Leaderboard

Thanks to all who have spent the holiday in a far away place.

Opinions of lower-ranking troops could soon be considered in officer promotions "The pilot would include anonymous peer and subordinate feedback to be submitted as part of command selection for O-5 and O-6 ranks." Our Air Force leadership would look COMPLETELY different. Douche nozzles like Slife and Cat 5 would be busting rocks in the gulag.

Remember, they’re enlisted and you’re an officer. every time they speak to you, task them with some trivial bullshit. Bring me the results of the last dorm inspection? How many CE Tickets are still open on the ops building? How about the dorms? I think the track is a few meters short, go measure it. Get me the names of every crew chief that grew up in Texas. The more tedious and vaguely personnel related the better. they’ll leave you the fuck alone when they realize every interaction comes with homework.

Don't do it. Get your name out in other ways. If you're enlisted in the unit, I don't know a single guy that would be ok taking a bottle from you. We hire within our unit every year and we've never taken any gifts from non-fighter pilots rushing the unit. Just do your job incredibly well. Have the HMCS and NVGs ready to go. Keep the gloves and piddle packs stocked and ask how the sortie was when they drop gear off. That's a great way to open the door and learn what they do after they step out the door.

They were far from new, both belonged to NASA who was happy to divest them. I "stole" them and got funding for the test from OSD that would turn into Combat Dragon. We used a group of Navy pilots that had been working the A-29 at Pax River. They were without a home so we rolled them in. One was outfitted with an extended boom and a development version of a GPS based stationkeeper system for cropdusters strapped on the front nose. Basically a series of lights that visually depicts spraying lanes for pilots. I understand it is very common now. The second was outfitted with a tank and a spray coil system that was used to test anti-ice systems. Airplanes would fly behind the bird as it sprayed water to see how thier systems dealt with ice build up. Here is bird one in the hangar at Pax, its been painted and we are about to remove a bunch of the NASA gear.

Y'all sound like the board of every major corporation in America today looking for a CEO. We want someone who's really going to shake things up, take this company out of its rut and into the future as the leader in our field! Ooh, that guy, no he's a little bit too controversial for us. Besides we want someone with more experience in this type of company. Let's go with established-safe-guy-in-a-suit. Fast forward a couple years I don't understand, why is our company still stuck unable to innovate or change direction?

Given that we're a "total force" now, I've always said they should move AETC to the ARC. While some wouldn't care to teach UPT/FTU, many would. It's a ANG dream, no deployments, no chem gear, much easier job to maintain as a part timer...it's a no brainer from that perspective. You'd have no problem filling squadrons and keeping great experience around to teach the young studs. Free up all those AD IP's to fill the spots in AD squadrons. Rotate a small number of AD pilots through to keep a fresh look/perspective, but that will naturally happen as we hire AD pilots anyway. If we had something like that, I'd probably still be in.

so let's get this straight, tulsi was good enough to be vice chair of the DNC, good enough to run for democratic presidential nominee, good enough to be elected to US Congress FOUR times where she served on the HSAC and also the House Armed Services subcommittee on Intelligence, BUT she's not qualified. you're wrong sir. and maybe sexist? (see what I did there), or maybe racist against women of color? (hmmm) tulsi is extremely qualified to lead our IC and hopefully clean house

This thing looks even sexier covered in mud.

There it is!

Dibs?

That's the crux right there. It would be great to have a disruptor with operational experience. But we don't. I'm not a big Tulsi fan, but what we need right now are people willing to slaughter sacred cows, and the best people for that task are the ones who have been scorned by the priests of the old religion.

First beta tester results: Wife: “Seriously!!! Turbo Ass Blaster 3000?! We’re having a baby, not an Eagle driver. You need to take this seriously.” Husband: “Yes dear. And also to clarify, does that mean Hugh Jorgan is off the table too?”

I didn't say anything about "feelings", so strange to bring it up and even stranger to put it in quotes as if I said it. Thoughts and feelings are very different and far too many people confuse the two. I don't put any trust in rumors, especially rumors from DC from 'someone closer to the issue' (apparently I only get to "feel", while they get to "think"). Assuming the rumors are true, which is a monumental assumption, needing to learn and people not liking her are no problem. Likeability is not a qualification for a cabinet position. Needing to learn sounds like an insider critique of someone that isn't an insider. Washington, and thus our country, would be better off with fewer insiders. Unprepared is a different matter, but I think (not feel) that it would be far easier to walk in prepared for a meeting with the President on a specific subject than to walk into a firing squad that can ask anything they want.

That alone makes me support the nomination even more!

"BashiChuni" - I can't tell if the name means bad sushi, an odd sexual fetish in Pattaya or the resultant STD you would get from a visit there.

Biden didn't pardon Hunter. He pardoned himself. I’m confident the Bidens are easily one of the most corrupt families in the history of this country. Hopefully, when history writes itself, the truth and evidence come out. These people make me sick. I hope they pay. Even if it is just in the history books.

