fire4effect

We went Sunday and it was intense. I certainly agree that Chapman should have been given a more complete display but given the totality of all the exhibits it was worth the trip. Our guide did say the sensor operator from Chapman's action visited not that long ago though the guide didn't say what discussions if any were had. One story about Cpl Rubin really hit me. Brass Balls the size of the moon if you ask me. Most MOH actions are an intense sprint where this guy ran the marathon. Medal of Honor Monday: Army Cpl. Tibor Rubin > U.S. Department of War > Story

I like how John Clark quoted the Sundance Kid. "Think You Used Enough Dynamite Butch?" At least in the book version.

Joby Logs 7,000 Autonomous Miles in Military Exercise More on the subject. I admit I didn't know about this.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised that Maduro at some point gets the Soleimani Treatment depending on how the stars align. Clearly the strike was a very public message the gloves are off. That said now we should use a lot of nonpublic strikes that don't make the news if we aren't already. Out of sight out of mind for all but the targets. Strikes at sea especially leave very little evidence behind. I know semi-submersibles are used to try and evade sensors especially from above though real USN Submarines excel at tracking acoustic signatures. Of course, if you're using a semi-submersible that's Prima Facie your up to no good and are a candidate to become an artificial reef. To me our drone capability is perfect for these types of missions and has benefited from last 20 years of operations worldwide and present minimal risk to our side.

I've always been a fan of "Out of Court Settlements"

One hard part imho will be mixing with manned aircraft at un-towered and minimal equipped ATC facilities at many 3rd world airports

Air Force to Field Autonomous Cessna Caravan Supposedly the system will eventually be airframe agnostic. Guess those side jobs flying Caravans for FEDEX to the Carribean days are numbered.

They're covering for the normal crew that was deported

Ahh Florida. I think I mentioned this in the past. Family member some years back was accused by crazy and now very ex-wife of DV in an attempt to get a leg up in the divorce. 3 deputies show up while he's taking out the trash and detain him along with an order to remove all his firearms and ammunition. Took 6 months and a lot of time and money to get them back though no ammunition. I think he finally paid the last of his substantial alimony earlier this year. Guilty till proven innocent.

I guess the glass half full viewpoint is in this instance the seat worked unlike a certain B-1 mishap a few years back.

Airman Snuffy, since you received a DUI you are assigned extra duty as EST (Ejection Seat Tester) for the month.

I have a G19 that I put Ameriglo sights on. Orange front sight comes on target pretty quick. I lay my surefire next to it on the nightstand and the glow in the dark rear sights tell where my light is. Shoots great for me. As for optics on a handgun I find it harder to conceal. SOCOM had used the G19 for years though with the M17/18 available I don't know if they still do.

Oldie but a goodie. On a related note and also bears repeating. I've never seen a jet get a DUI.

If I had to guess the whole point is to "traumatize" certain populations long after a particular party/administration has left office and no longer has direct decision making authority. Policies often change but the bad taste of how people are treated can last a long time in the mind of potential recruits. It can make certain demographics second guess going into the military in the first place. The lesson is your career can be taken even years later on the whim of leadership.

My 3-year rule of government service. This is true regardless of whether we're talking military or civilian across all branches of service. Most people don't think beyond a yearly eval. Most upwardly mobile jobs last 2-3 years so almost all in those positions care about is that their plan briefs well and the "books balance" for the 2-3 years they're in the position. 10 years down the road we may have a smoking hole in the ground literally or figuratively due to their decisions but those individuals responsible are long gone either promoted or retired. Those with stars on their shoulders that make the really big consequential decisions are out on their sailboat drawing a nice check of the month and as Wombat alluded to drawing a nice check from a contractor. I tried to impress upon the youngsters of asking themselves how their decisions will affect the organization 10 plus years down the road not just for the next eval. Another thing I've tried to impress especially on the technical side is if you do your job properly you work yourself out of a job. Try to find the permanent fix instead of milking the problem. Kind of counterintuitive to getting the raises sometimes and honestly can go against our own self interests. In the same thread a good solution prevents an issue, but no one remembers the mishap/attack/war etc. that never happened. Hard to get credit for that no matter who you are. My .02 cents.

