raimius

Heck, big AF generously provided 40 rounds during basic. That was the last time big AF told me to train with real bullets, and it was over 6 years ago. Pathetic, IMO.

Yes, I know. Unfortunately, many lower courts will say the Heller case defined the "core" of the 2nd Amendment right to be defense in the home. Then, they will determine that the law they are examining is not part of that "core right," and apply a lesser standard of review (often rational basis by another name). Thus, they can say they are following the Heller decision while still infringing on the right to keep and bear arms. If there was a stronger set of pro 2nd Amendment precedent at the SCOTUS level, we might not see such decisions. (Sadly, I'm not sure the current court is eager to strongly protect the 2nd Amendment, given the 5-4 nature of Heller and MacDonald.)

UFB There is really no SCOTUS precedent, but I hope this gets slapped down like it was the fist of God Himself.

What happens when the Republicans give in on the top rate hike, and get little in return. What is their next move to get the budget closer to the black?

At least they were knowledgeable enough to realize what it was and preserve it. I've seen more than one pic of valuable guns going to the smelter. :(

I wish people weren't actually stupid enough to suggest stuff like that as serious solutions to a rape case.

Well, it is the intel schoolhouse...I'm sure they'll need time to interpret it.

Can we do better with equal or lesser resources?

So, do they just make the rocks smaller?

Ah, yes, that age old tactic for women to have their intellectual arguments taken seriously...

It was First Shirt First Snow...apparently another tradition that will die in the light of safety/media attention.

Nice. Why the 45 degree safety?

Not to take anything away from them, as we all know they are doing the same thing right now, but that photo is from September.

Yeah, Phase 1, Day 1 is a good time to start (unless you show up early and have friends that know what stuff is current, and you've got nothing better to do.) Phase 1 is all academics and sims for 6 weeks. It goes from an almost "zero knowledge" point. So, you'll get systems, wx, VFR/IFR rules, etc. etc. That is really the time to get ahead with checklists (that single-page handout you use in the aircraft), local procedures, etc.

Boldface/Ops limits is the biggest thing. Memorize that so you can recall it on demand, and be able to write the page without stopping to think about it. When you get your pubs, start looking at the pattern ops and departure/arrival procedures. Those tend to suck (sts) a lot of SA from students. VFR/IFR weather limits and when to file for an alternate/what qualifies as an alternate are good to know, but that'll be several months into training.

Is that an LD10 on the side?

I don't know about the whole "spec-ops" bit, but they can certainly run a pump shotgun pretty fast.

Is there any really good data on the quality of officers from various commissioning sources? (Retention is a fine number, but it doesn't necessarily tell much about quality, IMO.) It would seem to me that no one liking the status quo would like the resulting headlines. I could see the results being either we pay far too much for academy grads or we under-prepare the majority of the officer corps. Would "big AF" really want either of those results as the CNN headline of the day? As far as the article goes, Fleming brings up interesting points, but I think his "solutions" tend to fall a bit short. Perhaps his perspective (academic) limits the military utility of his proposed solutions.

Looking at the airfield layout, I have to ask...how did that one happen?

IMO, the USAFA service dress looked better than what we have now. That said, I don't really feel like paying 200 bucks for a new service dress. So, let's just let sleeping dogs lie on that one.

Dang, another tragedy. News reports said one of the wounded tried to tackle the shooter. Kudos to him!

Having been at a unit that had a civilian in the squadron working a lot of the finance and personnel stuff for students, it ran a whole lot better than other places I've seen. I wasn't around for the old system, but having local experts seems like a much better idea than what we have now.

A 10+ day power outage would suck...and some people found that out on the east coast a couple weeks ago. For people that lose a job, a several month supply of food would definitely make their financial situation a bit better or extend how long they could look for work without going broke. I have a few supplies, but going from the gov't recommended 3 day kit to the Mormon recommended 6mo to a year takes a bit of work. (Not Mormon, but I won't fault their "ready for anything" idea.)

It's a tragedy, and my prayers and condolences go out to those affected by it. I know it hurts losing a friend to an active shooter. "I wish someone was there to stop him" crossed my mind pretty quickly, when I heard about a similar situation with someone I knew. I know some people don't like the scenario-playing that some people do after these events, but I think that it is useful for people who do carry. Not having a plan seldom leads to the best results. This case was particularly ugly for those responding. It would be bad enough as the armed good-guy in the room, but even worse trying to make it to the scene with hardly any info but bleeding people running out of the theater as the gunfire continues. I doubt I would have taken the shot, based on where I usually sit (upper middle), where a crowd would have to run to exit, lighting, adrenalin, tear gas, and incoming fire. I honestly doubt I could make accurate head-shots at 30ish yards, against a moving, shooting enemy, in a dark, gas filled room, with a crowd of people between me and him. I know my accuracy isn't that great with lots of adrenaline, and when my fundamentals break down, I shoot low. I'd be more likely to try to hustle the people next to me toward the exit than take a shot with a greater probability of shooting a movie-goer than disabling the shooter, unless they zeroed in on me. I'd feel pretty awful if I hit some random person and didn't stop the shooter. Perhaps, the option to close the distance without him noticing would exist, and that would improve the odds of a stop and decrease the risk to innocents quite a bit. It's a tactically awful situation. For those with good accuracy, and perhaps less distance and fewer innocents in the line of fire, maybe they should take the shot. It's kind of unlikely, anyway, as that cinema company tends to post "no carry" signs at all their theaters.

The kazoo army...