Everything posted by gearhog
- How to leave Afghanistan
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The new NGB RUTA policy...
I just hit 3 year O5 TIG. The next day I did the few outprocessing checklist items that I figured would keep me out of trouble and called it good. I definitely miss the fellas, but I have never felt more free and less stressed. I was worried Iād have regrets, now I think I waited too long. (22 yrs.) Iām only a curious spectator now. Not my monkeys, not my circus anymore.
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The new NGB RUTA policy...
Is this a policy or a mistake? Or both?
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Taxes, the Deficit/Debt, and the Fiscal Cliff
Help me out here. I've probably been listening to way too much Ray Dalio, Peter Schiff, George Gammon and others. The end is near! Tell me why I shouldn't pull out of the market tomorrow, build a gold vault under my house, and stock up on ammo based on the following ideas trapped in my head: - $23 Trillion in debt and the Federal government under Trump continues to add $1Trillion per year when the Federal Government owns only about $4T in assets. - Growth in Banking/Finance/Services industries accounts for the growth in GDP while manufacturing continues to decline. We're consuming way more than we're producing. - Economy is 70% consumer spending and consumers are more in debt than ever. Home, Auto, Student, and Credit Cart Debt are all time highs during a time of record prosperity. - On top of that, the individual taxpayer share of government debt is approx $140,000. - Quantitative Easing is flooding the system with dollar bills that will drive massive inflation. That inflation will force lenders to raise rates. A 1% raise in interest will cost the government an additional $200 Billion per year in debt maintenance. Artificially keeping rates low during inflation is effectively stealing the savings of you and I. - The market is propped up by cheap money flooding into corporate buybacks and bad businesses whose shares are priced according to revenue, not profitability. - We're going to see some social unrest before and after the election. Trump won't win. To mitigate the anti-capitalist social unrest (already occurring elsewhere), the next socialist-leaning democratic administration won't cut benefits, they'll raise taxes, print money, and fuck everything up. Can anyone make the argument that everything is just fine?
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Commanders are dropping like flies this year
The part where it was found that she had rented a full size vehicle in lieu of a compact vehicle was some top notch investigative work.
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Latest Movies
I just watched the Mandalorian with the kids last night. -#3/10 StarWars stories. Lauded by Home/CC "Outstanding!" No PC BS. 98% compliance w/orgnl series.
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Combat Controller Lost in Gulf Near Hurlburt
Ah, I figured it couldn't have been intended the way it looked at first glance. No prob.
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Care Packages to Afghan/Iraq
Did a herc deployment last year. All the austere locations asked us for was pizza and energy drinks. if you can arrange payment, the tac airlift squadrons would be happy to order, pick up, and deliver.
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Combat Controller Lost in Gulf Near Hurlburt
I donāt understand the relevance of the quote here.
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The Next President is...
I would also like everyone held to a high standard of conduct because we want decent human beings making decisions for us. But let's face facts, that's not how high-level government operates. For many (most?) at that level, the ethics and values that you and I conduct our lives in accordance with are, for them, arbitrary boundaries and obstacles to the pursuit of wealth and power while only being useful as weapons against political opponents. I would like for a room full of people like you to investigate and hold Trump, Biden, Clinton, and all the others to the same standards. But to reach a position where you'd have the power to do that, you would have had to compromise your own principles every step of the way. Only the corrupt can investigate the corrupt.
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Love for Frontier and Spirit?
And Epstein didn't kill himself.
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F1 Thread
Penske buying the Indy Motor Speedway and IndyCar is huge news. Tony George effectively destroyed open wheel racing in the US and now, perhaps there's great chance it can make a comeback. https://www.espn.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/28004980/roger-penske-buys-indianapolis-motor-speedway-indycar-series
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AF enlisted "pilots" - rank doesn't matter, only ability
Reminded me of a recent trip with a former Soviet fighter pilot. The commander showed up one day and told everyone "Go home and don't come back." They were shocked. "What do we do?" "Whatever you want." There's zero chance of that happening here. Just an interesting story about pilots who didn't expect it to happen.
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AF enlisted "pilots" - rank doesn't matter, only ability
"There's no difference between us and them." AF just found a whole bunch of people willing to fly lower pay without bonuses or incentives.
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Saddle up for Syria? Or Op Deny Christmas '13
Recently took an Uber ride in San Francisco with an Afghani interpreter who was given asylum status for him and his family a few years ago. Amazing conversation. I'd place his patriotism far above 90% of the people we drove past (which may not be saying much).
- Mattis to the rescue?
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20 yr Retirement and Reserve Retirement
Reserve select was around $220 for me, the retired reserve is almost $1100 with higher copays. Itās insane! Iād wager almost any airline plan is more reasonable. Hereās a good tool too compare tricare plans: https://tricare.mil/Costs/HealthPlanCosts/TRR
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B-17 crash at Bradley Intl
#4 was reported to have mag problems. #3 as well as #4 were feathered. Fuel was not suspect. The implication being an engine may have been inadvertently shut down, but there is no way to know for sure.
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B-17 crash at Bradley Intl
Yes, it does. Very sad.
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Saddle up for Syria? Or Op Deny Christmas '13
Exactly. You've paid more than your fair share of the bill and I've paid mine, as well as most of the people on this forum. When I read "we" should be staying continuously engaged in Syria, it seems "you" is implied. Some people are tired of being threatened with the worst possible outcome being realized if we suddenly end our 18+ year subscription to the Middle East Clusterf^&* Vacation Club. There's war when we're present, there will be war when we're absent. If Russia and Turkey want to wear that anchor around their neck for a change, good.
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Saddle up for Syria? Or Op Deny Christmas '13
He seems like a reasonable guy concerned about the welfare of people and families. Perhaps he could start building the refugee camp for the 3.5 million Syrian refugees Turkey is about to move back into Syria.
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UFO thread
There was an article on Drudge yesterday (not seeing it today) interviewing one of the ship based radar dudes involved in this incident and others. He says after upgrading the ships' radars with a new technology/capability, they're seeing these things often. 80K feet down to the surface in a matter of seconds and back up. At first, they thought it was a glitch in the new tech, but what they're seeing on radar is corroborated by pilots.
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UFO thread
Yeah, I know... (eyeroll). I don't believe, I don't not believe, I've never seen anything. I just don't know and don't spend much time thinking about it. However, I watched the latest JRE podcast this morning and I had never heard of this guy. If I want to hear a UFO story, I want to hear it from a pilot. Cmdr. David Fravor tells an amazing one. EDIT: This is just the first part of the podcast. The full podcast is pretty good if you have almost 2 hours.
- WTF? (**NSFW**)
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What's wrong with the Air Force?
Genius. Free steak dinners would certainly improve morale and productivity.