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You clearly don't know what it takes to fly precision loops to Van Halen, while taking all the 60 series.

Sample size of one school (unrelated to AF training) - vast majority of young CFIs suck (and we’ve ran through a lot in the last year, hired from all over the country). Their work ethic and maturity are significantly lacking is the best way to sum it up. Now add in their complete lack of experience and unwillingness to acknowledge that - it’s a recipe for bad decisions and poor instruction. I can only imagine this is plaguing these AF-contract flight schools. UPT is, for all the valid BGCs, vastly superior to a standard flight school, especially when trying to produce military pilots at scale.

Don't you remember Red Dawn? Wolverines!!!

We've been down this road, and similar paths, constantly and consistently since the 1970s. I'll believe that Big Blue is serious about CSAR (and CAS) beyond the A-10 when the following things occur: 1. SPECIFICALLY, in-writing, designate a MINIMUM of FIVE squadrons (of the MDS of their choosing) that will take CSAR as a PRIMARY mission. These squadrons will take dedicated, three week (or longer) TDYs to Moody AFB to learn, refine, and become proficient in the CSAR mission so that when the last Hog flies West, the mission is so deeply ingrained in the PRIMARY focus that no stress or strain can erase it. Why 5? I'd argue that's the absolute minimum number for a somewhat regular AFFORGEN deployment rhythm. Welcome to the world of low-density, high-demand. Who's going to want to go into no-kidding combat without Sandys? They will also publish the recurring training events that will prove to the entire CAF that the commitment of NEVER leaving a comrade behind on the field of battle is alive, well, and preserved in the United States Air Force. This won't happen, because it hasn't happened. In order to do this, those five squadrons will have to give up other missions in order to focus on CSAR. It isn't a pickup game, and if we relegate it as such, we're breaking faith with our own. Period, dot, full-stop. So, what can we ask that F-16, F-15E, or F-35 squadron to give up in exchange for keeping CSAR alive at such a pace that our own don't lose faith in our ability to come snatch them from the Valley of the Shadow of Death on the worst day of their lives? Draw the line in the sand. Demonstrate the commitment. Spoken words are hollow. Write it. Sign your name to it and accept the accountability for the decision. If we're not willing to do that, to that level, then we have to get serious in another way. Alternative COA: Give the mission in its entirety to the US Navy. Carriers are near the fight and are mobile. Sign it all over if we're not willing to do what it takes and maintain the mission at the standard that was forged in the skies over Vietnam. The mission has been tinkered with and tossed around a few times, and every time that's happened, it hasn't been good. We had to relearn the TTPs in Desert Storm, and that only happened because enough A-1 vets were retained in the young Hog community to keep the idea alive. Draw the line and go big, or punt on fourth down. Doctrinally, the USN is the closest to the USAF CSARTF in terms of composition, so push it all over there. Zero's perfect solution because I have the pens: Get serious about what war has really been over the last forty years, and the elements that will endure REGARDLESS of the war we want to fight. Our track record on predicting future conflict is pretty terrible, so (as they love to say at Air University) use the past as prologue and keep the things that you've always somehow needed, even if you didn't want them. Get serious about the USAF commitment that's existed in this manner since the original Sandys made it clear that they would walk through Hell in a gasoline suit to bring a comrade home. That means extending the A-10 until 2035, with all that's needed for such sustainment-- depot, WIC, FTU, test, and spare parts. That timeline gives the service time to develop a proper follow-on A-10X. You can even bolt-on some after-market add-ons to make it a VERY formidable F/A-10X and take the low-end counterair vs the low-slow toys so that the super expensive machines can focus on their high-end fights. Better yet, call it the ATTACK-MULTI-role FIGHTER, or AMF. You could field it in no time since you've got a foundation that you know works-- put some new versions of the -34 on there that get 15K lbs of thrust or more, add on every means of plug-and-play munition, EW, and comm suite that already exists, and of course, keep the gun. Done. On the ramp by 2035 so that the last of the c-models can take their place in the boneyard. We need the pickup truck in an era where everyone just wants the sports cars. EVERY conflict since Desert Storm has proven that. Bottom line at the bottom is that there is a numbers game that we're losing and will continue to lose so long as we don't accept the harsh reality before us. Budgets aren't big enough to field an entire fleet of exquisite and VERY expensive fighters. You can't field an NFL team with all quarterbacks, but it's also damn near impossible to field a winning team without those high-speed, highly paid leaders who pass and carry the pigskin. You need linemen. You need knuckle-dragging brawlers. There's already not enough to go around, and the trend is continuing downward. If you're going to transfer the mission, DO IT RIGHT, and START DOING IT NOW so that the new guys can learn from the experts. If you think it's a pickup game and that you can re-learn it on the fly after your one upgrade ride four years ago, you'll be joining Jack in the Esfahan Hilton. We're already late.

