Leaderboard

On site. I’m not one for excessive oversight but keeping them on a shortish leash might be helpful. Go pros, FDRs, quality/standardization checks with mil instructors, etc… solid pay for CFIIs for IPT, 75k to start, pass probation period, say 6 months, pay bumps up, second year guaranteed 100k+ for x number of student training hours flown, etc… This would be to off load some of a hypothetical phase 2 of my COA, intro mil flight training in a PC-21. Phase 3 then T-7s or T-54. If the AF won’t buy the -54, then a ME course in a light twin, type training course with some extra sims, a LOFT phase, call it good. Plane porn just because

That memo looks like it was written by.... a saint. I would rather have seen a memo like, "I just order 10 billion rounds of ammo. Get to the range. The standard is expert."

You forgot: 1a. Manipulate slides to make it look like everything is green by lying/changing denominator to get boss promoted

Very good post and thank you for sharing that report. I can only speak for myself, but I'm actually in favor of pausing most forms of legal immigration for some time while we try to sort out our domestic affairs. US immigration policy has historically been about keeping our doors shut and only opening them to newcomers when we need them. The four major influxes of people into the US occurred during the Colonial Era, the Civil War, the Ellis Island era, and now the floodgates have basically been open since 1965. We used to have a robust national quota system which ensured the country wouldn't be inundated with people from nations whose culture and values are radically different from our own, but this was removed by the Hart-Celler Act in 1965. And of course, regardless of where people are coming from, the expectation used to be that immigrants would assimilate completely (e.g., learn English, change their names, refuse to teach their children their native language or speak it in public, etc.) I also want to push back a bit on the traditional narrative of America being "built by immigrants", maybe you can give me your thoughts on it. To me, America was built by settler-colonialists, pioneers, and frontiersmen; The kinds of people who turned a vast, empty, and dangerous swath of land into a prosperous and functioning modern civilization in record time, on par with anything found in the Old World. It always irks me a bit when today's immigrants, both legal and illegal, are compared to those founding settlers, as if hopping on a plane and going to your new H1B job at Microsoft or crossing the Rio Grande and receiving government handouts is comparable to what newcomers used to have to go through. Maybe it's just the modern connotations of the word "immigrant" that I find objectionable. Still, it's undeniable that many people contributed to the success of our country.

The problem is that the well-off white people who populate the chattering class of activists, literally have no idea what it means to be poor. They don't know what lives the poor lead, and more relevant, they have absolutely no idea just how much the government supports the poor. They like to imagine illegal immigrants from Mexico and South America as a modern version of the poor Irish building skyscrapers in New York or the abused Chinese building out the railroads. It's simply not the case.

Agreed. Pretty sure I could have great conversation over a bourbon with NS...probably learn a few things.

Concur All you hear is Pacific Pivot, Great Power Competition, Tyranny of Distance, etc… from AF “leaders” and they then divest a platform suited to all of those problems/challenges in the expected title fight… Just as a PACAF GO said he wanted the E-7 now with no acquisition shenanigans or BS to replace the E-3, we need a message from the top saying we need a strategic tanker now or a strategic concept now. I say concept as while I’m always gonna say this new iron or that, I get that is likely a bridge too far in financially difficult times (8% budget cuts and the rest) Concept to me would be new overseas basing, FMS and long term posture on west coast / sovereign pacific territory Australia, NZ, Guam and a rotational presence in the PI. Some that already happening but just continuing this idea on this post… KC-45 fleet if new iron were to be had would be my suggestion if Australia would host a new PACAF base(s) A bit more fuel and interoperability with the RAAF Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Standard playbook across the force for the last 20+ years... 1. Cut to the bone. 2. Demand Congress pay for newer and more expensive toys since you're now below critical capability and stalling. 3. Get denied. 4. Act surprised. Gnash teeth and tear garments at AFA. 5. Get promoted. 6. It's somebody else's problem. Return to step 1.

Strategic tankers, nice. Deleting 59x KC-10s that could carry 340k lbs of fuel or 27 pallets was the #1 dumbest lack-of-foresight move the Air Force has ever made. Everyone knew it at the time and everyone knows it now, but the USAF is too proud and stupid to reverse a decision. Who to blame? Weak-kneed careerist staffers at HAF/A5 and A8 that told GOs that told Boeing what they wanted to hear. Every AMC/CC since Johns and every CSAF since Schwartz. It doesn’t matter if you have 7G with APG-690s and telephone poles if you can only get 2-ships there.

