MD

The travel pods our tactical planes use, guess what those used to be? Seal the side door and put them back into use...

Tried? There's no obligation to even capture them. Insofar as any precedent being set, the enemy set the precedent a long time ago. But none of that really matters, since all we have proven as a nation since 9/11, is that the terrorists won the war on terror on 9/12/2001, what with all the changes we've made in our lives and as a nation due to them, as well as our lack of any kind of seriousness in doing what is brutally necessary to rid the earth of them.

But we won't. Because the US isn't prepared to fight people like this. The US doesn't realize that in order to fight pigs, you must be prepared to get muddy: physically, mentally, and morally. If we aren't ready, willing, and able to take what ISIS gives, multiply that by 100, and hand it right back to them with brutal efficiency and no quarter, then we have no business engaging with them in any kind of war. Because we will only lose. So long as we hamstring ourselves with "moral high road" ways of fighting wars and the resultant idiotic ROE that only serves to get our own people killed while preserving the lives of the enemy, then we will only lose in any war we get involved in. Especially against people like this.

If we're going to criticize others, we'd better be able to take criticism as well as criticize ourselves just as well. Plenty of assclownery to go around for everyone. AF is no exception. If the AF was an exception, then 85% of the gripe threads on this forum section would have to disappear........

I remember in the 90s, working as an ground FAC taking part in an exercise with 1-503/2 ID. At the Batallion briefing and roc drill, there were two distinct things I remember seeing and hearing. When the few helicopters from the aviation elements that were participating landed in the field and shut down; the crews (wearing the woodland BDU two-piece flightsuits) exited their birds, removed their survival vests and helmets, donned their green LBE belts/suspenders, woodland PASGT helmets, and painted their faces up in woodland camo facepaint, all before walking over from their birds to attend the brief. Following the brief, they returned to their birds, wiped their faces clean, doffed the ground gear, and "became" pilots again. Very weird to see. Especially as me and my TACP members seemed out of place, as we had BDU ranger caps on with our uniforms, and not helmets. The S-2, during his brief of the enemy order of battle, when talking about the various threats, kept mentioning "SA-7 sites, located here, here and here...and covering the western and eastern flanks....." on the map. As if an SA-7.....dude holding a MANPAD...is somehow akin to a fixed-SA-2 site, permanently located in that particular place on the map and pointing/aimed in particular direction(s). Odd. Army was also weird when we'd go on and off post, if I as an officer was driving our CUCV or HMMWV, and one of my ETACs (what they were before JTACs) was sitting in the passenger seat. Something about officers driving tactical vehicles. And too, we kept getting told that to drive/ride in our own tactical vehicles on post, we were required to have our helmets on at all times per regulations, even though while an Army reg, we weren't in Army tactical vehicles at the time. Obviously, if riding in one of their tactical vehicles, it's do as the Romans do.

The USMC is small enough to "get it". Whereas the Army is too big with too much of a ground mentality across the board with its various maneuver elements to have time to "deal" with aviation. Which is really their loss if they refuse to even try. Agree with your last statement, which is why I personally feel the USAF needs to get out of the CAS business as a primary mission; allow the Army to fend for itself in that way and only provide support as necessary or when requested. Would obviously be a major doctrinal change and the Army would (hopefully) be forced to reevaluate how it does business with what is essentially an airborne maneuver element, supporting the infantry still, and take it serious in that way. Rather than leaving aviation on the shelf untouched or misused as they have been. Whether or not that forces the Army to "get it" will be the Army's problem, no longer the AFs. The AF would still train for CAS in order to provide it when needed, it just wouldn't be one of their main jobs anymore. Maybe a doctrinal change like that would legally force the Army to boost aviation to a far better seat at the table, along with the ground elements.

As bad on the receiving end too, in the Hog but probably the same as the Bone, with having a boom with a leaking knuckle that's getting JP all over the windscreen, and the only real way to hold position is to keep the compass and g-meter on the #1 and #3 engines. Makes one appreciate the planes with AR receptacles behind or aside the cockpit rather than in front.

