Pilot Equiptment

[Good2Golf]

He told me that the lowest point was when he ran out of ammo in the shack, and Randy (Shugart, the Delta operator) wasn't with him any more....everything after was a blur, he said... 

The book is a good read...perhaps a bit puffed up in some places, but who am I to judge...for sure he earned "the t-shirt".

Cheers,
Duey

 

[foxtwo]

Again, wow. But what do you mean by this?

The book is a good read...perhaps a bit puffed up in some places, but who am I to judge...for sure he earned "the t-shirt".

 

[Good2Golf]

...a little bit of embelishing things a bit...but in Mike's case, I'd give him that as a bit of creative license to provide the overall flavour to what went on...some of the other Nightstalkers rib him a bit (in a purely good natured way) about his exploits...as only other guys who flew with him that day can do.  If you read the book, there may be some parts where you go, "Hmmmmm?"  Hard to describe but folks generally know when there's a little bit of stretching going on...like when "Andy McNab" wrote about his exploits as an SAS Commando in "Bravo Two Zero".  Wrote some (heck, a lot by all accounts) of stuff that was a stretch of what happened...I know because a good firend of mine was the RAF Chinook pilot who flew Bravo Two Zero into the insertion point and attempted the ex-fil 24 hrs later when it was clear that everything had headed south...

Cheers,
Duey

 

[goler]

hornet dudes take a 9mm when they're flying up north... polar bears and all

if you ask me, probably best to keep the last one for yourself.. you're probably going to be dealing with one pissed off bear

 

[childs56]

Ha a 9mm against polar bears. When I worked Civie side some of our pilots carried 357mags to deal with the uneventfull landing in the middle of no where. All they said was if they had room for a rifle they would have carried it. The hand gun is only a very last resort and a shamefull one at that.

Our pilots should always carry a pistol on them. Train for war, fight for war.

 

[Zoomie]

Our pilots should always carry a pistol on them. Train for war, fight for war.

I concur...  I need a pistol from time to time, the lunch lady in Sandspit gives me glaring looks...

 

[childs56]

Sorry I should have been clearer on that one. Tactical pilots should carry weapons.

 

[aesop081]

Sorry I should have been clearer on that one. Tactical pilots should carry weapons.

Just pilots ?

 

[Zoomie]

A 9mm is a useless weapon for fighting off the nasty creatures found up north.  It would be more useful to the crew to just carry one round.

Our SARtechs go into wilderness hotspots carrying folding-stock rifles - painted orange of course!

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Ruger M77 in 30.06 aren't they?

 

[childs56]

Any Aircrew associated with Tactical AirCraft. Should have been even more clear. Along

 

[aesop081]

Any Aircrew associated with Tactical AirCraft. Should have been even more clear. Along

what do you consider a tactical aircraft ?  ;D

 

[childs56]

Well any A/C used in tactical setting that we have in our inventory that is not directly sourced out to SAR resources. In our inventory I would take that to be the F18, Aurora, Sea King, Griffon, Herc (when not supporting Direct SAR).

For example if a Herc is sourced out to a SAR unit then that crew would not require wpns as a basic load. If that A/C is sourced out to support the ARMY or other over seas mission then the crew would be equipped with personal weapons.

Fight to train, train to fight.

Some may disagree.Your entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I also think that the Air force should be able to deploy fighters for 6 months or more in support of the military's mission's over seas That is my opinion.

 

[Laps]

Well any A/C used in tactical setting that we have in our inventory that is not directly sourced out to SAR resources. In our inventory I would take that to be the F18, Aurora, Sea King, Griffon, Herc (when not supporting Direct SAR).

For example if a Herc is sourced out to a SAR unit then that crew would not require wpns as a basic load. If that A/C is sourced out to support the ARMY or other over seas mission then the crew would be equipped with personal weapons.

Fight to train, train to fight.

Some may disagree.Your entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I also think that the Air force should be able to deploy fighters for 6 months or more in support of the military's mission's over seas That is my opinion.

I'm a Griffy driver.  The topic seems to come back to side arms, so here's my experience.  We carry sidearms overseas on deployment.  No need for more details on this.  In Canada, we sometimes carry them on domestic operations but it is really the exception rather than the norm.  During exercises, we sometimes carry them, but without any rounds (i.e.: every one got blanks but we only get to shout "bang bang" as required).  The reality of carrying a sidearm is that it's a pain in the arse. 

Imagine crews flying and stopping somewhere for fuel, say Kamloops airport.  All of a sudden in becomes a big issue if civilians see aircrew with pistols around an airport.  I know you can say that the RCMP guys are there with guns too... but somehow, Joe Canuck doesn't understand that their beloved Canadian Peacekeeper Corp would have a need to "pack" year round in Canada.  Then you got to secure those things every where you go during an overnight stop, whether planned or not and that too is a huge pain.

So even though I am a huge gun-lover with a closet full of guns, when in uniform, I don't seek opportunities to lug around a piece of WWII and Korea history on my hip.

Train as you fight stuff... yes, but there's very little training experience to be gained in carrying 5 pounds of metal while flying.  Make that 5 pounds of liability...

What else do I carry...

Pretty much all what was listed above (except the Top Gun issues glasses) plus:

- TP
- roll of gun tape
- spare pair of gloves
- rain jacket
- squadron ball cap
- 1-2 bottles water
- couple Granola bars
- couple of survival foil blankets

That all fits in the helmet bag (which ironically is very seldom used to carry my helmet)

Experience taught me that we know when we leave, not always sure about when we'll come back.  This is especially true in the helo world.

Along that line, for any trips away from the training area, I also bring a zip lock with a spare set of underwear and a small shaving kit.

 

[belka]

Back from the dead i see.

All of a sudden in becomes a big issue if civilians see aircrew with pistols around an airport.  I know you can say that the RCMP guys are there with guns too... but somehow, Joe Canuck doesn't understand that their beloved Canadian Peacekeeper Corp would have a need to "pack" year round in Canada.

I would believe that when a civy sees someone in a military uniform, they always think of them being armed, being with a pistol, rifle, whatever. I know that there isn't a need for CF members to carry around a gun within the Canadian public, but there shouldn't be any doubt as to why someone in a military uniform is carrying a personal weapon.

 

[Laps]

I would believe that when a civy sees someone in a military uniform, they always think of them being armed, being with a pistol, rifle, whatever. I know that there isn't a need for CF members to carry around a gun within the Canadian public, but there shouldn't be any doubt as to why someone in a military uniform is carrying a personal weapon.

From personal experience, nope... try stopping for fuel at a small airfield with a gun on your hip and you'll get odd looks and questions that sometimes require creative answers (for OPSEC purposes...)