Leaderboard

Maybe we just deploy, Kill the resistance, then come home and not try to perpetually nation build. Then when they fvck up again, we deploy, kill the resistance, then come home again. Just my opinion, but I’m sick of that whole freaking area. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Just the fact that he brings up a platform's maneuverability as the x-factor that autonomy or drones will bring to the table highlights his ignorance on the subject. Hint: there are many reasons a F-35 would spank a SU-35 in a fight, and none of them pertain to maneuverability.

I dunno, I'm not particularly liberal, and can't stand most SJWs. But like the beard and turban topic I find myself just not giving a shit. Wtf sings the 3rd verse anyway?

Hot take incoming: The song has always been weird and awkward. Forced group singings of said song have always been weird and awkward. I couldn't care less if they change any part of it. I hope this provides the bobs some level of short term satisfaction so they leave whatever traditions people actually still care about alone.

“Pot of gold” is Irish cultural appropriation.

A shit-ton of money, successful business ventures combined with an obvious business acumen make you..... a very good businessman and entrepreneur. I give zero f#cks about his opinion on the future of manned air warfare.

Started going to AFG in 2002. Was last there in 2018. I visited most, if not all, C-130 capable airfields in the country. In addition to the most important/worst part, the human cost, we watched the bases go from old Soviet buildings, to tents, to B-huts, to shipping containers, to hard billets, and then abandoned. Buckets to port-a-pots, to cadillacs, to proper shitters, then abandoned. The continuous pouring of square miles of concrete at every airfield. Giant bases created in the open desert and then bulldozed. The contractors everywhere. We looked down on the continuous train of supply trucks stretching halfway across the country from Pakistan. Watched the 24/7 arrival of equipment, MRAPs, M-ATVs, earthmovers, construction equipment, trucks for years on end. All used up and now rotting in giant graveyards. Trillions of dollars disposed of in that wasteland. No point, just don't know what to think of it all.

United Airlines these days.... too soon?

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/29/810537586/u-s-signs-peace-deal-with-taliban-after-nearly-2-decades-of-war-in-afghanistan Let the over/under bids begin.

The 122d Fighter Squadron is planning to hold an Inexperienced hiring board on Sunday, 17 May 2020. Please contact Maj Stanley Cheng at 122fspilothiring@gmail.com if you're interested in visiting the World Famous Bayou Militia over March or April drill (14-15 March, 4-5 April). Cheers, Lt Col Sam Joplin Commander, 122d Fighter Squadron

Elon’s vision of air combat is the same as every other internet nerd: Ace Combat and Top Gun. Whatever fancy sensors, data links, and aerodynamics you want to put into a drone, just put it into a LRM instead. Why would I want a drone to be launched by a drone?

Shit hasn’t worked well in the last 20 years because we’ve been targeting HVIs. “Chopping the head off the snake” is a terrible analogy that makes it seem like everyone else will quit when their leader dies. If you keep killing the guys who have the authority to surrender, there will never be a way out.

“Total destruction” only works for people and things, not ideas. As long as the enemy is “XX extremism” in the Information Age, total destruction is not going to play. Do you think it was the atomic bombs that prevented further wars with Japan or the fact that they’ve been essentially integrated into the “western world”? Not a popular idea, but we need to decide what the acceptable level of risk to civilians through acts of terror is and expend minimal resources to maintain that. Then talk about it. Then we focus the military on more existential threats. We can’t continue to live in a societal fantasy of zero risk from terrorism at any price... anyway, back to texting and driving on my way to Dunkies.

As long as we take a “total destruction” mindset like WW2, it could work. Aside from OGA/HVI targeting missions, it needs to be all out death and destruction for decisive action, to the end that it’s so bad for our enemies they choose not to step out of line against the western world again. Anything less and we end up in the same cycle of constant deployed ops.

USAFA cadets. It’s their jam.

The problem is ISIS, AQ, etc. will always be a transnational problem. It’s never going to work to simply leave somewhere and trust the locals to keep a lid on Islamic terrorist group’s unquenchable thirst for total world domination. So, we’ll be killing these fucks for the rest of our existence, with varying levels of manning and materiel commitments. Don’t worry boys, that RipIt stock will never tank.

There are existing engineering solutions to all of this already though. They just aren't purchased/implemented.

