B-52 nick-name: BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker) carries 70,000 lbs of ordinance. They don't show up until we have total control of the skies because they are easy to target on radar and easy to shoot down if you have the capacity. But once they enter the air space, you can kiss your ass goodbye.
I wanted to be a B-52 tail-gunner when I went in the USAF, but I ended up in computers. I guess that's good since they don't have tail-gunners anymore.
These things are called the Stratofortress, but since they started in 1955 and will likely be still flying in 2055 a new nickname was coined - the Stratosaurus.
I love these planes. There are a bunch stationed near me in Barksdale AFB, LA (I live in East Texas). The other big staging area is at Minot AFB. Occasionally I'll see a couple doing training flights, and I've seen them either taking off or landing when I've driven past Barksdale. I'm hoping to see them up close sometime next month when I make a trip to Barksdale to shop at their commissary (instead of driving to Ft Hood in Central Texas).
Those planes are among the most feared of all time, primarily thanks to their carpet-bombing techniques. They have taken out a square mile of land before, and are known for such operations as Rolling Thunder and Linebacker I & II.
That said, my all-time favorite was the SR-71. I used to go watch them at RAF Mildenhall (UK) when I was stationed at RAF Alconbury. I regularly had to go to RAF Lakenheath to pickup offsite backup tapes for my mainframe whenever the thing crashed, and it took a while for the guys at Lakenheath to get what I needed so I had time. The bases were only a couple minutes apart.
I remember when Trump decided not to scrap the B-52. Some people were saying that said Trump was an idiot for salvaging such an old plane. I told them their ignorance was showing. They're sure quiet now.
Exactly - these things (in my case anyway) take off from Barksdale, fly to the middle east, drop their bombs, turn around and fly right back home - without landing. They get in-air refueling of course, but the mission is just a ~36-40 hour round trip. As long as these things are viable there is absolutely no reason to ground them. They can go anywhere around the world.
Technically no. They have a couple different things though. They have a crude urinal, a relief tube (drains to the same place the urinal - a bowl with a tube - does, and what they call a honey bucket. That's kind of like the thing some preppers buy, and is basically a bucket, a bag, and a seat that goes on the bucket and holds the bag.
They have been beautifully re-purposed. Latest version basically got completely refurbished airframe to "reset" fatigue cycle material limit which typically limits the life of the airframe (# of flight cycles before overhaul/maint/repair required due to flight loads).
If you can fly high enough, then the ordinance has the ability to fly a certain trajectory to its target using the airflow over its control surfaces (unpowered, no rocket engine).
Back in the early 80s, I was walking outside from a computer store to my car when an SR-71 swept overhead, turning and low just after taking off at the nearby air station, with a kind of chattering shriek, and it was visibly LEAKING fuel (I later learned some parts of the plane aren't fully tight until they heat up in supersonic flight, which sounds impossible, but . . .). I can see how these things stick so strongly in the minds of those who work with them. Even today, they seem like impossible SciFi.
I later learned some parts of the plane aren't fully tight until they heat up in supersonic flight, which sounds impossible
Yes!
The SR-71 Blackbird expanded by approximately 2 to 4 inches in length due to intense heat during Mach 3+ flight. The titanium skin reached temperatures of 600–900°F, causing the aircraft's structure to grow and seal gaps that existed on the ground, where it was designed to leak fuel. 👀
It's mind blowing when you think about how the SR-71 was built back in the late 50s - no computers, only slide rules. It was built using titanium bought from USSR by a CIA front company.
One of the coolest things about it - the jet intake cones move in and out, to focus the super sonic shockwave into the intake of the engines. The shockwave is compressed air, and that makes it go that much faster. Kelly Johnson and his engineers at Lockheed's "Skunk Works" were total geniuses back in the day.
