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herkbum

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Posts posted by herkbum

    The Next President is...

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    It’s great man! Fantastic place to live and to visit. I’m staying busy, full-time line IP, not a bad gig. Technically bumming but on several back-to-back 365s which I refer to “the franchise tag” haha. Hope I don’t blow my ACL and the GM has to cut me
    Whatcha been up to lately?


    Loving retirement! The retirement job keeps me on the road half the month but love it when I’m home.


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    The Next President is...

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    I'll reiterate that I'm not gonna respond to political stuff anymore. There is no need to @ me. I've always been a mainstream liberal democrat, a Kerry-Obama-Obama-Clinton-Biden voter, and probably always will be. If in the future you have questions like, "What would nsplayr think about XX?" you can look at what the mainstream Dems are saying and that's probably close enough for government work.
    If you really want to know my political opinions, feel free to reach out and we can hang out in person if you ever visit Nashville or if I'm TDY to wherever you are. I've wasted enough time & energy debating here for 15+ years. For where I'm at in life now, the juice ain't worth the squeeze. It probably never was. Being a keyboard warrior is a terrible hobby that I don't recommend anyone partake in, and I've officially given it up after a long and illustrious career.
    I'll probably still comment sometimes on AF-related stuff and my DMs are always open to help out homies who wanna know more about Draco, the Guard, L3 Harris, the MQ-9, Nashville, etc. I've learned a lot about the Air Force, have gotten good advice from older dudes, and have enjoyed all the RUMINT since joining BO.net as a baby 2dLt...I'm still happy to pay it forward to the next guys for whatever my $0.02 are worth.


    How is NashVegas? Staying busy and are you guard bumming?


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    College Football

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Its scholastic sports man, it's not pro sports. The introduction of large amounts of money to the players fundamentally changes the motivations and reasons behind playing the game. It used to be a player chose a school for a multitude of reasons. Instead the primary factor now is the NIL deal and whether Tuscaloosa Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge is going to put something on the table that's better than Mercedes of Ann Arbor. That in of itself changes why college football was great, because it wasn't anything like the NFL. Players played for the school, not a contract. 
     
     


    You have that backwards. Saban owns multiple Mercedes dealerships in the south.


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    Recruiting Crisis: 9% want to serve

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Show me where anyone made that argument. I'll wait, cause I know you're making shit up right now.
    What I'm talking about is that you keep going on and on about your own experiences. "I can name positive experiences...", "I just paint...", "I'm also honest...". In the post before that, you went on and on about how some kid that goes to Delta at 23 "will never have the badass experiences I had" and so on.
    It's not about you bro, goddamn, try taking yourself out of the conversation for 5 seconds. You even assume others must have been miserable while they were in, because otherwise why would we not agree? That's because recognize that it's not about us. It's not about you.
    It's not about your past, it's about relating relevant info about the kid's future, that's literally all I'm saying. Great that you can share stories from your past, but if that's all you have to offer, then you're hopelessly out of touch.


    How can you not talk about your own experiences? Especially since that is what people are asking you about, at least in my experience. Your opinion is formed by how the experience affected you and those you know.

    If someone wanted to ask about something they hadn’t experienced, go ask a college professor. Most of them don’t have any real experience in what they are “experts” in, they only learned about something by reading.


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    • Upvote 1

    Hunter Biden Thread

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    You’re welcome. I had no problems with the pre-Tea Party Republican Party. Their platform was reasonable and the vast majority of them were decent human beings who just happened to disagree with Democrats. Post Tea Party, something happened that turned the core of the Republican Party absolutely rotten. It’s only gotten worse with people like MTG and Boebert saying and doing disgusting things for attention. I guess the party of family values enjoys showing photos of a guy having sex in Congress. One of Jesus’ teachings was “Thou shalt show revenge porn photos of your enemies in a public political forum.” 
     
     


    And The Progressives have helped your party so much. All parties have their problems.


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    Recruiting Crisis: 9% want to serve

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, M2 said:


    But the volunteering difference really struck a cord with me after I retired and joined a State Defense Force thanks to a former USAF bud who was already in and talked me into it. 

