Search results

What is the (assuming) Army National Guard Kool-Aid?

Russia will not feel safe unless/until it can rebuild the Soviet empire. I actually think the Russian point-of-view, in its own twisted way, does have some merit. The more countries that westernize with democratic government, that means more countries that could potentially get taken over by a...

I don't think Biden is the one actually calling the shots. He strikes me as being our Brezhnev.

I didn't say the Soviets didn't have help, just that it is questionable that the Germans ever came close to defeating them. The United States alone, the British, or the Soviets, none likely would have been able to defeat the Axis war machine. Around 70-80% of German forces were arrayed against...

I would actually say that regarding Hitler, it is very debatable whether he ever really came close to defeating Russia, and to the extent he caused massive damage, that was due to Stalin's having decapitated the Russian military. Russia (well Soviet Union) then proceeded to very thoroughly kick...

Not bragging at all. Regarding Biden, all I said there is Putin saw Biden's mental state. I didn't criticize his administration's policies. As for him, I think it is pretty clear he is suffering from mental decline.

?

Yes, cripes, Trump slipped my mind so I forgot to mention him. EDIT: So I had written a response on this but remember last time this started the mods requested we stop as Trump is a hot-button political topic. Suffice it to say, I think it is debatable that Trump was soft on Russia. Some say...

I wouldn't say Bush Jr. per se tried appeasement, he more just was foolish in thinking that by "looking into Putin's eyes" that the guy was trustworthy. Bush Sr. I don't know of really trying appeasement either. And Reagan most certainly didn't.

My understanding is Japan has never formally acknowledged their war crimes from WWII either.

IMO, this happened not due to lack of paying attention but more because of weakness and stupidity on the part of the U.S. Putin detected weakness on the part of Obama (remember Obama tried appeasement of Putin early on). Putin saw the opportunity to take Crimea and took it (and Obama's response...

Maybe because they're the ones who'd have to fight it? :)

Imagine the fight if we spin off a thread for Chuck and Mirage to argue: Invade Russia vs Pull out of Europe:)

Regarding the U.S. presence in Europe, they have worked to greatly increase readiness since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. For example, there were stocks of military vehicles and equipment in Europe leftover from the Cold War. But most of these were older and so-so maintained, kept there just as...

Europe did get tapped out. They ran out of munitions I believe and the French aircraft carrier had to be withdrawn because it couldn't maintain the op tempo (hope that is right term) Russia proved itself a match for the Axis.

Some light-hearted poking: Aside from the nuclear issue, that would likely be worse than Iraq. The Russian people WOULD NOT LIKE IT and would view it as their suspicions about the West justified. You think they are paranoid now, just try that! I doubt the Russians could mobilize a defense...

If they can't decide and get attacked eventually, that will be a major problem. The leadership of them might decide they have much to gain, not lose, especially if they view it that the other Europe countries will fold easily. And our deterring that would be more difficult without having the...

Aren't we already a peacetime military?

Personally I think it would be a bad idea to have the Europeans handle their own defense for a couple of reasons: 1) They'll argue repeatedly over who should be the leader 2) One of them might decide to become the primary military of Europe, which could be a bad thing if due to political...

I remember reading that during the 1980s, the Reagan administration discovered a network of Soviet spies throughout the military industrial complex. But rather than arrest them, they instead decided to feed them false information. Basically make out as if certain designs and systems were...

The Chinese probably can make good jet engines by 1950s standards, the issue is making them by modern standards. A lot of people knock on China on the jet engine issue ("The Chinese can't even build a jet engine!") but from what I've read, unlike electronics and computer technology which can be...

There was a map I once saw showing countries if their geographic size was proportional to their GDP. It was hilarious because Russia was like the size of Japan and Japan the size of Russia.

As Flash said, given how this made Putin look and also that there didn't seem to be much to actually stop Wagner, plus that Putin was calling Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, etc....for help, I doubt this was some grand strategic move by him. Reminds me of in the 1980s when Coca-Cola's sales...

