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Rich isn't it. The double standard is astounding especially when you look at the case of Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell who actually WAS having an affair with a Chinese agent...no big deal according to Democrats.

The AF is healing? https://www.af.mil/Diversity/

I don't think people who have never been falsely accused of a crime, and acquitted, understand the "innocent until proven guilty." They're also the dipshit who don't realize how easily it is to be accused of a crime and fuck up your personal and professional life.

Here we go again. If innocent until proven guilty is a technicality for you, then your evidence-free initial response to COVID seems to be the standard by which we should judge you. I'm old enough to remember when the Democratic party called Brett Kavanaugh a gang rapist based on absolutely zero evidence, including the newly-rejected vice president. So pardon me if I choose to trust our founding-principals on the assessment of guilt rather than the oft-corrupted media complex when deciding if Gaetz is a child rapist. Until the sin of the Kavanaugh hearing is confessed and atoned for, I won't be trusting *any* accusations of guilt from Democrats unless I see the evidence myself. You know, the same way I literally saw the Hunter Biden laptop materials with my own eyes. Why is it you pop up here only to make the absolute dumbest arguments?

Indeed, it was totally unnecessary for Putin to invade a nation unprovoked.

keep feeding yourself the delusion. ukraine is not NATO. and should never become nato. the west provoked putin's actions. a total retarded and unnecessary war.

To hear Senator Pocahontas Warren calling Tulsi Gabbard a Russian Asset and Spy pisses me off beyond recognition. Unless she can actually prove it isn't that slanderous and legally actionable (even towards a public figure)? I'd love to see her charged and tried.

Laptop - real as admitted by the FBI. Gaetz allegations investigation not enough to charge - also FBI. If there is proof of crimes committed then charge him, convict him, and I'll gladly join the firing squad. Unsubstantiated anonymous accusations which seem common in the last couple years or rumors do not a criminal make but do make for great reputation destroying MSM fodder.

Yeah I listened to it. Maybe read what I wrote again? I didn't claim he was crushing it. But it is unfamiliar and refreshing to see someone so boldly go against their party on something like Israel. That doesn't redeem him into some sort of intellectual giant. But he is surrounded by other people equally stupid. One of them just lost the election for president, and her answer on the border was indistinguishable from his. So as far as being shocked that he's in the Senate, there's a lot of other idiots to get rid of before I worry about him.

Took some jets to Nellis for some night A-10 FWS support. Can't remember the building we were flying out of but some F-15s from Elmendorf supporting the F-16 Weapons School were also there. I bumped into a former student now F-15 dude as he was coming from a 4 vs I don't know how many and they start to debrief the ride. Anyway, that was around sunset and I launched with the 1st go. Got back, took over as Top 3, and launched our second go. We recover those jets, put them to bed, finish the paperwork, and completed the schedule for the next night. Sun is coming up and F-15/16 guys ARE STILL DEBRIEFING.

Normally I’d agree, but these are exceptional circumstances. Think of his context: he’s been hounded by false accusations, literally had SES level players working with opposing campaigns to fabricate stories about him, his own generals illegally conspired behind his back to undermine his orders…. This has been a unique period on our history. He was given a decisive mandate for change by the American people, and knows from experience he cannot execute without a team committed to his vision. If you were a WG/CC leading a complete re-org under pressure of WW3 and given total hiring authority, would you rather have a team of SQ leaders you trusted to follow your intent or a team who had the normal pedigree but you knew their hearts weren’t onboard with your priorities? An imperfect analogy but it conveys my point. saying “loyalty is a key hiring criteria” plays into the dictator claims made against him, but I also see his perspective. If a boss asked for my loyalty, I’d say “loyalty to what?” The mission? The team? The ideas we took an oath to protect? Commanders intent? Or you personally even if you commit crimes? The first 4 are fine of course, the fifth definitely not. He’d be better served saying “trust” instead of “loyalty” but who am I to give advice? Bottom line I’m excited to see how it plays out and optimistic.

As reticent as I am to do someone's homework for them, I'll move the ball down the field...so, yes. Watch for one minute; up until about the 3:30 mark. And no, I don't think she's a Russian agent. She characterizes the Iraq war as a war for "financial reasons" that was sold on lies. Now, I was a naysayer (at the time - like in 2003 when I was a cadet) about Iraq part 2. Put another way: I was against the Iraq war before Tulsi was. I didn't think we should have gone in for the reasons we did and I have posts on this site that go back years which indicate that - I'm no Iraq '03 apologist. That being said, there are only two ways you can fairly approach an understanding of our decision for going into Iraq the second time. The first is a fear-based reaction that is grounded in our assumption or lack of knowledge into what Saddam Hussein was up to in the aftermath of 9/11. I thought there were smarter ways to handle that fear and I think in different times and under different circumstances we would have done better. That said, it's a perfectly acceptable response to the "why" behind our decision to go in. The second (fair) way to approach the decision is to acknowledge that we "went in for the oil." Though that one requires you to grapple with the fact that we're going to trade blood for oil. I am a blood for oil guy because I'm a realist. We are not going to allow a dictator on the other side of the world put a stranglehold on the global economy. We fight over natural resources. We always have and we always will. Decrying "no blood for oil" is absolutely ignorant, hippy-coded nonsense. If you want to be a realpolitik type, you can lean on this one. If you want to be a hippy pacifist, you can lean on it as well. It works for both groups. So yes, I agree, if you want to characterize it as "we went in for financial reasons," then yeah, sure we did, but then again, everything we do has a financial dimension, so it's really not a very illustrative way to view the world...but I digress. The problem I have with her, however, is her characterization of the "why" surrounding going in for oil. She posits some sinister, financial, get-rich-quick, evil motivation that led the likes of Dick Cheney to use 9/11 as a pretext to get Halliburton into Iraq - which was always his master plan...it was closer to the view I had when I was 20...but I was 20. I'm now a grown up. Zip ahead to 4:45 when she goes into "just like we wouldn't want Venezuela to come to our country..." to over throw our government, we shouldn't go into theirs...blah, blah, blah. It underscores this neo liberal idea(l) that all country's are equal and get to have an equal say in the way the world works. Nah. No thanks. Venezuela's merry-go-round of dictators don't get to have an equal say in the way the world works because they're a so-called country with borders on the map. There are other examples available, but I'm not going to trouble myself more tonight by expounding anymore on them at length. The bottom line is that her world-view is conspiratorial, and that one which has no place in a position as serious as the DNI. So no, what I'm doing is not name-calling. I am looking fairly at the implications of her worldview and it concerns me. I haven't written her off. Like I said, I hope she's a fast learner with an open mind. On a somewhat related note to help characterize how I approach the world, I also think the regime in Iran must be toppled. October 7th has necessitated it, and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a reality. I'm not a war-monger, though. I'm just taking an honest look at who's who in the world, and "countries" that engage others in that manner have to be transformed. That usually takes force.

