brabus

I should be smarter on this, but was there ever a limit on scope/number of EOs the exec branch had in years past? Regardless of party in the WH, I agree we shouldn't be seeing rule by EO. But they're needs to be some capability for the times Congress is gridlocked and accomplishing nothing (which seems most of the time these days). I don't know what the "right" scope/number is, but I do know we need less govt power immediately.

This is a very general statement and certainly not applicable to every situation, but cranium's up to people using VA loans in this market - I know some people who have lost several home deals because the VA appraiser comes in way lower than "actual" market value, and the buyers don't have the cash on hand to make up the difference between appraised value and offered price. You may be setting yourself up for stress and disappointment if you plan on doing a low % down VA financing. Recommend talk to your realtor about this and get their feelings on the local appraisers. Yes, this could also happen with conventional loans, but anecdotally seems the VA appraisers are worse, which isn't surprising considering they're your "typical" government civilian employee. Just something to think about/research in your specific area.

The financial argument I’ve heard is the sustainment cost is where the “win” is. But other than that, it was not the best move IMO…still a shitload of money for a less capable platform.

You would love the Wolfman on the charger for sure. One thing to consider is find a company you think you’ll want to generally stick with. They all have their own mounting solutions (e.g. quick connect muzzle devices), so if you buy multiple cans you can use them with one muzzle device system. Of course this is N/A if you think you’ll just match a can to each firearm you want suppressed. But, I really like that I can use one can on every firearm I care to suppress.

Deadair Wolfman. I’m incredibly impressed with it; amazing on 300 BLK and 9mm. Haven’t shot it yet on .223, but it’ll work on any .30 cal or smaller round, full auto with subs, semi with supers. I used silencer co for purchase and NFA Trust (not all states accept their single shot trust version, so I went with old tried and true). Find a store with one of their kiosks for digital prints, and they have them for life when you buy more NFA items. They’re doing the e-forms now - 78 days for a guy here. Highly recommend silencer co for a one stop shop (and great customer service).

I can think of at least two DFCs that were laughable, but were absolutely ramrodded through for PA reasons. That said, neither are on the individual, they didn’t do anything poorly or wrong, just were used as a pawn in some politicized PA game. Also loved seeing command chiefs get bronze stars (who did nothing besides push queep inside the wire), meanwhile JTAC bros in the shit weren’t given squat because “well they weren’t here for a year like chief X”…go fuck yourself awards system.

That sucks, but honestly par for the course. Happens all the time in the AF…seen many DFC-worthy things go down, but not even a mention past a “good work, see you tomorrow.” Meanwhile someone else gets a DFC for doing something that amounts to standard daily ops. It seems to not matter much what happened, but if the boss and their bosses are hopped up to do paperwork and give out a medal. Personally, fuck it, your bros know the guy you are and what you’ve accomplished - their assessment means more than any mil award. Caveat: I know several people with legit DFCs, this is not an attack on those who did some seriously great shit and actually got officially recognized.

Must have ended, boo!!!

There have been a lot of recordings of conscripts calling family back home where it goes something like this: Con: "Fuck this place, I was supposed to be home a month ago and they're saying we're not leaving." Family: "But you're doing great things, you'll be a war hero!" Con: "Fuck their medals, I don't want that, I don't want to die here and I'm sick of all my friends dying" Family: "Yeah but you guys are kicking their ass!" Con: "The fuck we are, we don't even know if we're hitting anything, but they're sure as shit hitting us!" And so forth. Conversations like this seem to shed light on what the general population is being fed information-wise vs. what is actually being experienced in Ukraine. Surely there are groups of people who know better and are protesting, but seems like they're the minority.

Cranium's up, Aero Precision is offering 20% off for military right now. Also, I haven't personally seen in the .20s for 9mm. Now what you need to do, is get into reloading because you can "save so much money" (or spend the same and shoot more; but I tell my wife it's cheaper!)

