ClearedHot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp5gdUHFGIQ

The Plot thickens...S. Korea declares expanded air defence zone in disputed area

The old girl is completing her final combat deployment...sad to see her go, but she is tired and it is time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRsYDYnv1rg

Keep telling yourself that...

He is trying to write a novel... "are soon bobbing and weaving all over the sky to avoid getting shot down..." Far from fact, but I hope he and the other side keep thinking this way.

Why is everyone so upset, this type of system worked really well in the past. The Secret Political Department (SPO), in addition to running the general system of informants, operated special informants to infiltrate suspected counterrevolutionary groups. Finally, the Transportation Department (TO), and the Operational Department (Operotdel), also ran their own special informants networks. In addition to these networks a separate network of special informants operated under the GULAG administration in labor camps, colonies, and special settlements.

It will be, it has to be now that Congress is digging and sadly, it will be yet another distraction that keeps Welsh from taking a major league swing at some of the real shit we want him to fix.

There are no words...simply unreal.

Really...

China sends jets into air zone as Japan, South Korea defy it The Chinese planes had conducted normal air patrols on Thursday as "a defensive measure and in line with international common practices," Shen said China's air force would remain on high alert and take measures to protect the security of the country's airspace, Xinhua reported.

Yeah you guys are right, China does not want a conflict. This should be interesting...

Chinese reaction to the bomber flights was predictably angry, with some recalling the 2001 collision between a Chinese fighter and a U.S. surveillance plane in international airspace off China's southeastern coast — the kind of accident some fear China's new policy could make more likely. The Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, was killed in the crash and the U.S. crew forced to make a landing on China's Hainan island, where they were held for 10 days and repeatedly interrogated before being released. "Let's not repeat the humiliation of Wang Wei. Make good preparations to counterattack," wrote Zheng Daojin, a reporter with the official Xinhua News Agency on his Twitter-like Weibo microblog.

China is now deploying their ONLY carrier group to the region...

Exactly...Do I think we will see a force on force land war...no, but we will most certainly scrap in a way that will cause a lot of chaos. Yes out two economies are intertwined, and yes a conflict would do damage to both countries on many levels...that being said logic is often overcome by nationalism and bravado, history has proven that time and time again and I fear there is a greater chance that it will happen than it won't. Whatever it is, I hope it is quick and we bloody their nose just enough to keep them in check.

Yes and by 2020, we will be producing it along with all the other energy we have at our disposal...China meanwhile will be searching for oil, resources, and energy to import.

Peel the onion back a bit...As Vertigo pointed out we have been exporting certain types of oil (there are actually many), for years. Thanks to Fracking and a few other technologies, U.S. production has topped Russia as the largest in the world. With regard to crude oil we are on path to be completely self-sufficient around 2020. As I stated earlier, according to the the EIA, in the aggregate, Monthly crude oil production exceeded US crude oil imports by October. I recently sat next to a senior oil executive on a VERY long flight and it was his opinion that we will be there much sooner, especially if the Project 20KTM technology comes to fruition. The real impediment is regulation, both environmental and more unknown, laws that prevent the U.S. from exporting many types of oil.

You seem to forget that China is run by people over 45.

Load you have a very myopic view of China and their desires. I did not say China wants a war with the west, but her moves are certainly rolling that direction. Is China focused on China, yes, with such single-mindedness that on the current path it will lead to a major conflict. There are so many other factors in play, if you took a strategic look and mixed in some history, you might come to a different conclusion. First, China is facing a real economic crisis...largely ignored in the west. China has grown to the worlds second largest economy (many predictions on when it will exceed that of the U.S.), this government controlled economy coupled with a Chinese cultural predisposition to save have created the largest real estate bubble in history. You think the U.S. housing market meltdown was bad, just watch what may happen in China. The government has used near double digit growth as a weapon against the U.S. and internally against civil disobedience. It is easy to lose some of your rights when you have tons of cash in your pocket, but it is unsustainable and as the shroud slowly comes back people will be surprised just how fragile the situation is. In order to maintain that growth the government has allowed and encouraged developers to build entire cities...where no one lives. Skyscrapers...massive numbers of apartments, townhouses, and homes without a single resident. All in the name of continuing construction growth. Chinese citizens looking for places to invest their new-found wealth have bought these investments in large quantities. If you want to see just a peek of the situation watch the 60 minutes story (https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/chinas-real-estate-bubble/). Second, The country has a certified shortage of women. Thanks to social policy, in China, millions of baby girls were simply never born. While the one child policy is just now beginning to fade, the effects are readily apparent, 122 boys are born for every 100 girls. That simple fact translates into a lot of lonely, angry young men and has been kept in check only by a growing economy. If the bubble pops and unemployment spikes...look out, China will have 35 million extra bored men (roughly the population of Canada), with nothing better to do. In the past when this has happened history has corrected the situation in one of two ways...war or plague. Unless a new Asian Bird Flu wipes our a couple hundred thousand young men, china will have a real social situation on its hands. and one of the more popular ways to retain power in times like these it to focus attention outside. Third, one of China's primary drivers for flexing her muscle is to secure resources and energy. The situation would be much worse but as of last month, in the aggregate the U.S. is now self-sufficient with regard to oil production. China is desperately trying to secure energy and the routes that import that energy which is why India is such a threat. While making great friends in the Middle East China stills has to drive all that oil right past India on the way home. Additionally, Japan has always been an energy importer and thus a huge competitor to China in that regard. Mix in a territorial dispute and you have some great conditions for a fight...a fight the U.S. is bound by treaty to weigh in on Japan's side. The current actions by China represent the single most provocative actions taken in decades and in my humble opinion, the show is just beginning.

