ClearedHot

Since you saw fit to correct me... fights on; From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities.[1] The Seoul National Capital Area - which includes the major port city of Incheon and satellite towns in Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million inhabitants[2] and is the world's second largest metropolitan area.[3] 1. Thomas Brinkhoff, www.citypopulation.de; South Korea, The registered population of the South Korean provinces and urban municipalities Registered population 2007-12-31. Retrieved on 2008-12-31. 2. http://www.index.go.kr/egams/stts/jsp/pota...%9D%B8%EA%B5%AC 3. R.L. Forstall, R.P. Greene, and J.B. Pick, "Which are the largest? Why published populations for major world urban areas vary so greatly", City Futures Conference, (University of Illinois at Chicago, July 2004) – Table 5 (p.34)

The problem is a preemptive strike will kill the nuke facility, but not the ginormous number of artillery tubes nK has within range of Seoul. I forget the actual number of tubes the north has, but even a few rounds raining down on a city of 10 Million would be an epic catastrophe.

Hale Koa is a nice place, comparable to most of the other hotels on Honolulu. Be sure to have dinner or breakfast at the Shorebird which is just a few doors down, a great place that sits right on the water with great food. Make sure you walk over to Moose Mcgillycuddy's, a great bar within easy walking distance of the Hale Coa. Bellows is also great and I think they reduced reservation period down from a year and when I called last month they had openings. Someone mentioned the North Shore and the Dole Pineapple Plantation, I concur and highly recommend. However, if you do rent a car, be careful on the North Shore...it has a very high crime rate. As I recall you can drive around the east side of the island and check out the following; 1. Diamond Head - not a bad climb to the top and a great view. 2. There is a park with a huge bay, famous place, just can't remember the name...incredible view. 3. Bellows (you don't have to stay there to check the beach out). 4. Waimea Bay on the North Shore. 5. There is a rain forest park on the north side you can walk through. 6. Drive back down the center of the island and go to the Dole Plantation. The smell is amazing...pineapple for miles. The also have or did have a giant maze for the kids.

How about you go eat a bowl of dick... And when setting your watch, how about you flash back and read who started this thread that you have since hijacked into the BFM is the toughest thing we do in the USAF thread. My "inferiority complex" pales in comparison to your ego. I don't track the actual numbers, it is not my job to do so. However, it has been my experience after a long time int he gunship that well over 10% never make it to shooter let alone master auto fixed 1:1. Please read your own advice when posting condescending remarks...maybe if you had a set of Dave Clark Headsets you could hear that better. Hacker, I was trying to support your statement before the egomaniacs rolled in with their bigger schlong non-sense argument. In the AFSOC community we see a fairly high washout rate and it applies to multiple crew positions. On the officer side, when a dude can't make it through Co-pilot school but never master the Aircraft Commander job...that does not always generate a FEB, in most cases it buys a white jet assignment or another airframe. It still amazes me the friction between Fighter Pilots and what they consider the "you're important too guys". It is nonsense...complete nonsense.

Same could be said for anyone who could not make it going to the assault strip, NVG dirt landings, or shooting auto-fixed 1:1. Sorry but BFM is not the only tough thing pilots do.

My "spare" nametag looks like this; Ben Doverbich

Posted outside the video thread because some are arguing this T-38 killed a Raptor during a within visual range fight. As with other purported F-22 kills (aka F-18 HUD snaps), there is likely MUCH more to this video than meets the eye. Regardless, it will likely be used as fooder for more nonsensical arguments.

How did that one turn out for you?

Oh the naiveté of youth. A few months ago in person I saw a great plan briefed to CSAF, he responded, "do you have the package, I will sign it right now". It has since become firmly trapped in the in the claws of the Airstaff who just decided to disapprove what CSAF said he would approve. I you for believing you can still make a difference. As Jimmy Buffet once said, I wish I didn't know now, what I didn't know then...

