"how to prepare for the next civil war" Topic

Well they did spend the last 4 plus years renaming everything in the US 😂

You know I'm against renaming anything.

I don't care about renaming everything again, and I can see how it will be presented as a middle finger to the people for whom the posts are now named, but for Pete's sake, let Ft. Bragg be Ft. Bragg again. I know Braxton Bragg was a knot head; that's not the point. Ft Liberty is a godawful ridiculous name, and to all of us who never cared a fig why the name was chosen in the first place, "Bragg" was and is freighted with decades of meaning.

A few new highlights

Subject: Trump to reinstate service members discharged for not getting COVID-19 vaccine

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Subject: CIA releases new analysis on COVID origins favoring lab leak theory | Fox News

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Subject: Citizen Free Press on X: "JD VANCE SHUTS DOWN MARGARET BRENNAN -- MASTERCLASS. t.co/OsmrxfR96I / X

Don't argue with JD! 😉

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the US/your country spend less than 5% for defense.

It should spend more as we are still in Cold War 2.0. We know that Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, drug cartels/gangs and islamic terrorism are the clear and present dangers. Plus, the previous US leadership's priorities were not realistic, etc.

-POTUS says the US needs more territory.

NO … the current US leadership understands how critical some places are in defense of the US/the West. From the threats I mentioned …

-Greenland should be part of the US cause Denmark canīt defend it.

NO … the US will not invade Greenland. No reason to. The US and Greenland will make deals good for all sides. Both economically and militarily. Why would Greenland or Denmark in reality be concerned about a US attack ?

-POTUS said he would encourage Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want' to any NATO country that doesn't pay enough.

The US POTUS said that as it wants NATO to pay its fair share and more in keeping with the current geopolitical situation.

Note many in NATO have not paid their 2% fair share … but many have recently.

E.g. In business you always ask for more than you expect/hope/want to get. I do it all the time on eBay. "It's just the way business is done at times".

So, by saying what some might consider "outrageous" in respect to the current situation. Is like the technique of stating "taking nothing off the table".

What is at the heart of Sun Tzu and The Art of War that can be paraphrased/the Cliff notes – "All warfare is a matter of deception" …

Even to make it simpler – E.g. as anyone who plays Poker knows that a "Poker Face"/bluffing is all part of the game. ♠♣♥♦🃏

I don't care about renaming everything again, and I can see how it will be presented as a middle finger to the people for whom the posts are now named, but for Pete's sake, let Ft. Bragg be Ft. Bragg again. I know Braxton Bragg was a knot head; that's not the point. Ft Liberty is a godawful ridiculous name, and to all of us who never cared a fig why the name was chosen in the first place, "Bragg" was and is freighted with decades of meaning.

Yes generally I have to agree. This renaming was part of the previous US Gov't's leadership woke progressive DEI, CRT, PC, pronoun, etc. agenda. To change things back would just cost more time & money. But I know many "old timers"[including me!] will pretty much always call places like Benning, Bragg, Hood, etc. their original names.

And in the long run and in reality, has 0 to do with anything. But to make the woke progressives, CRT, etc. types think they are "righting a long overdue wrong" … Yes, we all know slavery is wrong, few will argue otherwise. But it is just like the pretty much now "defunct" reparations idea. Giving $ to people who were not slaves taken from people who never owned slaves.

I still prefer naming installations after those who walked the walk. Did exceptional things above and beyond, even lost their lives. Forts should be named after Medal of Honor winners or similar types, IMO. They provide examples of conduct to look up to for new recruits and veterans, everyone. Nobody is inspired by Braxton Bragg.

I understand what Nine is saying. Tradition and memories matter. Some compromise should be considered. But we need to honor the people who were on the front lines more often, IMO.

