DirkDiggler
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Posts posted by DirkDiggler
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Every AFSOC wing right now….
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10 minutes ago, Lord Ratner said:
The Ukrainians are not being forced to fight. They are doing so (at a national level) of their own free will. Obviously they would not be able to do it without our support, but that doesn't change the fact that the United States is not forcing Ukraine into fighting for longer.
So when people start talking about the morality of throwing Ukrainian bodies into the meat grinder, I find it curious that they do not consider the Ukrainian point of view on whether it is a worthwhile loss of life to resist Russia. Personally, I trust the Ukrainian perspective on whether you Ukrainian lives are worth resisting Russia. Certainly more so than I trust the opinion of Americans who, while many of us have served our country and suffered for it, none of us have been even remotely close to living under an authoritarian boot. The Ukrainian memory goes back a while.
I said from the start that I believe the concept of sovereignty is vital in both the moral sense and in preserving some sort of global stability. So I'm inclined to support any country that is in a war of sovereignty, which Ukraine very much is. Arguing about Russian borders from before the Cold war seems silly and irrelevant to me, as the USSR waged a decades long war to build their empire and lost. Losing the western territories was part of that loss. There is no allowance to the concept of sovereignty for historical borders.
I also do not believe as many populist republicans seem to believe that there is a world where we can isolate and avoid conflict. I see the coming storm as inevitable, and given the opportunity to annihilate the fighting forces of one of the most likely major adversaries in the coming conflict, I say we take it. Again, I would not support expending American lives to do so, and I certainly wouldn't support forcing the Ukrainians to expend their lives, but so long as they are willing, I believe the cost is worth it. When you compare that cost to the other things we are deficit spending on, it might be the greatest deal in the history of Fiat currency. What better way to spend made up money?
Would I support the same action against China? You betcha. If China wants to try to invade another country, and that country can bleed their military out using our intelligence and weaponry, and the people of that country are willing to fight, it's a no-brainer. Taking two geopolitical adversaries off the board before our economic death spiral starts to seriously impact our ability to project global power would be an incredible advantage going into the fourth turning.
I think part of the key difference is that the populist conservative movement (best exemplified by Tucker Carlson) seems to believe that there is an option for some sort of perpetual status quo going forward, if only we don't rock the boat too hard. I disagree emphatically with that belief. History moves in waves, and just like real waves, trying to stop them is pointless, and potentially fatal. Move with them, even try to ride them, and you might end up on top. Might.
Very well said.
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Always a good morning waking up to burning Russian equipment.
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16 minutes ago, Sua Sponte said:
I’m a pretty firm believer that 30% of the problems in the AF could be avoided by people not putting their genitals where they don’t belong and not getting shitfaced at the wrong time.
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8 hours ago, Biff_T said:
Writing some excuses as to why its OK for innocent children to be decapitated and set on fire.
I am tired of Beta Males and stupid bitches fucking up the world. Send them to Gaza as peace keepers. Please go. Put your money where your mouth is. Show us how to solve this problem with peace and understanding. They will applaud you. You will change the world with your hollow words.
Remember abortion (killing of some sort of helpless creature inside of a woman)? War is like abortion for adults. Here is your time to shine with your Palestinian lovers.
Which Baseops.net forum members have written anything supportive of Hamas burning and decapitating children?
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https://apple.news/AQ8T52JlKTEuAz8W6oeR7iQ
WSJ article discussing Iranian assistance in planning/coordinating/approving the attack. I don’t know how accurate the reporting is.
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https://apple.news/AkXK4o1pxQFONkXm_un4Naw
Israel and Hezbollah exchanging indirect fires this morning.
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14 minutes ago, ClearedHot said:
They will pay a horrific price.
I don’t doubt it. The images and video coming out of Southern Israel is as bad as it gets. If the words coming from Israeli leadership is matched by actions, a big part of Gaza is about to look like the surface of the moon. I could see Israel going for the complete destruction of Hamas as an organization. If Hezbollah jumps into the war the Israelis will have no reason to pull any punches. Remains to be seen if Hezbollah is willing to foot the bill.
Additionally, I wouldn’t want to be an Iranian military member anywhere close to Israel right now.-
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Just now, tac airlifter said:
What does "join the invasion" mean? I thought Hezbollah was more West Bank and wasn't even in the Gaza Strip. But as I said, I'm certainly not an expert in the region.
Hezbollah (LH) is dominant in Lebanon (they’re also one of the dominant political parties there as well). Them “joining the invasion” would mean opening a northern front on Israel from the Israeli border with Lebanon, if they involved ground forces.
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17 minutes ago, Danger41 said:
Israel would probably welcome that gladly. Much easier to kill these fucks when they’re out in the open.
Possibly. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah really “won” anything the last time they went all out in 2006 (Hezbollah claimed they triumphed). If Hezbollah actually tried to “invade” they’d take heavy casualties for sure, but their long range fires (rockets) would be a formidable threat to Israel.
On another note, our “Allies” Saudi Arabia and Qatar have posted statements solely blaming Israel for Hamas attacking them. As LT. Ripley once said:
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20 minutes ago, tac airlifter said:
I sort of agree, but would add couple things. First the phrase "wag the dog" implies the incident being responded to is false. Great movie by the way. In this case the incident is obviously true and Israel is surrounded on all sides by fanatics who want them dead. And I'm not a fan of what Netanyahu is doing regarding internal politics; but we are hardly in a position to judge after own politics jumped the shark these past few years.
