Author: Grumpy

Army aviators, ready to leave the military, are told they owe 3 more years instead The Army reinterpreted part of their contracts after a legal review, derailing the futures of hundreds of officers who thought their contracts were up. By Melissa Chan

Post author By Grumpy
Post date April 28, 2023
2 Comments on Army aviators, ready to leave the military, are told they owe 3 more years instead The Army reinterpreted part of their contracts after a legal review, derailing the futures of hundreds of officers who thought their contracts were up. By Melissa Chan

A CH-47 Chinook flight engineer during a training session over Cyprus in 2020.Maj. Robert Fellingham / 12th Combat Aviation Brigade / U.S. Army, file

Hundreds of Army aviation officers who were set to leave the military are being held to another three years of service after they say the branch quietly reinterpreted part of their contract amid retention and recruitment issues.

The shift has sparked an uproar among the more than 600 affected active-duty commissioned officers, including some who say their plans to start families, launch businesses and begin their civilian lives have been suddenly derailed.

“We are now completely in limbo,” said a captain who had scheduled his wedding around thinking he would be leaving the military this spring.

That captain and three other active-duty aviation officers who spoke to NBC News spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

As part of a program known as BRADSO, cadets commissioning from the U.S. Military Academy or Army Cadet Command from 2008 and 2020 were able to request a branch of their choice, including aviation, by agreeing to serve an additional three years on active duty.

For years, the Army allowed some aviation officers to serve those three years concurrently, and not consecutively, along with their roughly contracted seven or eight years of service.

In a phone call with reporters Thursday, Army officials admitted “errors” in the system, which they noticed a few months ago, led to the discrepancy.

“We are fixing those errors, and we are in communication with the unit leadership and impacted officers,” said Lt. Gen. Douglas Stitt, deputy chief of staff of G-1, which is in charge of policy and personnel.

“Our overall goal to correct this issue is to provide predictability and stability for our soldiers while maintaining readiness across our force,” Stitt added.

In letters the Army sent this month to the affected aviators as well as to members of Congress, which were obtained by NBC News, it said it “realized” after conducting a “legal review of this policy” that the three-year BRADSO requirement has to be served separately.

“This is not a new policy, but we are correcting oversights in recordkeeping that led some officers with an applied BRADSO to separate from the U.S. Army before they were eligible,” the letter said.

Thursday’s media roundtable came after more than 140 aviation officers banded together to demand answers after learning one by one that they were being denied discharges due to outstanding BRADSO obligations beginning last fall.

More than 60 of them signed a letter to Congress outlining how they had been misled by the Army for years about the exact length of their service contract.

“It has been this unanimous uprising of emotions and frustrations,” said another Army aviation captain, who is newly married and wanted to begin having children.

He called the reversal of a precedent an “injustice” to an already burnt-out department still regularly deployed despite the end of the longest war in American history.

“Yeah, the war on Afghanistan ended. There’s still a high demand for Army aviation,” he said, while en route to another deployment. “We have units still in constant training or deployment rotations. They’re failing to recognize the human aspect.”

The newlywed said it has been difficult for him and his wife to accept a three-year delay in starting a family.

“That was the big kick in the gonads,” he said. “We wanted to start having kids, and we no longer can. It’s a stressor we didn’t plan to deal with.”

Documents obtained by NBC News show officers were given conflicting information about their service obligations.

A Victory! All About Guns Cops

From the great Blog, Splendid Isolation Dept. Of Righteous Shootings this little gem!

Post author By Grumpy
Post date April 28, 2023
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From NE Austin (TX) — not to be confused with the City of Austin — comes this cheery news:

According to the Austin Police Department, at around 5:31 a.m., officers responded to a call in the 7600 block of Bethune Avenue, where a female resident reported a man attempting to break into her home through the door and a window. The caller then stated that the male suspect had entered the home, followed by the sound of gunshots.

Upon arrival at the scene, the APD officers and EMS medics found the male suspect dead. APD says the preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect was shot by one of the residents in self-defense.

The interesting part of the story to me is that the dead goblin is not, as one might think, a teenage choirboy, but a sixty-something asshole. Whatever. Asshole is asshole, regardless of age, and dead is dead. (Thankee, Reader Brad for the alert.)

