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God damnit, I avoid Facebook for a reason. Don't copy and paste that factless, baseless bullshit here. Show up with something more than some high school drop out's napkin notes.

I attended a seminar on base... it was sponsored by the Airman and Family Readiness Center (good on them for doing this!),... by Lt Col Dave Grossman. I couldn't believe it when I saw it advertised. I cleared my schedule. I showed up at 0800, knowing full well there was no way he'd actually be here. I was wrong. He actually was there, and gave his presentation. In what should have been a packed, standing room only crowd,... I sat there with about 200 airman (I was one of only about 10 officers (max) that were in flight suits), and listened to 4 hours of outstanding commentary. Take every CBT you've ever done... not just "resiliency training", but everyone of them... add every briefing you've ever had from the AF on any subject relating to suicides, combat stress, deployments-and-the-family, PTSD,... Multiply by 1,000,000,000,000,000 ... and you'll maybe get a brief glimpse of how worthwhile this 4 hour session is. It should have been a down day; and every person should have been required to see it. Every now and then, the AF gets it right. Too bad only 200 of them at a base get to see it.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/01/air-force-suicides-rise-lead-to-standdown-013012w/ January 2012 has seen a record number of suicides across the Air Force. What does the Air Force do? Why, they schedule a 1 day stand down for additional resiliency training. How idiotic. This mindset that you can just brief away problems only causes more problems. So we have a one day standdown. During that we are reminded just how "important" we are. The Air Force can't afford to lose any one of its airmen (well, aside from the thousands they fired last year, and the additional ten thousand they are seeking to get rid of). Instead of a day off, we get another day of briefings. Monday morning we come back to more of the same. --More briefings about what needs to be briefed --More slides to create --More CBTs to accomplish --More "volunteer opportunities" --More reinvention of the wheel, and disregard of common sense --More mandatory "training" that has nothing to do with your job --More lectures implying that we're on the verge of driving drunk or raping someone (or killing ourselves) --More uniform changes and associated queep Guys who want out can't get out. Guys who stay in are constantly worried that putting up with all the queep will be met with a hearty "you're fired" from leadership that can't stand to lose you. I'm not saying anyone should kill themselves. There's always a better way, but I can understand how someone can get into a situation so miserable and desperate that the only way out that they can see is by killing themselves. Throw in some family stress that comes with multiple, endless deployments and it would be enough to push a lot of guys over the edge. The problem isn't that we aren't told enough times to not kill ourselves. Its that the root causes are never addressed. Guys aren't killing themselves because they don't know any better, they're killing themselves because they can't deal with the bullshit anymore, and they feel that nobody cares. This post may be a bit of a vent, but articles like what I linked to frustrate the hell out of me.

Comparing credit card debt to the nation’s debt is just plain idiotic. Anyone who thinks you can make a valid comparison between the two should remove themselves from any conversation regarding the national debt, its relevance to the national economy, or American fiscal policy.

How do you think I discovered it myself?

I guess that's a reasonable assertation: we eventually disproved these incorrect theories and looking back it is plainly obvious that they were not true? i.e. had we been around at that time with our vastly advanced knowledge, we would of easily been able to point out the elementary evidence to the smartest people in the world that exceeding Mach 1 won't kill us. I propose the unreasonable assertation: we have barely scratched the physical understanding of the universe, and even though the evidence to that understanding is right in front of our face we lack the ability to understand...a hundred years from now they will scoff at our weak minds and our inability to build such "elementary" hypersonic vehicles. "The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him... The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself... All progress depends on the unreasonable man." -Shaw Thanks Neil for being unreasonable.

If you don't think that the massive amounts of debt we are in is going to hurt this country you are a fool

Sorry, but I think you are limited by your analytical imagination, or at least, the concept of what might be. It almost sounds like your view of the future is linear (unchanging). I also sounds like you think that where we are now is just about as far as we are going to get? That is really a very sad and limited view of the future. The future can take shape with more than a simple linear extrapolation - it just needs a little imagination. FM Edit: Retarded Grammar

Re: Grossman, here's a link to his calendar. AF wise looks like he'll be at Scott on 9 Sept and at the 163rd RW in California on 3 Nov. Looks like he/his webmaster do a good job of keeping it updated a ways in advance, so I'd check back periodically if you are interested to see if he's coming somewhere near you.

"Was that wrong?"

Point taken, and I also realize that not so long ago there were a lot of people saying it was impossible to fly faster than the speed of sound; however, I will say that Spain c1492 and US c1946 both had a LOT less evidence that they were correct. There was a lot of "round earth" evidence prior to Columbus, and we already knew of man made objects (projectiles) travelling faster than sound. We know of nothing in the universe that travels faster than light, and we have a lot of data to support the belief that it is a limit. I would love nothing more than for human exploration of deep space to be possible; however there is another piece of evidence pointing to it being unlikely-- we haven't been visited by an alien race. This likely is because one of three reasons: 1. We are the most advanced civilization in the universe (or at least on par with everyone else) 2. We haven't been "discovered" yet 3. Einstein is right, and they can't go faster than light either.

