I appreciate hearing it. My son-in-law [Chief Petty Officer, USCG Station Valdez AK] is also the sort you describe. His greatest joy at this point [professionally, anyway - he is the father of my 1 YO granddaughter and is married to my daughter] is being able to train folks just getting into the USCG so that they learn to do things right. I've seen "The Guardian" a few times, also. Good movie. BillR
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wonko the Sane Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:13 PM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - moisture in air Yes (and answering your following email) -- they are Aircrew Wings. Navy and Coast Guard and (I think) Marines share the same badge. In some ways, they are more valued in the Coast Guard than pilot wings. Pilots did six years and went to the airlines -- aircrew folks often hung around for a career. They are enlisted air crew wings, very special and not easy to earn. It means that you have qualified to fly alone (without an instructor) in the airframe and can do the job for which you are qualified. You have to lose the USAF mindset, Wilton, to understand the following. In the Coast Guard, officers fly the planes. Everything (EVERYTHING) aft of the pilot and co-pilot are enlisted crew. We kept the plane in the air and the pilots pointed it through the sky. I felt a special bond between the officers and enlisted in the Coast Guard, because the pilots knew that the guys sitting aft of them had the same "live to fly again" investment in the airframe. I flew as navigator, which I think is an officer position in the USAF. I did it as an E2 (University graduate) and was our air station's primary nav instructor and check-ride-guy when I went off to OCS as an E6 (three years later). If I didn't think they had the right stuff, I sent them back for additional training, and no officer ever questioned my decision. ... If I said they were ready, the pilots knew this guy could navigate them to hell and back (all flights over the ocean), using Loran-A, Loran-C, or (in the event of a power failure) find the closest point of land with DR and a compass. To be honest, I was a total prick on check rides -- but I wanted my guys to always come home alive. I wasn't always popular with my students, but I knew when they went off on their first patrol alone, they could bring the bird home no matter what happened. And no one, after earning their wings, ever had a bad word to say about me (to my face), other than a "thank you" later. Here is what makes the Coast Guard unique, even from the Navy. In the Navy, some folks fix planes and some folks fly. Coast Guard doesn't do that. As an avionics tech, I fixed the equipment and then climbed into the airframe each day and headed offshore for a patrol. Everyone did. We had NO guys who didn't fix and fly. If you have an aviation specialty, you are air crew or you go to a boat (and get a new rating). The same guys who did the mechanics (including engine changes) flew as flight mechanic (in the USAF known as flight engineer). I was the ONLY guy at the CGAS who calibrated the RADALTs. Our mission was flying 50 feet on the RADALT making passes on fishing boats. Guess who died if I got lazy and was +/- 15 feet on the calibration? I was also the guy who calibrated the ILS boxes. How important is that? I never worried when we had to do an ILS approach, because I knew we were spot-on on the instruments. If not, _I_ as the guy who died. I was the last guy at CGAS Cape Cod to be dual-qualified in the Goat as nav/radio AND flight engineer. Took a bit of persuasion to get the wrench-turners to qualify me as a "nose-picker." There was not a lot of love lost between the avionics guys and the mechanics. We needed a much higher ASVAB score to even get into school and were seen by them as somewhat elitist. Fortunately, I don't mind getting oil on my hands. I like to think I earned their trust by my professionalism. Truth is, I pestered the hell out of the E9 until he gave in and let me get qualified. USCG Aviation is a unique breed. We flew hard, we were professional, we did good, and we partied hard. If you saw the movie The Guardians -- that movie is 100% accurate of Coast Guard aviation. Ok, for everyone except Wilton, I apologize for my verbose post. Wilton will understand. D. On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 7:33 PM, Wilton Strickland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > BTW, the only thing I get to come up on the military.esptgear site is the > photo of gold wings. What are they, Navy enlisted aircrew wings? > > Wilton > > -- LT Don http://don.homelinux.net/~don/ apt-get update apt-get upgrade The following packages will be replaced Prez Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