O Face nailed it (pun intended?) I think most fighter units don't give a shit about the paperwork side at this point...are you a good dude they want to work with, appear to have the aptitude required to succeed in the fighter track training pipeline, and will contribute to the squadron's mission post-training at an "acceptable" level. Those are all fairly subjective criterion and will ebb and flow depending on current and projected manning. To manage expectations though, you do realistically have a much tougher mountain to climb than a current fighter pilot. That said, every unit is different in desires and needs, so you may find a brick wall at one fighter unit while another is very interested in you. If you're not completely tied to living in a specific location, recommend casting a wide net.

That’s awesome. While some places are definitely better than others, nowhere is safe from this crap. It is directed to the states from the federal level, so it is there in some form, even if “minor” in comparison to off-the-rail places like CA, etc. Bottom line is parents need to be vigilant and continuously demand full transparency and understanding of curriculum their kids are under. If there’s the slightest pushback from teachers, admin, or school board when you ask pointed questions and demand to see things for yourself - you have a much bigger problem than you think.

Why are parents surprised? This shit is everywhere. If any of you read this and say, “glad that’s not in my kid’s (public) school,” you’re 100% wrong. Time for everyone to get off their asses and fight this bullshit.

You know who else offers $35k bonuses…the guard.

At this point, the optimist in me is hoping this egregious abortion of the last 2 years (and especially the last year) has pissed so many people off that the far left has shot themselves in the foot 10 times over, and we'll see them and all of their bullshit shoved aside into the dark corner of the basement where they belong.

Magpul Zhukov attached (many thanks oh benevolent government for deciding to allow me to exercise my constitutional rights). Works great, feels great...definitely recommend for any scorpion owners out there.

As an IP, you’re always instructing/viewing performance through an IP lens, regardless if you’re writing a grade sheet that day. You should do the same as an evaluator, meaning you know how an individual is doing overall when they get to an eval. So, take the big pic approach and don’t be the douche who downgrades a guy on a mistake he just happened to make that specific flight. If you can’t take the big pic/is-it-a-trend approach, you’re a shitty SEFE. I hope this helps a young SEFE in the future be a good one. To answer the original question, I’ve seen one Q3 and one Q2 in my entire fighter career…both are patches after the fact and one is a graduated SQ/CC. Downgrades happen occasionally, but are fairly rare.

Age is the key limiting factor - my opinion is keep trying guard until you have to apply to AD to avoid age stopping you from UPT altogether.

Hopefully the 90 days wait claim pans out. It’s just the excuse I need to get another can!

Thanks for the assist Huggy/Guardian. Big pic, please PM me if you fly GA in the Florida panhandle, trying to help a buddy out in Niceville.

Thanks Huggy. I searched every variation I could think of and couldn’t find it…fail on my part. Mods - feel free to delete this one.

Am I taking crazy pills thinking there was a dedicated GA flying thread? I swear there was one and it appears to be gone (or I’m wrong and it never existed). Either way, 1) it needs to exist, 2) Can anyone who flies GA in the Florida panhandle shoot me a PM. Trying to help out a buddy in Niceville with some airplane ownership stuff, but need some up-to-date local knowledge if you’re willing to share. Obligatory picture…

It’s amazing how these shoe clerks act like you’re trying to withdraw money from their personal checking account, but then they have no problem buying another $50k round of TVs for the wing to replace all the perfectly functional TVs bought 2 years ago…because EOY funds (but not to be spent on shit you actually want/need).

Yep, and if a vendor complains about not wanting to play with another IRT to mission systems functioning together, then get fucked, next! OA and modularity can make this a reality. The gov must remain the prime or else it will fail.

Stealing partially from the century series method is an idea out there, and probably not a bad one. We paralyze ourselves by seeking the 100% gold plated solution (with constant moving goalposts). Make a 69% solution A-model and buy 30, make the 80% solution B-model and by 50, etc. Expect models to be valid on the peer level for a few years, then you need the next one (and old ones are now night 8 instead of 1, adapted into wingman UAVs, etc).