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26 years and I would NOT do it again, but "MY" thoughts probably deserve an explanation. Did I have a blast flying, yes. Did I have incredible life experiences, yes. Did I serve with incredible people, yes. Did I leave the organization hating what it was and what it did to me, yes. There are truly some sick horrendous people in the senior ranks and it sickens me to see them in leadership positions where they have done real and lasting injury to families and careers. That being said, those people exist in all walks of life and for most the rewards of flying offset the negative. I passed on Med School to go to UPT and there will always be a part of me that wonders how a walk down that life path would have turned out. That being said, there is one thing I would not change and that is the relationships with the brothers and sisters I flew with. I continue to mentor many of them to this day...but in all honesty, late at night with a glass of brown liquor and the perspective of age, I sometimes wonder if it was all a waste. In the end I would recommend you follow your heart. Don't live in fear of the experience of others, make your own path so you are not sitting on your porch one day wondering what could have been.

Here's what it comes down to and this will never change: Progressives, like yourself, are still very upset that Trump won in November 2016....especially after Trump was/is on record saying stupid/disrespectful shit, and coupled with nearly every poll/analysis saying Hillary had this election in the bag. I get it--you and half the country don't like it, and the Gorsuch confirmation was additional salt in the wounds. Also, traditional Republicans can't stand Trump either because he does not follow traditional Republican norms, hence why guys like McCain and Lindsey Graham aren't fans and are very reluctant to work with him on non-traditional legislation. Conservatives (largest single group of the Republican base) don't like Trump for who he is/how he acts, but is fairly happy with what he has done over the first year (Gorsuch, tax cuts, saying pro-Israel stuff, etc). This all leads to progessives scratching their heads even more as to how he won, how is he getting some things done, and how is he doesn't fold to their attacks on him. So what do they do, they scream Russia and call him a racist. Yet, if the economy is still humming along in 2020 (who knows if it will be, I have my doubts) then Trump will get re-elected, especially if the Dems go further left (Warren, Bernie, or Harris type candidate). So in the meantime, progressives will stay the course on the Russia and racist talking points and truley hope something breaks in their favor. Will it? Possibly, but I doubt it. This is coming from a person who would have loved to see Rand Paul received the nomination, and would have been ok with Cruz as a second option. Since there wasn't either, I supported Gary Johnson one again. That being said, I appreciate Trump reducing more regulations (vs a net add), and adding guys like Gorsuch to the Supreme Court vs a guy like Garland. I also come out ahead on the tax cuts, but will be annoyed (but not suprised) that they're not reducing overall federal spending which takes us further down the hole. As for his crude/stupid comments, that doesn't affect my pocketbook when the economy is doing well, so I just continue to dislike him as a person and like it when he does stuff of which I approve. But for you progresives screaming Russia, this short conversation between Obama and Medvedev shows politicians will do whatever they want, whenever they want if it helps them/they can get away with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keXx0zxTarE

It’s not science fiction.

GMBL would be an epic callsign for an MQ-9 sensor operator...thanks for the tip (sts)!

Yeah, the rotating object on the A-10 is far more fun. And yes, two in a row for XL.

Am I punching the second I am eligible? Yes. Do I have regrets? Fuck no.

God damn it. Fucking do it.

I don't get it.

I'd just create chaos and distrust, make them too busy squabbling with each other than watching the "real" bad people in the world.

Stay Tuned with Preet is another good one too.

The fact that people respect you, on and off this forum, for the insight, advice, and occasional "WTF are you doing/thinking" moment is a testament to your character of not only a leader, but as a man. I don't know you personally, but a good old mentor of mine was an FE for you years ago and and said you're one of the "good ones." I'm not you, not even close, but if you positively affect the lives of this many people, then what service you did for our great country could never be considered a waste.

Don't be a pussy. Do it. "Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great World War Two?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.'"

It's fun to bitch. There are some legitimate gripes, but I don't know a single pilot pining for a finance job.

Numerous open source videos of the MANPADS shot.

Do it. I can't imagine saying no if I were in your shoes. I can still remember my tweet solo, first flight as the A code, etc... all the bullshit you will have to put up with is worth it.

