Roy

Doesn't look that way. There are 12 retiree paydays this year. The date for the December check is 31 December because the 1st of January is a holiday. The schedule for retiree paydays is here: http://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/manage/payschedule.html

They may or may not have captured any aircraft with US markings but they did indeed capture many operational VNAF aircraft, which we had supplied. Some were even brand new, such as the A-37s at Da Nang.

According to this - http://www.3389thpts.com/3389thpts/S_2.html - and this - http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19890039000 - AF serial number 57-0460, the first to excape, is stored at the Smithsonian Museum.

A large number were flown out to Thailand by South Vietnamese crews trying to escape with as many people as they could carry. By the end of the day on April 29, 1975, 165 VNAF aircraft were at U Tapao, including 31 F-5s, 27 A-37 Dragonflys, nine C-130A Hercules transports, 45 UH-1 Bell helicopters, 16 C-47s, 11 A-1E and H Skyraiders, six C-7A Caribou transports, three AC-119 gunships, 14 Cessna U-17 Skywagons, three O-1 Bird Dogs, and a handful of civilian aircraft.

The change from TCW/TCS to TAW/TAS was officially in 1966. It took some time to take hold in each unit, changing patches, letterhead, etc. The "Objective Wing organization" effort, which was the change from TAS/TAG/TAW to AS/AG/AW, started in 1991 and was supposedly complete in 1992. This was not a mass change all at one time.

The Air Force changed from AF Serial Number to SSN on July 1, 1969. Army OV-1 Mohawks.

Is this it, Don? Crazy-assed loadmasters - never know what they will do next.

As a loadmaster, the only thing that really scared me about LAPES was what was going on in front of 245.

I have an idea. It's some model makers idea of what he or she thought a C130 looked like. Having said that, I'm like the others here: 1. Never saw a real C130 that looked like that. 2. Not impressed with you.

I made the trip to Wethersfield for Flintlock 1980. If I remember right Randy Livingston was the engineer. My crew had the honor of going for a hike in the Black Forest for several days as part of the E&E exercise. Randy was with Koski when 6581 crashed at Ramstein in 1981. Lost Frank Porritt and Keith Kessock on that one as well.

Wasn't Percy one of Sully's trainees? There is a faint picture in the back of my mind with those two in it.

Yeah, I know what you mean George. Getting old ain't for wussies. Hope the x-ray thing turns out to be nothing.

George, as far as the VA is concerned you are considered to have been exposed to the rainbow herbicides, all those pretty colors, if you were in-country. Since they can't tell who was or who wasn't exposed they presume anyone who can prove they were there was exposed.

Could be but the deductibles have been in place for years. I travel about 300 miles round trip every three months for an appointment and the deductible is applied each time I go. As far as I am concerned anything is far more than I ever expected. I certainly don't get a reimbursement for traveling to a civilian doctor.

The deductible has been in place for years. When the reimbursement rate was increased a couple of years ago the deductible also changed. From the VA website: Beneficiary Travel Benefits Q. Can I get travel pay? A. You may be eligible for VA beneficiary travel benefits for VA health care services if ■you have a service-connected (SC) rating of 30 percent or more, or ■you are traveling for treatment of a SC condition, or ■you receive a VA pension, or ■your income does not exceed the maximum annual VA pension rate, or ■you are traveling for a scheduled compensation or pension examination, Q. Is there a deductible? A. In most cases, travel benefits are subject to a deductible. Deductibles do not apply for compensation and pension examinations, travel by an ambulance or a specially equipped van. ** Be sure you complete your means test annually as it may change your deductible requirement.** Q. How much would I get? A. Mileage Rates: General Travel ……………………41.5 cents/per mile Scheduled appointments qualify for round-trip mileage. Unscheduled visits may be limited to return mileage only. Deductible: ………………….…………$3.00 one-way ($6.00 round trip) Deductibles do not apply for compensation and pension examinations, travel by an ambulance or a specially equipped van and/or those veterans in receipt of VA pension.