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“It’s really 19th century behavior in the 21st century," Kerry said. "You just don’t invade another country on phony pretexts in order to assert your interests." - John Kerry Hey kettle, you are black!

How can the Air Force allow such promotion of excessive sexuality to take place on base and at the same time crack down on workplace display of personal items that might be interpreted as sexually offensive. The attendees should be labeled as bystanders and cowards for not reporting this violation to leadership and SAPR. Regardless of your sexual preference this is just total hypocrisy. Would it be okay if someone held a heterosexual female pole dancing contest at the O-club? No, it would be an outrage in this day and age. The organizers and attendees would be punished severely and kicked out of the AF. On the other hand, the GLBT fundraiser organizers will probably get rewarded with quarterly awards and firewall 5s for this little event. Last thing, GLBT activists should be outraged at them for perpetuating the stereotype (unless it's true) that gays and lesbians are nothing but freak shows & cross dressers instead of the regular hardworkin' warfightin' airmen that they should be.

And there's the problem chief. You have no interest in getting "tangle in Ukraine," but you're first in line to criticize the US response. Just out of curiosity, what's your solution that both meets your desire for what I'm assuming is a more robust response yet doesn't violate your own interests of us not "getting tangle?" IMHO there's not much we can do at this point beyond what's already being discussed...boot Russia from the G8, talk about sanctions, send high-level folks (i.e. SecState) to Kiev to show solidarity, etc. Ukraine is not in NATO and Russia has a veto at the Security Council. Let's be real for a sec, Russia's national interests in Crimea and their ability to affect things on the ground there both far outweigh our own. It's their backyard so while we can yell about them invading another country (which we have), unless you're advocating "launching zee missiles" despite us having no explicit obligation to defend Ukrainian sovereignty and no overriding national interest in Crimea worth starting a war with Russia over, I'm all ears for what a better plan of action is. Part of us not being Team America: World Police means being patient and at time accepting (grudgingly) that other countries can and will do things we don't like and it's not worth the effort to stop them even though we probably could. I've heard a lot of Americans say they want to get us out of "foreign entanglements" that drain our blood and treasure yet when every crisis pops up (Libya, Syria, Joseph Kony, North Korea, Ukraine, etc. etc.), these chicken hawks are first in line saying we should do more. More of what exactly I ask? I'm hoping you're not in this camp. I support a pretty active foreign policy, but there's a limit to the dumb shit we should do and say to defend what are honestly peripheral interests even to a liberal internationalist. You and I both know this isn't worth going to war over so let's see what other options are on the table before the spear party begins.

The point is if we are going to play gotcha games with a picture of a girl in bikini at your desk and throwing out runner's world, then the show was in gross violation of the AF's policy of a healthy work climate (people do work at the club). Pole dancing was just hypothetical. Okay, how about a swimsuit contest at the O-club? The video highlighted one of the male cross dressers prancing around suggestively in corset and stockings. I'm no prude, but again the AF is trying to promote sexual assault prevention awareness and workplace professionalism. They need to get with the program.

And when I get of active duty someday I will be burning those sorry excuses for physical training attire. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Latest addition to my collection: Springfield Armory M1 Garand, January 1943 production. Arsenal refurbished, definitely has the original barrel and definitely not the original stock (has arsenal proof mark but thats it). Everything else appears, but may or may not be, original. M1 by bronxbomber252, on Flickr

So we are going to boycott the paraolympics...that will teach those nasty Rooskies. You gotta admit, Putin has a set of balls...without a second thought he is saying F You to America and everyone else...some much for the reset.

I know this is a very complex issue, all sides have some serious cost-benefit analysis to make. But Garry Kasaparov (former #1 chess player turned political activist) has some really good lines on his Twitter account and I guess he's due in Texas this week for a speech. https://twitter.com/Kasparov63 Garry Kasparov ‏@Kasparov63 Feb 28 US calls Crimea "uncontested arrival", not invasion. Obama will win semantic fights in the air while Putin wins with troops on the ground. Garry Kasparov ‏@Kasparov63 Mar 1 Nice. RT @chessninja: Vladimir, it's Barack. / Who? / Obama, President of the United States. / Oh. How did you get this number? Garry Kasparov ‏@Kasparov63 Mar 1 I will feel very safe in Texas. Ukraine gave up its weapons to US govt for promise of security. But Texas has 2nd Amendment!

The Simpson's called this years ago.

We have to bring Rainman back to explain that whole Fulda gap thingy.