I’m an equal opportunity hater - fuck em both!

I think this sounds like a solution in search of a problem.

Whoever made this is next level!

Pretty impressive landing roll. Actually a no roll. T/O is incredible as well. I’m not sure the tires even rotated fully.

Hopefully someone kicked some rudder because lead got lucky with having enough space to eject. Since everyone made it and are OK: Rejoin to the piggyback position? Is that a new Ace and Gary maneuver?

Dibs!

Blast from the past!

The central question was never whether Iran was a challenging environment. Nor was it whether Iran posed a serious threat, had the potential for nuclear weapons if they put their minds to it, fired ballistic missiles, or occasionally conducted special operations that targeted western citizens. All of that is true. The question was whether those conditions compelled the methods chosen — or whether they were invoked to justify choices that were poorly aligned with the United States’ own stated objectives.” He (smartly) doesn’t mention the clear “unstated” objective: to distract from other political difficulties that were becoming unmanageable. Once evaluated by that criteria suddenly everything starts to make perfect sense.

It’s the Navy way.

...and not a single pilot died. Worth it.

LGA > JFK

Have the F-16/15/35 doing the Sandy mission? Sandy 1 is a never ending helmet fire centered on finding the survivor, authenticating the survivor, protecting the survivor, and making the final go/no-go call. Sandy 2 has to manage comms to keep track of all the players while executing the FAC gig to defend the survivor. Sandy 3 needs to find a way in and out for Pedro/Jolly and troll the route for threats as the helo transits. All Sandys need to be down up close and personal doing "Hover Cover" with eyeballs on the pickup ready to deliver ordnance quickly on pop up threats to the helo or survivor. Doing that at 400+ knots up in the Bozosphere is not going to work. Doing that at low altitude at 400+ knots won't be any easier and certainly not an improvement over the A-10.

Pretty well…until we took a break.

Sydney Sweeney in a one piece or bikini is still hot as hell

I have a new theory but no data. Was there a Coldplay song playing on the airshow PA?

The only airplane with a side opening canopy I want to see at an airshow is an OV-10 or an F-104.

The only way I could explain the lack of Air Force supervision over the schools is the same reason the whole concept sucks: every school has a different management composition and style, every school has a different pool of cfi's and every school has different aircraft. How could the AF possibly expect any kind of standardized result.

Oh weird, the IRGC, effectively a terrorist organization, can’t be dealt with via diplomacy or ignoring them. Shocking.

Well played...

Thanks all.

Yeah.. not holding my breath

On the tanker in a fighter...meh. Take an under-powered Gunpig to the tanker and hold position for ten minutes while you onload 35-40K. Your CG dramatically shifts WAY aft and you fall ever further behind the power curve with the throttles bent forward and bleeds off as you refuel to 10K over max peacetime weight. That is not just a combat situation, that is every ocean crossing...each one is done with a waiver. AR in the Gunpig is no joke and not a pickup game. Does that translate to the six ship diamond pass in review 18" from another jet for a show then march to the crowd line in your overly tight blue or red jumper...probably not. The most precise flying I've ever done was not in formation but was to ten feet of altitude and one knot of airspeed shooting 27M from the friendlies (one knot can make a 10' miss on the ground), basically across the street as the team was about to be overrun. Had another shoot on night three of OEF shooting in nearly 70 knot winds...imagine the defensive egg on its side, going up wind is great as everything slows WAY down and your bank angle gets low, downwind is like riding a bucking bronco, 45+ degrees of bank, maneuvering three dimensionally as you try to put the thing on the thing and push the trigger. Anyway, matters nothing more than a fun conversation, USAF is run by an Eagle dude again and the last thing he will do is surrender ground to the other than the fighter tribe. We have FAR bigger problems to solve right now.

