Smokin

I understand what you mean, but I was merely pointing out that your "35 years' worth of *first-hand* experience" is still anecdotal evidence (being 'Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis' - www.thefreedictionary.com) which is exactly what you were attacking the previous posts for. Your latest post solved that to a degree. I was not taking sides as I do not pretend to know very much about the British health care system, I was merely pointing out the irony of your argument.

I did. You said he was not qualified to participate in a debate with anecdotal evidence, then you used your own anecdotal evidence as your only argument. I do not see a difference.

So now anecdotal evidence is to be totally disregarded an an argument? I would say SATCOMs experience about relatives coming to the US for medical help on their own dime when it was available for free in the UK as a valid point. If he is not qualified to participate in an argument with that point, who is qualified? How are you qualified to tell him he is not qualified?

Why do you guys keep putting up pictures of google maps? I don't get it.

In Korea: SDAK controller on guard: "(Osan A-10) Hot Doggie, Hot Doggie! Hot Doggie! Hot Doggie! You are approaching DMZ! Snap West, Hot Doggie! Snap West, Hot Doggie! Snap West, Hot Doggie! Snap West, Snap West, Snap West, Snap West Immedrety or I wirr kick your a$$!" 6-9 min later A-10 on guard "I'm 20 miles over the ocean, mind if I turn back before I get to China?:

It is a crime that it took until the 5th page for this beer to got listed. It has been scientifically and spiritually proven to be the best beer ever made. You can't get better than beer brewed by a monk, they have God helping them. After Andechs, the Augustiner in Salzburg is a close second (the Munich version is not nearly as good). You should only go to Hofbrauhaus House if you still live in a frat house.

Hey! What's that supposed to mean?

Possibly, but a link would awesome.

The easiest way to deal with the CGOC is to put an auto reply in outlook with a smart-ass but won't get you in trouble if it gets forwarded comment followed by an auto delete. I have received only two CGOC emails in the last 2.5 years and that's only because they apparently changed the person sending out the emails.

Slacker: Best....Post....Ever. stoleit2x was in the running until you had some dude dancing.

Badass! That's really funny. Does that mean I get a DFC? Or maybe just a DPC (Distinguished Posting Cross)

www.foxnews.com U.S. officials believe Usama bin Laden's son, Saad bin Laden, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan. Sources confirmed to FOX News late Wednesday that officials believe the younger bin Laden was killed by hellfire missiles from a U.S. Predator drone strike earlier this year. The death was first reported by National Public Radio. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell told NPR that Saad bin Laden reportedly traveled to Pakistan last year after spending several years under house arrest in Iran. It is believed Saad, who is not considered a significant player in Al Qaeda leadership, was "collateral" damage in the airstrike and was not considered important enough to target on his own. It isn't possible to tell for certain whether he was killed, since a body has not been recovered, preventing DNA tests, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told NPR. The source estimated the chance Saad bin Laden is dead at "80 to 85 percent." At least 11 senior Al Qaeda operatives have been taken out in the secretive drone campaign which has continued at the same tempo under the Obama administration. A U.S. official points out that Saad "had a marquee name" but was not actively considered a successor to his father. "We make a big deal out of him because of his last name," NPR quoted a source as saying. U.S. forces have stepped up their drone attacks in Pakistan since last September, targeting Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants in areas bordering Afghanistan. The United States has carried out close to 50 such air strikes since the beginning of last year, killing about 470 people, including many foreign militants, according to a tally of reports from Pakistani intelligence agents, district government officials and residents.

Awesome organization, thanks for the info.

It's now (at least in the Viper community) called SCAR - Strike Coordination and Reconnaissance. Basically the same as killer - scout or whatever of the 69 terms the same mission used to be called. It seems to me to be pretty worthless training. IMHO when a war kicks off, assuming that it is fairly traditional (going to war against a nation-state), I don't see this mission lasting more than a few days. Either the ground troops will be moving in quickly and we'll switch to normal CAS or the war isn't going well and we'll be doing DCA defending the BX.

Finally, we can agree with the French on something.

It's a sad cycle that builds on itself. Very few pilots want to be an ROTC instructor because it would take him out of the cockpit for 3-4 years and probably kill his career. Generally, only the Det/CC is rated and it's his retirement tour. You can tell the emphasis that the Air Force puts on the job in relation to other services. In the Marines, they send top guys to ROTC detachments. At my school, one of the Marine instructors came from being the senior officer instructor at scout/sniper school and afterward went on to be the XO of Marine Force Recon. One of the smartest guys I've ever met. I took two of the Marine ROTC classes because he taught them and he almost got me to join the Marines instead. If you want to try to break the shoe clerk cycle, take a job in ROTC.

