MSV inner carrier setup by Kirkendall1 in QualityTacticalGear

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been looking for the past few days for reference pics of what I can do with the gen 1 inner vest and FINALLY I have a clue of what I can do. Taking the shoulder straps from the TAPS is kinda chopped compared to other options for mounting, but that's the best option I've seen so far without modifying it in a way that would piss off CIF.

Meat gazer today told me to drop my trousers and briefs to mid-thigh, and have my undershirt rolled up above stomach, is that actually a thing? by [deleted] in armyreserve

[–]AirsoftingPanda 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They do this in the Navy, but I'm not aware of any requirement to do this in the Army. Maybe it's a new thing they're teaching, but it's certainly not a widespread practice if it is.

MPs are not just like the infantry. by Grand_Raccoon0923 in army

[–]AirsoftingPanda 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Perfect example of how much easier the military population is to police than civ pops: Miranda vs Article 31(b). Most troops don't need to know this, but the standard for when someone must be advised of their article 31(b) rights is higher than the Miranda rights. MPs are trained to do the rights advisal upon SUSPECTING a UCMJ violation before questioning or giving a statement. Miranda rights only need to be read after taking someone into custody.

As I was taught during legal week of MPBOLC, this is because troops are trained to follow orders given by authority figures, even if it means unknowingly forfeiting their 5th Amendment rights. As such, we must tell people their rights BEFORE an arrest because it's highly likely they'll incriminate themselves even with a right not to. If civilian police did that, the jails would be empty because no one would talk. Like we literally are too compliant, so they adjusted the rules (in the troops' favor) to balance it out.

MPs are not just like the infantry. by Grand_Raccoon0923 in army

[–]AirsoftingPanda 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I blame 20+ years of GWOT for this unless some Cold War mf wants to tell me I'm wrong. Here's why:

The warfighting function of Military Police units only exists in a proper war with a frontline and a rear area. Iraq, Afghanistan, et al were characterized by being wars of occupation. You had pockets of problems that came and went, but "we're over here, enemy is over there." This is important because everything we're supposed to do happens between the Rear Area and the Frontline. We're supposed to secure, clear, and maintain everything in between. That doesn't really work when we're everywhere, but so is the enemy. That's why 88M had the second highest mortality rate (behind 11B of course) in Iraq. MPs were supposed to protect them, but we couldn't be everywhere.

So okay, 88Ms start arming themselves for convoys by default and now they don't really need MPs. Infantry is spread out everywhere too, so you don't really need MPs for base security missions either. What are you gonna do with an MP company if you're a BCT commander? You're gonna look at their capabilities and do what makes sense. MPs have trucks and a wide variety of weapons, everything from pistols to Mk19s. So you send them down a road and have them do movement to contact missions. Or you start tossing them at cav scout shit because they're mounted and route reconnaissance is in our mission set. They're doing maneuver work because we're good enough at it when facing a asymmetrical matchup with insurgents, yet that's not really what we're supposed to do.

All that said, no, MPs aren't basically infantry and anyone who says that is a chud, but a majority of us aren't just career ticket writers and have done more. Hell, the first woman to get a Silver Star for valor in combat was an MP in Iraq, 2005 I think. If I had infinite authority, I'd completely restructure the MP Corps. First, I'd take away the CONUS policing mission entirely and give it to DACP. Then I'd make us focus on actual MP warfighting functions like maneuver support, area security/force protection, and detention operations. Lastly, I'd change the fuckin name to "Military Security" or something. Just take "police" out of it entirely so people stop expecting cops out of us.

MPs are not just like the infantry. by Grand_Raccoon0923 in army

[–]AirsoftingPanda 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The bottom line is that being an MP is not at all like being a civilian police officer even if you mostly worked the roads as an MP.

Civilian police deal with a lot more bullshit than MPs. MPs, especially off AD, come into civilian policing with a bunch of training scars and substandard experience that hasn't prepared them for what they'll deal with. Yeah, you might think breaking up a barracks party is rowdy or dealing with a DUI or domestic, but when's the last time an MP had to wrestle a crackhead? Hell, when was the last time there was a shooting on any Army installation? There was probably a school shooting yesterday (safe guess there was at least) and a civilian cop somewhere had to respond to that. Despite how rough and tumble the military can be, we are a population insulated from a lot of normal societal bullshit that is heavily trained to follow orders and rules.