    If you are not familiar with those, they are military units who operate under the sole authority of a state government as authorized by state and Federal law (in 1940, Congress amended the National Defense Act of 1916 to allow them), and are under the command of the governor of each state.  State defense forces are distinct from National Guard units in that they cannot be Federalized, which in turn means no Federal funds can be used to sustain them.  

    So what that boils down to is service in SDFs are true volunteers as they do so pro bono.  My TXARNG counterpart across the hall from my office at the armory makes $1,448.24 for his weekend, whereas not only am I unpaid but all my expenses (uniforms, equipment, meals gas, etc.) are out of pocket as well as the amount of time I have to put into my duties (usually in addition to drill, it's an hour or two daily, sometimes more).  As you can imagine, it gets to be a very expensive "hobby!"

    So while I am no disparaging those on Active Duty or in the Guard and Reserves, I now have a second perspective of what "noble volunteerism" is about.  Honestly, when I get "thanked for my service" these days, I take it more to heart.

    And, for anyone still interested enough to be reading this far, our mission for the state is mainly emergency management.  We can be activated more easily and quicker than our TXARNG and TXANG counterparts, and are trained to assist state and Federal agencies in establishing shelters and distribution points for disaster survivors.  We also have other related missions to include operating emergency tracking networks, supporting comms, security, SAR, conducting wide area searches in disaster areas, medical support, boat and dive crews, and anything else I can get my unit trained and certified to do.  Our mission is to initiate and sustain these operations until the TXARNG and TXANG can recall and deploy their troops and equipment into the area, which can take up to two weeks. 

    Just to add, when we are activated on State Active Duty (SAD) orders we are eligible for per diem of $179/day but there is no rank pay at all.  So the E-1 is getting the same money as I am.  Also, we do have the opportunity to deploy to the Texas border mission (Operation LONE STAR) which has additional compensation to the tune of $84K/yr; but that is mainly offered to enlisted and CGOs.  I have about 27 troops on that mission at the moment...

    So if you think it's tough trying to recruit and retain quality individuals for Active Duty, imagine the leadership challenge to do so for a mission which normally doesn't pay!  

     


    I worked with the TN guys when I was assigned to JFHQ and a friend of mine is the current CC for the state (at the rank of BG, he’s a retired ARNG O-6). Great group of folks!!


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    • Like 1

    Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

     
     

     
    In the ANG, you also have the BAO gig, which can be a legit opportunity for the family to experience a sleepy overseas assignment.  If I hadn't been trying to get hours ASAP for the airlines, I'd have gladly done the BAO gig for our state partner...2-3 years in Budapest doesn't sound all that bad.  I know another guy who did 2-3 years in Tallinn, Estonia who had a ball.  Having spent 3+ months in Tallinn, I'd have gladly spent 3+ years there.  


    I did a 2 year BAO stint in Sofia and loved it. I also kept flying but had to drop a few quals to maintain currency. Also met my wife there, luckily she’s an American. I always recommend the tour to folks.


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    • Like 2

    The Next President is...

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    As a native Nashvillian, who loves the city, I am so happy I no longer live there. It is not the same city I grew up and lived in for so many years. It is overcrowded and no infrastructure to support the growth. We are in the same state but in a smaller city where I went to college and we love it. It still feels like it did in the early 90s when I was in school there.

    There has also been so many non natives Nashvillians that have moved in that the city has lost it’s friendliness that I grew up loving. I remember driving or walking thru the city or downtown and everyone spoke to each other or waved when passing. There really aren’t very many Nashvillians downtown unless they are going to a Titans or Predators game. When we had the opportunity to move, we were happy to do so. When we come back to visit, the City definitely has a different feel to it. My old neighborhood has been invaded by non Tennesseans that were not trying to leave the policies that everyone is speaking about, but moved because of their job or wanting to live in a city/state without an income tax. It created disagreements and the HOA webpage became very entertaining. I miss many of the people I grew up and worked with, but the city has gotten too metropolitan for us. Last month when we were there for a birthday party, my wife looked at me and we both agreed we were happy that we had moved.


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