When I was about 18 I knew a guy who flew on KC-135's as a navigator. He was on the first refueling mission of the SR-71. Said it was scarey. The KC-135 had to fire wall its engines to get up enough speed to fly as fast as it could. Then the SR-71 had to pull back on its engines and was about to fall out of the sky. Two different types of planes trying to accomplish a common goal. My friend said it was a very sketchy moment because he though his plane might fall apart from all of the stresses on the frame.
The Blackbird is not fueled till the last minute before take off. I can’t remember now but when a wrench told me the leakage rate on the ground, I was shocked at the amount. These days if one took off at a Civi airport, they would have news on scene with hazmat and a weeklong breaking new news on the hazmat cleanup….
They also needed refueled after takeoff to replace the lost fuel. Here's a Google AI blurb on that:
The SR-71 typically required one aerial refueling immediately after takeoff (roughly 7–15 minutes into the flight) to fill its tanks for a mission, which was necessary to support the immense fuel consumption required to accelerate to Mach 3+ and reach altitudes over 80,000 feet. This initial, crucial refuel topped off the fuel lost from ground leakage and the high burn rate during ascent.
I recall during Desert Storm, leaflets with cooridnates of a valley would get dropped on Saddams troops.
"Here is the place and time we will demonstrate our might."
They came with a single B-52 loaded with Vietnam era surplus 500lb'ers, those green ones with the yellow stripe. And just lay complete waste to the valley.
Saddams troops would just surrender.
SOME SAUCE:
From AI Search:
Operation Senior Surprise, also known as Operation Secret Squirrel, marked the B-52's first combat demonstration during Operation Desert Storm. On January 16, 1991, seven B-52G Stratofortresses launched from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, on a 35-hour, 14,000-mile non-stop mission—the longest combat sortie in history at the time. This top-secret mission demonstrated the B-52’s strategic reach and precision capabilities by launching 35 GPS-guided AGM-86C conventional air-launched cruise missiles (CALCMs) against high-priority Iraqi targets, including power plants and communications infrastructure, before H-Hour.
The operation showcased the ’s ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes from continental U.S. bases, reinforcing deterrence and demonstrating that U.S. forces could strike anywhere, even if forward bases were compromised. It also marked the first combat use of GPS-guided missiles and the first deployment of CALCMs in war, setting a new benchmark for strategic bombing.
Throughout Desert Storm, B-52s flew 1,741 sorties, dropped 27,000 tons of ordnance, and played a critical role in both tactical and psychological operations, including leaflet drops warning Iraqi troops of impending attacks—contributing to mass desertions.
MORE SAUCE:
According to postwar interrogations:
98% of Iraqi POWs had seen or possessed coalition leaflets.
The B-52 was cited as the most feared weapon.
One Iraqi officer surrendered solely due to B-52 strikes—despite his unit never being hit.
24% of Iraqi soldiers reportedly deserted due to B-52 psychological operations.
You brought up a good point. The beauty about using the B52 is that we can also use some of those less sophisticated legacy gravity bombs instead of more expensive guided munitions. Boom, boom.
I have one of the surrender chits (looks like a hanky) and a fair amount of the fake money we dropped on them. On one side of the fake money paper it looks like Iraqi Dinar. The other side had propaganda in cartoon form, or instructions. I was in Turkey but I bought a bunch of stuff like that at a huge outdoor Istanbul market one weekend. I even got a bunch of US Silver Certificates, a 1928 red-seal $2 bill, some Iranian money, some Iraqi money, a bunch of rubles, a Russian officer's hat, an officer's watch, and a soviet medal (I really need to identify). I didn't spend more than $25 and it would be nearly impossible to get all of that stuff at once anywhere else.
Not just that. The B-52s are doing runs with low tech Gravity Bombs. Directly over the targets. Which means there is nothing left in the area of operations capable of challenging or even remotely threatening the BUFF.
Aircraft are either destroyed or inoperable. Air Defense capable of reaching the B-52s operational ceiling is gone. Essentially we’re just stunting on them. We could probably run a formation of Museum Planes through their airspace on a strike to add insult to injury.
