Where to go on the web about military aviation news and info? Pt 2

Oh, boy. I should have really thought this one out before hand.

So, last entry (I should be saying last WEEK's entry) was about the best paper publications to go to for accurate military aviation news and information.

But, to be honest, every time I sat down to type out a new entry, my mind went blank.

No- you don't get it. It went BLANK. And blank is frustrating, especially when you know its supposed to be a weekly gig you're runnin'. But I was so blank I couldn't even find something random to throw up here.

So I finally sat myself down and realized, there really isn't any one site, or collection of sites, even, that I go to.

Now, ok, there are a few sites. AF.mil... Janes.com... Official ANG sites. You know, Official sites. A few forums, and then... I realized... It's not the WHERE on the web I go to0 it's the WHO.

Official web sites, like the 142 FW's site (http://www.142fw.ang.af.mil/) are about the people- they talk about what's happening. Celebrating the USAF's 65th Anniversary... Welcoming troops home with a fly over... A group of pilots comes home from training some new NATO country's air force... All cool stuff.

Then there's the forums, like SimHQ.com. Youtube channels like AirBoydTV. People in the force or always around it. These are the guys who know first hand above the armchair-XBOX360-wannabes who only know the hype and indoctrination of Future Weapons and other glory of war braggerts. Yeah- you know the type- they talk all turn rates but don't know training. What's that saying? "Amateurs talk tactics and strategy; professionals talk logistics and personnel."

But then, ya gotta keep an eye out. Some sites- again, like YouTube, are made of the stuff that makes the World hate Americans. Pocket Generals railing "USA is the GREATEST YOU #%@%%@!!! I have Flight Sim X and I COULD HOP IN AN F-16 AND SHOOT DOWN YOUR ENTIRE AIR FORCE WITH MY EYES CLOSED!!! #%@#$%@#%!!!" And these guys are everywhere.

But some of the most valuable places I've gone to learn about what the military does... has been the military. Not the electronic military- the carbon-based, organic, living, breathing military. Visiting a base. Yeah, you can do that, at times. The 142nd's Young American Day, for example.

Don't feel despaired if there's a long line for the pilots around the F-15 on display... go talk to the missile loaders. They might not have the stick time but sometimes they know more about the plane than the pilots do. And they'll have just as cool stories, too. Crew chiefs who rip on pilots for breaking their jets, and have hilarious stories about that the pilots that, well, the pilots will never tell... the whole bit. And then there's that guy. What's he do? He files the computer reports that confirm everyone's done their computer reports. And you know what? The squadron wouldn't fly without him. So thank him. Be the first on your block to thank them all.

See? Another blog that went somewhere we didn't expect. But that's how it goes, isn't it? Now, go visit the link below and get to know your local Air Guard Family.

http://www.142fw.ang.af.mil/