DaNang I found out that an O-6 head of the HQ 7th AF F-4 Fighter tactics Directorate, Devol "Rocky" Brett would proceed me to East Anglia as 81st TFW Wing Co there. The word was out that he was a "fast burner" and obviously either had friends in high places or the current 81stTFW Wing VC was a hated man (or both) as Rocky was shoe-horned into the position out-ranking the Current O-6 Wing VC (who customarily ascended to the Wing Co slot all things being equal) BY A SINGLE DAY! LOL! Well, the grapevine had it that all Rocky had to do was pass the next ORI in 6 moths and he was GONE upstairs w. his first star. (ret as an O-9) Sho 'Nuff, that's exactly what happened. But let me tell you how the Wing passed--at least in my own little part of the 81st TFW over at the 78thTFS @ RAF Woodbridge. Being a designated "independent" squadron we were a minature Wing at a time when almost all functions in the USAF were concentrated at Wing level. Thus we had our own Maint Officer, Intel Off, with a full Intel shop to inclu Oprational Intel, Targets Shop and Imagery Shop--each w. its own NCOIC. Only problem was that, due to Vietnam, the Intel shop was only 40% manned and only the <i>most vital</i> TS stuff was properly filed and accounted for. There were literally tons of un-filed classified documents--secret, Classified, NOFORN, etc sitting stacked around. The only thing actually up-to-date were our nuclear tgt folders. Thus the Intel shop could have gotten HUNDREDS of administrative "write-ups".and a massive FAIL. But guess what? The ONLY write-up the Intel shop got (The intell Officer laughed his arse off) was "not enough chairs in the mission debrief room for all the pilots." Was the "fix" for Rocky in? Does the sun rise in the east?<br /><br />But lets go to the rest of the story. A year later with an "unpopular" Wing Co who was rumored to be on the way out with the big kids at HQ. USAFE along comes the SAME ORI team (personnel-wise) with the same eyes, but this time our intel shop was 90% manned with the youngest and sharpest CMsgt in the entire Air Force as overall NCOIC. The place had been completely turned around and the same Intel Officer in charge who had passed with flying colors the previous year. There was very little to be found wrong as compared to the previous year. But THIS TIME Eighteen (18--count 'em) Major deficiencies ans in writing were found and 36<br /> (count em) minor deficiencies were found. Natch, the Wing flunked (not because of the 78th but across-the-board negative findings in EVERY dept in the Wing.) and the Wing Co was fired. ORIs political? Perish the thought!virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-70704485891066600372014-12-31T13:36:26.101-08:002014-12-31T13:36:26.101-08:00Think I ended up with 6 and the one I included was...Think I ended up with 6 and the one I included was the last. There was an AF truism, that the ORI team was going to keep digging until they found something, so it was better to leave something minor for them to "find". Then they would stop. If they kept digging, who knows what they might find.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-6838294825973602932014-12-31T10:52:29.383-08:002014-12-31T10:52:29.383-08:00Negative on the T-38 at Holloman. Flew B-47s and l...Negative on the T-38 at Holloman. Flew B-47s and later BUFFs over SEA out of Guam.Dusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11174387033075095930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-38858167489026626152014-12-31T07:47:16.707-08:002014-12-31T07:47:16.707-08:00Stories of the ORI - yours is a good one. I manage...Stories of the ORI - yours is a good one. I managed to go through only one ORI in my 21 years in the Air Force. I was in the right place at the right time and then got hooked up with a Joint unit that didn't play those silly AF games. When I got back to the real AF it was a squadron that had just completed an ORI and I was safe for another few years. At my 17 year mark I participated in my first ORI. I was an E-7 and most of the junior sergeants had 2 or more ORI's under their belts and I was pretty clueless on what to expect so I had my people doing way too much training on things we didn't need. It turned out good - the only "finding" was that we needed better documentation with all of the extra safety equipment we had.tsquaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02737130316088634658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-17068931429266446622014-12-30T17:09:19.806-08:002014-12-30T17:09:19.806-08:00Yep, dull red as a matter of fact... :-)Yep, dull red as a matter of fact... :-)Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-10295094690113014542014-12-30T12:53:21.487-08:002014-12-30T12:53:21.487-08:00Thanks. Ask him if he was ever at Holloman as an ...Thanks. Ask him if he was ever at Holloman as an AT-38 guy. If so, it's almost certain that I knew him. While fact checking for the post, I watched a few SR-71 you tubes and one of them mentioned that there were only 150, or so, pilots that ever flew it. Thought that was interesting. There were two from Holloman, one is mentioned in the post.