Tops in Blue is a mort...
 

While there is still much stupidity and waste in the Air Force, a small victory was won. The (they shall no longer even be named) play their last event in Jan 2016.

Now maybe the ****in' REMFs can get back to work...

Really?
About time.

Outstanding

If they stay gone twenty years or so, we might be able to afford an extra F-35! Wait... somehow I don't feel better.

Baby steps, CLazarus... baby steps.

Hallelujah!

We had a KC-135 deployed crew member request a "down day" because he wanted to go see "them." I wanted to strangle the kid.

There was a day, before CD's, MP3, streaming digital media. That day has passed...

Fantastic!

Too bad they didn't have "Death Metal in Blue". I would have tried out!

I think they should have paid Dos Gringos to tour. I would have gone to see them...

One of my best nights ever at an Officer's Club was when Dos Gringos played. A Naval Air Station no less.

I agree. TIB was a complete waste and Dos Gringos are the bomb! Unfortunately in today's PC military, Dos Gringos wouldn't be allowed to step foot in a club.

Yeah, except it was dos gringos that got quoted in that lawsuit by the infamous tech sgt JS (that bitter msgt non-select using political correctness of the times to lash back at her pfa of career non promotion...she ought to be a beer word) that started the witch hunt of 2013. So fat chance you'll ever get operator friendly acts in a service whose cultural tone is dominated by career REMFs whose effective primary duty is professional umbrage for not having the perceived recognition of an operators job. This place jumped the shark a while ago.

There are some real warriors in the Air Force, and some folks who are way out there on the point. Unlike most services, however, the officers do the majority of the fighting and dying in our service. We could not turn a wheel without the tremendous support machinery that is required to make it work, and I don't mean to belittle anyone's contribution....

But man....I remember how hard some people went to make themselves feels like warriors, and how they resented those that actually were. The officers who coddled them and encouraged that behavior were the worst.

My own "as God is my witness I will quit Active Duty the first chance I get..." came after being placed in "assigned seating" on a bus to commercial air to a TDY in Frankfurt, and then again from Atlanta to Tyndall in a similar arrangement. A Mx major was the senior officer for the group, and spread the pilots across 4 different buses because "...he didn't want all of us together and making the others feel like we were special..." Since I was in the middle of the F-15 IPUG course I politely asked if I could at least ride with a WIC instructor friend of mine and use the hours on the road going over some academics...since working 12-14 hour days every day didn't give us a lot of extra time and now we had the luxury of quite a few hours to kill. The response was "no", which was also backed up by the DO, who was at the time a only a 2 ship flight lead. He didn't want to make anyone in mx feel he would override their boss.

Please trust me when I say EVERY day I flew in the ANG after that, and every day I met my squadron after jumpseating out on my own airline, I savored every single moment. The stupidity and *****-ness factor went down 95%, but the flying, the great people, and the sense of mission remained. The fact I even give a crap TIB is a mort 8 years after I retired is probably a good glimpse into who much hate swirled around my inner core from those days.

Oh, the forcing of active duty ways and also their hyper PC on the Guard is proceeding along at a good clip since you retired. After the kanagarooo court I went through after being accused of entering a female dorm at a forward deployed location *I wasn't even at*, it was clear to me which way the political winds are blowing. That and a few other things. (which don't get me wrong, I want our women to be protected and treated justly.)

Mine started at SOS in residence (shoe clerk weapons school).

It's sad that (today) almost no one below the rank of LtCol even knows what a "shoe clerk" is, or the origin of the expression.

I educated as many of the UPT students as I could. ;)

So much talent, and the desire to simply entertain ...


And so much hatred ...


No good deed ...






.

AKA, Shoe Flag.

Navy here, know what it is but what's the back story?

As told to me, as a 2Lt:

Day 1 of pilot training, we (students) were told our families could go to the flight surgeon; bypassing the long wait at Family Practice.

