Air Force-Underfunded and Overstressed- Article

[bossi]

Wow - what an informative thread for a piece of cargo like me ... thanks, guys - this has been both educational and enjoyable (and I hope somebody who's name rhymes with Hillier reads your discussion about the Air Force blue on green garbage - that's a crock - now I have a much better insight into why some countries have "Army Aviation" and "Fleet Air Arms" ... so their tactical avn doesn't get screwed over by the zoomies, etc. ...)

 

[Scoobs]

Thanks Infanteer, it fixed the problem...

 

[Sapper6]

*edit* -- S6, I forgot about the 159th!   Did the 47's have refuelling booms?   If they didn't, then you're right, it was the 159th, not 3/160.

  Ah for the days when we could smoke a few machines in behind the Carelton Mess for TGIF...good time had by all. *sniff, sniff*

Cheers,
Duey

Duey,

      The Chinooks we were in were painted OD and did not have the refuelling booms, so I think they were from the 159th.  However, along with the PaveLows there was a Company of Chinooks in Kandahar that were painted black and had the refuelling booms - they must have been from the 160th.  As an aside:  US Avn crews slept alongside us in tents and ate the same MREs as their buddies in the 101st AB Div and we did in the 3 PPCLI BG.  They were very mission focused and had callsigns like "Killer Spade" and "Black Stallion"...very cool.  You gotta like the Americans - they haven't lost the warrior spirit!

S6

 

[Scoobs]

Sapper6,  folks in Tac Hel Sqns in Canada also tent it with the Army when on Ex or deployed.  Primary example was in Haiti and on the last winter ex I was on (about 1 month ago) with the RCR.  As for call signs, Tac Hel uses functional call signs that have a meaning and everyone knows that.  As for the use of names, that is for the Americans to use.  What good would using names instead of callsigns be for new pers coming in or interoperability with other units or Sqns?  Not much.

 

[Sapper6]

Sapper6,   folks in Tac Hel Sqns in Canada also tent it with the Army when on Ex or deployed.   Primary example was in Haiti and on the last winter ex I was on (about 1 month ago) with the RCR.   As for call signs, Tac Hel uses functional call signs that have a meaning and everyone knows that.   As for the use of names, that is for the Americans to use.   What good would using names instead of callsigns be for new pers coming in or interoperability with other units or Sqns?   Not much.

Scoobs,

My beef has never been with the Cdn Tac Hel folks.  I've worked alongside the Tac Hel folks for the last 19 yrs and agree that our guys don't mind "roughing it" when they have to. [Aside: the popcorn machine in Wainwright with 408 THS was pushing it a bit IMHO]  Further, I would be the first to admit that I want the pilot and crew flying me to be well rested and not suffering from food poisoning.  So, I've got no problem when they set up their modular camp and bring out the beds with mattresses with cocoa matting on the floor.  What I had a problem with was the Herc pilots at Camp Mirage refusing to move into a purpose-built (ATCO style) camp during Op APOLLO, instead staying in a 4 Star Hotel.

Finally, I will admit that my comments about US Avn units and their call-signs during my experiences in Afghanistan could have been taken out of context.  I was only spurring Duey on as he sounds like he has an affinity to the American chopper pilots.  I agree that our callsigns work just fine and that is why we didn't change our Army callsigns to reflect what our American Brigade was using....much to their chagrin.

S6

p.s. BTW my current nickname on this forum is a play on the American callsign system...

 

[Good2Golf]

Scoobs, the guys weren't using "Hotel" callsigns in the Boz, IIRC the guys (other than 408'ers) thought the call-sign they were "stuck" with was not the most...er...can one say "hu-ah"-ish?  "Gander" doesn't quite seem to rank up there with "Black Stallion" or "Killer Spade".

S6, it would be nice if aviation were supported by both Army and AF in Canada as the US Army and Marine aviators are...*sigh*.  Some guys may argue that a call sign is just a phrase to identify, but our friends to the South often use them as a bit of a rallying/motivational factor.  LOL Imagine if you were forced to use a call sign like "Fluffy" or "Lym Pidik"... ;D

Cheers,
Duey