The new names for the posts are all very acceptable to me. All heroes in one respect or another. Frankly and a RET Army Green Beret COL has said this on FOX too, no troop ever assigned to places like Benning, Bragg, Hood, etc. complained about it. Well at least about the post's name. Many more things to complain about … it's the Army for God's sake …

However, as I said, it would be a waste of $ & time to change them back. So in time many old timers like me will be dead and gone. And it won't be long, before no one will ever know what the original names were. Hopefully they won't forget about the ACW, etc. that would be a shame.

What a last 3 days! Mostly ignored by the MSM. 🙄

2 more potential assassinations and a left wing TG terror cult, responsible for the border agents death plus others.

Subject: Armed man at Capitol threatened to kill Bessent, Hegseth, Johnson – NBC4 Washington

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Subject: Man Arrested For Alleged Trump Threat Is A Drag Queen & Casey Anthony's Friend

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This one should be in the MSM

Subject: Thread by @MrAndyNgo on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App

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Subject: ANDY NGO REPORTS: Trans terror? Trans duo revealed as suspects in killing of a Vermont border patrol officer | The Post Millennial | thepostmillennial.com

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Subject: Suspects in killings of Vallejo witness, Vermont Border Patrol agent connected by marriage license, extreme ideology

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@Legion 4
I did not say that the US Army will invade Greenland.
I wrote:

POTUS said the US needs more territory.

You wrote NO
Trump said:

"The United States will once again consider itself a growing Nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities…"

I cannot see where I misrepresent his intention.
I donīt know what you think about the Financial Times. To me the FT is no liberal or extrem left newspaper. They wrote about the call between Trump and the Danish Prime Minister link
That descripes the view from Europe.
I would rather not explain what I think about Trumps tactics in negotiations between allied states.

Germany was supposed to spend 2% of its budget on military on a specific date, but not when Trump started saying that.
Paying a fair share sounds good. I tried to teach my kids that "fair" is a stupid word that they better avoid.
The relations between States are not the same as between business partners. I ainīt gonna explain that, sorry.
And his threats with Russia are as despicable as

Trump's Pentagon strips Mark Milley of security clearance and guard detail

Frankly,that is low.

"Frankly,that is low."

No lower than what the Democrats did to Trump and his supporters after the 2020 election. Actually less so.

But I digress:

What president brought to everyone's attention that others were not meeting their military commitments? Bush? Obama? Biden? 🤔 Noooooo now who was that???

Now look how many are up to 2% and higher, especially those close to a certain country.

Let's be honest, NATO is there to defend Europe, not Australia or Fiji. So shouldn't Europeans be pulling the Lions share? This isn't the 1950's or 60's any longer, your economies have recovered from the war. The US should NOT be near the top. But at least spending, vehicles, planes, troops and other things should be equal. I know this isn't popular in Europe, but the US isn't going to be popular no matter what we do.
Subject: Which NATO countries are meeting the 2% defense spending commitment?

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Playing the victim card? Ooooh, those poor bastards trying to avoid the change of power on january 6th. LOL
Yeah in 2014 NATO members made a committment to increase their military spending to 2 % of their GDP within a decade.

That means a committment to spend 2% of GDP in 2024.

Not in 2015. Not in 2016. Not in 2017. Not in 2018. Not in 2019. Not in 2020. Not in 2021. Not in 2022. Not in 2023.

The US are a Global bully. Excuse me, I meant a Global Player. They donīt spend all that money only for NATO.

And, comming back to my former posting: Trump found out that the might of the US military could be used in negotiatins with other countries.
Did he say that Canada should be a part of the US instead of a sovereign country?
Panama should treat US ships differently, cause the US helped building the channel. And it is of National interest to make sure that the traffic goes smoothly. I guess it would be the best if Trumps family takes over the PCA. Or at least one of his blue collar hard working friends.
Greenland! National security!!!!
Most people did not take Putin serious when he said Ukraine should be part of Russia.

The Republicans have the majority in both houses. But Trump governs by executive orders. And I guess it will be in the national interest of the US that this great man continues to do so. I mean, Roosevelt was POTUS how often? It would only be "fair"…

Dogtail, lot of MSM rhetoric and American hate there.

