FourFans

Because as an officer, it is quite literally his job to understand the legality of orders before carrying them out. One of the unique and saving graces of the US military: The officers swear no allegiance to the president, but rather to the constitution, and specifically in the oath, are required to follow lawful orders.

Maybe it's because I don't watch any major news outlets...in fact it probably is precisely because of that...I haven't heard the above said even once. Have you considered that maybe you're allowing yourself to get jacked around by the media outrage coupled with the active disinformation that accompanies all armed conflicts? I'll grant that Trump is a loose cannon when he's in the media spotlight, which I think makes everything worse. I won't rule out the possibility that he INTENDS to be a loose cannon when in the media spotlight, but that doesn't really matter. In any case, spare the outrage and acting like you see something no one else does. There's already enough whiplash going around. Send your letters to congress and the president when the 82nd is actually ordered to invade. (which btw, I've already started drafting now that they've been given a WARNORD to deploy. Not happy about that)

No. They really aren't. They're happy to see us step on our crank, but they're also very not happy to see how lethal our forces can be when partially unleashed. Russia in particular is very unhappy with the results of their own air and EW defenses. China, well, best indications are that China's leadership doesn't actually comprehend what our absolute and lightning fast decimation of Iran's defenses really means for their Taiwan plans. I'm willing to bet the rank-and-file PLA get's it, but the one-man command structure probably doesn't. Is the US stepping in it right now? Yup. Is it really hurting our strategic capabilities? Not unless we commit conventional ground troops.

Just had a crew talk about this happening more and more often as we heard about this crash. I know I've experienced single controller ops quite a bit in ANC. I can't say I'm surprised by people not wanting to enter that career field. Couple that to the government shutdowns and we've got a bad situation going on for our ATC brothers.

Amazing how many geopolitical, economics, and military strategy experts all of a sudden appear (not just on this forum) during a crisis to start criticizing the whole operation, yet those same experts need to have the details explained to them in small and unclassified terms, otherwise what the US is doing is obviously stupid.

That P-3 took it like a champ!

Sure, but I don't see behind any curtains anymore. In short, Russia is a dog we cornered that we have to be very careful with. We're probably doing this for the same reason the US Government limited Ukraine's starlink access as they tried to advance into Russian territory: Russia have nukes on functional ICBMs pointed at western nations. Cutting off Venezuela and Iran in Russian oil calculus has made our sanctions that much more effective. I'd imagine we now have to carefully meter just how tightly we squeeze. Too hard and we get nukes airborne. It's a position of power that has to be carefully managed. Again, that's from my non read-in perspective. If I've learned one thing, it's that open source media is never privy to the behind the scenes negotiations that end up changing all the diplomatic calculus of how, precisely, the US is screwing over other countries. I'd guess this article is us seeing 10% of what's actually going on.

Entirely agree. Unfortunately that's basically a carbon copy of the definition of "International relations" (a.k.a. countries screwing over other countries). All that stuff never really goes away, it just moves from the battlefield to the diplomat's office and the stock exchanges...which is where I'd prefer it stay. My hope here is that our government stands by it's declaration that we won't be sending in conventional ground forces. If they do try to commit conventional troops, I think we can expect a significant uproar from every vet who served over the last 20 years, myself included. Short of that, I've seen enough of our strategic level to know that what the rank-and-file as well as the American public are seeing is either psyops or cloaked information at this stage in the game. We won't get to know what the full game plan was (or was not) until all the books are written in 20 years. Before that, to the trained eye, this op has many markers for an executed-as-planned campaign when compared with Iraq and Afghanistan. Some easy markers I see: Pakistan, Iraq, Syria are all playing along and even engaging directly in support No countries in the region have opposed or restricted US ops Trump actually when on record with an expected timeline (never done by Obama, Bush Jr, or even Bush Sr with Desert Shield) Cooperation and engagement from Allied countries AFTER the shooting started. Again, historically not normal in conflicts like this

True. What's making a real dent in the oil market...is it the actual loss of oil, or the perception of loss? Not saying it doesn't hurt, but the bounce back will be faster than we think, at least in the USA. Moreover, the USA doesn't need anyone else's oil. The only people severely hurt by this are Russia and China, and even with that it'll be shorter lived than any pundit will acknowledge. We backed a small dog into a corner. Oh no. Their capabilities are insignificant. They'll try, but it will be feeble at best. Their much vaunted Navy of missile destroyers was bodied in a single day. Not that they can't hit, just that they can't actually hit hard. The biggest actual question mark is whatever sleep cells they have in the wind. That op targeted the hardware that man men were using to try and hold their adversaries (mostly middle eastern countries) at threat. They didn't stop, so now we've targeted the mad men themselves. You mean that we're in the middle of an active shooting war and our wild-card of a CinC isn't showing all his cards? Weird. It's almost like that's how he's operated every single time in the past. Definitely time to panic. There is clearly a ground element to this game (spelled in part 'Kurdish'), and I guarantee that it's been in the works for a while now. This is a long game that involves a LOT more players than the US and Iran. Critiquing the man in the arena while the swords are actively swinging is a game played by fools and universally leads to incorrect conclusions. Let it play out.

