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Didn't realize Iran was employing balloons.

Any FedEX guys know when the iPad (10) lanyards are getting ordered? I’d like one.

Re-sharing these gems:

Man, this idiot doesn’t know crap!

*Promote ahead of peers*

He is there because WEF, Blackrock and Vanguard want him in that chair.

Bottom line, those MudHen drivers went to bed with a smile on their face, knowing they did a great job. Plus they garnered the admiration and Thanks of another nation. They will be honored in the future. Nice Job!

Stolen

Honestly it was a ballsy move by Iran, if they had killed any US with the TBM strikes on IZ I think things would look different right now. The mood was lethal. When we had zero casualties (granted many folks had TBI) the decision was made to stand down. It could have easily gone the other way. Fun side note: since they destroyed our hangar with TBMs I used the event to clean up 5 years of property book shenanigans. Seriously, it was very beneficial. For anyone reading this: if your stuff ever gets destroyed by the enemy, seize the opportunity to do your unit a solid.

Okay, I've been there, done that although it was a while ago in 1994. Got hosed by what passed for DEI back in the day but that's another story. So, got hosed as the A-10 Division Chief of Stan/Eval for the Wing and my AF career is pretty much over. Not much I can do to fix that. "Should I stay or should I go now..." was an appropriate song lyric and I chose to go. However, I wasn't prepared to go with no airline apps but airlines weren't hiring, no Guard/Reserve contacts, nothing. So, I had to get those done before I cut the income lifeline and I ended up sticking around for about a year and a half before I separated from Active Duty and left with a $52K separation bonus. Got a GS-13 job as an IP at Barksdale but I was looking at the job as a place holder until I could get hired at an airline. I did get promoted to Major. After 2 years, I got hired by American so I switched to the traditional Reservist role. Somewhere in there I hung up the G-suit and got a staff job at 10AF. Got promoted to Lt. Col. I retired with 28 years total service although I wanted to retire earlier but 9/11, a faux bankruptcy, age 65 retirement, and a real bankruptcy made me not want to give up that lifeline until I had to. I'm currently paying back the $52K. As much as getting passed over was a huge insult, I think I'm better off for it. I wasn't worried about the next promotion, I wasn't worried about the next school, and I wasn't worried about the next job. I flew T-38s and A-10s for 21 years. I got into a more lucrative career and approaching my airline retirement, I have financial stability I'd never thought I'd see. That $52K that I'm paying back was basically a 30 year interest free loan for a house now approaching $1M in value. The military retirement also includes medical which helps. So, you have skills that are marketable and there are companies out there that value them. Even after getting hosed for promotion, I did do Air War College, I did an Electronic Warfare School and a few other odds and ends. Making yourself more valuable is always a good idea and don't burn bridges that you might need to cross back over. Your life isn't over but it is going down a different path than planned. Best of luck to you!

My favorite output from that was the crater directly where the hangar with gym in a box was with a quote “I told you to stop dropping the weights!”

FIFY

Ballsy move Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Multiple visits shows the unit you are interested. We never hired anyone that we hadn’t seen stop by a few times. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

I am in charge of both, thanks 😃 Do you seriously think that Democrats are not in the military or in other positions of authority? New flash, people of all political stripes serve and do so well. My politics has little to do with my service in uniform. A fellow pilot on my team is a HUGE Trump fan and we joke about it all the time, but we work great together. He gives me shit, I give him shit, we fly the mission, etc. We'll be checking different boxes on election day 2024, but pretty much every other day we're fully aligned on killing our nation's enemies and protecting it's friends & interests with airpower. If that seems weird or foreign to you, I in turn hope that you are retired. TYFYS.

Call my accounts manager…. Tell him to put half of it in Raytheon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Only counts if this is how it was done

It counts for nothing

You old bastards know if you decide you want to add something to your post, you can just edit the post, instead of making 6-9 in a row...? FFS.

Don't worry, they learn how to read once they hit elementary school.

