The Warthog stays alive...for now.

[11B10]

It has been going on forever. After Vietnam, a number of outstanding officers who had spent years in combat and had been awarded DSC's (and in at least one case, the Medal of Honor) were forced out because they didn't have college degrees, while majors who had conned the Army into sending them off for a masters in some obscure field were more favorably considered for promotion because advanced degree.

The results were, and are, predictable. If anyone wants to see a classic case, check out then-Colonel Kaplan and the loss of the Central Highlands in 1975. While not much of an advisor or tactician, Kaplan was hell-on-paper and kept getting promoted.

As the Brits say: SPOT ON!

[11B10]

Thanks, LL.

[11B10]

However, it does showcase that our SMEs aren't chosen randomly We literally cannot post their resumes for the world to see but we can assure you that they are people of integrity with experience and knowledge that eclipses most. We can either end the SME thing or we can enjoy their contributions to the community. By "we," I mean the folks that run this place and by "can" I mean that it's already self evident which path we chose.

As a general rule, I assume that when one of our SMEs post, that they know what they're talking about. This thread illustrates that in spades.

Back to being on topic. PM me if you have any questions.

LL, to me, two things set p-f's SME'S apart: the extreme depth of their knowledge - and - their unselfish attitude. I've never seen them talk down to someone. They genuinely want us to learn. Love it!

[RevolverRob]

No worries the F-35 will not have any issues engaging the world with its bleeding edge avionics and targeting system - http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/politi...ort/index.html

The idea that a single, a single server is used for coordinating the programing for 2500+ billion dollar jets, without backup...isn't disturbing at all. And when the developer says, "We're in development! These kinds of things will be dealt with." It doesn't inspire confidence. Because...that means they didn't intend for there to be redundant backups initially...

I am not shitting you. I think I could take over the F-35 program tomorrow and if given autonomous control, we could have the best jet in existence in 5-years. But it wouldn't be a cobbled together pile of crap made by four-dozen different contractors who can't debug their own house. Seriously, this isn't the kind of shit you screw around with. No wonder the Russians and Chinese are starting to best us technologically. We're so busy lobbying for money, schmoozing politicians, and getting cut-rate bids for materials, that we haven't bothered to get a group of smart people with a ruthless manager to sit down and handle the technical challenges of this process. This can't be done by a bunch of executives making demands of office-working ants. This is the kind of thing where you get the dozen smartest people in the room to lay out a set of needs. Then define them as goals. Then setup benchmarks. Then you go the engineers and you say, "You, Dr. Jim-Bob, you are the overseer of this airplane. Anything that goes wrong with it...you die. I want you to build me an airframe that meets X, Y, and Z benchmarks, and has A, B, and Q maintenance protocols. I want the names of every single individual that is responsible for every system of this weapon system. Literally, I want the list of people who designed this plane to be small enough to fit on an 8.5x11" sheet of paper. Because responsibility is the key issue here."

And then you do it. I mean...that's how we sent people to the moon. But hell...what do I know.

-Rob

[RJ]

Just a couple images I saw today while you guys take a break to sharpen your arguments.



This one is for LL:

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Read that they are sending some A-10s to the South China Sea area to fly around the Chinese new construct islands.

http://atimes.com/2016/04/get-ready-...uth-china-sea/

[RevolverRob]

Read that they are sending some A-10s to the South China Sea area to fly around the Chinese new construct islands.

That's interesting. Very interesting.

[ranger]

I can only imagine what 30mm does to a modern (lightly armored) ship.

[El Cid]

I can only imagine what 30mm does to a modern (lightly armored) ship.

I love the A-10, but in that AO it will need some F-22's nearby if we are going to rattle sabers there. There have already been images of Chicom fighters on the island. I seriously doubt the current administration will do much though.

[Odin Bravo One]

In seven years the only things this administration has done militarily are:

1) Lost two wars.
2) Allowed the creation and continuation of ISIS
3) Handed Iran the capability to make a nuclear weapon while pursuing a delivery method.
4) Turned our backs on the only real ally we have in the Middle East.
5) Arranged for pre-World War levels of military personnel and equipment.
6) Traded five top tier shitheads for one low level piece of shit traitor.
7) Armed our enemies in Syria, Lebanon, and Libya.
8) Created a new human rights crisis in South Sudan.
9) Gave $227 million to Hamas
10) we could go on and on and on.

The man is the enemy of this state. No one is that retarded or that much of a coward. No one.