Blue

I don't see anyone in this thread criticizing anyone who voluntarily wears a mask. To add, when the mask mandates finally started dropping, I recall brief public service campaigns about "being respectful to people who choose to wear a mask." I recall those campaigns quickly going quiet, as people realized the vast majority of non-mask wearers don't give two shits if someone voluntarily wears a mask. People don't care if you decide on your own to wear a mask

The US Army has something like 2,100 Blackhawks, so I assume V-280 Valor buy will eventually be somewhere in that neighborhood. And obviously more opportunities to replace Air Force and Navy Blackhawk variants down the road, USMC H-1s / V-22s, etc. I don't like the "Winner take all" approach of these competitions. Proponents talk about "economies of scale," and the like, but there is never a focus on the benefits of a split buy. Keeping competition in the industrial base, for one. Along with protecting yourself from any technical/reliability issue grounding your entire fleet. I would have liked to see the US Army do a split buy between the Valor and the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant-X.

Northrop CEO sure likes to hear herself talk, doesn't she?

Convicted felon, violent crime, nine years in prison? I'm gonna go with: "There has got to be more to this story," Alex. I want to know the background of his parents, and immediate family members. I'm willing to bet Mommy or Daddy, or some close relative, has some kind of connections on Wall Street. Investment banking, private equity, or similar. Seen it before in Corporate America, although it's usually confined to someone's kid or close relation getting elevated through the ranks at rocket speed. Whatever deal got worked, I bet they hadn't planned on it becoming a major news story. Will be interesting to see where it goes. So far, it's only appeared on The Daily Wire (on a holiday weekend, no less).

Don't usually get into the minutia of upvoting/downvoting, but @Best-22, why on earth would you downvote that article?

Can a student have a car loan? Only way to find out is to ask the bank of your choice. If your a ROTC/Academy cadet, or otherwise associated with the military, look into USAA. You've been given some good advice by @FourFans130 already, so I won't repeat that. I will say, some personal anecdotal experience: I did the "buy a used performance car" fresh out of college. It was fun, but looking back, I wish I hadn't. Assuming you buy as a student and keep it through your first couple years after graduation, it's more important to have things like: reliability, cargo space, etc. Hearing the whine of the turbo was fun, but I quickly got jealous of my buddy with the four door whatever, when he didn't have to tear into his car on the weekend to fix things, and could easily fit stuff in the trunk. An old man's two cents.

Never thought about the insurance aspect of CAF Warbirds, but have to wonder what kind of insurance they carry (if at all), and what it costs.

I mean, escalating incentives / threats has been the trend, right? Speaking from the civilian side: - You should get a Covid shot! - If you get a Covid shot, you'll get a free donut! - A free gift card! - Your job may require a shot, you should just get it now! - No entry without a vaccine card! - Get a shot or lose your job!

Perhaps I've seen too many episodes of Ozark. But, when you look at the DNC spending those kinds of figures, on those kinds of candidates, you start to wonder if they're really supporting candidates they feel have a viable chance of success? Or is it all just some kind of elaborate money laundering scheme?

Zerohedge article pointing out how coverage from the New York Times and CNN has suddenly become critical of Biden within the last week. It's not hard to believe that the Democratic Party is looking for an exit strategy for Biden, and this is just the beginning of them "softening the beach head" for an eventual Biden bow-out due to "mental health issues" or whatever they decide to call it. It'll be interesting (in a train-wreck sort of way) to watch. Age-related cognitive decline gets worse as time goes on. It does seem like Biden has gotten noticeably worse over the past two years. I can't imagine what it would be like after another two years, coupled with what's sure to be a bruising reelection campaign. Looking back, it seems like early-on there was a concerted effort to put Kamala Harris in the public eye. After several very public stumbles and gaffes of her own, she seemed to disappear into the background. I wonder if Plan A was to put her out there, and get the public used to seeing her in a position of power. Once that failed, I wonder if Plan B is to keep her out of the public eye until it's time for Biden to make an early exit due to "mental health issues" or what ever they decide to call it. Going down that path, would be interesting to see who the Democratic Party pushed to replace Kamala in the VP office. The 25th Amendment states that "The President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress." So the Kamala and the Democratic Party chooses the nominee, but it's got to get past what will likely be a Republican House, and potentially a Republican Senate.