Who knows, maybe Germany can rise up once again and take the leadership of Europe. I'm sure the rest of Europe would love to have you do that. Good Luck. 😉

And again, your mixing up Disgust for Trump and Hate for America. Trump is not America, he is not the US.

By the way, I donīt have a TV set and I donīt listen to MSM.

I guess Trump pissing off every ally will lead to Europe closing up. Germany might become a leader for European interests. I would have prefered if Western countries work together to deal with China and islamic threats. You might remember, that 9/11 was the only occasion NATO members declared article 5.

Again good luck with Germanys rise to power.

As you might have read in some of my past posts, mutual defense treaties in times of peace are dangerous. They do nothing but force your country into corners, if you honor them. As should have been learned by both world wars.

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Here's a reasonably good summary of why Americans are NATO-skeptic- and it comes from a Dane. It goes well beyond the 2% issue, and it makes a point I've made before: why on earth should we defend people who behave like this?

From that article: "In the US, the Danes are perceived as disloyal parasites…"

Same as Jews in Germany between 1933 and 1945. You better watch your language. Or your mindset.

Nice try- the Danes aren't our citizens, which makes your attempt at an insulting analogy considerably less than exact. But why address the real issue- that Western Europe can't and won't pull its weight- when you can try for a demi-vierge slander instead?

Defend yourselves: we're over it.

Legion 4
I did not say that the US Army will invade Greenland.
I wrote:

POTUS said the US needs more territory.

Yeah as I said, the US will make a deal. Everybody involved makes $ … I.e. Greenland, the US and probably Denmark …

@nine pound round
as I said, watch your mindset: it doesnīt matter if you dehumanize citizens of your country or aliens, your mind is suffering.
And you are losing your dignity, too.

I am all in for Europe to spend enough money on the military. I want Europe to be under a european nuclear shield.
Just for the case an US or any other dumb nut wants some soil from us that we are not offering.

Dog tail, you're missing something important: I am a citizen of a free country, and I can say whatever I damn well please. And I don't care one bit whether you think I am losing my dignity, or anything else for that matter.

Talk is cheap; you can say what you want, but it doesn't change the fundamental facts that are demonstrated in that article, and if you want to quibble about words, I'm not particularly minded to pay it much attention. The article chronicles the uniquely repellant combination of arrogance and mendicancy that two hot wars and a Cold War have taught us to expect of Europeans. Feel free to defend yourselves any time you want; we're sick of doing it.

U me 2

Funnily enough, the Danes are also citizens of a free country and can say whatever they please. And it looks as if they were right about the American threat to Danish territory.

Perhaps the Americans could put a base in Greenland to help defend American interests …

And in other news, Trump has declared the terrible accident of yesterday accident as being caused by DEI, with no evidence other than his "common sense"

The whole world will be ignoring his words until the accident investigation is complete. But since he never means what he says anyway, that's the best option for all Trumps speeches, to ignore them until it's clear what he means.

Do those whom voted for him actually know what they voted for ?

Trump's empathy deficit, as his previous staff called it, and his ability to politicize every event to attack his usual targets have made us cynical about him…and concerned. Same for the CA fires and "Newscum " His style is so different from the previous American leaders in our history. We make excuses for it, or defend him by saying he must have a plan. The campaign is over.

Who is writing these Executive orders? Some intern? Chaos this week, a million questions about implementing the funding freeze, no answers. Who leads? Was it vetted for legal sufficiency? Guidelines to implement? Slow down and get it right, make a plan, tell people what it is, lead. Congress is fading out of the picture.

Dagwood

The US has a base in Greenland already. Plus troops at Thule.

"The U.S. military maintains a permanent presence at the Pituffik air base in Greenland's northwest. Greenland is crucial for the U.S. military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.Jan 9, 2025"

😱

Trump should not have brought up DEI yesterday.

