SocialD

So this guy says Putin doesn't want to take over Ukraine, yet at the beginning of the war he tried to take over Kyiv. That makes it seem like he was either wanting to take the place over or install his own puppet government. Either way, the speech at those minutes don't show a signed promise that NATO wouldn't expand east. This was more my point. Everything I've found says there isn't a signed agreement that limits NATO from expanding east. Even Gorbachev himself seems to agree that there was nothing agreed to about NATO and their eastward expansion.

Was there a signed promise with Russia? Legit question, I'm still trying to educate myself on the history. So far, this just seems like Putin being Putin in an attempt to restore Russia to their "former glory."

Shack! If your point could be turned into a video, it would be this guy. I'm right, you're wrong and I have the moral high ground, so you can't even talk. This is why Trump won.

On of my 38 IPs (crusty passed over Major) said that every General needed a crusty, passed over Major by his side to tell him "no, that's fucking stupid" because nearly everyone else around him just says yes sir. His delivery was way better than I can every convey here, but I just laughed at the time. The longer I went in my career, the more I realized he was right.

Oh man, this is either good intentions being twisted into political fodder or there is about to be a shit storm in FEMA come Jan lol. I don't want to believe that this was a wide spread policy and that there was not one person with a spine to blow the whistle on such a thing. This will be interest to see how this plays out.

Could probably swing by the sheet metal shop and have one built for some SQ swag and a few cases of beer.

The best time to retire, was yesterday.

MODS: I apologize if I missed it, but can we get this (or any other thread that's already got a good list) stickied to the top? Given that the read file hasn't had a post in years, I assume this place gets more visibility. I'm a firm believer that readers are leaders and I'd love to see what you're all reading. I'm rifling through books on audiobook at a rate of about 1 per week right, so I'm always looking for my next book. There area bunch of smart mofo's on this forum and I'm certain you all read some great stuff that may not be in my normal list of subjects. Not looking for this to be just a military book thread, but rather a collection of books that you enjoyed and you feel are a great add to anyone's reading list. Of course I'll start with a military book. Just finished 53 days on Starvation Island and found it to be a great read. It follows a few survivors of the Battle of Midway through their combat experience on Guadalcanal. I can't even begin to imagine the shit these guys faced. Outstanding book...Hero's, all of them!

It's funny to see Jimmy Kimmel talk about something being bad for women...the same guy who co-hosted the man show. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Just one of his eyebrows.

It's more like 20M not showing up, 20M showing up, then 20M not showing up again. Not sure if anyone is looking into the data to see why the turnout was so high in 2020, but I'm sure it would be a great story for someone willing to nerd out in the data.

Listen, I'm not a pilot but you did what you were trained to do, the board found it justified, and we know you just moved your family across the country to assume command, but fuck you, you don't deserve to keep command. Sounds about par for the course. Dude's comments were a lot more gracious than I'd have been, especially if he already has his 20 lol. "Follow on orders were offered and we're still deciding..." Not sure why anyone would want to stick around after that treatment. I wish him the best of luck and hope he falls into a cush post military career. [quote]The investigation concluded the pilot’s decision to eject was ultimately inappropriate because commanded-flight inputs were in progress at the time of ejection, standby flight instrumentation was providing accurate data, and the aircraft’s backup radio was, at least partially, functional. Furthermore, the aircraft continued to fly for an extended period after ejection.”[/quote] F-35 Crash Final Conclusions

100% this. CH fought in a completely different war than many of us. Toward the end, we couldn't drop unless the GC (a general at AUAB) and his JAG, had continuous, live robot feed on the target and we certainly didn't drop if CDE got above 0.69%. But I know one thing, we all had the proper uniform on at all times and we were COVID free thanks to a 2 week sit in the mold infested, old coalition compound at AUAB...

I can't disagree with your point on Vietnam, I guess I just meant we allowed ourselves to get drawn into an protracted quagmire with no real objective or end state, other than just keep killing bad guys* (kinda...more below). You can kill as many bad guys as you want, but at some point along the way, you just keep creating more bad guys after you kill their grand-fathers/fathers/uncles. Also, how many were there fighting only becuase we were occupying their nation? Your experience is probably vastly different than mine. My trips were marked with such a tight ROE that I really don't know why we were there. On my last trip we watched as we let a conga line of 75+ verified Taliban go because the O-7 and his JAG at AUAB decided we can't upset the Taliban at the table. This was just one of many events that were similar from that trip and the unit we ripped out had tapes of multiple situation which were much worse. As another point...when a GO/his JAG, over 1,000 NM away, are making every employment decision, then it's long past time to go home. We lost 2,459 solider "over there, but as you're well aware, the real number is much higher and counting. Your stats above are well taken, as well as other opinions on the knowledge/skill we gained for our next fight. On the flip side, many of those stats would happen either way and how much further would our military tech be if we didn't funnel our tax dollars to go sling 2 x $80k JDAMs at the farmer turned sniper? How much better off would our national deficit be? Would have been worse off if we would have just killed OBL at Tora Bora and pulled chocks? How much peace was gained by the second decade over there? Of course that's up to debate and something we'll never really knows. Maybe I'm being a bit too simplistic, I'd love to have this debate with many of you gents over beers.

