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What's it take to have "The Right Stuff?"

By The Armorer on February 22, 2005 | | Comments (29)

Instapilot Sends:

AND YOU THOUGHT THE AIRBORNE SHUFFLE WAS COOL...

The Army likes to practice marching, which has some utility to getting large numbers of ground combat elements from one place to another rapidly and in a coordinated way. The Air Force, on the other hand, operating in a more fluid and dynamic three-dimensional environment, molds its leaders from a very early age to remain fluid themselves, flexible (extremely flexible), and display an ability to change tempo, direction and position rapidly...absolutely critical for today's--and tomorrow's--air combat leaders.

Attached is a demonstration of how this ability is being honed to a fine edge in our future fighting airmen at the premier western technical college at the base of the Colorado Rockies.

Oh, yass.

Instapilot sends.

Here at the Castle, we have Air Force training audition videos from Duty's personal stash... used like US Army videos from the Combat Training Centers to evaluate performance.

It's a thorough program.

First off - here's a video of an Air Force enlisted guy auditioning (yep, auditioning) for admission to the Academy...

Why audition? Well, like the Instapilot said, the Air Force "molds its leaders from a very early age to remain fluid themselves, flexible (extremely flexible), and display an ability to change tempo, direction and position rapidly."

Like this proto-officer at Zoomie U near Colorado Springs. (Loooong file. Right click and save as) Plus - this eats up a lot of space, so it may not be available forever - steal it now if you want it.

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29 Comments

By cw4billt on February 22, 2005 6:50 AM
Sound track on the enlisted audition needs that little je ne sais quoi. "Dirty Deeds (Done With Sheep)" should work nicely...
 
By James on February 22, 2005 7:25 AM
The first one was strange, the second one makes me wonder how the Air Force intends to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. That is, instead of striking riotous laughter into the hearts of the enemy.
 
By Instapilot on February 22, 2005 8:26 AM
James, Just ask the enemy. We did. I flew something they call "the devil's cross." Usually, the first indication we were in the area at night was one of their tanks exploding. Trust me, people can like to dance and be warriors, too. Besides, if it causes them to underestimate us like it did you, as a combat pilot I like that. That will make them make mistakes. Fatal ones.
 
By cw4billt on February 22, 2005 8:52 AM
Heh. The old "Make them overconfident, then bust their butts" trick. Dusty - Ever notice they all have that s-a-m-e look on their faces when they realize they've been had?
 
By AFSister on February 22, 2005 9:03 AM
What? You can't direct traffic with flare? Or get your groove on- by your.bad.self? Oh, man- I love it. Too funny! My boys have the "Everybody Dance Now" song on cd and are always asking Mr. Sister and I to "shake your groove thing with us". Cracks me up. Not- gee, Mommy & Daddy, would you come dance with us? No. It's "shake your groove thing with us". Now how can you resist an invitation like that??
 
By cw4billt on February 22, 2005 9:22 AM
Ummmm--kinda gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "in the groove"...
 
By AFSister on February 22, 2005 9:36 AM
That second kid needs to find a new groove to get into, Bill.
 
By Boquisucio on February 22, 2005 10:04 AM
I'm glad to see that the Air Farce is ready to Give 'em the Gun. My appologies to Phillip.
 
By Ciggy on February 22, 2005 12:50 PM
That wasn't dancing. That was a cry for help.
 
By Casey Tompkins on February 22, 2005 2:09 PM
Carlton lives! "It's not unusual to be loved by anyone..." Heh.
 
By AFSister on February 22, 2005 3:28 PM
Casey- Oh man, what a visual...Carlton dancing. AHHHHH@
 
By Cricket on February 22, 2005 3:45 PM
I finally got to watch both of them. Too funny. However, in the second video, I think it is kind of cool that he has fun like that. At least you know when he gets wigged out he will dance his stress out. Not a bad thing. We dance with our kids too.
 
By CitadelGrad on February 22, 2005 4:15 PM
Watching the zoomie dance in his room kept making me think of Stifler in American Wedding.
 
