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Mission success! A184C0B3-2E8C-49E1-ACE0-7C5ED5C4793F.mov

I am shocked and saddened to report our friend and longtime forum member Danger41 passed away yesterday after a freak accident. Many of us knew him in real life and it would be an understatement to say he was an American hero. He was an incredible pilot, officer, mentor, weapons officer and a friend to all. More importantly, he was a dedicated husband and father. I had the honor of mentoring him throughout his career and was with him at Nellis the night he put his patch on...there are not enough words to describe how good of a person he was. This is an absolute gut punch and a reminder that every day is a gift, never miss a chance to tell a friend or family member you care. ***** All - Adding an update along with the link to a GoFundMe for his family. https://gofund.me/1ecfa239 As I mentioned above Matt "Macho" Anderson was a great human being. He attended and played football at South Dakota State before going to OTS and then on to UPT. Matt initially flew F-15Cs before he was TAMI-21'd to the U-28. He absolutely crushed it as a U-28 pilot where he quickly upgraded to instructor, attended WIC and eventually became WIC Cadre at the 14th WPS. He was known as the consummate Weapons Officer - Humble, Credible, Approachable. More than anything he would want to be remembered as a great husband and father. Macho leaves behind four children and an incredible wife. If you are so inclined say a prayer for him and his children who were also injured in the accident. Nickle on the grass my friend. 🥃

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!

Took the A-37 out for an FCF and then a cross country flight of 440 nm on Thursday. First flight since Sept and it flew great. Owner put on an additional set of drop tanks.

He was a really good dude who was loved by all and the AFSOC community is justifiably upset. Being a cop is not easy, daily life or death decisions, and as in this case you will be judged for the rest of your life by the choices you make. That being said, training and leadership set the tone and this department is floundering at best. As mentioned above this is the same department that mag dumped a police cruiser with a handcuffed person in the back because a freaking Acorn fell and hit the roof. This community has crime but nothing like other areas of the country. In the history of Okaloosa County the department has lost five officers to gunfire, four of those were domestic violence situations, the last one happened 2.5 years ago. Everything about this call is odd and to some degree the officer was led down a very bad path. HE certainly had poor training and I beleive in most other areas of the country domestic calls get two officers. They won't say who called, but the lady who meets the cop MUST be investigated. She guides the officer to Fortson's apartment then says she heard "something that sounded like domestic violence TWO WEEKS AGO." That is NOT exigent circumstances, there is no warrant, there is only hearsay, no probable cause, but the cop starts pounding away and ordering the door to be opened...a complete fail. Roger has zero duty to open that door and to be clear the courts have ruled that repeated official commands to open a door without a warrant probable cause invoke the 4th amendment. As far as punishment, Roger did not deserve to die, but he was one of the few that stepped forward and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, I would hope all of us would honor his service and allow for the officer to enjoy the protections offered by that document. He deserves due process and if he is found guilty he should be held accountable, but should not be purposely thrown into the general population for "extra" justice. Rest easy Roger and thank you for your service.

Trump: Old, loud, unsophisticated, shoots off at the mouth, takes enemy fire up close, they keep trying to get rid of him but he sticks around longer than anyone thought. Harris: Remote controlled, annoying to be around, a threat to US citizens. Goes down a lot.

Isn't it amazing what can be accomplished when everyone isn't so worried about not offending people, and risk aversion instead caring more about killing bad guys and breaking their shit? What if...

All valid, but I'll take this opportunity for a side quest: our NOTAM system is garbage. Why can't they be in priority order, succinct, typed with human grammar, and void of strange acronyms requiring a decoder ring to grasp?

Didn't realize Iran was employing balloons.