UFB!!! For nearly 30 years, Father Louie Vitale -- a 76-year-old former Air Force navigator turned Franciscan monk and peace activist -- has traveled to the remote deserts of the Southwest to demonstrate against ... well, just about everything involving America's military. He's been thrown in jail for protesting the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, the wars in Iraq and the military's interrogation procedures, to name just a few of his more than 200 arrests. But these days, Vitale (pictured, fourth from left) and his fellow activists have a new target in the mountains and deserts north of Las Vegas: America's fleet of killer drones. "We've been out there in that very desert, stopping nuclear testing, for over 30 years now," he tells Democracy Now. "All of a sudden, we noticed down the street ... all of these drones." At first, he thought they were just practice drones. "Then we find out that they're bombing and bombing and bombing in Afghanistan." In Central Asia, the unmanned strikes on suspected militants have become one of the most controversial elements of the eight-year campaign against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Late last week, Pakistan's prime minister demanded that America hand over control of the drones operating in his country to the Islamabad government. The News of Pakistan accused the tele-operated aircraft of "perishing 687 innocent Pakistani civilians" in 60 separate strikes, while only "killing 14 wanted al Qaeda leaders." But here in America, the unmanned attacks have gone on largely without protest. Even the professional activist types have largely ignored the robots and their military masters. Last Thursday afternoon, however, Vitale and 13 other demonstrators marched into Nevada's Creech Air Force Base, where the military remotely pilots the unmanned aircraft that fly over Afghanistan and Iraq. They sat down, and began to sing and pray -- part of a 10-day vigil dubbed "Ground the Drones." About an hour later, they were arrested by the State Police. At the activists' behest, the cops then drove them to Las Veags for booking. "When we were released on Good Friday morning, we did what any normal Christian would do," Vitale's compatriot, John Dear, writes. "We went back to the scene of the crime and continued to pray and speak out for an end to U.S. warmaking." Dear then launches into a rather purple account about his detention, release and return to Creech -- just in time for a "Stations of the Cross" demonstration, he notes. With 60 folks, we read and prayed through each modern-day station, learning how Jesus is condemned and crucified all over again in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan because of our weapons and wars. We prayed, sang and reflected along the towering chain fence of the military base — and were interrupted repeatedly by the drones flying overhead. We saw with our own eyes that these drones are real, that our country is dead set on killing, that these weapons are no joke. We tried to take action, to say as Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemani, "Stop, no more of this!" Tomorrow on Easter Sunday morning, we will gather for mass at the Nevada test site, then walk on to that military base to offer the risen Jesus' gift of resurrection peace and get arrested all over again. So it goes.

On Monday, traffic from China to YouTube began dwindling until it dried up nearly completely today, due to a site-wide block of the popular video sharing site in that country. Google says it has no idea why it's being blocked. China has demonstrated the ability to block access only to certain YouTube URLs as part of its ongoing censorship of the internet, so this site-wide ban represents a significant change in strategy. "We do not know the reason for the blockage," a Google spokesman told Wired.com, "and we're working as quickly as possible to restore access to our users in China." However, he did not specify what those steps might be. It's possible that one of the thousands of workers responsible for censoring the internet in China was overzealous in blocking the entire site instead of individual videos. Or perhaps something on YouTube made the Chinese government more upset than previous YouTube videos had done. Either way, all of YouTube is now blocked in China. Some speculate that officials could be upset about footage of Chinese soldiers beating Tibetans appearing on the site. Another possible reason for the blockade is the US Navy's recent release of videos depicting five Chinese ships apparently trying to snag a Sonar array cable trailing behind the USNS Impeccable, which appeared on YouTube. The U.S. Navy's official version of events, issued March 8, was that "Impeccable was conducting routine survey operations in international waters 75 miles south of Hainan Island when it was harassed by five Chinese vessels." The Chinese disagreed on March 13: "The story of the U.S. side is totally untrue and unacceptable." Whatever the reason, Chinese citizens no longer have access to any of the videos of YouTube. China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters on Tuesday, "China's internet is open enough, but also needs to be regulated by law in order to prevent the spread of harmful information and for national security." Apparently, that "harmful information" includes laughing Wii baby, Chocolate Rain, our SXSW video coverage, and everything else on YouTube.