But he said DEI "could have" been an issue. I listened to the conference.

Was it a possibility, yes.

The facility was running 19 controllers instead of 30. 1 man was doing the job of 2 in this case. There were 2 other near crashes in the last few days there.

You guys have got to expand your news sources. Don't try Google searches they just return the normal anti administration sources.

More to come, but my breakfast is here.

35th, I know the US has a base at Thule. Denmark is an ally and allows the US to operate in Greenland.

I expect it to be invested by Danish troops immediately as it is now clearly a risk to Greenland's sovereignty. But there are probably more American troops in Greenland than Danish ones. Perhaps the French will help. Way to go, Donald !

35th, yes we need answers and the system has not been running as it is supposed to. It could be that there are some broad underlying factors involved. But right now, I am thinking about those people who died, and thinking we have to do better.

The air traffic controllers have a crazy hard job. This has gone on for years. Potus should talk about the tragedy and sorrow first. Then about learning from mistakes, fixing things. Stop the campaign smack. Act like a President. I can approve of some things he may set in motion but not the way he handles these things. He just cannot stop talking….

Dagwood your post did not say you knew. 😉 I was pointing out we have one of own. Thule on the other hand is a joint base. Canadians, Danes and US at least.

Tort I did say Trump should not have brought it up Thursday. Bad timing.

I expect you to read all these links. 🙂

But conceivably it could very well have played a part. I pointed out the tower was understaffed and had been since they said there should be 30 there in 2023.
(Please look at my number 2 post here from 2023.

I watched a clip yesterday from the Biden official in charge of the F.A.A. saying DEI MUST be the priority in hiring for controllers. Not competence. Skin color, gender and sexual preference. Does that make you feel safe flying? Is that what people want. "Yes my wife and children are dead, but at least the controller was an asian, transgender woman (now)!" 😳

I have read that at least 1000 qualified individuals were not hired because they did not fulfill part of the quota.

I have personal example locally. Was this DEI? Who knows, 2 years ago. Coincidence?

A friends father was an air-traffic controller. He was there for the big ATC strike and survived and was excellent at this job.

A few years ago he was given a package to "voluntary retire". He had 40 years experience, was excellent at his job, and was a white male. Why? When you are short of personal and you needed personal?

Also:

"Military helicopter flights forced at least two planes to abort landings at Reagan National Airport in the week before a deadly collision presumably killed 67 people on Wednesday, according to a report.

On Tuesday night, just one day before the collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, a different plane alerted the air traffic control tower that it had to abort its landing to avoid collision with a helicopter, the Washington Post reported.

Yet another plane arriving at DCA from Charlotte scrubbed its landing on Jan. 23, again because of a helicopter.

"They had to circle back around because there was a helicopter in the flight path," said RIchard Hart, a passenger on the Jan. 23 flight who spoke to the Washington Post. "At the time I found it odd. … Now I find it disturbingly tragic."

The two close calls came within a week of Wednesday's horrifying collision, in which an inbound commercial flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River. A total of 64 people, including four crew members, were aboard passenger American Airlines Flight 5342, and three soldiers were on the Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk that came from Fort Belvoir in Virginia. All are presumed dead."

As relates to a previous post. People voted for Trump for massive change. They are getting that. Those who did not vote for him are in panic mode. The MSM is doing exactly what they did in his first administration. They portray everything in the worst possible way and are throwing out "panic" language (I've told you how that is effecting my wife's family already. They believe the hate speech.). You cannot trust what the MSM is telling you. I know because I'm actually watching speeches live and you are getting out of context information or half truths. It is bad, I've watched some of MSNBC and of course that woman next to me, still has the View on. 🤮 God are those women full of hate.

I know Fox is like a cross to a vampire to many. But try reading the "Citizen Free Press"daily. It's what "Drudge" used to be.

