spec13fe

I've done a few in the 70's If I remember right it was part of the AC upgrade program in TAC or it may have been a Dyess thing. Did one for real in Korea in 77 or 78 during Team Spirit. Blow a lot of snow around but we got the engine started. Mike

The 345th went from CCK to Kadena in 1973. Being a part of the 374th TAW with wing HQ at Clark. Mike

I have no idea how many planes Yokota has now but in the late 70's we would have been hard pressed to launch many more that 7 planes. We had "channel'' missions, every week to Korea, Coast Guard support missions to Iwo and Marcus islands, plus a couple more "hard"missions, and we had to go to Clark or Korea for TAC training, since we didn.t have a drop zone or a short field. So that takes away about 6+ planes. Seem there was alway 1 or 2 in depot, and the ones out of commision for maintenance. We had some great maintainers but they could only do so much under the MAC rules of maintenance. Mike

Thank all you Veterans for your service. Will be attending a program put on at the local middle school. Mike

On the following map in getting directions enter Japan in A and China in B, scrool down to #43 > http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

I went to a veterans benifit program put on by the local VFW last night. If any of you are from Texas and have children under 26, they may be entitled to FREE tution under the Hazelwood act. Contact your local veterans counselor, or Texas veterans commission at www.tvc.state.tx.us for more info. There are also a couple of new diesese that have been add for agent orange. Mike Thompson

A professor at the Virginia Tech was giving a lecture on 'Involuntary Muscular Contractions' to his first year medical students.* *Realizing this was not the most riveting subject, the professor decided to lighten the mood slightly* *He pointed to a young woman in the front row and said, 'Do you know what your ass hole is doing while you're having an orgasm?'* *She replied, 'Probably deer hunting with his buddies.'* *It took 45 minutes to restore order in the classroom.........*

Found this on another board. 21 Little Rock C-130s take part in joint exercise Posted 10/19/2010 Updated 10/20/2010 Email story Print story 10/19/2010 - LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- A large-scale formation of 26 C-130 Hercules aircraft, including 21 from Little Rock Air Force Base, took off from the base Oct. 18 to take part in a Joint Readiness Training Center exercise. As part of the Army exercise, the 26 C-130s flew to Alexandria International Airport in Alexandria, La., to pick up approximately 1,700 Army 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade paratroopers and tons of cargo from Fort Bragg, N.C. "It's a cool opportunity. Flying in general has always been what we all want to do," said Capt. Morgan Musser, 61st Airlift Squadron pilot. "The culmination is getting to fly a 31-ship formation which is something you don't get to do very often. And to work with the Army is an opportunity to exercise today for what could be real world tomorrow." Joined by five C-17 Globemaster IIIs for a total massive formation of 31 cargo aircraft, they airdropped the Soldiers and supplies into the heart of the Army's exercise near Fort Polk. "I think this is great training. It's stuff you don't see often, especially with a 31-ship formation dropping personnel," said Staff Sgt. Greg Flores, 41st Airlift Squadron loadmaster. "When I became a loadmaster, I wanted to do things that immediately affected what was going on in the warzone. We normally carry cargo from place to place, but we don't [transport] personnel very often, so doing the JRTC is great training." The Joint Readiness Training Center provides realistic training using scenarios that allow integration between joint military organizations, host nations and civilian role-players. "It's the unknown that we train for, in case we have to get a mass amount of people there," said Captain Musser. "The large formation is how we'll be doing that so it's good we practice that once in a while now so we're not caught completely off-guard." The 26 aircraft were a combination of C-130E and H legacy models and the newest model, the C-130J. (Courtesy of the 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs) Mike Thompson

Thanks, I'm lost with the "new" Air Force. Mike

I know I have been retired a long time but what is enlisted aircrew training ??? Mike

I seem to recall something about "wing loading " with high OAT and a full fuel load, useing JP 4. I got a Qual 2 by MAC Stan Eval, more because I didn't know about it or where it was in the -1, we where still within limits or it would have been a Qual 3. Mike Thompson

Just wondering what the "hardware" sticking out the back is??? Mike Thompson That interested me to. As I remember, it was sent by someone who had flown it at Edwards and it was some kind of flight test? Bob

OR one flying over with a prop out of sync. I live under an airway so I hear several a week and after 30 years I still stop and try to find it.. Mike Thompson

My wife said "it won't happen" !!!