Granted some of the older B-52 airframes are closing on 75-80 years themselves. So I suppose we technically are using Museum Birds to Bomb people just because we can.
I guarded those damn thangs when I was at Minot AFB from 1970 to 1971 before shipping off to Vietnam. And yes, it was a rotating schedule and I did!!!! OHHHH MY...History in the Making!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I was at Minot in the early 70s too. Lived in a trailer park very near the flight line. I was always amazed when the BUFFs took off and kinda glided into the sky instead of screaming vertical to get airborne.
Their wings droop when they are on the ground, so much so that they have little landing-gear wheels at the end of the wings to keep them from scraping the pavement in a cross-wind landing. When air-born if they encounter turbulence the tips of the wings will actually 'flap' going up and down as much as 20 feet.
As Mr. "T" (A-Team) said, "I pity the foo" who is on the ground.
The TR-1 and the U-2 had the same, and required chase-cars during takeoff. We had TR-1As at RAF Alconbury. They were cool to watch, but it really sucked for us in the barracks because they would take off right over us with their nose as high as it could get so the Brits couldn't get pictures of the nose cone's classified equipment. If they took off before we woke up the whole building would shake and wake everyone. I'm sure the pilots laughed about that perk. In the 90's the TR-1As were finally redesignated as U-2s since they were the exact same air-frame as the U-2.
It was also a lot of fun watching the A-10s doing touch and go procedures, and sometimes just showing off.
Can't speak for everyone but it was my pleasure. I loved it and would do it again if I wasn't too old and didn't have all the back and neck issues/pain. I had some great jobs, saw some great places, and had things happen to me or around me that would be enough to write a book - although some of the stuff couldn't be put in there. Most could though. My last 3 duty stations should give you an idea - NORAD, Turkey during Provide Comfort, and the Pentagon.
Besides - Bethesda Naval Hospital (now part of Walter Reed) provided infertility services for my wife in 1995 and it worked, so we had our first child in 1996 at Andrews AFB. They wanted to try a new surgery and she was a match for it. They basically burned holes in both ovaries to kind of force them to stop overproducing and "take a break" while they healed. Once healed we had a 6 week window before they would start overproducing again - and that was enough time. Military hospitals often do stuff like that - or even boob jobs - so they are proficient at it when our troops come home wounded and need those types of surgery. It's a great idea and helps a lot of wounded troops returning home. I'm grateful.
I liked that aspect. The first time I saw a full-bird Colonel pushing an ornamental coffee cart I realized how much that sucked for him. Overseas in the USAF a Colonel had serious power. They were either a base commander or a wing commander.
I worked in the comm center briefly at the Pentagon (before getting moved to a better position). We would process messages (mostly classified) and either send them to the correct office by pneumatic tube (yes - like a bank) or a designated person would come up to our window and sign for them. One day a full-bird Colonel came to my window and asked for the messages for his office. I looked him up and he wasn't on our list as an authorized person to pick up - even though one of the TS messages was for him. I told him he wasn't authorized to pick up and he started just screaming and cussing at me - an E-3. I shut the window in his face. He started ringing the bell over and over so I answered the window - and he started again. I shut it again. It went quiet for about a minute and then it rang one time so I answered it. He calmly asked me what he had to do to get his messages, and I told him to send his assistant, and to take a form I handed him, fill it out, and he can pick up as well once it is processed. He then apologized for being an ass.