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-16020177621180887842014-12-30T10:30:06.859-08:002014-12-30T10:30:06.859-08:00Another great story Juvat. On of my aviating buds ...Another great story Juvat. On of my aviating buds here is a former Habu driver. These days he's flying his Husky. Great guy and reconteur. If I am good he lets me tag along in the Cat.Dusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11174387033075095930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-2374825584975811132014-12-30T08:21:04.394-08:002014-12-30T08:21:04.394-08:00Well, thanks for the vote of confidence though. N...Well, thanks for the vote of confidence though. Not sure there's enough "there" there, though with OldNFO and Brigid setting the bar.<br /><br /> Hope you get to feeling better quickly. So far (fingers crossed) haven't been bitten by that particular bug. Maybe working in a building populated with about a 1000 4' germ factories (AKA an elementary school) has pumped up my immune system. Here's hoping.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-3404914134195853682014-12-30T07:49:20.831-08:002014-12-30T07:49:20.831-08:00Grossly unfair of me to throw down the book gauntl...Grossly unfair of me to throw down the book gauntlet. I'm intensely selfish when I've got the flu and could have used a good eight hours of "there I was" yesterday. Still...PrairieAdventurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06466447251827774900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-4363764002020749612014-12-29T16:53:04.064-08:002014-12-29T16:53:04.064-08:00Thanks.Thanks.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-46509381225946677882014-12-29T16:26:11.462-08:002014-12-29T16:26:11.462-08:00Great pictures. Great story.Great pictures. Great story.Marc C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05593002055776765614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-60851248075421306532014-12-29T15:31:57.743-08:002014-12-29T15:31:57.743-08:00Yeah, it would have been significantly less fun to...Yeah, it would have been significantly less fun to be the permanent SOF during an ORI. Hustled? You "could even say it glowed". 9M had a target lock WAY out of range.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-1145335233157612522014-12-29T15:24:25.107-08:002014-12-29T15:24:25.107-08:00Like I said, I knew what it was from Chamber Train...Like I said, I knew what it was from Chamber Training in UPT, but "hurts bad" doesn't translate to the reality of "I've got to get back down fast, or I'm going to lose consciousness" pain.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-40950083675544289362014-12-29T15:22:36.461-08:002014-12-29T15:22:36.461-08:00Fastest there's ever been.Fastest there's ever been. juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-347809103276513242014-12-29T15:21:21.974-08:002014-12-29T15:21:21.974-08:00Only if you flubbed the intercept, then they were ...Only if you flubbed the intercept, then they were ALL over it. But, if you called a "Kill", it was kinda silent.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91715288880961272014-12-29T14:29:46.628-08:002014-12-29T14:29:46.628-08:00At least it happened in Oki, NOT in Kwang Ju! And...At least it happened in Oki, NOT in Kwang Ju! And yes, the Habu could 'hustle'!!!Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-65961604000747689652014-12-29T14:08:06.885-08:002014-12-29T14:08:06.885-08:00A book? Excellent idea. Over to you Juvat...A book? Excellent idea. Over to you Juvat...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-7866200430584322222014-12-29T13:56:42.471-08:002014-12-29T13:56:42.471-08:00Another great one. You've got skills, juvat. I...Another great one. You've got skills, juvat. I'm hoping there's a book in the works.<br /><br />Your dental pain reminds me of the squeeze I got from flying with just a touch of incipient sniffles. It's all fun and games until the ENT is hammering a spike through your gumline and into the ol' maxillary sinus.PrairieAdventurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06466447251827774900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-71311242582401441752014-12-29T11:23:07.475-08:002014-12-29T11:23:07.475-08:00Great tale. Did the SR-71 guys do or say anything...Great tale. Did the SR-71 guys do or say anything while all this was going on, or did they just ignore it?c w swansonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02735507642689652780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-39084826632251041872014-12-29T09:29:35.737-08:002014-12-29T09:29:35.737-08:00ORI. A term I had hoped never to hear again. But t...ORI. A term I had hoped never to hear again. But there it is, they happened, they weren't fun but they were necessary.<br /><br />Great story Juvat. I remember the SR-71s on Okinawa. A magnificent aircraft, fastest thing I've ever seen.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-23154947274295489702014-12-29T07:01:18.326-08:002014-12-29T07:01:18.326-08:00Yeah, you had to be pretty much directly in front ...Yeah, you had to be pretty much directly in front of them in order to make it work. Any angular displacement at the closing velocity would be more than the missiles could hack especially at that altitude. But, other than this incident, the mission was fun to fly.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91956096692993822352014-12-29T06:46:44.878-08:002014-12-29T06:46:44.878-08:00I saw an SR-71 on radar in the E-2 a couple times ...I saw an SR-71 on radar in the E-2 a couple times in the 70's, always around Kadena. They're moving so fast that they look really weird on the display. I can't imaging trying to vector anyone to them fast enough to do any good.Poguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14844435158421387888noreply@blogger.com