Author Topic: Are there any police officers on the boards?  (Read 2451 times)

UnarmedButStillPolite

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Are there any police officers on the boards?
« on: February 15, 2008, 02:26:44 PM »
I originally planned to get a bachelor's degree in engineering and go into the Navy as a pilot before becoming an astronaut, but I've been hearing that the US Government is planning to cut NASA funding (thereby decreasing my chances at being selected for the Astronaut Corps.)

Anyway, I haven't totally given up on my dream of going into space, but I've started looking into alternatives and the next best thing would be to join the Police force, so I was wondering if there are any Police officers would could advise me?

What can I do that will give me a leg up on the competition?  Are the risks worth the rewards (I meant knowing that you're helping to keep the streets safe, not material rewards)?  Would you recommend your children follow in your footsteps? (this will help me win my parents over, both of whom think I'm a wee bit reckless with my life, lol)
Unarmed but not by choice (I'm a college student and it's illegal to posses a firearm at my school.)

Bogie

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2008, 03:21:36 PM »
Astronaut or cleanup crew?

Dude, engineering school. The next round of "nasa" stuff will be outsourced.

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Ryan in Maine

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2008, 03:51:56 PM »
Wouldn't the next best thing be to join the Navy or Air Force?  cheesy

UnarmedButStillPolite

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2008, 04:02:39 PM »
Wouldn't the next best thing be to join the Navy or Air Force?  cheesy

I mean the next best thing for me, as in what my second choice as a career would be.
Unarmed but not by choice (I'm a college student and it's illegal to posses a firearm at my school.)

Boomhauer

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2008, 06:09:59 PM »
Well, private space flight is coming along. Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites are leading the way. Look into that. Engineering school, get your pilot's license, get into the aviation community, etc.

There are a couple of LEOs on this board. Moondoggie, I do believe, and I think Lawdog is also registered on here. There are undoubtedly others, too. Personally, I think that being a LEO in a smaller town could be interesting and fun.







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Ryan in Maine

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2008, 07:17:37 PM »
Wouldn't the next best thing be to join the Navy or Air Force?  cheesy

I mean the next best thing for me, as in what my second choice as a career would be.
Yeah, that's what I figured. That's why I used the "cheese" face.

I still thought it warranted mentioning though. The Air Force has a lot of space program involvement these days. They employ civilians as well, I believe. They work commercially as well as with NASA and the DOD.

The Air Force Space Command certainly wouldn't be a bad way to get a foot in the door.

Just saying!

Gewehr98

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2008, 08:22:41 PM »


Air Force Space Command doesn't do squat with astronaut selection - they're basically the end users and managers of space technology, but they're not the hatching ground for NASA astronauts.  Air Force pilots plucked from Air Combat Command (My former major command) are one fertile source for astronaut candidates, as are test pilots from Air Force Systems Command at Edwards AFB. These are all highly trained and skilled aviators, thousands of hours of seat time, and typically not guys who flew trash-haulers like C-130, C-141, or C-5 airframes.  Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.

IOW, if you're looking to be a shuttle pilot, and want to go via the Air Force route, you have to become a Command Pilot (Pilot Wings w/star and wreath), preferably a fighter jock, and come to the table highly recommended, sporting exemplary OERs and Definitely Promote statements w/ Senior Level Endorsement.  Your records will be thoroughly reviewed by the Air Force if they're given a quota to fill, and it'll span your entire career, including what place you graduated from UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) and OTS/Academy/ROTC ranking. Then you get to go through the NASA selection board as you compete against Navy and Marine pilots with similar credentials.  You're probably the top 1% of the Air Force's pilots, before you get racked and stacked with the top 1% of the Navy and Marine candidates.  If you don't get selected on the first go-around, keep plugging away at it while improving yourself with more experience, training, and endorsements.

The other option is to become a Mission Specialist, no left and right seat up front, but you'll still get astronaut wings.  You'll have an advanced degree in whatever discipline NASA wants for the mission, and will undergo most of the same training and testing as the Pilot and Mission Commander.  Selection will still be extremely competitive, and it doesn't hurt to keep applying after getting passed over once or twice.  Think AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology) as a feeder path. Wink



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Ryan in Maine

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2008, 09:32:54 PM »
^ Knows way more than me about topic I brought up.  sad

S. Williamson

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2008, 09:53:59 PM »
Get in line!  angry  grin

I'm taking a different route. I'm getting my Airframe and Power plant license at the moment, followed soon by an Associate's Degree in Aviation Maintenance, followed by (hopefully) employment at Boeing in Seattle, followed in a few years by an Aerospace Engineering degree from UW.  (I actually plan on getting one to pay for the next and so on... laugh )

I knew from a very early age that I would never, under NASA's physical requirements, pilot a space shuttle.  My eyes are horrible without lenses, for one, and even if I were to miraculously drop my body fat percentage to 13% and become capable of the PT exercises that the military requires, I'd still be over 300lbs.

I am doing everything I damn well can to get myself into space where I belong, and where most people think I actually am.  smiley  If, by the point that I get my last degree from UW, I'm eligible for spaceflight via NASA, I'm going.  If not, then (I hope to God) the commercial space industry will have built up by then.