All About Guns Well I thought it was funny! You have to be kidding, right!?!

NEXT-LEVEL COMBAT HANDGUNS THE CANIK TP9 METE WRITTEN BY WILL DABBS, MD

Post author By Grumpy
Post date April 28, 2023
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The Canik TP9 SFx METE holds its own with the finest combat
handguns in the world at a very sweet price — definitely secret agent stuff.

I am an unrepentant fan of the Canik TP9 family of pistols. I bought my first copy back in 2012. There was a cavorting dolphin on the side. The thing looked like a Walther P99 had a baby with a brick. I still enjoy shooting it.

Today’s most recent offerings are both uber-svelte and sexy-cool. They include a feature set that eclipses the big-name guns. The new TP9 METE takes combat pistols to a previously unexplored space.

The Canik TP9 METE pistols are thoroughly awesome unadorned right out of the box.
However, they readily lend themselves to some proper accessorizing.

The Canik TP9 METE pistols came in a truly epic box. Will tricked
his out with all the cool-guy stuff he could find.

The Operator

The crew of the International Space Station was shocked when the hatch to the supposedly unmanned SpaceX Dragon resupply capsule opened, and Duke Sterling floated in behind his signature disarming grin. The ISS crew consisted of three experienced cosmonauts and Mission Specialist Dag Nilsen from Norway.

“Forgive my unexpected visit,” Sterling said in unaccented Russian. “Unfortunate international circumstances dictate I impose upon you briefly.” Mission Specialist Nilsen heard the words in Norwegian.

One of the cosmonauts was the preternaturally gorgeous Svetlana Fedorov, formerly principal dancer at the Bolshoi. She subsequently earned a PhD in astrophysics while simultaneously raising her twin nephews orphaned in a tragic catfish noodling accident. Her two male comrades were hardened Spetsnaz veterans.

Sterling quickly settled into the routine of ISS life. He dominated the Russian card game of P’yanitsa despite never before having played. Forty-eight hours later, the four scientists counted Sterling among their dearest friends.

On day three, Sterling glanced at his watch and said, “I must be going. Thank you for your hospitality.” Before anyone could react, he was in his EVA suit, a sleek armored case connected to his waist via an aluminum carabiner.

Svetlana leaned toward him and whispered, “Am I pregnant?”

Sterling could always tell. Though he had not physically touched her, Svetlana Fedorov would not be the first woman to find herself with child simply from being in the same room with Duke Sterling. Smiling sweetly, Sterling said, “Nyet.”

In one practiced movement, Sterling was in the airlock. He glanced at his watch a final time, waved at his new friends and exited the ISS. When the moment was right, he pushed off vigorously toward earth.

Two hours and 27 minutes later, Sterling deployed his parachute. A quarter-hour after that, he touched down noiselessly in total darkness on the horse track of the Ryongson Residence north of Pyongyang, North Korea. Sterling removed his space helmet and soaked up the silence. Despite having just HALO’d into North Korea from the International Space Station, his heart rate loitered in the high 50s.

Sterling’s dark camouflage fatigues rendered him invisible in the darkness. He popped open the case and ran his fingers over its contents in the darkness. In 30 seconds, he had his Canik TP9 SFx METE fully assembled. He slipped the sinister weapon into its custom fit-and-lock retention holster before stowing his spacesuit, parachute and dunnage behind the stable. He then activated his NVGs and pressed toward the foreboding enormity of the main edifice. It was showtime.

The new Canik TP9 METE pistols are as refined as human craftsmanship and engineering can make them. They are simply magnificent combat handguns.

The Canik TP9 SFT METE is the standard service pistol. Though beautifully
tricked out, this gun occupies the same space as a GLOCK 17 or HK VP9.

Avoiding the North Korean guards was not a challenge. Sterling had both an otherworldly proximity sense and an uncanny ability to blend in with foliage, furniture and household decor. In moments, he stood poised outside the Supreme Leader’s master bedroom. With grim determination, Sterling readied his Canik, flipped up his goggles and pressed through the door.

