[ops33]

I am a retired Air Traffic Controller and found you comments on issuing traffic interesting. I once asked my trainer, when I was first starting out, what is the difference between traffic advisories and merging target procedures? He answered, tone of voice.

[Mark17]

I honestly thought air traffic control, was one of the worst possible jobs one could have in the USAF. I don’t think commissioned officers liked having enlisted people telling them what to do. I think many deeply resented it. On the absolute first day that I was eligible to put in my retirement papers, I did so. I couldn’t wait to retire and get away from these people. The best revenge I have gotten, is I have been collecting retirement pay for 30 years now, and I don’t do Obamacare. Beyond that, I am not sure I would do it again.

[Mark17]

You know what though, I really enjoyed working fighters. Early in my career, it was F-4s. Later, it was F-15s. The F-15s seemed much more nimble than the F-4s. We had parallel runways, end to end, not side by side. It was a beautiful thing to run C-5s, 141s and KC-10s at 1,100 in the rectangular pattern to the left runway, while running F-15s and T-38s over top of them at 1,600 in the overhead pattern to the right runway. It was an art form, but phraseology just went out the window.
In Vietnam, I believe it was one of the top 5 busiest airports in the world. It was a nightmare I thought I would never wake up from, but somehow I survived it. Soon, my son will be going to pilot training, probably at Laughlin. USAF is really short of pilots.