ClearedHot

I could care less about the contract giving out an award to stroke their customer...making it front page news and a CSAF worthy item however does make it bitch-worthy.

You are correct, what I should have said is it is nonsensical to publicly celebrate an air to air squadron only when they have done nothing more than orbits for the past 9 years. The Eagle guys spend enough time slapping each others back (and butts at Kadena), so why divert attention from guys actually doing the mission. When the big furball happens over the straights I'll be sure to don my "Eagle Guys Rule T-shirt", until then not so much.

The tanker bros in OEF were down low, and I mean low...during OEF, at least on a few missions where they saved me. I don't think anyone doubts the tanker guys are making a huge contribution to the current fight. The bigger point is with the Air Force engaged in 21 years of non-stop combat ops you would think the squadron of the year would at least be part of the fight, no flying "exercises" and training rides.

There has to be some reward for flying endless orbits in the Bozosphere while the rest of us are down low doing actual fighting.

Not so fast... Justices Appear Open To Affirming Medal Law https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/us/stolen-valor-act-argued-before-supreme-court.html

WOW....just WOW! https://wtop.com/?nid=220&sid=2078706

Hey M2, ever made a rainbow with your AK?

Excellent post... Word of advice from an old guy...all you ACPers thing long and hard about what you do with that money and don't pass on a great opportunity to secure long-term wealth.

Unless you have a guy, call around. My investment dude is VERY aggressive and while it has paid off nicely in my portfolio, we don't always agree. Case in point, he is not a big real estate guy (makes sense, he wants my cash to work with), but I prefer to spread some of my risk around and I think there is value to actually owning something. If it were up to him I would have an interest only loan on all of my properties, make no principle payments and invest the extra money each month. When I was a Major I put all of my rental properties on 15 year mortgages and was able to build a lot of equity thus weathering the bubble that got a lot of people...I am WAY to the good on what I own, but as I get older I want less debt and more security. A few months ago I did a top to bottom review and thought about refinancing the rentals to take advantage of the lower rates, but having only six years until they are paid off made the math a toss up. Instead I was able to get a secured interest only loan (against my portfolio) at 2%, but I kept my monthly payment the same. Believe it or not my monthly house payment is only $78, but I still pay $1200, now the properties will be free and clear in three years. Rock-Bottomline, there are many strategies and talk to several money guys to find the one that is right for you.

I turned mine over when I was a Capt. Each situation is different but at that point I had two rental properties plus a primary residence...back then turbo tax did not like doing depreciation on multiple properties. I also had traditional and Roth IRAs for both my wife and I, as well as other investment accounts. The accountant found more than enough other savings to pay for the service...(my wife worked from home and we were able to deduct internet costs as well as a designated portion of the house she used as an office). Now that we have a child with a 529 and his own IRA, the accountant is a must.

Concur...we don't save enough as Americans...given the economic uncertainty of the future you would do yourself a huge favor and save a minimum of 10% of your income, realistically it should be more. The choice of which plan to use is a function of what you think your income will be at the point you begin to withdraw it. Realistically, most of the folks on this forum and in the military are younger so I think it best to maximize your Roth to build long-term tax-free wealth. However, you would be smart to suck it up and do both. One strategy I've heard is to put half of every military raise into savings/retirement...be it a yearly raise or a longevity raise, it can really add up and the best part is you never miss the income. I started with my first paycheck as a 2LT...$300.00 a month and upped it with each raise. I never missed it and still had plenty of money for beer and bourbon. I started with a traditional IRA and converted when the ROTH came a long...I paid a big tax bill to convert but to protect future gains is made a lot of sense. You will find you can quickly max the Roth so put the rest into TSP or a traditional IRA. You might not notice it at first, but it really adds up over time and the TSP has been like an extra bonus, I've easily saved $150K in the 10 years the program has been open for military.

https://www.tsp.gov/PDF/bulletins/11-u-4.pdf

Steve, you "crack" me up.

A 5-state ban for 'Piggyback Bandit' a 28-year-old man who ingratiates himself with high school sports teams, then hoists his 5-foot-8, 240-pound frame onto the backs of the student athletes. https://news.yahoo.com/5-state-ban-piggyback-bandit-084236687--spt.html

https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/dreamliner-jet-draws-boeing-logo-across-north-america-163127660.html

"Rumor"...wink wink....has it that while she was an IP at DM she took off on a training sortie with a student on the wing. Enroute to the range she directed a fuel check and the student replied with the appropriate response indicating he took off with full tanks...at which point she looks at her fuel gauges for the first time that day and realizes the jet was not serviced before she took off and that she is now emergency fuel.

Thats funny because the last three O-6 boards have been full of late rate or banked guys who were MX officers, many of them BPZ. You will be walking a fine line and the challenge will be to keep profeiciency and credibility in the jet, if you can manage that task you will find an opportunity like this is awesome....not as a careerism move but as something that will teach you a lot of about leadership.

Libyan IADS?

100% incorrect...as usual.

Alright. Flush the bombers, get the subs in launch mode. We are at DEFCON 1.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/kim-jong-un-death-rumor-twitter-weibo_n_1268905.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

LOL...Slow your roll, I'm not trying to poke the bear, just voice an opinion...Christ brother have a bourbon on me. The Billions unaccounted are not from the acquisition accounts and you know it...Perhaps we could have sent her over as a BGen to manage the rebuilding of the electrical grid or other areas where the money leaked like it was in a sieve. In her period of service I can't honestly can't think of an big ACQ programs we ran at deployed locations...I guess I am wrong. Bottomline, not trying to hang my hat on defending here, just another opinion on why every single person in the Air Force hasn't done 69 tours in the shit.

True Dat..lots of history...taken totally out of context.

Acquisitions? You mean like 50 dump trucks of gravel at K2? There is a HUGE difference between our contracting folks buy shit from the locals and an Acquisition officer buying a major weapons system from a foreign government. Besides, nothing even close to that happened in her time of service. In her time frame? Makes no sense...I agree.