Originally Posted by
sledy
Par18,
We recently hired a Harrier guy and put him throught the Viper TX and he did just fine. A-A is a new game but he's done a great job of picking it up and I'm sure you would as well.
He was a local guy who wanted to come home and be a part-time flyer and is a great dude as well. Probably the two most important reasons why he was hired. The A-A issue probably wasn't a factor, plus we tend to drop more bombs than we shoot missiles so you can figure that in too.
Sledy
Well, I can't seem to figure out how to send you a private message so I'll just ask here. Can you tell me what quals your Harrier guy had? Also, what is his call sign? If he is a Yuma guy, I might know him.
As far as dropping bombs go, I don't know how much this will help me but I'm also a Forward Air Controller and as you know, CAS is the Harrier community's bread and butter. My next job will be to train FAC's at EWTGLANT so I won't be completely away from TACAIR...except this time I'll just be watching others drop bombs.
Also, how does the RAG work for ex-TACAIR types that end up joining TACAIR guard units? Is the syllabus shortened in some way? Well, I have plenty more questions for you but this should suffice for now. Let me know. Thanks.