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Today, a good friend and I flew formation. It was the first time in 34 years that two A-37's flew in formation in North America. Took them from Boise to St George VFR. And yes... it was a blast.

Addressing the OP: If you thought the USAF screwed you over, just wait until you experience an airline during contract negotiations. It sounds like outside influences have been crafted your outlook for you. It may be completely true that you were actively screwed by the system, but getting bitter only means you're letting the system win. The airlines will happily assume the role of screwing you over if you let them. I can show you a large collection of 30-year widebody captains making millions of dollars who are thoroughly convinced they've been screwed by the system. They are no fun to be around. It's all perspective. Pick your's with care. Choose gratitude instead of trying to pinpoint who's screwing you over. The answer to that question will always be "someone and/or everyone". Conversely, if you focus on what you're grateful for, you'll find a lot of good things in life. Pick one, you can't focus on both. I punched at 17 years and joined the reserves for 3 years. Now I'm at a major airline. In all three of those locations it is VERY easy to look around and wonder why the grass isn't as green as advertised. Reality is that the grass on the other side is just a different kind of grass. Once you get into a new organization, you'll see all the warts. You get to decide if it's good or bad, but if you let the system decide, it'll definitely suck. Truths: The system (usaf or corporate) doesn't owe you anything. Your hard work will be overlooked, but it will craft your reputation among your peers. Once you're gone, the system won't care. Maximize your personal gain without screwing others over, ignore the BS, do your work will, keep your integrity in tact, find a niche you can enjoy. Focus on good things, and your next career will be great. Focus on the hate, and you'll hate it. It's a DAILY choice.

Miles was an awesome dude, mentor, and aviator. We lost contact over the years but I happened to see him at a fellow crewdog's wedding and it was great to catch up with him for a few hours that night. While I kept wanting to know about all the cool test stuff he got to do, he would mostly talk about what his family was doing and how proud he was of his kids. Tragic loss for his family, the Air Force, and the world in general.

So let me get this straight, 20 million illegal immigrants coming into the country is better than a small number of constitutional violations that are being resolved in the courts? That's the math. I don't work in the Congress, so I don't get to pick a made-up third option where the border is closed and there are no violations of constitutional rights. I have a choice between a candidate that made everything worse, dramatically, and a candidate who single-handedly reduced illegal immigration to near zero, while fucking up in some edge cases. That's pretty easy math to me. No one is denying the constitutional violations, though I suspect you would view far more of the deportation activity as a violation than I would. But even if I agreed with you on every single case, the alternative was a slow rolling catastrophe for my country and the country my children will inherit. Caveats are part of living in the real world. I will be very black and white in this point. If this is a literal statement, then you are a hack. And while I could put together a rather extensive list of individual things he has done that are quite easy for me or any other conservative-minded person to support, and I can even make a smaller list of things that any fair-minded liberal would support, if you can't do that on your own, then you are simply beyond any position that is worth engaging with. In that case, TDS is a fair label.

They booed the U.S. National Anthem, and we took the gold. #Suck it!

All is well, thank you so much! 2 year old granddaughter had open heart surgery on a Thursday morning. She was skipping out of the hospital by noon Sunday. Modern medicine is a miracle!

And, not so incredibly, Pancho Villa knew Huggy.

I was in New Zealand recently and on a whim, I managed to go out and fly a Pacific Aerospace CT/4 trainer. Fairly unknown in the US... I don't believe any are airworthy here. This one was the first of two prototypes, before it went into production in NZ. It was built in 1972. The pilot I flew with was one of the handful of former NZAF A-4K pilots (only 168 total), and is a pretty accomplished warbird pilot. We did some sightseeing, AHC, and light aerobatics. It was "different". Really enjoyed getting to fly a piece of NZ aviation history.

missed an incredible opportunity to call it the HAWK-TUA (transport, unmanned aircraft)

Agree LR. So many here don’t know (too young) to understand about “Going Downtown”. Lost a few friends flying Thuds on Route Pack 6. Finally, LineBacker 2 brought NV to talking after they had exhausted their SAMs. Unfortunately, many Buff crews suffered. But ended it at a cost. And Desert Storm we lost 75 aircraft. As for the MIA crew member. Hopefully, the best outcome, like the rescue of Roger Locker after 23 days evading. Good friend, Dale Stovall, flew the furthest mission into NV to rescue him. Chased down by 2 MiGs that fired Atolls at him. Time will tell. Check 6, SHFP

So he was a Loadmaster? Now I'm confused.

