frog

This is how far we have fallen. The MAGA bar is now “better than Biden”. That bar is incredibly low, and our country deserves so much better. Trump is big government in a conservative’s clothing and always has been. More federal control, more foreign entanglements, more federal spending. He puts on a great reality TV show that the MAGA crowd loves. It’s disgusting to watch from a conservative perspective.

WSJ confirmed. Praise God and get that dude/dudette a beer.🍻

That’s a valid tactical position. However, how do you evaluate if the costs are worth the objectives if the objectives are fluid and ill defined? I felt the same way when I was young and GWOT was kicking off. Now, twenty-five year later, I’d be pissed if my child was captured or killed in an operation that was not well coordinated or communicated at the political level. I’m a conservative, and I hope we absolutely smoke them and everyone comes home safe now that we are in this fight. However, so far, we are worse off politically and strategically, and we are losing lives and money. We are going to get sucked into a ground war if we are serious about the objectives that have been floated because they can’t be achieved solely through the air without nuclear weapons. We know that our ground force in Iraq and Afghanistan were way too small to achieve the desired political objectives. So, where does that leave us? This administration is going to run into the same conundrum that previous administrations have encountered. We have the firepower to eliminate Iran to the point that it will no longer exist as a country, but we aren’t willing to do it because of the humanitarian cost. If we aren’t willing to bear those costs, then maybe we shouldn’t have turned down this road to start with.

WSJ confirmed a shoot down but didn’t list their source. Godspeed to the crew if true.

Wow, this thread took off since I last checked it. I think one thing most of us can agree on is that the American people should be skeptical anytime any Administration promises a swift, clean military operation. The enemy gets a vote, and it almost always ends up more messy than promised. We’ve lost access to the Strait of Hormuz, several American lives, and billions of dollars of hardware. We have no choice but to double down now. <s>

What is the desired end state? No one seems to be able to explain it. If no one knows what the desired end state is, how can the American people define the cost they are willing to pay?

I’m not saying how it should be, I’m saying how it is. Relax the response time requirements and don’t hold people accountable for missing them if you want to go in the direction you suggest. And, the visibility from a fire truck absolutely sucks except out the front window. The driver has very little visibility out the side window.

It’s not even close to the same thing. Yes, the fire crew is part of the accident chain and will bear some responsibility. They are also on a very strict response clock, responding to an emergency that they don’t have all of the details on, working multiple frequencies, in a vehicle with poor visibility, in a vehicle formation, at night. Again, that isn’t an excuse for one of the many failures in the accident chain. However, glossing over situational and human factors issues isn’t going to make things safer. This is more than just a “too lazy to look” moment. It’s a tough situation all around. Everyone needs to take the lessons learned, integrate them into training, and be better.

Watching POTUS realize that Putin is a menace in real time has been entertaining.

POTUS now interested in Ukraine gaining all of their territory back. Pretty dramatic shift from even 30’days ago.

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.