waveshaper

"Praying for him and his family" Here's some info from Friday - via my local grapevine/I live in Mary Esther (take with a serious grain of salt but it does sound plausible): "His emergency parachute somehow accidentally deployed while he was standing near the aircraft ramp. He was then pulled out of the plane and possibly injured in the process. After he landed in the water he was seen alive and looked to be treading water. They are trained to immediately remove their gear so not to impede swimming or treading water. His gear was recovered by search teams, but he has not been found. He has 2 children."

Update on this particular piece of the U.S. Withdraw From Syria Policy/Puzzle (When/Status = TBD); IMHO, we will probably not use Incirlik or Guam this round. Most likely these Kurd refugees will fly directly from Iraqi Kurdistan to the USA and I wouldn't be surprised if Erbil is used as the main airport hub for the movement of these folks. "Bill introduced to give special immigrant visas to Kurds who helped US in Syria:" https://thehill.com/policy/defense/468046-dem-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-give-kurds-who-helped-us-in-syria-special "A Democratic congressman, with support from a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, has introduced a bill to provide special immigrant visas to Syrian Kurds who partnered with the United States in the fight against ISIS." "The bill would give special immigrant status to Kurds and other Syrians who partnered with the U.S. government in Syria, as well as their spouses and children. It would authorize 4,000 special immigrant visas for qualifying Syrians per year."

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Killed or Captured in US Raid in Syria/Northwestern Idlib Province (Take with a grain of salt);

"Groundhog Day" and I have absolutely no clue what the answer is to this Turk/Kurd dilemma. Turks invading Kurdish Turf (Syria/Iraq)/US Caught in the Middle/Permanent Turkish Bases on Kurdish Turf (Syria- see west of the Euphrates River/Iraqi Kurdistan to many to count)/Safe Zones/Safe Corridors/ etc, etc - has been going on for decades. I imagine this is what Northeast Syria will look like in a few years (some of these Turkish bases have been in Iraqi Kurdistan for decades); https://iraq.liveuamap.com/en/2018/13-february-there-are-14-turkish-military-bases-and-4-turkish Short history on some of this crap; Here's a few examples of the large scale operations/invasions the Turks have conducted in Iraq and Syria since 1991 (Note; there's to many small Turkish operations/incursions/etc to count, basically they have been ongoing almost continuously since 1984); 1. Operation "Shit" Sandwich; 1992/US Forces were on the ground in Iraqi Kurdistan. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-09-mn-162-story.html 2. Operation Steel; 1995/US Forces were on the ground in Iraqi Kurdistan. 35,000 Turkish troops invaded Northern Iraq. 3. Operation Hammer; 1997/No US Forces were on the ground because Clinton pulled US Forces out of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1996 (Note; this was the largest Turkish invasion of Iraqi turf since the Ottoman Turks invaded Iraq in 1533); Up to 50,000 Turkish Forces invaded Northern Iraq. 4. Operation Dawn; 1997/No US Forces on the ground; 15,000 Turkish Forces invaded Northern Iraq. 5. Operation Sun; 2007/8 - US Forces on the ground in Northern Iraq; Lots of Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Northern Iraq followed by lots more airstrike in 2008 and a Cross-Border invasion by 10,000 Turkish Armed Forces into Northern Iraq. 6. 2011; US Forces were still in Northern Iraq at this time but preparing to withdraw; Lots of Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Northern Iraq. The first six days of air raids, the Turkish Air Force attacked 132 PKK targets in northern Iraq which hit 73 shelters, eight stores and nine anti-aircraft positions. In addition to the 132 PKK locations targeted by the Turkish Air Force, 349 targets in Qandil, Hakurk, Avasin-Basyan, Zap and Metina regions were destroyed by artillery fire. 7. Operation Claw; Started on 28 May 2019 and it's still ongoing today and yes we have US Forces on the ground. 8. Turkish Operations/Invasions in Northern Syria (you can look them up and yes US Forces have been on the ground in Northern Syria during all these Turkish invasions); Operation Euphrates Shield (2016/2017), Operation Olive Branch (2018), and now (today/2019) Operation Peace Spring.