Agree with duck. Standard. Plus don’t waffle. Blood in the water. You will get eaten alive. Do it or don’t do it. Don’t regret your decision. And don’t ask a virtual room full of people their options that you don’t really care about. You are the one that matters. Do your soul searching and make a decision. Right or wrong. And press forward. Life’s to short to know the latest and greatest excel formula. But non vol drone or pilot in some random airplane is going to generate some stories and some stuff that hardly anyone else could or does do. So again why are you asking us? We are kind of biased. Edit: forgot to mention this post was brought to you in part by tequila.

Anybody?

I love my job. I hate the Air Force.

I just wanted off active duty, ANG life was grand.

It's a bit premature to say the dossier was a nothing-burger. It is a composition of raw intel and discussions that had occurred, and not a list of factual statements. It's got some things right, some things wrong, but there is still much of it few will know the accuracy of until the investigation completes. The dossier was likely just another data point for the FBI investigation. The thing the dossier may have had that the FBI intel didn't was specifically identifying Page. With 702 warrants they likely knew something was going on, but if the Russians didn't specifically identify Page or contact him where they could unmask...the FBI wouldn't be able to identify Page. The dossier would give them that piece for their puzzle. Just a long-shot theory, but its a lot more believable than a bunch of career LEOs suddenly deciding to betray their oaths to support and defend the constitution and conduct some political coup against republicans by spying on a former trump official repeatedly while at the same time having a public investigation going on-and-off-and-on against the primary Democratic nominee...but don't let facts and reason get in the way of a good conspiracy theory. The beauty about this whole thing is if the FBI was careless and went about this process improperly...Page is in the clear as he has a strong case to have any/all evidence gathered via this process thrown out of court. Heck he could probably even get the ACLU to pay his legal fees.

What is this black magic?

Pretty sure 1 of those A-10s was an E-3.

Keep in mind you are risking being non-vol’d to spend time in RPAs. I spent half of my commitment operating out of a shipping container. I was a UPT DG and upgraded to aircraft commander with min time. The manning draw to RPAs was just too great when I was up for my second assignment. Luckily manning was good last year and I made it back into the cockpit, but they are seeing their pilot numbers decrease and are looking at having to force guys to stay permanently. A lot of the 18X guys are coming to the end of their commitments and most are leaving for lucrative contracting jobs on the outside. If I had it to do all over again, I would go to the guard. My kids are older now and each move is harder on them, so this is my last assignment on active duty.

No I don’t regret it. I’d do it again in a second. Is it a fucked up organization? Fuck yes. But I got to be America’s Combat Olympic team on the reg and it fucking rocked! Do something and be a part of something bigger than yourself you won’t get that behind a cubical *Vodka infused response.

This is a good, wonky podcast episode that discusses the Nunes Memo. Just finished listening myself. https://www.lawfareblog.com/lawfare-podcast-special-edition-memo-released

I’ve heard that in the Airlines the printers are already mapped at each computer......unheard of in the mil.

Surely you won't mind if I source check your "unbiased facts in public record"...can you specify what "fake" dossier claims were used as evidence in a secret FISA warrant request? Are you concerned that the FBI was able to produce enough evidence to convince a FISA court there was probable cause Carter Page was involved in criminal activity with foreign agents? Law enforcement gets leads from everywhere...why would the dossier be treated any different? Given Steele's background, he was likely a credible source to the FBI. Simpson testified to congress that the dossier was taken seriously because of how many details corroborated the ongoing FBI investigation. The FBI did their job of investigating and requesting a warrant through a FISA court. If you have a complaint about the FISA court process and what their standard for probable cause is, then by all means lets have a public discussion about what power we've given these courts. To say the FBI broke the rules and somehow pulled the wool over a FISA court judge who was appointed by SCOTUS Chief Justice is a very strong charge with little supporting evidence. Nunes is trying to drive a narrative that the FBI is tainted and being used for political purposes...which is rich when you compare the 2016 coverage of Clinton's emails vs Russian interference. For all the "collusion" the DNC did to dig up the Russian interference they sure did a bad job of actually weaponizing it for political purposes. The memo will come out in a few days, and it will be red meat for you and the rest of the (R) base. Crafted by one side to support a narrative, while conveniently leaving out the full picture. In the end the FBI convinced a judge there was probable cause Carter was up to no good, and were allowed to look into it. I see no reason to doubt the system worked the way it was intended.

If you would have told me as an 18 year old how bad the AF sucked, I would have just said to myself that you must have not been a very good pilot/officer and it won’t happen to me. Unfortunate but true.

A soon-to-be-unemployed low life piece of shit.