The kid is going to lose his shit if the 35's, Hornets and Vipers get the kills and he left holding a balloon (marking).

Hard to believe this was 12 years ago. For all of you out there deployed or remote standing watch...you are not alone, you are NOT forgotten. I am grateful for each and everyone of you. God Bless

Glad to see my airline/union assisting UPS/IPA in their time of mourning and assist bringing Captain Diamond home to rest.

Some aircrews may remember MARS primarily for morale phone patches, but today's MARSRADIO provides considerably more. MARSRADIO is an Air Force MARS operation authorized under DoDI 4650.02, providing HF communications support to DoD aircraft and units worldwide as an additional backup to HFGCS. Air Force aircraft are consistent users of the service, but we also routinely support Navy, Marine Corps, and Army aviation. Most of the traffic we handle is real-world operational support, not exercises or training. So far this year, MARSRADIO operators have provided nearly 14,000 man-hours guarding our calling frequencies and supporting DoD aircrews. That has included more than 330 official phone patches, 80 METAR/TAF weather requests, and nearly 2,300 radio and SELCAL checks, in addition to morale patches and other operational support. The official traffic can be as routine as passing an ETA or arranging customs, fuel, parking, maintenance, or ground transportation. At other times, crews have used us for diversions, aircraft system problems, severe weather, medical situations, command post coordination, and troubleshooting SATCOM or digital communications. The real value is having another communications path when the expected one isn't working. We have had many situations where an aircraft could not establish its normal SATCOM or data link, but an HF phone patch through MARSRADIO allowed the crew and ground personnel to troubleshoot the problem, coordinate what was needed, and continue the mission. That is where MARSRADIO fits into P.A.C.E. planning—not as a replacement for existing systems, but as another path available when needed. The net operates nearly 24/7, and there is no need to coordinate ahead of time. Crews don't need to wait until something goes wrong to use us. A routine radio check, SELCAL check, weather request, phone patch, or pre-arrival call gives the crew familiarity with MARSRADIO before the day comes when the primary communications path isn't available. For aircrews unfamiliar with MARSRADIO, information on frequencies, calling procedures, and available services is available at MARSRADIO Global.

Supporting this quagmire feels like peak sports team style support for your preferred political side. I voted for Trump all three times and I am still thankful to this day that Kamala Harris is not the president. But there has been plenty to criticize the Trump admin about this term as well, the Iran shit show being chief among them.

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

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.

I know the EA-18 Growler demo team isn't going.

Not to say that they thought of everything... but they kinda thought of everything. Helps to have a Hog Driver running the design and implementation. There was "NO" way they were going to block the gunsight.

😂

The got him 🇺🇸 To the CSAR community 🍻 TOML!

Glad to hear we have a strong OPSEC program.

Picked up my dream pistol, 1943 Remington Rand M1911A1, all parts are correct. This pistol was never overhauled or passed through the CMP. The holster is from 1918, has an unlegable name and service number written in pencil on it. I purchased that separately years back.

It was a horrendous post. So the guy compared you to Hitler....people say crappy things all the time, act like a freaking human and have some decency. Both sides are stupid...look at the things the left said about Charlie Kirk when he was assassinated. Maybe a lesson for all of us to take a step back and act like adults.

Glad you didn't get caught! 😄

a bit generous referring to them as people 😁

1. Russians are definitely the bad guys, but they’re on the other side of the world and have zero impact on my life; whereas progressives are banning free speech and trying to trans my kids. It’s not even close which of those two are my opponents. 2. Everyone criminally associated with Epstein and pedophilia in general should be beaten to death with hammers. If you have proof Trump is guilty of something let’s hear it, but the man had every possible avenue of prosecution against him explored and the D controlled DOJ didn’t link him to Epstein so…. Shenanigans.

This MOU is hot garbage. It’s also not a deal and pretty much meaningless. The obvious reason Trump signed this POS is the midterms coming up. We did well for 40 days, then the train went off the tracks with a dumb idea of a ceasefire. Should have never happened, and it just keeps getting worse with this latest thing.