Can you send me a copy of that presentation? From one nerd to another that's next level 2LT nerdom and I would love to have a copy in case I need it. Try to keep it CUI if you don't mind.😁

Florida is crazy with them. But set reasonable specs that are codified in state law so municipalities can't play loose with the system. I believe Floriday did pass a law a couple years ago to reign them in.

In 10 years, I could see something like this cruising the freeways. I believe this was supposed to replace the Shadow UAV but I heard it was canceled. VTOL so no launcher/runway required. With AI it could look for the most egregious offenders doing 90-100 MPH plus and track them back to the nest followed by a knock on the door by local LE

Definitely Little Rock area. ASP and Arkansas LE in general has some real gems and have for many years. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjEhKTnlMCOAxX04ckDHboYPR4QFnoECBoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kark.com%2Fnews%2Fworking4you%2Farkansas-state-police-settle-pit-maneuver-lawsuit-which-injured-pregnant-woman%2F&usg=AOvVaw2WALwAbj99a9jKiqfbIYE4&opi=89978449 Arkansas trooper retires after PIT maneuver on wrong car | thv11.com Most agencies don't want to fund air units because of the cost but if you ask me to avoid one multi-million-dollar lawsuit its paid for itself. Not to mention realizing you're never going to outrun an aircraft you have a substantial deterrent effect.

I never would have guessed 550. When he asked what I guessed I did a wild out of A$$ number of 3000 at Omaha. I think in hindsight he may have been referring to only those on duty in the actual strong points. I just looked and I found a list of 37 strong points for Omaha Beach so I could see 550 as not beyond the realm of possibility. I guess it would all depend on what area was defined for the duty area by Ambrose or anyone else. I think the weather had most in Normandy thinking not happening today. From the German perspective they picked a helluva time to minimum man. I'm sure Eisenhower knew the Germans were blissfully unaware thanks to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park and the fact if they suspected anything was afoot the airways would have been burning up with radio traffic. I did pose the hypothetical question to our guide of what would have happened had Hitler not invaded Russia and he saw no-way we could have breached the Atlantic Wall given how deep they could have stacked their forces. The Russian Front certainly sucked up a whole lot of resources to say the least. From a practical perspective it takes a bit to get to Normandy. We took a train from Paris to Bayeux where our guide met us early in the morning and he dropped us off at Carentan in the evening to catch the train back to Paris. As mentioned most tours shut down in winter so summer has its advantages. It was 28 degrees and the wind off the channel was brisk so if you go in the winter plan accordingly. Any questions message me and I'll do my best to answer. P.S. to Uhhello you are spot on about Pointe Du Hoc.

Tangentially related. On a trip to Europe in January I got to spend a day in Normandy. BTW a day alone is nowhere near long enough. Please put a visit on your bucket list. Standing on the beaches of Omaha and Utah to the Cemetary at Colleville-sur-Mer to the D-Day aid station in the 12th Century Church at Angoville-au-Plain that still has blood-stained pews 80 years later I felt like I hardly deserved to be in the presence of such greatness and sacrifice. Our guide (former British Military so he could discuss it from a military perspective) not surprisingly said not many tours come by in the cold winter months, but the silence afforded in his mind allowed a proper solemnity for the time and place. One fact he mentioned was that only 550 or so German troops were on duty at the time of the initial landings which dumfounded me because we all know the carnage inflicted on the American troops.

Copy all and valid point. I think hitting the regime leadership/IRGC at every turn keeps them looking over their shoulder. Right now, the regimes leadership feels free to focus on and terrorize their citizens. I can only imagine living in a country that can hang anyone at any time from a construction crane. Just for emphasis. NO American BOGs!! Been there done that. If Israel wants to do that (which you could argue they have by infiltration) that's their call.

I hope Trump/Israel hits them again and again. Calling it "Operation Service After the Sale" Once in a lifetime opportunity. Regime is over the top cracking down now and the regular citizens are certainly taking a hit.

Yep, not the best production but you get the idea. More of these systems on the PRC perimeter the more they deter the PRC from starting something in the first place IMHO. Add in AEW capable MQ-9s flying back and forth (among other assets) 24/7 in international airspace as a trip wire.

For the record I don't agree with most of the Army generated statements mentioned earlier. As I touched on in another thread these are what I see as the Army's biggest contribution to the Indo Pacific fight.