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fire4effect

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Posts posted by fire4effect

  1. On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 4:24 PM, nsplayr said:

    25 years is apparently what changed.  Your point is my point exactly - the Russians don't have our best interests in mind and I trust our own intelligence community more than I trust RT and the Kremlin propaganda machine.  Can the same be said uniformly across the right?

    Now look to the President-elect's administration as the one wanting closer ties to Russia, as not believing the CIA's assessment that Russian hacks were meant to help get Trump elected, etc.  Flynn and Tillerson (National Security Adviser and Secretary of State to be [rumored]) have extensive ties with Russia, as did Paul Manafort, Trump's one-time campaign manager.

    That's why I find it ironic.  The "liberals are commies and love Russia!" meme doesn't quite hold today the same way it did in the 80s.  Some liberals are commies and 'em, I agree, but let's allow our distain for Russian intersts to cross party lines when necessary as well.  Today it's the incoming GOP administration that can rightfully be charged with cozying up to Putin, not the Democrats.

    Edit to add: I'll also say that I remember laughing when Obama mocked Romney during the 2012 Presidential debates re: Russia.  "The 80s want their foreign policy back, etc."  I was wrong then and so was the President, Romney was right to identify the Russians as the biggest (or top 2) geopolitical threats to the U.S. VEOs aren't an existential threat...Russian undermining of Western institutions (EU/NATO/U.S.), grabbing land in Europe and energy deals in the Middle East and offering a shitty alternative to Western-back norms and power is an existential threat, and that's what Romney was getting at I think.

    Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere. Hypocrisy, the one common denominator for all politicians.  

    • Upvote 2
  2. I agree that a most things will stay the same. Lots of things are said in a campaign that have no chance of happening precisely because we do have robust checks and balances in the government. 

    No mass deportations and I'm not a contracting officer so I can't say what is or isn't allowed in the AF1 case etc. But I still see some traditional boundaries tested by a very non traditional president.

    But point taken so now a little juvenile humor instead of big words.

    Bacon.jpg

    • Upvote 1
  3. 3 minutes ago, sqwatch said:


    Ridiculous on many levels



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Very much so but given what has happened in this country over the last several months not much would surprise me. Trump has just threatened Boeing with canceling the new Air Force One over cost. Can he? Good question. But as a very shrewd businessman he has absolutely no compunction with playing hardball.

  4. 21 hours ago, magnetfreezer said:

    Maybe... and many pilots would be happy to go obliterate targets. This scenario relies on Mattis that he won't say "Mr. President we don't have enough pilots to be slide monkeys at CJTF-HQ" instead.

    Agree. It falls under the heading of "serious misallocation of valuable military resources"

    Break

    And if the DOD wants to REALLY  get a recalcitrant (my ACT word for the day) pilot's attention they set up a process where they can get the FAA to suspend the Airman Certificate of anyone who faces a FEB or UCMJ action. Not sure if it would need a separate Congressional Action to make it happen though it would be hard to say if a Republican Congress would actually go along with it anyway. As everyone who holds a certificate knows it's considered a "privilege"

     

  5. Question from the peanut gallery. With the apparent train wreck that is pilot retention and the likely increasing desperation the powers that be will be feel, how many of those who have completely severed their military ties have considered resigning their commission? As long as a commission is held recall is a possibility. As far as the Reserves a stroke of the pen and anybody can find themselves back on AD.

    I could easily see the conversation go like this sometime post 20JAN2016.

    President Trump: Secretary Mattis I have a list of targets I want to obliterate.

    Secretary Mattis: Mr. President we don't have enough pilots to execute the mission. Not enough are staying in even with the bonus we're offering.

    President Trump: Well dammit Secretary Mattis what do we do to fix this?

    Secretary Mattis: Stop-loss the ones still in and we can put our Reservists on AD. As far as the rest who haven't resigned their commission we can bring them back too.

    I do recall (one data point)  meeting a separated (I think outside of 8 years) Captain back in good ol OIF who submitted his resignation paperwork when he saw all the recalls and wanted to get ahead of the game. They said thanks for your letter but you can't resign just yet. Also we thank-you for updating us with your current address so here are your orders and have a wonderful military day.

    I don't know but given the sensitive bedside manner that both Trump and Mattis possess I wouldn't really be surprised if it got bad enough they would do whatever was necessary in their mind.

