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Here's some neat footage from FAF's recent exercise featuring Hornets & Gripens operating from a road base among other things(and two varieties of moon speak!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4Zz5Dx-Ug
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Oct 14, 2017 10:11
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To get away from depression and Trump: https://twitter.com/wyatt_privilege/status/919173846015594496/photo/1 Why in the name of God does the Air Force have official anime swords?
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Oct 14, 2017 16:32
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Nebakenezzer posted:To get away from depression and Trump: Because Ace Combat.
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Oct 14, 2017 16:57
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I'll say the same thing I said in the milhist thread: That's the dumbest military ceremony I've ever seen and I study nazis
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Oct 14, 2017 17:36
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Nebakenezzer posted:Why in the name of God does the Air Force have official anime swords? Because the USA are too young to have had a medieval period, so they don't know what an actual sword looks like. (Same way as they don't know what an actual castle looks like, as games and movies in a medieval setting coming from the USA constantly remind me.) Here's how you use a proper sword in an airpower ceremony (0:19): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-_nNIGGx7c
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Oct 14, 2017 17:37
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Arglebargle III posted:Who knows what goes through Trump's head? Amyloid beta
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Oct 14, 2017 18:12
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Cat Mattress posted:(Same way as they don't know what an actual castle looks like, as games and movies in a medieval setting coming from the USA constantly remind me.) Can I invite you to make some sort of hatepost in the milhist thread on this subject? Because honestly I might not know what a real castle looks like.
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Oct 14, 2017 18:25
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Ditto. I might have seen some as a European, but I would still like to know 5-10 weird tricks to spot a real one.
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Oct 14, 2017 18:43
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Nebakenezzer posted:To get away from depression and Trump: Of course, as happens with these things, what was once an uncommon and distinguished honor became expected. The sort of NCOs that attach themselves remora-like to the asses of carrerist officers in hopes of being pulled to higher rank and authority will go around advocating or demanding that their men show their commander how much they love him. I know of at least one case where, after a unit bestowed swords on their previous two commanders, it became known that the lower ranks were not planning to do so for their current boss. The result was a series of angry asides and browbeating, because how dare they imply that their commandeer was not as good and respected as his predecessors. The other thing that happened is that the Air Force officer ranks is comprised of people devoid of any sense of taste, so the swords evolved from soldier's blades, to tasteful display pieces, to that gaudy-rear end anime bullshit from the picture. Dead Reckoning fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Oct 14, 2017 |
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Oct 14, 2017 19:04
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Cyrano4747 posted:I'll say the same thing I said in the milhist thread: I said the same thing as a Lt. DR's explanation is spot-on. That Mark "Morale is Pretty Darn Good" Welsh got one tells you everything you need to know about the modern meaning of this award. 
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Oct 14, 2017 19:08
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I would love it if the more ridiculous the sword looked meant increasing amounts of disdain from the troops.
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Oct 14, 2017 19:43
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Holy poo poo, that sword is almost more embarrassing. Instead of being a middle school stage prop, that's an expensive presentation longsword. Whoever got that knows what a sword looks like, and presumably knows that's not what an officer's sword looks like, but he bought that gaudy replica anyway.
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Oct 14, 2017 19:48
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A.o.D. posted:I would love it if the more ridiculous the sword looked meant increasing amounts of disdain from the troops. Okay but what is the least ridiculous sword that you give to the very best officers? A sword of historic U.S. issue?
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Oct 14, 2017 19:54
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Platystemon posted:Okay but what is the least ridiculous sword that you give to the very best officers? I’m guessing the army officer’s sword? USAAF officers would’ve had them.
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Oct 14, 2017 20:01
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Platystemon posted:Okay but what is the least ridiculous sword that you give to the very best officers? Exactly. A tempered, unadorned blade suitable for cutting down the foes of your nation. Anything more than a gold or brass embossed "U.S." is inappropriate. A.o.D. fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Oct 14, 2017 |
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Oct 14, 2017 20:05
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Dead Reckoning posted:The result was a series of angry asides and browbeating, because how dare they imply that their commandeer was not as good and respected as his predecessors.
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Oct 14, 2017 20:15
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At my last unit, it was tradition to give departing NCOs an NCO sword with nice wall-hanging display. LTs had the hoice of a plaque or a hanging display with a Union Cavalry Saber replica (the real deal is kind of expensive). CSA cavalry sabers were forbidden. Of course, this was the kind of unit that actually cited the law and ensured that either you paid for your own drat gift, or we strictly adhered to the $10 limit per person not to exceed some number I can't recall off the top of my head that was fairly low.
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Oct 14, 2017 20:19
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If the SEALS are gonna go full motard with edged weapons they need to ditch those tomahawks and carry a 1860 Chiefs Cutlass
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Oct 14, 2017 20:25
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Godholio posted:I said the same thing as a Lt. The next time the head of the USAF has to lie to congress, I'd like for them to cite some sort of "Zelda swords given" metric as morale being pretty darn good
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Oct 14, 2017 20:41
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E2: For any Canadians feeling smug
Nebakenezzer fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Oct 14, 2017 |
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Oct 14, 2017 20:51
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hobbesmaster posted:I’m guessing the army officer’s sword? USAAF officers would’ve had them. That's what the AF uses for honor/color guard details. Enlisted use the straight-bladed sword (like the Academy's), officers use the Army saber.
