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Back in the day on ol BODN, someone posted a pic like this with the caption, "Lead, Two, You're on Fire" and I keep wondering if Vance has a pair to say that to Donnie T. Maybe JD thinks that one day Trumpism will catch up with the feller and take him down and he can just step over the shit pile and assume the role. Place your bets. Really. You can make a buck on this stuff.

Idk how this is anyone’s conclusion watching this conflict. Iran basically had nothing but TBMs and drones and were able to attrit our systems and interceptor numbers to the point they were scoring direct hits on strategic assets up until days before the ceasefire. How can we expect after that result to be able to deal with a real peer threat like China that can throw the entire spectrum of munitions at us including things far more advanced than anything Iran can dream of? The statement (elsewhere in the thread) that we need more interceptors is the understatement of the century. And a variety of systems is key too. The army is lagging insanely behind in counter drone technology despite watching it play out for years in Ukraine. I’ll just say that it’s typical army.. they want their tank and artillery ground war and everything other than that plays second fiddle strategically for them in terms of development and funding priorities. I think this conflict should serve as a huge wake up call. We are shit hot on offense, nights 1-7 but sustaining a war in a contested space where your assets are actually under threat isn’t something we’ve dealt with in a long time.

damn skippy

That mechanism already exists in doctrine. Excess airpower is supposed to kick over to the JFACC and has in every conflict since Kosovo (there was HUGE fight over gunships in Kosovo that drove discussion and doctrine updates at the 4 star level. During OEF I routinely flew as a SOF asset one night and was chopped as excess to the CJFAC the next night. That construct does require the stars to act like adults which can be a challenge. AFSOC wants to be part of the big fight and they know they can't given the threat so now more than ever they are open to new approaches. Things like small cruise missile let them play and make a valuable contribution. Interestingly the effort to being SCM to AFSOC was done on a CRADA with AFSOC (SOCOM) dollars...a level of commitment from the current commander who sees the value. I've said it here many times, having the ability to put large numbers (100+), on an MC-130 enables AFSOC to send a large swarm with just a few planes, such a swarm would be a real threat to anything trying to cross the straight...especially if they have ATR and are on the link. Putting SCM on A1K and operating from unimproved strips/fields/beaches allows new attack vectors that dramatically changes the calculus for the Chinese. Think about a couple of A1Ks operating out of dirt strips where they were able to infiltrate unobserved. They pop up, launch a volley of SCM and immediately move on to a new dirt strip to rearm and refuel.

Meanwhile… https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/04/15/pentagon-ramps-up-secret-cuba-planning-trump/89623722007/#

I wonder how many cases of Zyn and monster you can fit in that Sea Choad 🤔

Please quote me where I stated that prices wouldn't be affected. I'll wait. In any case, what this really does is put the US squarely in the driver's seat as to who is the main supplier of oil in the world. That is a great position to be in. I'm not sure, but this is a good question and an avenue to explore. Maybe there's something there to be had? I bet China's ambitions WRT Taiwan have been cut down to size. They would struggle mightily if they attempted to conduct large scale military operations while the US has a stranglehold on the global oil supply. A few well-placed cruise missiles into pipelines connecting Russia and China and they're in the hurt locker. Risk is the nature of military operations. I'm not aware they're being ranged by anything Iranian, however. I'm also confident that the Navy knows what it's doing here. Again, do you think we're going about this like we did in Desert Storm or Iraq? I don't think that's our strategy. I never said anything about hearts and minds or democracy. Like I've stated numerous other times, I think it's best we allow time to work on the culture and see what happens organically. Iraq and Afghanistan have shown we don't know what we're doing with regard to nation-building. Best we stick to destroying governments. I will note though, that you continue to sidestep or otherwise avoid the relevant facts I've pointed out, namely that Iran is far more dependent on the straight than we are. Do you not want to address the implications of that? Too much to wrestle with? Doesn't fit into the mental model you've constructed? Anyway, everything you addressed above is either misattributed to something you 'think' I would say, or perhaps something you think someone like me would say. In other words, it was all projection. So here is what I think: It doesn't matter what happens in the short term to Iran's government. In the end it will be changed for better or worse. I don't care which way it goes. I only care that their military capability has been diminished and their ability to project power going forward declines. Both of those things have happened and will continue to happen. The fact that Iran no longer has the initiative to sell oil to illicit customers puts the ball squarely back in their court as to the next move. I'll note that almost immediately after we closed the straight, suggestions of 'talks' between the two parties began again. Thus, even though you constructed your own strawman to beat up, I at least give you an 'e' for effort for posting without reference to something Trump said. That, alone, is a move in the right direction.

Already posted in the Expeditionary Missionary Position Seaplane thread but pretty much… I don’t know but a seaplane capability probably would help with a Kharg Island landing so make it happen

CH, what's your take on AFSOC tasking outside the TSOC bubble? I remember the unleash the gunships article from years back, but it always seems to come back to funding and SOCOM's penny packet. Is there a realistic future where CFACC target taskings via ATO would actually flow to a TSOC asset? I like the idea, I'm just a bit cynical I suppose.

