MSBoxer

I am waiting for a re-make of the bunker scene from Downfall, except with a realllllly long table.

The USAF never wanted the A-10 and has been trying to kill the program for years. It has only been saved by legislators forcing them to continue. In the eyes of the Air Force CAS is secondary to their mission of air supremacy, flying fast and bombing the **** out of things. Hence their proposed use of fighters/attack aircraft to fill those roles with secondary capability.

Hopeful, might be the proper term. If UK has more pilots than airframes it makes sense to at least familiarize them on potential aircraft. Set up a few computers and download DCS and you can put them in the virtual cockpit of almost any military aircraft you choose. DCS is not good enough to get a rookie ready for combat, but if the pilot has some experience it will get them much closer, quickly and safely.

East Germany was treated relatively well during my time in Berlin. Proximity to the prosperous West Germany made it hard to disguise how well off the west was compared to communist east, Berlin in particular was a thorn in the side of communists. Since it was impossible to hide the truth, the leaders attempted to match as much as possible to the determent of areas/countries farther east. We must also bear in mind that sheer number of soviet military bases provided a massive economic boost to the East German Economy. The result is that when the wall came down and after the eventual re-unification, many portions of East Germany were better off, but then soon suffered when the Soviet bases closed down and economic support from Russia stopped. They quickly fell farther behind, instead of immediately matching their western counterparts they slide deeper and this caused much resentment initially. I believe that this only helped the growth of soviet nostalgia and Russian support.

I have wondered if Putin's original plan, circa 2019/2020 or so, was to continue to take smaller bites of Ukraine but realized that the west might only give him one more shot so he decided to make it count and go for the whole enchilada. I also have to say that one of the few times I agreed with our former president was when he called for our European partners to live up to their commitment to NATO, it is unfortunate that it took Putin's invasion to make some realize that defense spending is still important. I do however disagree with Trump's threat to leave NATO like a spoiled child taking his ball and going home.

While the US has explicitly stated that it did not "supply the weapons" used in Crimea, this does not mean that the US did not manufacture the weapons. Technically it would not be out of the realm of possibility that another NATO member delivered US long range PGM to Ukraine. I am not promoting this as the answer, just pointing out that the announcements do not preclude the possibility.

OK, but yesterday Ukraine announced that they are capable of hitting targets much farther than anyone suspected. Lukashenko never seemed eager to get involved, now he has another reason to sit on his hands. He can talk tough all he wants, but has even less reason to cross that line.

Can we read anything into the timing of this attack? In the past, it seems that the majority of attacks on fixed logistical targets have taken place at night, "HIMARS Hour". Was there something special about this attack? I doubt that it was driven by the number of aircraft present, most sorties seem to be during the day. I think UK was sending a message and with the number of tourists nearby, this would be harder to deny/cover up.

I am waiting for Russia/Nats to claim that the missiles were launched from a grain ship to show the duplicity of Ukraine and their allies.

So a strategic Pickett's charge?

Every single time they succeed at something they also lose resources that they aren't able to fully replace.

I have not had time to read the bill, so was unsure. Just wanted to point out some the games that are played. I am not surprised that this group voted against.

It is also worth pointing out that in the US, a bill is never single topic they often contain multiple other pieces of legislation which are in no way connected to the main goal of the bill. Legislators who vote against a bill may be all for the primary, but cannot support one or more of the "side issues". During election years we often see "poison pills" inserted into seemingly benign legislation. This allows one party to smear the other by stating "They voted against providing healthcare to veterans" without mentioning that there was a poison pill which would ban guns, or take away free school lunches. This is just an example I made up, but the point is to make voting for a popular bill impossible to swallow for a candidate during a re-election campaign. Yes, we are that screwed up I am not saying that this was the case for the 20 republicans who voted against the bill, just pointing out that things are seldom as simple as they seem in Washington.

I don't think you want to drop it soon. This could leave a major force on the west bank, making any attempt to cross that much more difficult. Not sure where the balance is though.

I was thinking more along the lines of have a small piece of nominal US territory, even if it is just a few warehouses. As well as a dedicated port of call for destroyers and such.

1/4 of our Marines? if we go that far then let's also lease a naval base.

Sorry, but arguing about the degree of evil is pointless. Systematic murder, rape, torture or abduction of civilians is evil. Arguing over who was more efficient is a waste of time, it can dehumanize the victims and potentially be used to excuse the perpetrator. If you want to go full Stalin "a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic" then have at it, but that carries no water with me. Seriously would you say "Sorry about your family, but you do realize that in the past it would have been 10 families." And yes, I believe that the U.S. use of internment camps in WWII was evil born out of prejudice and paranoia.

I knew it was all about borscht! Even as a young child I knew deep down in my very soul that beets were the true root of all evil!

Colonel (Chaplain), retired in 1989 after 22 years. His final posting was in the department which was responsible for keeping in touch with retired chaplains who were still on the potential recall list. That is why it was so funny that he was recalled. Mom called the general and told him "If Chuck shows up, let me know. I have some questions for him" He passed Jan. 1 1991, about 1 1/2 months before the liberation of Kuwait, which is why he was recalled. As my cousin said "God needed him to welcome any incoming troops"

My father was recalled 2 years after retiring. It was also 2 months after he died. Oddly enough the signature on his recall orders was signed by the same general who sent his honor guard to my dad's funeral since he was dad's last commanding officer and a good friend. Not sure how this ties into anything....still find it funny.

And the shoulder is perilously close to the jugular vein

Just like the Necronomicon, only less pleasant.

I am personally thrilled that future generations may come to know my name, if only in connection to "The Ancient Cult of the Combat Mission". Admittedly, I expect to be viewed as a minor functionary whose main contribution is mumbling in the corner and knocking over paper towers with discarded food.

"He who can destroy a thing, can control a thing."

Is it possible that RU blew the barrel before retreating?