Everything posted by Lord Ratner
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PME and Career advice
Not really. They get an inexperienced direct-to-AC who will upgrade to IP before they have the same level of systems knowledge as an experienced copilot, if they ever get to that level at all. Since the cross flow guys are immediately flagged for "grooming" jobs at the group and wing, they don't fly enough to make great IPs.
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Leather Flight Jacket
I always thought it had to do with ejection seats and flammibility
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Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect
I hate those lights, but half the time I tell the boom to turn them off I have to hear about how much they help the receiver that we won't see for another 2 hours. They don't make finding a dimly lit runway off the wing very easy either.
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Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect
Which light? EDIT: Azimuth, lol.
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Tom Cruise Stunt
It has a pretty cool air show demo team
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What's wrong with the Air Force?
There are plenty of ways to fudge that, I'm guessing. Combined boards with different sections, etc.
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Electronic flight bags could boost operational safety, effectiveness
Don't bother, unless you also have some money that is about to expire. I would have been fine with it as an instructor, but you won't have many opportunities to use it in T-6s, and if you find yourself needing it in T-1s, you can always get it then. But you probably won't
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AC-130 AFSOC Questions
Missing a Big Lebowski quote is grounds for banning in some forums... Even if the quote isn't 100% correct.
- WTF? (**NSFW**)
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Eagle Driver Proposes to Cardinals Cheerleader
Drawing a moral equivalent between violent rape and mental objectification is exactly why your average Air Force member is so stoked about SAPR days.
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Scotland Independence?
It's gunna be a mess. For starters, only Scots who currently reside in Scotland are allowed to vote. If "yes" wins, expect to see a huge push for a revote including all Scots, not just the group most biased towards independence. The only plan for a currency is "we'll use the pound" which is not a plan at all, since the remaining UK will have to vote on it, and politicians supporting a currency union with a newly independent Scotland will face political suicide with the rise of nationalist parties. The SNP has no plan for a military, other than "we'll have one, and we'll be in NATO." I think the last I heard was a standing army of 3,500. As compared to the UK army of 100K. The UK nuke enterprise is heavily embedded in Scotland. Independence will be the best weapon of the anti-deterrent crowd, since moving nukes to a new place is political suicide. As it stands, Scotland uses a larger portion of public funds than it supplies in taxes. The NHS is already at the breaking point in many areas. The SNP plan appears to be almost entirely supported by the idea Scotland has enough gas and oil to be like Norway, but unlike Norway, Scotland's oil wealth is based on surveys of future reserves and extraction potential. I think they have a decent chance of winning the vote. I also think that if they do, it still won't happen, especially if Whitehall keeps to their promise of denying a currency union. A revote including the many, many Scots who live in Wales, N Ireland and England would also kill the movement.
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Army can't track spending on $4.3b system to track spending, IG finds (not duffel blog)
ROFL
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Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect
So do the functionals who assign them.
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Army can't track spending on $4.3b system to track spending, IG finds (not duffel blog)
Details?
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Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)
Yup. My mistake
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Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)
I don't think he meant it that way. 365s aren't targeted based on ADSC, but even so, the assignment eventually hits someone who can't 7-day opt, whereas without the bonus it wouldn't, and more people could 7-day opt before finding a taker. It's this reason specifically that when my time comes, I won't take the bonus, even though I plan to stay in.
- WTF? (**NSFW**)
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Pilot watches
Pricing? Availability? EDIT: Nevermind. $ 2,795
- WTF? (**NSFW**)
- WTF? (**NSFW**)
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Equating military service with Heroism.
What exactly makes "the people" great? Most people would cite our actions during the great wars as the primary evidence, but the "greatest generation" was subject to a draft. There are plenty of other compulsory things that make America great. You say we have become less great over the past decades, but those decades are the ones following the elimination of the draft. The evidence just doesn't support the claim. Rome is another great example of compulsory service making a nation strong. The truth is that liberty (or the absolute liberty you speak of) is an illusion. Nature doesn't believe in it, no matter how much we want to. The cave man didn't have to deal with jury duty or selective service; his oppression came in the form of wild predators and rival tribes. Still not free.
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Equating military service with Heroism.
Got it... you think it would have just worked out. I suppose Britain just needed better recruiting posters? Considering they could barely hold together while we dithered on joining the war (with most Americans supporting conscription), you'll pardon my skepticism. The history doesn't support it. The UK, Russia and US, the countries most responsible for winning the war, all relied on conscription, and in the case of the US and UK, conscription efforts were increased when voluntary means didn't raise enough manpower. An elite unit of volunteers is not enough. You don't win wars with Navy SEALs .
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Equating military service with Heroism.
How would WW1 and WW2 have gone in your mind?
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Non-Availibility lodging/letter
Correct. But your options are limited. There are a few inns in the local area, but they are not what you're used to in the states. But it could be worth it for the per diem.
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Equating military service with Heroism.
Most everything you are taking issue with is a result of the all volunteer force. I don't care nearly enough to spend the next hour typing for a bunch of anonymous forum browsers, but you can use your Google-foo and look up the research yourself. At some point America decided it was easier to have the military operated and staffed by people who actually wanted to do it. Free agents are always more expensive than forced labor. I love my job, I am not wanting for money, and I don't think military members in the all volunteer force are entitled to anything. But I am not over paid.