FourFans

I'm not on either side of your debate, but do bear in mind that this is a Russian war. Historically speaking, they're just getting warmed up. Russians are decidedly eastern in their views on the value of human life, so using a body-count in any argument concerning this war completely mis-understands the utterly genocidal and horrific cultural context. Not saying I approve, but facts are facts. If you want a real tour-de-blood, go look up the Russian revolution or the history of the Cossacks (Ukrainian ancestors). It's absolutely brutal.

This was so accurate for my last AD squadron.

...and somehow also Chang's IRL actual exec. Crazy times.

That is absolutely and in all imaginable ways depressing for everyone on that base. Individuals who've never been responsible for so much as a flight meal order and letting them lead an entire wing. Wow.

...until you realize that if it were up to a straight popular vote, LA and NYC would set the federal agenda...yeah, that popular vote that would replace the electoral college that so many keep saying we should abolish. Crazy to think what would happen to the coasts of this country if they were divorced from the center of this country. Mass starvation, for one. The modern woke liberal agenda is so far removed from reality that it's literally suicidal.

So @nsplayr and @Prozac, you both have defended your support of Biden, and you've both been rather quiet recently. What do you guys think about this?

You guys sure do know your cows. So, which is it...ya'll AWACS backseaters, or do you just hang out at the AJ's by Hurbie?

...soooooo ops normal for an AWACS unit?

Did I just hear a ClearedHot/Biff_T ticket with M2 nominated as the head of ATF?

Quote that for posterity...and all the new three letters have definitely learned that lesson...

H3 hearing waiver here. Yes. You can have HORRIBLE hearing and still be on flight status. The booth of pain is nothing more than a screener to see if you need to go to the real booth...which isn't painful at all. The real one is preceded by a device clammed to your head (not BQZip's mom) that plays sonar sounds and maps what your hearing should be. Then you sit in a real sound proof booth and you play the game again with high def speakers and not a headset, which tests the connections between brain and ear. The device maps what your hearing should be. The booth maps what your hearing is. The only reason they need the booth is to make sure your brain is actually receiving the inputs the ear is sending. Bonus: If you have a competent audiologist, the high def speaker test will have a "repeat this word" test, which is the result of a 30 year speech pathology study examining how hearing degradation impacts speech degradation as we get older. Basically what we hear turns into what we say, and it's very subtle. But once you hear it, you can't unknow it. BTW yes, at 40 years old I became a hearing aid recipient. Interesting sidebar: After having personally gone through that audiology and speech pathology wringer, it is clear that our current president relies on lip reading, an ear piece, and is stone cold Boomer def. The signs are easy to pick up once you know what to look for. It sadly explains some of his gaffed responses...(that, and the outright lies...fo example his academic record...no hearing problem there)...definitely not an excuse, and frankly a reason he shouldn't be in office...but I digress. God help us. TLDR: You can have horrible hearing. So long as you can still do your job (i.e. your D.O. signs of that you can still hear the RWR tones), you're good to go. H3 waiver takes about 3-4 months to process. If you lead turn it, you'll never leave flight status. P.S. Tinnitus gets you 10%. Hearing loss gets you 0% (but they pay for your hearing aids every 3 years...supposedly)

...so what we really need is an amphibious 10k forklift...

No. They don't. UPS just eased up on that too when they allowed beards recently. Of course UPS isn't hiring at the moment, but knowing UPS, that can change in a heartbeat.

Samuel L Jackson would be droppin the MFing Hades Bombs all over that bitch! How do we make this happen?!

Noted. I'll bet you're great at parties. Be aware that just because your perspective is jaded doesn't mean the rest of us have to adopt that perspective. Yes, the premise for going there was broken from the beginning. The leadership was, and is trash. Just because the task is misguided doesn't mean the workers have to be automatons with no judgment or power to alter the outcome towards good. Maybe you were. I'm sorry to hear that. I refuse to be and I did my best to make life and the mission better for everyone in my sphere of influence. You may have wasted your time, but I didn't waste mine. I know many who didn't. We are not defined by the negative view of the those who wasted their time.

Roth TSP 5-10% of base pay, 10% of bonuses. Split 70%/30%(ish) C/S funds. If not that, 100% C fund. Let it ride. If possible increase 1% a year until hitting 25% and she'll have million in that by the times she's in her late 30s. Should still be able to invest in the Roth IRA without hitting contribution limits (62,000 this year I think?). Definitely gotta get the match as bear minimum though. I know the 1% increase a year sounds like a lot, and it is, so that depends entirely on lifestyle/marriage/living situation etc. Just remember that you only get to contribute to the TSP while you serve, and the funds there are ones that financial analysts routinely drool over, especially the G fund for it's in-retirement value maintenance. A little deeper: The C is basically an S&P 500, which covers major US and is, effectively, international in diversification because all major companies on the S&P are international in scope and investment. Therefore no need for the I fund. The G/B funds are great for later in life, but unless in youth.

I have to agree with the point that if the gloves had come all the way off, killing those s-heads would have happened years faster than it did.

This. In spades. The work the military did within the absolutely abhorrent constraints our moronic political leadership imposed was as good as it could have been. It should have ended under GW. If not, it definitely should have ended under Obama. I'll not even address the absolute abortion that generates our current military and political 'guidance', as the word "leadership" in no way applies to them. Backing up even more, the concept of a "war on terror" was doomed from the very beginning, and never should have happened. Regardless of the idiots in charge, the boots on the ground did an outstanding job to get the job of identifying and suppressing bad actors as best possible within the shitshow that was the ROE. Amazingly, they were able to keep bad actors on their side of the ocean, even if they spread. They spread because they had to in order to come close to surviving. The destruction of ISIS was a fair enough example of having some of the gloves taken off. In any case, they were definitely kept on their back foot, and rarely had the initiative. It was not in vain. What's concerning to me is that we developed an amazing surveillance capacity to develop POL, and I can easily see those capabilities turned on our own citizens by a government that is quickly turning into a ruling class instead of one that derives it's power from the consent of the governed.

It wasn't for nothing. I'll come off the top ropes on anyone who says differently. For 20 years we kept the wolf on his side of the fence, and he didn't even THINK about making it to our front door. It was expensive in blood and treasure in modern historical terms, but unprecedently cost effective and unbelievably useful in long view historical terms. Not only did we secure our own and our allies safety for 20 years, we put the ever living fear of God in anyone who would challenge our military strength. More importantly, we can back up that fact. Unfortunately it feels like a waste, and I understand that...thoroughly...I was there, but it wasn't wasted. The mental and emotional health of the men and women who did the heavy lifting hinges on embracing the facts, not the feelings, and is far too important to simply throw out: It was all for nothing. That's a lie. Stop propagating it.

Wear sunscreen every flight, even if you wear a helmet and visor.

Is that 6.5?

I like where you're going with that...

Dude. It's the SQUADRON BAR. Get off your high horse and have a beer. Better yet, don't, and leave.

Oh no, you're entirely correct. He can. That's not what's happening right now though. The IRR is different than the Retired Reserve. There'd be a bloody mutiny if he tried to recall the retired reserve right now.

So, new English translation: If you RETIRED, You're good.