Forum: Air Force Life

Hiya guys,

I know this question may be slightly inclined towards the silly side, but enquiring minds want to know Very Happy

I was just wondering what kinds of booze/food do they sell at the fighter pilot O'Clubs around the world...been watching Pensacola Wings Of Gold and in that series they have something called "The Bucket", a haven for marine aviators to hang around and stuff.

I know they have lotsa alcohol, but specifically what types ? How about non-alcoholic stuff like root beer and ginger beer? (They're still a type of beer aint they? Laughing

) Milk and coffee maybe? How bout the foodstuff?

I'm really interested to know particularly in these places:

Tamworth, Australia
Pearce AFB, Australia
Luke AFB, Arizona
Cazaux AFB, France
NAS Pensacola

Would really appreciate it if guys from these places / who've been there before could fill me in on the above...

Thanks fellas!

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Take your standard bar and add Jeremiah Weed (this rude cocktail is the only drink most bars don't carry). You even have to bring your own to some Oclubs.

Cylon

I always like seeing different aircrew bars because the decor is fun. I liked the photo of the German MiG-29 ( MiG-29s given to Poland now) aircrew bar. They had a R-73 ( AA-11 ) hanging over one side of the bar. aircrew bars are way more interesting than the O'Club. It would probably make a good coffee table picture book showing various units aircrew bars around the world. Lots of times there is some cool decor.

I'd have to agree that I like the squadron bar much better than the Oclub...

Cylon

Heya guys, thanks for your replies!

You mean there's aircrew bars, squadron bars and O'Clubs? Wow...there must be 3 separate places to go to then....

Gee, and I thought there was only 1 type of bar where all the air force guys hang out in Embarassed

So what's the difference between these types of bars? Who usually hangs around in where?

Don't know about other services, but in USAF, every flying squadron has a small bar/lounge inside their main office building. Off duty aircrew can have alcohol, on duty aircrew can take a break there and drink something non-alcoholic. If the room is big enough, depending on what space is available for it, you might even see an aircrew sitting at one of the tables studying something technical related to their job. The squadron bar is what everyone else in the Air Force that isn't an aircrew calls "the break room", in their own building. Aircrew bars will usually have a bunch of unit stickers from other flying units on the refrigerator or somewhere else. There is of course decor that is specific to the flying unit. If there is enough space there is a TV and maybe some tabletop games. Everyone I have seen is different. ( You would think they would all be the same, given USAFs love for operating instructions and AF instructions lol ) . There is one squadron on my base that is a flying unit of famous history going all the way back to WWII and before, yet they have some little modest bar that is very small and in my opinion, inappropriate given what the unit is. Like I said, they are all different.

Salute!

Ah yes, cylon-breath - the mandatory Jeremiah Weed!!!!

Had a few shots with some old jocks a few weeks ago and it was 'a good thing'.

Stuff is a bourbon liquer produced by a reputable company, but is very rare. We have it here at Eglin, primarily due to the 33rd Eagle drivers, I imagine.

Best bars are the 'hootch bars' that the fighter pilots build themselves. They are not part of the squadron ops building, so there are no questions about improper behavior if flying ops are still in progress. This is where you'll find the crud table, game machines, crap table, poker table, etc.

For a real trip, find the old mission whiskey called 'Old Methusalah'. Truly vile stuff, but our flight surgeon had found some arcane regulation that allowed one mini-bottle for each mission our squad flew. Hell, we were flying about 50-60 a day, so we had mucho. Then the Doc discovered he could get Jack Daniels minis! Whooo hoooo! Considering the tee-totalers in the squad, we had a lotta free drinks at the hootch bar.

later, as I'm starting to have flashbacks about the 'Rapskeller' at Bien Hoa in 1968.......

The hootchs, lol. Over in turkey they had a few. The best ones where the brit ones. I don't know how many rounds I had to buy cause of the "game" they play. But the problem with the hootchs over there is the Sky Cops would find them and shut them down. And Then the next night it was the big game of walking though tent city and finding where they hid it.

They usually "hid" the brit bar under the big sign that read "BRIT BAR."

Heh heh... I hate the way they wired their bar.

Cylon

well ystw doesnt have a mess cos its a commercial airport and ypea has 2 messes one for the aussies and one for us. dunno about cauzaux... but my guess is they would have at least 2 there

sorry .............
YPEA-PEARCE
YSTW-TAMWORTH

Thanks for the info Zephyr,

I assume YPEA and YSTW are the official designations for these bases, similar to WSSS and WSAP for Singapore ?

Gums wrote:

Ah yes, cylon-breath - the mandatory Jeremiah Weed!!!!

Had a few shots with some old jocks a few weeks ago and it was 'a good thing'.

I met the guy who "invented" the JW tradition. Nort was in Riyadh as an advisor. I think he lived there but couldn't be sure. Through a party at his place week I was there.

History of "the Weed" can be found at: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dillons1/weed.htm

Gums wrote:

We have it here at Eglin, primarily due to the 33rd Eagle drivers, I imagine.

Never realized you're at Eglin. I did two tours there, first as a ground test guy, second as an attached aicrew with the 40 FLTS (Vipers Rule!). Left in '01.

Salute Roscoe!

Very personal callsign, as I participated in the burial of Roscoe, the 388th TFW mascot.

Rumor was that Roscoe came over with a Thud jock to Korat in 1966-67 or so.

Roscoe was a tan mutt, part Lab, part something else, who cares. He had the run of the base and especially the O-club. His master never came back from a mission, and the Wing adopted him (Roscoe).

Roscoe would follow us to the mass briefings at Ft Apache when we were heading up North. He had his own chair right up front, and never missed a briefing until the day he died.

One day he didn't wake up.

I was there when we placed him into a neat wooden casket and lowered him into the ground right in front of the O-club at Korat.

It was fitting, as we had just been notified that the base was closing (mid 1975). Roscoe had been there for almost ten years, and had gone thru the best and worst times with all the pilots. We loved that old dog, lemme tell ya. And he loved us, prolly wondering when his buddy would finally come back from that mission. Both of them are prolly now having fun in that Hootch Bar in the sky.

Oh man, those were the days my friends, and I am glad to pass on some lore.............

out,

Forum: Air Force Life

Fighter Pilots' O'Clubs