Saw Secretary Hegseth (below) very open and refreshing. Also notice 2 Secretary's present on Thursday for questions along with the President. Open to "anyone's" questions and not scripted. Notice the difference between this and the train wreck in Ohio? 🤔

Subject: Staffing Was ‘Not Normal' at Air Traffic Tower During Plane Crash – The New York Times

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Subject: Analysis: Diversity Politics Undermined Federal Air Traffic Control Skills-Based Testing – Tennessee Star

This is from 2023.

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Subject: Staffing at air control tower was ‘not normal,' according to FAA: report | Fox News

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Very open and straightforward.

Subject: Secretary Hegseth vows to deliver answers on DC plane crash: 'Completely unacceptable' | Fox News Video


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I do hope you all knew this:

"1867 proposal
In 1867, United States secretary of state William H. Seward negotiated the Alaska Purchase from the Russian Empire. He that year considered the idea of United States annexation of both Greenland and Iceland an idea "worthy of serious consideration"."

It wasn't the last

"While Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenlandic and Danish authorities have publicly asserted Greenland's right to self-determination and stated that Greenland is "not for sale". Many Greenlanders support independence, and many Danes see the historical ties with Greenland as an integral part of Danish national identity.

The United States has long viewed Greenland as vital to national security. In the early 20th century, it included Greenland among several European possessions in the Western Hemisphere to preemptively seize and fortify in the event of a threatened attack on the US. During World War II, the US invoked its Monroe Doctrine and occupied Greenland to prevent use by Germany following the German occupation of Denmark. The U.S. military remained in Greenland after the war and, by 1948, Denmark abandoned attempts to persuade the U.S. to leave. The following year, both countries became members of the NATO military alliance. A 1951 treaty gave the US a significant role in Greenland's defense. As of 2025, the U.S. Space Force maintains Pituffik Space Base in Greenland; and the U.S. military regularly takes part in NATO exercises in Greenlandic waters."

🤔

If the left turns out to be correct about global warming, think of all that lovely farmland that will open up when the ice melts.

About the crash, when all is said and done, I believe it will a combo of reasons, one of which will be too little personal.

Hard to see how you miss this.

Subject: Audio of MID-AIR CRASH into Potomac River | Regional Jet and Black Hawk Helicopter – YouTube

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YouTube link

Subject: Citizen Free Press on X: "NEW VIDEO OF DC BLACKHAWK COLLISION AND PLANE CRASH These are the clearest images of the collision we've seen so far. How is it possible the Blackhawk pilots did not see the AA jet. t.co/mqY2Lnhn0K / X


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More info

Subject: All the catastrophic mistakes that led to DC plane crash as it is revealed air traffic controller left tower early | Daily Mail Online


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The ATC asked the Helo TWICE if they saw the airliner, then told the helo to "pass behind" the airliner, and then ATC says "Viz separation approved" which tells the pilots to take independent action to avoid collision. The Helo did not respond or change its course.

Those Blackhawk guys did not look like DEI recruits. What happened with them looks like it holds the key though. Thanks 35th for the info. Yes,I did read the links!

members of the NATO military alliance. A 1951 treaty gave the US a significant role in Greenland's defense. As of 2025, the U.S. Space Force maintains Pituffik Space Base in Greenland; and the U.S. military regularly takes part in NATO exercises in Greenlandic waters."

Yes and IIRC the USAF still has a base at Tule, Greenland. AFAIK it is not considered a "choice assignment"…

About the crash, when all is said and done, I believe it will a combo of reasons, one of which will be too little personal.

Yes, but as so often said about things like this is that it is an ongoing investigation. Generally, from my training and experience, long, long ago, events like this comes down to 1) Human Error 2) Mechanical Malfunction. With human error be more frequent. But those should be no real revelations.

they saw the airliner, then told the helo to "pass behind" the airliner, and then ATC says "Viz separation approved" which tells the pilots to take independent action to avoid collision. The Helo did not respond or change its
course

The question that came up is whether the UH-60 crew, saw a different aircraft. Miss-ID'ing the aircraft, but this is still just a theory.