Well yeah obviously, you've demonstrated particularly unbiased judgment of anyone involved with this administration. It should be no surpris that the only ones you like are the ones you agree with. Tulsi is one step away from becoming a Joe Rogan conspiracy theorist. And at this point anybody who brings up Epstein should be disregarded immediately as either too dishonest or too blinded to trust their judgment or assessment of, well, anything. Just another social-mania at its finest.

At least a few minutes most flights. On the tanker (especially in the weather), battle damage checks, coming up initial in places that don't have tac initial, and if you are hitting the weather without the time/ability/desire to get everyone into a trail formation. My first pond crossing I spent most of the first 5 hours in fingertip because the weather was garbage and if you lost sight you're diverting to some random Pacific island that you don't want to land a fighter on. Flying fingertip while racehorse is a serious challenge.

I’m too lazy, so here is AI… Cuba is considered a national security threat by the U.S. government primarily due to its proximity to the U.S., its intelligence alliances with adversaries like Russia and China, and its support for hostile actors in the region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis here is a link to the Cuban missile crisis for a brief synopsis on the historical threat associated with Cuba. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Nothing will change until the mission doesn't get done in a messy and embarrassing way

Interesting how your takeaway point here is that “I could see the democrats abusing this” as opposed to “I see active abuse occurring right now in only one party that I do or do not agree with.” Making invalid hypothetical comparisons is a fallacy.

One of the things I miss about the 717 is no LGA or JFK.

Bid avoid LGA solves that problem.

I hope they sent a camera down that hole before the heavy equipment was moved close to it.

Valid. I've seen the other side of the coin in AFSOC where they moved too much iron to the RTU. Syllabus events are rarely waived and most studs come out (sts), full up rounds. I can't believe we continue to use terms like "buy risk" for things that cost us blood.

I think you mean the AF as a whole or the US in general.

Eh, it'll be the problem of the Sq/CC, DO, IPs, and eventually the loves ones of the pilots that don't receive the training required by an ever watered down syllabus.

So the exec mafia can get around the WIC.

Iran is waiting until the midterms. Trump wants an off-ramp, which is why he apparently had a heated discussion with Bibi yesterday.

Continues the trend of kicking the can all the way to the ops units. Pretty soon someone is going to propose we just dont do UPT or FTU....they can learn over Iran.

Ultimately we just won’t have the airframes. As we’ve done now for the last few dozen acquisition programs we’re going to build the absolute bare minimum number of T-7s and then ponder, along with the great mysteries of the universe, why small fleet dynamics are once again biting us in the ass. Vipers were built in big numbers for their time and ludicrous numbers by today’s standards. Meaning.. they’re some of the most maintainable aircraft we have, and because of that, very low impact on the force to use to run a demo team.

As interesting as it is to conceptually debate whether war crimes should even exist as a category (Jesus Christ guys) I’d like to circle us back to the thread topic of Iran. We’re now on our 3rd or maybe 4th iteration of: threaten total obliteration->back off the threat->promise a super stupendous deal is right around the corner. Apparently this time the Saudis, Emiratis, and Qataris asked us to postpone so it totally wasn’t a taco (although it is hilarious these ultimatums keep coming due on tuesdays.) So I guess now our force posture is.. ready to exact total obliteration but also eagerly awaiting a perfect, amazing deal. I’m sure this new status quo will last literal dozens of hours. Honest question: is there a point here where we just be honest with ourselves and admit we’re being fucked with?

We need about 300% more Growlers…but yeah, let’s burn some on airshows for no good reason. Dumbasses. Glad they’re all alive.

Blancolirio said their airshow flying was an additional duty. Well, that should just about take care of the airshow demos in the Growler. Glad they all got out, but why a colossal waste of money and not a good look for Naval Aviation.

So 19AF can now solely focus on continuing to gut the UPT enterprise

Howdy! If you have access, the PSDM has been published! https://myfss.us.af.mil/USAFCommunity/s/knowledge-detail?pid=kA0Rw0000000tAzKAI