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Oct 14, 2017 20:52
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On the sword thing, if you check out the whole Twitter thread there are even worse examples. Of course, the Order of the Sword probably started as something meaningful, and devolved into ceremonial BS. I thought JQP (like him or not) covered it pretty well here. https://www.jqpublicblog.com/order-of-the-unrendered-apology/
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Oct 14, 2017 20:57
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I have a defense industry history question. In this video Gun Jesus mentions Marlin Rockwell having made some of the WWI M1918 BARs. I immediately wondered if that was the same Rockwell of aerospace fame. My attempts at googling only brought up stuff about modern Rockwell descendants, nothing going back to the early 1900s. What would be really awesome is a flow chart ala the MaBell breakup, but for defense contractors. E: Better MaBell breakup chart: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7336991/Screen%20Shot%202016-10-24%20at%202.21.23%20PM.png
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Oct 14, 2017 21:36
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Nebakenezzer posted:Can I invite you to make some sort of hatepost in the milhist thread on this subject? Because honestly I might not know what a real castle looks like. Would be an interesting project, but gathering all the screenshots to illustrate the rant is a daunting prospect.
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Oct 14, 2017 22:45
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Arglebargle III posted:A bunch of people quit and nobody is being hired to replace them. A lot of senior staff were fired back in February/March. You hear stories of office spaces that are mostly empty. The people that are still there talk about twiddling their thumbs all day. I think the Bannon crazies were trying to purge and rebuild State and then they got fired, but that's just a guess. Who knows what goes through Trump's head? More like they did/do not view State as necessary and in fact think it is not desirable, so they (successfully) rendered it impotent.
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Oct 15, 2017 00:47
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Fun flight paths from a 747 tanker working the CA fires: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n744st e: lots of good videos of it dumping retardant if you look around e2: good video from the pilot when they were working down in Chile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbqLfusc0X8 Doctor Grape Ape fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Oct 15, 2017 |
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Oct 15, 2017 02:59
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I think we should give the new thread title to the Brazilian Jujitsu thread as well.
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Oct 15, 2017 08:43
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Saw one drat fine dame today...
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Oct 15, 2017 20:49
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cross posting but: I asked up thread a bit and I can't seem to find my own post. attempting to navigate to it just leads me to the first page of the htread...I will be in London from Thurs - Sun, what cool poo poo can i see? I would like to do the Imperial War Museum. I am interested in WW2 and Cold War stuff largely, but am open to almost anything around London that isn't normal touristy poo poo like the tower of london, buckingham palace, etc Some Great Game poo poo would be cool
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Oct 16, 2017 20:06
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Waroduce posted:cross posting but: Outside of TFR but one less-than-obvious item is the British Library. It's relatively quick but you'll see cool things like Lewis Carroll's hand illustrated original copy of Alice Through the Looking Glass.
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Oct 16, 2017 20:48
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The British Museum is also just completely amazing. Every time I'm in London I set aside a day to just wander around there and get as lost as possible. The big touristy poo poo like the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles are neat and all, but you'll find just mind blowing stuff in some corner being ignored by everyone. The Vindolanda tablets are important enough that they have a proper display and write up but aren't half as popular for the "stand in front of it and get your photo" crowd as the other stuff. They get some traffic but you can rest pretty assured that you're rubbing elbows with other turbo nerds who want to see what an ancient Roman letter about socks looks like.
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Oct 16, 2017 20:52
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Waroduce posted:cross posting but: It's a really popular tourist attaction, but HMS Belfast is pretty cool if you want to go wander around a cruiser that's in the middle of London http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/hms-belfast
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Oct 16, 2017 21:11
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Waroduce posted:cross posting but: I haven't been in like 15 years but as I remember the Churchill War Rooms was a really cool museum/tour to visit.
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Oct 16, 2017 22:55
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Cyrano4747 posted:The British Museum is also just completely amazing. Every time I'm in London I set aside a day to just wander around there and get as lost as possible. The big touristy poo poo like the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles are neat and all, but you'll find just mind blowing stuff in some corner being ignored by everyone. Seconding the British Museum. There's also the Victoria and Albert Museum which is pretty spectacular as well. If you want something slightly off the beaten path, there's Bermondsey. There's several newer microbreweries in that area, and you can make a nice afternoon of walking from brew pub to pub. There's also The Grapes - which is owned by Sir Ian McKellen and you can see his staff on display. Anyways, there's a ton of poo poo to see - from Roman ruins the old wall, to obscure pubs that have historical significance.
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Oct 16, 2017 23:35
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TCD posted:obscure pubs that have historical significance. Mashes the *Would you like to know more button*
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Oct 17, 2017 00:27
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If you get a chance for a day trip the Roman Baths in Bath are also very cool.
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Oct 17, 2017 12:12
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Thanks guys. On my 9 hour flight to London, any reccomendations for books? I have read recently and enjoyed: Fiasco, Chickenhawk, Dark Sun : Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, The Jungle is Neutral, The Great Game, Tresspassers on the Roof of the World, Relentless Strike, several generic been there done there books, Legacy of Ashes, The Sword and The Shield, The World Was Going Our Way, a bunch of Dick Couch books and yeah. I would enjoy both military history, geo-political stuff and obviously Cold War stuff. I've been eyeing Blank Spots on the Map to start. Also taking suggestions for sci-fi and bullshit, I have a dirty love of terrible warhammer novels, terrible military sci-fi....thinking about picking up Jannisaries and Hammers Slammers. I would enjoy military sci-fi.
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Oct 17, 2017 16:04
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Matterhorn. Hammer Slammers is good, try Rolling Hot for the Tet Offensive in the future.
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Oct 17, 2017 16:15
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Waroduce posted:Thanks guys. On my 9 hour flight to London, any reccomendations for books? I have read recently and enjoyed: Command and Control The Guns of August (somewhat out of date but very readable) The Player of Games and Use of Weapons (in that order) for sci-fi The Best and Brightest and A Bright Shining Lie for Vietnam
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Oct 17, 2017 16:34
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http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-chinese-space-station-tiangong-1-20171016-htmlstory.html China's out of control space station will be landing on someone's head soon.
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Oct 17, 2017 16:51
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