Nothing Uncle Bosey's nephew can't handle.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a year and a half of rushing is just getting started. I know it seems like an eternity, while in your 20’s, but if you’re a gov employee, as you stated, then you certainly should understand the glacial pace the system moves in. Have you interviewed anywhere more than once? You do realize that guard units typically select pilots only once per year? So in a year and a half you haven’t even been through the cycle more than once. Other than that, the advice offered to all the others on similar threads still holds true: -Widen your net (Heavies, Reserves, USAF, USN, USMC) -Enlist in the unit -Practice your interview skills -Get more flt time -Polish up your resume -Network

Another area we disagree. The longer we wait, the weaker we will be for the actual fight. As our weak governance racks up increasingly absurd debt, the pressure to divert military spending to welfare programs will only grow. The longer we wait, the fewer war fighting experts we will have coupled with less and less modern military equipment to fight with. I still think we win based on geography and natural resources, but it'll cost more lives and treasure to wait. Whether or not there is a nuclear exchange, which is not nearly as certain as you propose, does not change the calculus. Will we be better capable of fighting Russia today, or after another 10-20 years of peaceful decline? I'll be honest. I don't care about you. Or me. I want what is best for my kids. I am not interested in adding WWIII to the list of hardships we are pushing off to the future. Appeasement does not work. History is clear on this point, and that's exactly what you are proposing.

I’ll answer: We let it fall. We have no treaty obligations, and although I’m opposed to Russian aggression I do not believe WW3 is the best option for our interests. If they start some shit with a NATO ally then fights on.

Awards/medals are embarrassing compared to the days of old. Even bronze stars and to some extent, DFCs, are handed out for simple baseline-doing-your-job. Everyone gets a trophy for just breathing and doing average shit. Ridiculous.

During my sentence...I mean tour... As an ALO with an armor battalion, I was having a conversation with one off the air defense guys and he proudly stated that the AD folks could visually ID 67% of all aircraft. I guess the other 33% are screwed.

Back on the personal finance front... Fidelity will allow SPAXX as your sweep account in Cash Management Accounts (CMA) starting around June 15. IMO this makes CMAs a no brainer. No need to mess with separate online savings accounts to get higher rates on your cash. I know this took me a while to wrap my head around and I wish somebody had broken it down for me earlier, so for those that don't habla CMA, here's the skinny... CMAs are brokerage accounts that operate "like" checking accounts. Debit cards, ATMs, fee reimbursement, checks, online bill pay, direct deposit, etc. Your cash balances by default are kept at various banks around the country. You can see which banks, but there's no reason to care. You get FDIC protection, ~2.7%* interest, and manage your cash centrally via Fidelity. If you elect to keep your cash in SPAXX, you give up FDIC coverage, but you can get ~5%* on your cash balances. Vanguard just started "Cash Plus" accounts to compete. I'm sure they'll be great accounts, but I moved from Vanguard because (IMO) their service starting slipping around 2020 and became untenable. Bottom line, especially for the young dudes: Look beyond USAA for your banking needs. With some work, you'll be very wealthy one day - learn to manage it well now. *all rates are as of 4/15/24

This is completely wrong. I work SIMCERT stuff on staff. AMC self-certifies its sims to level C+/D “equivalency” (AMC has its dets go to the FAA course) but none of it is FAA certified. The time counts for nothing and do not put it on your apps.

Another good example of how a bullshit deployment can turn on a dime. Good work strike bros. And awesome work by all the maintainers getting it done under very hairy circumstances.

USAF shot down 70....repeat 70 drones last night. How many drone aces in the strike eagle community today?

Not to be a simpleton, but do they ask? In the past hasn’t really been their thing.

I will buy Ken a drink wherever I meet him for the rest of my life 😂🤣

Vance 24-10 added to our board at work.

