What makes the Minotaur a special squadron?
Well the first thing is the motivation of those that are involved with the squadron. We are on constant recruitment to fill out the 10 spots for the squadron. As of this writing we are at half strength of the roster with 4 of the 5 pilots already Viper certified. Each of those pilots are either already Raptor Qualified or in the process of taking the Qualification Test.
The second thing that makes the Minotaur special is the fact that we are taking the forethought and the idea of role-playing the idea of being something more that just the standard Mark II or Mark VII Viper Jocks. We are looking as a squadron to be outfitted not only with a cache of Viper Mark VII but with the Viper Mark III as well. The tactics that the Minotaur employ uses the Mark VII fighter as a bait and chase fighter to make the Cylon Raiders come to the battlefield of choice for the squadron. Once the Chase fighters pass through the kill zone the Mark III's swoop in with the heavy armament and dispatch the Raiders as quickly as possible.
The main reason is to immolate the current 51st Operations Group which houses both the 25th and 36th Fighter Squadron of the United States Air Force. The reason I chose this Group is to one, find a squadron that is still using the A-10 Thunderbolt which is being used by the 25th upon which we are basing the Mark III Viper on. The 36th are using F-16 Falcons which are one of the fastest fighters in service to the Air Force at this time. The second reason was to find a Squadron symbol of the "past" that was not a Flying Tiger. As such the tail wing of our Mark III Vipers are painted in a Checkered pattern in Red and Black to be our own version of the tail wing that is displayed by these Warriors.
Why should the Minotaur be selected as the Squadron of the Quarter? One major reason is the fact that until Lt. Jg Phillips put in the time to get his certifications and ask to take over the squadron, the Minotaur seemed to languish in obscurity. Once there, things moved quickly and the Squadron is alive and kicking. Pushing the other squadrons into getting more involved in their respected roles. The Minotaur has been on the forefront of getting new pilots to join up with the Raven.
The Minotaur is also going to be a breeding ground for new Squadron Commanders. As the Air Group grows the need to have experienced members leading the nuggets is necessary. In the Minotaur due to the Air Wing Challenge will have the required qualifications needed to take over any of the vacant squadron commander posts. This situation is going to be a future requirement for any members of the Minotaur Squadron is to not only Viper Certified but to be Raptor Certified as well. Thus the breeding ground for new commanders and future Commanders of the Air Group (CAG) can claim that they got their initial training from the Minotaur and felt prepared to face the challenges of command.
Comments
Spectre,
Thank you for some information that I did not know, I did not know about the 16's being nicknamed Vipers cause of BSG. That to me would have been awesome to note. I do know about the 22's being faster than the 16's now but I was pushing the whole reference to the 51st Wing in the blog for the use of the 16's. I do thank you for reading my post and leaving comments. It does make me feel better that I am not just yelling into space.
VERY GOOD! (Applause)