Welcome Pilots. Here Is What To Do For The SOS.

Mission Statement: To protect the flying public and restore the pilot profession by changing the current laws and industry practices which are in opposition to those ends. This will be done via peaceful protest of the RLA and other laws and practices harmful to the flying public and pilot profession. This protest is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Phase I: Develop scope of operation (complete)

Phase II: Recruit a critical mass of pilots across the industry who have the resolve to withhold their services as peaceful protest under the First Amendment for the purposes of redress of grievances of the past three decades of managerial and government abuse of the flying public and professional pilots. (in progress)

Phase III: Active lobbying of government under the First Amendment.

Phase IV: Implement an industry wide shut down as peaceful protest if Phase III does not bear fruit.

Phase V: Negotiate new contracts under the new laws.

Phase VI: Remain vigilant for any threat to the flying public or pilot profession and take appropriate steps not to repeat the mistakes of the past three decades.

PILOT “TO DO” LIST FOR PHASE II

This is an outline of what is needed for sympathetic pilots to do during the educational phase of OPERATION ORANGE. If you wish to participate, please follow a few simple instructions to complete all the antecedents necessary for the actual SOS. Phase III can not start until we have a critical mass of pilots willing to implement the SOS.

1. Read the documents listed in the menu below the orange SOS masthead on OPERATIONORANGE websites.

• Our Fellow Pilots
• The Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act of 2011 – Part 2
• Imagine Reading This
• UPS Pilot Speaks Out
• Response to FAA Fatigue Mitigation Proposal
• To The Public
• Secure Communications
• First Amendment vs RLA
• Chesley Sullenberger’s Congressional Testimony
• Jeffery Skiles’ Congressional Testimony
• Authentication
• Abbreviated Talking Points

All these documents can be downloaded in a single .zip file called “Master Documents and Signatures” located in the masthead menu.

2. Tell AT LEAST 10 pilots (preferably 20) about OPERATION ORANGE. It is not enough to only tell your flying partner. You must tell pilots at other airlines about OPERATION ORANGE, because it is absolutely critical this be an industry wide operation. It is a failure if only one or two carriers participate.

• Tell 4 flying partners (captains tell 4 first officers and first officers tell 4 captains).
• Tell 2 fellow captains or first officers at your airline.
• Tell 4 friends or associates at other carriers (jump seaters, crew van, hotel lobby, airport terminals, military buddies, etc).

If 200 pilots each recruit 20 pilots, and each of them recruits 5, that’s half of the pilots in the industry.

3. Wear Orange. We need a sea of orange operating passenger transportation aircraft in 2011. This allows us to identify one another and identify those that either have not heard or do not wish to participate. Orange lanyards, book bag stickers, luggage flags, candies, gum, etc. Be creative. University of Tennessee, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Bucs (retro), Miami Dolphins… Existing orange book bag stickers and “CREW” bag tags do not count, unless they are in numbers such that it is obvious what is intended.

The other benefit is that our adversaries will also see this unity and know what is looming if OPERATION ORANGE Phase III is ever implemented.

Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Without unity, OPERATION ORANGE is going nowhere.

4. Print up cards and stickers to give to other pilots. We have .PDF and .jpg files for OPERATION ORANGE business cards and stickers. You can download them from the masthead menu, or get them from the Master Document and Signature .zip file, and take them to a printer like Office Depot, Staples, Kinkos/FedEx, Office Max, etc. to get them printed up. You could also use your own computer and printer for lesser amounts. There is nothing stopping you from designing your own cards or stickers. The documents are in formats needed by those printers. Office Max has a 7 day turnaround and is very reasonably priced. The Office Max sticker is template ADL 1177 and costs $165 for the first 500. Business cards are $40/1000.

5. (OPTIONAL) Download the PGP trial version and PUBLIC KEYS for The Committee. To prevent our adversaries from corrupting our message, The Committee has arranged for public key cryptography to ensure the message we put out is not forged or corrupted. All the details are listed in the “Authentication” document in the masthead menu.

Not everyone needs to check the documents for authenticity, but enough people must do so and make enough noise if they find anything corrupted so that other pilots can be forewarned.

6. Be professional. Management and government are going to be doing what they always do when pilots attempt to stand up for themselves – take hostages. They do it every contract cycle and this will certainly be no exception.

OPERATION ORANGE will not conclude until all hostages are not only released, but made whole. No pilot shall agree to participate in OPERATION ORANGE unless they are willing to fight for those who are being harassed by management, as one of the objectives of OPERATION ORANGE is to end this practice.

• Fly the best plane you can.
• Be diligent about following all the regulations.
• Save your sick leave.
• “Yes sir. No sir. Three bags full.”
• Wear your uniform with pride.
• Observe sterile.
• When in doubt, go around.
• …and most of all, don’t screw up.

7. Don’t talk to the press.  Many in the press corps do not understand our history or goals, and most won‘t take the time to learn. It is much easier for most of them to listen to management and parrot the company line or conventional wisdom. Many journalists engage in “gotcha” journalism and you may not be able to tell the difference before it is too late. It is best to keep quiet to prevent looking like a fool. Often what you meant to say and what people read will be two different things.

Anyone who has been to SERE knows what we are talking about.

“I have no comment.” Know it. Learn it. Say it. You are not as smart as you think you are.

8. Don’t talk to the cops. Anything you say can and will be held against you. What we are doing is not a crime – we are just exercising our First Amendment rights of speech, press, assembly, and petition. They won’t get you on your participation, as that is not criminal; they will get you on not giving them a straight story. You will unwittingly give them the ammo to chase you down on how you somehow “lied” to the police, and you are now a hostage. They are doing the bidding of management and are nothing more than organized harassment.

The Bill of Rights is the entirety of OPERATION ORANGE. The same Bill of Rights that gives us the rights to speak our minds, assemble, and petition the government is the one that allows us to decline to talk with the police. Be polite, but if you are not under arrest or being detained (you can ask this), you are free to go.

• “I have no comment.”
• “Am I under arrest?”
• “Am I being detained?”
• “Good day, gentlemen.”

Stick to the script.

9. Hammer on your union officials. They are engaged in the insanity of pursuing different results with the same methods. Convince them they need to quietly support OPERATION ORANGE. 30 years of futility should be enough. Let them hear from you.

10. Check the OPERATION ORANGE websites and FACEBOOK pages periodically for updates. You can sign up for email updates. As Phase II reaches its climax, we will start publishing the tactics for Phase III.

The success or failure of OPERATION ORANGE depends on the man in the mirror. Only you can stop government-managerial abuse. Only you can restore the vitality of the profession. Only you can protect your passengers.

Will you?