Just seems to me a man in his position, and having founded a successful company like Wagner, has to be smarter than that.

I just don't get how he could be so stupid though. I mean did he really not have a plan on what to do once he got to Moscow?

I'm guessing he probably also thought his military was more capable than it really was.

How well trained, equipped, and ready to fight are those troops though? If they are as well-armed as the regular army but better trained, that's like 500,000 troops in total, you're talking U.S. active-duty Army size and hence budget as well I'd think. One thing I think that showed Putin was in...

I don't think this is an act by Putin because it makes him look way too weak. Putin may not be allowing Prigozhin to walk away in the long-term, but in the short-term, what could he do? Arrest him? His forces it seemed were at risk of not being able to stop a coup, let alone try to arrest the...

Well at least out of this Ukraine got a Russian fuel depot blown up and some Ka-52 attack helicopters shot down.

Anne Applebaum wrote in her article in The Atlantic today ("Russia Slides Into Civil War") that open-source intelligence blogger Christo Grozef has been arguing for months that Wagner was preparing a coup. If he was right and this isn't just a spontaneous act on Prigozhin's part, then the Wagner...

Nuclear missiles require constant maintenance so if they've been maintained as badly as the Russian military, many or most of them may not even be in working condition. I do wonder why Putin gave Prigozhin so much power, I mean this is like Dictatorship 101 here. For similar reasons I've...

Grocery stores in Ukraine are running out of popcorn.

I'm surprised Putin hasn't offed Prigozhin. Usually it seems people highly critical of him mysteriously fall off of buildings or get hit by a truck or something.

I see, I honestly had no idea you guys (and gals) get banged around so much in those aircraft.

Coolbeans, a lot of people don't know that though, so I figured I'd share it as I don't know what you guys know on that.

One thing I do know is that a great way to prevent back injuries from occurring is to do some good back and core strengthening, like pullups, rows, leg lifts, etc...the back to a good degree is the frame upon which the rest of your upper-body musculature rests. And it is naturally far too weak...

Well I actually didn't know that sitting is terrible for the lower back. I know that sitting while slouched is bad for the back, but regular sitting I did not. I also didn't know about rigid versus flexed wing aircraft. I wasn't thinking about the heavy survival vest and other equipment but even...

Just curious, but how does aviation wreck your back?

Other than if a group of people is very lucky, throughout history defense has always been a costly part of life and/or the overall economy. In tribal times, the tribe had to manufacture weapons and train for war, because if they didn't other tribes that did would come and murder or enslave them...

Remember that what we call the "military-industrial complex" didn't really come into existence until the Cold War, when it was realized that a permanent defense industrial base and permanent large and strong military would now be needed.

No, I mean we actively helped the Soviets industrialize during the 1920s. American companies were eager for business and the Soviets were fascinated with American industrial production, wanting to create an improved, socialist variant. So under contract, companies and engineers helped design...

Does the FAA just not want an auto engine in an airplane?

We seem to like to give our future military rivals lots of help to become military rivals. We helped Japan modernize during the late 19th century. Then we gave the Soviets a huge amount of help in terms of industrial equipment and expertise to help them build their industrial capability, before...

I have heard of people putting small-block Chevy's into some of those smaller planes as well. Also into boats:)

What is ships company? I Googled it but it just says it comprises all the officers, NCOs, and such of a ship...?

Yes I don't remember what engine it was, might have been a different one.

Was that where they tested the Cessna's engine? I remember reading something about how utterly resilient the engine on one of these small planes was, and how two guys flew one for months in the air, and when they landed and disassembled the engine, it was still plenty fine.

Here is a detailed article on the difficulties of getting F-16s to Ukraine: LINK Also I just learned that there are now contractor air force companies that you apparently can hire to help protect your country.

One of the articles I read quoted someone saying that this is also for the long-term defense of Ukraine, as they will need a permanent strong military now.

U.S. now (publicly) preparing to send F-16s to Ukraine.