By SangerM on February 22, 2005 4:21 PM
That was great!!! I loved it (both of them, but the second one best. I like to dance, I like to dance like that, I wish I was that good. . . Wow. And you think I'm kiddng. NOT!! That was great. Sat here with a smile on my face the whole time. . . Which brings me to music and warriors! 1) After Gulf War I, a video was going around of a national guard or reserve Marine Unit from Florida, I think. They had tow missiles in hummers. A Hispanic guy (the driver) was talking and videotaping a battle they were literally in the middle of. Salsa was playing really loudly on a boom box in the vehicle, and a guy in the gunners hatch was shooting TOWs, the whole while his bottom half (the part in view) was dancing to a latin beat. The language was rough, and it was punctuated with WHOOSHes and BOOMs, and "Take THAT, MF!" etc. It was one of the best things I'd seen in a long time. 2) I and my 12 year-old daughter play Half-Life and Serious Sam. Both are pretty violent shoot-em ups with LOTS of really cool weapons. She also likes to play JetFighter and Comanche Gold (I especially like CG). In all cases, she will turn down the game volume and ratchet up the MusicMatch Jukebox MP3 player. She really, REALLY likes AC/DC, Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult, and other hardrock stuff from my collection. And she sits there gaming like a fiend, hands and arms going for all she's worth, body zigging and zagging, and she sings (pretty badly, actually). But she really loves it, and she says the music helps her concentrate! 3) I think music is a crucial part of what we are, especially in our society, but even more, I think there is a human-heart connection to music that is utterly primal, and that war drums, fife and drum, war dances, and all the rest, are just part of that. 4) I haven't given this a lot of thought, so I'm not very articulate right now, but I do know this. That cadet is probably as close to being ready to fight, ready to ROCK, while he is dancing, as he is at any other time. That kind of movement--extremely strong physical movements, to a beat and a tune--is something that only music or adrenaline can fuel. I think music may even be a form of artificial adrenaline, or a primer for it. PS: I didn't feed my daughter the music, she actually found this stuff on her own, and we have over 500 CDs of just about everything, from Gregorian Chants, to Soul, Rock, Christian, Show Tunes, etc. She just really likes hard rock music. Oh, and country females. Go figure. PPS. HORAAYAAAY, my house is 75% packed, they are coming back in a day to finish and then load the truck, and we are outta here. YEEEEE HAAAA. Of course, I been busy...... pant, pant, but my hard work's done, now it's up to the movers!! Yea!! Hampton Inn for me tonight....
 
By John of Argghhh! on February 22, 2005 4:26 PM
Garrrgghhh, Sanger - it's usually Jack of Random Fate who comes in and turns a snark post into a philosophical discourse on the Nature of Man... Hi Jack! (TSA guys are now running around confusedly)
 
By SangerM on February 22, 2005 4:45 PM
so, uh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
 
By Barb on February 22, 2005 5:17 PM
SangerM - I think I'd like your music collection! And your daughter's taste in Rock music is great... Haven't heard BOC is w-a-y too long!
 
By Boquisucio on February 22, 2005 5:32 PM
SangerM, Leave it always up to you to dig a wee bit deeper into the meaning of things. I once read two definitions which may be of your interest. 1)Music: Those sounds which speak to, and cause a reaction in your soul. 2)Dance: The soul putting those interactive sounds into motion. If we are to believe these two definitions, Little Mr. FlyBoy had plenty of pent-up soul motions to let fly out of his skin.
 
By Boudicca on February 22, 2005 7:55 PM
Those were great!!! My best friend my senior year in college was going through flight training in Pcola... Naval Academy Grad. I'd go dancing with him... he danced just like that 2nd guy. I had so much fun with him. The only thing that was unnerving is how much of an extrovert he was in all of his life. And I'm... not. He's still like that. Cracks me up. He just really really loves life.
 
By John of Argghhh! on February 22, 2005 8:11 PM
Boudi - pretty much the definition of a Naval Aviator. Bomber pilots are the quiet ones. BTW - I'm reading Nero's Killing Machine, about Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix. The Phoenix of Teutoberger Forest... and your namesake's Nemesis. Tough dudes.
 
By Boudicca on February 22, 2005 9:57 PM
OK, I admit, I had to google it, "When the native queen Boudicca revolted in 60, the legion behaved itself valiantly and was rewarded the honorific title Martia Victrix ('victorious, blessed by Mars'). The emperor Nero considered the legion as the best he had." I guess behaved itself valiantly means beat the crap out of Boudicca's side. I don't know how you keep all those names and dates straight. I can't even keep the names and birthdates of my sons straight... :)
 
By Q on February 23, 2005 8:42 AM
He does the same thing you do--he googles. A lot. Mostly it's to check the proper spelling, though...
 
