This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Air Force

  • Life in Hell; The Air Force’s “Tops in Blue”

    Life in Hell; The Air Force’s “Tops in Blue”

    TIB_down_range_50

    First, the “Tops in Blue” website says this about the group;

    Tops In Blue is an elite group of talented vocalists, musicians, dancers, comedians, and magicians and that perform for military personnel and their families throughout the world. The Tops In Blue team is comprised of active duty personnel who audition for the opportunity to perform.

    So, now that you know who we’re talking about, apparently that life isn’t as glamorous as you might think, according to an article in the Air Force Times;

    Former members of Tops in Blue said the pace of touring and rehearsing is grueling, and sleep is hard to come by.

    “I wish it were 12-hour days,” Staff Sgt. Brittney Perry said when asked if Tops in Blue members regularly worked 12 hours a day. “It was normally 18 hours. It was hell. There was one [stretch] we pulled 36 hours. Because of a lack of sleep, our entire team was sick. There were a lot of injuries. A lack of sleep, it just messes with your body.”

    Yeah, I’d rather be doing route recons around Kabul, it seems less strenuous to clear IEDs. But these guys aren’t doing the Air Force’s image any favors;

    Perry, who was in Tops in Blue during 2011, said that a single day’s work meant members — both performers and technicians — often would have to load equipment and set up, perform, tear the stage down and reload it on the trucks, and get back on the road to arrive at the next stop on the tour.

    Getting sleep on the bus often proved difficult, she said. Members would rotate through shifts in which they sat with the drivers of the bus, two 18-wheel trucks and an SUV to talk to the drivers to help keep them awake. The tours often pulled into hotels late at night, only allowing members to catch a few hours of sleep before having to get up in the morning to do it all over again, she said.

    Whew! Sounds brutal. Those night spent in 3-star hotels must be tough, too. Of course, they volunteer for this duty, I guess it’s the Air Force equivalent to volunteering for the Ranger Regiment. The photo above that I snagged from the Tops in Blue website is entitled “Tops in Blue Down Range”, so….

    Thanks to Bobo for the link.

  • Air Force PJs saving the world

    Air Force PJs saving the world

    Thunder and Lightning over Airzona

    Eggs sends us a link to af.mil which reports the story of several Air Force pararescuemen who were staffing a display at Davis-Monathan Air Force Base’s Thunder and Lightning over Arizona Open House when they had to leap into action to rescue a fellow who was there for the show;

    “We were all working the static display,” Adam said. “The first thing we heard was somebody screaming and a guy just fell over. Jesse and I both ran up to him, followed by everyone else.”

    When they arrived to the patient, they noticed he was unconscious. Since the gentleman had fallen and hit his head, the PJs initially checked to make sure he hadn’t received any injury from the fall then rolled him onto his back to further assess.

    Jesse recalled the patient making noises that sounded like his tongue was blocking his airway.

    “We rolled him onto his right side to protect his airway,” Jesse said. “As we rolled him over, we witnessed him stop breathing. Adam checked his pulse, which was weak. At that point, we yelled back for gear.”

    Kenny brought over a backboard, oxygen, medical pack and monitor.

    “Once we realized he wasn’t breathing anymore, we inserted a nasal pharyngeal airway to keep the tongue from blocking his airway, but that wasn’t helping,” Kenny said. “NPA is a small tube that goes in the nose.”

    They started ventilating him using a bag valve mask (BVM) and a face mask attachment while the King laryngeal tube was set up.

    “We determined that he wasn’t breathing on his own and kept checking his pulse,” Adam said. “We all verified that he had no pulse and at that point started CPR while a few of the other guys started to intubate him.”

    You should click over and read the rest.

  • About That USAFR Lt Col With A CIB . . . .

    Multiple TAH commenters have raised questions about the guy in this photo:


     

    The man in the photo is the late Lt Col Paul A. Bailey, USAFR (Ret).  He passed away last year.  You’ve probably heard about him from this (or a similar) article.

    The specific question most had about him was, “A CIB??  In the USAFR?  What the . . . ?”

    It turns out the guy’s CIB is in fact legit.

    Prior to entering the USAFR, Bailey served in the US Army – in the 82nd Airborne.  He was among those deployed to the Dominican Republic in 1965, and was awarded the CIB there.  The FOIA reply from NPRC regarding his Army records can be viewed here.

    Whether his CIB is authorized for wear on the USAF uniform he’s wearing in the picture is a question someone with a USAF background will have to answer; my background was Army, so I’m not up on the “ins and outs” of what sister-service badges/decorations/badges are and are not authorized for wear on USAF uniforms.   But unlike many fakes and frauds we see here, this man’s CIB  is  legitimate.

    It’s kinda nice to see a “corner-case” claim turn out to be the truth for a change.  I think that now makes about 3 such “corner-case” claims I’ve seen turn out to be legit in the last 2 years.

