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Well, I made my opinion on this clear in another thread. But my thoughts are "bye Felicia" (to Germany). Of all the countries we partner with and I've worked with I've felt the Germans are the most abusive to our generosity. Here is an example: https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/harassed-by-german-tax-offices-more-us-military-families-face-financial-threats-1.638976

OK, I know this has to be someone from here... 🤣🤣🤣

10 years ago...or yesterday? You, my brothers, are still missed!

I think your frame is backwards. This isn't an election for things. It's an election against things.

I separated primarily due to diminishing "good" locations in which to continue my career. So yeah.

I currently teach at WIC and it’s not completely unheard of to have a FAIP go through while still Active Duty, but it’s definitely uncommon in fighter WICs. I can think of two Eagle guys that were AD FAIPs in the last few years that did it, as well as a couple of Viper guys. Much more common to see former FAIPs come through as ANG/Reservists. I wasn’t a FAIP and don’t have anything against them, but going FAIP to hopefully end up in your dream jet is damn risky. Hopefully it works out but there’s no guarantee and you could miss out on 4 years of real world experience and kick ass times for something that may not happen. At which point you’ll learn that whatever you fly is the best jet in the AF anyway but just be 4 years behind your peers in everything but saltiness. And how do you have any SA about what the drop will be as a UPT student? I just remember filling out a dream sheet and seeing what showed up on the screen at assignment night.

I spontaneously broke a hip reading that. 😆

"out of the mouth of babes"

I just turned 31 dude stfu lol

I was at HRT for thirty one years, I did do two years with the 1st SOS so technically 29. Twenty one on AD and ten as a contractor. I witnessed everything I liked about that place slowly fade away. I guess I'm one of the crazies that like Cannon better. I do live 35 miles from the base.

What's sad is that UPT used to be a filter in and of itself. It was a mistake to push that responsibility off on IFF so that UPT Wing Commanders could get themselves promoted based on their percentage of successful student graduation. Thus IFF became both a choke point and a single point of failure...and it sounds like IFF has succumbed to a similar cancer as UPT. Someone has to hold the line at some point. If they don't, then we're going to have smoking holes and flag-draped caskets. Oh, surprise, surprise.

They did okay, but IFF isn’t the filter that it was back in the day, which is good and bad. It’s not just a pointless haze, and it’s also not easy to remove students from training in general. I’ve heard from some guys who instructed there that they are already spending extra time working on tac form for many of the students. The problem with many of these students is they don’t have the repetitions of flights that hammer home and make purely flying second nature, which is what ultimately drives many of the problems on follow on trainings. We have students that can’t fly straight and level without it taking all their SA, releasing without clearance, not fencing out when directed, not maintaining SA on friendlies and flight members, almost overrunning a 13,500ft runway and taking out another jet because for some reason they are 90kts at the 1 board, unable to safely hold while correlating a target, flying off the HUD in safe escapes at night and ending up inverted almost into the ground, among many other issues. There has been some extremely close calls to losing jets and lives. We can’t have pilots that are constantly fighting the jet in a B-course level training, which as far as the hawg is concerned teaches the most basic form of employing the jet with mostly link assisted digital-defensive data flow (aka the students are only expected to provide vis lookout while updating their targets off my SPI, they are not allowed to be copying info most of the time while in B-course). Pilots definitely can’t be struggling to fly straight and level while writing 9-lines, plotting in the system, correlating targets, monitoring 4 freqs, maintaining friendly SA in relation to weapons effects, getting to weapons release parameters, and not hitting me, etc... Then add the low altitude environment where we are doing that at 100-300 agl. The AF is somewhat neglecting that fundamentals matter before adding on more advanced, SA draining tasks.