When I went to my new position I helped found the network security shop for Army, Air Force, and Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). We had an AF LtCol as our boss, and an AF Lt as the person that would go explain to everyone what we did (later replaced with an Army Major). We not only used a VERY early IDS to monitor all unclas traffic, but we did penetration tests on one of the 3 organizations we supported every quarter. Me and my NCOIC would hack the crap out of them, write a report, and brief them on what we did, how we did it, and what they needed to do. Most of the sysadms were LTs to Majors, and we developed great friendships with them. Once word got around at the Pentagon our commander gave us a budget to make our office more functional, cool, and flashy. I put up hacker movie posters. Our furniture was replaced with something purpose-built to where we could have our second monitors slide over to allow guests to watch. We started having guests all the time - usually Generals or our commander. Even General Powell visited a few times. Those Generals liked to bring their guests in to have us show off a little. We got invited to parties, the lower officers would invite us out, and we even shot with them at a range.
One of the weirdest things we did was stop what we were all doing and play network Hearts on Windows. If my co-worker or I were getting burned out trying to root some Unix box and were wracking our brains we would stop and yell out that we needed to play Hearts. The LtCol, the Lt/Maj, and me and my co-worker would just sit and play until either me or my bud would have an epiphany, and we would tell the officers we were done and get back to work. Whenever we needed it they would drop what they were doing and oblige us. They realized that we were hacking serious places and we wanted to do things right - the Hearts games helped us clear our heads. One time Gen Powell came in, saw us playing Hearts, smiled, and asked us where the LtCol was. We told him he was in his office. When he came back out he told us "good job guys, carry on". The LtCol told us Powell understood immediately and told him to keep it up.
The Pentagon WAS brass-heavy but your position - whether it was higher rank or a prestigious position - went a long way with how the brass treated you.
"Holy crap are you guys in for surprises on the new stuff out..."
The B-52 from 1955, SR-71 from the 60's...think it through on what might be out by now.
Pretty sure we know what's out and have a good idea of some of what's "almost" out. I can't wait to see the SR-72 unmanned hypersonic drone. Here's a video about that (and a few others):
B-52 nick-name: BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker) carries 70,000 lbs of ordinance. They don't show up until we have total control of the skies because they are easy to target on radar and easy to shoot down if you have the capacity. But once they enter the air space, you can kiss your ass goodbye.
I wanted to be a B-52 tail-gunner when I went in the USAF, but I ended up in computers. I guess that's good since they don't have tail-gunners anymore.
These things are called the Stratofortress, but since they started in 1955 and will likely be still flying in 2055 a new nickname was coined - the Stratosaurus.
I love these planes. There are a bunch stationed near me in Barksdale AFB, LA (I live in East Texas). The other big staging area is at Minot AFB. Occasionally I'll see a couple doing training flights, and I've seen them either taking off or landing when I've driven past Barksdale. I'm hoping to see them up close sometime next month when I make a trip to Barksdale to shop at their commissary (instead of driving to Ft Hood in Central Texas).
Those planes are among the most feared of all time, primarily thanks to their carpet-bombing techniques. They have taken out a square mile of land before, and are known for such operations as Rolling Thunder and Linebacker I & II.
That said, my all-time favorite was the SR-71. I used to go watch them at RAF Mildenhall (UK) when I was stationed at RAF Alconbury. I regularly had to go to RAF Lakenheath to pickup offsite backup tapes for my mainframe whenever the thing crashed, and it took a while for the guys at Lakenheath to get what I needed so I had time. The bases were only a couple minutes apart.
I remember when Trump decided not to scrap the B-52. Some people were saying that said Trump was an idiot for salvaging such an old plane. I told them their ignorance was showing. They're sure quiet now.
Exactly - these things (in my case anyway) take off from Barksdale, fly to the middle east, drop their bombs, turn around and fly right back home - without landing. They get in-air refueling of course, but the mission is just a ~36-40 hour round trip. As long as these things are viable there is absolutely no reason to ground them. They can go anywhere around the world.
Definitely an oldie but goodie.
that was what I was about to ask, about that big plane flying all that way.
Do they really have a toilet onboard or is that a wives tale?
Technically no. They have a couple different things though. They have a crude urinal, a relief tube (drains to the same place the urinal - a bowl with a tube - does, and what they call a honey bucket. That's kind of like the thing some preppers buy, and is basically a bucket, a bag, and a seat that goes on the bucket and holds the bag.
