frog

Yep. Turning point for me was when leading started to feel more like coaching. I love to see the young guys and gals grow. And then there is the whole service thing - at some point, this country will get into a big one again, and I desperately want us to win. With all that said, I got back from my last deployment, looked my growing family in the eyes, and submitted my retirement request. It has been an amazing ride, but my family needs me at home for awhile.

Disgusting.

This is the equivalent of the MSG Deputy tasking a Capt flying the line in the OG to justify their job. Would you be cool with that?

Enjoy it while it lasts. Your team is going to get all the crap the civilians do as additional duties. It’s all fun and games until you are appointed as the wing piss tester. Shrinking the workforce is a great thing. Doing it by cutting the youngest, most ambitious people without eliminating the dumb requirements is asinine. We are going to keep 60 year old Bob that has worked in XP for the last 40 years and fire a 20 year old that keeps your electricity on.

What a shit show.

Clearly it is NATO’s fault.

I think you answered your own question?

I hated them at first - why does everyone need to be special? I’ve gotten used to them and like knowing what AFSC’s are working an issue. They need to cut down on the dumb ones that are non-standard or indicate something other than basic AFSC.

Let me guess - Hill AFB?

Who is floating these ideas? Seriously. I haven’t seen a serious discussion of sending NATO land forces into Ukraine.

He’s actually right. Our demographics will lead to economic decline without immigration. The problem is we need immigrants who follow societal rules, bring solid skills, and pay taxes…not exactly what is happening right now. The kind of immigrant we need isn’t sneaking across the border in the middle of the night.

Sorry to hear that, and great mindset going forward. I was medically DQed before I ever got into the cockpit. I figured I would do four years as a CE officer and separate. Looking back twenty years later, the AF gave me some awesome opportunities and experiences to lead in some pretty challenging circumstances. Solid leadership is desperately needed throughout the service. One piece of advice: get to know some pilots at your next assignment, appreciate what they do, but avoid getting caught up in what could have been. I will also share that washing out a demanding program like UPT doesn’t mean you can’t fly. I owned an airplane for 15 years and put over 1,000 hours on it. Recreational flying may not be as “cool”, but there are aspects of it that are pretty damn good.

Nailed it. This really isn’t that hard. Russia is in the wrong regardless of Bashi’s affinity for “historical ties” and Putin’s dong. The only question is how much the U.S. can/should afford to invest in flipping said douche canoe over. Zero is a reasonable answer because we are spending ourselves to death, but it shouldn’t be difficult to agree that a strong and expanding Russia is not in the best interest of the U.S.

Actual journalism: https://www.wsj.com/world/tired-ukrainian-troops-fight-to-hold-back-russian-offensive-they-come-like-zombies-9b4a31a1?mod=mhp TLDR: It’s an ugly mess and will be for a long time.