I'm not sure if and whether Russia is interested or even capable of gaining territory further into the European continent, especially the UK and Western Europe. Surely they are a malign actor, and a persistent threat to the Baltics and Eastern Europe. But I dont know that they have their eyes set in any meaningful way on Germany, France, UK, etc. Happy to have my mind changed on that, Putin is a bad dude indeed. I do believe Europe is at a civilizational tipping point, and I dont think Russia is the cause. A few years ago I would have rolled my eyes at populists and right-wingers who blamed "Globalism" and the uniparty/elites/NGO complex. The past year Ive changed my perspective. Broadly I think the dogma of liberal universalism, global movement of people/goods/money, and abstract ideas have been taken to their breaking point. Jd Vance and Marco Rubio's speeches to the Munich Conference and EU/NATO folks were also informative. I think they were on to something much deeper than just spending X% of GDP on defense. Yes, EU/NATO have sucked on the teet of the US defense arsenal for 30+ years and are woefully behind investing in their fleets, aircraft, technology, weapons, etc. And their ranks are thin. But even if they could magically flip the switch, crank up production, and field new weapons/platforms there are more substantial issues. Politically and econimically, Western Europe is a mess. They let go of manufacturing, built massive welfare states with dependent patronages, bought off on Net-Zero climate nonsense courtesy of a petulant swedish girl, and made housing and everyday living out of reach for working and middle class citizens. I beleive the recent quote I heard was that Mississippi (our poorest state) was wealthier per capita than the UK. On top of that, they thought-police their citizens, quash dissent, and subordinate national sovereignty to corrupt technocrats. Imagine youre a 25 year old Brit/Frenchman/German...cant afford a place to live or raise a family (while 3rd worlders live off the system). Would those young Europeans go fight the Ruskis on behalf of their political leaders? Take this one step further. The past 30 years has brought massive social, cultural, and demographic change to Western Europe. London is now ~30% white British, Viennas public schools are almost majority Muslim. Street violence, urban decay, capitulation to multiculturalism, DEI, etc at the cost of the native culture (psychologist Erik Kaufman calls this "asymmetric multiculturalism). Finally, the grooming gangs. If you are unaware, for the past 30+ years, groups of predominantly Pakistani muslim men groomed, r*ped, and abused thousands of white British girls, mostly lower/working class. They were subjected to the most heinous, gruesome abuse...and worse yet, British authorities knew and largely did nothing. The inquiry is slowly being made public, and IMO is shaping up to be the crime of the century. Some estimates say upwards of 250,000 girls were abused, some killed, many gang r*ped by groups of foreigners. They saw it as an act of conquest, the state covered it up as not to arouse "anger" or upset the multicultural experiment. The epitome of suicidal empathy and frankly a civilization-ending phenomena. https://spectator.com/article/why-liberals-ignored-the-grooming-gang-scandal/ A commentor above mentioned David Betz and his prediction of civil war. I read his papers a year ago and have listened to several of his interviews. He is a traditional academic, not an activist, mild mannered and level headed (from what I gather). Given the stabbings, violence, grooming/r*pe gangs across Europe, I cant help but agree completely. He has made his way into semi-mainstream podcasts and journalism, and I havent seen any substantive criticism of his claims. Just the grooming gangs alone are enough to convince me a civil war in the Uk is inevitable (if not already underway). And for that reason, I cant foresee those young Brits/Frenchmen/Germans/etc going to the eastern front to fight Vlad. Why would they? Their own nations have been hollowed out, made unafforable, and their leaders gleefully subordinate sovereign, native interests to hostile foreigners. And if all the fighting age men went East, who would guard their own cities and towns?? No, if anything, those young men will likely revolt against their own governments and attempt to restore what was once a good culture and civilization. Very concerning, but probable IMO. For those reasons, I dont believe Russia is Europe's number 1 threat. Putin is a bad dude, but whats happened in their own countries is far worse. Sorry for the rant. Brevity not my strong suit.

Probably for the best.

This seems appropriate

This is the part nobody wants to admit. The rest of the world **was** fucking us. If the last five presidents had been willing to use even the smallest amount of pressure to keep shit like this from happening for 35 years, we wouldn't have needed Donald Trump to come in with the sledgehammer. This is also why I laugh when people try to use pure tariff rates as a counter-argument to Trump's "reciprocal tariffs." Sure, our allies had relatively low tariff rates against us, but the protectionist measures they employed to favor their industries over ours were rampant and audacious, and until recently, largely unanswered by the United States.

Something came out it

Dude. Put down the big media talking points that say this is a binary problem created by republicans. It takes both sides and no one cares about Epstein, that scumbag and all the people who visited him from both parties are nothing more then chaff. The shutdown is the result of both parties being populated by raging narcissists who haven't breathed the same air as the average citizen for decades. They want you pissed at "the other side" so you don't do anything relevant to remove incumbents from power. Aim your ire at the real culprits: the people you voted for.