The Israel/Palestine conflict has always been messy with dirty hands on both sides. But supporting Israel is the only ethical option.
interesting that this is a Hamas action not Hezbollah; I'm curious what kind of cross-pollination might exists between those two since I'd guess Iran pushing this more than Arab states. Anyone know if Hamas has previously aligned with Shia Iran for anti-Israel actions? Seems strange, but I am not a regional expert.
There’s a decent amount of chatter on the Twittersphere (so take with a grain of salt) that Hezbollah informed Israel via unofficial channels (through Egypt) that they will join the invasion if Israel initiates a ground incursion of Gaza. Pretty sure Israel is going to do that, especially given the number of civilians Hamas has taken hostage. Will be interesting to see if Hezbollah follows through.
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3 hours ago, Danger41 said:
Possibly unpopular take here but if the CC literally said “yeah, go have fun” after some guy said “let me go rip it around for a bit, it’ll be fine”, he’s an idiot. Those maneuvers are well within the capability of any Eagle Driver and the airplane but a demo is a very specific skill and a lot more too it than plugging the AB and going for it.
Checks
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34 minutes ago, brabus said:
I love lever guns. Henry’s are great.
My first, excited to take it to the range. Only shitty part is I go TDY this Monday for a bit so I’ll have to wait two weeks!
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On a positive note, I got bored yesterday and decided to celebrate the stupid new illegal NM gun restriction with a new purchase, Henry .357 Mag lever action and Springfield Garrison .45, Murica!
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1 hour ago, Khruangbin33 said:
BLUF, I assess that my presentation to the board will be as an as an AC with a P, school boxes checked via correspondence, and a pro forma PRF. That said, I will go get an official vector from leadership.
Don't want to get into specifics and dox myself, so long story short I'm probably 14 months from IP qual. That won't make it into my record before the board. Won't be eligible for staff next year because I won't meet time on station requirements to be considered for a move. Was also told not to go to staff without making IP because I would end up in MLR with a weak record. Drilling down to root causes here, there were about 6-9 major career/life decisions I made in the last several years which sent me down this path, so the only person I have to blame is me.
The going to staff sans IP advice you got is probably correct; I’ve sat in on a staff MLR as an observer and it’s tough to land a DP without a strong record since you’ll be competing against the AF top 20-30% types.
Based on what you’ve posted, you honestly have a 50/50 shot on making O-5 based on recent historical metrics (IDE in correspondence complete with a P).
If making O-5 is you top priority, given your situation as you describe it your best bet is getting a Wing job with visibility to the Bob’s. If making IP and flying is your top priority, stay in Sq and fly your ass off. Nothing wrong with either COA. Best of luck to ya!
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4 hours ago, ClearedHot said:
Correct.
I forwarded to our resident AFSOC Stolen Valor hunter and he is on the case. Thus far there is no record of Robert or Roberta.
Good
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7 hours ago, bfargin said:
I have no idea on retired Col Mcgregors pedigree, but he makes some interesting points. He thinks Russia’s military is stronger now, after more than a year of war in Ukraine than it’s been in over 30 years. Increased war production capability and renewed national resolve. Has our plan to weaken and undermine Russia backfired spectacularly?
He's about as pro-Putin/Russia you can get as an American short of actually owing a dacha outside Moscow. Actually appeared on RT in 2014 defending Putin's seizure of the Donbas and Crimea. His talking points on Carlson's shows have been re-broadcast on RT. He's consistently argued that Ukraine is on the verge of defeat during the entire war. He further stated that Russia was "too gentle" in the opening phase of the invasion, something that the citizens of Bucha probably disagree with.
I understand that there's people who don't support us helping Ukraine (for various reasons) but I truly can't understand how anyone outside of Russia can be supportive of Russia's actions during this war.
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Could be wrong but I don’t think there was ever any females in Pave Lows.
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8 hours ago, pawnman said:
But how much of a bonus do you have to offer the AI to keep it from going to Delta?
The RAND corporation is currently under a $50 million contract to study this issue and issue a 75 page report, hopefully by the end of FY29.
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5 hours ago, ClearedHot said:
Living a good life and still trying to make a difference. Over the past year I've had dinner/beers with him in Hawaii, DC and Tampa. Epic mistake when the Air Force let him get away. I hate playing results poker but I wonder how things would be if he and a few others were running things.
One of the best commanders I've ever had.
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57 minutes ago, BFM this said:
We're missing balance.
When Chang was trolling us hard we had Liquid to balance out the discourse (and humor). Where's that guy?
He’s retired, has been for a couple years now. Isn’t active on this board anymore.
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13 hours ago, tac airlifter said:
How the mighty have fallen.
B3 has turned warriors into clowns.
It’s real stupid, that’s for sure. The memo itself was real aggravating to read, HQ reaching into Sqs like that.
That being said, in my corner of AFSOC, leadership is trying to meet the bare minimum intent so as to not pile more shit on everyone’s already overflowing plates. I also don’t think AFSOC has turned into a bunch of clowns (at least not yet). We’re still able to go out and execute, directly validated just a couple months ago.
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44 minutes ago, GKinnear said:
RUMINT is command-wide quarterly open ranks inspections in AFSOC...just thing to cure the end-strength blues.
Sent from my SM-N976V using Baseops Network mobile app
It’s not RUMINT, it’s already happening. AFSOC wings have TASKORDs to implement it, I shit you not.
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Lighten Up Francis!
in Squadron Bar
Posted
Lol it’s clean fun