fire4effect

Bet whoever put together that stellar powerpoint will get a bullet and that is the extent of their Give a Sh!t.

Are those a stack of singles? No trip to the strip club for you! To paraphrase a recently departed true American Treasure Toby Keith, this is what happens when "Uncle Sam puts your name at the top of his list."

Yep, the vehicle sure appeared to have the signature can opener marks. Too bad they can't buy the wreck and put it on a pole outside of Creech🍻

If ever. I'm not sure if this is a true stance for the FAA in general or of the FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker in particular. His bio indicates 15 years with United in admin and he's an attorney. I'd be less skeptical had the FAA taken a stance last year when the discussion started. Why now? I must say from the FAA perspective I can see no upside to getting behind 67 and a potential downside no matter how remote. I think the FAA fought age 65 as well. What is it Netjets has age 70 now? I guess looking at part 135 NTSB accident reports might shed light on potential age related causes. Or other countries with increased limits.

Something that always struck me about that part of the world was all they really have is oil. Everything else is imported from cars to clothes. And having China "squealin from the feelin" is gravy on top. Militaries don't do well without lots of gas to keep things moving especially in wartime. Japan learned the hard way in WW2 that sooner or later you have to have the capacity to replace losses. On a side note take everything you hear from the Iraqi Government with a grain of salt. At least as far back as 2008 the Iraqi Parliament engaged in that time honored Middle Eastern tradition of members taking bribes, from Iran for votes against the interests of the US. I doubt any of that has changed. All about the Benjamin's and without that you don't get to play.

Lindsey Graham said the other day that we can see at least 4 major oil refineries in Iran. Obliterate one and tell those SOBs now you have 3. Want to try for 2? Oil refineries are already primed to blow anyway. At a minimum hit the pipeline nodes transporting oil to the tankers in port. If they can't get it to port they can't sell it. Now That's a sanction with teeth. Even if they stack ADA around the refineries it's damned difficult to cover the entire pipeline network. Turn off the cash cow and you turn off the ability to make trouble.

I put on Ameriglo night sights. Way better than stock. I can lay it on a nightstand with a surefire next to it and even in the dark I can easily find both from the glowing dots of the rear sight. Still way less than a Kimber😁

Back to a more adult conversation which I obviously struggle with at times. While I certainly like shotguns, I personally prefer my trusty Glock 19. I seem to shoot it better than any handgun I've ever owned. Certainly, preferable to the 92. I know a lot of SOCOM types have carried the Glock 19 since at least 2013 which says a lot.

I'm guessing percentages. Most people are right hand dominant and save the left hand for "special occasions" So I've been told.😁

II bought the COMP to use hunting. Same textured grip. I've found a little more good honest manual labor will roughen the hands and help with gripping 😁😎

East Germany had it pretty well figured out too.

Do the 107mm/122mm/240mm crowd pleasers that oh so frequently at the height of OIF rained down on us in Iraq count? Or does it have to be winged aircraft? I came to the conclusion I would be just as dead no matter what. This doesn't even touch on all those damn mortars. CIWZ (self detonating rounds to minimize downrange collateral damage) or Iron Beam or something in that realm. I did see a report that a friendly UAV was supposed to be inbound about the same time so it may have led to a hesitation to engage. Whether or not it was supposed actually land is another question as don't know if the outpost was set up for larger UAV Ops.

Election is now filling up the sight picture. To really get a message across we need to hit Iran's ability to produce oil and make money with an eye to minimizing civilian casualties. The greatest threat to the Iranian leadership are the rank-and-file Iranians and we don't want them to feel pressure to rally around that leadership with casualties. OTH lot's of executions seem to be happening lately and tend to keep the natives in line. I'm all for hitting their oil industry HARD but that will likely lead to a spike in worldwide oil/gasoline prices and now we just circled back to the election. At some point we'll have no choice but to really hit them and that I fear will be when we lose troops. My 0.02

Some places won't even let you have a hanger unless you have a plane to put in it (or at a minimum a signed contract on one). I mean sure I don't mind leaving my expensive (at least to my budget) plane tied on a ramp for over a year waiting for the next hailstorm. On that note recent tornadoes have seemed to like feasting on hangers as much as trailer parks making the situation even worse.