By SangerM on February 23, 2005 11:54 AM
All: Back from the hotel, day spent packing went well... but gets in the way of my posting time, which definitely cuts into my work time. . . Uh, anyway, thanks for the comments above. And I agree with these from Boquisucio: 1)Music: Those sounds which speak to, and cause a reaction in your soul. 2)Dance: The soul putting those interactive sounds into motion. I think that says it best, give or take a few stray thoughts. . . Like, I think dance is one outlet for the energy that would otherwise have to go into violence or madness. Generalizations there, but I am sure you know what I mean. Thus, music, of the right sort, can lead to lowering of inhibitions and the raising of phyical impulses. Dance or kill, so to speak. Hows that for a stretch? And Barb, it'd be hard not to like my music collection. I doubt there is a genre I don't have something of, though with some diligence you could probably come up with something. And what I like best is putting whatever feels right into a mix that can include Madonna, Silly Wizard (Celtic), Gregorian Chants, Mozart, Stevie Wonder, Led Zep (lots of that), Queen, Blues Brothers, Bluegrass and Banjos, Zydeco-Cajun, Hank Snow, and etc. Sounds impossible, but it does work. All except for Boy George. S/him, I had to cut from one mix, he just didn't fit with anything. Figures, eh? And on that odd discordant note. . . Off again. -SangerM
 
By Justthisguy on February 23, 2005 6:03 PM
Rock and Roll has always mostly annoyed me, with some affectionate exceptions. Mozart for calmness and thoughtfulness, Sousa and Alford for slappin' down the depression and gettin' with the program, and Beethoven for just sheer ecstatic transport, have always been my favorites. Funny thing, I don't exactly agree with Steve H. on Mozart and Bach. I've always found Bach a little more fun to play, but a little harder to listen to, than Mozart. "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" on the old Eastman Wind Ensemble "Wagner for Band" disc always makes my eyes wet.
 
By Boquisucio on February 23, 2005 6:39 PM
Zydeco? Mai OUI, que des haricots n'sont pa'sale, et je doit DANZER
 
By SangerM on February 24, 2005 8:15 AM
Uh oh... I don't speekee de' frenchish.... I just like the music. As for classics, one of my favorite lines is from Amadeus, when the emporer tells Mozart his music has too many notes! Very astute. I used to really like Bach, above all! Then I heard Beethoven, whom I found and still find boring, and THEN I found Mozart, who added some zest to Bach (filled in the blank spaces), but wasn't trite or repetitive like the Big J.B. I still prefer Mozart over all (in almost all variations), though I also really, really like Grieg and Mussorgsky, and I often go back to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Of course, two of my favorite pseudo-classical pieces are Andrew Webers's "Variations on a Theme" and the longer version of Tubular Bells. And then there's Badfinger, Starr's "Goodnight Vienna," and Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" which has been a favorite since childhood. See what I mean. Eclectic. -SangerM
 
By Boquisucio on February 24, 2005 11:22 AM
Sorry SangerM Just the thinking of the word Zydeco, generates a Torret's like reflex out of me. It just brings that dat ol' Cajun jumpin' fourth
 
By SangerM on February 24, 2005 1:44 PM
Boquisucio, A long ago friend was from Metairie, LA. He was an interesting fellow and, I was told, typical of his kin and friends, but he never discussed music, etc. In fact, my real interest came from National Proletariat Radio (NPR) when they played some Michael Doucet & Beaujoleil. I ran out and grabbed Bayou Deluxe, and I have been a fan since. I still don't have a great selection, but like Jazz, I am building up to it. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. -SangerM
 
By Laney on February 26, 2005 12:17 AM
Now here is a guy with the right stuff! Loved both the videos however the second captured my heart! Nothing like a man loving life and having the ability to laugh at himself! Stuff dreams are made of! Good on ya mate! Life is tough enough as it is and so you find your moments! Thanks for posting these. They made me laugh so much and for all the right reasons! You guys are awesome! If they ever have a talent show for dancing he would be the next "American Dancing Idol"! Everytime I hear that song in the future I will think of this video. And if I ever look out the window of a plane and see the baggage handlers or traffic controllers blow a ball bearing I will die laughing! Thanks for sharing! P.S. Forget flowers and chocolates fellas just bust a move! It just makes us melt :)
 
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