The rotund North Korean despot sat at a massive ornate table. In one hand, he held an adorable squirming beagle puppy. In the other, he grasped a dental tool. Shock and surprise registered on his moon-like face. Without a moment’s hesitation, the highly trained CIA Special Activities Division operative raised his customized Canik handgun and shot the short fat man three times in the chest.

He was answered by a shower of sparks and the acrid smell of burned electrical components. Kim fell heavily out of his chair, his gaze disconjugate and his limbs writhing wormlike. So, Kim Jong-un actually was a robot. Sterling had long suspected.

Sterling dropped the abused puppy into his cargo pocket and made his way next door to the suite of Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s psychotic nutjob sister. He used his simply breathtaking romantic powers to convince the 33-year-old under-tyrant to fetch him a helicopter. Ninety minutes later, he landed the North Korean Mi-24 Hind gunship at Camp Humphries in South Korea to great fanfare. At the same instant, Kim Yo-jong was also pondering her pregnancy status. Sterling had not touched her, either.

Sterling retired to the BOQ’s at Humphries with his new dog. He cleared and stowed his Canik before curling up with the grateful little beagle. Another day, another despot.

The pistols come with everything you could possible need — all in the box.

Unlike many “combo” kits, the holsters and magazine carriers are
solid pieces of gear and ready for daily use.

The Gun

METE is a Turkish given name. It means, “brave,” “valiant” or “hero.” The word is pronounced “Met-ay.” METE is actually a deformed variation of Mo-du, which is a version of the classic Mongol honorific Baghatur. The literal translation of METE into English would be “freaking awesome.”

Using the basic yet superlative TP9 chassis as a foundation, the skunk works at Canik accumulated literally everything anyone might possibly need to optimize a combat handgun. The case mine came in is adequate to survive atmospheric re-entry. We reviewed both the TP9 SFT and the TP9 SFx. Amazingly the MSRP for each kit is $519.99 and $574.99, respectively.

All TP9 pistols include a fiber-reinforced polymer frame with interchangeable backstraps and a Picatinny rail on the dust cover. The slide release is replicated perfectly on both sides. The magazine catch is readily reversible and sports various-sized buttons for a custom fit. There is a loaded chamber indicator and a striker status button, both of which are accessible by feel in hard dark.

The fire controls are nickel plated for a beautiful trigger experience. The base finish is Tenifer. The slides are further Cerakoted as well. The ample trigger guard is oversized to accommodate gloves. This all comes standard.

The TP9 METE guns include an optics-ready slide with several mounting plates for common red dots. The superb steel 3-dot sights are designed to co-witness with a red dot. The rear sight is angled for one-handed charging should life truly go sideways. The integral magwell is flared for fast mag changes

The Canik TP9 SFx METE is part race gun, part rugged combat tool.
Will’s shoots like a tuned target pistol.

At 15 meters from a simple rest both of these guns shoot great.
The TP9 SFx METE (right) and Will got along particularly well on the range.

METE-mazing

The full meal deal is fairly incredible. The gun includes a superlative fit-and-lock Kydex holster. This rig is reversible for either IWB or OWB carry. There are two magazines. One packs 18 rounds, while the other carries 20. There is an applique flared magwell adaptor that secures with an Allen screw.

These guys really did think of everything. The pushpins are all dimpled for easy disassembly. Each pistol comes with the most adorable little tool kit that looks like a miniaturized version of the pistol. This rig includes the fasteners for your red dot as well as a bit driver and accessories. There is also a premium OTIS cleaning kit. The package includes a rugged punch and sundry support kit as well.

I tricked my guns out with factory extended threaded barrels that are a drop-in fit. Shield RMSc red dots and custom rechargeable OLIGHT tactical lights round out the package. Century offers holsters for the gun/light combination as well.

The Shield RMSc red dot is automatically on every time you grab the gun.
It will ruin you to conventional iron sights.

OLIGHT makes the most extraordinary rechargeable weapon lights.
The units can be recharged via a magnetized charging cable without
removing them from the gun.

Decisions, Decisions …

The TP9 SFT sports an unthreaded 4.46″ barrel. The SFx version comes with a longer 5.2″ tube and a slide extended to match. The slides on both guns are serrated both front and rear. That of the SFx is also skeletonized up front for lighter weight, faster lock times and general cool points.

