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It has nothing to do with focused attention on each platform, and sadly crossflow won't stop the tribalism. The issue is and has been the Pavelow Mafia and what they have done through the years. I am skimming the surface on their TTPs but in short they executed what Big Blue tried to do on the GO development side. They picked key talent VERY early and made them the "chosen ones". They stratified a few thoroughbreds in each year group, and pushed them forward no matter what. Dudes actually knew what there "number" was in their entire year group and once they were "made" the senior folks carefully managed the chosen ones to make sure they were BPZ at multiple ranks, in the right job, at the right school and in the right position to continue the program. For many years AFSOC had only one wing and the Commander was almost always a Pavelow guy. The Gunships, Talons and Shadows were relegated to second tier jobs. A few MC guys leaked through once in a while, but the Pavelow guys always made it back into the rotation. Any time a gunship bro would excel the mafia made sure they didn't get command at Hurlburt...the only wing with gunships. Fiel and Hiethold popped as GOs but both had to be Wing/CCs elsewhere. I think the first gunship dude to make BG as the Hurlburt Wing/CC was Westy and they made sure he retired as a one star. Honestly I blame Fiel and Hiethold. Fiel enabled the current sycophant and his CAT 5 successor to survive and enabled their caustic ways. CAT 5 did a lot of F'd up things and Fiel could have ended him, but he was persuaded the dude could be "fixed" and he let him continue. Rather than fall on his sword and take the case to CSAF, Hiethold took the easy route and pushed them both away to Korea, where they put their rings together and survived to rise from the ashes. A Pavelow followed Hiethold in the AFSOC/CC chair and the deal was done. A complete travesty...Elton should have been the pick and he would have done wonders for the entire enterprise. I don't think most know how bad it really is. The AFOSC/CC does not like AC-130 types, he thinks they are stone cold killers that need mental health help, something he has openly been heard saying in the halls of the command. He actually ordered a reflection event for the gunship community, not because of the woke nonsense, but because he thinks the gunship community kills too many people to easily. It is absolutely shocking some of the things this clown has said to other senior officers. He has even gone as far as to offer to give up all the AC-130's in the command to enable his other pet projects. And let there be no doubt, the lunatic coming in behind him will continue the destruction.

At this point, covering up the pandemic of the vaccinated will be paramount for every person and company and politician who pushed or supported the jab on the population. meet the new self licking ice cream cone. evenrually though, the data will be too hard to ignore. Some posters on here may even wake up. Everyone at my work who has been diagnosed with covid in the past month have all been vaccinated.

It will always be a new variant. Like a new flu every year. I’m over it.

They needed panic throughout the holidays.

Just found this topic out of the blue. If anyone wants to know anything about the absolute cluster the enlisted pilot program has been, let me know. Currently applying for palace chase to get away from it before I'm forced into third enlisted career field. Allegedly, our program was an idea from then SECAF Deborah James that was forced upon ACC before it was really figured out. It's been an insane four years. Am I glad I did it? Yeah, but 96 of us did it for a lot of different reasons and there's a lot of disappointed NCOs and SNCOs right now. The next few months are going to really solidify how I feel it as a whole. So much time spent wondering and a lot of unknowns, especially with a majority of the RQ-4 fleet being divested/pending divestment this year. What a time to be alive

Thanks for the explanation, never heard it called that.

The biggest consequence isn't creating new terrorist. It is the erosion of trust that if foreign citizens help us in another country they will be protected and taken care of. Any country we go to there is going to be a point where we need local assistance to continue operations and right now the US does not have a very good reputation to sway people to help us.

Haha! I separated at the 15 year point of my AD career. Came back to the U-2 two years later and on AD. A few years later, I retired from AD while flying the U-2. Returned to AD again to fly the U-2. We have another pilot here that did the same thing as me, albeit a few years after I did it. The U-2 is The Land of Misfit Toys. We are an odd lot.

Never heard the WIC thing... that's incredibly disheartening when tactics take a backseat to optics and politics. Its too bad Elton didn't take his place. As bad as clovis is, Elton did everything in his power to make the base and community better for the unfortunate members stuck there.

Stay safe brothers and sisters. Flurry Of Air Force Transports Head To East Africa As Potential For Ethiopia Evacuation Grows

WTF? So you'd shoot someone defending themselves? If so, who do you think would be the next person dropped? If you don't instantly know, go look in a mirror. Or, if you were so lucky to survive shooting someone for no reason, how would you justify shooting someone who wasn't posing a lethal threat towards you? If you really thought "you'd be next," you have exceptionally poor SA or a clear issue of poor decision-making. It's clear as to why those who got shot, got shot. I honestly hope you aren't allowed to carry a firearm!

Fuck. If we could get the people we've still left in Afghanistan first, that would be great....

With an old, white, dazed and confused male at the top.

I think people make too much of the hiring process complexity and black majic but if i've learned anything talking to U-2 people it's don't listen to non-U-2 about the U-2, which I of course I am not and so you shouldn't care what i have to say about it, lol.

Not enough. Across both types, they can do SAR, MTI, and SIGINT, all of which are very underutilized. Tactics isn’t just threat reactions.

Bold prediction: Once the GOs return from CORONA, this program will die a quiet death... The E-pilots will be offered officer commissions or retraining, and Congress will get told how unsustainable an idea this was. Chuck

Just wait until it's the first all-female, all-enlisted, all one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater aircrew operating an RQ-4!

"AFSOC has ruined Air Force special operations"

Actually..I do feel pretty bad ..In any case If I had been there and watched him shoot a man with his rifle ..I think that it's probably 75-25 that I would have shot the kid if he didn't instantly comply..esp. if he turned towards me..No video..no hours of analysis....no goofy judges and lawyers...nothing but a kid?..with a rifle..that he just used to drop someone..with me possibly next...well that kid was found not guilty of anything...makes me feel kind of dumb..eh? I apologize for the digression..