Leaderboard

The Naval Aviators responsible for the low beach flyby have been identified.

Elon built a Gen X Chatbot and called it M2. As if Grok were a grumpy old military vet. Perfection.

Is anybody else going to be completely unsurprised if we find out that M2's old ass died a year ago and a rogue AI agent trained on his content and took over his account without anyone noticing? 😂🤣

"There's a guy on short final with a bazooka but otherwise winds are 210 at 10, cleared to land" 🤦🏼‍♂️

Hey man, I've only got 20 minutes to catch my commute flight home.

You can't leave us hanging like that

And “a loss of confidence and trust in their ability to effectively lead and command” is a bureaucratic formula that hides whether the commander actually failed to lead effectively or merely fell out of favor with their superiors! If a commander is relieved for poor judgment, toxic leadership, mission failure, or misconduct, a generic statement can make it difficult to determine whether the action was justified. Specific reasons help demonstrate that standards are being applied fairly. Military organizations improve when leaders understand what went wrong. A vague explanation like "loss of confidence" provides little guidance for subordinate commanders trying to avoid similar mistakes. Also, when people see leaders removed without explanation, they may suspect politics, favoritism or scapegoating. Transparent reasoning can increase confidence that decisions are based on performance and standards. Future leaders, historians, and researchers need more than a boilerplate phrase to understand why a command decision was made and what lessons should be learned. Some will argue that the public does not necessarily have a right to know every detail; but a better balance is needed between transparency and institutional learning, and privacy, fairness, and command discretion!

Would love to hear what takes of mine pertaining to this war are “laughably incorrect” Is it, in no particular order: -That Israel roped us into this -Our own DNI said Iran wasn’t making a nuke prior to the start of the war -Our destruction of a non-factor navy and Air Force doesn’t amount to a strategic win -Iran was never in a weak negotiating position which is why we signed a deal favorable to them -Iran’s TBM stockpile is mostly intact and the primary tool for their power projection -The blockade of their blockade didn’t do shit -Bombing cave entrances in a country of 90 million people the size of the entire eastern US didn’t (and won't currently) accomplish shit -We did not effect regime change and in fact ended up with a more hardline one -The people did not rise up -We have depleted our interceptor and SOW munitions to an alarming level that will take years to replace -We are objectively on the back foot in other AORs that had their resources poached for this boondoggle -Trump’s apocalyptic and incoherent messaging was strategically damaging and galvanized the Iranian public against us -We fell into an escalation trap that we now cannot get out of -Still don’t have the nuke dust -Constant admin goalpost shifting about the objectives where now just getting the strait back open and un-tolled would be considered a win There ya go. Feel free to address any of them specifically and I’ll respond with well sourced arguments. But this hiding behind “you don’t know what you’re talking about” or “you’d know the real story if you were in the strat division vault” is just pathetic BS. We can all see the shitshow unfolding with our own eyes.

100%. The only immediate appeal of a guard/res gig for someone punching from AD at their ADSC is the ability to pad a junior airline schedule to get more time at home with the family. That benefit is completely out the window if the odds are high you’ll get stuck on a combat deployment with no end date

Except it's not working at all. The first assault weapons ban was in in 1993, and States like Illinois and California are just trying to get back to that baseline. Bruen an earthquake, and Rahimi is being corrected. We look to be on the cusp of the legalization of high capacity magazines and all semi automatic rifles in all states. After 100 years the NFA has been de-taxed, and suppressors may be next. FRTs are spreading like wildfire and the govt is afraid to go after them because of the bump stock ruling. As far as wars of attrition go, for the first time in my life they are objectively losing.

The random callsign generator for stateside ops is the dumbest shit [On the phone with the tanker unit] “Cool we’ll see you guys at AR6969 CT1500z, what’s your callsign?” “Oh we don’t get our callsign until step” … “Well our step is before yours so I guess we’ll just show up to the track and hope we have the right guys 🤷🏻‍♂️”

And this guy https://www.pallasadvisors.com/mike-minihan Hard pass

KEND 26-13AF T-38 FAIP F-35 x3 (2 AD, 1 Guard) F-16

https://www.pallasadvisors.com/our-team/jim-slife

Standing by for commentary from "c"aptain Steeeeeeeeve.........

I'd take any excuse to go missed and land anywhere but NYC.

Yeah this shit is exhausting. Mainstream media runs with a nothing-burger story because it references Sec Hegseth and the word "Testosterone." And because it has those two things, every one goes wild about it for a week or two until it's forgotten, or overrun by the next nothing-burger story. Meanwhile, if everyone is so concerned about military member's health, where is the reporting on what Hegseth is doing about actually important shit like nutrition? RFK Jr is the Sec of Health and Human Services, and has come out strong on the detrimental effects of things like seed oils in foods. And it's long been known that the Army DFAC's specifically are all-around shitty. What is Hegseth doing in this arena? He talks about things like increased lethality, and logic would dictate the healthier your force, the more lethal they are, but what is he doing in that respect? If he's not doing shit, they where is the media caterwauling about that?