It's not sarcastic. She possesses a high-school-debate-club-level understanding of politics, war, the Middle East, and our role in the world. I hope she wises up quick if she is confirmed to that role. I don't want someone in that role who thinks we're up to no good at a fundamental level, or someone who thinks we can all get along. I want a stone-cold killer as the DNI. She doesn't seem to fit that description to me.

Because Obama was very qualified to be President…oh wait… If the new SecDef (assuming he gets confirmed) F’s things up more than the current retired 4-star SecDef, then most definitely feel free to complain. But the last two to three decades hasn’t exactly been great when it comes to the DoD, and I’m sure many would say most of those SecDefs were “qualified”.

What is wrong with you people? How could Hegseth with a Bachelor of Arts in politics at Princeton University, A Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University, multiple combat tours possibly know anything about leading the people in the DoD? Instead we should rely on professionally trained people like Donald Rumsfeld, at the time of his nomination had three years on active duty and two terms as a Congressman under his belt. Maybe Obama's model is better, he picked Chuck Hagel who served as a squad leader in Vietnam before becoming a senator, businessman and LOBBYIST. You are all racist.

Hey guys look! somebody who was in he Minnesota guard that actually did deploy to a combat zone. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Pete Hegseth named to be SECDEF....WOW! He was labeled a threat/extremist by his Guard unit for vigorously supporting Trump. I hope he turns the building upside down!

Required uniforms for SARMs under 25…though there will be requirements, waiverable only by a 69% yes vote from the bros.

He should. During his tenure the FBI was weaponized into an arm of the DNC.

He is going to jail.

I would love to see Tulsi as the head of homeland security so she can ask who put her and her husband on the terrorist watch list.

If someone isn’t willing to do a job because they’re worried they could get fired then I would not want that person in said job in the first place.

It's been a long time since I was a UPT IP, but I always had a simple hypothetical for the tanker guys I flew with that were debating the assignment. You can adapt this to whatever your current airframe is. If it was a Wednesday, middle of the day, and I came to your desk and told you that I had a pattern only sortie about to step, and you had no beans left, no requirements, nothing in your desk job that required you to skip the flight; basically, if you did it you would be doing it for nothing other than to hop in the plane and fly a little. It hasn't been a while since you've flown, and you haven't been flying your ass off. Just... Do you *want* to fly? If the answer to that is "hell yeah," then you're probably going to enjoy UPT. If you're the guy who would rather use the time to catch up on some low priority tasks, or maybe hit the commissary so you don't have to after work, or whatever other simple life and career tasks we all have, then it's probably not for you. Bottom line, if you just fucking love flying airplanes, it's hard to get a job as good as upt. If flying planes is just how you pay the bills, then moving your family to the least exciting cities in America is probably not going to be particularly fulfilling.

Touch yourself.

Ha, further proof that FAIPs are idiots!

After dragging four Pave Lows from Jacksonville FL to Virginia, hanging out, and dragging them back, our crew was awarded an MRE. I got the ham slice, better than the pork and beans I guess. It was an ORI so we made Norty look good.

Ukraine is a friendly democratic nation with zero expansionist desires that was invaded by an unfriendly, undemocratic nation with expansionist desires. That’s the reason that Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland joined NATO. Because none of them could trust Russia. And as long as Putin is in power and attempting to derail our foreign policy on every continent, neither can we. Abandoning Ukraine is giving him a historic come from behind win, and it damages trust in the US for every ally.

I know. And I’m happy you don’t think all countries should have a say in our foreign policy as you eloquently wrote below. Which is exactly why the US should tell Zelenskyy and Ukraine to pound sand and negotiate for peace. Something tulsi will be in favor of. “Zip ahead to 4:45 when she goes into "just like we wouldn't want Venezuela to come to our country..." to over throw our government, we shouldn't go into theirs...blah, blah, blah. It underscores this neo liberal idea(l) that all country's are equal and get to have an equal say in the way the world works. Nah. No thanks. Venezuela's merry-go-round of dictators don't get to have an equal say in the way the world works because they're a so-called country with borders on the map.”

Translation: Because this is my side, I care more about technicalities than if our attorney general committed actual sex crimes against minors. Cherrypicking FBI results and choosing to get mad at which ones you want to get mad at is called “cognitive dissonance.” Hurr durr, Hunter laptop investigation bad and should be checked. Matt Gaetz sex crimes good. Seeing previous military officers compromise themselves is half funny half sad.