Naval Aviator Saves Life of Air Force Pilot in Horse-Back Riding Mishap

[Bud]

 

AP News 4 April 2008 Pensacola, Florida

 

 

 

An Air Force Pilot assigned to a local fighter wing narrowly escaped serious injury early Friday morning when attempting horseback riding at a local stable with no prior experience. He mounted the horse, unassisted, and the horse immediately began moving. As it galloped along at a steady pace, the pilot began to slip sideways from the saddle. Although attempting to grab for the horse's mane, the Lt. Col. (name withheld) could not get a firm grip. He then threw his arms around the horse's neck but continued to slide down the side of the horse. The horse galloped along, seemingly oblivious to its slipping rider. Finally, losing his grip, the Lt. Col. attempted to leap away from the horse and throw himself to safety, but his foot became entangled in the stirrup.

 

Moments from sliding under the horse, a United States Naval Aviator, also shopping at W al-Mart, saw the Lt. Col. and unplugged the horse. The Naval Aviator continued shopping; the Air Force Pilot has been submitted for a Bronze Star.

[Mike O]

Funny... Lucky the horse didn't surge!

 

Mike O

[SageRider]

Funny...

Quarters must be lasting longer these days...

[Matts_12GS]

had the USAF not made him shave his legs, maybe he could have stayed on the horse....

 

USN 1983-1993!

[subvet]

I love this inter-service rivalry stuff

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I love this inter-service rivalry stuff

 

Kaffee: Lt. Kendrick... can I call you Jon?

 

Lt. Kendrick: No, you may not.

 

Kaffee: Have I done something to offend you?

 

Lt. Kendrick: No, I like all you Navy boys. Every time we've gotta go someplace and fight, you fellas always give us a ride.

[Matts_12GS]

Reminds me of ATCS Gordon Farrell at NAS Norfolk...

 

Division officer asks if he can use the chief's first name, and the crusty one says "Of course sir, you can call me Senior Chief"

 

[casticus]

My recently deceased father-in-law would have loved that. He was a Senior Chief also...

 

I don't call it the Air Force it is the "Chair Force".

 

A joke in the current Reader's Digest is a daughter tells her father (a Chair Force member) that when she grows up she wants to join the Army. Her father of course asks her why not the Air Force? Daughter responds, because I don't want to be a Pilot. Father tells her there are other jobs in the Air Force she could do. Daughter mulls this over and looks at him and says...."But I don't want to be a stewardess either."

[exwingnut]

A joke in the current Reader's Digest is a daughter tells her father (a Chair Force member) that when she grows up she wants to join the Army. Her father of course asks her why not the Air Force? Daughter responds, because I don't want to be a Pilot. Father tells her there are other jobs in the Air Force she could do. Daughter mulls this over and looks at him and says...."But I don't want to be a stewardess either."

 

Smart girl!

 

We used to say that we in Army Aviation were "Above the Best" to which some wag added "and all the rest!"

[Slyder_Steve]

Now let's not get personal here...

 

We like pilot jokes too...and thank you Mr Policeman. You can call us whatever you want then and I'll just keep my opinion of you nice law enforcement folks to myself

 

Next time I'm in Iraq dodging those fricking motar rounds I'll be sure to be thanking you for your support

 

Slyder--Air Force; 25 years and counting...

[Matts_12GS]

Next time I'm in Iraq dodging those fricking motar rounds I'll be sure to be thanking you for your support

 

Slyder--Air Force; 25 years and counting...

 

wow, 25 years, you have 6 fingers and six toes on each hand/foot? does that mean they're gonna make you retire since you can't count any higher?

[lawnchairboy]

Sh1t: Through the Eyes of the Military

An Army grunt stands in the rain with a 35-pound pack on his back, 15-lb. weapon in his hand, having marched 12 miles, and says, "This is sh1t."

An Army Airborne Ranger stands in the rain with a 45-pound pack on his back, weapon in hand, after having jumped from a plane and jogged 18 miles, says with a smile, "This is good sh1t."

A Navy Seal lies in the mud, 55-pound pack on his back, weapon in hand, after swimming 10 miles to shore, crawling through a swamp, and running 25 miles at night past enemy positions, says with a grin, "This is really great sh1t."

A Marine, up to his nose in the stinking, bug-infested mud of a swamp with a 65-pound pack on his back and weapons in both hands after jumping from an aircraft at high altitude into the ocean, swimming 12 miles to shore, killing several alligators to enter the swamp, then crawling 30 miles through the brush to assault an enemy camp, says, "I love this sh1t."

An Air Force NCO sits in an easy chair in an air-conditioned, carpeted office in front of his computer and says, "My e-mail is out? What kind of sh1t is this?"

[Matts_12GS]

Upon encountering a snake in the Area of Operations (AO):

 

Infantry: Snake smells them, leaves area.