The Kurds are actually finally getting their act together. Heck, in 2015 they actually set a record when they had more Pesh killed fighting ISIS then Kurdish women terminated via honor killing. Also, they're working on getting their FGM stats down but sadly they're still the top dog in the AO when it comes to permanently modifying vaginas. " Honor Killings in Iraqi Kurdistan; 2008 the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) stated that honor killings are a serious concern in Iraq, particularly in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Free Women's Organization of Kurdistan (FWOK) released a statement on International Women's Day 2015 noting that 6,082 women were killed (victims of honor killings or enforced suicide – mostly self-immolation or hanging) during the past year in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is almost equal to the number of the Peshmerga martyred fighting Islamic State (IS)."

Air Force Concludes Investigation into Aircrew Trump Resort Stays; ""The [investigation] will show that the policies or procedures we had in place for both using civil airfields and lodging, and the crews [decisions] aligned with [current] policy," Gen. Maryanne Miller, head of Air Mobility Command, told Military.com Wednesday." "Miller continued, "There was no violation of anything. There was nothing that was out of alignment with all of that; and we even looked at the perception side of things, and the crews just did exactly what they were supposed to do." "If you look at Prestwick and you look at the rules for lodging that our crews abide by, 77% of the crews stayed right around there," Miller said during an interview here. The Air Force reviewed records and travel vouchers between 2015 and 2019. Another 17% stayed near Glasgow, about 30 miles away; and 6% of other crews stayed at the Trump Turnberry Luxury Collection Resort, roughly 20 miles away, she said." https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/10/10/air-force-concludes-investigation-aircrew-trump-resort-stays.html

I'm not sure exactly what this will prevent? The Turkish AF has been conducting airstrikes on Kurdish targets in Northern Iraq for Decades/Northern Syria for a few years and IMHO, they don't give a rats ass about any "Combined Air Operations Center" coordination/approval/etc. "US cuts Turkey’s access to north-east Syria airspace ahead of military campaign"; https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191008-us-cuts-turkeys-access-to-north-east-syria-airspace-ahead-of-military-campaign/

Repost/reminder (again/sadly); I would think we would be getting good at this abandoning the Kurds and withdrawing US forces from Kurdish turf by now but I have my doubts we have learned any lessons. The last time we did this "Emergency Evacuation" stuff in a Kurdish AO was circa 1996 in Iraqi Kurdistan and it was a complete cluster f#*k. Here's the Situation we faced in 1996 (my memory is a bit foggy but this is some of the stuff I remember from this fiasco); During the Iraq Kurdish Civil War (1994-1997) we had - the Peshmerga slaughtering Peshmerga, the Turk military/Kurds/Iranians/Saddam's legions all backing different Kurd factions/tribes that were slaughtering each other. The US Military was entangled (not by choice) with the Turk/Saddam backed KDP forces, the CIA (by choice IMHO) was supporting the Iranian backed PUK/PKK, and the State Department was stuck in the middle . Basically the situation in Northern Iraq was a complete mess. In late 1996 we finally said "Uncle", pulled the plug, and conducted an "Emergency Evacuation" of all our Forces/CIA/Diplomatic Personnel in Northern Iraq and the "Emergency Evacuation" of thousands of loyal Kurdish forces/key Kurdish leadership and their family members (Ref; Operation Pacific Haven/Operation Quick Transit I, II, III). I would recommend the following actions/preparations in the event something like a very short notice "emergency evacuation/get out of dodge order" is given to all our folk in Syria Rojava (Syria Kurdistan). Hopefully, this round, we don't make the same stupid mistakes we made in 1996; - Develop an actual OPLAN, prep/train our forces on the ground in Syria, and this time give our troops a wee bit of heads-up before the "bug out" order is given so stuff like this doesn't happen again; Excerpt (1996); "What the Americans left behind when they pulled out of the Military Coordinating Center in the frontier town of Zakho is instructive--and sad. The detritus of international altruism gone awry included weapons, computers, a radio still turned on, HumVee all-terrain vehicles, a larger number of ordinary cars, maps, diverse sensitive documents and a small library of spy thriller novels." - Dust off/update/Prep/train/review lessons learned/etc from Operation Pacific Haven/Operation Quick Transit I, II, III. Also prep Incirlik AB and Anderson AFB for a heavy influx of thousands of Kurd refugees/asylum seekers. Also, prep Little Kurdistan USA (Nashville) for this new/latest batch (Round 4) of potentially thousands of Kurdish refugees/asylum seekers (this should be the easiest task since Little Kurdistan USA has gotten pretty good at this stuff). - Etc, etc, etc.