    Guess we would find out the true power of the president's pen.

  6. One other thing I tell people to get with their first handgun is a good flashlight like a Surefire. When things go bad it more likely the lighting will be less than ideal.  I carry  it in my pocket every where I go and it sits next to my pistol on the nightstand  at night. Flashlight goes a long way in helping with target acquisition and a true threat assessment.

    • Upvote 1
  7. 23 hours ago, busdriver said:

    The issue with the flimsy nylon holsters is they collapse after you draw the pistol. Reholstering requires two hands and is difficult to do without sweeping your hand with the muzzle.

    Kydex holsters are nice and very fast to draw, but like the super stiff belts, take some getting used to. Same story with appendix carry.

    Totally correct on the first two issues. I guess I've gotten so used to it I didn't think about putting it out here. Definitely a technique to avoid getting appendages in the way of the muzzle and something a new shooter should account for.

    I like the idea of a training program for the M9 and hopefully for  non manual safety weapons (i.e. Glock) too since so many being sold are of that type. A lot of the SF bubbas carry the Glock 19 and swear by it but in a minimally trained individual a negligent discharge is a real possibility.

  8. 5 hours ago, Kiloalpha said:

    I have carried more in the past two weeks than I have in the last year. Now is a good a time as any. @busdriver is dead on. Start out with a leather holster (I have a crossbreed) and get used to where you're gonna carry it on the waistline. I started out with the gun around 4 o'clock, now I carry closer to 2.

    Two things to acknowledge:

    1) Plan on buying a waist size larger in pants (or shorts). The Glock 30 is not exactly thin at 1.3in. I have a Sig that is comparable, but I have a pair of pants that are a little baggy in the waist just to CCW the Sig. My dedicated carry gun is a M&P Shield in the less manly 9mm, and that thing takes up no space at the waist.

    2) With that thicker profile on the G30, you're going to need to be a bit more conscious of printing. I'd play with various shirts, jackets and vests to see what shows the gun and what doesn't.

    G30 is nice and uses a .45 round. Does have thick grips.  I used to carry  a single stack S&W .45 for a very long time and the mag catch finally gave up the ghost and couldn't find a replacement part. Did love that gun.  After a fair amount of internal debate I went with a Springfield XDM 9mm. Compact version has 3.8 inch barrel which is just under the Sig M-11s 3.9. OAL for XDM is 6.75 inches (pretty short for the barrel length) 13 round capacity with short mag (1.18 grip width). 9mm ammo performance has really improved over time and price and very ready availability is a plus. Use an Uncle Mikes IWB at only about 13-14 dollars and very thin material. Thin material means I can use with the pants I have. Even if it starts to wear out it cheap/easy to replace. 5.11 tactical has some concealment holster shirts you can wear under button dress shirt for deeper concealment. BTW LuckyGunner has some pretty decent ammo reviews for a large number of calibers/bullet weights including firing into gelatin.  YMMV 

  9. 1 hour ago, nsplayr said:

    As an Obama fan, a Clinton voter, and a consumer of a fair amount of eft-leaning media, I don't support a pardon and haven't heard anyone talking about a pardon other than conservatives.  FYI.

    If a pardon actually is in the works, my bet is none of us will hear about it  until sometime on 20 January 2017. Right now it's a state secret.

  10. 14 minutes ago, guineapigfury said:

    If Trump really wanted to be clever and spiteful, he'd pardon her.  That would tag her as a criminal while avoiding the media firestorm that would ensue from prosecuting her.

    BRILLIANT! Is there a way that the pardon can only be applied to the mishandling of classified information and not touch the whole issue of the Clinton Foundation? To me that lets you have your cake and eat it too.

    • Upvote 1
  11. 13 minutes ago, Duck said:

    Question for the masses. Wife is dragging me and the kids on a cruise to the US Virgin Islands, Bahamas and Tortula (sp?). My blue personal passport has expired but I still have a good Red passport which I have never had to use. The cruise says you need a passport or birth certificate/ID. Any problem using my Red passport... page 27 says "The bearer is abroad on an official assignment for the United States government."


    Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

    I've been told the red passport is for official government business only just as it says. But granted that's my organization. ***break*** I think the other location is Tortuga. According to Captain Sparrow it's a partying place.:drinking:

    • Upvote 1
  12. 18 hours ago, Sprkt69 said:

    Or you can only spend a few dollars with cannon and rockets at much less cost in manpower than is req for AF RPAs

     

    8 hours ago, Seriously said:

    There's risk in flying lower (MANPADs, ADA, etc). It isn't a simple decision to make. 

    While sometimes getting down and dirty is unavoidable in war the cost can go WAY higher than imagined if and when an American Servicemen ends up in the hands of the enemy.  Used to remind (read: don't do anything stupid) my guys constantly that if somehow (doesn't really matter how) they end up in the hands of the enemy the combat power that will be expended in locating and retrieving them will be huge and take away from other missions. Not to mention the other lives that will be put at risk. Bergdahl is the most well known example though establishing if someone is dead or alive as happened in OIF as well can be no small feat with a huge effort required. As a matter of fact I've heard that assets including UAVs that may have otherwise been over watching COP Keating (prior to the Battle of Kamdesh) were re-tasked to try and locate  Bergdahl. True or not you get the idea. In my mind if I can kill the SOBs from afar where they can't hit me then by all means let's do it.

    "If You Find Yourself in a Fair Fight You Didn't Plan Your Mission Properly" PVT Murphy 

    • Upvote 1
  13. 36 minutes ago, Duck said:


    I think the last 2 boards have been like 20-28% promotion rate for ABZ!!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

     

    33 minutes ago, pawnman said:

    That rated manning crisis is really helping some folks.

    I recently worked with the spouse of a rated Air Force O-5 who made O-6 ABZ. They had accepted that his career was over and were making serious retirement plans. They just did a PCS on the way to finish the 3 years he'll need to retire as an O-6. To say they were surprised is putting it mildly. Their guess was  that somebody on the board who knew him said WTF.  

  14. 58 minutes ago, Larry Sellers said:

    Or they recoup the separation pay from your VA disability.  While it seems like a good deal they're gonna get it back one way or another.

    I think the deal for the Army (when they kicked a bunch of O-3s and O-4s to the curb a couple years back) went like this. If you want your Separation Pay you join a Reserve Unit for 3 years but if you stayed in until retirement the same deal to pay it back kicked in.

    Also, I quote

    "The three-year Ready Reserve obligation will begin on the active-duty separation date, unless the soldier has an existing service obligation. In such cases, the three-year obligation will not begin until the day after the existing obligation is completed in the Ready Reserve."

    Obviously more to the whole RIF process but you get the idea. The house always wins.

  15. 10 hours ago, ihtfp06 said:


    Your constant use of the "..." makes me question where you learned English?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Tough crowd and I learned English in the South with NASCAR. Y'all must be channeling my high school English teacher. Seriously though she was a great teacher.

    It's one of the downsides to typing as opposed to having a conversation face to face and not mention all the other non-verbal communication that gets lost in translation.  More than a few heated exchanges on Baseops started that way in addition to typing under the influence.

    It was my attempt to denote a pause. I certainly wouldn't do that in official correspondence.

    • Upvote 2
  16. 16 hours ago, Toro said:

    Need a link that doesn't require a subscription, or post the story.

    Roger that.......I'm cheap and don't subscribe to anything because of the abundance of free content.....respectable and otherwise....it let me read the whole article the first time but not now......the gist as most have found out by now is there is talk of reducing the hours required for an ATP for Mil pilots from 750 to 500 to help alleviate the shortage of commercial pilots

  17. Apologies if this is addressed somewhere else...http://www.wsj.com/articles/advisory-panel-would-relax-rules-for-co-pilot-experience-1472808602...So from a practical standpoint what good would it do to lower the minimums for an ATP to 500 hours for military pilots? I would expect by the time the ADSC was up pretty much all would be above the current 750 hour requirement. Is this a bone (I'm sure my choice of word "bone" will garner a few remarks) thrown to those stuck in RPAs that aren't able to get enough manned hours by the end of their ADSC?

    • Upvote 1
  18. 4 hours ago, pawnman said:

    I'll give you three guesses as to how well I would perform in requal if you called me back a decade after my retirement date.

    based on what I've seen over the years you'd get stuck in some sh!t detail out of spite nowhere near any job you would want.....so  the next guy they recalled would play ball.....because that is how they roll no matter what branch you're in

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