Whiskey_iicarus

My m8 is somewhere in my office still. Behind my pixel 5 it has probably been my favorite Android phone.

I have been using that stuff for years and I'm very satisfied!

You are quite welcome! I hope you have a lovely one as well.

As far as I know all manned aircraft pilots in the US military are commissioned or warrant officers. I think it makes complete sense that you would want a pilot that was specifically trained for whatever missions you were going on. Someone whose sole focus is on flying but can adapt in a pinch and has management skills to offload some of the work from the commander and XO.

In a normal aviation company there are two platoons of pilots and almost all of those are warrant officers and a platoon leader who really just manages the other pilots.

Warrant officers are notoriously blunt and voices of reason in a command group. They are the realists that usually tell the commander how it is, as opposed to what they think people want to hear since they usually know the most in the room about whatever it is they specialize in. In everything but army aviation there is usually only one or two warrant officers in a battalion of hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers. They usually only answer to the highest ranking person at the table. Aviation warrant officers are more prevalent in terms of numbers but usually no less opinionated and while overruled very often will gladly tell their commanders how something probably won't work out like it's planned and then sit back and watch everything burn like they said it would.

In my own personal experience, XOs don't usually grow a spine unless they were outstanding platoon leaders OR after they have been in command of a whole unit.

In the American military a warrant officer is a subject matter expert in their career field. They are supposed to be advisors to commanders on the best tactics, techniques, and procedures at most levels, all the way down to the company level in army aviation. They are in most fields of the military like maintenance, personnel, property, aviation, special forces, etc.

Warrant officers in the American military are commissioned officers, so in some instances they can be used as an XO or detachment commander. They usually have limited Uniformed Code of Military Justice(UCMJ) authority, but are just as capable of running a unit as a captain or a major.

In the case of Ridley, rank and position aren't the same thing. Ridley is a warrant officer in the aviation branch, but the third ranking officer after the commander and XO or first officer.

Warrant officers are supposed to be those people with knowledge that is an inch wide but a mile deep about a certain subject, but they are almost always very capable people and sometimes take on more roles. US Army aviation is the worst about this. They use flight warrants as catch all officers and will use them as supply officers, NBC officers, unit movement officers, or really any other job there isn't an enlisted person qualified to do the job.

Most of my experience is US Army aviation, so feel free to take it all with that in mind.

I've thought this for a while, but maybe our service to country isn't done with a DD214. The current situation in the US and world at large makes me think I can still do some good. Maybe politics needs more people who think like you and me.

Same ship, different service. The safety net affords me the ability to find what I really want to do without tying my life to a single job or place.

I also think that it can be brought to other citizens through other community activities. Why don't we offer similar incentives to teachers? 10yr of teaching in exchange for UBI. Or doctors. Or rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure.

I'm guessing that your VA/service income doesn't just go straight to savings either. A lot of it goes right back into the economy through purchasing and associated taxes paid on those things. At least mine does.

The US military is the largest socialist organization in the world and I wish they would extend that to the rest of its citizens without the downside of PTSD, death, and a lifetime of physical and mental ailments.

As someone who has been forced to have a chaplain around, they are usually great people that are very uplifting. Absolutely no need for the religious part though. Until there is a true non denominational "chaplain" which is really just a counselor with extra privilege, you will alienate people who feel you can be, and do good things without any need for a sky daddy. All I wanted was someone to listen and maybe offer some advice, please don't bring your millennia+ worth of baggage to the conversation.

No offense to Canadians, but a Texas man, cruz is not.

It's not. I actually commented on this before in a different thread. I saw him in a Texas airport last year and he already had a state trooper with him and not a single person was trying to talk to him as he walked. That man is in no danger because his persona is repellent enough to keep people away from him.

How is that proving my point any less? You are absolutely right those fucking billionaires way more than $578k every day and yet the person who pays at 10% is going to feel that tax burden so much more than someone making a million dollars!