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We need to evaluate all our overseas engagements against the Powell Doctrine. If we can't answer in the affirmative to each and every question, then we need to go home. Spoiler alert: In the vast majority of cases, we need to go home.

Was this a contest to list as many unconstitutional, unpopular, unwise and hugely costly policies in one post as possible? 😆

The mighty MD-88 has speed cards in a holder on the dash. Flip to the one with your gross weight listed, fly the printed speeds. Like any true cave man. 😂

AFPAK Hands absolutely was cheap talk. It was another in an endless line of pulling on your "service before self" chain to get you to invest yourself in something that top level leadership wasn't willing to materially back. The "incentives", what little they were, turned out to be hollow, and they were clearly not substantial to begin with.

I'm afraid as far as certain circles within the MIC is concerned, that's not the bug, that's the feature.

Say what you will about endless land wars in Asia (and having participated in several I'm not a big fan!), but the small SOF footprint we previously held in north east Syria was absolutely critical to maintaining the somewhat stable situation that was to our advantage. The SDF fought and died for us against ISIS and we quite literally cut and ran on a whim. How long to stay? Will there ever be an independent Kurdistan? What happens to the thousands of ISIS prisoners in the long-term? How do we deal with the reality that Assad is here to stay? How do we handle a dictatorial & increasingly oppositional NATO "ally" in Erdogon's Turkey? Great questions all around and I don't have great answers. But we literally chose the worst possibly path that answers none of those questions. The path we chose, with little to no planning or interagency process, forfeits all of our leverage in the region, cosigns the slaughter of some of best allies on the ground, potentially re-starts ISIS, and threatens our long-held forward-deployed nuclear forces posture. And for what? Great job everyone, hit the showers!

Woah! Another F1 fan??? I guess I'm not alone! Sent from my SM-N975U using Baseops Network mobile app

SS, you a "Never Nude?"

Combine the questionable governments with boring Tilke tracks (Sochi and China some of the worst offenders...in both categories).

Exactly. You've paid more than your fair share of the bill and I've paid mine, as well as most of the people on this forum. When I read "we" should be staying continuously engaged in Syria, it seems "you" is implied. Some people are tired of being threatened with the worst possible outcome being realized if we suddenly end our 18+ year subscription to the Middle East Clusterf^&* Vacation Club. There's war when we're present, there will be war when we're absent. If Russia and Turkey want to wear that anchor around their neck for a change, good.

Was. Was focused. My sources say that program is cancelled.

And yet pretty much no one volunteers for AFPAK Hands... Which is focused on building up those 2 countries for the long term so we don't have to be there. Talk is cheap. Someone eventually has to pay the bill.

Good / tough words here from the SDF commander Mazloum Abdi: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/13/kurds-assad-syria-russia-putin-turkey-genocide/?fbclid=IwAR3g1yRISC71Ao951AwmjFS3fq9W67CIXVaF8Qz2kFmSY6Dtv04BI-LBoFI