Airborne: Lands on and kills the snake.

Armor: Drives over snake, laughs, and looks for more snakes.

Aviation: Has 12-digit grid coordinates of snake from GPS. FAC (Forward Air Controller) gives steer to target. Can't find snake. Returns to base for refuel, crew rest and manicure.

Ranger: Plays with snake, then eats it.

Field Artillery: Kills snake with massive Time On Target barrage with three Forward Artillery Brigades in support. Kills several hundred adjacent snakes as unavoidable collateral damage. Mission is considered a success and all participants (including cooks, mechanics and clerks) are awarded Silver Stars.

Army Special Forces: Makes contact with snake, ignores all State Department directives and Theater Commander Rules of Engagement by building rapport with snake and winning its heart and mind. Trains it to kill other snakes. Files enormous claim for travel pay settlement upon return.

Combat Engineer: Studies snake. Prepares in-depth doctrinal thesis in obscure 5 series Field Manual about how to defeat snake using counter mobility assets. Complains that maneuver forces don't understand how to properly conduct doctrinal counter-snake operations.

Navy SEAL: Expends all ammunition and calls for naval gunfire support in failed attempt to kill snake. Snake bites SEAL and retreats to safety. Hollywood makes fantasy film in which SEALS kill myriad extremist snakes.

Navy: Fires off 50 cruise missiles from various types of ships, kills snake and makes presentation to Senate Appropriations Committee on how Naval forces are the most cost-effective means of anti-snake force power projection.

Marine: Kills snake by accident while looking for souvenirs. Local civilians demand removal of all US forces from AO.

Marine Force Recon: Follows snake, gets lost.

Combat (Air Traffic) Controllers: Guides snake elsewhere.

Para-Rescue Jumper: Wounds snake in initial encounter, then works feverishly to save snake's life.

Supply: (NOTICE - Your anti-snake equipment is backordered.)

Transport Pilot: Air-drops expired snakebite kits two grid squares away on roof of children's hospital.

F-14 Pilot: Misidentifies snake as enemy Mi-24 Hind helicopter and engages with missiles. Plane captain paints snake kill on aircraft fuselage.

F-16 Pilot: Finds snake, drops two CBU-87 cluster bombs, misses snake target, demolishes embassy 4 km east of snake due to weather. Cites inclement weather (Too Hot, Too Cold, Clear but overcast, Too dry with Rain, Unlimited ceiling with low cloud cover, etc.) Suggests procurement of million-dollar, air-to-ground anti-snake bomb.

AH-64 Apache Pilot: Unable to locate snake since cold-blooded snakes don't show well on infrared. Infrared only operable in desert AOs without power lines or SAMs.

UH-60 Blackhawk Pilot: Finds snake on fourth pass after snake builds bonfire, pops smoke, lays out VS-17 to mark Landing Zone. Rotor wash blows snake into fire.

B-52 Pilot: Pulls ARCLIGHT mission on snake, kills snake and every other living thing within two miles of target.

ICBM Missile Crew: Lays in target coordinates to snake in 20 seconds, but can't receive authorization from National Command Authority to use weapons.

Intelligence Officer: Snake? What snake? Only four of 35 indicators of snake activity are currently active. We assess the potential for snake activity as LOW.

Judge Advocate General (JAG): Snake declines to bite, citing grounds of professional courtesy.

[USAF1]

Do you know how hard it is to get rice pudding out of your keyboard?? The flat panel ain't so hard....but the danged keyboard is gonna be a major PITA now.......

 

Love them all............thanks you guys.

 

Pat

[xbubblehead]

US Navy "Oath of Enlistment"

 

I, Top Gun, in lieu of going to prison, swear to

sign away 4 years of my life to the United States Navy because I want to

hang out with Marines without actually having to BE one of them, because I

thought the Air Force was too "corporate," and because I thought, "Hey, I

like to swim... why not?" I promise to wear clothing what went out of

style in 1976 and to have my name stenciled on the butt of every pair of pants

I own. I understand that I will be mistaken for the Good Humor man

during the summer, and for Waffen SS during the winter. I will strive to use a

different language than the rest of the English speaking world, using words

like "deck, bulkhead, cover, and head" when I really mean "floor, wall,

hat, and toilet." I will take great pride in the fact that all Navy acronyms,

rank, and insignia, and everything else for that matter, are completely

different from the other services and make absolutely no sense whatsoever. I

will muster (whatever that is) at 0700 hrs every morning unless I am

buddy-buddy with the Chief, in which case I will show up around 0930 hrs. I vow

to hone my coffee cup handling skills to the point that I can stand up in

a kayak being tossed around in a typhoon, and still not spill a drop. I

consent to being promoted and subsequently busted at least twice per fiscal

year. I realize that, once selected for Chief, I am required to submit myself

to the sick, and quite possibly illegal, whims of my new-found

"colleagues." So help me Neptune.