Again from my experience & training in the 101 as a Rifle Plt Ldr then Bn Air Ops Officer. Having spent a lot of time as cargo on UH-1s, CH-47s, even OH-58s then UH-60s. Both during daylight and darkness. It is always a very dynamic situation when working with helicopters.

In many cases with a number of aircraft landing and taking off, sling-loading equipment under hovering aircraft, rappelling out of a hovering aircraft, climbing up a troop ladder of a hovering CH-47, etc., etc.

And even having run a number of LZ/PZs. Having radio contact with flight lead and another radio on higher's freq. It can look like organized confusion. But in a short amount of time, it becomes business as usual/SOP. But you can never let yourself become complacent. One has to have complete situational awareness. And at times that can be challenging …

If nothing else the noise can be very, much like anything else you have ever heard. SOP was flying with the doors wide open, so to exit the aircraft as fast as possible once the bird is on the ground. Then the bird pulls pitch and gets away from the LZ ASAP for obvious reasons.

So until the investigation is complete, pretty much everything else may just be speculation or a wild guess …

Those Blackhawk guys did not look like DEI recruits. What happened with them looks like it holds the key though.

With one pilot having 500 hours in the air and the other 1000. One was female and one male. Regardless, it seems this air crew knew what they were doing.

Note, there is nothing wrong with female pilots based on my experience. DEI, PC, woke, etc., etc.🐮💩… As long as the pilot(s) knows what they are doing is my only concern.

Sadly sometimes 💩 happens.

Legion

"The question that came up is whether the UH-60 crew, saw a different aircraft. Miss-ID'ing the aircraft, but this is still just a theory."

Yes that question has been raised and yes there were multiple planes in the air.

Tort

"Those Blackhawk guys did not look like DEI recruits."

What does a DEI hire look like? 😉 They could have identified as "they/them" or had a "penisontome" 😂

But seriously, the whole DEI discussion may stem back to that 2023 article and Biden's head of the FAA and his speech about wanting DEI hires in the controllers, just to meet quotas. Which is honestly….. stupid. You want the most qualified people in positions, at least I do. I don't want 3 more qualified individuals excluded because they were white males and if they are hired, well we won't represent the population. So instead, we put in that Asian Transexual woman, because she nails 3 minorities, even though less qualified. Don't lie to yourselves, it happens. I've seen it in the private sector.

Now if you are looking for conspiracies (I'm not). Well here are the two hot ones on the web. 1) the helicopter pilot wanted to commit suicide, otherwise how could he NOT have seen the plane!!?? 2) Trump was responsible for this, engineered it to fulfill his agenda.

Hot off the conspiracy lines. There are others, just not as hot. #1 is the hottest.

Welcome for the links and info. 🙂

"A New York Times report saying the air control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has been understaffed for years came amid a lawsuit claiming the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) discriminated against air traffic controller applicants based on their race.

The Times report said the tower at the airport was nearly a third below targeted staff levels, with 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023, citing the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, an annual report to Congress that contains target and actual staffing levels.

The targets set by the F.A.A. and the controllers union call for 30.

The lawsuit represents nearly 1,000 individuals who went to school to become air traffic controllers . They passed the normal test to obtain the position right before the Obama administration said the class was too white and threw out the tests with the applicants, the suit alleges.

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who serves as co-counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation, based in Colorado, is leading efforts for a lawsuit.

"When you travel and have a delay, it's because there aren't enough of these people," Laxalt told the Wall Street Journal last year. "When you see these near incidents in air traffic control, it's because there aren't enough people. There are only 14,000 air traffic controllers. A thousand were scrapped a decade ago, and the bottom line is they've never made up losing all of this pipeline."
"

Saw this morning that the female pilot's family asked that her identity not be disclosed, which seems like an understandable request, given the current environment, but probably ill-advised. Sooner or later it will be published anyway, and the request for privacy is too easy to portray as an attempt to hide something.

