Tail_Gunner
CRJ & ERJ A&P Mech.
Well, where to start??? I'm Kent Wales, and as you can see I signed up over here not long after the begining.
I used to mostly hang at TDS, first signing up over there about 3 1/2 years ago. But a few months ago I started getting fed up with the trouble makers, aggitaters and excessive censorship of the moderators. I'm not going to waste my time contributing to a discussion if the whole thread gets zapped because a moderator doesn't like a particular commment made by one person. I like the air over here better, it's much "fresher".
As you can see by sig, I'm an Air Force O.R.F. (Old Retired Fart). My first 3 years were spent maintaining & fixing B-52H at KI Sawyer AFB near Marquette, MI. Later I figured I'd rather fly'em than fix'em, so I cross-trained and became a tail gunner, which I did for the next 13 1/2 years.
During that period, I spent 4 years on B-52G at Grand Forks AFB, ND, 3 1/2 years at Carswell AFB, Ft. Worth, TX on B-52H before returning to KI Sawyer AFB in 1990. During that 13 1/2 years and 3660+ flying hours, I went from being a slug gunner, to an instructor gunner and later a flight examiner/evaluator gunner. My crew was selected to go Saudi Arabia for Gulf War I, but by the time we got there, it was all but over, hostilities ending the day after arriving in country. Come October 91, the Soviet Union collapsed, SAC bombers were removed from nuclear ground alert, and tailgunners were no longer deemed a necessity. All gunners were eliminated and the guns were removed from the rear of the airplanes. My flying days were over. 
Being 3 years shy of retirement, I had to find something else. I became a Command Post Controller because many aspects of that job were common to being a tailgunner. As it turned out, I was a welcomed, familiar voice on the radio to the B-52 crews. They felt there was finally someone in the command post who could relate to them and understood what was going on in the cockpit. It was my desire to merely "bide my time" and avoid the spotlight until I got my 20, but things didn't work out that way. Due to a severe manning shortage of officers, I found myself doing officer duty as a NCO. I soon became their top controller. This was based on the fact that everytime an inspection team came to town, and controllers were "randomly selected" for testing, I was somehow always the one getting "randomly" picked. 
Eventually, 20 years rolled around and I retired. It's something how 20 years can pass in the blink of an eye.
After a short stint in a Car Quest parts store, I started doing mobile, on-site industrial hearing testing. I started out as an employee and later starting a business with my former supervisor. For 10 years, I pounded the highways, spending too many nights in hotels. But in that time period, we got a new 99 F-250 which I used to pull my hearing testing trailer around. I subsequently became ill with an illness we all are afflicted with refered to as "Powerstrokitis". In the last year, we suffered some business setbacks and I left the business partnership. Keeping my 99 F-250 was part of the buyout agreement. I did my last hearing test in Oct 2005 and have been "looking" ever since.
I have been badly hoping and trying for a job as the store/parts person for a new RV dealership/store being built in the area. This is an extension of an existing RV dealership about an hour away. Everyone has a "dream job", and I think this could be as close as I could come to it for me. I liked working in the Car Quest store years ago, but the paycheck wasn't adequate. I love camping and we bought a new Jayco 2 years ago. With my parts experience and my love of camping, this could be a combination of the two. I should know something in the next week or two -popcorn, the new store is supposed to open about 6 March. If y'all could keep your fingers crossed for me, I'd appreciate it.
I used to mostly hang at TDS, first signing up over there about 3 1/2 years ago. But a few months ago I started getting fed up with the trouble makers, aggitaters and excessive censorship of the moderators. I'm not going to waste my time contributing to a discussion if the whole thread gets zapped because a moderator doesn't like a particular commment made by one person. I like the air over here better, it's much "fresher".
As you can see by sig, I'm an Air Force O.R.F. (Old Retired Fart). My first 3 years were spent maintaining & fixing B-52H at KI Sawyer AFB near Marquette, MI. Later I figured I'd rather fly'em than fix'em, so I cross-trained and became a tail gunner, which I did for the next 13 1/2 years.
During that period, I spent 4 years on B-52G at Grand Forks AFB, ND, 3 1/2 years at Carswell AFB, Ft. Worth, TX on B-52H before returning to KI Sawyer AFB in 1990. During that 13 1/2 years and 3660+ flying hours, I went from being a slug gunner, to an instructor gunner and later a flight examiner/evaluator gunner. My crew was selected to go Saudi Arabia for Gulf War I, but by the time we got there, it was all but over, hostilities ending the day after arriving in country. Come October 91, the Soviet Union collapsed, SAC bombers were removed from nuclear ground alert, and tailgunners were no longer deemed a necessity. All gunners were eliminated and the guns were removed from the rear of the airplanes. My flying days were over. Being 3 years shy of retirement, I had to find something else. I became a Command Post Controller because many aspects of that job were common to being a tailgunner. As it turned out, I was a welcomed, familiar voice on the radio to the B-52 crews. They felt there was finally someone in the command post who could relate to them and understood what was going on in the cockpit. It was my desire to merely "bide my time" and avoid the spotlight until I got my 20, but things didn't work out that way. Due to a severe manning shortage of officers, I found myself doing officer duty as a NCO. I soon became their top controller. This was based on the fact that everytime an inspection team came to town, and controllers were "randomly selected" for testing, I was somehow always the one getting "randomly" picked.
Eventually, 20 years rolled around and I retired. It's something how 20 years can pass in the blink of an eye. After a short stint in a Car Quest parts store, I started doing mobile, on-site industrial hearing testing. I started out as an employee and later starting a business with my former supervisor. For 10 years, I pounded the highways, spending too many nights in hotels. But in that time period, we got a new 99 F-250 which I used to pull my hearing testing trailer around. I subsequently became ill with an illness we all are afflicted with refered to as "Powerstrokitis". In the last year, we suffered some business setbacks and I left the business partnership. Keeping my 99 F-250 was part of the buyout agreement. I did my last hearing test in Oct 2005 and have been "looking" ever since.
I have been badly hoping and trying for a job as the store/parts person for a new RV dealership/store being built in the area. This is an extension of an existing RV dealership about an hour away. Everyone has a "dream job", and I think this could be as close as I could come to it for me. I liked working in the Car Quest store years ago, but the paycheck wasn't adequate. I love camping and we bought a new Jayco 2 years ago. With my parts experience and my love of camping, this could be a combination of the two. I should know something in the next week or two -popcorn, the new store is supposed to open about 6 March. If y'all could keep your fingers crossed for me, I'd appreciate it.
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You already know how welcome you are.
