tac airlifter

What LR said. I don't think Trump is even close to Biden yet, but it comes for everybody. And after watching the TDS folks (you) ignore Biden's obvious dementia for years, I find it silly to hear this scrutiny now. Also, 99 out of 100 times Trump is more articulate than Kamala so the democrats have no credibility on the subject. I'm voting Trump but I'm excited for a future that does not involve extremely old people clinging to power until they die.

Pretty rich to read media articles about an “incomprehensible” Trump when Biden is obviously lost to dementia.

Anyone like me old enough to have worked Katrina relief knows there's a night & day difference in the federal response to these equally devastating natural disasters. I don't know if the Harris/Biden regime is malicious or incompetent. Both? There's no excuse for not having an ISR/Rescue package deployed within 24 hours. Side note: I was flying over Asheville a few days ago while Marine One was there with the Presidential TFR in effect. I've never heard that volume of traffic on 21.5 as approach attempted contacting GA planes busting the TFR. Dozens, it was a huge amount. Listening to the comms it seemed like many aircraft hadn't checked NOTAMS because the storm took out WiFi/cell service & desperation was driving them to fly supply runs without any normal prep, totally valid. High drama on guard listening to the back & forth. Very disappointing to see the government prioritize rule enforcement over mission when lives are in the line.

Copy points 2 & 3 and the robust intercept capability; but for point one are you saying Iran is intentionally missing?

I’m not smart on TBMs, can someone familiar with the technology explain the high miss rate? Is their targeting bad or is it intentional, or is the Iron Dome that good? I’d expect hundreds of TBMs lobbed at an urban area to result in mass casualties/destruction, but this and the (mostly intercepted) April attack seem ineffective. I don’t know what to make this, but it appears Iran is completely incompetent.

Many and they were right; eventually my brain got hammered into the right shape. Which they did a great job at, only took one assignment. Dude I’ve given a lot of debriefs as IP/EP that weren’t well received due to my non-empathetic tactless delivery or they took shit too personally. If you’re reading on this site you’ve likely given/received the same. I was surprised to discover the civ world is a whole different level. That is all.

lol, I also read the Delta thread where they were calling out the RJ for not pulling all the way up. It does drive me nuts when folks don’t pull up to the line, and I’ve also looked down at internal stuff during busy ops and regretted it so I’m not throwing spears at the Delta crew who taxied into the RJ; there but by the grace of God go I etc. However, we all know if you taxi into something it’s your ass unless overwhelming circumstances prove otherwise. Ridiculous to see 10,000+ hour professional aviators argue differently. A lot of APC is ridiculous because all pilots who didn’t fly military are incapable of taking a debrief. There I said it. Just try to give a bit of constructive criticism to one of the ‘CFI to Regional to Mainline’ folks, holy shit. I do remember what it’s like to have feelings, but was I really this defensive and lame all the time??

Valid, but there's more nuance: some of us volunteered not because of promises on the back end but because being at war (in whatever capacity)was the objective. I did 18 deployments, including a year as flying advisor (not a hand though), and volunteered for them all. I'd do it again; being relevant (even when dealt a losing hand) is the draw for some people. Losing was a tragedy I am still processing, but I would hate myself had I acted differently. Certainly not judging anyone else. The Hands program was garbage; by the end they hid their status from GIRoA who deeply resented PAK. Lol, pentagon is full of idiots. My takeaway from 21 years: figure out who you are and what you like, then do that. The best way to serve is in a capacity suited to your personality and innate characteristics. Pretend to be other than as you are: you'll be miserable & your team will know.

That the Biden cabinet hasn’t initiated 25th amendment procedures against him is a dereliction of duty and disqualifies Harris for POTUS. It’s truly a shocking situation we are is with an obviously incapacitated President.

lol Skitzo! Valid

I can’t grasp your analysis, it seems at odds with itself (or I’m too dumb to understand). AA got rid of jets which is bad, there are less passengers (which means their fleet is right sized?), they’re overstaffed but if they hire less that’s bad. I’m confused. If there’s less passengers then wouldn't it be a smart decision to decrease fleet size so they aren’t paying for parked jets? Unless you’re saying they suck at competing which does seem true. I think AA needs a massive leadership shake up. Glad they fired Vasu, he clearly wanted AA to be king of ULCCs, which is fine if it’s profitable but that business model appears to be imploding. They read the room wrong post-Covid by dumping the 757 which would have filled the (planned future) role of the XLR very well. Curious if the 73 to PHX, 320 to ORD, 78 to LGA, etc. signals growth or simply shifting of existing personnel.

Wow bro, great find. His description of the paradox of democracy (we must rig it in order to save it) is the best and most succinct explanation I’ve seen. Starts about 6 minutes in.

Financially incentivize domestic oil & gas energy production. Deregulation and disempowering unaccountable federal bureaucracy. Close the border. He wants those things, he made moves towards those things, Biden/Harris did the opposite. Embrace brevity.

