Talking about basic training (BT) in this forum I have a question: After BT in Lackland in 1964 we were sent to our specific training schools. I was in Amarillo TX to train as a jet engine mechanic, specialty 43230, as it was called then. There, in Amarillo, we had so called 'Whistles' and 'Ropes' who acted as Drill Instructors (DIs). They got us up in the morning, marched us to school and so on. But they did not go to school with us. The 'whistles' had a whistle and the 'ropes' had different colored woven ropes on their right shoulders. They wore the same uniform as we (TWs), had no rank (stripes) and had a rank system among themselves (whistles were lower than ropes I remember). They did not participate in any formal training. All of them were young guys our age. To this day I wonder where they came from. Were they rejected Officer cadets or Officer trainees? Does any one of the old USAF guys know?

I dont know what it was back then but at tech school we had 'ropes' but they were just fellow airmen who were 'in charge' of us. They went to school and pretty much did everything we did.

Thanks Commie, no these guys were not in school with us. I have an old picture of my grad class jet engine and none of the guys there were ropes or whistles. Still a mystery.

Likely they were assigned to those duties, while waiting for thier class to have enough seats filled.

That makes sense gunny because there were other tech schools on Amarillo AFB, like painters, ground power people, fuselage repair etc. And, as I recall some guys were assigned to schools they didn't want or asked for when they enlisted and consequently they tried to get out of them. I lucked out with jet engine.

yeah, I was a rolls royce jet engine mech for the Harrier. (after being a radio operator for artillery)