Dudes, The CAF DT or Combat Air Forces Development Team is going to meet to vector for for school and command soon. The ADP or Airmen Development Plan is your voice in the process. Hopefully you have had a chance to sit down with your boss for a feedback session and hopefully that feedback session was a two way street. I highly advise you take some time to log on to the portal and build your ADP to meet with you specific career goals. Two types of ADPs I have seen go something like this; 1. It is my desire to command at all levels, as an IDE select I was like to attend at the earliest opportunity followed by a tour on the Joint Staff. Following that assignment I would like to return to fly in a leadership position. My choices of preference are X, Y, & Z. or 2. It is my desire to serve my country and fly as much as possible. I would like to remain at this base for a long as possible. My choice of follow on bases is X, Y, Z. Either one of these is acceptable in my opinion, honest feedback and expectations are the key. Once you fill out the entire ADP (there are several tabs), send it to your SQ/CC, THEN TELL HIM YOU DID! The system does not notify the boss that you sent it. When the DT meets they will consider your statements along with the endorsement from the boss as they make a future vector on where you should go. If the ADP is blank you have missed a chance to express your vote and it may be seen as "this person does not care, so lets send him to a UAS".

Blasphemer!!!

AMRAAM = Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile CFT = Conformal fuel tanks MOD = Modification FAST packs = Fuel And Sensor Tactical Packs IRST = Infrared Search and Track AESA = Active Electronically Scanned Array - (V3 denotes version #3) Double Digit SAM = Typically denotes latest generation of Radar Guided Surface to Air Missiles each has two digits in the numerical identifier (Examples include SA-10, SA-12, S-20 & SA-21)

You ain't seen nothing...two years ago a AFSOC Wing/CC dropped General Order #1 on his folks deploying to Nellis for Weapons School ME.

MOSCOW – A Russian Air Force chief said Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported. The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, also said Cuba could be used to base the aircraft, Interfax reported. The Kremlin, however, said the situation was hypothetical. "The military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all," Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told The Associated Press. "If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said. Zhikharev said Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers," the agency reported. "If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible." Interfax reported he said earlier that Cuba has air bases with four or five runways long enough for the huge bombers and could be used to host the long-range planes. Two Russian bombers landed in Venezuela last year in what experts said was the first Western Hemisphere touchdown of Russian military craft since the end of the Cold War. Cuba has never permanently hosted Russian or Soviet strategic aircraft. But Soviet short-range bombers often made stopovers there during the Cold War. Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus. Independent military analyst Alexander Golts said from a strategic point of view there was nothing for Russia to gain from basing long-range craft within relatively short range of U.S. shores. "It has no military sense. The bombers don't need any base. This is just a retaliatory gesture," Golts said, saying Russia wanted to hit back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters. Moscow and the new U.S. administration of President Barack Obama have appeared to want to mend their relations, which reached a post-Cold War low last year when Russia's invasion of U.S. ally Georgia compounded disputes on security and democracy. U.S. plans initiated under former President George W. Bush to position defense missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic had particularly irked Russia, which has welcomed his successor's apparently more cautious approach to the divisive issue. Venezuela and Cuba, traditionally fierce U.S. foes, have close political and energy relations with Russia.

Do you even read what is posted? Who said China wants to conquer or destroy the U.S.? Choke yourself. The "chopped up quote" talks about their strategy....not a desire to rule the world. Maybe they would by up trillions in bonds to secure a position of advantage... The mistake of simple minds is to apply western values and ideology to every adversary we face. In the case of China it is not about world domination, it is to an extend about influence but more importantly the way they view their sovereignty. If you actually take the time to read the source of these "chopped up" quotes you might find a rational that makes sense from their perspective. The Taiwan question is not even a question in their mind and they are incredulous that it is a question in our mind. Try viewing Taiwan from their perspective in the following example... As Americans how would we feel if a group tried to over throw our government through an armed rebellion? They waged a war across the western states but we prevailed and they retreated to California. Somehow they were able to leave California and make it to Hawaii where they consolidated their position. After the fight we did not have enough Schlitz left to take Hawaii back...it will take time for us to build a Navy strong enough to do so. Suddenly China pops up and says they support and will DEFEND the island of Hawaii against the folks on the U.S. mainland... Would their be any question in ours minds about the status of Hawaii? Hawaii is a U.S. state....sovereign territory of the United States of America and we would do whatever we could, whenever we could to get it back. That is how the Chinese view Taiwan.