Scott Kirby (United CEO) is a particularly interesting example. Opinions of the guy vary, be I don't think it can be denied that he's a pretty intelligent guy who knows how to run an airline. His Linkedin profile is pretty active, with posts several times a week. Scrolling through there, you'd think that diversity is the single biggest challenge facing the airline, with climate change a close second. Every once in a great while, he talks about serving customers, fixing airplanes, flying airplanes, etc. You know, real airline stuff. Kirby is not an idiot. He knows diversity, climate change, and similar ilk are bullshit. But he also knows that the airline industry is beholden to the federal government, through both regulation, as well as the fact that the us govt. is one of United's biggest customers. When Uncle Sam says his priorities are Diversity and Climate Change, Kirby (and other CEOs) march in lock-step. Guys like that don't get to the corner office by "fighting City Hall."

Yup. Always have to keep in mind that the media is incentivized to keep your eyeballs on their site/station. You occasionally get a window into the sausage being made, like when Ariana Pekary (MSNBC producer) resigned via a scathing public letter.

The concept of Reddit is really compelling, and I'm told that in the old days (pre-2010 or thereabouts), it really was a glorious place with a free exchange of ideas. There are still some interesting corners (the Air Force subreddit is entertaining). MilitaryStories is another one. If you have some obscure, niche interest, chances are there is a subreddit for it. But when it comes to politics, or really anything related to current events, Reddit is a left/progressive echo chamber. If you aren't posting the "approved" opinions, then don't even bother. You'll just be downvoted to hell, or just have your stuff deleted. To add, Reddit is yet another social media site where it's not clear how they make their money (the advertising is minimal, they do have some "paid" user options, but those aren't very widely used). When it comes to social media, if you can't figure out what the product is, then the product is you. So, one wonders what exactly Reddit does with all the user data it vacuums up.

So, question the Commander in Chief, but don't question Big Pharma. Does that about cover it? Aren't you involved in AFROTC in some fashion? I can only imagine what kind of quality guidance you're providing to those cadets.........

If some squadron cc has put this kind of guidance down on paper / e-mail, they should be named and shamed on social media. Here, or the Air Force amn/nco/snco facebook page, or elsewhere.

Somewhat related, and taking from the article at the beginning of the thread: L3Harris and Embraer seems to be a strange pair-up. Safe to say that the L3/Embraer combination is a result of the planned Boeing / Embraer partnership falling apart in the wake of Covid? As late as Nov 2019, Boeing was touting their work to jointly develop new markets for the C-390. Seems logical that, had the twin challenges of Covid and the Max not occurred, it would be the Boeing / Embraer KC-390? Assumedly taking advantage of Boeing's refueling boom technology? Curious what L3 has next up their sleeve.

Well, the OK ANG pilot (referenced several posts back), who keeled over with a heart attack after the vax presumably lost his medical. Due to being dead and all.

🙄 I suppose people have wildly differing opinions on what constitutes "petty".......... Either way, I am enthused about this latest development. The leaves are falling, there is a brisk chill in the air, and the yearly Covid-related internet arguments are beginning anew. As much of a Fall tradition as when I pull in all my outdoor furniture for the season, and find the underside of one of the cushions full of black mold. Or how the leaves fall off the trees, allowing me to see my mentally-unhinged elderly neighbor who likes to walk around naked in front of his open living room window. Glorious, glorious, propaganda and absurdity-filled Fall. How I missed ye!

In theory, when the military makes people do things that could potentially cause them harm, there is some larger goal (supporting and defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and all that good stuff). Have yet to see what the larger goal was with the Covid vax for the military. Sure hasn't seemed to do anything for military readiness. On the other hand, sure has been a good method of clearing all the non-believers out of the force. Maybe the Covid vax was nothing more than some loyalty test all along.

Can't wait to hear the background of how that got approved. I'll withhold judgement until more info comes out, but sure sounds like shades of the depot failures that led to the 2017 KC-130T propeller failure that killed all on board.

No arguments there, but the way the article reads, the issue is more a maintenance / depot screw up? Improper etching of the prop barrel, or similar?

Haven't followed every post, but is anyone actually arguing against these points?

This is kind of.....interesting. Was the scavenging of booms off of KC-97s recent? Or is this something that happened in the long past?