Awesome. So AZ voters voted in a carpetbagging east coast tourist who has no idea, nor cares, about southern AZ issues, and is yet again, doing a touch and go at another place in her move up the self-serving career ladder. The voters will get what they voted for, McSally/McCain/McFlake establishment types, who only happen to have an "R" next to their names out of pure convenience.

No surprise at all. Iran can't stand ISIS, and too Syria is Iran's only real ally on that side of the Gulf. Iranian F-4s, AH-1s, and other aircraft of the Air Force and Army Aviation have been taking part in this anti-ISIS campaign from the beginning. If ISIS.....and to a certain extent, Syrian "rebels"..... have accomplished one major thing, it's that they've created some very odd bedfellows. Iran, USA, and Israel, all with the same goals here, with only the USA being the one of them all still claiming to be against Assad (and stupidly so, in my opinion).

Don't know if this was posted yet, hadn't come across it yet.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXGJGuH59qw

One thing for sure about aviation is, we really aren't finding new ways to crash aircraft. Most often, it's ways we already know and have known about.

With McChing, it will be a win for herself and the establishment right who have anointed her.

McCain is definately pro military, he's just a RINO in many other ways. And with all respect for his military service, he hasn't been the best Senator here in AZ, having many special interests of different kinds. Not as bad as a Randy Cunningham, but he's had his own share of scandal. His military special interests.....some are good like like the original KC-767 fiasco, to others that are questionable such as constituents in Phoenix for the F-35, while ignoring Tucson and the A-10 until fairly recently. It's far more McFlake and McChing who are the RINO and carpetbagger, respectively.

She's not even pro-military Republican. She's a McCain/McFlake RINO pick who will disappear from the state as fast as she showed up here, not giving a whit about anything here that doesn't directly benefit her in some way. She can't even speak to the issues of southern AZ in any direct, meaningful way. People will get what they elected.

Not difficult to get back in the saddle. Hardest part is the actual weapon systems work unless it became more user friendly; the flying was pretty much that of a WSO with landing currency.

OPSEC! Don't you realize there are enemies of the state data mining open source information such as this? Do we want to help groups like ISIS / Al Queda figure out our Band order of battle amongst the different services?? And where we're now potentially coming up weak/short due to unit cuts such as these?? Make it difficult for them, even if its open source.

Their last Hunter crash 2 years ago was in the same area as this one. 3 months prior to that crash was their Kfir accident at Fallon. 3 fatals in 2 years time. Condolences.

Access appears limited getting to the crash scene in the photo and it may not have been apparent at the time where debris was completely located, what with fire/smoke etc; especially in an agricultural area scene. Regardless, tactical positioning needs to be made to facilitate safe firefighting operations and optimal suppression coverage as well as rescue; and if it so happens that a fire truck, a hoseline, or firefighters are in or moved through a portion of the debris, whether previously known or unknown, that fact get documented for investigators, and operations go on. These things happen. Not optimal, but neither is the overall mess of a scene either.

USAA has been good in some ways, lousy in others.....and growing over the years. I'm almost done with using them once I pay off a CC. USAAs home loan rates and offers have never been good. State Farm has been working well for home as well as auto.

Curiously, how is someone like this able to remain in the USAF? Or any military service for that matter? And who gets married to someone like this.....another narcissist?

Didn't you hear? You didn't build that......

I will say that it was an interesting dynamic hearing how the crew generally works together CRM-wise and duties/expectations therein, that came to light from the Diego Garcia gear up.

Well, in fairness, who knows what's going on in time in the instant the pic was taken. Pilot may have unstrapped and could be adjusting something. May be just about to snap in after doing so. Odd for sure, but who knows what weird explanation it could be. Could even be your explanation.

This whole thing is a self-cleaning microwave oven. Let it do what it's going to do. At worst, we can mop up whatever is left over.