All good points Pooter, Harris baited Trump and he fell into it time & again. However what she (and the slavish “moderators”) failed to do: convince me she’d be a better POTUS than him. There’s a misunderstanding on the left that all Trump supporters are trapped in the gravity well of his personality cult. Sure some are, as some are for any POTUS candidate. But I trust Trump to seek policies important to me, and conversely I’m certain Harris will pursue policies I hate. Why? Because unlike other elections we have years of experience watching each of them in office, and actions matter more than spin (which they both do constantly). Harris embarrassed Trump (or rather, set him up to embassy himself) but is that a difficult task for someone so egotistical? Who cares. Did she convince anyone she’d be a trustworthy and competent POTUS? She performed better, but I don’t think either of them won the debate.

Spot on dude. The rainbow Taliban loves their hypocrisy.

They had an obligation to fight, and they didn't. There were certainly individual acts of valor and individual members who were invested (one dude was shot down, disguised himself as taliban and walked 90 miles back HKIA and continued fighting; he's now a sensor operator for a firefighting company in Montana). But in aggregate, GIRoA and the ANA/AAF were not good faith partners. And not just in some ethereal policy level strategic sense, I mean at the member level they'd use A29s to bring honey back from their bee farms in Fayzabad instead of sitting alert for TICs. And when the city was invaded they left their families to the fates, stole planes and fled. Can you imagine doing something so cowardly yourself? Guessing you'd struggle to even comprehend that level of douchebaggary. I typed a long response and realized I remain to angry about the situation to have a constructive discussion. Suffice to say 1- 3% of people evacuated meet your above criteria; the vast majority were criminals (purposefully bussed from prisons by the Taliban to flood the airfield), AWOL military members, government bureaucrats, and randoms. Imagine watching 50 commandos throw down their weapons and run from 3 guys in a truck and I'm not allowed to shoot the truck... WTF. Same thing happened in Mosul when ISIS invaded in 2014 (large & well equipped Iraqi army threw away weapons and ran from a minimal enemy force) although this one was more dramatic and at scale. I feel nothing but contempt for those people, and certainly no obligation to bring them CONUS.

I have a controversial take on this, so I’ll just ask: did we ever have an obligation to evacuate them? Did they have an obligation to fight for their own country? Why did anyone have the impression we would take them to the US if they failed to secure their own country?

Splash of cold water? The USAF needs a sledge hammer to wreck bureaucracy, a firing squad (figuratively) for many layers of cultivated pussy officers, and a promotion system directly linked to proven combat success (versus current "future potential" BS). But it won't get either because there's no accountability in government and therefore no incentive to change. I like where your hearts at but you misunderstand the organization if you think another multi-million dollar program with numerous stakeholders and fuzzy immeasurable outcomes versus a single commander with clear objectives is the right path. But respect for your consistency & desire to keep the force flying.

This is a terrible idea. If MC12 taught us anything, temporary MDS is a recipe for disaster unless overwhelming GO support exists to chaperone the program through all the gatekeepers and roadblocks from established corners of the bureaucracy. For so many reasons this would not work: no one cares about it (senior leadership sponsorship is critical), the only people gameplanned to lead are folks who wouldn’t have gotten a chance in closely scrutinized communities (not intending to disparage here, but it’s true), everyone else is competing for scarce dollars for programs already proven, the line flyers are focused on their next assignment… bro, it briefs well but in practice would be a horror show. Not to mention we have actual MDS that could gainfully employ these pilots for 3-5 years. Or forever. If a random staffer is lurking on here for ideas (doubtful) please don’t pick this one.

That's 100% right. Many cops believe a mag dump into an innocent person in their home lawfully carrying was justified. It's why I (emotionally) think a murder charge should be pursued although I acknowledge logically it would not likely be successful in court. For clarity: I have no issues with multiple rounds fired. If I've made the decision shoot, then shoot until threat is neutralized. My issue is there was no threat; anyone who has completed basic shoot/no-shoot training would not have shot. However, police departments intentionally teach that shooting if a weapon is "in hand" is appropriate. People who teach that should be in prison, but I'll settle for their students.

You’re right. Pisses me off though, cops shouldn’t be spring loaded to shoot anyone holding a weapon otherwise we have no right to bear arms. “Officer safety” before “constitutional rights” is tyranny. Not in Florida: Under Florida Statute 782.04(4), a person is guilty of murder in the third degree if they unintentionally kill another person while committing or attempting to commit a non-violent felony.

It should be Murder 3 minimum.

Whoever answered you that way is shortsighted. It's true the command is experiencing an identity crisis, as is SOCOM so trickle down is natural. And it's true GWOT TTPs were crafted with uncontested airspace assumptions But an aggressive, creative and risk accepting culture (which thrives in AFSOC despite attempts to squash it) will always be relevant in every fight. And there are many exciting COAs just waiting for circumstances befitting their use.

You have an intriguing perspective but your hubris and delivery is off-putting. Is every conversation in your life a lecture or do you dialogue at all? If “everything is always politics” then we can disregard all your points as political spin meant to manipulate rather than educate.