sherpa

Glad to see an ill advised, reactionary, stupid response wasn't our course. I'm more certain now than ever that what was called off last night was a cruise missile thing, which is very expensive and does little damage. Cruise missiles have small warheads. Kind of the big hat, no cattle thing. Looks cool, but does very little to your adversary. Still, there simply has to be a response. We cannot allow the Iranians, whether it's their central command or rogue elements of the Revolutionary Guard to destroy our stuff in international airspace. Going down that path has no good end. I don't care if it's military, economic, UN driven or any other means, or how long it takes to do something, but we simply cannot allow this to be inconsequential.

I can answer some of that, but a guess at what Trump "called off" would be pure speculation. First, you have to consider the source. Trump saying "ten minutes" is not something I put a lot of credibility in. But, if that's true, it sounds like it was a cruise missile thing. They are easy to abort because its just guys with easy and reliable comm sitting at launch stations, whether in the air, at sea or on land. Calling off a really serious strike is a lot more problematic. People often don't get the word. To answer your question, from a manned aircraft strike package position, the airplanes would have been loaded and ready. On a carrier it would have been hours before, up to about one hour.. Same with the air Force Launch briefings would be very detailed, including tanking, (air to air refueling) plans, search and rescue considerations, post strike egress corridors to make it easier for AWACS or a carrier air wings early warning aircraft to know who was a friend or foe. Specific weapons delivery timing and a whole lot of other things. In addition, though the Air Force has an easier problem, once its launched a carrier strike force does not want to return and land with ordnance. They can, but it is really undesirable because the force of a carrier landing. Pilot are pilots. they get train to do this stuff and do what is necessary. Still, once a significant strike plan is launched, its pretty hard to turn it off, another reason I think this was probably a cruise missile plan against Revolutionary Guard air defenses or other assets.

Yep.

Franchise moved to Washington and became the Nats.

Lots of stuff here. No I did not fly during Praying Mantis. The guy who stuck the LGB down Sabalan's stack was a dept head in my squadron and good friend of mine-still is by the way. He stayed in and dropped the thing as CO of his squadron on Enterprise. My old squadron. You are quite correct in the difference in the Iranian air defense system now vs. when I was doing this stuff. It was US built I-Hawk at that time, and is now Russian and a newer generation. A big problem, but we could handle it. That isn't how it will probably play out though. There are two scenarios, one, which I think is likely and was foreshadowed by Trump today, in a small comment regarding a rogue element of the Iranian military, is that the US thinks that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is on their own on this, and that's what I think the response will target. The other issue is the known mission of taking out the nuclear capability, and that, I'm certain, involves a massive bunker buster strike at a few locations that are underground. That involves the full capability of US air power, with a huge jamming component to deal with the air defense system. If the US feels confident they can jam the air defense, or get through it by stealth, they will not need to take it out, they will simply strike the underground facilities. If they don't think they can do that, they will take out out, but that will take a few days. I don't think we're there yet. What I think is that if any Iranian combatant does anything that is remotely aggressive, like those stupid small boats that they run in and near the Strait of Hormuz, and they have in the past without response, they will be destroyed with immense response designed to send a message. Not simply the guns from a destroyer taking out the belligerent alone, but maybe the boat dealt with by a US combatant, a but its harbor and sister ships eliminated with an air strike. Because the right of free navigation in international waters and international airspace must be protected. Don't need to "start a war." Need to defend the right. The Strait of Hormuz and adjacent waters are extremely important, and need to be defended as international water/airspace.

I hope it blows over as well, but it is a clear act of war, and some response is required. Doesn't have to be military, but you simply can't allow shootdowns in international airspace.

Seriously Tibs, you suffer from gross reality distortion, based on an out of control political bias. Iran has never stopped it's nuclear weapons program because of some "skilled" US administration, and it never will. Iran is a very bad actor, responsible for many, many US deaths, plays brinkmanship games with its Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and gets is ass kicked every time its Navy gets aggressive. This shootdown will not prove to be a plus for them. Had this been a manned airplane, there wouldn't be an Iranian ship above the water line today.

Making stuff up? Let's start with the second lie, which is that I have ever supported Trump. Never have, and that has nothing to do with Iran. What I have done is fly off a carrier in that area, did my first, (and only), hostile intercept locking up an Iranian P3 with my sidewinder, and threatened to kill him if he opened any weapons doors, became extremely familiar with Iranian air defense, toasted a friend of mine who dropped a 500 lb laser guided bomb down the stack of the Sabalan, leaving it burning, but choosing not to sink it, have followed this situation closely for years, and kind of know what's going on. I am quite confident I am not "making stuff up," and equally confident that if the US decide to take out Iran's nuclear bomb plan, how it will go.