@Clark Griswold …

That’s a very naive and objectively wrong statement. Additionally, I’m not tracking anyone here that said there aren’t any cons to a blockade. Thus, everything you said following said statements is invalid. Feel free to make your case starting from a true and accurate premise. You certainly don’t need to come to the same conclusion as others, but if you can’t start from truth, then the rest doesn’t matter.

No kidding. Supposedly I was supposed to go to MFS 9 April but I wasn't notified and MFS wasn't actually ever scheduled for me according to Wright Patterson.

FAFO American Internet Troll ‘Johnny Somali’ Sentenced to 6 Months of Hard Labor in South Korea https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2026/04/15/american-internet-troll-johnny-somali-sentenced-to-6-months-of-hard-labor-in-south-korea/ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Woah holy cow Obama and Biden launched a war of choice against Iran with no plan based on pressure from Israel, blatantly lying about an “imminent nuclear threat” our own intel agencies assessed the Iranians weren’t pursuing? I must’ve missed that part of the last decade.. Oh actually none of that happened and they did address the problem like semi-competent politicians. They negotiated the JCPOA which, while imperfect, provided a baseline for enrichment limits, inspection intervals, and further diplomacy. Trump then ripped it up while promising a way better deal, launched a war, and is now floundering to try to get back to some semblance of the diplomatic solution we literally already had.

Call your reps and urge them to support the FISA extension. Our military desperately needs it. Sacrifices must be made.

It’s cultural I think, for whatever reason I think the powers that be think these platforms are beneath the prestige of the AF. Following from that they’ll present an endless stream of arguments of why giving a nickel to small programs robs big programs, it’s a prejudice that they find reasons to justify. With the long range fires being demonstrated by our foes with TBMs/cheap drones destroying HVAAs at MOBs on the ground, the justification for some amount of conventional capabilities being based in small footprint, ACE minded assets is self evident. Tactical tanker, expeditionary capable light fighter, light attack and CCA / UCAV, etc… Just my day dreaming two cents but this sounds like the bailiwicks of a new AFSOC to be relevant in GPCs.

strategic objectives were surely achieved in the last few days 😂

Are you equally critical of the Biden and Obama administrations that put us in this shitty situation?!? Ya'll keep forgetting how we got there, and while Trump ain't no General George C. Marshall he really didn't have a lot of other options, did he? I typically oversimplify things, but the truth is the US put its head in the sand when it came to Iran for four decades; and it was only going to get worse if nothing was done about it. Sure, it would make more sense to have a well-thought out plan; and I sure the big brains at CENTCOM had a concept of operations gathering dust on the shelf for years; but in the immortal words of Sheriff Bud Boomer, "There's a time to think, and there's a time to act; and this gentlemen is no time to think!" RIP, John Candy!

lol it was pretty heavily implied when not a single person acknowledged there might be downsides to choking off a major global energy supply route. “Why is the US blockading Iran to ramp up economic pressure such an insane concept to you? I’d love to here a critically thought out argument against foreign policy 101, along with how you would have dealt with Iran blocking the strait and attempting to play the one card they had left to influence war outcomes in their favor.” Well that’s the thing about starting a stupid war of choice predicated on lies with no strategic plan.. you might end up painting yourself into a corner with only bad options. Which is where we currently find ourselves. Yes I agree that blockading the straight is the best bad option we have right now. The point is that we never had to be in this situation in the first place. My comment is simply pushback against the trump sycophants in here pretending it’s some genius strategic move with no downsides. Edit: Also the onus also isn’t on me to come up with a better plan. I wasn’t elected president, didn’t start this war, and have been against it the whole time.

As for those asking about a strategy, set goals, and a plan, this has a feel like the AFG pullout. Just do it live. Well, sorta. It went from kill the boss, bomb a bunch, that'll do it, to, oh shit, they biting back, now what? Mean tweet em to death! Crazy bastards.

Why would we watch Iranian propaganda? One of you's teenagers are gonna see it on your phone and tictoc that shit. Next thing, all the Zs will be crying for poor ol Persia.

If you haven't seen them already, the Iranian Lego propaganda films are entertaining and shocking all at the same time!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZmIOg3BibU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G9DNx7xIIc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfBx6GxPw_k&list=RDgfBx6GxPw_k&start_radio=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bJO-P0V2V0

Did someone say on here that oil isn’t a global commodity? To the rest of your rant: Why is the US blockading Iran to ramp up economic pressure such an insane concept to you? I’d love to here a critically thought out argument against foreign policy 101, along with how you would have dealt with Iran blocking the strait and attempting to play the one card they had left to influence war outcomes in their favor.

Some of us do, but we can't talk about it here...