I’m going to caveat this by saying that I am retired and can’t speak to the current internal climate of nsplayer’s wing. But I will say that I have known the WG/CC and Command Chief for a long time and consider them very close friends. They are 2 of the most fair individuals I have ever served with. When the WG/CC was a SQ/CC, I was his DO. One of the best commanders I ever worked for. He always asked my opinion or for my advice. He was well informed and a great aviator, but more so , he was a great person. I am sure he addresses the social issues but I would be very surprised if they drive his decisions. I would say the very same thing about the Command Chief. That wing is in great hands. Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

One other thing I would add is, if you’ve only been at it for a year and a half. Don’t lose hope, a lot of guys have been rushing and applying to unit for well over 2-3 years. This is a exercise of perseverance. It took me about 1.5-2 years to get hired. If this is something you truly want to do keep at it and keep rushing units and showing face (like others in this thread have mentioned)

I don't get it. That's a song about a standard @Biff_T and/or F-15 pilot's standard weekend. Or just another day in Thailand.

It'll be an interesting and tough call for Israel. Do they gracefully accept the help they received and use the short term international good will to free up a hand to do more damage to Hamas or do they strike back at Iran in a significant and public way to show they won't accept this type of thing? Striking back may be popular and gratifying in Israel but might end up doing more harm than good in the long run. My bet is nothing happens for a while and then some Iranian leader has 'an accident' or one of Iran's centrifuge facilities suffers a mysterious explosion. Something that everyone knows was Israel but no one is really able or willing to prove thus decreasing the chance of escalation while showing that they won't sit by while a country launches a horde at them.

Recently finished the whole series right up thru Bear and the Dragon

I think most of us spent time in special ed. Lot's of arts and crafts time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/13/iran-israel-drone-missile-attack/ If we need to launch a "massive drone attack" against IRGC-affilated bad dudes in response, I volunteer to take flight lead. I know a ton of good dudes & dudettes who can fill out the strike package 🇺🇸

Wait… what? It’s one thing to joke about bangin’ his Mom, but that’s AGGRESSIVELY establishing dominance! 😳

You remember where 1200+ Israelis were literally raped, tortured and murdered? Sorry but the hunger of the supportive population does not trump the security of the attacked population. Anything else would be an abdication of responsibility to the Israeli people. And a friendly fire accident is another regular feature of war. Sucks. We sure had our fair share. Unless you are arguing that the WCK convoy was intentional, then just saying "do better" is horseshit. Hamas could do better too. Everyone could do better. Lets make this useful and say how many dead Israeli soldiers are a fair exchange for how many dead Palestinian "civilians." Until then it's just sideline commentary. The Palestinians have a government, that's who should be worried about their hunger and safety. Instead it is up to Israel to move hundreds of thousands of people who cheered the rape and torture of their wives and daughters so the terrorist psychopaths they are protecting can be hunted and killed. But sure. Do better. Funny how the standard is always "do better" up to and past the point that the objective can no longer be accomplished. And how many of those were sheltered over or around the many varieties of Islamic militants? Subtract those. How many were storming the border fences or checkpoints? Subtract those. How many were civilians killed as the primary target, not collateral damage in response to direct attacks on Israel? That's the more relevant number. Once again, do you believe we were wrong for Hiroshima? Dresden? Because we did blockade Japanese oil, and most of Europe made Germany into a pariah state after WWI. Holistically is a cop-out. There is a line between geopolitical competition and outright acts of war. Hamas, not Israel, started this war, to the cheering of their poor, hungry population. It is Israel's responsibility to it's people to end the threat. When Israel starts raping Palestinians, bombing apartments, or dumping humanitarian aid into the sea to "make a point," then we will have the beginning of a basic equivalence. They are humans with free will. Yes, pawns. Yes exploited. So too was every population in history that eventually found their way to peace and freedom. And they elected Hamas in 2006. Hamas has since taken total control, but since when did Americans decide that populations are no longer responsible for their destiny? Once again, how many Israelis should die to save the lives of people who want Jewish blood in the streets more than they want their children to eat or survive? Americans and Westerners have a really tough time understanding religious fanaticism. When death is a reward for killing your enemies, you can't freedom and compassion your way to changing hearts and minds. How we haven't learned this after the last 20 years is mystifying.

No shit there I was immediately following the Soleimani strike when we were expecting a response and the direction for response to the contingency planners from above was “fuck Iran up”. I’m not kidding.