"I get pings, start to burn, and look behind to see a countryman glued to the sucker and never got a call. This is about the only time I get aggravated I didn’t get a call. "
This situation illustrates a flaw in YOUR flying, not a flaw with your countrymate who apparently was doing his best to help you.
Just reminding you, you do have a view key to look behind you.....it defaults to #2 on the keypad. If the enemy is sneaking up on your tail and you don't notice, you are not using your 6 view often enough and no amount of 6 calls will help. Flying a plane with bad rear vision? Weave constantly.
Granted, the Keypad view keys are not a very good layout; I re-mapped my views to the keyboard itself--G (front), H (left), J (down), K (up), L (right), and M (behind). This key setup is vastly superior and less cumbersome than the keypad settings. Plus that leaves the HAT open for trim.
I haven't been bounced even ONCE so far this tour in the MA, not even in the largest furballs. I think I got bounced exactly once last tour and I got bounced last week in the CT once because I was just messing around and not actually trying to maintain SA.
Here's some advice--ALWAYS "rubberneck". Never assume that the skies are safe just because there's a lot of friendlies around; never assume that a "CAP" is being effective until you see for yourself. In other words, never assume anything and always scan every inch of the sky.
The other teammates may not have your level of skill, or they might have a different goal, or they might be busy in a fight, or they just might not feel like lifting a finger to warn you. That's not being rude gentlemen, that's the reality of the MA and no amount of complaining will ever change that. Rely only upon yourself and those people you KNOW you can trust--and just fly as if the rest of your teammates simply aren't there.
I too appreciate the rare 6 call that saves my butt.....however, if you're constantly in need of them, you need to work on your SA. The ability to monitor your situation without needing to rely upon teammates is a fundamental skill that is absolutely necessary in the MA.
I don't give 6 calls; I assume the people I am flying with can watch their own tail. When a wingy needs his 6 cleared though, I'm right there.
J_A_B