While I understand how they must feel, the fact is, this is going to be a major investigation into a disaster that killed 70 people, and it's important that the relevant facts get dragged out into the open and examined. I can think of several cases in NTSB investigations I am familiar with where individuals' background and lifestyle (for example, drinking or proneness to risk-taking behavior) had to be examined for their relevance.

Trust me, even though the head of the NTSB was nominated by Trump, she's a career Dem who worked as a transportation and infrastructure committee staffer. She's not likely to jump precipitately on the "blame DEI" bandwagon.

Nine,

Yes read that this morning too. They described this as an unusual request, especially since the identities of the other two are already out there.

You are correct, it will come out. I can probably find it, if I am willing to spend the time to do it and fight Google and other search engines .. which right now, I'm not. 🙂

Yes that question has been raised and yes there were multiple planes in the air.

As I said based on my past experience with choppers and even fixed wing aircraft. Things could get confusing especially in the dark …

The lawsuit represents nearly 1,000 individuals who went to school to become air traffic controllers . They passed the normal test to obtain the position right before the Obama administration said the class was too white and threw out the tests with the applicants, the suit alleges.

Heard the same report. And other initiatives by the FAA, etc. As we have seen with e.g. the USSS had the goal of 1/3 of their agents were to be female by 2030(?).

Similar reports about the LA fire Dept. prioritizing DEI over hard cores training on their primary mission.

And again just for the record, I have no problem with female pilots, or anyone else as long as they are qualified.

IIRC, the US ARMY had a similar situation a few years back. As it was reported that not enough minorities were in SF units. From what I can tell many try out, but few are selected. As it is with pretty much everything … should be, based on meritocracy. Not anything else …

I seem to recall a concern expressed somewhere that the small percentage of black pilots, brigade commanders, and other positions might have black recruiting targets thinking there is not much of a career track open to them. I don't remember where I saw this or if it's the case.

Merit should be the qualifying requirement. Blacks and other minorities were not always judged on merit in many facets of life, including the military. But social engineering via quotas does nobody any favors. As long as the playing field is kept level, there should be no problems- in theory. ….equality is the part of DEI that ensures that we promote the best regardless of race.

Identified

"Cpt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina, served as an aviation officer in the Army from July 2019 and had around 500 hours of flying time in the Black Hawk under her belt. "

Half the flying time of the warrant, which in my limited experience was very typical. I remember hearing when I was a 3 Air that aviation officers in the Army flew far less than the warrants did, because the officers typically had a lot of other responsibilities (including administrative responsibilities) that kept them out of the cockpit. That's got nothing to do with any of the issues people have been raising over the last couple of days, but does suggest that someone in the Army might want to ask the question of whether aviation officers are meant to be leaders in the cockpit (in which case they need more flight time) or administrators on the ground (in which case they probably don't need to be flying at all).

Having radio contact with flight lead and another radio on higher's freq.

Read that the ATC may have been broadcasting on the wrong freq for the Blackhawk to have heard him. All still early days, the fuller story will emerge, just have to wait.

Nine, Legion and other ex military from the US, a question at the bottom.

"STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY of Capt Rebecca Lobach, the Army Blackhawk co-pilot:

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals.

Rebecca began her career in the United States Army as a distinguished military graduate in ROTC at the University of North Carolina, and was in the top 20% of cadets nationwide. She achieved the rank of Captain, having twice served as a Platoon Leader and as a Company Executive Officer in the 12th Aviation Battalion, Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. With more than 450 hours of flight time, she earned certification as a pilot-in-command after extensive testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion.

Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle. But she was as graceful as she was fierce: in addition to her duties as an Army aviator, Rebecca was honored to serve as a White House Military Social Aide, volunteering to support the President and First Lady in hosting countless White House events, including ceremonies awarding the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Rebecca cared about people, and she extended to individuals the same fearless defense she gave to this nation. She was proud of the difference she made as a certified Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Victim Advocate and hoped to continue her education so she could serve this country as a physician when her time with the Army ended. She once said, "My experiences with SHARP have reinforced my resolve to serve others with compassion, understanding, and the resources necessary for healing."

