Majestik Møøse

Here's the actual report. Pretty much the gist of things is that SRBMs will kick our asses and break our jets before they take off. It's too bad that Schwartz didn't read the report, because the congressman missed some key points himself, such as "Substituting F-22s for the F-15s doesn’t change the situation very much, either." "As China’s ability to deliver accurate fire across the strait grows, it is becoming increasingly difficult and soon may be impossible for the United States and Taiwan to protect the island’s military and civilian infrastructures from serious damage. This is hardly surprising, and is rooted in thebasic physical and operational reality that, given foreseeable technologies, it is and will remain cheaper and easier to build rockets able to deliver payloads accurately onto a relatively large and stationary target like a runway than it will be to build rockets able to reliably intercept fast-moving miniscule targets, like other rockets."

OK, so what happened then? Was he a good guy or a bad guy?

Why does she hate "s" so much?

It's OK, they're so facking "elite" that nobody could get within 100 yards of them anyway.

IMO, that's why the stories need to be told. Otherwise the general public will assume she's a typical example of a military pilot. If she wants to use her "female combat fighter pilot" status for personal, public gain, any examples of past buffoonery need to see the light of day. It's only fair.

You are right again Rainman, these light rabbits are much easier to see.

The same thing happens to me every other time I try to throw a grenade in CoD.

This is the only place on the internet where the stories could be posted. It ain't slander if it's true!

A good compromise between nightlife and commuting would be downtown Sac.

Agreed with most of this post. Don't listen to any of that shit above about living local apartments. Get together with 2-4 other Lts (don't worry, half of them will be gone at any one time) and either rent a mansion or live in one of the cities. For $4000-5000 a month you can live like kings and have BAH left over. Listen closely here, I don't have much experience but I do know this: this is the only time in the foreseeable future that you'll be able to live like everyone else wants to. Sooner or later you will meet a girl and marry her. She will most likely have a medium wage job (if at all) and certainly won't want any roommates. THAT's when you'll have the chance to live in a cookie-cutter apartment in Vacaville. What jet are you flying?

Wow I'm impressed by all the love for Kentucky Ale. I've always thought of them as a small hometown brewery, but they've exploded thanks to good products and a cash injection from a giant horse feed corporation. I suppose they can get better deals on barley now. The regular ale is great; the Bourbon Barrel Ale is definitely an acquired taste for some. It loses a lot in the bottle, recommend getting one on tap at Keeneland for the full effect! In the Northeast, Smuttynose makes some great seasonal stuff. The first time I tried their Imperial Stout at Rí Rá in Portsmouth I couldn't believe how good it was.

That creek definitely gains a red hue downstream of the plant. If it isn't blood than it's something else.

It's more like a Creek of Blood, but whatever. I'm amazed that it took so long to catch these guys.