What a cool conversation. I wanna thank the black guy for participating. Really adds a lot. I think the biggest part missed is that racism is human nature. If you disagree, you probably haven't spent much time in other parts of the world. It's *everywhere.* Like so many other negative elements of human nature it takes tremendous effort to overcome. We're doing that, and in fact is working. America is, systemically, no longer racist. There are no laws, organizations, or functions that discriminate based solely on skin color. But like all major societal changes, the time required to get from point A to point B isn't measured in days, months, or years, it's measured in generations. And for better or worse, we probably need one or two more generations to die off before we truly get there. But step one is to fix the system, which we largely have. There's no justice for the past. The racists and their racist acts will not be avenged, they will fade into the past. I think that's why we have such incendiary rhetoric about the evils of modern America from the experienced activists. They *know* that America has gotten better, but they're worried that if they admit it, everyone will nod approvingly and move on, without holding the perpetrators to account. They want justice for what was done to them and their families, and it's getting between them and the mission. Understandable. My fear is that the intentional misrepresentation of the systemic reality by motivated activists in America will disenfranchise the youngest generation of white kids who have no experience or attachment to the racist past. They look at their lives and experiences and see nothing like what the older generation screams about. They look around and say "what else can I do?" And it's never enough. We have to remain vigilant in keeping racism at bay, but we also need to be patient and allow the species to evolve in thinking. It's not fair, it's just life. Until then, shame the racists into oblivion, and let their kids inherit a better country.

Back when I was active duty I used to have a similar perspective about police being overly-militarized. But then I went to the Guard, became a cop/detective, and the perspective changed. Its easy to look at social media and think police are out of control. Sure, every department has one or two tackleberries who love gear and guns. But everything our patrol guys carry on their person or in their vehicles has a distinct purpose. Police tools and tactics are inherently reactive to trends in greater society and the criminal element. AR-15s and similar high powered, semi-auto rifles have become more commonplace in American homes. Naturally, they have become more prevalent in barricaded gunman incidents, domestic violence incidents, active shooters, etc. A 5.56 round will go through a patrol car and a soft kevlar vest like a knife through butter. Last year one of my buddies was shot and killed by an armed fugitive despite wearing a kevlar vest. Just a few weeks ago a rookie in my area was shot and killed through a door on a domestic violence incident. I'm sorry if people get butt hurt seeing us wearing plate carriers while we respond to armed subjects...but I'd rather not go to any more funerals. I think there is alot of room for police in the US to be reformed. There are some legitimately good ideas floating around out there. But they aren't getting real traction because of the hyperbole and political agendas that benefit from casting all cops as wannabe soldiers or racist thugs.

The police absolutely raised the stakes, and we let them. Post 9-11, we went from peace officers to telling every cop they were the frontline in the war on terrorism here at home. We radically altered the viewpoint that they were here to serve the public and turned them into a force that is constantly seeking out potential life-threatening enemies. And turns out if you roll into every situation expecting to face an armed and motivated enemy, you become much more trigger happy. I don't fully blame the cops, although their training programs certainly bear some of the blame. We did this to ourselves by teaching cops that putting the odds in their favor to the max extent possible overruled all other considerations, including the rights of the citizens they are policing.

Haha

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Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock over all the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around the table looking victorious.

WTF does it matter how the police are dressed? I’m all for a good peaceful protest but the simple fact is, the far left cannot stop at that. They’ll push things further and further until they get a reaction. No problem with police in tactical gear, don’t give a foook the design. And I laugh when Antifa is smacked down. I’m a softcore libertarian but when people go too far (usually the left) I expect the taxpayer funded gov’t to lay the smack down to protect the average citizen. I thought maybe I’d vote for the libertarian this election like I did in 16....now I’m firmly in the Trump camp. The progressive left must be stopped. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Quit seeking Utopia 1 - The War on Drugs is really the Battle with Dangerous Drugs as Part of the War on Crime. It will never be over because you can never stop fighting a mortal enemy that you can never kill. Crime, criminals, dangerous and illegal behavior and substances will always be with us. Because they come from the inherent flaws in every person and the people yet to be. It's tiring and draining but it must always be fought. Can we pick our battles and fight better? Sure, but ending the Battle/War is not an option, it's just a fact of life. You never get a break from history. 2 - Wars in Shitholes. Sometimes necessary (not often though), should be fought mercilessly (ends faster, achieves feasible end state usually and deters other a-holes thus preventing other wars) against our actual foes in said shithole. Due care should be taken to spare the innocent and deliver aid to those we can help but they are secondary to killing our foes and are often a distraction and enticement to other goals that do not further the interests of the United States. Get in, get done with your mission(s) and get the Hell out. We can't save the world, make people become like us or think that they will see things our way if we just try harder We can win fights, defend/assert our interests and constructively use our other instruments. Be cautious but not too cautious. 3 - Immigration. It's like salt, just a little bit makes the food better too much ruins it. Greater numbers? No, we have been taking in enormous amounts of immigrants the last 30+ years and we need to take a break, assimilate, tighten our labor market and not believe the delusion that we have magic soil and a values system that overpowers the negative parts of other cultures of people who have been migrating to the US of late and encouraged to retain said cultures and that assimilating is wrong. With the devastation that the COVID virus and subsequent economic shutdowns have caused, adding more workers to the labor market here will not improve the situation for the working, middle or professional classes but it will MASSIVELY help the Investor/Corporate class who will only have more workers competing for a pool of jobs that does not expand proportionately to growth in workers. Open borders? Nope. The cost of open borders is the dignity and living standards of your working, middle and now professional classes. I don't care what bullshit some pie in the sky academic like Bryan Caplan says will happen and how wonderful it will be. "They" fucked up before, they told us how wonderful NAFTA would be and would not hollow out the core of manufacturing in the US, "they" told us that admitting China to the WTO and giving MFN trading status would eventually cause political and cultural change as they economically grew, still waiting for that, etc.... just two examples of how "they" either don't have a fucking clue about how the world works (people lie, cheat and steal and you must interact with them based on those facts) or they don't care what happens to the masses and are just willing to sell them down the river. Emotional I know, but seeing people push an idea that they themselves will never experience the negative ramifications of while then chiding people without money or privilege about how they just need to get over it makes my blood boil. People lie, cheat and steal; they always will act accordingly.