Me laughing at Hezbollah getting their stuff blown off with explosives in pagers while reading this on an iPhone produced in China. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Russia is and has been a threat to US interests since 1945 (maybe 1918?). China is a bigger threat right now, but if you're fighting two guys at once and one falls to a knee, it isn't time to ignore them, it is time to stomp their face so they are out of the fight for a long time allowing you to focus on the other guy. Is it expensive to fund Ukraine? Yes. Are we getting a way better return on that money compared to much of the other junk we burn our national treasure on? Absolutely. This is another Russia in Afghanistan scenario except the "good guys" aren't Islamic terrorists. We'd be foolish to walk away from this opportunity to spend some money and help an enemy bleed themselves out. Way better to defeat an enemy via a proxy war than face them directly in a war yourself. And that doesn't even address the good of helping a free people defend themselves.

*yawn* more sophistry. I'm already on record, I only timestamp these rants on the interboobs so the forensics can go back in 10 years and go "yep, we knew". We've been through this all the way back to 2018 fam; it is a dilution of quality, definitionally. Tell your bosses to put down the hopium pipe and grow a back bone, and tell their SES overlords at the Puzzle palace to tell SecAf no buck no buck rogers. Kids need new MILITARY trainers and hours with their brain behind their ass at .7M+ and no automation, herbie drivers too. I was a CFII before I touched a single military airplane, let alone instructed in one; I can speak 61/141/135/121/one-WGAF. I was also in academia before the military; I know ballwash pseudointellectual fodder for paper degree issuance when I read it. Hell, I used to teach it! 😄 To the degree which civ-only folks don't understand the historical rigor behind undegraduate USN/USAF military aviator accessions and initial traning, it is also true that many mil-only folks really don't understand the quality control morass that is 141 (forget 61). I won't rehash the dissertation on here, the BLUF is that abrogating our military pilot accessions to 141 is to admit defeat. Considering the US record as a combat operational loss leader for the past 50 years, I guess losing at pilot training is par for the course too. Empire in decay, happens to the best of 'em I guess. Honestly, I'd be more on board if they just cut the shit and 1) admitted they can't effectively lobby Congress for more cowbell for the UPT enterprise, and 2) admitted they have to send it to the civilian prop schools just to pad the logbook with negative transfer hours of little import. Heck, by that cockeyed COA's order of merit alone, again just cut the shit and go full up MPL (Euro standard, sim only) for your copilots (3/4 of pilot accessions for the USAF) and put their money where their mouth is. Padding the 141 with excess federal pork is the only thing this will accomplish anyways. Excess crew deaths down the line in grey jet initial/continuation training are on them though, not on us dinosaurs "getting in the way".

Every once in a while you have a good post. But then I remember one of your best was when you realized how wrong you were during COVID, so I can't be shocked that you are wrong again. Lets begin, and remember, we are comparing the (R) candidate to the (D) candidate, not the (R) candidate to a hypothetical utopia the left has never successfully delivered. And? I'm an atheist, but it's pretty hard to miss the gaping hole left by the decline of Judeo-Christian participation in America. A bunch of well-balanced (i.e. genetic/familial lottery winners) liberals somehow assume that all Americans can live the way they do, but there are lost, troubled, stupid, or weak people out there and they need what religion provided. No replacement has been offered. And does anyone actually prefer the left's alternative? Sorry, but until I hear leftists loudly-and-proudly repudiate the horror show of modern Islam, I'm not going to listen to their whining about the cruelty of Christianity. Casually accusing a bunch of people here of hidden racism is a nice touch. Common trait of the leftist: I'm not just of a different opinion... I'm morally superior and enlightened. Nevermind that states' rights is a fundamental premise of the founding of the nation and a perpetual struggle between the liberals and conservatives for the past 150 years. Nope, its racists! He made it worse with the third (and if I recall, largest) round of stimulus, and the "Inflation Reduction Act." The economy was already well into the recovery at that point. There absolutely would have been inflation either way, and if Trump won in 2020 I am pretty confident he would have also done another round of stimulus, so I personally give him no credit here. But Biden did absolutely make it worse. And Harris is going to do the same if you can believe her current (ever changing) set of policies. Uh Huh... and who approved those permits (and pipelines)? Why do we even have to waste time on this one? Which side openly demonizes fossil fuel production, which side doesn't? Pretty simple, unless you're a liar. Correct, but if inflation is a COVID reaction, so too is the unemployment drop. Can't have it both ways. There's that reasonable human in there, screaming for freedom. Let him out more. Can you reference the Nazi stuff? That's usually (and currently) the attack line of the hardcore progressives. Just pop into reddit to see who thinks they are fighting the Fourth Reich. It ain't the conservatives. Riot, not insurrection. Don't breeze over the huge difference. If it was a riot (it was)... who riots more? Conservatives or liberals? Who supports rioters more? Remember, in an election we compare the candidates to each other, not to the non-existent ideal. Source? Which party supported giving money to the Iranians? Which party helped Iran in the hopes their oil production would bring down gas prices? And which party attacked Netanyahu while Iran used their money to support Hamas and Hezbollah? You're doing poorly. Oh and alienating Saudi Arabia sure did wonders in the fight against Iran, huh? Which president was that again? Neither side (when I say Republican or Democrat I mean the political actors, never the voters) is ever going to castigate their candidate. Lets not forget that Kamala Harris is a serial liar who accused a good man of being a gang rapist just because she didn't want another conservative on the supreme court. She is *every bit* the immoral, lying, narcissistic piece of shit that Trump is. And her current boss is no different. We are in the phase of civilization where the wheels come off. Part of that is an incompetent, immoral political class. We will have better leaders after the great struggle, but not until it gets ugly. I have no objection to calling Trump out for what he is. But the constant fantasy on the left that there is a difference in moral fiber is laughable. The only difference is the policy. Period.

