Posted on Jul 13, 2016
How do you survive long flights on deployments these days?
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This comic strip reminded me of my deployment to Vietnam in 1967, an almost 24-hour flight with stops in Alaska, Japan, Guam, and Wake Island. No film. No music. No anything. I remember asking the stewardess (that's what we still called them in those days) if there was entertainment. She said, "I'm it" but didn't perform. How is it these days?
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Deployment
Deployment
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 13
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Experienced many flights to Vietnam in the back of a KC-135 where our in-flight entertainment was watching people negotiate pallets in the center aisle to get to the "facilities" in the back of the airplane. On my first trip I noticed a SMSgt gunner who had obviously made the trip many times set up a hammock over the boom operators station as soon as we got the clear to move around call and sleep the whole trip. He seemed to be the only one to have a relaxing trip, so on my first trip off base in Thailand I bought a hammock made out of twisted nylon ropes, light & easily fit in a helmet bag along with helmet so nothing extra to carry. Used this hammock on several in-theater KC-135 flights and by end of our tour when we headed back to States the whole crew had one and we would be scrambling to get prime spots over the boom operator. Same for next deployment; we never got the luxury of airline seats in SAC. Finally threw hammock away before final PCS retirement move.
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Trained my brain for 15 years as a pilot to NOT sleep in an airplane. Atlanta to Seoul trip is ~15 hours. I break it into five 3 hour chunks and I get a 10-15 minute "reward" standing in the flight attendant area after every chunk. It's still "the tube of pain" on those long ones.
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SFC Robert David Hummel
My FIRST trip to Korea, was on the SHIP- USNS Barrett 1962.
My SECOND to Korea trip was on a 727 Aircraft... 1983. the 'Land that God Forgot'... did surely reap the Benefit's of HUGE IMPROVEMENT, on their receipt of the endless supplies of the American DOLLAR.
My SECOND to Korea trip was on a 727 Aircraft... 1983. the 'Land that God Forgot'... did surely reap the Benefit's of HUGE IMPROVEMENT, on their receipt of the endless supplies of the American DOLLAR.
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