tac airlifter

Makes about as much sense as restricting my right to own firearms while simultaneously selling thousands directly to the Mexican mafia.

Yes.

Well this shows a complete and profound misunderstanding of Fallujah.

G19 for an EDC kind of gun. Haven't been able to actually hold a G4 yet, don't know why the dual recoil spring would be beneficial on a 9mm, but keeping an open mind. They aren't that much more expensive.

Anyone have thoughts/impressions on the gen 4 Glock versus the gen 3?

If the system "works" wouldn't we be winning wars? The last decade has proved the military could function better.

All number fucking aside, I call shenanigins on him even being on-sta for that number of EKIA. Maybe that was the entirety of all ops the SQ supported the entire time he was assinged there? Who would even track that number? Claiming kills not your own is shameful; but then, so is talking to the media.

1626 EKIA? I'm calling shenanigans.

Valid points and I understand the new guy mentality and don't blame them--- I blame their bosses and a system incapable of picking the right bosses. Like I said: combat success/failure is not connected to career success/failure. If that could be fixed a lot of the rest would work itself out naturally. And yes, most communities are insulated from the ground user. But realize you can pick up a phone anytime and call them post mission just to ask "how could we improve?" Not doing that is on you, not your leadership and is part of that whole assertiveness thing I was talking about. I can blame bosses and systems all day long but ultimately you must ask what you have the power to fix, and focus efforts accordingly. I can't fix the system. I can teach a new AC to pick up the phone, call the user and harness that innate desire to excel that got you into a rated slot to start with.

Anecdotally from my own experience I don't think there's a direct correlation between the younger crew force and mishaps. But there is something just as bad as mishaps the AF doesn't track and can't quantify- mission success or failure. I see young guys all the time making poor choices resulting in failure, but the plane lands safely so it's never more than a brief discussion. But mission fail at the tactical level over and over does have strategic ramifications. For example, I see guys not being aggressive enough or not knowing how to be assertive during the limited opportunities we have to action objectives. I see guys weather cancel all the time when truthfully, the mission could still be safely accomplished. I see guys who can't do their fragged mission for some reason (WX, MX...etc) who outright cancel instead of looking around the AO, talking to the user and seeing what could be salvaged from the day. These are general examples. The truth is there are terrorists walking around right now who survived our strikes because we sent guys too young and inexperienced into the most challenging tactical situations with inadequate preparation. Or we sent guys who never should have been upgraded but were anyway to continue feeding the machine. Bottom line, I don't see young guys crashing planes. I see them being timid. I see them unable to accomplish missions where the script isn't followed precisely. And what's worse- I see many of them continue on with successful careers after shaming themselves with incompetence in combat. I think the biggest problem with our Air Force is the inability to tie combat success/failure to career success/failure; were that issue fixed most others would resolve themselves.

No, that wasn't a problem with him (and everyone with the same gear had the same issue; hence SPINS dictating a certain altitude associated with that system). He actually published a NOTAM at ORBD that all C130 departure and arrivals would be filmed by a camera crew because he thought we flew too low and didn't approve of us banking past 30 degrees. Didn't believe our patch who explained to him what we were doing and how we were trained & couldnt understand why a 105k H3 flew a different departure than a 155k E. Each day he would review any departures his E9 (tape monitor) thought were too 'tactical' involving speeds, altitudes or bank angles he was uncomfortable with and would subsequently chew out the crew. I have first hand experience with this process... But no hard feelings.

I was also there & recall some growing pains when -130s first showed up. Things ended up being fine, but there were a few months of pain for airlift guys.

May I ask which community you ended up in post TAMI?

Copy all bro. We already did the sig SQ buy; I'm shamelessly promoting a SQ Glock buy for the next one because I'm in the market for a new Glock!

Valid, but it does appear in AFTTP 3-2.5 BREVITY & I'd rather guys use that properly than read the PCG.

Allow me to express a preference for Glock over a high end 1911 for your purposes. I think you'll have more participation using quality brands at reasonable prices.

Maybe hand skills are still required. ETA-- pure speculation in jest & I hope everyone is ok.

Yup.

Link?

Do you feel more protected now that DHS is driving around in blacked out MRAPs with HK M4's and a billion rounds of ammo?

What enemy will they be going into harms way against?

Agreed. SKE is a perfect example of wasteful spending: a skill set that should have been maintained by a small cadre who could spin up the rest in the highly improbable circumstance it was called on for employment. Instead we've spent decades downgrading copilots for getting blown wide on turns over 90, and putting thousands of hours on birds & people who needed a rest. Its unfortunate that we're making stupid cuts in addition to smart cuts now because we failed to make smart cuts early on. More unfortunate still that the WG/CC's who specifically forced us to maintain SKE currencies (when we asked for this item to be suspended) at the height of OIF when dudes were gone 8-10 months a year will never be held accountable for the massive waste and current consequences.

Well done on his part; I also note that he is responding to comments posted. Always respect someone who will defend their position.

I'm sure our tactical airlift capability will be devastated by the lack of SKE.

Wait, you were also wearing your helmet in the 172?