fire4effect

Can't argue that. Of course I may or may not have drunk posted in the past or drunk dialed an ex at some point in my life🤨

Zelensky agrees to negotiate with Russia; Putin puts nuclear forces on alert (msn.com) Sounds like Putin wants an "injury timeout" to slow the tempo and look like he's looking for a peaceful solution. Don't trust him at all.

We need a breathalyzer interlock for keyboards on Base Ops. Friends don't let friends drink and post. Though it's probably better than drunk dialing an ex.

Fundamental lessons. Russian invasion runs into stiff resistance, supply lines are a 'definite vulnerability,' US officials say - CNNPolitics

As much as I would like too the Russian people will have to handle this one in house. Even that has some risk.

The lessons learned from this on combined arms operations will be staggering. So many systems/TTPs tested in a real world combat environment. For instance I'll be interested in how many aerial kills were A-A vs surface based systems. Clearly more lessons on preventing fratricide. As for the Javelin I can't think of a more realistic test than against a large, massed armored force. Plenty of subjects to write on for Air War College and Command and General Staff College for years to come. Now my biggest fear is Putin seeing himself getting bogged down in a slog in Ukraine and the protests really start getting going back in Russia and he starts becoming unhinged at the thought of losing his grip on power. If Hitler in April 1945 had access to the nuclear button what would have happened? I sure hope he isn't that crazy.

Germans give great helmet. Sorry just too easy to pass up.

Hired by a contractor for 300k a year for Red Flag

Like most reports in wartime you can take it with a grain of salt but I hope they are inflicting real pain on the Russians https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwilgv3l0Zj2AhUrITQIHZN2AycQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fukraine-says-50-russian-troops-killed-four-tanks-destroyed-2022-02-24%2F&usg=AOvVaw1L0qDQ_2L2By7tCCChA5oh

Gas, beer, lottery tickets and Slim Jims in one stop. (My redneck showing through) What a great country. 😁 A long time ago I did a paper on the Battle of the Bulge and how logistics really defined the battle. The Allies advance slowed to a crawl largely because the supply line was so overextended. A closer port like Antwerp was needed as the Allies knew to get supplies forward more efficiently and Hitler and his staff certainly knew it since that was their ultimate objective. I recall a German Officer interviewed after the war said they actually planned to use captured American fuel and came close to doing so. Had they done so they would have made the Meuse River within a day or two. Crazy thing is all of us (civilian and military) are only as combat effective as our fuel supply. Our tanker fleet is anything but stealthy and as I've mentioned in the past I see that as a big vulnerability. I certainly don't pretend to have a solution. I will say one thing the big element of surprise just isn't what it was in the 1940s. Pearl Harbor I don't see happening because the Japanese Fleet would've been tracked from the time they left port. In Ukraine commercial imagery is more readily available than ever and I wouldn't be shocked if our side is providing a little extra help too. The only thing missing is some Ukranian teenager developing an app modeled on the DUI checkpoint apps here to report the location of Russian Troops/Vehicles in real time.

Honestly, I hope the Ukranians have some who hunker down and let the heavy stuff pass and make sure their mission in life is to kill these and anything like them.

I know since the beginning of armored warfare doctrine says that the best way to kill a tank or other armored vehicle for that matter is a tank. Now I'm leaning toward a Javelin as Ukraine's way of inflicting max pain on Russian armor. I hope they have a bunch of them "behind every blade of grass"

When in doubt consult your pubs:)

To very loosely paraphrase Nicholas Cage in Con-Air "In any other year that would be strange"

What's the typical turn time for water drops? I realize it depends on the distance to/from the fire but what's normal?

I can't imagine the structural inspections required to make sure these things stay airworthy.

This sure sounds a lot like Europe in the late 30s. That said I would venture to say being a much bigger interconnected global economy today has helped keep some past conflicts from getting completely out of hand. The price everyone on all sides would pay would be high. Not to mention the nuclear deterrent. Unfortunately the fact this is being debated to the extent it is shows how unpredictable the situation is and how a miscalculation by either side could cause it to spiral out of control.

My guess is Court Martial.

I've mentioned this before. I don't know I but have the conversation with my brother-in-law (wife's brother) frequently about a friend of his who's a multimillionaire who never married and never had children. We decided the guy's a genius. Brother-in-law is on his 3rd wife and I admit we definitely don't have this conversation with either spouse around. 😁

Taliban release decree saying women must consent to marriage (msn.com) The most powerful weapon in the world is definitely Ben Franklin. We'll see if actions march words.

Now that's funny. Especially since they're supposedly sitting on a huge lithium deposit. If they would quit worrying about what the women are wearing and who's rocking to the 80s hits they might actually be able to exploit their natural resources. We'll see if China can make a go of it.

Taking a play from North Korea. Population is starving but they can put together a military parade to appear all is well. I'm surprised they can muster the fuel at this point.

I skimmed over it and it seems like a good read. Interestingly I recall there was a brand new 10 story hospital built by the Chinese some years back in Kabul not far from the Ministry of Education that was standing empty because there was no way to equip or staff it. I have no idea if it was a case of "if you build it they will come" and if it ever was put into service. Seems like more than a few projects fell into this category.

The Taliban is begging for Afghanistan's frozen money to be released as the country's economy spirals into crisis (msn.com) Actually governing is a real bitch isn't it. Hungry desperate people tend to get surly at the people in charge. I would say very little of the money they're discussing was provided by Afghanistan versus foreign donations anyway. I would tell the Taliban lets see some concrete action on human rights. NOW. By the way here's our list of wanted criminals including those who committed atrocities against our troops and our Afghan partners. Certainly not all the money at once and you will show an accounting of where it goes. If we even smell a hint of diversion to fund terrorism or corruption the gravy train stops. We have the watch AND the time now. This isn't the 90s anymore.

Let me guess. The MECs you were pulling were overwhelmingly ones overhauled at AF Depot while the most reliable ones were overhauled by the OEM. 🤨