Lawnman summed it up pretty well. Our foreign policy standing is in shambles, perception is everything and there used be a day where we could call KIO and people would listen, however, the current administrations continual blunders and apology tour has compromised any ability for us to be taken seriously. If you have the clout you don't have to take action, only threatening action can be enough. However, this administration's lack of street cred has lead to them standing there with egg on their face (Syria and the Red Line anyone?). Furthermore this whining by Kerry shows that they really have no clue how things work on a international level in the real world, not the liberal utopia world they wish for. Putin isn't using 19th century tactics in the 21st century becuase he's not up on the times, he's doing it because its the most direct route to his goal and he doesn't fear the U.S. Also invading can be be a position of weakness or insanity but when you neither respect or fear your rival it is a position of power. Lets face it this administration is/will continue getting outplayed by Putin at every turn, and the U.S. will continue to look like a fool. Its sad we used to have the "Speak softly and carry a big stick" as our foreign policy and now we have "Threaten loudly and do nothing". Obama has shown his cards by making his bluffs and the world has called them, he is now the player at the table with zero credibility.

Nsplayer, I think he's making the point of this administration having no credibility left to be taken seriously on an international level. Brinkmanship is easy when you know the other guy will back down. For 6 years this president has shown that he and key members of his party/base believe the worlds problems are because the US hasn't thought about it from everybody else's side. Hence the criticism of all things Bush, the world wide apology tour, disbanding plans for the missile shield, etc. We have been appeasing Putin for 6 years an he knows it. We have gone out of the way to either ignore Russia (unless it's about gay rights) or try to somehow give them something in the hopes they will reciprocate. So now Putin knows he can pretty much do what he wants. NATO doesn't have the ability to fight him an we don't have the will of leadership even if it was in our interest.

I'm getting my ATP/737 type from Higher Power in April. All of this is applicable to 9/11. I don't have a clue about Montgomery. The process so far has consisted of this: 1. Find a VA approved flight certification course. You're allowed roughly 10.5K per year for flight cert. I've spoken with the VA rep at my base as well as the VA education rep at the main VA education office. According to the base rep, I'll be charged for one month of education benefits. Big VA says they charge one month for every $865 so roughly a year for me. 2. Once you find a course & get a class date go to the VONAPP website: https://www.vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/default.asp You'll find a VA form 22-1990 which is a form verifying your eligibility for VA benefits for the course. Submit the form. 3. Get denied TERA 4. Once you receive verification of your eligibility, attend your course. You will likely have to pay for everything up front. 5. Once you receive your cert, submit proof of attendance & graduation to the VA. Haven't gotten this far so I don't know specifics. HPA does all of this paperwork for you. 6. About a month after step 5, you get paid via EFT. Good luck!

I was fortunate enough to be offered the UPT slot yesterday from the 114th Fighter Wing, my home base where I've been a traditional Crew Chief for almost 6 years. I wanted to post this while everything was fresh in my mind, as I type this my hands are still shaking!!! Social (Friday evening before the interview) - started at 1730, showed up at 1800 because I'm from out of town and currently student teach and communicated this with the squadron so they knew. This is a great chance to show face and get to know the squadron if you are from outside the unit. As soon as I got there the SQ/CC had the applicants introduce themselves and to just put us on the spot...Big hint if this happens to you, be humble and don't go for laughs. Many of the applicants did this and it made them just look like they didn't appreciate their current jobs with some of their responses. Main points here: be humble, be brief, don't be the center of attention, and if your going to drink a beer don't spill it, especially in front of one of the board pilots like some dude did... Interview (Saturday) First to go that day at 0730, all dressed up in my blues and I must say I was looking good! Showed up 15 min prior and the board was still getting set up. One of the enlisted personnel sat down next to me where I was waiting and we talked until I was called in. This was really big in calming me down and I owe her a lot! Then the door opened and out stepped one of the pilots and said that they were ready for me and it was game on! I stepped in and reported to the SQ/CC (head of the board) with a salute and reporting statement, if you are in the military I STRONGLY recommend that you report in. It gave me confidence and showed them I meant business. Just think if everyone else reports in and you don't, do you want to be that one??? Board included 4 pilots, all Lt. Cols...SQ/CC, DO (patch), Flight Commander, and Weapons Officer (obviously a patch). Questions... 1. Tell us about yourself/why the F-16? 2. Why do you think you will be successful at UPT? 3. Greatest accomplishment or event in your life you are really proud of? 4. Greatest failure, and what did you learn from it? 5. How do you feel about being deployed for extended periods of time and how will your family handle it? 6. Using the F-16 to kill someone/responsible for civilian deaths? 7. The spot you are applying for is part time, so what are you going to do after training? 8. If you are not selected, what are you going to do? 9. Asked me about flying experience and how much I've been able to do lately with my student teaching 10. This was the point that I think they would ask about any weak points in your application, the SQ/CC said I had a real solid application and asked if the board had any follow up questions...he then turned to me and asked if I had any and I said no. I thanked the board for giving me this tremendous opportunity and looked every one of them in the eye and said "There's a reason why I drive 200 miles one way every drill and have done so for the past 6 years...I really want this job" it was spontaneous and came from the heart. The SQ/CC said that was it then and good job, I stood up and saluted, shook their hands and was on my way. Sunday (my selection day!) I was running on about 0 hours of sleep the past couple of days and was totally running on adrenaline. After the launch I went over to ops around 1100 and sat down in one of the offices and chatted with a couple pilots. After about 15 min or so, one of the board pilots stepped in and said he needed to ask me a question and to follow him (my heart was freaking pounding). He led me to the office where the interview was, opened the door and there sat the SQ/CC and DO. They stood up as I walked to the table and the commander shuffled some papers and said, "Just looking over some stuff here and have just one question for you, we were wondering if you wanted to be the next fighter pilot in the wing?" I was shaking so hard I about fell over. We talked for a bit and that was that...the best day of my life! How I prepared for the interview... Looked at this website and came up with bullet points of things I wanted to cover for EVERY question I could find. I wasn't going to leave anything to chance, I was coming ready to play ball (I even had a couple crew chief jokes handy). Being a member of the unit is almost a must for getting hired by a guard unit, I applaud those who can do it coming off the street. I can't stress enough you need to prepare for the questions and be able to address EVERY weakness in your app and explain it. Getting hired by a guard unit doesn't mean that you need to be in the 99% of every test you have taken (my highest score was a 92 and my lowest was a 60). Scores aren't everything, they are looking for someone who they will be able to work with for many years. I strongly recommend first looking at units in your area and getting to know them any way you can, best suggestion if you are young is to enlist while in college. For me my interview wasn't just that day, it was the past 6 years I had in the unit and it showed I was dedicated to serving with them...good luck to you all in your journey in becoming a United States Air Force Pilot! Feel free to pm me for additional questions.

