GKinnear

Hey man...@Karl Hungus has a name...better put some R-E-S-P-E-C-T on it!

It's not Friday...but today is the day for the 80th Anniversary of the greatest picture ever taken...even if it's Marines

Yeah, used to keep tabs on the r/AirForce subreddit...stopped after I realized the same. It skews younger and shoe-clerk heavy. A few Commanders (allegedly) post there, but not a lot operational depth regardless. Their bitching about The Knife & Fat Tony would have been the same regardless of who the Commander was. A few good memes, but overall a waste of time She has 8 Air Medals...which is 8 more than CQ had. I haven't served with her, but that seems like an improvement over someone who couldn't even hit the 75% threshold and took the AAM as a consolation prize.

Wonder who they're talking about? 😅

Luckily, as you alluded, we don't use the national popular vote to determine the President...and looking at the electoral vote from the states, there was a clear majority (58%) in favor of Trump as #47. I also think you need to define who thought the election was an upset. Several polls have been exposed as heavily biasing to Democratic voters and didn't reflect reality.

Here's where we disagree in the math...the next years DoD Topline is adjusted from the baseline budget ($850B), not the adjusted after top-down guidance ($782B). Wash, rinse, and repeat for the next four years. The actual FYDP re-prioritization (not reduction as it's been publicized in media) comes out to....8%. Again, not a math guy...just a knuckle-dragging pilot who's a Kinesiology major from a small land-grant college in West Texas.

Well, maybe Sullivan did, but I don't recall where you or anyone on BO did...that's my point. From a policy standpoint, it's not a departure from previous admins and no one cared enough to bitch about it. It seems like it's a blatantly political opposition now. And again, the house vig stays in the house...the Iron Dome EO I posted earlier is a FY26 add and those funds are coming from somewhere. Can Congress add it in later as a specific appropriation for the out year, yes. Will it happen is a different question, even with a uni-party in control of 2/3 of the Federal Gov. For now, I choose to believe Congress will and we'll see the out-years adjust accordingly if they do. I'm also not a math guy and your WashPost is behind a firewall...but your 40% statement might need to have the work shown. Seems like your assumptions have inflation continuing upwards...that may be true, maybe not. I'm not concerned about the GDP percentage...I'm more concerned about the total Fed Gov spending as a percentage of GDP. Seems we're running about ~10% higher our 1980s peak, and 15% higher than 1950-1975. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_spending_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Federal_state_local_percent_of_gdp.webp We need to bring it all down since I believe our debt is a bigger existential threat than Taiwan or Ukraine. I can back a robust deterrence strategy to maintain the International Rules-Based Order (which seems to breathing its last breath, unfortunately)...but I can't see the threat in either at this point that justify the continued waste of resources. I don't like wasted taxes from my own government...I hate it when it seems another government is wasting my tax dollars. But that's just me. As far as your comment about not giving up because it's hard...same can be applied to reigning in spending.

He's not directing a 30% cut...everything beyond the next POM (FY26 in this case) is an "out year" that sees massive changes when that year turns out to be the next one up. There's always an inflation adjustment to bump up the number...which by the way, the Biden Admin was using a baseline of 1.5% inflation when it was higher than that in reality, so getting an effective reduction in Defense spending power is a fine tradition across all political parties. Also...it's a reduction that flows up to SecDef to fund top-down guidance in the DOD. During the Biden and Lloyd years, a 2% POM reduction was standard. The only thing different here is the amount, but no one complained then. What's the big change to Defense priorities that POTUS mentioned in the first week of his 2nd First 100 Days? Homeland defense ain't going to pay for itself. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-directs-the-building-of-the-iron-dome-missile-defense-shield-for-america/

More US Hockey excellence...maybe we need a hockey thread to go along with football and the field fairys thread

Those are topline numbers only...there are multiple discrete program elements that can be offset and not reduce mission effectiveness in that area, O&M has long been an easy cut to balance the portfolio...cut an FHP here, reduce an exercise by a day there...and BOOM!...a balanced budget. Or shit, go the Kendall route and just wholesale cut programs like the U-2 to pay for other shit...Sentinel ICBM missile silos aren't going to pay for themselves when you don't account for them.

How's that working out for our neighbors to the north...who brings a"go for the bronze" gusto that's done them so well over the years?

I think both the reg change and the reaction from the masses are distracting arguments...however, c'mon Big Blue, get your shit on one sock and make sure your public media recruiting campaigns are squared away first! Although having seen how the Puzzle Palace works over the last few budget cycles, the lack of thought beyond the initial good idea fairy isn't surprising.

Look up Black September and the PLO attack against the King in Jordan. Palestinian political power can't get along with anyone...to include a country that is populated with the same people and culture as them. Any goodwill the other countries may have to accept refugees has been burned by the Palestinians themselves.

The complaint in the report comes from Danielle Dietrich...who is not the sister of Pete's ex-wife. Danielle is the ex-wife of Pete's brother. It may not matter, but Pete's getting Kavanaugh-ed in the final minute of his confirmation process raises many doubts about the accuracy of the source. Single-source reporting in the intel world sucks unless the source has the street cred to back it up. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/senators-received-affidavit-containing-new-allegations-pete-hegseth-de-rcna188342?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&taid=678ff942749f2f0001051b76&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter Money quote from the NBC reporting: "Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far-left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that," he said in a statement. "After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family," he added. "Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying..." Samantha's (actual ex-wife) is getting her lawyer involved...so pop that corn indeed!