1. Legalize every drug? Most drugs are not safe. The FDA regulates them and they become less potent and sold in restrictive quantities and now those who have become dependant on them find other ways to get them. The cartels still exist to meet the "needs" of these people. Drugs are not illegal because they are some innocent taboo thing. They are illegal because they are dangerous and destroy lives. 2. Yep, agree with you there. 3. I'm sure there are ways to speed up the immigration process as it is currently ridiculously slow. Amnesty will only serve to encourage illegal immigration in the future. One of the biggest things that pisses me off is when I see immigrants complaining about America or their "rights" when they are here illegally while waving another country's flag. We need to get back to assimilation and not making our country into 100 other countries. If people want to come here, they need to understand the "why" behind their desire, and understand that America is awesome because it is the opposite of most places people come from, not the same.

As said above, odds are RBG will retire her gavel in the next 4 years, perhaps others too. My views are more aligned with Kavanaugh/Gorsuch than with so many appointments before them. I prefer legislation that originates in the legislature, not the courtroom. I appreciate that Kavanaugh and Gorsuch anger both sides by ruling according to the law instead of predictably aligning with the party that had them appointed. As much as the media likes to point out Trump’s flaws, those two appointments were outstanding.

Pay back for Bork and what they did to Thomas. The hypocritical Democratic party can eat a bag of flaming dog shit for what they've done to decent and honorable men all while protecting gigantic POS's like Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton. if a vacancy comes up, they should return the favor for what they did to Kavanaugh and not have even have hearings which are not constitutionally required, just a vote in the Senate.

The Massif elements is a great jacket. A warm enough shell, in addition to some layering, for cold days and light enough to be good for the borderline jacket days. I’ve used it 0-50 deg with good results across the spectrum (layers matter obviously in the cold temps). You’ll be sweating your ass off in 40+ if you’re working hard (hiking with a pack, etc.)

