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An inside look at USAF training


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I went through AF basic, 11 weeks in 1954. In the above photos I didn't see any obstacle course, firing range, and sleeping in pup tents for a week. My grandson wanted to join the AF a year ago and after listening to the AF recruiter I told my grandson to join the marines or the army!!!

I think the AF has changed.

My cousin was in the 101 in WW2 and I wanted to be just like him. The Army recruiter was not there and the AF recruiter told me I could fly planes in the AF. Did I fly planes? NO, but I carried an M-1 Garand around the flight line for 8 hours at a time (48th Air Police sqdn)... And got to be the assistant gunner in an M-20. Loved firing the ma duce!!!

All in all I am glad I spent 4 years in the military...

PS UB glad you were just joking :)

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The Air Force has basic training?

Who knew? :D :D :P

 

I was waiting for a punchline, myself.

 

I went through AF basic, 11 weeks in 1954. In the above photos I didn't see any obstacle course, firing range, and sleeping in pup tents for a week. My grandson wanted to join the AF a year ago and after listening to the AF recruiter I told my grandson to join the marines or the army!!!

I think the AF has changed.

My cousin was in the 101 in WW2 and I wanted to be just like him. The Army recruiter was not there and the AF recruiter told me I could fly planes in the AF. Did I fly planes? NO, but I carried an M-1 Garand around the flight line for 8 hours at a time (48th Air Police sqdn)... And got to be the assistant gunner in an M-20. Loved firing the ma duce!!!

All in all I am glad I spent 4 years in the military...

PS UB glad you were just joking :)

 

A little intra-service rivalry and kidding isn't a bad thing.

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I was waiting for a punchline, myself.

 

 

 

A little intra-service rivalry and kidding isn't a bad thing.

 

I'm just gettin warmed up. :D

 

The reason the services bicker among themselves is they don't speak the same language.

Take the simple phrase "Secure that building"

 

The Army will post guards around the building.

The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.

The Marines will kill everybody inside and set up a headquarters.

The Air Force will take out a five year lease with an option to buy.

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The reason the services bicker among themselves is they don't speak the same language.

Take the simple phrase "Secure that building"

 

The Army will post guards around the building.

The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.

The Marines will kill everybody inside and set up a headquarters.

The Air Force will take out a five year lease with an option to buy.

 

And Congress will spend years deadlocked over who should have access to the building until the President finally issues an executive order requiring the National Park Service to erect a "Do Not Enter" sign outside the front door.

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So... instead of a cheap seamstress tape measure, they use a zillion dollar body scan computer to figger out the new recruit's uniform size.

 

Now ain't that modern! ^_^

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So... instead of a cheap seamstress tape measure, they use a zillion dollar body scan computer to figger out the new recruit's uniform size.

 

Now ain't that modern! ^_^

 

Well, it used to take five minutes per recruit to measure them and issue them the wrong size uniform. Now they can do it in seconds!

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I'm just gettin warmed up. :D

 

The reason the services bicker among themselves is they don't speak the same language.

Take the simple phrase "Secure that building"

 

The Army will post guards around the building.

The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.

The Marines will kill everybody inside and set up a headquarters.

The Air Force will take out a five year lease with an option to buy.

The AF I was in would only take out a lease with option to buy if it had a fully stocked NCO bar

And where would we be with out a little inter service bickering??? ^_^ We used to get grade 3 ammo from Nancy Ord. (US Army) depot in France for the .50 so we could shoot it more. I learned its not a good thing to put all tracers through a machine gun barrel ( Talk about Cool!) :huh: Then I had to pay for the barrel in a Report of Survey I think.. At the time it cost me $15 bucks. I had a great 1st Sgt!!!

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Unless there is someone opposed to your at firing them. Then they work both ways.

Just for fun. Certainly not during social engagements. ;)

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My AF Basic was in '72. We marched a lot, stripped and waxed the floors once a week, spent most of the day in classrooms or martching around the building to the next class. We had PT in the morning, so that we were done before it hit 100 degrees out. Then back into air conditioned barracks at 65 degrees. Shower and change and form up outside in 100+ air to march to the next air conditioned class at 65 degrees. Half my flight had pneumonia within three weeks.