Anyone who can mentally think Elon's a raging anti-semite / Nazi because of a gesture taken out of context, either wasn't listening or is on the Clayton Bigsby level of bullshit.

I posted in the "The Next President Is..." thread, but if Milley accepts the pardon, the admission of guilt is included in it. He shouldn't accept the pardon if he's not guilty of anything...if he or any of the pardoned do, you legally can say "Confessed criminal Gen (ret) Mark Milley" every time you refer to him. Again, I'm not a lawyer nor stayed at a holiday inn last night...

IANAL...but the SCOTUS determined in 1915 that accepting a pardon included the acceptance of a confession. So kinda like the "declaration" on the ERA being a law, the current POTUS is wrong on his preemptive pardons statement. "The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.

You're probably right about that...my language may have been over the top, but I'll stand by the intent of my post. I found the original post inconsistent for this forum, and I'm at a loss for why it was included in a thread about VRRAD. We generally post about how Big Blue gets it wrong on promotions, and then when someone makes it to O-6, he complains about how the Senior Leader assignment system works. @Dogs-N-Guns Acknowledged you had already applied for retirement...I'm glad you were able to make the choice that was best for you. I agree that I've also seen too many O-6s just marking time for the High-3, and have done fuck all when it came to doing the J-O-B...as either a staffer or a commander. You might not have been that guy, but it is sobering to realize you've crossed an invisible threshold and went from the top of the line flying pyramid and you're back at the bottom of the Senior Leader echelon. Colonels who move that often are doing so because they want to work the GO development timeline. No one's forcing you. Again, unless you have an ADSC, you can retire at almost any time you want to. Regardless, back to my passed-over days...it sounded like a petty complaint when there were plenty of O's who would have been great Lt Cols, let alone great Majors, who will never get that chance...even if they return to AD. Sounds like there were two separate conversations going on, so I'll buy the soon to be Vet's first round if I fell for the spoofer comms.

Nah brah...I've accomplished everything I needed to, and plan on leaving nothing on the table when I walk away. Making rank is at the bottom of the "nice to have" list, and it's certainly not a requirement for my service. Perspective is a great thing to have. Please make sure you have your retired ID card out before you get to the gate, and don't bore the thicc A1C a the gate with your "back in my Air Force" stories...some of us are trying to get to the shoppette before they stop selling booze on Friday night.

Passed-over Maj gkinnear checking in Yes...but in most cases, you can always retire. The old-school "brief" was direct about about it. "What if I have a rising senior, sick parents, etc?"...slide..."Feel free to retire". Unless the devil's money is holding you in, an O-6 has the trump card in their hand. I've only had a few glimpses into that rarified air, but I've seen assignment comments along the lines of "I want location X, Y, Z. I do not want A, and will retire if selected."...and the hiring GOs had an honest conversation about it. Ultimately, the new philosophy, to my understanding, is there is an assignment for everyone. GOs and Colonels are the main groups that actually get a retention effort. Baby GOs get selected from the O-6 kiddie DV pool...so the assignment train is necessary to get all the box-checking for pilots who've barely left the cockpit. I've got a few Navy and Army O-6 bros who did all things as young O-4s. One more data point how Big Blue sucks at all things Joint. Now, aside from the counter-point of view on the "Why," the Colonel's Group works that way...I'll end by saying you sound like a little bitch complaining about a system for O-6s...which guarantees an O-5 retirement at worst, with the added kicker of expanded career opportunities post-USAF. Congrats on your selection, congrats on your retirement, thank you for your service!

Open source reporting it was some remotely piloted American exceptionalism that carried out the strike. 🍻 to the crew if I ever run into them!

But that hard work and discipline doesn't matter if the on-field record doesn't. I think it's becoming it obvious neither of us will be swayed by the other's arguments, we'll agree to disagree and move on. And since this is my last post on the 2023 CFB Playoffs, I'll leave off with what @Rainman once posted that applies here: 1) Life isn't fair 2) Timing is everything 3) Bloom where you're planted and 4) Boo Corrigan can get fucked.

I'm not betting anything...and that's the issue. Enough people are betting, as well as TV just throwing money at the sport in an effort to turn people's emotional connection to a college into dollars down the road, that the chase to maximize the $$$ is the deciding factor. As a team, FSU is one of the 4 best teams in the country....look at the undefeated record in what used to be a Power-5 conference. Hell, ACC has dominated the CFB Playoffs just as much as the SEC has....yes it's mostly Clemson (Go TIGERS!), but other than UGA's recent run, it's been all 'Bama in the SEC. If it's down to who you feel as deserving in the playoffs, why didn't the Big-12 put OU in over OSU in their conference game? But the record is what fucking matters...not how you feel about it. 'Bama's on field record doesn't warrant a Playoff spot...they lost to a team (t.u.) who lost to a team (OU) who lost to Kansas. They also needed Auburn to implode...a team that lost to NM State lost the Iron Bowl instead of 'Bama winning it. I'm not the CFB Playoff Committee chair, and I haven't been paid by anyone to vote...but Boo Corrigan can get fucked. BONUS Mention: Kirk Herbstreit, Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, and any other ESPN & CBS on-air talent that sucks from the teat of CFB Playoff money...can get fucked.

Going undefeated, on the road, and with backup QB #2 & #3 speaks for it self...unless you're not in the SEC or Big-10.