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Boys, boys, boys... You all are missing the point. The point is not that civilians are dying or our current enemy is fighting our future enemy or some convoluted mess thereof. What's really concerning is that with this whole sequestration thing there are large companies who give lots of money to congress that are going to be taking hits to their bottom line after we pull out from Afghanistan. I'm sure General Dynamics is ready to provide as many Predators Reapers and Avengers as we need and Boeing is ready to bring Airlift, fighters, etc. Halliburton, URS, & Sallyport are ready to provide hot meals and base support to the personnel on a new base in a neighboring country that they will gladly build for a no bid contract rate. I as an American citizen am willing to let Arabs kill Arabs in an Arab country but those companies are really just looking out for humanity and ensuring that select politicians get reelected...

Why are the bases in shitholes like Cannon? Why aren't they based at Homestead, Patrick, MacDill, Hanscom, Los Angeles, and Hickam... where people might actually want to live?

I think the answer to this mess is for us to stay the hell out! Everything we entangle ourselves in turns to mess. Our foreign policy is so broken and this will prove to be simply the latest chapter in a book of failures. The senior WH official talking out of his ass, swearing that this is Assad's chemical act with evidence that proves it, while saying that three days of UN delays will prove any evidence at the site useless, makes me question the story even more. Not that the story makes sense from any angle (as others have pointed out already). We (WH bobble heads) are positive that Assad's military carried this out even though we don't have a shred of evidence. Shocking. Common sense and objective thinking says otherwise. The only folks that have shown this type of pure disregard for innocent lives are the various barbaric factions that comprise the Syrian rebel groups. Reference the multitude of decapitations, road-side assassinations, etc. scattered across the internet for examples and grotesque illustrations. Our foreign intervention and covert entanglements led to what we currently hate about Iran. Our explorations In Vietnam were a huge success, and that started with a fairy tale much like this one likely will prove to be. How about our dealings with the Freedom Fighters a couple decades later in Afghanistan? Fast forward to Iraq and what a utopian paradise we turned that place into. We're still confused about what we're doing in Afghanistan now, so we might just walk away and call that a success too. I guess the US sponsored Arab Spring is the real model of success that we are looking to craft in Syria. Those are working out beautifully in places like Egypt. We're on a roll, why stop now? Our country is bled dry and needs CPR. Another wasted war in another wasteland is not the lifeline we need right now. What exactly is our objective if we go in? How do we define success and when do we exit? Will we even ask these questions? If only we had leaders that understood this or cared. Instead, here we go marching into Syria (it's good for economic spending right) wasting more valuable resources to replace one tyrannical government with a lawless group of Islamic fundamentalist that will rage a civil war well into the future; well past the our attention span. This'll be fun.

The fact that you were even watching it is WTF worthy.

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

You are a complete dolt! You are typical of the bashers that have never stepped foot in the the town but jump on the bandwagon. For the record, Clovis has a national blue ribbon school and some very fine teachers, including a lot of military wives, some who are national recognized reading recovery and reading coaching teachers. S 100% agree, the less than 1% that raised their hands and said, "send me", I honor the service and sacrifice. What I don't honor is the folks who pushed the button on word of mouth, who have never set foot on Cannon AFB but are willing to burn their bridge when they still have three-four years of commitment.

Hm...I've always wanted to shoot a HARM. Neat-o. How would we be helping, exactly? My ACSC readings are stressing critical thinking and how we effect the geo-political end state. I want to shoot things, but the cognitive dissonance I'm suffering has sent me VFR direct to my Gentleman Jack. Getting old is hard.

I dunno, but our two terriers do the same thing and they're idiots...

At this point, yes...

I feel bad for you guys joining these days. Letting people sign a 10 year contract, then leaving them unemployed for 6 months is unconscionable. However, you have just learned an important lesson in how the AF treats people. If you're ever in a position to change this sort of bullshit, do it. I hope you find health insurance for you and your wife. Good luck at UPT.

I frequent the vansairforce.net forums semi-frequently, indulging my RV builder/pilot fantasy, and the topic of flying in/around/through MOAs comes up occasionally. While it's mostly a very nice crowd there, there is a small but vocal group who strongly believe that if it's not a Restricted area, it's their right to fly through, and you guys will just have to accommodate them.

Geek

That looked fun, so I asked the wife to stand on her head...did not go over too well.

I have no idea how you got that impression from my post. That isn't what I think at all. In my experience, very few people are in the USAF strictly for the money. Sure, no one would do it for free but financial compensation is not the driving factor. Throwing money at that type of person is ridiculous. As has been said before, the only people who will take the bonus are people who would have stayed anyway. Indeed. "A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point.The question is used as a rhetorical device, posed for the sake of encouraging its listener to consider a message or viewpoint...A rhetorical question does not usually require an immediate answer, but is meant to draw attention to and start a meaningful discussion on the matter." You're right, it is my personal perspective. I could go on a lengthy diatribe, citing dozens of examples of cronyism, people being sold out/used by their commanders, using bad assignments as tools to threaten people, and the list goes on and on. No one wants to hear yet another rant, which is why I stated my opinion which has been formed from watching this behavior over several years. I actually wasn't referring to my own career; I've had a pretty good run. I'm basing this comment much more on the AD people I run across year in and year out. Watching from a somewhat detached point of view, listening to their stories, and some of my own experience serving under these guys has led me to approach nearly every commander warily. Once in a while I am surprised, but not very often. I will. Like everyone else, I crave good leadership. I WANT to follow someone who has their shit together, looks out for their people, and gets the job done. The problem is those people apparently don't exist any more. You're damn right it is. The problem is that it's not an easy fix. We have been promoting the wrong people for years, if not decades. Rewarding the wrong traits and behavior. And now we are stuck with exactly what we deserve after years of eyewash OPRs, promoting ass kissers, and misprioritization of talents (i.e. valuing someones exec ability over flying ability, or ability to write OPRs over ability to inspire confidence/leadership among their crew, etc). Like I said, not an easy fix to get some people in place who can actually lead from the front. So in lieu of that, let's throw more money at people and hope we can dupe them into sticking around despite the poor leadership, shitty assignments, and lack of loyalty from the USAF. I have read all of his posts. And your comment is exactly why I prefaced my original post with, "I've been generally opposed to the verbal beating you have taken on here," because I think he has some great points and good information. But clinging to the bonus as a truly effective leadership tool damages his credibility.