I got 6 months off my UPT and almost a year off GI bill for my palace chase. I hit submit in November and was approved right before Christmas. Separating in March. Good luck to all.

Your arguing whether is means is or is means "is" on this one. I've read the document but hey since Russia isn't obeying their side we can not obey ours right? It goes through the UN which is pointless since the country being aggressive has veto power and is a permanent member. In the end what the treaty flat requires vs implies isn't important. If we support the Ukrainian sovereignty and recognize their government we will not allow the Russians to simply strong arm them into letting the old president come back like nothing happened. What level of commitment that's gonna require is up for some debate but we definitely aren't coming out on this in our favor if we sit back and watch. And more importantly this incident will serve as a plain and clear message to every other nation we have signatory agreements with on any level. Will we come to Taiwan's aid if the Chinese get aggressive... Well let's spend a few months defining aid before it's all over anyway. Currently the administration is standing on the international stage hiding behind the theory that it's all gonna just blow over and no hard choices will need to be made if we just wait long enough. That's the political equivalent to a 5 year old hiding under a sheet hoping the monsters go away. What's funny is if their ousted president hadn't been elected Ukraine would more than likely be a MAP member of NATO despite Germany and France's objections.

Kadena, don't they fly light grays there? I hate to stereo type, but sometimes the shoe just fits.

...and in a related story, there's no requirement for PME through correspondence to attend in-residence at any rank. Everybody thinks there's one...that's crazy!

After landing, I went to put the seat pin back in, and realized it was already there.

Mini was good shit though.

All ATPs gave me a full refund. I wrote and sent the company's executives an 8 page paper highlighting my training, some shortfalls, safety concerns, some recommendations, and a list of options on how I anticipate moving forward with my training (or lack thereof). I am happy to share it, PM me if interested. Weighing options on completing the ATP, but I need to wait on assignment info before I make any plans.

Sorry, Bender, but there is so much wrong with this....

I'll second the "why are people complaining" line of thought. Do you haters actually think Gen Welsh is trying to fool anyone with MM? He's trying to make the best of a bad situation. If you can't have a little fun now and again, you're way too uptight. I don't think the AF was fixed overnight, and things are still pretty dismal, but now I don't have to wear blues on Monday, and my mustache is going to be wildly out of regs. Will either of those things affect a potential decision to get out? Nope.

I know the feeling...

Sorry Sec. Kerry, this is an act of a person who doesn't take you seriously and knows you are the little yappy neighborhood dog. I have no interest in getting tangle in Ukraine, but it is truely sad how far our foreign policy impact has fallen. Also Putin is using the vast majority of Russians that live in Crimea and are loyal to Russia as a reason to bring Crimea into the fold. We've been down this road before with Hitler in the late 1930s with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland.

I missed the pole dancing in there. Drag isn't sexual (at least that show wasn't). It's no worse than the hilarious powderpuff games I've watched at high school games with the guys in cheerleaders outfits and chicks in football jerseys. What about all the youtube vids of soldiers/marines/airmen/sailors in only short shorts singing madonna or Brittany spears? Mountains out of molehills.