"Groundhog Day" and I have absolutely no clue what the answer is to this Turk/Kurd dilemma. Turks invading Kurdish Turf (Syria/Iraq)/US Caught in the Middle/Permanent Turkish Bases on Kurdish Turf (Syria- see west of the Euphrates River/Iraqi Kurdistan to many to count)/Safe Zones/Safe Corridors/ etc, etc - has been going on for decades. I imagine this is what Northeast Syria will look like in a few years (some of these Turkish bases have been in Iraqi Kurdistan for decades); https://iraq.liveuamap.com/en/2018/13-february-there-are-14-turkish-military-bases-and-4-turkish Short history on some of this crap; Here's a few examples of the large scale operations/invasions the Turks have conducted in Iraq and Syria since 1991 (Note; there's to many small Turkish operations/incursions/etc to count, basically they have been ongoing almost continuously since 1984); 1. Operation "Shit" Sandwich; 1992/US Forces were on the ground in Iraqi Kurdistan. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-09-mn-162-story.html 2. Operation Steel; 1995/US Forces were on the ground in Iraqi Kurdistan. 35,000 Turkish troops invaded Northern Iraq. 3. Operation Hammer; 1997/No US Forces were on the ground because Clinton pulled US Forces out of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1996 (Note; this was the largest Turkish invasion of Iraqi turf since the Ottoman Turks invaded Iraq in 1533); Up to 50,000 Turkish Forces invaded Northern Iraq. 4. Operation Dawn; 1997/No US Forces on the ground; 15,000 Turkish Forces invaded Northern Iraq. 5. Operation Sun; 2007/8 - US Forces on the ground in Northern Iraq; Lots of Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Northern Iraq followed by lots more airstrike in 2008 and a Cross-Border invasion by 10,000 Turkish Armed Forces into Northern Iraq. 6. 2011; US Forces were still in Northern Iraq at this time but preparing to withdraw; Lots of Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Northern Iraq. The first six days of air raids, the Turkish Air Force attacked 132 PKK targets in northern Iraq which hit 73 shelters, eight stores and nine anti-aircraft positions. In addition to the 132 PKK locations targeted by the Turkish Air Force, 349 targets in Qandil, Hakurk, Avasin-Basyan, Zap and Metina regions were destroyed by artillery fire. 7. Operation Claw; Started on 28 May 2019 and it's still ongoing today and yes we have US Forces on the ground. 8. Turkish Operations/Invasions in Northern Syria (you can look them up and yes US Forces have been on the ground in Northern Syria during all these Turkish invasions); Operation Euphrates Shield (2016/2017), Operation Olive Branch (2018), and now (today/2019) Operation Peace Spring.

Spot on, bro. Furthermore! They’re not fending for themselves; as it turns out survival instinct has kicked in and they appear to have aligned themselves with the Syrian regime and Russia to attempt to prevent annihilation. (Just as they said they would under these circumstances.) Now Russia and Turkey are in the driver’s seat where Europe meets the Middle-East and we’ve got the diplomatically envied position of “it’s too difficult so we quit” from which to negotiate. Do we really want Russia and Turkey to be the primary voices in the endgame of this misadventure? 20 years? 30 years? On 9-12 any of us would have volunteered personally to go for 100; the long game is worth winning, considering the alternatives.

I somehow find this assumption wrong on all levels having been thru meps 3 times. Especially since I have been DQ’ed twice at MEPS for things I’ve never had. While I have no experience with DoDmerb from what I hear from ROTC friends I would recommend 100000 times over going that route. Not even close to be honest. MEPS will DQ anyone so fast, they dont wanna deal with extra shit ever. I almost think they DQ people on purpose to see if they have the drive to fight it lol Edit: i was DQ’ed while going enlisted and DQ’ed during commissioning exam. It is not fun.

Two planes for the Cannon aero club got here today.

Hey guys. Just wanted to update that I got picked up from a guard unit recently. This was my third board and I am stoked for this journey. I HIGHLY recommend the consulting package from Bogidope. I really think they played the major factor in making my resume and cover letter stand out and preparing me for the interview. They really teach you how to tailor your strengths into killing the interview.

I'm no Sir yet, appreciate you being polite/respectful though! Also, I'm a candidate without a slot just like you so I'm just sharing what I've picked up from lurking on here for awhile, and the other recommended groups. As LNGH stated you have several more years for heavies. Basically, don't worry about what you're not able to control (Age) and continue trying to move the needle/progress as a human being. Do some more searching around on here, Bogidope and join TPN (The pilot network on facebook) for more reading. Happy hunting.

It's actually worse than that. Last week I had an extensive talk about this with one of our finance chicks (who is actually damn good at her job). You can't process more than 16/qtr or 48/yr through AROWS. Once you hit those system limits, you have to open a CMS case for these to be paid out. Catch is, these CMS cases can only be processed on the 1st and 15th of the month...you can't make this shit up! You have to use digital 105s because apparently wet signatures are old fashioned and we must now digitally sign everything. We have guys whose AFTPs were submitted in July that still haven't been paid. She also said the part timer flight pay issue is not going to be fixed because they're supposedly rolling out some new pay system in January of 2021. We'll be lucky if that thing is operational by 2025. I've honestly just given up trying to keep track of the flt pay and I just hope they're doing it right. So to recap. - What used to take less than a minute with a pen/105 card, is now a 15-20 minute affair (minimum). That's if the computers are running good AND "the network" isn't down that day. - For some fucking odd reason we can no longer process our own UTA cards. - Additional AFTPs, while nice, have created a fuckton of extra work. - Flight pay is still a rusty coat hanger abortion and will be until Jan of 2021...checks in the mail. - Last week I spent pay cards just to unfuck all my rejected AFTPs. Ha, getting paid to get paid! - In my 18 years in the ANG, damn near every new "advancement," has made life harder on the DSG.

