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Yeah, fuck that guy for even posting about it. What was he even thinking? :rolleyes: Its a big deal... in a long line of big deals that have recently happened in Syria. Nobody's about to nuke anyone because of it, but it matters.

I don't get your post. Are you trying to remind us that when we forward deploy we are at risk? I had friends there so I know what happened, but thanks for the reminder. Are you trying to say non-grunts need to be proficient with their T/O weapon? Cool, they already go to the range once a...

It just really cannot be overstated how stupid this is. Right at the time when we need to fix airplanes, get pilots up to normal flight hour levels, and get healthy after surging for 15 years to fight a counterinsurgency. Instead we get fuck-fuck games. From my limited vantage point, the...

Neller has never been confused for a thinker by anyone. It saddens me that he gets to run his mouth and get published when there are two legitimate geniuses that are current/ very recent Marine leaders higher than him in DoD. Different jobs, I get it, but Dunford and Mattis are light years...

Sorry for the late reply. A football game and some other stuff got in the way. Ah, risk... a much more interesting discussion. All your points above are true. The stock market is not without risk. However, I think it is a prudent risk going forward. Whether you agree with Thomas Piketty...

via Imgflip Meme Generator

For the record, you are correct and @DanMa1156 is wrong. For someone that stays 20 years, the High 3 is better. However, as discussed ad nauseum, the option value of the BRS more than makes up for the slightly lower returns. However, there is a problem with your model on page 4. Let me first...

I am glad you brought this up. I am a big fan of Kahneman and Taversky's Prospect Theory, and that's exactly what you are talking in your examples. A major improvement in DESCRIBING human behavior over Expected Utility Theory. However, Prospect Theory is descriptive (it describes what people...

I totally accept that. I myself, and most folks, will need more at 46 than 66. I think you are overlooking how easily you can get your money at 46 if you want it, depending on the type of account. I also think you are mis-valuing the benefit of the mortgage interest tax deduction for the full...

Oh God, please tell me the Marines have to go along with DoN policy on this. If they are given the option, they'll probably buy deny the flight pay increase and buy more go-fasters, ink sticks and moon beams, because... EXPEDITIONARY!

Crap, that's not really what I meant. I was mainly trying to give a compliment before I started an argument. In that context, I was saying you have to use some rosy assumptions for BRS to beat high 3 IF YOU STAY FOR 20. Only about 15% of military stay for 20. I'll link the data if I can find...

In my experience there are no issues with TS level clearances and re-investigations with reasonable amounts of (vanilla) foreign stock holdings. If you think about it, those people are trying to find the next Edward Snowden or people who have "Fat Leonard" style skeletons in their closets that...

We won't change each other's minds at this point. this reply is for the audience that may be considering a strategy similar to yours. You can spend Roth IRA principal + interest for dependent's college or for a 1st house. 529 money is for college. HSA money is for health expenses. TSP money...

Wrong on the Roth IRA, right on the TSP. You can always withdraw principal from a Roth IRA penalty free, even before 59. This makes sense, since you already paid taxes on it. Edit: there's also some weird 5 year rule, but in most cases you can withdraw no problem.

I'm not sure I understand everything you wrote, but I have a few responses. Regarding death: the assets go out according to your will whether it is equity in a house or stocks in a brokerage account. I don't see how that is a factor. Your college financial aid strategy is an interesting one...

No difference.

I've been on team @Spekkio for most of the debate in this thread. Bottom line is the government rolled out this plan to SAVE MONEY, and on the whole, it will do just that. Sorry @DanMa1156 BUT, I have to vehemently disagree with paying off the mortgage early at only 3.5%. I just can't get...

Generally, I am inclined to agree with you. However, this being 2018 after a 9 year bull market, I am trending a little more conservative than in the past. I would also be interested in reading that data on dollar cost averaging generally not being better. What timeframe are they using to...

The government matches up to 5% on a per transaction basis. If you max out in September, then you are losing your 5% contribution for October, November and December. This is my understanding how it will work after discussing it with 10 different "experts" and finally getting to someone who...

Who is saying that? The information that I received from our base representative is that you can contribute to Roth, but matching will go into regular. I will say that they could have published something on this point on the website to alleviate the confusion.

Public Service Announcement: if you are one of those nerds (like me) that maxes out your TSP each year, make sure you calculate your max percentage so you aren't leaving money on the table by reaching your limit too early... nobody likes culminating early :( Max Percent = 18,500/(annual base...

You know if you are a total motard or not. Do you still wear silkies as underwear? If yes, and you are a motard, then choose the high 3. If there is even the slightest chance that you may want to do something different after 5 or 10 years, then choose the blended option with TSP matching. As...