The polymer frames are interchangeable. The trigger guards are as aggressively undercut as physics and geometry might allow. This equals superb recoil control, minimal muzzle flip and faster follow-up shots.

The SFT is the standard bedside concealed carry service pistol. It packs like any other high-end duty pistol, only better. The plethora of included accessories just mean there’s substantially less to buy when it comes time to trick the gun out for service.
The SFx is a holy melding between a defensive pistol and a race gun. The extended snout helps tame the chaos, while the added mass keeps the sights on target. Both guns run like a toddler after a Twinkie.

The applique magwell extension fits in place using the included tools.

Ruminations

My SFx METE performs like a tuned target gun. However, a defensive pistol isn’t much good if you can’t keep it handy. I tricked out my TP9 SFx METE longslide with its Shield RMRcc sight and got it arranged in the included IWB holster underneath my surgical scrubs.

The resulting package is undeniably bulky. However, I gutted through 12 hours at the clinic and 43 sick people, with none of them realizing I was armed. I also got home without any undue back strain.

Should life go sideways at home, at work, in North Korea or aboard the International Space Station, you really won’t find a better
defensive tool.

Well I thought it was funny!

Fighter Pilot’s Ego in Critical Condition It’s touch and go. (Too soon?) Author R.J. Williams

Post author By Grumpy
Post date April 28, 2023
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WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER, Md. — Through labored, shallow breaths and the mechanical pauses of a ventilator, Air Force fighter pilot Captain Brad “Full” Nelson struggles under the spell of an induced coma. His squadron mates recount the accident that nearly led to his death.

“We went to the bar Friday night after we’d been drinking at the squadron for a few hours,” said Captain Jerry “Can” Stanford. “Full is pretty aggressive, and he bellied up to start a tab. There was a beautiful girl there with her friends—a blonde I think, probably an eight, at least. She looked at him and said, ‘Not interested.’ It looked like it didn’t phase him. He broke off, reoriented, and acted. Primo OODA loop, right brah? Next shot was ‘I’m a pilot.’ I think she frowned, turned her head away, and he went down in flames. Collapsed”

Bar patrons corroborated the story, saying it looked like the pilot was kneecapped. The bartender called 911 immediately, saying he’s seen similar injuries in recent years. “Other jobs are cooler now,” bartender Jevon Richards Jr. said. “Chicks want dudes with instagram accounts and muscles, not guts of steel.”

While waiting for the ambulance, Full’s heroic wingmen kept him alive. “We told him things like, ‘You’re still a pilot, dude. You still got your wings.’ That seemed to keep the air in his lungs.”

At the Walter Reed, Full’s doctors are reticent.

“He suffered something called involuntary comminuted ego, which means his ego is in several pieces like a broken bone,” Flight Surgeon Roger “Jolly” Rogers said. “There’s probably still some of it on the floor of the bar that didn’t get recovered. It will take months of pick-upucational therapy to rebuild it.”

“I would not want to be a nurse on his floor.”

“He’ll never walk the same again, and we’re already having conversations about prosthetic egos that will allow him to fly. He’ll have scars, too.”

His family says they’ve been told, he will be able to start the normal recovery protocol. He will be allowed to tell hospital staff and patients that he’s a pilot.

“He’s lucky to be alive,” Rogers said. “He’ll eventually get a therapy dog, because let’s be honest, dogs will love a guy even if he is a pilot. When Full gets stronger, we’ll recommend strengthening exercises, like telling women that he’s a nuclear engineer or lives with his parents while he codes, just so he sees that he’ll be all right on the other side of a disinterested reaction.”

For Tyndall Air Force base, this is the second pilot in three months to suffer similar injuries. In an earlier case, the aviator had to be airlifted from the beach after a Navy pilot got inside his OODA loop during a beach volleyball game.

R.J. Williams is an author of military history with noted expertise in Ancient texts, especially Thucydides and his account of the Polynesian War. His wartime biographies have been praised as a nexus of Dr. Suess, Louis L’amour, and Danielle Steele.