One of the greatest has flown West. Maj Gen Pat Halloran was 95. He had 100 combat missions in the F-84 before being selected for the highly-secretive U-2 Program in the 1957 time frame. Pat went on to be one of only 18 pilots to check out in both the U-2 and SR-71. After retirement, be remained involved in flying experimental aircraft and homebuilts, including some very exotic replica aircraft from the Tom Wathen Collection, like the De Havilland Comet. He was a regular at Oshkosh. Just a fantastic guy and incredible pilot. A toast to the General...

It's the classic Jurassic Park illusion of control. You use a shitty website to search job listings that you have the quals/year grp/knee pads for, and rank your top choices. If the CC who posted the listings also swipes right on you then you get a match. AFPC takes this match and does the following:

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

Today is 1 August... On this date in 1955, Tony LeVier went for a taxi test on Groom Lake in a new Lockheed aircraft that had yet to be flown. However, the aircraft had different plans, and before he knew it, Tony was airborne in what was the unplanned 1st flight of the U-2. So today, the pressure-breathing, pressure-suited prima donnas celebrate 69 years above 69,000 feet. And tomorrow, over 25% of all living U-2 pilots on the planet will gather for an exceptional Homecoming to celebrate the solo flights of what could be the last class of U-2 trainees. Hail Dragons

Agree with some of what you said (especially about Fauci), but I take great execption to the "shut up and color" for the military part. While you surrender many of your civil rights when you take the oath, becoming a guinea pig is not in the fine print. Under the blanket of military readiness this mandate was employed and the science was not settled (as a lot of voices tried to say but were silenced). When you peel back the facts it was just as flawed as other times when this happened: 1. Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race. 2. Veterans Used In Secret Experiments Sue Military For Answers 3. Forcing troops to sit in exposure zones during nuclear testing. 4. Edgewood Arsenal human experiments 5. LSD experiments by the United States Army Through the years under the banner of "military readiness" US troops have been purposely exposed to radiation, chemical weapons, biological weapons and have been given LSD, simply unsat in a free society.

Taiwanese U-2 pilot Johnny Shen died last Thursday, age 92 He was a U-2 pilot with The Black Cat Squadron on Taiwan from 1968 to 1973. He was admitted to the CAF Academy in January 1952, then trained in the PT-17 and the T-6. After his graduation in December 1955, he was assigned to the 4th Tactical Fighter Group in Chiayi. He was first sent to Tainan to be trained on the T-33, then returning to Chiayi to fly the F-84 in 1956. Later he converted to the F-100. He left the 35th Sq in 1973 and became the vice military attache in Vietnam. After the loss of Vietnam, he returned to Taiwan to served on several desk jobs. He retired from the CAF as a Colonel in 1977 and joined China Airlines, where he flew the Boeing 707, 727, 767, and 747, and Airbus A-300. He transferred to EVA Airlines in 1992. Then he returned served in Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration until 1998. After retirement, he emigrated to Canada and lived in Vancouver. These guys flew some really risky missions. Him him...

