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Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 11:41 pm
by Jericho941
randy wrote:IIRC they basically grounded the F-22 fleet for a similar issue a few years ago.
The F-22 and F/A-18 both use the OBOGS system; I don't know what the T-45 uses.

AFAIK the F-15E's MSOGS has never had this kind of problem, but it may be bulkier and heavier. (The F-15C and A-10 are simply supplied with LOX bottles).

EDIT: Seems the F-35 also uses OBOGS but hasn't run into problems with it yet. Might have to ask some E&E guys about it.

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:21 am
by Jericho941
Johnnyreb wrote:The part that got me was how this has been a problem for 5 or 6 years. Since when has mighty America gotten to where something like this, that is a threat to the life of every pilot that flies that thing every time they fly it, can go on that long until the pilots have to mutiny en mass to get something done about it? Doesn't sound to me like one Admiral needs to get court martialed and locked up, but a bunch of them.

All that Naval aviation power won't mean much if people in numbers start saying "you know, I think I'll pass on being a naval aviator.".
It's not just Naval (and Marine) aviation. Air Force pilots are also voting with their feet. IIRC, the AF is currently short by about 1,000 pilots and 3,000 maintainers.

As for how this happens: trying to fight 2+ wars on the cheap for over a decade, while "maintaining global presence," while making budget cuts, while also trying to keep up with technology: new planes, new ships, new weapons, etc. Something's gotta give, and the military decided that they'd focus on firing people, instead of telling Congress they were going to have to demand less or pay for the services they demanded.

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:35 am
by Rich
Jericho941 wrote:As for how this happens: trying to fight 2+ wars on the cheap for over a decade, while "maintaining global presence," while making budget cuts, while also trying to keep up with technology: new planes, new ships, new weapons, etc. Something's gotta give, and the military decided that they'd focus on firing people, instead of telling Congress they were going to have to demand less or pay for the services they demanded.
Thus assuring our squeaky wheel squeaks sooner and louder. :shock:

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 2:37 am
by Netpackrat
According to this article, the T-45 also has OBOGS:

https://www.navytimes.com/story/militar ... /82255406/

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 4:24 pm
by skb12172
Rich wrote:
Jericho941 wrote:As for how this happens: trying to fight 2+ wars on the cheap for over a decade, while "maintaining global presence," while making budget cuts, while also trying to keep up with technology: new planes, new ships, new weapons, etc. Something's gotta give, and the military decided that they'd focus on firing people, instead of telling Congress they were going to have to demand less or pay for the services they demanded.
Thus assuring our squeaky wheel squeaks sooner and louder. :shock:
Could it also be that fewer potential recruits are interested in putting up with the PC culture of the modern military?

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 6:36 pm
by Jericho941
skb12172 wrote:
Rich wrote:
Jericho941 wrote:As for how this happens: trying to fight 2+ wars on the cheap for over a decade, while "maintaining global presence," while making budget cuts, while also trying to keep up with technology: new planes, new ships, new weapons, etc. Something's gotta give, and the military decided that they'd focus on firing people, instead of telling Congress they were going to have to demand less or pay for the services they demanded.
Thus assuring our squeaky wheel squeaks sooner and louder. :shock:
Could it also be that fewer potential recruits are interested in putting up with the PC culture of the modern military?
I doubt it. Generally, "PC culture" isn't high on the list of most veterans' complaints. The problem isn't with recruiting, it's with retention.

Playing stupid games with personnel has won the fabulous stupid prizes of: people being stuck doing the work of three with only their separation date as an end in sight, a depleted and inexperienced NCO corps, and officers pursuing greener pastures in the private sector.

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:11 pm
by Rich
The three day grounding of the T-45 has been extended to indefinitely as per Fox News.

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:29 pm
by skb12172
Well, that's just great. A perfect time fir us to piss off Russia and China by dicking around with Syria and NorK.

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:46 am
by Jericho941
skb12172 wrote:Well, that's just great. A perfect time fir us to piss off Russia and China by dicking around with Syria and NorK.
What in the blue hell does China have to do with anything?

I want to clarify something, in all my ranting of the criminal mismanagement of the US military post-9/11. Make no mistake: We are still the hardest motherfuckers the world has ever seen.

Russia's military is a joke. They're entirely reliant on conscripts, drug addiction is a huge problem, their NCO corps is virtually non-existent, their officers are doing it to check a box. Their little buffer zone trip into Ukraine has cost them dearly. Not in terms of military losses, but in faith with leadership in a military where precious little existed to begin with. If you're a Russian soldier and die fighting for a chunk of Ukraine, your death is written off as a training accident, which means your family is not entitled to the compensation they would receive if you'd suffered a combat death. Putin is a corrupt despot yearning for the glory days of the Soviet Union and he is living on borrowed time. Economically, they need the West far more than the West needs them.

I've mentioned before that Russia's found out the hard way that the whole "air expeditionary force" model isn't as easy as we make it look. Don't forget, please, that they are operating in an essentially permissive airspace to conduct airstrikes on hospitals. At our worst, we handily outperform their best. We already have more combat-ready F-35s than Russia has PAK-FAs planned. And their Navy really isn't in much better shape.

Seriously, if we had to draw a line in a sand with Russia and showed we were serious, either Russia would fold and fold hard, or their military would set mass desertion records and then they'd fold.

China's role in the middle east is non-existent. They are not going to go to bat for North Korea, either. If Kim Jong Whoever's-Not-Murdered decides that he's going to fuck up South Korea, he will, and he will reap the whirlwind while China looks the other way while rocking on their collective feet and whistling. They need us, they don't need North Korea for anything but Communist lip service, and they've been tired of footing that bill for a long time. The only thing China really uses the DPRK for anymore is a source of cheap labor. No; if we were to get into a pissing contest with China, it would be over Africa, which they are using as a bread basket.

Our military is, essentially, a mighty giant who's overworked and needs to have some suspicious lumps looked at. He's still the biggest, toughest bastard in the room but unless some serious issues are addressed, there is absolutely no guarantee things will stay that way.

Re: Navy/USMC trainer pilot strike.

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:30 pm
by blackeagle603
threadjack...

Your morning dose of Juvat
It's very humbling to have to ride in your aircraft as it's being towed back to parking.

But I did get a lesson on the 4 most useless things to a Pilot.

1) Altitude above you.
2) Fuel in the truck.
3) Runway behind you
4) 10 seconds ago.

3 & 4 were relevant.
RTWT