A good place to eat was at Kwajalein. I was at Bergstrom AFB,Tx when they were being considered for USAF chow hall of the year, The theme was Mexican Food CRS but think they came in #2. Mike Thompson

I don't remember the one at Takhi but there was moma Dang at Don Mong Airport she had sandwichs could ask for ham and chesse she would say GI crazy, I got ham sandwich I got chesse sandwich. no got ham and chesse. Mike Thompson

Tiny, Our condolences to you and your family, you are in our prayers. Mike & Ann Thompson

The YC14 is at Pima Air Museum and the YC15 is at Edwards. Mike

Welcome, lot us old folks and alot of young'un here. Lots of Herky knowledge. Mike

Will, I don't remember the BLU-82, but more that likely the ? SOS [can't remember the number] out of Kadena or the 21TAS out of Clark. We flew gunships for about 3 days in support of the Marines. Mike

Heres a link to some of the findings of the crash of Air Franc flight 447. Mike http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,679980,00.html#ref=nlint

Found this online, hope you like it also.. Mike Thompson You Can Leave The Military, But It Never Really Leaves You The Charlestown Post and Courier Thursday, March 4, 2010 Occasionally, I venture back out to the air base where I'm greeted by an imposing security guard who looks carefully at my identification card, hands it back and says, "Have a good day, tech sergeant." Every time I go back onto Charleston Air Force Base it feels good to be called by my previous rank, but odd to be in civilian clothes, walking among the servicemen and servicewomen going about their duties as I once did, years ago. The military, for all its flaws, is a comfort zone for anyone who has ever worn the uniform. It's a place where you know the rules and know they are enforced. A place where everybody is busy but not too busy to take care of business. Because there exists behind the gates of every military facility an institutional understanding of respect, order, uniformity, accountability and dedication that becomes part of your marrow and never, ever leaves you. Personally, I miss the fact that you always knew where you stood in the military, and who you were dealing with. That's because you could read somebody's uniform from 20 feet away and know the score. Service personnel wear their careers on their sleeves, so to speak. When you approach each other, you can read their name tag, examine their rank and, if they are in dress uniform, read their ribbons and know where they've served. I miss all those little things you take for granted when you're in the ranks, like breaking starch on a set of fatigues fresh from the laundry and standing in a perfectly straight line that looks like a mirror as it stretches to the endless horizon. I miss the sight of troops marching in the early morning mist, the sound of boot heels thumping in unison on the sidewalks, the bark of sergeants and the sing-song answers from the squads as they pass by in review. To romanticize military service is to be far removed from its reality, because it's very serious business, especially in times of war. But I miss the salutes I'd throw at officers and the crisp returns as we crisscrossed on the flight line. I miss the smell of jet fuel hanging heavily on the night air and the sound of engines roaring down runways and disappearing into the clouds. I even miss the hurry-up-and- wait mentality that enlisted men gripe about constantly, a masterful invention that bonded people more than they'll ever know or admit. I miss people taking off their hats when they enter a building, speaking directly and clearly to others and never showing disrespect for rank, race, religion or gender. Mostly I miss being a small cog in a machine so complex it constantly circumnavigates the Earth and so simple it feeds everyone on time, three times a day, on the ground, in the air or at sea. Mostly, I don't know anyone who has served who regrets it, and doesn't feel a sense of pride when they pass through those gates and re-enter the world they left behind with their youth.

Have got rid of many bar napkins with phone numbers on them on last leg of a TDY that way ! Mike

Got this from Spectre Assn web page. Memorial and burial of the remains of Capt Curtis D Miller, Co-Pilot of AC 044 on the 29th of March at 2 PM at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery near the old Dallas NAS. The Wife is also having a gathering at the Biggers Funeral Home in Lakeworth TX on Mar 28 between 2 & 4 PM. Mike

Sam gave me several checkrides when I was at Yokota. Always learned something new when I flew with him. He knew the nuts and bolts of the C 130. The crash he was involved in at Kadena was a bad one, when the nose gear broke lose it hit the LOX converter oxygem and Hyd. fluid caused a "blowtorch" fire. Mike Thompson