Whoa, whoa... what the fuck, friend?

If it was my daughter I'd do the exact same thing. Imagine losing your daughter/son and stepping into the social media world to see every possible evil conspiratorial thing being said about your child. Whatever can be done to lessen the pain and stress would be done if I were them. Regardless of how many hours she could have had, it's not going to stop the fucktards from dragging him/her down. I rarely flew on a sortie that had a crew full of 1,000+ hour folks. There is always going to be a low hour guy on board getting training. Why is there no talk about the instructor/evaluator on board?

UNSAT

Where have you been the last four years?

It’s not hard. 2016-2020 was better than 2021-present unless you are a trans/illegal border crosser/indebted student/Taliban/woman unable to figure out birth control/welfare recipient/guy who wants to compete in women’s sports/person wants to get paid not to work. Who’d I miss? Choice is easy to vote for Trump despite him being a dickhead on Twitter. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Valid, but there's more nuance: some of us volunteered not because of promises on the back end but because being at war (in whatever capacity)was the objective. I did 18 deployments, including a year as flying advisor (not a hand though), and volunteered for them all. I'd do it again; being relevant (even when dealt a losing hand) is the draw for some people. Losing was a tragedy I am still processing, but I would hate myself had I acted differently. Certainly not judging anyone else. The Hands program was garbage; by the end they hid their status from GIRoA who deeply resented PAK. Lol, pentagon is full of idiots. My takeaway from 21 years: figure out who you are and what you like, then do that. The best way to serve is in a capacity suited to your personality and innate characteristics. Pretend to be other than as you are: you'll be miserable & your team will know.

Four more and he is an Ace.

I propose a toast: To the incompetence of Iranian aviation. Hear, hear! And on a positive note, congrats to President Raisi: he quit smoking yesterday!

Gen Austin Miller made the call, although Biden & Blinken put him in a box: they imposed a troop cap which made staffing BAF along with the embassy/HKIA impossible. Then Blinken said we cannot withdraw from the embassy due to optics, ergo BAF must close. And because they were unimaginative and underestimated the enemy, they assumed GIRoA could hold out until 2022. Miller pushed back but ultimately saluted and executed. He should have resigned instead. McKenzie, the COCOM/CC, took command from Miller (meaning the COCOM absorbed what had been its own 4 star command, you can imagine how butter smooth that COMREL change was) in July of 21 I believe, after BAF was handed over and when the assault on the outskirts of Kabul began in earnest. He failed to take any bold action although several of us were sending very clear recommendations and security warnings. By early August it was an insane situation: the Taliban was moving openly in large formations massing artillery and supplies as close as Maiden Shar and all ANA checkpoints on Highway 1 had fallen. Camp Commando had fallen. We were going Winchester and not slowing them down; our own FIRES process was complicated by surrendering ANA personnel and enemy use of their (our) equipment /uniforms. The AAF ran out of munitions and ceased flight operations. I landed in HKIA after one sortie and stated clearly: we must initiate the NEO now. The front office for the 2 star in Kabul (senior US Officer in country) told me “not possible, the Turks won’t allow it.” The Turks were running HKIA at the time. 3 days later the Turks were burning all their papers and excess equipment as they ran to their own aircraft to escape the fall. A lot to digest from the experience. My biggest surprise has been that absolutely no one higher wants to hear about it. There was no AAR, no hot wash, no internal mil attempt to investigate and figure out where it broke down. Just sweep it all under the rug, too embarrassing. The AF history guys did a quick report, although it was mainly focused on the 2.5 week mobility surge and they didn’t even know my unit existed. My AAR is now in their secret addendum, but the document is shortsighted by exclusively focusing on the evacuation rather than how the hell we allowed July-Aug to ever occur. Without any accountability and with the same idiots in charge, we should unfortunately expect another epic strategic humiliation.