Supposedly during Vietnam, a non-rated officer wrote a letter to the Editor of Air Force Times, lamenting:

"Why do pilot's families get to go to the Flight Surgeon? I'm an officer too...I don't see why just they should get special privileges...."

Reputedly, a flyer wrote back (Probably a Phantom guy, given the era), and said:

"Why? Because we're the tip of the spear. Because we have valuble jobs skills that people on the outside are willing to pay big bucks for, whereas your AFSC [Air Force Specialty Code; a job-number] qualifies you to be a shoe salesman at Thom McKann" (a big shoe-making name at the time).

That's what I was told. :p

The Navy has a similar "shoe" moniker, although the reasons are different (If I have it right, submariners and ship guys wear black shoes, only flyers wear brown). I know you have the details on this one, Rick!

Thanks, always wondered.

Navy "Shoe" (ie Black Shoe) has a different meaning, just means non-pilot line officer. Most are still warfighters/operators but with cultural differences. Somewhat negative connotations for ship driver culture; for subs/seals/divers just a different culture. Actually I've never heard anyone refer to a frogman as a shoe to his face :rolleyes:

Interesting, the Navy changed the uniform regs a few years back...now anyone can choose to wear brown or black shoes with khakis, regardless of specialty. Most folks seem to stick to their traditional color though.

Beat me to it, Huggy!

Also, in response to the original thread topic,
https://media.giphy.com/media/xTiTny...OFr2/giphy.gif

S.H.O.E.

Stupidest
Humans
On
Earth

Carrier aviators don't know the true pain of being one of five Aviators on a ship of the shoes, for the shoes, by the shoes.
(Former HSL guy before E2s )

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

Was on an Aegis Cruiser, winds were 20 knots, OOD drove the ship 25 knots downwind to give us 5 knots over the deck. OIC wasn't amused.

Textbook shoe windage.

Im going to have to try that one with some team buddies of mine. $100 to the first guy here that walks into McP's and tells everyone there they're just a bunch of black shoes. :D

The origins of brown shoes are actually based in history though, from the days of flying off dirt fields, and black boots would be stained brown.

Unfortunately I was the Aircraft Commander of a KC-10 which took the (they shall no longer even be named) group on a 2-week tour of Atlantic/European bases. Every base we visited had 30 folks or so attend the show. It was the most embarrassing thing I've seen in the USAF. One show was off-base and NOBODY showed up. The looks on the locals faces were priceless. The drummer even gave me a signed drumstick thinking he was so cool. (facepalm)

I'm. So. Sorry. I'd go DNIF if I was assigned that trip.

Can't miss out on the one chance in your career to be able to call command post and actually get what you need immediately.

Talk about "Shoe Clerk" culture, my introduction to the Air Force was my OTS Instructor, a Protocol Officer! I had no idea about military bearing, or the military, for that matter, just a kid who signed up to fly jets. I made the huge mistake of asking him "Did you really join the Air Force to be a protocol officer?" The look on his face cemented 3 months of OTS torture for me.

I don't know what you are talking about! I rather enjoy waiting around for hours for crew trans in 100+ and 0- degree temperatures!

Classic! OMG that's funny!

I'd love to see that.

I'll See your C-Note and I'll raise you One.:D

Army cancels touring Soldier Show, surprises service member performers Looks like the army followed suit. Back to the trenches, you.

How dare the Army cancel the “Army Solider Show” (ASS)!

And...another roost for the super-slugs is put to rest.

One of my proudest moments was leaving TiB at Al Assad after their OIC told them it's fine to go to the chow hall right as our jet landed there. We had a six leg day all over Iraq and didnt have the duty day or the slot times to delay. Had TACC concurrence for it to boot!

Pop Stars gotta eat, Buddha!

Need to get rid of those bands... What a waste of money and manpower... They get hired via interview and can stay until retirement as long as they don't mind maxing out as a E7 or maybe E8.