Concur... “Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.” – Deng Xiaoping “. . . resolutely and effectively carry out the sacred duty of defending national sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, and security . . .” – President Hu Jintao

The point is....China

"Massage Therapists"...

You need to talk to your current commander as well as here. Both will have a hotline to AFPC and the functionals that can get the ground truth. It has been my experience that APFC is more than accommodating, sometime too accommodating in my opinion...to the detriment of the single guys. Regardless, talk to your CC's

Perhaps this will make it more clear... Wall Street Journal March 2, 2009 Pg. 14 Declining Defense Obama's budget does cut one federal department. For all of his lavish new spending plans, President Obama is making one major exception: defense. His fiscal 2010 budget telegraphs that Pentagon spending is going to be under pressure in the years going forward. The White House proposes to spend $533.7 billion on the Pentagon, a 4% increase over 2009. Include spending on Iraq and Afghanistan, which would be another $130 billion (or a total of $664 billion), and overall defense spending would be around 4.2% of GDP, the same as 2007. However, that 4% funding increase for the Pentagon trails the 6.7% overall rise in the 2010 budget -- and defense received almost nothing extra in the recent stimulus bill. The Joint Chiefs requested $584 billion for 2010 and have suggested a spending floor of 4% of GDP. Both pleas fell on deaf ears. The White House budget puts baseline defense spending at 3.7% of GDP, not including Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget summary pleads "scarce resources" for the defense shortfall, which is preposterous given the domestic spending blowout. More ominously, Mr. Obama's budget has overall defense spending falling sharply starting in future years -- to $614 billion in 2011, and staying more or less flat for a half decade. This means that relative both to the economy and especially to domestic priorities, defense spending is earmarked to decline. Some of this assumes less spending on Iraq, which is realistic, but it also has to take account of Mr. Obama's surge in Afghanistan. That war won't be cheap either. The danger is that Mr. Obama may be signaling a return to the defense mistakes of the 1990s. Bill Clinton slashed defense spending to 3% of GDP in 2000, from 4.8% in 1992. We learned on 9/11 that 3% isn't nearly enough to maintain our commitments and fight a war on terror -- and President Bush spent his two terms getting back to more realistic outlays for a global superpower. American defense needs are, if anything, even more daunting today. Given challenges in the Mideast and new dangers from Iran, an erratic Russia, a rising China, and potential threats in outer space and cyberspace, the U.S. should be in the midst of a concerted military modernization. Mr. Obama's budget isn't adequate to meet those challenges. That means Secretary of Defense Robert Gates faces some hard choices when he finishes his strategic review this spring. An early glimpse will come soon when the Pentagon must decide whether to continue to purchase more Lockheed F-22 Raptors. The Air Force is set to buy 183 of the next generation fighters, though it wanted 750, which would be enough to give the U.S. air supremacy over battlefields over the next three decades. Now the fighter may be prematurely mothballed. Weapons programs, such as missile defense or the Army's Future Combat Systems, are also in danger. Others have been ridiculously delayed. The Air Force flies refueling tankers from the Eisenhower era. Mr. Obama's own 30-something Marine One helicopter is prone to break down and technologically out of date. The Pentagon shouldn't get a blank check, though much of its procurement waste results from the demands made by Congress. Mr. Gates has also rightly focused on the immediate priority of irregular warfare and counterinsurgency. But history also teaches that a nation that downplays potential threats -- such as from China in outer space -- is likely to find itself ill-prepared when they arrive. The U.S. ability to project power abroad has been crucial to maintaining a relatively peaceful world, but we have been living off the fruits of our Cold War investments for too long. We can't afford another lost defense decade.

Exactly...

Step away from the computer, open a bottle of Maker's Mark, pour over ice, drink....repeat.