I'd say alot of things TSA does are counter to intelligence.

I think it's because we have idiots in every crevice of our federal government.

Shameful. Absolutely shameful. As a heavy Bubba the weapons lifts into Poland have been one of the highlights of my career. If not the highlight. I watched the live feeds of the Russians pouring across the border and next thing I knew I was in Poland. Watching pallets get moved off my planes onto trucks and knowing within the week it'd all be gone. Used to put a Russian into an early grave. It was an action that I can proudly share to any westerner. It was an action that put our country back into a well respected light with any European. We've nearly dismantled one of our two biggest geopolitical enemies of the last 80 years without costing a single American life. Spending a fraction of the snafu that was Afghanistan/Iraq. Boosting the American defense industry immensely both through our tax dollars being spent and through a massive influx of international sales. And now we're tossing it away? This war has been an Intel,strategy, and systems testing goldmine as well. A goldmine we're just going to walk away from. We're alienating ourselves from our closest allies. We're ceding soft power left and right all for what? A few billion in savings? Billions that were going to our own military industries. Check the stock market. LM, GD, etc. have all fallen 10% or more over the past month as a result while Rheinmetall, BAE, etc. are seeing 20% growth as Europe realizes they can't trust their oldest and strongest ally. Can't wait to see how many more skilled workers we add to the unemployed list next to the other 10s of thousands who've been fired recently. Don't even get me started on our brothers in arms that will die as a result. We've trained with many of those men and are abandoning them now for no reason. How we as a nation have come to the point where materially supporting a war against an undeniable tyrant is a bad thing astounds me. Can you imagine if we had stopped the lend-lease act and told the UK "good luck with the war buddy?" This is the nation that stuck with Afghanistan and Iraq for decades despite the lack of progress, yet we can't stomach 3 years of monetary support? Rant over. I'm off to go get drunk and pray that I don't have to explain to my grandkids one day why grandpa stopped helping. Why he stepped aside and let Russia walk across the fledgling democracy of Ukraine.

I was flying my plane home from a trip today, at 1203 Guard came alive "We have been unburdened by what has been"...then EVERYONE jumped in...not a single negative comment.

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.