"Elite Air Force Rescue Squadron Commander Relieved over 'Loss of Confidence''; https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/09/24/elite-air-force-rescue-squadron-commander-relieved-over-loss-confidence.html

Something to watch; Anyone still holding oil related energy Stocks/Funds/ETF's/etc may get a rare opportunity to take some profits in the coming days/weeks. This might be somewhat entertaining but I doubt oil will hit $100/bbl. "Saudi Attacks Raise Spectre Of Oil At $100/bbl" https://www.hartenergy.com/news/saudi-attacks-raise-spectre-oil-100bbl-182765

AIR FORCE STATEMENT AND FCT SHEET ON REVIEW OF SELECTION OF AIRPORTS AND LODGING SEPTEMBER, 8, 2019 "Air Force leadership directed Air Mobility Command to review all guidance pertaining to selection of airports and lodging accommodations during international travels… While initial reviews indicate that aircrew transiting through Scotland adhered to all guidance and procedures, we understand that U.S. Service members lodging at higher-end accommodations, even if within government rates, might be allowable but not advisable. Therefore, we are reviewing all associated guidance. Even when USAF aircrews follow all directives and guidance, we must still be considerate of perceptions of not being good stewards of taxpayer funds that might be created through the appearance of aircrew staying at such locations. (review will include active duty, Guard Reserve)." "Between 2015 and 2019, AMC Total Force aircraft stopped at Prestwick a total of 936 times (*659 overnight stays), including 95 (*40) in 2015, 145 (*75) in 2016, 180 (*116) in 2017, 257 (*208) in 2018 and 259 (*220) through August 2019." - etc, etc etc. Long. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000016d-136e-d988-abff-b76efb860000

Nailed it; "New Citizenship Policy to Affect Roughly 25 Military Children Per Year, Officials Say ". https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/08/29/new-citizenship-policy-affect-roughly-25-military-children-year-officials-say.html

On a somewhat positive note, Cuomo could've just set a new Guinness Book of World Records for the usage of the "F-BOMB" ("F-BOMB" usage really is covered by Guinness/It falls in the NSFW/NSFK's catergory); By my count, Fredo used the "F-Bomb" 22 times in only 107 seconds, that's one "F-BOMB" every 4.86 seconds. The current Guinness "F-BOMB" record holder used the "F-BOMB" once every 57.14 seconds over a three hour timeframe. Here's the excerpt from the Guinness Book of World Records: "The current holder of the "F-BOMB" record; The world record holder used the f-bomb term 189 times in three hours of dialogue. It was the first title to be awarded the prominent distinction, but it sure won't be the last." It's also possible that Cuomo's record-breaking F-Bomb stunt might be thrown out by Guinness because he accomplished this feat in a NSFK's environment (his 9 year old daughter was there and other kids where probably within earshot of all these F-Bombs). IMHO, dropping the F-Bomb every 4.86 seconds in front of your kids is borderline child abuse (same goes for the N-Word/etc). Cuomo's lucky that a bunch of adults that witnessed this event didn't punch his lights out or at least tell him to shut his F-Bomb spewing pie hole..

Cuomo sure likes to use the "F-Bomb" in front of his wife + daughter (9 years old) + the public. By my count, he used the "F-Bomb" 22 times in only 107 seconds (I'm sure I missed a few). Chris Cuomo Threatens to Throw Man Down Stairs for Calling Him 'Fredo;

What are the odds? The last publically recorded suicide at the NY Metropolitan Correctional Center (Epstein's last home of record) was in 1998. That was 21 years ago and there are 765 jailbirds housed in this facility. My simple math; 21 X 765 = 16,065/this jails suicide rate over a 21 year span = .0062247% (I probably did the math wrong but you'll get the general idea). Suicide supposedly nearly impossible at ulta-secure Jeffrey Epstein lockup; "Suicide at the jail, which serves mainly as a holding facility for about 765 men and women awaiting trial for federal crimes of all levels, is rare. "A review of published stories found only one such death in the past 21 years, the 1998 suicide of South Philadelphia drug kingpin Louis Turra, who reportedly hanged himself." "A handful of suicide attempts were also reported." https://nypost.com/2019/08/10/suicide-supposedly-nearly-impossible-at-ulta-secure-jeffrey-epstein-lockup/