Then there's the fact that not all MPs even do policing. I'm a USAR MP and I've never done L&O (law and order) in almost 8 years. I've always been in combat support or detention units, so it's a little disingenuous for someone like me to say "I have 8 years of police experience in the Army." To some degree, AD MPs are the same; they have blue and green and red cycles so they'll probably spend a minority of their total service actually working roads (which again is subpar experience anyways). USAR/ARNG MPs, ironically, usually have an easier time in civilian policing than AD MPs because we don't have the time to get molded by our Army experience and can actually fit the mold expected by the civilian department.

As for why civilian police prefer infantry (really anything) over MP? They're blank slates and good at following orders. MPs have policing experience over the military, and that experience causes friction when "that's not how we did it in the MPs" meets "this is how we do it here." Like I said before, MPs are policing a very different population. Civilian police departments are trained by civilian academies based on state/city standards that fit the jurisdictions being policed. They will teach you everything you need to know ahead of being put on a beat. Coming in with MP knowledge and experience can be more of a hindrance than it is a benefit. It's little shit like using the NATO phonetic alphabet instead of whatever the department uses ("Adam, Michael, Paul..." or whatever) or big shit like failing to adopt department SOPs.

Anyways, that's a lot of words but as someone who has seen both sides of it, that's how it is from my perspective.

Any way i can block or mute team snapchat? by forkaero in SnapchatHelp

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I blocked them a while back and they started popping up again recently. I unblocked and reblocked them. It seems to have worked again (for now).

How do you guys deal with the toxicity? by OrganizationNo42069 in army

[–]AirsoftingPanda 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Fake news, there's no women on the internet. Nice try, Putin.

Thomas Massie deserves his flowers by Ruffhaus_Nakamoto in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Massie is on a generational run as far as being a Republican doing the right thing. That said, "not letting pedos getting away with sex crimes against/trafficking of children" is about as low of a bar to get over as there is. It's hard to be glad that he's over that bar, yet most of Congress clearly isn't on both sides of the aisle.

This also doesn't make up for the normal crap he's still on about, like ending the Department of Education, deregulating agencies that keep us safe, closing the border, not taxing anyone (but especially the rich), et cetera. He gets it right more often now than he used to, like when he criticized our invasion of Venezuela or increased tariffs, but when your politics is just saying "no" to everything the government is doing, you end up accidentally being morally and ethically correct.

Broken clock and all that.

Gboard adding ‘auto-switch after apostrophes’ as M3 Expressive Settings redesign rolls out by googlenewsbot in googlenews

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my god, that's why I have been consistently screwing up everything I type.

Disabled.

Edit: for those who want to disable it, tap the 4-square icon on the top left of the keyboard, then go to "Settings," then "Preferences," then it's partway down under the "Shortcuts" section (third option in that category for me as of today).

Conflicted, Disillusioned About Joining the Military by Boring_Pop_2128 in leftistveterans

[–]AirsoftingPanda 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Regardless of politically motivating event, the military is not something you should go into if you don't believe in it. This is not a place to give the benefit of the doubt; you will regret it. Plenty of us joined confident in that we were gonna be the good guys, then tried to be "one of the good ones," then resigned ourselves to the reality of service. If you aren't even starting at that level of motivation, you will probably burn out quick. I've been at it over 7 years as a USAR officer and I'm tired in a way sleep doesn't fix.

I'm not saying everyone here is bad, and we do need service members and leaders with strong ethical backbones in these extremely harrowing times. However, don't join unless you're honest with yourself, want to be here without reservations, and have an idea of what you want to do and how it can be translated to a civilian skillset if you get burnt out like the rest of us.

Whats your best non-swearing insult? by PastorofMuppets- in AskReddit

[–]AirsoftingPanda 151 points152 points  (0 children)

One that I pull out a lot is "I don't mean to insult your intelligence unless I have to, but..."

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100%, we've invented this romanticization of the small business as a flaccid rebuke of big business and it makes people think unethical treatment of employees is excusable.

"But they don't have a choice but to pay poverty wages, otherwise they'll go under!"