 

We did get weapons training. One morning they marched us a couple miles out to the target range, where we were issued an M-16 and assigned a desk. There we were walked through teardown and reassembly of the weapon. Then we were marched out to the firing line. We were issued 60 rounds in those cute 10 round stripper clips. No sighters, no practice, those 60 rounds were for qualification, at 300 yards. 10 prone, 10 sitting and 10 standing. I never got anywhere near another M-16 the rest of my time in service. But it was months before I could walk around without stomping my right foot to the ground with every step.

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Yeah....but I got the quote from before you fixed it!

 

He always does Badger, he always does.

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My AF Basic was in '72. We marched a lot, stripped and waxed the floors once a week, spent most of the day in classrooms or martching around the building to the next class. We had PT in the morning, so that we were done before it hit 100 degrees out. Then back into air conditioned barracks at 65 degrees. Shower and change and form up outside in 100+ air to march to the next air conditioned class at 65 degrees. Half my flight had pneumonia within three weeks.

 

We did get weapons training. One morning they marched us a couple miles out to the target range, where we were issued an M-16 and assigned a desk. There we were walked through teardown and reassembly of the weapon. Then we were marched out to the firing line. We were issued 60 rounds in those cute 10 round stripper clips. No sighters, no practice, those 60 rounds were for qualification, at 300 yards. 10 prone, 10 sitting and 10 standing. I never got anywhere near another M-16 the rest of my time in service. But it was months before I could walk around without stomping my right foot to the ground with every step.

Air conditioned barracks! Sounds like Hell. :D

Why would you stomp your right foot?? Is that an AF thing?

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Yup, you had to stomp the right foot so the drill instructor could hear everyone in step. Some crazy kadence thing. And I also messed up the round count I was typing so fast, it was 20 rounds each position.

 

As for the floor waxing bit, we never wore shoes in the dorm, only the drill instructors, and they wore 'taps' on their heals!

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Yup, you had to stomp the right foot so the drill instructor could hear everyone in step. Some crazy kadence thing. And I also messed up the round count I was typing so fast, it was 20 rounds each position.

 

As for the floor waxing bit, we never wore shoes in the dorm, only the drill instructors, and they wore 'taps' on their heals!

Interesting. The Army calls cadence on the left foot.

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Air conditioned barracks! Sounds like Hell. :D

Why would you stomp your right foot?? Is that an AF thing?

That is what I was thinking. I could understand hay foot, straw foot,

but stomping to a cadence?

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Bear with me on this for a minute. After high school for about two years before starting college, then for another year while in college, I delivered furniture. I kind of got to know what to look for as far as damage and problems go.

 

Fast forward, and I'm at Ft. Sam Houston during Operation Desert Shield, living in the barracks when one day I get tasked to help move new furniture into the day room. Moving it in, I notice it is really nice furniture, well made, with no problems or damage to it. The thing is, the chairs and couches have medium blue cushions. Even the new pool table has a medium blue felt. I jokingly asked the NCO that drove the moving van if we got the stuff from the Air Force. He laughed and said "Yep. A unit over at Kelly (Air Force Base) just got new furniture.

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I don't know if this is PC or not but in '54 I think we called that 'stomping' thing 'monkey drill'

Our firearms training was 5 days, 2 days taking the M 1 carbine apart and putting it back together, last time blind folded.

Then out to the range for 2 whole days of dry firing!!! And we had to clean the weapons after dry firing!!!

The last day they gave us real ammo and we had to qualify. I don't remember how far we had to shoot but to me it was easy

Some of the city boys had some trouble and us country boys would snicker and get chewed out.

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I didn't have to worry about the cable going out when I was in! We didn't have tv. In fact I didn't see a tv again till I got back to the land of the round door knobs!

WE had more interesting things to do in France :) , but a tv would have been nice in French Morroco, Lybia, and Sudi Arabia :wacko:

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It was a fly speck. Dang flies. :)

 

Dang, Badger! Ya mean that ain't pepper on your potato salad...? :huh:

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I find it rather offensive that some of you think this sort of thing is funny. The Air Force is no different than any other branch of the service... well, except for nap time and recess.

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I find it rather offensive that some of you think this sort of thing is funny. The Air Force is no different than any other branch of the service... well, except for nap time and recess.

 

Har!

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The nicest barracks I ever saw while I was in the Army, were barracks that the Air Force was paying it's employees a "substandard living allowance" to stay in.

 

Different world for sure, and if I can't keep my son out of uniform, I'll do my best to get him in a blue one.

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