[Matts_12GS]

That's just funny!

[SteveHebert]

I love this inter-service rivalry stuff

 

It is great and keeps us all humbled. I spent 20 years in before retiring and had the pleasure of serving around all branches. I started out as a Marine and lived in northern Japan on an Air Force base asigned to a Navy unit. We had all 4 services in the windowless building next to the big antenna on Security Hill. Nothing but professionals.

 

The Air Force knows how to treat their people, hands down. The Army is the worst for that. The Navy serves the best diesel flavoured coffe aboard ship that I have ever had! The pride of the Marine Corp cannot be matched in a regular unit of any other branch. You have to be a special operator to find that in the other services. The Marines breed it in boot camp. "Semper Fi"!

 

I am proud of all my brothers-in-arm and salute every one of you. This nation would not be the same without you!

[steve.foote]

This nation would not be the same without you!

 

Steve, the nation wouldn't be a nation without them.

[SteveHebert]

This nation would not be the same without you!

 

Steve, the nation wouldn't be a nation without them.

 

Damn right!

 

I have been watching the HBO mini series "John Adams". Man what a sense of American pride I have gotten from that. Those men and women suffered immensely for all of us.

 

Proud to be an American.

[xbubblehead]

The pride of the Marine Corp cannot be matched in a regular unit of any other branch. You have to be a special operator to find that in the other services. The Marines breed it in boot camp. "Semper Fi"!

 

I would agree with you, of course a submarine crew is a part of that irregular group of people. IMO. I find that The xmilitary guys seem to gravitate to each other in our workplace and for good reason. The camaraderie the military breeds in people is something that I find with my riding friends and my xmilitary coworkers. In our circle, seems the xMarines and xNavy like to gang up on the other branches.

 

But remember SteveHebert, the only good Marine is a Submarine.

[Matts_12GS]

So, wait, being a sub mariner, that makes you less than a sailor?

 

I love the camaraderie and the brotherhood, especially now that I've been out a few years. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I can still find the military guys in most any crowd.

 

TyTass and I met at the last El P. and knew each others whole service history in about 4 minutes meeting.

 

And then the drinking started!

[PRC]

TyTass and I met at the last El P. and knew each others whole service history in about 4 minutes meeting.

 

I don't believe you, you can't explain anything in 4 minutes!

[SteveHebert]

So, wait, being a sub mariner, that makes you less than a sailor?

 

 

I'm not sure if he is less than a sailor or if he just goes down on Marines (uh, I mean submarines)

[Firefight911]

So, wait, being a sub mariner, that makes you less than a sailor?

 

 

I'm not sure if he is less than a sailor or if he just goes down on Marines (uh, I mean submarines)

 

That makes him a seaman. Only half the chromosomes!

[xbubblehead]

Ah yes, the seamen jokes. We all had to win that race to the egg. I realize the Marines are part of Navy much like the Seabees, which make you swim in the same gene pool, just a little lower. My Dad (USMC Ret) use to tell me about going into the field and dealing with the weather, insects and sleeping in foxholes which were filled with mud up to his chest. Those damn boats with the warm meals, controlled atmosphere and comfortable beds - yea jokes on us.

[Firefight911]

yea jokes on us.

 

When MattsVstrom was here, he showed me some photos. Here's on he left behind.

 

Training photo I believe?

[xbubblehead]

When MattsVstrom was here, he showed me some photos. Here's on he left behind.

 

Training photo I believe?

 

LOL

[Matts_12GS]

Phil....

 

You already forgot that point I made out there...

The Marines are a department of the Navy, the toy department...

[PRC]

Phil....

 

You already forgot that point I made out there...

The Marines are a department of the Navy, the toy department...

 

Yeah ok, you glorified taxi boat drivers!!!

[Matts_12GS]

Yeah ok, you glorified taxi boat drivers!!!

 

Sorry baby, I was aviation out there, I was as much a passenger as the bullet catchers.

 

wanna try again?

[Firefight911]

Sorry baby, I was aviation out there, I was as much a passenger as the bullet catchers.

 

wanna try again?

 

Way to go Maverick!!

[PRC]

Sorry baby, I was aviation out there, I was as much a passenger as the bullet catchers.

 

wanna try again?

 

Way to go Maverick!!

 

 

Here's a better one of Matt and his buddy's on liberty:

 

 

 

 

You know it's all in fun big guy!

[Matts_12GS]

Sorry baby, I was aviation out there, I was as much a passenger as the bullet catchers.

 

wanna try again?

 

Way to go Maverick!!

 

I did see this picture of Phil from his Marine days...

 

and Pete, funny picture, that situational awareness thing...

 

well we don't talk about the incident much any more...