Right out of a Clancy novel...I've been banging the drum for years, right now it is the Japanese, but we will fight China...the two biggest kids on the block, at some point they are gonna scrap.

Our BX has decent quality Flag cases.

I had a far different experience with Ash, but your background makes a HUGE difference in your dealings with him...he has favorites. Hale and Kendall would be winners, Fox or Flournoy with be abominations...

You are a complete dolt! You are typical of the bashers that have never stepped foot in the the town but jump on the bandwagon. For the record, Clovis has a national blue ribbon school and some very fine teachers, including a lot of military wives, some who are national recognized reading recovery and reading coaching teachers. S 100% agree, the less than 1% that raised their hands and said, "send me", I honor the service and sacrifice. What I don't honor is the folks who pushed the button on word of mouth, who have never set foot on Cannon AFB but are willing to burn their bridge when they still have three-four years of commitment.

Nice to have the NSA working for you.

Disagree...General Chang is going to argue their are some real caveats to the so called shortage. Right now the seniors are publicly stating we have a shortage of 200+ fighter pilots that will grow to 700+ in the out years. What they aren't telling you is that ACC actually has the inventory to fill all the available fighter cockpits, what they don't have is the inventory to fill the available cockpist AND fill the staffs. Despite their bluster about flying, the fighter guys truly do care about the staff. Their concern is twofold...first, if you don't have a fighter guy in a fighter staff slot they fear poor decisions will be made by uniformed people...you need a fighter guy to make informed decisions about the fighter community...sounds reasonable. The real reason they care is far less altruistic, officer development. Like it or not you must send your fast movers to the staff at some point so they show depth and breath and can be competitive for BPZ and such...the senior fighter folks have a real fear they will not develop enough folks to reach the GO ranks and thus, maintain control of the Air Force. What the General Chang's don't want to account for is the accuracy of the forecast models and current inventory management practices. If the personnel types were worth a damn we would not be in this position...in reality we have mismanaged pilot inventory for nearly 30 years...look back to Banking, ReCAT, UPT direct to RPA, TAMI 21...there are numerous egregious examples through the years. There is a survey held close by the seniors that shows real fatigue in the force, and a building resentment, so while I agree there will be folks that "chicken out", there is a real possibility the projections are wrong. I would look at two factors in the next 12-18 months that will predict what is going to happen. First, how many pilots do the bigs hire and do they keep a steady state of recruitment. Many companies including the airlines are hoarding cash and getting as much productivity out of their employees as possible. They are not taking chances on growth...but if they do and airlines like Delta and Fedex hire the rumored 60 a month to start then settle to 30 a month each, there will be a lot of pressure placed on the demand side. In some ways the FAA compounded the problem by raising the ATP requirement to 1500 hours, seriously shrinking the pool of direct civilian hires. The other factor is the B Scale...if the demand does begin to stress the supply I would look to see how long short the B Scale gets...if it remains at all...I guess time will tell. I disagree, DoD and USAF have at times shown they could care less about publicity, when the problem becomes severe as some think it will, they will do whatever it takes in the name of "National Security". Realistically the only thing that will stop it if the conditions come to fruition is Congress. Anyway, what do I know, I'm just and old guy.