vyshka
1995
Only roughly 50% are mission capable at any time? That seems like a low and worrisome figure. Also, why is the Air Guard in HI flying F-22s? With the limited inventory I would expect them all to be in active duty units.
Readiness rates seem to be a problem with a lot of the high tech stealthy fighters.
vyshka
1997
I knew the F-35 had a pretty crappy readiness rate, but I hadn’t really heard anything about the F-22 since they had oxygen issues early on. Another reason to add the F-15EX to the fleet I guess.
According to the article below, I guess the F-35 readiness improved a lot in FY2020:
It was a bit of surprise to me also, when they first started using F-22 a couple of years ago. They operate on the same base (HIckam) with a activate durty wing that flies F-22. So my guess is there are operational issue with respect maintenance etc. Plus they are on the front line more than most ANG squadrons.
That stealth coating is a gigantic PITA to maintain.
TIL that submarines have ice cream machines.
vyshka
2001
I was reading about it earlier and the Air Guard unit has some sister unit relationship with the active duty unit. It looks like there is a similar thing in VA as well and they fly some F-22s there.
They cut that part of Das Boot.
There are very, very few creature comforts aboard a submarine. You got upwards of 100 men cramped together in a steel tube about 15-20 feet wide. And in the old days when they were not nuclear, those things could get really hot, too.
The Navy does its best to try and soften the blow. Subs get the best cooks and food in the navy.
I recall some stories about sub skippers refusing to sail until the ice cream machine got fixed.
Googling Navy Ice Cream got me to this:
This is a dirty lie. We had some good cooks, but what they had to work with were literally foodstuffs that were marked “Grade D, but edible” and, not joking, “Rejected U.S. Air Force”
On older subs, we loaded all of that food by hand using a human chain. Everything you were going to eat on a patrol passed through your hands and it was fucking horrifying. Several engineers, including me, brought enough canned tuna with packets of mayo and relish to eat two meals a day. Others went vegetarian while we were deployed. And how could the food be good? Fresh stuff doesn’t last more than a week, milk is gone in two weeks and eggs last about 6 weeks without refrigeration. Everything else has to be canned.
Seriously, submarine food is, or at least was, awful.
vyshka
2008
I imagine they would reject anything that didn’t come from some fancy restaurant.
I remember one time out at NTC we had some t-rat marble cake and there were some bugs in it.
RichVR
2009
Was there a greater and lesser weevil?
vyshka
2010
It was in the evening, so I’m just glad someone noticed before we actually ate any of it.
RichVR
2011
That was an Aubrey/Maturin joke. But glad you avoided it. :)
vyshka
2012
Also there was the Master & Commander scene about the lesser of two weevils :)
rowe33
2013
That was pretty interesting, even to a non-military junkie like me! The logistics of feeding large groups of contained people are fascinating.
RichVR
2014
One of my best friends was a cook on a sub. He described the food issue as, at first there are fresh foods, vegetables, meat, etc. But as the deployment goes on you go from fresh to powdered for many things. But they still do the best with what they have. He never mentioned bugs in the food. But I guess different times and different subs. He was in one of the nukes that spend six months to a year under way. So YMMV.