The B-2 does have a chemical toilet.
They have been beautifully re-purposed. Latest version basically got completely refurbished airframe to "reset" fatigue cycle material limit which typically limits the life of the airframe (# of flight cycles before overhaul/maint/repair required due to flight loads).
If you can fly high enough, then the ordinance has the ability to fly a certain trajectory to its target using the airflow over its control surfaces (unpowered, no rocket engine).
I had no idea, that is really neat! My son will love to Lear about that.
Back in the early 80s, I was walking outside from a computer store to my car when an SR-71 swept overhead, turning and low just after taking off at the nearby air station, with a kind of chattering shriek, and it was visibly LEAKING fuel (I later learned some parts of the plane aren't fully tight until they heat up in supersonic flight, which sounds impossible, but . . .). I can see how these things stick so strongly in the minds of those who work with them. Even today, they seem like impossible SciFi.
Yes!
Holy moley! Never heard such a thing before!
That is an interesting design. Thanks for the context there.
It's mind blowing when you think about how the SR-71 was built back in the late 50s - no computers, only slide rules. It was built using titanium bought from USSR by a CIA front company.
One of the coolest things about it - the jet intake cones move in and out, to focus the super sonic shockwave into the intake of the engines. The shockwave is compressed air, and that makes it go that much faster. Kelly Johnson and his engineers at Lockheed's "Skunk Works" were total geniuses back in the day.
That is amazing, I had never heard about that.
When I was about 18 I knew a guy who flew on KC-135's as a navigator. He was on the first refueling mission of the SR-71. Said it was scarey. The KC-135 had to fire wall its engines to get up enough speed to fly as fast as it could. Then the SR-71 had to pull back on its engines and was about to fall out of the sky. Two different types of planes trying to accomplish a common goal. My friend said it was a very sketchy moment because he though his plane might fall apart from all of the stresses on the frame.
Wow.
I've seen one on the ground before take-off. Gas was pooling everywhere on the ground.
The Blackbird is not fueled till the last minute before take off. I can’t remember now but when a wrench told me the leakage rate on the ground, I was shocked at the amount. These days if one took off at a Civi airport, they would have news on scene with hazmat and a weeklong breaking new news on the hazmat cleanup….
They also needed refueled after takeoff to replace the lost fuel. Here's a Google AI blurb on that:
I heard the SR-71 was designed to leak hydraulic fluid while on the tarmac. This is the first time I've heard about it leaking fuel.
The word "stratos" is Greek for "army".
My dad was a B52 mechanic when I was born. I wish he was still around so I could ask him some questions about it.
SR-71 is my all time favorite too. Absofucknlutley amazing.
Awesome description, thank you.
DEATH From ABOVE
I recall during Desert Storm, leaflets with cooridnates of a valley would get dropped on Saddams troops.
"Here is the place and time we will demonstrate our might."
They came with a single B-52 loaded with Vietnam era surplus 500lb'ers, those green ones with the yellow stripe. And just lay complete waste to the valley.
Saddams troops would just surrender.
SOME SAUCE:
From AI Search:
Operation Senior Surprise, also known as Operation Secret Squirrel, marked the B-52's first combat demonstration during Operation Desert Storm. On January 16, 1991, seven B-52G Stratofortresses launched from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, on a 35-hour, 14,000-mile non-stop mission—the longest combat sortie in history at the time. This top-secret mission demonstrated the B-52’s strategic reach and precision capabilities by launching 35 GPS-guided AGM-86C conventional air-launched cruise missiles (CALCMs) against high-priority Iraqi targets, including power plants and communications infrastructure, before H-Hour.
The operation showcased the ’s ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes from continental U.S. bases, reinforcing deterrence and demonstrating that U.S. forces could strike anywhere, even if forward bases were compromised. It also marked the first combat use of GPS-guided missiles and the first deployment of CALCMs in war, setting a new benchmark for strategic bombing.