Once again we've pulled off a pristine pirate-killing, hostage-rescuing operation. Awesome! http://news.yahoo.co...-063438091.html US military raid in Somalia frees American, Dane By ABDI GULED and KATHARINE HOURELD | Associated Press – 53 mins ago MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — U.S. Special Forces troops flew into Somalia on a nighttime helicopter raid early Wednesday, freed an American and a Danish hostage and killed nine of the kidnappers in a mission that President Barack Obama said he personally authorized. The Danish Refugee Council confirmed that the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, were freed and "are on their way to be reunited with their families." The raiders came in very quickly, catching the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening, a pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press by phone. Hussein said he was not present at the site but had spoken with other pirates who were, and that they told him nine pirates had been killed in the raid and three were missing. A second pirate who gave his name as Ahmed Hashi said two helicopters attacked at about 2 a.m. about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Somali town of Adado where the hostages were being held. Buchanan, 32, and Thisted, 60, were working with a de-mining unit of the Danish Refugee Council when they were kidnapped in October. The U.S. military's Africa Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, confirmed that nine kidnappers were killed. "Last night's mission, boldly conducted by some of our nation's most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces, exemplifies United States Africa Command's mission to protect Americans and American interests in Africa," said Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command. Obama seemed to refer to the mission before his State of the Union address in Washington Tuesday night. By then it was already Wednesday morning in Somalia. As he entered the House chamber in the U.S. Capitol, Obama pointed at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the crowd and said, "Good job tonight." "As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement released by the White House Wednesday. He said he had authorized the rescue mission on Monday. "Jessica Buchanan was selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being," Obama said. "The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice." A Western official said the helicopters and the hostages flew to a U.S. military base called Camp Lemonnier in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti after the raid. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been released publicly. The timing of the raid may have been made more urgent by a medical condition. The Danish Refugee Council had been trying to work with Somali elders to win the hostages' freedom but had found little success. "One of the hostages has a disease that was very serious and that had to be solved," Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal told Denmark's TV2 channel. Soevndal did not provide any more details. Soevndal congratulated the Americans for the raid and said he had been informed of the action. Panetta visited Camp Lemonnier just over a month ago. A key U.S. ally in this region, Djibouti has the only U.S. base in sub-Saharan Africa. It hosts the military's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. The Danish Refugee Council said both freed hostages are unharmed "and at a safe location." The group said in a separate statement that the two "are on their way to be reunited with their families." Ann Mary Olsen, head of the Danish Refugee Council's international department, was the one who informed the family of Hagen Thisted of the successful military operation. "They (the family) were very happy and incredibly relieved that it is over," she said. The two aid workers appear to have been kidnapped by criminals — sometimes referred to as pirates — and not by Somalia's al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab. As large ships at sea have increased their defenses against pirate attacks, gangs have looked for other money making opportunities like land-based kidnappings. The Danish Refugee Council had earlier enlisted traditional Somali elders and members of civil society to seek the release of the two hostages. "We are really happy with the successful release of the innocents kidnapped by evildoers," said Mohamud Sahal, an elder in Galkayo town, by phone. "They were guests who were treated brutally. That was against Islam and our culture ... These men (pirates) have spoiled our good customs and culture, so Somalis should fight back." Buchanan and Hagen Thisted were seized in October from the portion of Galkayo town under the control of a government-allied clan militia. The aid agency has said that Somalis held demonstrations demanding the pair's quick release. Their Somali colleague was detained by police on suspicion of being involved in their kidnapping. The two hostages were working in northern Somalia for the Danish Demining Group, whose experts have been clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East. Several hostages are still being held in Somalia, including a British tourist, two Spanish doctors seized from neighboring Kenya, and an American journalist kidnapped on Saturday. ___ Associated Press reporters Jason Straziuso in Nairobi, Kenya, and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark contributed to this report. Houreld reported from Nairobi.

Big surprise, Fox News is spinning this as a political move, tacitly implicating the President while painting Brazil as the next Axis of Evil pledge. Fox also doesn't seem to understand the difference between the 750 "Hawkers" we've already bought and a light attack aircraft.

Thread saved by rain+boobs once again.

Those stupid assholes. Here's hoping for a dishonorable discharge followed by a life of minimum wage jobs, if any!

Basically, from what I understand, the CSS went away to save money. Unfortunately the bureaucracy increased, so slack was taken up by pilots who have no training in such matters. Of course we've figured it out anyway because we're good at stuff. So it looks like a great idea. But only a silly person would claim that it doesn't hurt flight training and ops.

Now I will say that there are a lot more guys in a heavy squadron. Upwards of 120. So there are a lot more OPRs/EPRs to manage and bullshit to slow things down. But the amount of Quarterly awards is the worst. We no kidding have 14 awards packages to submit every quarter. Everything from "Airman" and "Airman Performer" to "Jr CGO" and "Civilian Cat II" etc. And yes, in the 4Q we submit all of the same categories for the annual awards too except they literally have 3 times as many bullets. If anybody hasn't figured it out yet, I'm a Sq exec. And though I wish I and the others like me had more time to concentrate on flying, I actually like my job because it gives me a chance to streamline the bullshit process a little better so we all go back to flying better. My Squadron leadership has the same goals. But bureaucracy is a tough bitch to undo.

I'm posting this just so the ACC types can see the level of bullshit that we've reached at our large, West coast AMC base. The Group has 2 full-time execs plus a bunch more dudes on a rotating schedule. The rotating guys spend their entire time only editing OPRs. All pilots. Our Sq has six Execs - mostly to ensure there are always two in the office at any given time. Again, all pilots. We're deployed and TDY a lot. We also have a civilian secretary and usually some additional Major has a Director of Staff title. Plus three pilot flt CCs and three pilot assistants. Multiply this times four flying squadrons plus an OSS. It's not really kosher to "negative reply" a tasker, unless it's an award for a Native American or something, of which we have none. I guess if we did he could clean up! Or she, let's be realistic. My Squadron leadership hates this stuff as much as I do, and I think the OG does to some extent also. Telling your boss "no" is easier said than done. That's why change needs to come from the top-down.

Deputy Execs for everyone!

I can't tell if you're serious or not. If so, please explain.

The more people you have working for you the more shit you can get done for your boss. An O-6 can pull more people than an O-5 and on up the line. Flyers are generally better at stuff (to include satisfying bullshit taskers) so they are most in-demand. As long as the bullshit keeps increasing like it has been, the Exec roster at all levels will get bigger.

Yeah, just piling on.