No clue. All 4 of the pilots I know personally who accepted continuation all PCS'd. All but 1 to the fleet. Guessing you are at -101 because extending from there is smart and everywhere else is a downgrade. As far as negotiations go, you have all the power. "Extend me at my current unit or...

The AMEX platinum is awesome, but you should NOT be using it to actually buy anything except airplane tickets (5x points). Get the 50,000 point sign on bonus, use the lounges, enjoy status at Hertz/Hilton/Starwood, smile that they reimburse the annual fee for military, use the $200 per year...

New York Times says: "Zero articles remaining this month, loser!"

If you don't mind sharing, what is you platform and are you in the fleet now? Fleet to fleet to anywhere should be an easy sell, especially Japan. Did someone in the front office recently tell you you are getting extended? Again, not sure what platform you are, but the USMC Hornet Manpower...

As someone who is currently inside the machine, I have no confidence that money will get spent on the right things. Your confidence/ naivete is scary. Next up, we are going to sling load M777 under Hornets, because, you know, maybe we need Hornets to fly some arty somewhere.

Imagine if the Marine Corps spent time and money on something useful for once, not stupid shit like shooting HIMARS from a flight deck. It would be like Ireland before the discovery of whiskey...

ARG is LHD, LPD, LSD only. No escort. Based on the situation, escorts can be added. New to the thread, so apologize if this was already covered.

From now on to be referred to as the "Strike Fighter Empty Pouch."

Even better, Fleet Week San Diego is 3 weeks after the Miramar Airshow. Seems like it would make sense to spread out those two big military events in the same city.

I could have posted this in the "Private Naval Aviators" forum, but I didn't because I thought some good natured fun about airshows might be interesting for the wannabes and the soon-to-be's and used-to-be's to read. You were given a backstage pass to what the life of a fighter pilot is like...

Or we could stop buying $300 hammers from a 5 person company in Nebraska because it "supports American small business." There are so many problems, its hard to know what to complain about/ lobby to change first. Its like the Titanic hit 6 icebergs simultaneously. I'm not sure which...

Well, can we at least have something?

Bad leadership decisions from those at the top.

July 1 of 2018. There's a possibility that there are no Marine Hornet pilots at next year's airshow at the rate we are currently going.

In light of having to work the Miramar airshow this weekend, I thought it would be fun to solicit all of your hilarious airshow stories from years past. For me, they mainly involve answering questions about parts on the airplane with ridiculous answers. The following is a short list of items...

I'll be there selling squadron gear on Saturday.

It also isn't always a death sentence. @MIDNJAC and I had an instructor at Meridian that got picked up for the Blues. Not sure what he's up to these days.

So, you guys gave him nothing? If so, I concur.

The mishap made me think of Lex. Never knew him personally, but man I miss that guy's blog.

http://fox5sandiego.com/2017/08/22/pilot-ejects-from-plane-off-coast-of-san-diego/ Contract red air pilot successfully rescued after ejection from Hawker Hunter off the coast of California.

Exec branch says "no problem" Congress says "you are full of shit" but don't officially have any evidence, so they take 9 months to write a report and figure out if there is a problem. That's the way the system works I suppose. We aren't talking about Amazon for goodness sake, this is the US...

The "Working Group" (2 GAO analysts) were sent by Senate Armed Services Community to determine if there was a problem with fighter pilot manning/ retention. The impetus was testimony by service chiefs wherein they said "we don't have a problem." Just like with AA, the first step to recovery is...

Quick pitch for those of you who find yourselves on a FAC tour with a MEU. Fight the good fight against your BLT Commander for troops riding as passengers be slick in the aircraft (flak off, horse collar only) while feet wet for non-combat missions. When the horse collars get passed in you can...

One wonders what the threshold is where big USMC/ DoD tries to fix the problems that are causing folks to leave. 35%? 15%? Watch the last one walk out the door, call him a fucking quitter, then walk to the white board and start brain storming how to retain pilots? But watch DCA still get an...

For those not familiar with what @GroundPounder is talking about, here's a good book on the subject. https://www.amazon.com/Dreamland-True-Americas-Opiate-Epidemic/dp/1620402521 Another issue is the fact that the difference between an "effective dose" and a lethal dose is extremely small for...

Are you high? Have you looked on a map how far Taiwan is from China? They care a lot more about the ballistic missiles and diesel submarines.

When Hotdogs is talking about the "jeep" that pulls the 120, he is talking about this gator sized/ half go-kart "jeep" that is garbage, but fits in the Osprey. The MEU has 4 Abrams main battle tanks for God sakes, it might as well have some Howitzers rusting down in the bottom of the ship as...

Well said. Like Swanee said, it doesn't matter anymore because this is happening no matter what, but its worth learning some lessons from the process. We'll still be driving around in aluminum skinned AAVs that are a complete joke, but at least we spent eleventy billion getting those 6 F-35s...