Throughout Desert Storm, B-52s flew 1,741 sorties, dropped 27,000 tons of ordnance, and played a critical role in both tactical and psychological operations, including leaflet drops warning Iraqi troops of impending attacks—contributing to mass desertions.
MORE SAUCE:
According to postwar interrogations:
You brought up a good point. The beauty about using the B52 is that we can also use some of those less sophisticated legacy gravity bombs instead of more expensive guided munitions. Boom, boom.
Well...Hot Damn!
I have one of the surrender chits (looks like a hanky) and a fair amount of the fake money we dropped on them. On one side of the fake money paper it looks like Iraqi Dinar. The other side had propaganda in cartoon form, or instructions. I was in Turkey but I bought a bunch of stuff like that at a huge outdoor Istanbul market one weekend. I even got a bunch of US Silver Certificates, a 1928 red-seal $2 bill, some Iranian money, some Iraqi money, a bunch of rubles, a Russian officer's hat, an officer's watch, and a soviet medal (I really need to identify). I didn't spend more than $25 and it would be nearly impossible to get all of that stuff at once anywhere else.
Not just that. The B-52s are doing runs with low tech Gravity Bombs. Directly over the targets. Which means there is nothing left in the area of operations capable of challenging or even remotely threatening the BUFF.
Aircraft are either destroyed or inoperable. Air Defense capable of reaching the B-52s operational ceiling is gone. Essentially we’re just stunting on them. We could probably run a formation of Museum Planes through their airspace on a strike to add insult to injury.
Granted some of the older B-52 airframes are closing on 75-80 years themselves. So I suppose we technically are using Museum Birds to Bomb people just because we can.
CENTCOM Sauce: https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2030267145578303523?s=20
I guarded those damn thangs when I was at Minot AFB from 1970 to 1971 before shipping off to Vietnam. And yes, it was a rotating schedule and I did!!!! OHHHH MY...History in the Making!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I was at Minot in the early 70s too. Lived in a trailer park very near the flight line. I was always amazed when the BUFFs took off and kinda glided into the sky instead of screaming vertical to get airborne.
Exactly - that's why I love to watch them myself.
Their wings droop when they are on the ground, so much so that they have little landing-gear wheels at the end of the wings to keep them from scraping the pavement in a cross-wind landing. When air-born if they encounter turbulence the tips of the wings will actually 'flap' going up and down as much as 20 feet.
As Mr. "T" (A-Team) said, "I pity the foo" who is on the ground.
The TR-1 and the U-2 had the same, and required chase-cars during takeoff. We had TR-1As at RAF Alconbury. They were cool to watch, but it really sucked for us in the barracks because they would take off right over us with their nose as high as it could get so the Brits couldn't get pictures of the nose cone's classified equipment. If they took off before we woke up the whole building would shake and wake everyone. I'm sure the pilots laughed about that perk. In the 90's the TR-1As were finally redesignated as U-2s since they were the exact same air-frame as the U-2.
It was also a lot of fun watching the A-10s doing touch and go procedures, and sometimes just showing off.
What an interesting and fun comment section. Thank you all for your service and entertainment.
Can't speak for everyone but it was my pleasure. I loved it and would do it again if I wasn't too old and didn't have all the back and neck issues/pain. I had some great jobs, saw some great places, and had things happen to me or around me that would be enough to write a book - although some of the stuff couldn't be put in there. Most could though. My last 3 duty stations should give you an idea - NORAD, Turkey during Provide Comfort, and the Pentagon.