Honestly, did anyone ever really believe that this wouldn't be the case? It's like the battered wife that goes back to her abusive husband....no no, it will be different this time.

At least we can finally quit pretending they’re going to maintain a functioning Air Force after we’re gone.

We don’t have the satellite bandwidth to support the current level of drone ops, or even provide all players with satcom, near peers can support jamming datalink and satellite at least in high value areas, and in CAS I can get better SA by looking outside at something than screwing with a pod a large portion of the time. But sure, the days of manned flight are over 🙄

Next up! Goldfein changes AF mission to “To serve and win” you know, bc “reasons” Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok, I’ll stir this pot. I’d honestly want to hear his answer if he were fully read into the scope and scale of the challenge and given time to develop a solution for US broad-spectrum dominance. I’ll bet it wouldn’t look anything like the net-centric lumbering command and control beast we use right now. Smart people do things better than we do. If you’ve seen how an AOC works, you know I’m right. Just sayin

I think there's a lot of parallels to what early military aviation went through and what my cyber operators are going through. We're doing stuff like this because the USAF still has too many comm officers in cyber leadership billets that advocate for the past. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/air-force/2020/02/21/the-largest-cyber-exercise-youve-never-heard-of/

I wonder how much time Finger’s CAG spent on this worthless science project.

Let’s see, a private industry tycoon who hasn’t spent a day doing anything involving warfare and the three star head of the Space and Missile Systems Center in LA/career acquisitions officer, talking about how the age of the fighter jet is over. Yep, definitely some Subject Matter Experts right there...

Unfortunately, in the era of the Air Force bringing in "Spark Tanks" and letting people like Mark Cuban make what end up equating to policy and funding decisions, we should cringe a little when people like Elon Musk open their mouths with regard to their (even if uneducated on the subject) opinions. Let's also not forget how we keep ending up with defense contractor executives at the helm. Stuff like this isn't going away. Be afraid...

Yup, 3 of my squadron mates got the call back in 6 months and a 4th didn't get hired on his second try. One of the guys that was not hired at his legacy interview had been hired by both FedEx and UPS in the two week prior to that interview. Don't just expect to show up and take the job, unless it's AAL, if you get called down there it's basically yours to lose. By far, they had the most chill and relaxed interview I've ever done. Very few people weren't hired. That said, still show up prepared.

If only there was an aircraft in the Air Force inventory that checks all the boxes, (besides loiter time, which a slick T-6 can’t even do) is designed purely for attacking stuff on the ground, has a significantly longer endurance than any pointy nose, with a proven track record dominating in the COIN and traditional environment. But lets cut their funding and scrap 44 of them. More armed drones sound like a much better use of money than a single engine prop plane that’ll have no standoff and realistically carry maybe 1 or 2 bombs to even make TOLD seeing as it cant AR after takeoff.

Huh...Are you new? When Gen Brown was the SOCOM/CC he basically forced AFSOC to divest all helos, besides the 53's were TIRED. To understand the CV-22 you have to understand SOCOM and AFSOC were born because of the failure at Desert One and a helicopter even today can not execute that mission in one period of darkness but the CV can. I was never a CV lover...in fact I hated, it killed two very good friends...then I flew it...then I commanded it in combat. It is a game changer that has had its hands tied by a manning shortfall driven by decisions from above. Is it perfect, nope, but on the battlefield today it IS the platform of choice of the high end users. I've heard the internal discussions about CSAR at AFSOC and not a single word of stealing assets or $...just how can we do this better. Sadly the CSAR O-6's will never listen because they have Stockhom Syndrome and still believe their ACC puppet masters will do the right thing.

This comes up every couple years at the HAF level. New COMACC means time to talk about it again. Shit wasn't really that different the last time we were in AFSOC, I have no reason to suspect it would be different if they flicked us back again. The AO/Bro level at AFSOC staff absolutely thinks the mission and dudes would be better supported by Hurbie. I have no idea what the GOs think, but this is absolutely about curtailing the HH-60W buy, getting more CV-22s, and absorbing the HC-130Js and GA billets. At the core of it, ACC Rescue assets exist to provide the CFACC a capability to meet his PR requirements. I'm not sure how that is an AFSOC mission. I personally don't give a shit. Just support the mission appropriately or tell the pink bodies in the pointy nosed jets what risk is being accepted on their behalf.