Author: jstfly21

Pondering many things from National Strategy, Family, God, politics…mountain biking, education, Star Wars, Batman, aircraft, cars, policy, history, the decline of empire…good food, fitness, surfing, hiking, outdoors, rock climbing, kayaking, the 49ers, The Clash, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, but where would one go to find such things?
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Our Fear of Al-Qaeda Hurts Us More Than Al-Qaeda Does By David Rohde

DeM Banter:  How much is enough?  We seem to be running headlong into a 1984-esqu dystopian society and what is shocking is there is not more of an outcry.  We need a "roles and missions" conversation and a constitutional review.  If we could be more transparent in how we discussed and how we illustrate success …

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Odierno: Developing Adaptive Leaders is Priority By Michelle Tan

DeM Banter:  It seems that Gen Odierno and Gen Welsh get this...yet movement appears to be non-existant (perhaps it is different in the Army). The Army has unveiled a leader development strategy, a comprehensive effort led by Odierno to bring back into focus training and education in leadership... as well as launching leader development forums ...and the USAF?  …

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Spate of military misconduct cases worries Pentagon brass by David S. Cloud

DeM Banter:  There is a standard... I know we don't like to talk about it but we need to... there are expectations of leaders...no matter what network TV says, the press, or anyone else... a comment like: “What I think is happening is that in a combat setting where you value competence, sometimes character got a …

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Anger Growing Among Allies on U.S. Spying By Alison Smale

DeM Banter:  And the hits just keep coming... The USAF has core values.... Service, Excellence, and Integrity... I have always had my own...  Honor, Respect, and Loyalty...and...Integrity has to be a baseline...Wonder what our nation's core values are? Something to ponder today... http://www.nytimes.com / View Original / October 23rd, 2013 BERLIN — The diplomatic fallout from the documents harvested …

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Amnesty International says US could be guilty of war crimes over use of drones By Rob Crilly

DeM Banter:  Increasingly having to go to foreign papers for data... or maybe it is just me...and then there's this...as we leave the AOR...what will be the US legacy?  Islamabad, www.telegraph.co.uk / View Original / October 22nd, 2013 Amnesty International says US may be guilty of war crimes over its use of drone strikes after finding evidence of civilian deaths …

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U.S.: Spying on French raises ‘legitimate’ issues : UPI

DeM Banter:  If it is all about taking care of your friends...allies...this has me scratching my bald head... http://www.upi.com / View Original / October 22nd, 2013 PARIS, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Spying on millions of French phone calls raises legitimate issues for U.S. allies, the White House said ahead of a U.S.-French meeting on the matter in Paris.Secretary of …

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‘Iron Man’-style suit in early stages of development By Army News Service

DeM Banter:  Maybe we need a Tony Stark right about now...???  Not sure he comes with the suit..... http://www.defencetalk.com / View Original / October 21st, 2013 U.S. Special Operations Command wants its operators to be protected with what it informally calls an Iron Man suit, named after the fictional superhero. In September, U.S. Special Operations Command, known as SOCOM, made …

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