Besides - Bethesda Naval Hospital (now part of Walter Reed) provided infertility services for my wife in 1995 and it worked, so we had our first child in 1996 at Andrews AFB. They wanted to try a new surgery and she was a match for it. They basically burned holes in both ovaries to kind of force them to stop overproducing and "take a break" while they healed. Once healed we had a 6 week window before they would start overproducing again - and that was enough time. Military hospitals often do stuff like that - or even boob jobs - so they are proficient at it when our troops come home wounded and need those types of surgery. It's a great idea and helps a lot of wounded troops returning home. I'm grateful.
Most people i knew in the military hated the Pentagon. Too much brass (grin).
I liked that aspect. The first time I saw a full-bird Colonel pushing an ornamental coffee cart I realized how much that sucked for him. Overseas in the USAF a Colonel had serious power. They were either a base commander or a wing commander.
I worked in the comm center briefly at the Pentagon (before getting moved to a better position). We would process messages (mostly classified) and either send them to the correct office by pneumatic tube (yes - like a bank) or a designated person would come up to our window and sign for them. One day a full-bird Colonel came to my window and asked for the messages for his office. I looked him up and he wasn't on our list as an authorized person to pick up - even though one of the TS messages was for him. I told him he wasn't authorized to pick up and he started just screaming and cussing at me - an E-3. I shut the window in his face. He started ringing the bell over and over so I answered the window - and he started again. I shut it again. It went quiet for about a minute and then it rang one time so I answered it. He calmly asked me what he had to do to get his messages, and I told him to send his assistant, and to take a form I handed him, fill it out, and he can pick up as well once it is processed. He then apologized for being an ass.
When I went to my new position I helped found the network security shop for Army, Air Force, and Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). We had an AF LtCol as our boss, and an AF Lt as the person that would go explain to everyone what we did (later replaced with an Army Major). We not only used a VERY early IDS to monitor all unclas traffic, but we did penetration tests on one of the 3 organizations we supported every quarter. Me and my NCOIC would hack the crap out of them, write a report, and brief them on what we did, how we did it, and what they needed to do. Most of the sysadms were LTs to Majors, and we developed great friendships with them. Once word got around at the Pentagon our commander gave us a budget to make our office more functional, cool, and flashy. I put up hacker movie posters. Our furniture was replaced with something purpose-built to where we could have our second monitors slide over to allow guests to watch. We started having guests all the time - usually Generals or our commander. Even General Powell visited a few times. Those Generals liked to bring their guests in to have us show off a little. We got invited to parties, the lower officers would invite us out, and we even shot with them at a range.
One of the weirdest things we did was stop what we were all doing and play network Hearts on Windows. If my co-worker or I were getting burned out trying to root some Unix box and were wracking our brains we would stop and yell out that we needed to play Hearts. The LtCol, the Lt/Maj, and me and my co-worker would just sit and play until either me or my bud would have an epiphany, and we would tell the officers we were done and get back to work. Whenever we needed it they would drop what they were doing and oblige us. They realized that we were hacking serious places and we wanted to do things right - the Hearts games helped us clear our heads. One time Gen Powell came in, saw us playing Hearts, smiled, and asked us where the LtCol was. We told him he was in his office. When he came back out he told us "good job guys, carry on". The LtCol told us Powell understood immediately and told him to keep it up.
The Pentagon WAS brass-heavy but your position - whether it was higher rank or a prestigious position - went a long way with how the brass treated you.
Well, that explains a lot. The folks I heard complain were colonel/commander rank.
u/#Afraid
"It's just ham!" IYKYK
Grandpa buff fucking shit up. If you know you know.
"Holy crap are you guys in for surprises on the new stuff out..." The B-52 from 1955, SR-71 from the 60's...think it through on what might be out by now.
Pretty sure we know what's out and have a good idea of some of what's "almost" out. I can't wait to see the SR-72 unmanned hypersonic drone. Here's a video about that (and a few others):
3 minutes of B-52 bedtime story: Why the B-52 Bomber Remains Unstoppable After 70 Years in Service
Like most here, not a fan of war re the damage it does to those who serve etc.
But fuck me I love the weapons.