I literally was unaware that the regular season started last Sunday. So after watching the F1 race, seeing the schedule on the Direct TV guide, reminded me, "Where's Kaepernick?" Not gettin' any younger, are you Colin?

Gotta hand it to British Tabloids, they often have an excellent sense of humor.

I encourage you to read everyone post in this forum. I have recently completed my FC1 at WP AFB. I landed in Dayton on Sunday afternoon. I rented a car( very very useful if you can afford it, my unit would only approve taxi fare reimbursement). I drove from Dayton International, about 25 mins to WP AFB area a to the Wright Patterson Inns. If you have a military Id, you will go thru gate and check in. If you’re guard or reserve they will ask you to pay it with a credit or debit card. I was booked from Monday thru Friday. On Monday, i showed up to the USAFSAM building 840 at WP AFB area B. If you google “building 840 parking lot wright patterson it will take you close to the actual parking lot. Go ahead and park and enter the building on the north entrance. Immediately after you enter, there is a hallway. Make a right on hallway and go to room W100. ( that’s what was instructed). A technician then briefs you on what to expect and hands over a folder with your info. In the front of folder there is a list of tests. Every time a tech completes a test, they will initial it. Day one, they did an EKG( fasting required min 4 hours), checked my blood pressure, dental exam, some eye exams (amsler, red lens, pressure test, color, etc) they also took dental x-rays, optometry check up, hearing test, medical history interview. We went to lunch, then came back to a 4 hour psych assessment. There were like 5 sections but each came with a break in between. Next day, I started at the area a hospital across from Wright Patterson inns reception. You must fast like 12 hours. They has us do a urine test, blood draw (9 biles). Then, they had us do a chest x-ray. Then back to area b building 840. There were additional eye tests, dilate pupils, more eye tests. They did the body measurements and weight. You get to sit in a chair without shoes or socks. It simulates the T6 seat. They measure your sitting height, arm length, leg length. Takes like 5 mins. Once you’re done, you get to see a flight doc who confirms with you whether any new stuff from MEPS to this exam. We were then told to hang in until next day by 9 am. The main tech called us to let us know we were good or if she needed us to retest. Luckily for me, i was able to be released same day and i took a flight home. Now just waiting till i hear from the NGB to get my TFOT Dates and hope for UPT info too. Tip: Definitely make time to check the AF museum. Worth every second of your time. It’s free and they do close at 5 pm. Another thing. Attitude is, in my opinion, the biggest thing to be conscious of. These technicians and doctors are there to hep you. Do not feel intimidated by them at all. These are people and love to talk. if you have a good attitude, and may assist you with completing the tests or give you an idea if you have an issue and whether is waiver able or not. Overall, we had one guy dq for some issue with his eye, but he will be able to get waiver and fly for the US air force. The optometrist was very frank with him and initiated all waiver info. We also had an ROTC guy who thought couldn't go for manned aircraft due to his eye sight issues and was set for RPA. However WP people told him his condition was waiverable and now will pursue a manned airframe spot instead of RPA. Also, for guard and reserve, they won't have any lunch purchased for you. You will either buy something on the cafeteria (Starbucks) on the second floor of building 840 at WPAFB area B. This is one of the reasons it is good to have a car (rental) because you can go off site and pick up lunch. All in all a very good experience. Good luck to you all.

NTSB Preliminary report is out: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20191002X11326&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=MA&fbclid=IwAR2n3Fk-HkfU6T_b7gWwoQEH68r_ggWP1yAaOme9EJXVyG8jZHQU0V9Glek Generates conclusions no one wants to admit to thinking. Ugly.