Enjoyed the read and I hope this dude finds his peace. I really don't struggle to find meaning for my trips to Afghanistan (all post 2010), it can be summed up rather simply...a complete waste of my time away from family. Thankfully I'm at peace with that. Sadly, I think the lessons will be lost in time and the bureaucracy that is our government/military. If that weren't true, we wouldn't have made the same mistakes as we did in Vietnam.

Nickel 🇺🇸

Ha, further proof that FAIPs are idiots!

Not today Vlad!

Hopefully they learn about the vast differences between the Reserves and the ANG before they make the decision to bail on AD.

Reverend! I can't say it felt like #winning as we watched a bunch of ANA/ANP getting overrun by the Taliban because of ROE and chicken shit civilian and military leaders. Felt like a metaphor for our time in Afghanistan. The few employments we had were probably just killing the kids of the guys we killed when I was there a decade earlier. We didn't have any semblance of a gameplan or objective when I was there in 2011...2021 was way worse. If we had taken out OBL at Tora Bora and subsequently pulled out (or left when we finally got him), I might have considered Afghanistan a win. Did we stop a possible terrorist attack on US soil during that time...maybe. Did we create more people who want to repeat 9/11 down the road...absolutely. We did find ourselves with aged jets, a few trillion in debt and more dead/broken soldiers, so we got that going for us...

Lol wut? Ima have to go find that one. But it is the internet, they'll argue about anything.

Yes, ATL has few redeeming features. If I deal with attitude from a gate agents, it's in ATL. If I'm getting a long delay for wheels up time, it's into/out of ATL. If I'm getting slowed 150 miles out and vectored off the arrival multiple times, it's in ATL. If I'm getting nitpicked by a major asshole of a ground controller, it's in ATL (he was gone, but I heard he, or his disciple, is back). If I'm playing human bumper cars in a tight ass terminal, it's ATL. If I'm being greeted at food/coffee counter by a blank stare or a whachu want, it's in ATL. If I'm getting my nice rotation blown up to one of the shittiest reroutes into an off day...it nearly always when I go through ATL. In case I wasn't clear enough, my bid now includes avoid if landings in ATL. Hate to see the SWA bros get displaced out of their base, commuting is the single worst thing about this job. Fuse, are they going to pump up BNA numbers to help absorb displacements?

Bravo to you Springer! You last point is spot on! I lost my Dad to cancer, just 1.5 years into retirement at age 65. Left me with the regret of missing out on so much while working two jobs, and being TDY/deployed. It certainly changed my entire outlook on life and has greatly impacted how I live my life now. Still saving obviously, but building wealth in a way that will allow me to work less/play more in my working days and retire early if I want. Picked up the book Die with Zero, which I highly recommend, that talks a lot about this very subject. As an aside, a buddy's wife is a partner in a wealth management firm and gives this book to all their new clients. Carpe Diem! Break break Anyone else noticing an increasing trend of angry controllers out there? Got yelled at a few days ago for something trivial and against long standing norms. Yesterday had a ground controller that sounded like he was at the end of his rope and yelling at pilots, when he wasn't clear and issuing non-standard instructions. Just a few examples of many I've seen lately. Wondering if the hammer is dropping on controllers after all the close calls we've seen lately. Either way, watch yoself out there and keep the ASAP link handy lol.

Great words Lord! I'd add that after 1st year pay, learn to budget on min line guarantee (65 hours at DAL) and use the rest to as funny money for toys, upgrading to 1st class ticket for vacation, and otherwise splurging on the living a great life now. When rona hit, I remember flying with a 330FO that was freaking out becuase he "needed" 85 hours/month to maintain his lifestyle. I can't imagine living like that and putting that stress on myself. This may be controversial to some, but you do not HAVE to pay for your kids college. Especially if it means you're gone 18 days/month and has a detrimental impact on your marriage.

You guys are so serious! 🤣 mcbush is right, there is a policy in place for this. Alaska and Virgin just went through this.