Lt. Col. Jason Heard, T-bird commander canned
According to Stars & Stripes, the Air Force has fired Lt. Col. Jason Heard, the commander of the Thunderbirds – officially known as the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, for unknown reasons;
Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, commander of the service’s 57th Wing, dismissed Heard, citing a loss of confidence in his “leadership and risk management style.”
“This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one that is ultimately in the best interests of the Thunderbird team,” she said in the statement. “I am personally grateful for Jason’s dedication to the 2017 season.”
A Thunderbirds spokesman insists that the crash in June in Ohio which destroyed a $29 million F-16 aircraft and slightly injured a pilot had nothing to do with the firing.
Category: Air Force
I’ll take a stab that it is because the commander of the flying acrobats and showmen of the Air Force didn’t think to draw a giant penis in the sky before a lowly Naval Aviator did.
But, I could be wrong.
https://terminallance.com/2017/11/17/terminal-lance-fly-hard/
Beat me to it, TOW.
Damn that title alone cracked me up.
I thought it was a cowboy hat.
+30
I’m thinking Arby’s
Sapper3307: Possibly worn by Congresswoman “Rock Star” Wilson of Florida?
🤠
Oh, please. The usaf just isn’t dumb enough to do it when they’re conning. I’ve seen a fuckton of d-and-b orbits in surveillance planes and refuellers. Basically anytime the navigator gets bored and flashes back to high school.
Someone try to draw a sky penis again?
So they say that the wreck and destruction of a perfectly good F-16 didn’t make them can him, I wonder what did?
He missed mandatory sensitivity training.
His Officer Review came back as a 4 for not attending FOD walk Monday.
Since the Wing Commander is a former non-rated Weapons Officer, I’m going to guess it went something like this: Scene(Investigation into crash of F-16, Hanger, Daytime, Wing Cdr, and Flight Cdr. floor covered in parts.) Wing Cdr,”What’s that?” Flight Cdr, “Ejection Seat,” Wing Cdr, “What’s that?” Flt Cdr, “Black Box” Wing Cdr, “What’s that?” Flt Cdr, “Do you have any idea how many parts make up an F-16 you f’ng idiot?” Wing Cdr, “You’re fired@”
I don’t know where you got that information. The Wing King’s (Queen’s?) bio says this:
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,000, including over 300 combat hours
Aircraft flown: F-15E, T-38A, AT-38B, T-37
http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/742033/brigadier-general-jeannie-m-leavitt/
Seems like a goof up in the bio. Says the general joined the AF in 1992, but was commissioned a 2LT in 1991? Her education background is off the charts – just epic.
She got an educational delay to get a Master’s in Aeronautics from Stanford and then attended UPT.
She also is a graduate of the Fighter Weapons School, AF equivalent of Top Gun.
No kidding. Looks like the background of a future CSAF.
She has zero hours in a Viper… Why does she have command over the Thunderbirds? Obama left over…
You’re barking up the wrong tree.
She was the first AF fighter pilot 24 years ago, and has a butt load of hours in ejection seat aircraft since then.
The only time she was ever non-rated was when she was in pilot training earning her aeronautical rating.
OBTW she is also an aeronautical engineer by schooling so she probablycan recognize airplane parts.
How does one become a non-rated Weapons Officer?
I’m under the impression that you either rate or not become one. Granted I’m not rated as a genuine reverend (nickname from the barracks days) but I am a pointy head. I can’t run the Church of Pointy Heads on that merit alone!
OH! That! I can do that! I recognize aircraft parts all the time!
I really need to stop bugging you guys when I drink. I think I’ve been living on this thread when I cracked my 4th beer open.
American Airlines needs temps ASAP…
“This decision was based on Brig. Gen. Leavitt having lost confidence in his leadership in risk management style,” Thunderbird spokesman Geoffroy said in an email to Air Force Times.
“Hold my beer and watch this!” didn’t play well?
…I suspect that not only was it the Dayton crash (report was officially released about three weeks ago; pilot landed too far down and too fast for a wet runway) but the Colorado springs crash as well where one of the TBirds forgot how the throttle worked and then couldn’t get the situation fixed because due to poor maintenance procedures, the throttle no longer worked. Only by the grace of God was no one killed in either of those accidents, and I think that after the July crash report came out they started digging and found problems.
Not knowing shit from shinenola about aircraft or Air Force ops, no comment and no punny yolks.
Ok, here’s my crash-course (pun not intended, for the love of God absolutely not intended) in airplanes.
Imagine being in a car. Now try not to remember anything about what you know about how cars work. You are in worse shape learning to fly by being a seasoned driver than some kid who just got their learner’s permit that day. It astounds me how well a lot of kids (15 or older) can fly because they didn’t know much about driving.
Anyway, you can’t “steer” the plane while taxiing with your yoke (or stick, or wheel if you prefer. Flight-deck and cockpit are also the same thing unless you’re on an aircraft carrier) but instead you use your feet to direct it. The best advice is to plant your hands firmly on your knees and grip hard because you’ll want to grab that yoke to steer and find it isn’t going to direct the plane on the ground.
Before any of this happens you may want to actually start the thing so just turn your mags on put the fuel lever in full rich throttles 3/4 to the wall hold the brake yell “CLEAR!” hit the ignition and hopefully it’ll start. Then you fly and eventually land which is the MOST horrifying and simultaneously glorious experience outside of an orgasm mutually shared with another person.
After reading all of that you are now a certified zoomy. God Speed, Airman!
Yea, I know I missed a bunch of stuff. Turning on the fuel pump and selecting your tank may help depending on the unknown plane your piloting and using this post as guidance. Big time disclaimer: don’t refer to my posts as guidance on flight. Especially the landing part.
I’ve been told an orgasm, bowel movement, and night carrier landing are the most intense feelings one may experience, and can actually happen simultaneously.
Messy, that.
Honestly the only landings I ever planted were on the C-17 simulator in Dover.
However my bowel movements are always intense and terrifying.
y’all obviously don’t know some of the women I remember or you maybe aren’t doing it right.
OR you did it wrong, David! I have a distinct mental inventory of the women you remember. They were all, uh… Cool. They understood and we just kinda stopped communicating any further after “my bad day”.
I don’t get what the problem was. The Air Force maintains a perfect flight history. We never left one up there.
I always heard that each and every flight is a battle against gravity which always wins in one way or another.
(From either my uncle or my dad, both Navy vets)
“There are more planes in the ocean than ships in the sky.”
Yea, I know I missed a bunch of stuff. Turning on the fuel pump and selecting your tank may help depending on the unknown plane your piloting and using this post as guidance. Big time disclaimer: don’t refer to my posts as guidance on flight. Especially the landing part.
Crap. John or somebody delete that.
My shitty internet connection is embarrassing enough.
Oh, and delete this too, please.