It’s on the dems AND the willing GOP participants of the establishment (McConnell, Crenshaw, etc.) The people are sick of all the bullshit pork the aforementioned group shoves in bills - so yeah it is their fault. I will also be happy to see the gov shutdown. We’re fiscally out of control more than anytime in history - it has to stop.

You’re showcasing you actually don’t know anything about Tulsi, even the slightest bit it appears.

I excitedly clicked the link to see what my BAH is going to be only to realize I'm retired and it doesn't apply.. so f'ing surreal

If that movie doesn't end with the national anthem and the raising of the flag I'm gonna be pissed...

The Democrats are going to have a full-scale meltdown over this. Biden gave the presidency to Trump, and now he's giving him the moral authority to do anything he wants while in office. I couldn't have asked for a better finale to the Biden show.

I compromised nothing by voting against a politician that would continue our last four years of national decline (which has only helped China). Calling out corruption in our government is not cognitive dissonance, it is the lifeblood of a republic. I also have no problem calling out Trump or any other Republican for corruption. I don't think Trump is a saint, but I also think that your calling him a criminal when he has clearly been targeted by the exact type of personal prosecution that Biden used as an excuse to pardon his son is ironic. If Trump had not be President and simply stayed a business man and still did everything that he has been charged with, I think there is exactly a zero percent chance that he would have been charged with anything, let alone convicted. On the other hand, people are charged with gun law violations every day, so Hunter's prosecution is entirely reasonable and could just as easily happen to a nobody. But the big story here is not that Biden pardoned his son, but by doing so he is trying to hid his own guilt.

Here's what I would do. Pull up everything the intel world has on Biden's dealings in Ukraine. Whatever he was doing, we assuredly have intel on. So let's assume there's dirt there. Roll into office and in the first week grant Joe Biden and his entire family blanket immunity for the same timeframe of Hunter's pardon. Tell everyone that the country needs to move on and heal, and even though Biden tried to use the Justice system against him, President Trump isn't going to perpetuate the cycle. Then declassify everything regarding the Bidens. A little sunshine will do the country well, and roaches hate it.

Anyone with a quarter of a brain could’ve seen AFFORGEN was doomed from the start. Same thing with this A-Staff construct at the wing level.

We could save even more money by getting rid of UPT all together. AFA/ROTC/OTS straight into Viper or C-17. No need for the T-6 or those sweet UPT locations. Let the operational units figure out how to train them. The money we saved from UPT can be used to regenerate all those MWSs we lose during the pilot training process. Also, give everyone in the AF wings. They (non combatants) all know how easy flying is anyways. Shit let's just call every airman a Pilot. No more Pilot shortage.

I doubt there is a much dirtier energy than lithium ion batteries from materials mined and largely assembled in countries that either only pretend to follow environmental agreements or don't even pretend to try. And that's not even starting with the slave labor problem.

I was gonna say the better comparison would be the jackasses stateside telling us that war over there wasn’t our problem and what Germany was doing wasn’t really that bad. Luckily some of our grandfathers didn’t gargle Reddit level stupid coming out of a coordinated IA campaign. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

No, the ATF should be the first to go!

Not just interesting, it's the best summary I've seen from someone who has been personally involved with the Ukrainian government at a high level in the early parts of this crisis. The arguments made here are becoming circular so it's kind of a waste of time, but it would be nice if some of you could put aside your fears, biases, and clearly see the designed and intended progression of this conflict so that there is ultimately a direct conflict between Russia and NATO. The same Western leadership that has brought us all kinds of bullshit from a policy mismanagement standpoint; domestically and internationally, socially and financially... is somehow making brilliant decisions on this issue? It is a retarded line of thinking. It is an undeniable fact that the current leadership of the United States and most NATO countries do not care about the best interests of their citizens. Most people are coming to realize this as indicated by the election. What they do care about is retaining power and streams of revenue. As we the people begin demanding order and civility, War and crisis are the things that guarantee their opportunities for profit continue. When I read many of the replies here, I'm always reminded of "Doctor Strangelove." The unreasonable obsession with the idea that we're somehow under threat of a Russian invasion was supposed to be a joke, but it seems like so many are reenacting those sentiments, but sincerely, and without realizing how ridiculous it seems. NATO leadership realizes it has 60 days get us entrenched in a conflict that can't easily be de-escalated. Therefore: And how does Russia respond? The launched an ICBM. I thought ICBM were kind of a big deal. Not one average European citizen realized that an ICBM was in the air. No alarms, no emergency broadcasts, no nothin. Why? As I said, acting in the best interests of the population is not the real modus operandi here. You likely won't know either. God forbid we have even the possibility of a negotiated settlement that results in the cessation of hostilities, and the flow of cash.

