What an awesome display.....

[mcdonl]

Hey SSN... it was up in Hollis. I Live on the game preserve side of the facility. I am considering doing some shooting the end of the month for my birthday if so I will post the information.

 

[CW-op]

In 1956, my wife and I were coming up out of Rapid City, S.D. on our motorcycle, eastbound on US16. As we got up high enough to look out at ground level, I saw the runway for [I think Ellsworth AFB] off to the left, with a smoking Buff at the far end. Thinking that it would be fun to watch, I pulled over to the shoulder and stopped. We watched as the plane approached, first the wings lifted, then the wing wheels disappeared, then it broke free of the ground and soon passed us directly overhead at what I would guess to have been about 400 feet. We were in instant pain from the noise. We liked the show, but would not do it again without 5 sets of earmuffs each. Neat.

 

[Tim the student]

...with a smoking Buff...

I've heard it referenced here a couple of times, but can someone tell me what a Buff is? Slang for a B52?

 

[Trebor]

I've heard it referenced here a couple of times, but can someone tell me what a Buff is? Slang for a B52?

BIG
UGLY
FAT
FELLOW (only it's not *really* "fellow'. That's the polite substitution. I'm sure you can figure it out...)

 

[ghoster]

i worked on projects at wright patt for 2 1/2 years and saw all kinds of really cool stuff.

they bring in eastern seaboard stuff when hurricaines come so i got to see some of the most diverse stuff we got.

when the base would go to charlie 2 i would be stuck with the building security team as i was only civilian in that particular building in( area b ).dont know what they do in that building but it took a year to get me clearance and it appeared they wanted me out of the building but still acounted for when the alerts hit charlie 2.

pretty obvious when 6 guys in full dress and live wepons trot up and say let's go, got to ride around and check out stuff close up.

didnt get to get in em but i was literally 3 feet away, testerone city. we have some truely awsome birds.

3-4 hours and i guess they got their okie dokies and back we would go and they would escort me back to my job site and trot off.

 

[highorder]

They regularly fly F-18s down the lake and make fake bombing runs on the dam, usually 3 planes at a time.

That reminds me...

I was driving between Detroit and Boston on I-90 regularly a few years back...

It was a common sight to see A-10's rolling in on vehicles and executing mock strafing runs on the New York Thruway.

Most of the drivers were probably oblivious.

 

[silverking]

Ahhhh-------the sound of freedom

 

[chuckusaret]

Hey, all you guys are talking about what fun others had or are having in the military, you should join like many of us did. Not to beat my own drum but I had a blast for 24 years 6 months and 11 days in the Army. I am proud to have had the opportunity to have been able to serve in the airborne, signal corps, air defense missiles and aviation. On retirement I had the continued pleasure to have been employed as an International F16 Jet Fighter Program manager for several foreign countries, Egypt, Pakistan and Thailand for a very large aerospace company until retirement. Yes, the sound of the roar of a jet fighter or the beat of helicopter rotor blades does bring back many found memories. If you are young enough, don’t miss out, join now and see the world……….

 

[mcdonl]

If you are young enough

Crap... We thank you and support you, but volunteer FD and coaching is all the serving this 40 something can do.

 

[happygeek]

I don't think we have a problem with the active military but I do believe we will have a problem with the strong civilian force.

I must admit, I have no idea what this "strong civilian force" is and am rather curious what you're referring to

 

[SSN Vet]

all you guys are talking about what fun others had or are having in the military, you should join like many of us did

been there.... done that.... and I've describe that eight year period of my life using many adjectives, but fun has never been one of them....

as for what branch of the armed forces this was.... I'll give you a hint by sharing the first lesson they taught me....

Never
Again
Volunteer
Yourself

 

[Madcap_Magician]

God, there's nothing worse than doing a huge STX lane and then being told to walk back a kilometer and pick up all the brass.

 

[happygeek]

Yep, convoy live fire is kinda fun; that is till it's over and there's brass spread out over a mile down the road. And then they tell you to pick up the brass the previous unit left also ...

 

[C-grunt]

Ever done a brass call at NTC in California? It took two days!!

I live near Luke AFB, the training base for the F-16s. We have something like 300 fly days a year in sunny Az, so we see the F-16s all the time. The Apache plant is out on the east side of town and they are out there flying around every so often too.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Yep, somehow my platoon got the firing point for the live fire, went ok until someone bothered asked what type of fin assembly he was picking up. We went back to the staging area after that.

 

[drewxhawaii]

My local motocross park shares its property with the military and they often use it for training on the weekends.

The first few times I rode by camouflaged soldiers fully-armed in the brush, I nearly shat myself.