Yes, many. Among them are the UN Charter, the 1975 Helsinki act, the 1990 Charter of Paris, and the 1997 NATO-Russia founding act. None of which place any limit on NATO's expansion or which exclude Ukraine from joining NATO. All of them recognize each nation's sovereign right to determine their own alliances and allegiances. Russia is a party and signatory to every one of these treaties and agreements. Make note, Bashi didn't provide any treaty or agreement that limited NATO's expansion - no such document exists. He provided you a video of a guy saying that Putin (Putin, specifically) warned us not to. That's different. There is no reading of the facts which alleviates Russia's full responsibility as the aggressor in this conflict. They are in direct violation of every one of those treaties. One could argue, as Bashi does, that it was unwise to allow NATO to expand eastward, and that can be a basis for a good argument, but it's also fully opinion, and there is no treaty or arrangement that Ukraine or any other NATO member state has violated that Bashi can point to which places any legal blame on the West. Ask him to provide a receipt. He'll be unable. In 1999, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia (all former Soviet satellites) joined NATO. Czech and Poland also join the same year. In particular, Poland's accession into NATO had been underway for the entire decade - starting in 1990. Notably, Russia signed the NATO-Russia founding act in 1997 - which as far as years are concerned, comes after 1990 the last time I checked. Also of note, Poland was once a former Soviet satellite. Hey, the more you know! Right? Tough for me to know how long and on what setting I would have to microwave my brain in order to believe that Russia was super upset about its former satellites joining NATO, but would also simultaneously sign an agreement saying it's cool, but then again, I'm no statesman. Hence, why the entire line about them being upset over Ukraine joining NATO is total horse shit. In 2008, Ukraine (and Georgia) were "invited" to NATO at something called the Bucharest summit. As his final act as President before stepping down, Putin expressed discontent that Ukraine would be invited to NATO. Understandable. Falls squarely into Bashi's opinion that "we provoked" this conflict. We get it. Putin didn't want Ukraine in NATO. And because Putin didn't want it, it's our fault. This is the one fact Bashi can lean on and which comprises the totality of his argument. Putin didn't want it. Undisputed. Flash forward to 2014 and Vlad is back in power pushing little green men into Ukraine. I, for one, can always tell who the good guys are in any conflict by who's soldiers are wearing unmarked uniforms, occupying another state's parliament buildings, and then holding "elections" for them which in turn result in the dissolution of their government. Flash forward to 2022, and Putin has his full-on invasion. Personally, my opinion is that Putin is concerned about Ukraine becoming (more) Westernized because of the enormous economic power they wield both in terms of agriculture and energy. Putin (or Russia) losing a substantial amount of their economic leverage over Europe would be strategically devastating for Russia. NATO expansion is a pretext because Ukraine can continue down the path of Westernization with or without being a NATO member state. Yeah, there is a complicated relationship between NATO and Russia given the legacy of warfare in Europe in the 20th century, but there is nothing which has ever limited any state from choosing their own alliances - and this includes Ukraine. Anyone who wants to read them can find them on the internet. Russia has signed all of them. I predict two things. First, that this war will end with Russia annexing eastern Ukraine (Crimea), permanently. As the trade to achieve peace, what is on the west side of the front (Ukraine) will eventually be allowed to join NATO. The second prediction I have is that Bashi will down vote this comment.

I'm on the same boat regarding that point. I never had a problem negotiating that conclusion either, but I have nothing but empathy for those who struggle with what essentially is a public loss of their religion. I lost my OTS class leader to green-on-blue over there. Complete waste of potential; a solid human being and family man at the hands of a distrungled and corrupt local. A true believer my friend was, and a bona fide hero in my eyes. Such Heroism wasted on an unreedemable place, and unreedemable people. I got too many stories of personal corruption and cowardice from that so called allied force, even stateside. Fuck. That. Place. In the macro, I never bought into any of that shit. Our self-defense Air Power objectives in that shithole were largely completed by 2003 from where I saw it as a civilian college student. That was a full 3 years before I would even see the inside of a military building. So 9/11 was never a draw for me. Lord knows I disagreed with the second invasion of Iraq from the jump, as I also disagreed with the criminal decision to disband the Iraqi Army (may Paul bremer and his blood-soaked hands burn in hell.... a lackey of Kissinger, this is my shocked face). Full circle now during my time in, we get tasked to bomb the predictable offspring of that decision 10 years later in Syria, and I'm supposed to put my brain on pause and grab some pom poms? Nah I'm good. It was a waste when my friend Nylander lost his life, and it was still a waste in the Levant as we wrecked strategic heavy bombardment assets over turkey shoot medals with what could have been accomplished with surplus Yak-52s and recreational AR rifles a la Texas hog hunts. Digressing. In due credit to the Service, it did afford me the opportunity (via ARC) to focus on a role I not only could tolerate for 14+ years, but personally thrive in. I was always an aviatior purist at heart. I've never been fazed by the "flying for the sake of flying" supposed aspersion it's meant to imply, usually uttered by cOmBaT veT true scots fallacy merchants. I've legit enjoyed the amount of upside down flying the service has afforded me as a career instructor. Much bigger sense of personal accomplishment, in what conservatively is circa 500+ individual pilots and still counting. My time in the CAF left me rather unfulfilled by comparison, though that was a combination of poor career timing and luck (BRAC 05 no fighter soup fo you, TAMI-21, then PRP/PACAF babysitter bitch while the bones got all the turkey shoots). At any rate, my decades spent building something of personal import to me in the training command is a legacy that will outlive both me, as well as all of Uncle sammy's bullshit wars... and I'm here for it. We all have our rationalizations, I won't apologize for mine. My username checks. Now FUPM. 😄