Rebecca was many things. She was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend. She was a servant, a caregiver, an advocate. Most of all, she loved and was loved. Her life was short, but she made a difference in the lives of all who knew her. Our hearts break for the other families who have lost loved ones in this national tragedy and we mourn with them."

Ok my questions related to these two from above.

"Rebecca was honored to serve as a White House Military Social Aide, volunteering to support the President and First Lady in hosting countless White House events, including ceremonies awarding the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Rebecca cared about people, and she extended to individuals the same fearless defense she gave to this nation. She was proud of the difference she made as a certified Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Victim Advocate "

Would she be out of the real time training for the last four years of the Biden administration, since she was an aid to Biden and Jill and a victim advocate? So just now, getting back to active service and rusty? Not sure how this works in the military. Thanks

Nor am I – I avoided duty in the Military District of Washington as a junior officer- but here are a couple of thoughts.

Military organizations typically give an officer primary duties (I.e., the job you're on the chart to do) and secondary or "collateral" duties, which are mostly administrative (think of Willie Keith being the "morale officer" on the USS Caine). Everyone has to do something, they're divided between officers, sometimes on the basis of ability, usually on the basis of equitable division of the extra work that's required. Then there are other duties that come down, sometimes for shorter or longer periods: you might, for example, find that it's your turn to be the "casualty assistance officer," and you report to the post G-1 to be prepared to help, say, the widow of a suddenly deceased service member.

I suspect a White House social aide was like that- "hey we need a captain who can take direction, looks good in uniform, bright but not mouthy, to walk J D Vance's kids in at the inauguration." I'm guessing those come out of units in the MDW, probably the Old Guard, staffs, etc. The victim advocate sounds more like one of those jobs every battalion needs to have someone covering, as I said, on a part-time basis, in addition to other duties. There are other types of situations (in the 82nd, we often carried soldiers on our rolls who were doing teaching duty at the Jumpmaster School, or even in the Airborne Chorus, and those guys definitely didn't train with the unit), but the two cases you described sound to me like versions of the kinds of collateral duties anyone would be required to perform anywhere.

We'll see if there were other indicators something was wrong; the NTSB is good at doing that tactfully. But I wouldn't consider those two you've cited as likely to be distractions, unless they were more like full-time gigs than I imagine them to be.

One other comment- she seems to have been commissioned in 2019, and you would expect flight school to take a year and change after that; I've seen her service record summarized as two separate stints as a platoon leader, and a stint as a company executive officer (I.e., second in command). That's pretty typical for a good junior officer (in my experience, people generally seek as much troop-leading time as they can get, so two stints as a platoon leader is likely indicative of good performance, rather than "do it until you get it right"). She may have done another staff job in there, but IIRC, aviators in staff jobs for battalion-sized units would typically get flight time, to keep proficient and to keep flight pay.

I haven't seen anything yet – apart from the possibility of pilot error – that seems particularly questionable. More evidence will no doubt come out, but I don't think we'll have to wait long to hear it. I suspect we'll get a lot more information out of the jet than we will the helicopter- not sure the Army collects flight data at the same level of fidelity as civilian carriers, and I can see solid reasons why you wouldn't necessarily want to. I can imagine circumstances under which a flight recorder in enemy hands could potentially provide actionable intelligence in wartime.

So…. ICE coordinated raids with Chicago Law Enforcement to detain violent illegal aliens, and someone in Chicago PD actually told the targets, and the raids failed.

Why do these "Blue" cities want to shield violent criminals at the expense of their people's well-being??

If you investigate and prosecute illegal behavior, you generally get less of it.

See also: U.S. v. Schumer, presumably coming soon to a rural Federal circuit court in a red state.