Yup. Unlike in the past, I don't see a way for anyone to talk their way out of this. Every time politicians beat the war drums to intervene somewhere or another, there is grumbling along the lines of "if they want boots-on-the-ground in Syria/Libya/Africa/wherever, send the Congresspersons or their kids first." Entertaining and cathartic to think about, but obviously not feasible. Covid gave the occasional blurb about politicians disregarding their own lockdown decrees, but that was written off as "politicians behaving badly." You had AOC try to make some noise awhile back about how Trump and the Republicans failed her "Abuela," suffering in Puerto Rico with no help months after their hurricane. And then some of the normal right-wing pundits started asking the question about "what has AOC done to help," to the point of Shapiro, or one of those clowns starting a Go Fund Me for AOC's "poor Abuela." Entertaining, but just another bullshit AOC media sideshow. Now you have immigrants getting bussed to the blue cities. It's hilarious and fascinating in it's impact, but most of all, you gotta love the simplicity. I can see no real path to someone talking their way out of this. You said you were a "Sanctuary City?" Well, here you go. Provide some sanctuary! It's like watching some political black comedy movie unfold in real life.

Valid, and something that became readily apparent once inside the belly of the acquisition beast. Contractors are incentivized to "ship it" and get paid, regardless of quality. The USG (civilian employees and military members) try to put up guardrails and speed bumps, but when push comes to shove, the contractors win. And it's on the USG to hope for the best, pick up the pieces, and try to make things work. All of that, I accepted as part and parcel with the entire acquisitions ecosystem. However...... While the F-16 is a ~$25 mil a copy, and the ACES-II seat is ~$2mil a copy, the choices that made the difference between life and death in this case were on the order of tens of thousands of dollars. My experience was the USG civilians and uniformed personnel in the SPOs had little sway with the stuff involving big bucks. They could however move the needle significantly when the dollar values were small. Somewhere in the forest of cubicles at Wright Patt or Hill, some Item Manager, Equipment Specialist, or Engineer could have made some noise about the availability of the shorting plug. They could have pushed the issue to the forefront, and it sounds like it's enough of a low-buck part that a company like Teledyne might have found another source just to make the USG shut up. Or, someone at Teledyne might have even taken notice, recognized the issue as well, and taken up the flag inside their company. While the company is incentivized by the almighty dollar, there are a lot of worker-bees punching a clock at these companies who really believe in what they're doing for the warfighter. Same with the decisions on setting and subsequently extending the TCTO deadlines, and signing off on life extensions of the DRS. Someone with the USG who cares could have raised the red flag. A USG civilian could have refused to sign off on the extension. Everyone knows the trope about USG civilians being next to impossible to fire. There is very little standing in the way of those folks saying "No." I spent the better part of my 20s and 30s in the belly of the beast, and I've had a good bit of time to reflect on it all. The Air Force has a literal army of civilians that are supposed to be managing all of this stuff, along with a smaller contingent of uniformed members. They're spread throughout the SPOs, Depots, etc. There is a tremendous amount of Make Work, and it's all very much a jobs program. In amongst the deadwood, seat-warmers, and oxygen thieves, there are also a lot of good people, who want to do what's best, and really believe in what they're doing on a day-to-day basis. In amongst all the bullshit, every once in a great while, I got to see instances when something no shit really mattered. Events where technical decision making by a conference room full of pasty-faced nobody civilians had a real direct impact on people's lives. Real "figure out a way to fix the oxygen system or they'll die" Apollo 13 style shit. And I was always surprised. The bullshit got put aside, the bureaucracy was swept away, and Shit Got Done. If people were lucky, there were some back patting, and maybe a couple beers together after work. On rare occasion, six months later some people tangentially involved with it would get a meaningless award or two. Mostly though, the people who made the wins only had their own job satisfaction as a reward, but for those folks, it was enough. It's not like there was a Big Red Button on the wall that someone pressed and everyone switched from bullshit-mode to get-down-to-work mode. It was more the fact that, as a whole, you collectively had enough people that gave a shit, that they were able to generate a critical mass to make something happen when it really mattered. I spent ten years in that realm, and last turned in my badge about ten years ago. I watched the mass of the lets-get-it-done folks dwindle over my time, and I can only imagine it's continued to deteriorate. People retire or get sidelined. Merit no longer gets you promoted, and often it's not even political games that move you up anymore. The Drive for Diversity watered down a lot of the experience, up and down the org chart. Shouting matches over the proper technical solution used to be, not common, but not unheard of. Once it was resolved, the combatants would usually shake hands and go get lunch. That sort of thing would have you written up by HR now. I'm just bitter about my own experiences as a cog in the wheel, how bad the whole enterprise was, and how much I saw it get worse over time. Events like the Shaw crash just get me dwelling on it all. TL:DR: Contractors gonna contract, but I wonder if some cubicle-dwelling USG civilians cared enough and put their foot down, they could have prevented some of the "holes in the swiss cheese" of the Shaw crash.