I tend to see the opposite, honestly. Day one, you had an extremely odd reaction from CNN with the naval-gazing over who had the "most attended inauguration" in history. It was clearly meant to be "stumping" by the incoming administration, and it stood out to me that CNN commentators were so hyper-focused on this mundane detail. I still remember how peculiar it seemed. Little did I realize how it would be a harbinger of things to come. In hindsight, looking back, it was obvious from the start that there was a never-ending attempt to discredit him at every opportunity. Here's one about the "very fine people" business. Look at the entire video, and tell me this isn't someone who is very thoughtful in his analysis. Who is taking a clear-eyed and practical look at the situation. Here it is with all of it's context: ALL of the stuff about Charlottesville WAS fake news. It IS propaganda. It is right there for you to see it if you are willing to take the scales off of your eyes. Nearly every bit of this has been boiled down into a shorthand used by the likes of NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, NYT, and many others to condemn him as a racist. The only part you ever hear talked about has been stripped of ALL context. Said another way - it's been lied about from the start. If he's so racist, why is he doing better with blacks this time around? What do they know that you don't? Or are you smarter than they are? What about the "Hunter Biden laptop"? Was that fake? Because many in our government with security clearances well-above mine and yours said it was "fake," and news about it was legitimately censored in direct violation of the 1st amendment. Turns out it wasn't fake, and our government compelled technology companies to censor information that was deemed "too dangerous" for you to know about. Now, do you still trust all those people? It was an actual attempt by our "betters" to leverage the inherent trust placed in them into a certain acceptable view of the world. Or is there perhaps something you don't understand about the state of things? Is there maybe something about the way politics works behind the curtain that you're not allowed to see? The signatories of that letter are basically a who's who of the people that are in charge of our little-understood global order and foreign policy. Maybe Trump is a threat to that order? https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000175-4393-d7aa-af77-579f9b330000 I suppose all of those people are discredited in your mind now? Or were they right? Was the Hunter laptop fake news? Or was it real? Your answer says a lot about how you process facts and the value you place on truth. Your appeal to "what is more likely" is simply motivated reasoning and cherry-picking facts. That you wield a lot of important-sounding names makes you feel good and as if you have an actual argument, but you haven't presented anything. You take comfort and security in the fact that you place names like Mattis, Kelly, and others in your "quiver" of arrows you lean on, but they are merely people just like Trump. People who were in political office I might add. But I guess that's not a radar contact that's covered by your el strobe right now? You should try arguing with facts. You should look at the entire context. You should attempt to strip the emotion from your worldview and approach this with fresh eyes. Your TDS is showing. At this point, I want Trump to be President so all you infants can have your latent psychotic break, get past it, have your cathartic cry session, and we can all hopefully move on. I'm tired of the craziness.

I’m good with Vance being President. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Looks like it might be time to change my display name

Something like this:

I notice all the defenders of C19 policies from a few years ago have gone silent. Anyone getting the new boosters? Anyone still think schools should’ve been closed longer & masks on airplanes “saved lives?” Anyone still glad we censored actual scientists & allowed malicious actors like Fauci to drive the narrative? I don’t want to shame fellow posters here. Moving forward I just want us to acknowledge that we shouldn’t reflexively trust the government, we should value and preserve freedom, and we must demand accountability from these people. And in the future, when an event happens and all media is synchronized that we have no time to think or debate and must immediately implement highly restrictive measures for safety, and the experts will tell us when we’re allowed freedom again… when that event inevitably happens: they’re lying. Resist.

But back on Subject of “GA Aircraft Flown”…. Bought myself my last GA Toy🤡

Woke up early for some reason so grabbed some coffee and turned on the TV...Police in full riot gear busting up the UCLA encampment...must see TV...Tear Gas, pepper balls, stun grenades and batons on skulls...I am cheering like it is a big college game!

Any FedEX guys know when the iPad (10) lanyards are getting ordered? I’d like one.

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.

Could be delayed if they don't find a cloud at the IP.