Probably the biggest issue is getting hanger space. Most FBOs require at least some insurance for hanger space which you certainly can't get without the first two.

THIS! Hits on my 3-year rule of military/government that we've all touched on in BO over the years. A "Good Idea" only has to brief well for the 2-3 years while someone is in a particular position then the results good or bad don't manifest for 10 years or more. Really big decisions are made by the GOs and SESs who will be safely retired on their boat or as you mentioned in their post government defense gig. In fairness we all tend to look at what makes us look good on the yearly OPR/OER/CIV Evaluation. Although ethically we really need to think how our actions will likely affect the long-term viability of the institution.

I seem to recall a guy from a few years back who was offered an interview by SW who cut his King Air ISR gig short to be back for the interview when they called to say the offer was in error. About an hour outside of Dallas. 🤦‍♂️

Kind of reminds me of a story from a family member who flew with SAC (B-47 and B-52) and in Viet Nam (EB-66). On a training flight in a T-33, which gives you an idea how long ago this was, he departed from I believe somewhere in Missouri enroute to Bryan Texas where a miscommunication with the ground crew regarding refueling led to a flameout and ultimately successful dead stick landing. Turns out the ground crew left the fuel cap(s) unsecured, and he missed that on the pre-flight. He did go to an abbreviated FEB common to that era and he was sentenced to hand carry a fuel cap with him everywhere he went for the next 2 weeks. Different times indeed.

One of my favorite statements to give the younger troops is "no one remembers the mishap/accident/attack/ambush etc. that never occurs" It's what we strive for daily if we're doing our job correctly even though you'll rarely if ever get credit.

At least the seats appear to have worked as designed.

If it's a fireable offense, then it should've run afoul of at least one AFI and/or an article of the UCMJ. Though publicly listing which ones would amount to a public accusation and could drive a lot of legal ramifications including calls to prove it. The frag pattern could catch a lot of people guilty or innocent that would like this to go away quietly. I think Big Blue cares a lot more about how this would play in the press and by extension Congress/public opinion than what the rank-and-file think. Effectively Big Blue is exercising the "right" against self-incrimination. Not saying I necessarily agree that it's right but the way it is.

OP, I can see you in 20 years leading a fleet of AI operated military aircraft on the way to world dominance. Pilot? What pilot? I hope you'll be a benevolent overlord.😁

OP, Quick story about a family friend. Went to the Air Force Academy in the 90s. Was all set up with a pilot slot to find out he had a slight blue/green color deficiency. No flying with the Air Force unfortunately. He finished and did I believe 5 years as an Air Force engineer. It may have been less as this was during the Clinton drawdown years and they were letting people go left and right. Honestly during drawdowns they were probably over the top strict on physical requirements so that may have played a role though that would be just a guess on my part. After his service he got his civilian ratings, and he is now well into a multi decade career flying heavies for UPS. Nowadays the VA Flight bennies are a lot better so there is that. You're still young so it's great you're reaching out for mentorship that frankly wasn't available in years past. Take these learning experiences about yourself and use them as you go forward in life and aviation. I have a few stories related to my own career, but we'd need a lot of time over beers. Good Luck!

Having recently pushed a family member in a wheelchair at multiday distant wedding and through the airport on each end of the trip it is hardly worth the effort for the privilege of pre-boarding at least for me. Said family member (80 plus Y/O) can walk/stand okay if the distance/time is short but gets winded very easily. That said I think the only way to truly avoid the stink eye is to be an obvious amputee.

In high school I lamented my lack of ability/weight in the cannonball contest against my classmates. Now, they sound the Tsunami Alarm in the shallow end. I'll show them at the reunion.😁