CGOPA? IMHO, the CGO's should (PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR BLUE KOOL-AID SOAKED BRAINS EXPLODE) exercise judgement on saluting each other. If I'm a Lt going out to lunch with some Capt bros and meet them in the parking lot, I'm not going to salute them when they show up to my car. If I'm walking past them into the building and there are others around, I'll salute them. Just exercise some judgement and common sense. I think they're working that into PME in the next courseware update so it should be easier to grasp.

You're fucking kidding me, right? Do they laugh at you? You're making no sense. So your stance is "not really" (i.e. something other than "hell no") on standing at attention when a lieutenant is simply addressed by a captain, but you don't expect a salute? No it's not. It's a fucking horrible way. What's the matter with you? You need a reg to require those junior to you to stand at attention such that you can "exert your authority"? Are you really this big of a pussy as an officer that you can't exert your authority any other way? There is one thing--and one thing only--that the 'stand at attention' line in the regs (it's the protocol reg, by the way) is good for and that is this: when someone junior bows up to you with that chickenshit "we must adhere to standards or the enemy will win" argument to point out failures in uniform wear or mustache width (which along with PT tests seem to be the only things that fall into the SNCO "standards" category these days), you can throw this "standard" back in their face because sure as shit they won't be standing at attention by default when you're talking to them because that's absurd. If "standards" are that important regardless of context that TSgt Snuffy can throw his "I am charged by the CSAF to enforce standards because I am an NCO" crap, then I sure as shit can use this as a teaching moment to point out to him that if that's the case, he should be standing at attention or the terrorists will win. It tends to put "standards" in a bit of perspective. I hear this all the time from NCOs but I've never in my entire life seen an officer go out of his way to avoid a salute. Not even once. And I've been around quite a while. I believe that it happens, but I don't get why. How fucking difficult is it to salute? Why is it a big deal for anyone, O or E?

Sort of like a Strike Eagle.

surely that's a coincidence. tuition assistance is the EXACT same amount!!!

It's more a 'grass is greener' thing combined with a horrible (non-existent) personnel management plan for the Raptor. Lots of guys bailing from the AD pain train for the goodness of the Guard and Reserve, in both the F-22 (large TFI footprint at every base) and Vipers/Eagles.

Maybe we can talk about it at our next commander's call at 1700 on a Friday

Close... First American to orbit the Earth while standing of the fucking moon!

Actions have consequences, boo-hoo-fucking-hoo.

Well consider yourself luckier than many who don't have those kids and that wife around anymore because of what we have been doing for the past decade. What I am saying is that there are plenty of guys who have been in 16-18 years that have been living every minute of this for the past 11 years. When some 25 yr old kid shows up from Luke, Seymour, Little Rock or Altus says he can't wait to get into the fight I think that's great... but be careful what you wish for. You saying that the guys who have been doing this every day for the past 11 yrs that don't want to spend their last few years back in a tent because the FNG hasn't dropped a bomb yet should get out then you are speaking for what I would think is a VERY small minority... and you certainly aren't speaking for anyone that I know. BTW... my kids don't care if I'm sleeping on the side of a mountain 20 miles outside of the FOB or if I'm at the Deid or Masas getting stopped by a MSgt on the way to the pisser because my PT shirt isn't tucked in... they care that I missed their birthday AGAIN and that I wasn't at their school play AGAIN.

I remember lots of guys back in 2003-2004 who couldn't wait to "get into the fight". It was the same talk about wanting to fly their aircraft into the combat situation they were trained to operate in. Many of these same guys were in the long line that went around the corner of the MPF at midnight with their VSP package in hand in 2006. The new guys who showed up at units in 2006 who were full of the same piss and vinegar were bitching about who was and wasn't eligible for this last round of VSP/RIFs. And the thing is... I don't blame these guys for a second for wanting to get out. The same guys who were Sq/CC's and DO's back then that were telling the guy who was TDY for 270 days that year with 700 combat hrs that he didn't get a strat on his OPR because he didn't plan the Christmas Party or have a Masters yet are now Wing CC's and 1 Stars... That includes 3 of my former Sq CC's and DO's. They supported this shoe clerk mentality with vigor back then... do you honestly think that anything will change because a bunch of B-2s from Guam and Navy cruise missiles beat up another kid from the same neighborhood for a week or so? The sock checks might go away for that same week or so, but that's about it. I don't know anyone that signed up for this who wouldn't be ready to go if the flag was raised. I can probably speak for a good number of us who have been playing since day one that didn't VSP or get out when their commitment was up... If deploying "again" is your thing, please contact the 365 shop and the AEF Center and let them know you are an avid volunteer! Until then, I'm not sure I'd be calling into question the commitment of those guys who are just now getting to know their 6 and 7 year old kids or having to travel across the country just to see them after their divorce when they decide that Southwest or FedEx may be a better option than reflective belt checks at the Deid.

If that's the case, then it's only a matter of time before the Eagle mafia takes over again.

BQZip's mom is gonna get a MAJCOM-level strat!

OK, I have received CZTE when I was paid my bonus 3 times. You can only have $7368.30 Tax exempted every month. Meaning if you are a Major with 12yrs service + Flt Pay+HFP you get 6,325.50+650+250 = 7225.50 So, 7368.30-7225.50 = 142.80 So, 24857.2 is taxed at the max rate ~35% can't remember off the top of my head and 142.8 is tax free. I have seen this on my LES several times. The trick is get lots of months tax free >9 and you will get it all back in the end.