I don’t know what clearances you have or don’t have. But I do know from your long and distinguished history of laughably incorrect, half baked posts that you do in fact have zero clue on the topic of this thread. I’m sure there’s things you’re smart on and well informed on, but this ain’t it.

When you have zero coherent argument in support of this war:

It never ceases to amaze me how much humans will run their mouths on things they have zero actual knowledge on. But, I guess egos are going to ego.

Dude should have told his commandant, "I made an F35 disappear... I think I could Houdini a man." "Abracadabra!" Also, if his callsign wasn't the word above, huge miss.

I see the justification for a stand alone program as these cso/wso’s are being recruited specifically for the -21, UPT is already very busy and this program would help justify a companion trainer program for that platform. I imagine the recruitment for this will be as you said high speed low drag guys and an opportunity to go to an elite assignment with a unique training pipeline will only increase the pool of applicants, giving them the picks of the litter. There’s a cohort of guys / gals that for whatever reason didn’t get a pilot slot at their commissioning source but went wherever, this second shot with a direct path to the -21 I think would motivate a lot of people to work hard, compete and bring a strong candidate to them.

Great book

If you're asking if George Marshall fired a lot of generals before we entered combat, the answer is yes (unknown if 600 is correct). These books offer good insights on what he did and why. They're free on Libby. The GeneralsFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fiasco and The Gamble comes an epic history of the decline of American military leadership from World War II to Iraq.History has been kinder to the AmeGeorge MarshallThe extraordinary career of George Catlett Marshall - America’s most distinguished soldier - statesman since George Washington - whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of

I stopped by "Wolters Industrial Park" in '91 on my way to a teaching job at Meridian NAS. Not much left then either. I went to my old barracks, 10th WOC on the hill by the PX. Only the foundation and memories remained.

I did both. What I experienced in the army was the product of the times I was in the early 2010s. It was the surge in Afghanistan. Can't hover the helicopter? Can't pass the PT test? Don't know your EPs? Here are some wings... you are now your unit's problem. The only thing that would get you kicked out was a DUI. Going through as a young 24-year-old WO1, it did not try at all. Drinked and partied all the damn time and still got my top choice of CH47s. I thought UPT was way harder than Rucker. But when I went through I was way more mature. I got hired off the street by a tanker ANG unit and had to go through the full UPT. I was the last one to solo in my T6 class, even though I was a 1500-hour combat aviator in a helo. I guess I was just used to taking it slow in a helo. I would joke around telling folks at Vance that I used to do my ILSs at 60 knots... why? because I could. Now, going from Vance to OKC on a Rwy 17-day was a fast and rude awakening. I don't think it's a good metric to compare the two. The army sucks the fun out of everything and will try their hardest to change what should be a good experience into something horrible that will make you want to retire. At UPT, I lived for drop nights and the weekends. Party hard with the bros during those but come Sunday night it's time to hit the books and chair fly. But for your original question, I have the following: ARMY Rucker: Easy - The school program. Memorize a few things here and there. Doesn't matter if you even know what you're talking about, as long as you can spit it out verbatim, you will pass with flying colors.. - Flying VFR. Because flying instruments is very hard for all Apache pilots and MTPs. - The standard and the ability to make it. I had people I graduated with who had no business being aviators. But the Army needed the numbers, so here are some wings. I remember day one at Rucker we had the brigade commander tell us that the flight school policy was "No Flight School Student Left Behind" -I think the flying part is probably way easier nowadays. You fly UH72s in primary (no more TH-67s or OH-58s). The 72 has a pretty advanced flight control system that has studs being able to hover after perhaps an hour or two. Hard -The Army. You will graduate and think you are god's gift to aviation. You are not, and here are some field training exercises and ground training shit to prove it and to make you feel like an infantry guy. Also, here is a two-piece flight suit, a PT belt, and Eye Pro... all of those are inspectable items by the sergeant major at any time, so best be ready. -Being a warrant officer - Oh you think your job is a flying-only track? what a scam... and to prove it, here is some paperwork on stands, safety, and ops that an officer should be doing, but it's easier for the army to make a warrant do it for half the price. -Being a commission officer - oh you want to fly? here are some awards to type and some inventories that need to get done. Nobody will be your mentor and warrants will see you as more of a hazard to the flight since you probably know the ops limits of your computer better than any real helicopter anyway. USAF UPT: Easy -Wearing a one-piece flight suit and finally feeling like a real pilot. -Pulling Gs. Because doing a 60-degree bank in a helicopter is a pretty serious maneuver. Hard -The information overload and the fast pace of things. I remember coming back from a flight at Vance early during T6s. I was tired and beat up from all the U's my FAIP just gave me. I saw a random IP walking straight toward me to ask me what I was doing as soon as sat down in the flight room. Studying I said... Only to hear him say "No your not. We are stepping into another jet so let's GO! You can brief me on what all you need to clean up as we walk to the jet." All finish up by saying that the lifestyle in the USAF is a million times better than the Army. If your post originated as a product of frustration because you're having issues being selected to AD, ANG, or reserves, my advice is to KEEP trying dude. Don't look at going Army simply because the USAF is being too selective. It's supposed to be selective! The army should only be an alternative if age is not on your side. Hope that helps. Cheers