************* Thread Revival ************************* I just found out I am going to Camp Red Cloud this winter. Anybody been there or know someone who has?

He wasn't the only one. They also got a F-16 squadron commander, not sure if it was an SA-6, but their air defense system. The tail of the jet is still in an air museum down there. As M2 said, ANY pilot flying that day could have been unlucky enough to get shot down. Obviously the reason cannot be stated here, but pilot skill or lack thereof, is not relevant to his getting hit. No one should blame him for that. It is everything else he did before (previous to that sortie) and afterward that makes him an idiot.

"After he expended all his missiles and low on fuel, Capt. Wright now handed over the chase to his wingman, Capt. Scott F. "Zulu" O'Grady, who had been flying top to cover his flight leader. O'Grady dropped down to engage and fired a AIM-9M but it did not lock-on and missed. Black flight was now approaching "bingo fuel", the point at which a plane will not have enough fuel to return, so they pulled off to refuel..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banja_Luka_incident O'Grady was/is a complete tool, anything amazing happened around/to him, not by him and was pure coincidence. He had a chance to shoot down an enemy bomber and forgot to uncage his Aim-9 first (for those of you who don't know, that means it is a rocket, not a missile, and obviously will not hit the target). That was after 6-9 minutes of horrible comm when O'Grady goes blind and has to get vectors back to the fight by his flight lead who is busy shooting down enemy aircraft. He could have been a hero and come home with at least two kills. First rule of being a wingman, don't got blind, especially when there are some baby seals to club.

We were both less than happy about that, especially since we were already inside the gate, had no idea how far it was, and cars kept driving past us every few minutes with no offer for a lift. For the Hanauma snorkeling, it would be worth checking the tides and see if you can go snorkeling at high tide. We went and it turned out that it was at low tide and I felt like I was going to scrape off my stomach (or worse) on the coral reefs. However, it was still awesome.

"and an anti-G vest and pants" Proof that the Air Force only has a two to three year memory. Doesn't anyone working on the JSF remember the Combat Edge vest we used to wear? The one that was hot, uncomfortable, and useless? We finally got rid of it and now they're bringing it back! Also, if the DAS works half as well as that video says it will, that will be crazy awesome. However, again back to the memory thing, I worry that they think the F-35 will not turn at a merge. I don't care how good the missile is, some will still miss.

My wife and I stayed at both for our honeymoon there; Hale Koa for the first half to see the tourist parts and Bellows the second half to relax on the beach without 3000 other people. I thought that was a great way to go and would recommend it. If you end up going to Bellows, I would recommend renting a car to get there, the bus only dropped us off at the gate and we had to walk the 2-3 miles to the check in area with our suitcases which was not ideal. Even if you just stay at the Hale Koa, I would recommend renting a car and taking a drive around the east and north coast then back by the Dole plantation, it only cost us $25 to rent a POS car for one day and it was really worth it.

How much do you guys think a "bachelors+" will hurt versus having the masters finished for the Major's board? I don't want to get a "check the square masters" and am currently looking at an MBA (I have about 1/3 of a Masters of History done, but decided that may not help me much after I get out). I pinned on Capt in June 08, so I can't find an MBA program that I will be able to finish before the Majors board meets. Also, does anyone know the deadlines for boards; how long before they meet do I have to finish my degree to have it count and when do they actually meet?

It also could have been a "hung" (STS) bomb. He may have tried to drop it on the range and it just partly released. A partly released bomb could work itself free during the flight home. If that happens, you are supposed to not overfly populated areas, but maybe he had no choice here.

I think you'll be suprised at how much time there actually is in a week. I thought I was busy in college with ROTC, 20 credit hours, working out and trying to find time for the girlfriend. When you get to UPT, you'll realize just how much free time you had in college. For me, the more I have to do, the better I manage my time, which often actually gives me as much free time as I do when I'm not as busy if that makes any sense. If I have nothing to do all day, it's pretty easy to put off studying (or working out) for another hour or two. Just like spending time with the wife or anything else in life, if it is a priority in your life, it'll get done, if it's not than it won't.