I suppose.... but out of my UPT class, I'm the only one who has ever applied
his trade in combat...

Dude...did you read that last sentence before you hit "send?" You
think any of your UPT buds in C-130s hauling bullets and beans

No one in my class got C-130's.

would buy that self-serving BS?

Self serving ? It's a fact.

Think KC-135/-10 guys passing gas would nod their head in agreement?

Only 1 KC-135 in my class, did the third pilot thing, went back to AETC to fly
-37s.
The only guy I may have short changed in my class was a guy going to T-37's
with a C-17 follow on, but I later heard he stayed in -37s, not sure where he
is now.

How about the EWOs or DSOs in your jet? How many SAM or AI radars have
they battled since 1995?

Every combat sortie I've flown, if the EW wasn't jamming something, he was
helping out by copying 9-lines and backing up the Nav team on targeting.

...And if it's true that your F-16/F-15E classmates have not dropped
live in Iraq or Afghanistan...the system is ****ed up 'cause every
swinging dick ANG air-to-mud guy/gal has over the course of several
deployments since 1991.

Only 1 F-16 guy (forgot about him in my earlier post) who was flying Cs out of
Cannon. He *may* have gotten some OIF time, but I'm not sure. The only other
fighter guys were F-15Cs.

I didn't want to spend all my career PCS'd to CONUS

I feel the exact opposite.

I didn't ask myself, "Self...which aerial platform will most likely
provide the greatest benefit in terms of standoff weapons employement
with the concomitant minimum sorties."

We do more than stand-off...I would think you would know that. In fact, I've
only flown 1 CALCM combat sortie. And I didn't ask my self that question
either. I wanted to drop a lot of weapons and be involved in the conflicts this
nation fought. Your ego must be *huge* if you can't grasp that not everyone
wants to do what you do.

every UPT grad I ever asked says they wanted to fly fighters

Well, if you ever run into a Viper pilot, call sign Tank, from Class 95-10 at
Vance ask him about the guy in his class who took the BUFF.

but they busted a check-ride

Never busted a check-ride, in fact me, Tank and the #1 guy who took an Eagle
were the only ones in our class that dodged that.

the wife/girlfriend rejected the notion

My wife could have cared less what aircraft I took...

I don't know you but
your claim that BUFFs (not even BONEs) were your first choice is
interesting.

Well, originally showing up at Vance in June '94 I wanted a Bone, but there was
an ex-B-1B maintenance officer in my class (one of the Eagle drivers) and he
kind of talked me out of it. At the time, all the Bone could carry was Mk-82s
and they were even having problems with those. He told of the horrible FMC
rate and the number of cancelled sorties they had. By the time -38s rolled
around I had changed my mind and swapped my #2 (BUFF) for the Bone. I still
can't believe you're having trouble with this. I met guys in UPT who wanted
nothing more than to fly for the airlines and they wanted cargo, or even better
a KC-10. I watched an entire class of Academy grads pass up F-16s for C-21s to
Peterson AFB. There were two Vipers in that drop and they went to two guys in
the bottom of the class. Relax, neither made it out of IFF.


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"