I don't think anyone is against legal immigrants, as noted this country was built on their labor which continues to this day. And I work on the south side of San Antonio, which for all intents and purposes is tantamount to being in Mexico. Folks are relatively friendly here as well, but there's also a fair amount of crime, gangs, drugs, etc. as compared with other parts of the city. I know we've discussed the impact of illegal immigrants ad nauseam, but here are some facts from a January 2024 Congressional report (cited below) that put it into true perspective... The average fiscal impact of an illegal immigrant is estimated to be around $68,000 over their lifetime, and in 2023, the total cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers was estimated at $150.7 billion, with the average taxpayer contributing approximately $1,156. More details... The current surge of illegal immigration is unprecedented. Some 2.7 million inadmissible aliens have been released into the country by the administration since January 2021. There have also been 1.5 million “got-aways” — individuals observed entering illegally but not stopped. Visa overstays also seem to have hit a record in FY 2022. We preliminarily estimate that the illegal immigrant population grew to 12.8 million by October of 2023, up 2.6 million since January 2021, when the president (Biden) took office. This is the net increase in the illegal population based on monthly Census Bureau data, not the number of new arrivals. Illegal immigrants have a negative fiscal impact -- taxes paid minus benefits received -- primarily because a large share have modest levels of education, resulting in relatively low average incomes and tax payments, along with significant use of means-tested programs and other government services. Illegal immigrants can receive welfare on behalf of U.S.-born children. Also, illegal immigrant children can receive school lunch/breakfast and WIC directly. A number of states provide Medicaid to some illegal immigrants, and a few provide SNAP. Several million illegal immigrants also have work authorization (e.g. DACA, TPS and some asylum applicants), allowing receipt of the EITC. The high welfare use of illegal immigrant households is not explained by an unwillingness to work. In fact, 94 percent of illegal immigrant households have at least one worker, compared to only 73 percent of U.S.-born households. But the nation’s welfare system is designed to help low-wage workers with children, which describes a very large share of illegal immigrant households. In addition to consuming welfare, illegal immigration makes significant use of public education. Based on average costs per student, the estimated 4 million children of illegal immigrants in public schools created $68.1 billion in costs in 2019. The vast majority of these children are U.S.-born. Use of emergency medical services is another area in which illegal immigrants create significant fiscal costs. Prior research indicates that there are 5.8 million uninsured illegal immigrants in the country in 2019, accounting for a little over one-fifth of the total population without health insurance. The costs of providing care to them likely totals some $7 billion annually. Illegal immigrants do pay some taxes. We estimate that illegal immigrants in 2019 paid roughly $5.9 billion in federal income tax, $16.2 billion in Social Security tax and $3.8 billion in Medicaid taxes. However, as the net fiscal drain of $68,000 per person cited above indicates, these taxes are not nearly enough to cover the cost of the services they receive. Illegal immigrants do add perhaps $321 billion to the nation’s GDP, but this is not a measure of their tax contributions or the benefits they create for the U.S.-born. Almost all the increase in economic activity goes to the illegal immigrants themselves in the form of wages. Source: HHRG-118-JU01-Wstate-CamarotaS-20240111.pdf

6 gen

My only thoughts: It was going to burn down eventually. Best to do it on our own timeline with some semblance of a plan. While I don't think everything has been anywhere close to managed effectively in regards to massive cuts, I think it was the necessary shock to attempt to get the country back on track. All media talks about is tariffs we're imposing, no mention of the tariffs that were already imposed on us for a long time. It's going to be ugly but in the end I think it's necessary. Nobody is going to change anyone's thoughts on the internet. Just come here to see somewhat opposing viewpoints of mine. Sadly some of the opposing viewpoints have left and it's a bit of a chamber but

If Congress doesn't fix the U-2 divestment really soon, this will likely be the last Beale Airshow with a U-2 flying. Lineup is coming along well, to include TBirds, F-18 TACDEMO, USMC Osprey Demo, C-17/KC-135 Demo, Aarron Deliu, T-33 Demo, Vicky Benzing If interested in bringing a static to the party, drop me a note. It should be a large time.

When I was a SQ/CC I sent alot of guys to get seaplane and tailwheel rated at a 2 week civilian school in Alaska. I would have done everyone but didn’t have the budget, instead it was about 2 dozen and used as an incentive/reward for great work: IP OTQ, Pilot OTY, etc. Didn't work with everyone’s schedule so randos got to go too. It definitely teaches pilots to unlearn some overly safe attitudes in UPT (nothing wrong with that for their level) and how to fly aggressive without being unsafe, meaning have the confidence to take calculated risks. You can’t quantify the benefit of learning to be comfortable outside your comfort zone, but vignettes can draw connections between unconventional training and success in unconventional combat situations. It’s the same logic used sending officers for masters degrees- “this may not apply directly to current job but you’re learning how to think using new tools, thus arming you for the unknown.” That’s the argument I used to get it approved and left my boss speechless, lol. My thoughts are that if you aren’t actively finding fun creative ways to make the team better you have no business leading. Also if you aren’t willing to take some personal career risk by trusting the team to do these things, you have no business leading in combat. We ought to have the best pilots in the world and that costs money and requires leaders who aren’t pussies.