    Rest in peace, Lt Col Paul A. Bailey.  You’ve earned it – honorably.

  • Air Force fires officers for nuke scandal

    Greg and PintoNag send us links to the story that the Air Force has fired nine “commanders” and will discipline a dozen more in regards to the ballistic weapons force scandal that rocked Malmstrom Air Force Base’s 341st Missile Wing earlier this year, according to the Associated Press;

    Investigators determined that the cheating, which officials originally said happened in August or September last year, began as early as November 2011 and continued until November 2013, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal details before James’ announcement. It involved unauthorized passing of answers to exams designed to test missile launch officers’ proficiency in handling “emergency war orders,” which are messages involving the targeting and launching of missiles.

    When the cheating was first revealed, Air Force leaders condemned it as violating the most basic Air Force values. They also suggested that it reflected an unhealthy pressure from commanders to achieve perfect test scores.

    The commander of the wing, Col. Robert Stanley, was allowed to resign, of course.

  • The Lovely Valkyrie

    No, I’m not talking about the TAH commenter by that name – though based on her photo in the Member’s Gallery, she indeed qualifies. (smile)  I’m talking about this lovely lady.



     

    Valkyrie’s story is IMO worth telling.  I’ll tell it briefly here.

    . . .

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  • The Suntan We Didn’t Get

    Longtime TAH readers know I have a soft spot for history, and in particular that supporting the intel and military communities.  Well, here’s another blurb on a bit of less-known aviation history.

    Most of us know about Lockheed’s Skunk Works.   Many know that the Skunk Works produced a number of pioneering high-performance aircraft for the US:  the F-80, the F-104, the U-2, the A-12 (the design for which later was modified to become the SR-71), and the F-117.  I’ve written a brief article about the U-2 and A-12 previously, and a somewhat longer one about the A-12.

    However, between the U-2 and the A-12/SR-71 there was another Skunk Works project,  It was the original successor to the U-2.  Due to insurmountable issues, it was never produced.

    The aircraft design was the CL-400.  The project was code-named “Suntan”.

    . . .

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  • Congress to Pentagon; Stop the uniform madness

    Mark sends us a link to Military Times which reports that the new defense authorization bill for 2014 contains a paragraph which addresses the utility uniform differences between the services, that they should all stop wasting billions of dollars to design and then scrap their forays into martial fashion;

    The compromise defense authorization bill for 2014 includes a provision that directs the Defense Department to “to adopt and field a common combat and camouflage utility uniform, or family of uniforms, for specific combat environments, to be used by all members of the armed forces.”

    And if that becomes law, as appears likely, it would change the future image of the joint force.

    For years, lawmakers have been annoyed by the military services’ increasingly elaborate wardrobe of camouflage variants designed for the same forward-deployed environments. Over the past decade, the four services have developed at least seven new combat utility uniforms, each with its own unique design.

    Yeah, I don’t get it, either. Back in my day, sonny, the Ranger Battalions wore camouflaged jungle fatigues and the 82d had them for a field-only uniform. For that reason, seeing a clerk in camouflage is strange and out of sorts. Maternity BDUs had the same effect on me. So having the Navy and the Air Force in their completely worthless camouflage seems even more odd. And of course, there are the Marines and their MARPATs;

    This year, the Joint Staff’s top enlisted adviser, Marine Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, said the mix of uniforms makes the U.S. military look like a “Baskin-Robbins” and signaled his support for a common uniform.

    But Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos recently said preserving the Corps’ MARPAT pattern is a top priority and declared that his service will stick to it “like a hobo to a ham sandwich.”

    Yeah, that’s helpful. I’m glad that Amos finally found something he can get adamant about, but it’s unfortunate that the something is fashion.

  • Air Force officer saving the world

    According to the Military Times, a Air Force officer who asked to be not identified was stuck on a bench while his wife was in the dressing room at TJ Maxx. He was probably stuck carrying her purse around, too (I’m just guessing). Meanwhile, a thief threw a brick through a glass jewelry case and scooped up some loot – $25k worth.

    The officer, stationed at Joint Base McGuire Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, said he got up and walked toward the jewelry counter to get a good description of the thief for police.

    “As soon as he took off running, it just happened. My intent was not, ‘I’m going to take down this robber.’ He took off and I just reacted,” the officer said.

    The video captures the officer, who is in civilian clothes, sprinting toward the masked man and tackling him to the ground. The officer guesses he intended to restrain the man. When they fell to the floor, they rolled into a small display rack.

    Like fricken Batman! One minute he was waiting for his wife, wishing he’d brought his Kindle, the next he’s tackling a violent vandal. Mr. Thug got away, but he left his booty behind.

    Thanks to Old Trooper and Chief Tango for the link