And if I *still* can't, then I'm building a time machine, going back to 1956, and strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.  undecided
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Perd Hapley

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2008, 03:35:02 AM »
I'm...strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.  undecided


Well, some guys just have odd fantasies, I guess.   undecided
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Sergeant Bob

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2008, 04:04:30 AM »
I'm...strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.  undecided


Well, some guys just have odd old fantasies, I guess.   undecided

Sorry fistful, I just had to! cool
Personally, I do not understand how a bunch of people demanding a bigger govt can call themselves anarchist.
I meet lots of folks like this, claim to be anarchist but really they're just liberals with pierced genitals. - gunsmith

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Tallpine

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2008, 06:04:33 AM »
Quote
Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.

Well that Holland guy could yank and bank a B-52, at least for a while ...   rolleyes
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward toward the light; but the laden traveller may never reach the end of it.  - Ursula Le Guin

Sergeant Bob

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2008, 06:45:14 AM »
Quote
Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.

Well that Holland guy could yank and bank a B-52, at least for a while ...   rolleyes

And what does that have to do with anything? Most Air Force pilots are highly skilled aviators with a level of dedication and professionalism most people can only aspire to.
What happened with Col. Holland is not the norm and is quite rare.
Personally, I do not understand how a bunch of people demanding a bigger govt can call themselves anarchist.
I meet lots of folks like this, claim to be anarchist but really they're just liberals with pierced genitals. - gunsmith

I already have canned butter, buying more. Canned blueberries, some pancake making dry goods and the end of the world is gonna be delicious.  -French G

Tallpine

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2008, 09:59:42 AM »
Quote
Even B-52 and WC-135 dawgs like myself are passed over for those who flew higher-performance aircraft that can yank and bank while swinging the G-meter considerably.

Well that Holland guy could yank and bank a B-52, at least for a while ...   rolleyes

And what does that have to do with anything? Most Air Force pilots are highly skilled aviators with a level of dedication and professionalism most people can only aspire to.
What happened with Col. Holland is not the norm and is quite rare.

Sorry if I pushed the wrong button .... Sad

Col. Holland was highly skilled too, or else he could not have done what he did for so long.

What's the old saying ... "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" ? Wink


Gwehr, seems I remember you posted a 60 degree bank photo from inside the cockpit, but of course at a much higher altitude ... Huh?
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward toward the light; but the laden traveller may never reach the end of it.  - Ursula Le Guin

S. Williamson

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2008, 12:06:13 PM »
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I'm building a time machine, going back to 1956, and strapping a harness to Alice Kramden.   undecided

Dangit...

1956.  The Honeymooners.  Alice Kramden was threatened more than any other individual to be "sent to the moon."

Little-known fact: The first person to actually set foot on the moon was James Marshall Hendrix in 1967.  It was undocumented, however, because he didn't use a corporeal means of transit.  laugh
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Gewehr98

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2008, 06:07:06 PM »
Quote
Col. Holland was highly skilled too, or else he could not have done what he did for so long.

What's the old saying ... "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" ?


Gwehr, seems I remember you posted a 60 degree bank photo from inside the cockpit, but of course at a much higher altitude ...

My photos are at 300-400ft AGL, and I never exceeded 45 degrees bank angle, per the T.O.s. Trust me, I know, as did everybody else in the 8th Air Force on down since that day.

Bud Holland was a hot-dog, and had been behind the 8-Ball for a while due to his aggressive behavior and disregard for procedures.  He was only authorized to fly with a Stan/Eval crew at the time of the incident.  There's very little aerodynamic lift delivered by a B-52H fuselage when the aircraft is rolled to a 90 degree bank angle.   He was an accident waiting to happen, and the entire 92nd Bomb Wing contributed to that disaster by sweeping his previous infractions under the carpet vs. taking appropriate measures.

Part of the story here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash

Your airframe assignment out of UPT is based on your class standing.  The top scores get fighters, then it goes to TTB (Tanker, Transport, Bomber).  I've seen folks change airframes later only on rare occasions, usually from rotary wing to fixed wing, and I know of one C-130 pilot who transitioned to the U-2/TR-1.  He was the exception, rather than the rule.

I don't know how the Navy does it - they may be easier, they may be tougher.  It doesn't hurt to shoot for astronaut, but don't eat a shotgun if you can't get that far.  Wink



"Bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round...

http://neuralmisfires.blogspot.com

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S. Williamson

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #16 on: February 16, 2008, 06:18:19 PM »
What would the requirements be for someone who's not military?

Where might be a good place to find that kind of info?
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"The chances of finding out what's really going on are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied. I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
"And are you?"
"No, that's where it all falls apart I'm afraid. Pity, it sounds like quite a nice lifestyle otherwise."
-Douglas Adams

Tallpine

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Re: Are there any police officers on the boards?
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2008, 08:03:54 AM »
Well, I have nothing but respect for tanker/transport/bomber pilots.  It still takes a tremendous amount of skill and dedication to get to that point.  Smiley

The occasional incidents only prove that it is a profession not tolerant of errors.
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward toward the light; but the laden traveller may never reach the end of it.  - Ursula Le Guin