Obama didn't "work." The suggestion that the attempt to build a nuclear weapon was stopped during Obama is pure fantasy. Iran, and especially the Revolutionary guard have been very bad actors for a very long tome under many administrations. They run on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, they shoot at drones in international airspace, and attempt to hack them. I'm guessing there will be very limited response to this. Something, but very limited, and certainly not what has been planned to eliminate their nuclear program, which is going to involve a massive bunker busting campaign, and not yet. What I would expect is that if the Iranian Navy runs one of their little speed boats in an aggressive manner against a combatant, it will be destroyed. The rules of engagement will be interpreted in a manner which will not permit any Iranian aggression. No more "watch, warn and complain."

Every morning I put left over coffee in the microwave. I was always irritated and confuse because when it times out it is always at the back of the microwave with the handle turned out, the most difficult way to retrieve it. What are the odds? Finally, I figured it out. I put the cup in the same way every day, and select the same time setting. Since it rotates at the same rpm, and I set the same time, it simply has to end up in the same place. Now......I select four seconds longer. I have defeated my microwave. Life is made up of consistent small wins. Now the Miami Intl airport elevator is a different problem. If has three floors. Presumably, one third of the time you select it, it should be at your floor and the door open immediately. It is never at your floor, no matter which floor you are on, and I have done this thousands of times. I have given up trying to figure it out. Miami is just a hateful place to be avoided.

Come on Tom. They "get along" just fine.

If the Army and the Navy Ever look on Heaven's scenes, They will find the streets are guarded By United States Marines. Better the guard heaven than fly aboard a carrier. They were horrible.

He also has a longer season than almost any NFL player over the past many years. No problem at all with it.

My Father's family had six boys and one girl. All males served during WWII. The youngest, who would have been my uncle Jim enlisted on the Fourth of July 1944, after his sophomore year at Niagara. He was killed near Florence, Italy on the very day the iconic last film of Hitler was made, the one where he is shown with Parkinson's disease, reviewing the Hitler Youth in Berlin. The sad part, and I didn't find it out until about four years ago when I researched it, was that the German troops he was killed fighting had already surrendered, they just didn't know about it. The only personal effects the family received was a Canisius High School ring, badly mutilated, and a purple heart.

Maybe we can just honor what happened there without castigating generations in a no context argument. The guys who did this deserve whatever accolades they get, the event the attention and respect it gets, and it was an incredible event in pure focus of life, planning and machinery. As always, it never turns out the way it's planned, and in this case especially at Omaha Beach. Still, it would never be done that way now, so the "millenials" can't be put into that context, and their behavior projected. June 6, 1944 was an incredible day that a lot of very young men who did not expect what awaited them counted as their last. Can we just honor that?

Todo bem?

Too much pot. Not enough protein.

'Had our kids," is a bit of odd terminology in a cooking thread," but I got it. If I didn't, hope they're OK and you stick with the low country boil.

Low Country Boil. Easy, good outdoor fun, or indoor in the winter. Simple ingredients: Potatoes/sausage/ corn on cob/shrimp/onion/lemon in Old Bay seasoning. There are others I do that are more complicated, but I've never lost on this one.

All the chat is moderately interesting, not Simms, but Josh. But the "tell" is at the end in the attempt to hit the crossbar. Allen simply snaps the 30 yard throws. No effort. No time. Just flicks the throws effortlessly.

I've been to one at Arlington, the funeral of Chic Burlingame, the captain of America 77 that was smashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. A truly moving experience is to be at the American Cemetery at Colleville-su Mer when they play "Taps" as the US flag is lowered.

The issue in Florida has never been the temperature. Many places have higher temperatures. It is the dew point, which is a measure of moisture in the air, and it is extremely high during the late spring and summer months. Dew points above 63 get uncomfortable, and Florida's dew points are outrageously high.

Low country boil is perfect for Memorial Day. So is the 15 hour pork shoulder on the Primo XL. Alas, neither is happening here, as my kid is going to come over and do his chicken thing on the grill. So.....Instead of being a grill maestro, I'll be reduced to a "side."

My Back Pages with: Dylan, Clapton, Harrison, Young, McGuin, Petty, Cropper: My Back Pages anniversary

Maybe if they let Wood do interviews with ex Bills he'll get Aaron Maybin.