ClearedHot knows that because he hooked Eddie on his first contact check

Fair point. I feel confident that she didn't single handedly run down and eliminate a threat to children.

Outstanding. The dude has no LEO experience, and I'll genuinely believe he'll do a great job. Character matters. AR has a long history of power hungry and otherwise low-professionalism cops. Let's hope he can clean house.

I was wondering the same thing. From what I'm hearing from dudes that knew him at my airline, there's no way he had a TS after how he departed our company. Alcohol, physical altercations, and denial of all of it.

Don't flatter yourself. You are of no account and your uninformed opinion doesn't matter. This discussion is about preserving the honor surrounding the actions of heroes, as is my response. I will call out anyone who so blatantly critics any MoH recipient, especially those who weren't there. Small individuals who choose to criticize the man in the arena and his rewards all deserve the same treatment: exposure of their cowardice and dismissal. I've worked too closely with real heroes to see their heroism belittled by insignificant men.

Sounds like I hit a nerve. Noted.

I feel comfortable aggressively telling you to STFU. Especially about a -47 pilot being shot 4 times and still successfully operating a helicopter the size of a bus in combat. I'm doubting you've ever been shot at, much less shot at while actually in range, much less while piloting a helicopter, which I've heard equated to as balancing on a swissball while playing a guitar. Dear keyboard warrior: Stop talking Beyond that, it's the CONGRESSIONAL Medal of Honor. Every single one has politics behind it. The president puts it on, but a LOT of other people approve it first. No doubt political shenanigans were at play...but also no doubt this dude did something to deserve it.

https://www.pizzint.watch/

Mark Tape: Mamdani will be found in the future to be putting a lot of this tax money in his own pockets.

That was an artful dodge by not answering any questions asked of you, while poking at the answers you apparently deserve. You appear to be one of the "take the world as I want it to be, not the way it currently is" fellas. Good to know.

Is that Vietnamese subtitling? Appropriate.

They had to zoom out so much to fit all of Cat 5 in the shot that you can see more stars on the flag. (yes, i can tell that's not quite right...but neither is how epically fat Cat 5 is)

Answers first, in my opinion: No. No. Yes. I answered Yes. Absolutely. Yes even Moreso than the president. See below. Why I served is completely irrelevant to the discussion, and would take too long to explain here. Honor is of the utmost importance. It is the product of a lifetime of wrestling with tough decisions, making mistakes, learning from them, and actively trying to become better. It centers on TRYING to do the best and right action in every situation. Honor does not demand perfection, it demands accountability for one's actions and respect for human dignity and fallibility. One display of honor is how one treats those they don't need to treat well...such as complete strangers on the internet. That's my short answer on honor. Please feel free to define what you mean by "honor" in a positive sense, not in the negative space (negative sense such as 'honor is not what trump is') To the implied insult to my service and sense of honor (yes, asking a service member if honor means shit to them is generally insulting, especially when you don't know them): I'm not taking your bait, but asking that question certainly speaks to your character. You've never met me. You know very little about me. I served honorably in combat. I've witnessed lives taken, and I've facilitated the taking of lives. I did my best under stressful circumstances that crushed many good men. I was not perfect. In line with this thread, I voted for Trump once. I've voted D, R, and I in local, state, and federal elections. I refuse to compromise my integrity because of someone else's lake thereof. I also feel no need for your validation nor do I owe anything to entitled critics. I would like to have an adult conversation though. That is an example of answering questions. It's what adults should do. I'll try asking questions in line with this thread again: What was our realistic better option than Trump in 2024 (meaning electable individual on the ballot in the last federal election)? Who did you vote for and why? Who do you want to see as our next president?

Yeah, I'm just at my limit on hearing all the critics pointing out how the man in the arena is stumbling while offering not a single constructive word. I try to operate on the assumption that not everyone in the world who disagrees with me is wrong. Unfortunately I've been finding more and more strong opinions are simply covers for cowardice coupled to aggressive levels of ignorance backed by raw emotion and media soundbites. I actively want someone to prove me wrong and to provide a factual well argued stance on what the Left actually stands for. So far it's been emotive responses, name calling, and an intellectual vacuum.

Misspelled "targets"

It would be great to have a healthy Cuba, and healthy western hemisphere for that matter. I just wish Trump realized that every time he changes his tariff policy, he drops a bomb on US long term economics. It might be working in the short term, but at what cost? I'd appreciate an administration that actually looked at the long game, not just the short game. But again, maybe they are looking at the long game with Cuba and South America...maybe there is some genius in these moves. Thankful that I get to sit back in safety and watch.