Rocketman214

To get ahead of what appears to be a developing media cycle… The military routinely flies celebrities in their aircraft. It’s often the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels, but sometimes it’s just the local two-seat fighter. Or a helicopter. Gerard Butler, Chris Pine, Josh Duhammel, etc., have all flown with the thunderbirds. Google it. Long list. Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Walter Payton, etc., have all flown with the Blue Angels. These are considered recruiting investments, getting famous people to talk about what it was like & getting some visibility for the service. It’s pretty standard stuff. They choose celebrities who are most likely to appeal to their potential recruits & relay a positive message of the military. There is a whole program. We’ll also do some of these flights for local dignitaries, like the mayor or something. Trying to build community goodwill. In addition, we do “incentive flights” for service members who win awards. Usually at the local level…something like “Airman of the Quarter”. These were always fun to give, and it was nice to let them come see what it’s like…they worked hard & deserved it. Once a year or so we’ll do a “Spouse Flight”. In big jets you actually take them up & do a whole sortie. In small trainers & fighters, you just do a “spouse taxi”, taking the runway (usually in formation) & accelerating for takeoff, but aborting before becoming airborne. The military has strict rules about spouses flying onboard, some of which are *kind of* waived in the big jets, but spouses are generally not permitted to be at the controls at the same time. Anyway, as I said I see a narrative developing & I’d like to get ahead of it. Hope that helps!

One of my favourite shots from the event at Talavera. Following the evening event we were back on base before dawn for part two! This shot was a big crop at an effective 750mm, fortunately, being early in the morning, heat haze wasn't an issue.

@MrLeadslinger I wonder how much Disney had to pay for that ad.

No idea what she’s talking about. We took the whole family on a Disney cruise when the kids were little and had a blast. It definitely wasn’t like a Carnival cruise, which was the point. Side note: I didn’t know there was such a thing as black vegans.

A reminder for active duty and veterans to get your Military pass. It's your free ticket to see all the beauty that America has to offer.

At Savigny-lès-Beaune you can visit a 600 year old french castle with vineyards... and the garden full of jet fighters !

@MCCCANM You’ve got better odds with the lottery.

It’s the most suspenseful part of my day. Will I get through TSA unscathed? Will I be selected for random screening? Can I see the answer reflecting in the agent’s glasses while the computer decides? Roll the dice & find out!

@ChefReactions I travel to cities all over the world each month. What you say is true. Even “bad” cities have good parts. It pays to educate yourself on where the good and bad parts are before venturing out into any city. Having said that…I find Japanese cities consistently safe.

@GravityMan22 @PapaDemandxx 😂

@PapaDemandxx I’m a former commercial pilot…. Kinda know what I’m talking about….

Worst I’ve ever seen it…. Is there no way to stop this???

That’s well said. The Bible does not definitively say what happens to infants after they die. So dogmatically stating they do or don’t go to Heaven is inappropriate. What is appropriate is trusting that whatever God does is perfect. That doesn’t depend on our understanding of the “correct” answer. It simply requires trusting that God’s answer is correct.

You don’t have to believe infants are innocent to hold this position. God can apply the benefits of the atonement to infants who are incapable of faith if He chooses. This also doesn’t make abortion good, and anyone who would say such a thing is a fool. An outcome of an action can be good even if the action itself was evil. Christians also go to heaven when they die. That doesn’t mean murdering Christians is a good thing. That’s called consequentialism. It’s foolish.

TWZ covers air, sea, space, land with a sprinkling of cyber all tied in a geopolitical bow. We do this with a team of 5. There is nothing like that on this planet.

Uzbekistan. Not a carrier you see very often.

@Rossputin 😂

@Rocketman2141 No, not yet!

What's wrong with this picture?

@johnkonrad Yes

An I the only person left who asks TSA not to take a digital photo of me?

@farmingandJesus @sister_slay “Sell a better heaven”. Wow.

@sister_slay You seem bothered. All I’m doing is sharing what you believe :)

If your “Christian” account is mostly just becoming anti-LDS content, it might be worth asking yourself what your faith is actually centered on. You can’t stop talking about “Mormons” because we sell a better heaven than you do. It’s a threat to your theology. And you know we’re your best-performing content.

@CorrinNohr @hissgoescobra And yet, their military doesn’t mandate the flu shot. Just like the rest of the developed world. 🤔

@Rocketman2141 @hissgoescobra That’s all you got huh, my reposts and repeating yourself? Dude if I was embarrassed by that I wouldn’t repost it. Btw, Japanese people wear masks when they’re sick and did so during COVID because unlike the average American, thay have some form of consideration for others

If you’re scared of the same flu shot little kids get, why are you in the military? Seems like beta, snow-flakey behavior. In Desert Storm folks were getting anthrax vaccines. Also, South Korea deployments if I’m remembering correctly.

Given the focus of your twitter feed I think you over estimate your value to society (aside from for men obsessed with naked and mostly naked female cartoon drawings). But given your interest in Japanese “culture” you might also be interested to know the Japanese military doesn’t mandate its service members get a flu shot either. Maybe…just maybe…the fact that a vast majority of the world’s most highly capable militaries don’t require their members to get a flu shot indicates the value of the flu shot is a lot less than people like you imagine.

@Rocketman2141 @hissgoescobra I have to work even if I’m sick because I’m a contributing member of society. I’ve had to stand watches underway and sick. The difference between mandating vaccines for service members and mittens is that not wearing mittens doesn’t affect others, unlike getting sick.

@Geniustechw I’ve heard there are now plenty of senior government jobs available in Tehran.

She lives in Canada and complains that she can’t find a job because people are too Islamophobic and don’t like how she dresses. What advice would you give her?

@jerrycurld True.

Counterpoint, too late, the damage is too far gone 🤷🏾‍♂️

1% is better than zero. If that’s the standard, we need to mandate a lot more than flu shots. Let’s mandate a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each day, a minimum consumption of fruits and vegetables, and properly zipped jackets with mittens depending on outside temperatures. And if you go out in public when you’re sick, you’re still a douche. A mask does nothing more than let everyone around you know you’re a douche. Or perhaps we should revert to the standards set by our NATO allies, or countries like Israel that has a very consistent requirement to maintain a high state of military readiness. Which we now are…because none of those countries mandate flu shots for their military service people.

@Rocketman2141 @hissgoescobra 30% increase is better than zero. I now basically math can be hard. Social distancing and masks aren’t required anymore due to widespread vaccinations and herd immunity. Though when I do get sick I do wear a mask because I’m not a douche