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Because as we played at ACE for the past decade and laughed as Russia got hundreds of strategic assets destroyed by $100 UAVs it turns out that no one learned shit. This is quite literally our version of a "3 day special military operation." Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to appoint a part timer Major to lead the dod.

Seems like the Republicans in the Legislature also aren't happy with how it's going and/or the "objectives" we've been told. (https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/25/politics/iran-war-gop-lawmakers-trump-administration-briefing) Seems like an overall lack of planning for second and third order effects. Most here spent at least 20 years of GWOT, we know people die, things get broken, and the enemy gets a say. The lack of strategic preparation is...concerning. The President declaring victory already...concerning. The Sec Def crashing out at journalists because they're asking hard questions and not writing propaganda...concerning. But you wanna rah rah around the flag pole? You're in the minority (unless your MAGA) on this "limited operation" going into its second month.

I have no desire to be lumped in with ppl like dayman, but I'm getting concerned we didnt adequately prepare for contingencies (the straight being closed comes to mind). Not having a valid strategy and thought out plans for contingencies to accomplish an actual objective is my concern, and its not without reason based on the last 20 years. Holding judgement and trying to give the benefit of the doubt though.

Why does anyone think this is some sort of surprise. Seriously I sometimes wonder if some of you really aren't just random civilians that found this forum. Or has the military gotten so pathetic that the members have forgotten exactly how a war works? People die. Things get blown up. Planes crash and economies get hit. Iran needed to be dealt with. It was never going to be easier to deal with them than shortly after they got their dick kicked in following October 7th. So we could have waited like a lot of you seem to wish we had, and lost more planes in people when we inevitably had to clean up this mess. Or we could just done it now. I'm glad we're doing it now. I would rather not wait until we rationalize ourselves into irrelevance like Europe has.

come on now...who could've possibly guessed Iran would attack ships in the Hormuz?! 😂

Because our Dear Leader stepped in it without either realizing the whole problem set or ignored it and did it anyway.

Recent satellite images show the strait of Hormuz isn’t straight at all.

You are looking in the wrong place, Tomahawk is not the best game in town because they are old, outdated and EXPENSIVE ($2.5M-3.5M each). USAF in particular has shifted it's standoff munitions strategy and is finally putting their money where their mouth is. Multiple wargames focused on China showed the U.S> needs roughly 10X our current stocks to defeat/deter China They have three phase approach with a new class of "affordable, low-cost munitions”: the Extended Range Attack Munition, or ERAM, and two variants of the Family of Affordable Mass Munitions (FAMM). ERAM entered production just 14 months after the first contract was awarded. There are currently eight companies in flight test on the Low Cost Cruise Missile (LCCM), with Leidos (Black Arrow) and Anduril (Barracuda), leading the fight. LCCMs have a target price of $100kl-$200K thanks to 3D Printing. Lockheed Martin entered the fight late but they are making progress. The FAMM program was fully funded by the Big Beautiful Bill with $650M to acquire 3000 munitions. Audndril's approach is a family of cheap missiles. Smaller Barracuda M100 is slightly bigger than a Hellfire, can be launched by an Apache and has a range of 85NM. The M250 is about the same size as an AMRAAM and has a range of 200NM. The M500 has a range of 500NM with a 100lb warhead...basically a VERY cheap JASSM-ER. Black Arrow has entered its second year of flight test completing a CRADA with AFSOC which has successful launched multiple missiles out of an AC-130J. They can fit 90 in an MC-130J and the AFSOC commander has openly talked about launching them from the SkyRaider II. The idea is focused on China but has applications for other theaters. A flight of four Skyraiders can pop up from a dirt strip 500 miles away, launch 40 Black Arrows from an attack vector no one saw coming and disappear before the munitions even hit. A flight of four MC-130s can flood the straights with hundreds of cheap missiles to counter a threat. Finally changing dogmatic thinking, even if it was cost that forced them to do it. Aundril is well into flight test as well, this video is over a year old.

Ironic coming from a civilian. War is an extension of politics and diplomacy. We all understand that killing people and breaking things is the business. But without a clear strategy, the military doesn’t accomplish anything. In some cases, it’s counterproductive to our grand strategy (Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam).

appreciate the compliment, you didn't have to say that 🫂

I've gotten into the habit of twisting my entire body towards the window and looking as far back over the wing as I can when visually clearing. I find that the physical movement makes the action take approximately 2 to 3 seconds as opposed to maybe half a second just quickly turning my head in that direction and back. Makes it a lot harder to "pencil whip" the act and miss something because my mind is on another task. Basically the same idea as pointing to or physically touching the altitude window when confirming an altitude clearance. Makes it a lot harder to miss any errors when you add an exaggerated physical component.