Read Bacevich before but do not actively follow and have read several MLK speeches/letters, not claiming in anyway to be an authority on either men or their work but don't see the problem (perhaps I'm assuming you think I was being passive/aggressive/asshole-ish) in posting it as an example of the next great frontier likely to come from the radicalized left. Not saying Bacevich is the vanguard of that but he is adding his voice to a chorus I don't think he fully appreciates what they are really singing... His wiki is worth a read and I know who he is, not a career academic who never did anything other than pontificate about the theoretical, never sacrificed anything and petulantly judgmental of others who have fought, lost and sacrificed for others. I respect him but disagree with him. Thoughts on the argument(s) laid out in the piece? In reference to MLK's original point on the trifecta of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism being sins the USA is uniquely guilty of and to be expunged if we are to fulfill our destiny? That these are interconnected cultural pathological tendencies that are we suffer unduly more than others from? Quite simply no,. He is confusing national policies with the millions of choices of individuals on what they wish to do with their wealth, doesn't like the fact that most people are not interested in spending an inordinate amount of money on others and chooses to chide them for it in a sly manner by impugning their nation/culture/country is uniquely worse than others, despite about a metric shit of ton of reality to the contrary. Lecturing others on why they should spend their money on others and deny themselves the fruits of their labor, beyond a reasonable point, is ridiculous. It is not his or King's place to berate Americans that they have a responsibility beyond what their personal conscience dictates. If Bacevich were lecturing all other citizens of the developed and rich world, he might have a leg to stand on in this point, but he doesn't so until I see him publish a world wide call to global charity outreach for all, I and other free Americans will do what we think is right and what is legally required with our money. He confuses historical cultural problems that others now long dead created as the sin of the living now and berates them because they live their lives in recognition of the consequences now of those damn mistakes. Certain communities of people have higher rates of anti-social behavior not because they are biologically predisposed to it but because people long dead now made choices that set them up in a worse starting position when we all start the game of life. I believe we can deliver additional resources to those communities in ways that are not punitive to others and generate the least amount of resentment. Decrying Americans as especially racist because they see with eyes the problems our society has and sometimes make reasonable choices based on that, sometimes they could make better choices than they do and rarely they make wrong choices based on that is unfairly high bar. Again, if he applies this judgement to the other developed and wealthy countries, we can have a discussion but singling us out as uniquely bad is wrong, unacceptable and misses on many levels. Militarism, NOT an American sin and if you like the Liberal International Order, he had better come to peace with the fact that the world is not exactly a safe place. Lots of bad people have military power and are willing to use it in ways we and other nations that ascribe to a liberal enlightenment set of values would not. Say what you will, but we are likely the most benign global hegemonic power to date. It's not that we're so bad, it's that the world is so violent. Thankfully it is getting less so compared to previous decades and we can certainly improve the way we and the other usual suspects deter aggression, secure the global commons, promote trade and communication, etc... but it is necessary if we want to be the ones who set up the game, enforce basic rules and try to keep it fair. From what I've seen of the other contenders for our position, the world better grow a brain and help us keep it together, I doubt very seriously they would like it if the other guy takes the helm. That's it, that's all I got. Bracevich and King have a point, just not an argument to judge ourselves so harshly as they opine. America is good, Western Civilization is awesome, the alternatives to free markets and individual freedom/choice are awful.

That's not due to healthcare costs, its due to personal choice. I'll be for universal healthcare when everyone has to take a fitness test and do a body comp test.

I'll take you at good faith and yes my mind is made up about the Woke Movement. I would call them citizens of the same country but not fellows nor do I have any connection to them other than that. They believe in things anti-thetical to me, my beliefs and values. There is no common ground and we can not be friends. That does not mean we are enemies necessarily and mea culpa for that emotional language used above but we should keep our distance from each other. Not everything in life is meant to work out, some differences are not soluble and at least to my mind, there is a line between some groups of people that neither side can cross so that's just it. I'm not trying to start shit with you but I think your idea of de-escalation is cowering before them, letting them berate you, scream at you, dominate you, accuse you and your recent ancestors of being the cause of everything wrong for some people in this world and that they as the new moral arbiters of our society redistribute your wealth (not theirs btw) and restrict your freedoms and teach your children to despise you, your heritage and ultimately themselves. That's a somewhat f'd up way to say what I feel/think while trying not to insult you, to seriously discuss with you but I can't describe it any other way. The McCloskeys like Trump are not perfect and there is likely some room for critique in their response but IMO not for the response. How are the mistakes they may or may not have made in handling their weapons worse than what these goddamn animals have been doing setting fires, throwing bricks, looting, tearing down statues with no regard and vandalizing, jumping on cars and assaulting persons not down with struggle or sufficiently enough. I know that stealing TVs and liquor is the preferred technique to fighting systemic racism so we'll just overlook that but do you not find any fault with those people who were instigating the situation on that private street and private property? Like you I'm sad too that people in my country otherize me, excuse behavior I think they know is wrong and have lost the ability to hold people to account, even if they were dealt a shitty hand in life at the start, opportunities extended to them and a recognition of past mistakes. They still have agency though, they still have a choice. I can have a discussion about how to assist others so that to the maximum realistically possible we can give everyone a good start in life but I'm not gonna ever accept that it is all corrupt and evil from the roots up as they say now. If that is their position which it appears to be then we need to seriously discuss a new form of the United States, what we have now can not work. This is different than 1968, we may be like two train cars that just decoupled and drifting close for a short time before we just drift apart inexorably.