It doesn't have leaders like MG William Zana... An Army general’s final ‘walk’ at the Tomb of the Unknowns MG William Zana, the only guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to reach the rank of general, took a final guard shift on the night he retired. At exactly 10 p.m. on the warm, last night of May, MG William Zana received his orders and began his final guard shift on the smooth marble stone plaza at the center of Arlington National Cemetery. In two hours it would be midnight, a new day and new month. A new guard would relieve him at his post, he would march off the plaza and suddenly, instantly, be a civilian. But for the final two hours of his 37-year career, Zana wanted one last chance to stand a shift he had held as a young sergeant: keeping watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. “I was Pvt. Zana when I showed up to the Old Guard,” Zana told Task & Purpose.“You know, all of us who raise our right hand and serve, there’s things that define you. First combat tour, first loss of personnel. For me, volunteering for and serving at the Tomb was absolutely both defining and shaping.” (Full story at the title link) I don't know the man, nor do I know much about his career other than what I read in his bio; but based on this article, I have the utmost respect for him!

My daily driver is a 2022 Tesla Model 3 Performance. I drive 48 miles round trip to the base I work at and it costs .60 cents to charge. I love it; it's been one of the best vehicles I've ever owned. Just hit 30,000 miles on it and had no issues other than the shit paint that Tesla uses. Things that I would recommend: Don't buy Full-Self Driving (FSD). You can get it for a month for a $99 subscription for long road trips (if you want). Get a Level 2 charger installed in your garage. If you live in a colder climate (I live in Denver), make sure to precondition the car (battery and climate control turn on). The range won't be affected so much by cold weather. The insurance for EVs is absolutely ridiculous due to the cost to repair them and the fact if the battery is damaged in a crash, the vehicle is most likely to be totaled. Just like an airplane, autopilot is cool when it's engaged, but you still have to monitor it and it'll do weird shit and you'll have to take control. Sunglasses will fool the camera inside the car and you won't get as many "pay attention" alerts from the car when autopilot is on. EVs are very heavy compared to similar ICE vehicles; you'll go through tires faster. Most tire manufacturers make "EV only" versions of their tires that have stiffer sidewalls (like BQs Mom). The Tesla Supercharger network is great, however with more EVs now using Tesla's adapter as the industry standard, expect to see longer wait times. If you're buying a Tesla, get a CCS adapter so you can charge at Non-Tesla fast chargers. YouTube TV works in the YouTube app for Tesla. Sentry Mode pays for itself with the fact it's always recording from all the cameras all the time (if you have at least 20% of battery life). Model 3 Only: Get the Performance over the Long Range. Both are AWD, however, the Performance has Sport Mode which is insanely fast and the range difference between the two models is negligible. Don't listen to anyone who doesn't have an EV about how it is to own an EV. They're usually dipshit and spout off some propaganda they learned on the internet. If you miss an ICE vehicle, just get a fun one. I also own a 2024 Z51 Corvette Stingray.

Concur but she’s gotta write a check for that education Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok, two different things.. tracking now. For the orphan from China learning engineering, I'm sure the good ol govt can establish an alternate civil service to reap the investment of said 2d Lt along with a loan balance should she not honor that alternate enlistment/commitment. As for the beards, we all know our idea for beards in the military is modeled after Ramius, right? He would have looked unwise and silly if he was clean shaven and asking for a Ping.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

This is how we know you’re delusional in a basement somewhere. Collective defense against Russia is the main reason NATO exists. Having them join would be inviting the fox to guard the henhouse; they would be able to obstruct anything they want, just like they do on the UN Security Council. Do you get paid for this nonsense?

I’m just amazed at how leadership is so happy/eager to get back into a Cold War (or worse) type relationship with Russia. We’ll never trust each other totally, but there really is no need to be actual enemies. We’re like the dumb ass tourists you see at Yellowstone walking up to a Bison or a Grizzly just for shits and grins. Negotiate peace and stability!

It’s a huge, expensive bureaucracy, created in 1979, not 1824…….employs No Teachers and has little to no impact on Education on a local level except to dictate, interfere, and propose programs which spread whatever political and social ideologies that they deem important. Remember it employs zero teachers who teach. The Dept of Ed has been low hanging fruit for decades, and whenever Republicans try to dismantle it, Democrats begin airing commercials about So and so candidate is against education and your children. We went to the Moon and won 2 World Wars, and ushered in the tech age without the Dept of Education.

The defense of America is clearly provided for in the enumerated clauses so the Air Force is obviously well within the Federal powers. And, yes, I'm fully thinking of the broader implications. Just to toss out a number, I consider well over half of the Federal government and the things it does to be unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Americans have come to expect an absurdly huge Federal government and the handouts that come with it. Which is also why we are over a year of GDP in debt and some people can't build a house on their own land because someone once saw an endangered salamander there 30 years ago.