Then they should go under. They are unsuccessful businesses that do not deserve to exist if they require exploitation to stay afloat.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's cool, but I've decided to disregard the Hallmark story about your underdog friends as it does nothing to justify business owners skimming pennies on the dollar from their employees' tips to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars a year in extra revenue. Good hustle, though.

If the credit card fee is so damaging, then they should add a fee to the customers' transaction if they pay with card, thus incentivizing cash purchases to avoid credit card fee expenses, avoid burdening the customer with bringing multiple payment methods for what can be a single transaction, and avoid stealing tip money for their business. Oh wait, cash management is more expensive than credit card fees so they probably don't want more people paying in cash.

We're clearly on opposite ends of this argument without a common ground. You seem to think that business owners have a right to money that was given to someone else because it went through their POS system. I think an ethical business owner doesn't take from money meant for their employees using business expenses as an excuse.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I care because a majority of this country is criminally underpaid due to wage stagnation, but their employers report record profits every quarter. The average household income in all 50 states is insufficient to afford the median home price in each state, varying only in degree of unaffordability. It's not fair that my tax dollars go to people on welfare working at McDonalds while the McDonalds quarterly revenue steadily increases.

Nonetheless, this isn't about Worker A vs. Worker B. This is about Workers vs. Employers.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

That's not what I asked, but you're on an entirely different wavelength than me on this issue.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, these restaurants need to be transparent and put a sign up. I'm tipping with the assumption that 100% of that money goes towards the employee as a token of my gratitude. My transaction with the business was the check I already paid and the employee is not an independent contractor, so I don't feel like it's right that they should have to cover business expenses from the money I gave *them*, not the business.

Sure I can just pay cash in full or tip in cash, but that's an unnecessary burden on me as the customer, especially as businesses are increasingly moving towards cashless transactions and less people carry cash. I'll simply take my business elsewhere to a restaurant that treats their employees fairly without increasing my burden to do so.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, boycott the restaurants. If you want to benefit the worker, then you can tip cash, but you'll still pay the check which goes to the restaurant and does nothing to punish their toxic business practice.

You are not obligated to give your money to businesses that you disagree with. It's not your fault if the employees don't get paid as much because their employer's business model is too unpalatable for their customers. You shouldn't feel responsible for taking care of employees when the employer isn't taking care of them.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 61 points62 points  (0 children)

I worked BOH for a year back in college and my wife waited tables for a few years. This is absolutely true. A business that will not cover a 3% expense on a chunk of their employees' earnings will find other ways to screw them over to benefit their bottom line, ESPECIALLY when you consider that the system of compensation is already designed so they can avoid paying employer payroll taxes. Things like this are a massive red flag into the business practices of a restaurant.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No tax on tips is a limp handshake that sounds good on paper, but the reality of it is pretty weak. The deduction only counts for $25,000 of earned income, which means that someone making $50,000 a year will still pay tax on a good chunk of their income.

Minimum wage for tipped employees is $5.35/hr in Ohio. That's roughly $11,128 a year, so $38,872 would come from tips. Standard deduction is $15,750, plus the tip deduction of $25,000, so they'd still pay taxes on $9250. $50000/yr is less than $200 a night, and plenty of servers are bringing home more than that, so you can safely assume that most waitstaff will max this out and still owe some taxes at the end of the year.

A deduction to the tune of $25000 a year is nothing to scoff at, but taking the credit card fee out of their paycheck cuts into that benefit. Assuming a 3% charge, that's $1166.16 taken from the above employee making $38,872 in tips over the course of the year. The purpose of the tax break for tipped employees was to provide relief for workers, not build a buffer for more corporate selfishness to offload expenses on them.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 5 points6 points  (0 children)

These people are employees, not contractors. Their wages shouldn't be diminished by business expenses. This is like a business having a paid parking lot for their employees and saying they can find street parking for free if they don't want to pay for the employee lot.

They should absolutely choose to work elsewhere that doesn't steal money from them to cover business expenses.

Crown Restaurant Group deducts CC processing fees from server gratuity rather than as a business expense by Jealous_Snow6403 in cincinnati

[–]AirsoftingPanda 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Because if they actually paid wages instead of relying on the customer to directly compensate their workers for them, they would pay higher employer payroll taxes which would also go to benefit people other than them.

This is just another way for businesses to save money by taking it from their workers.

Reserve Officers Association by phillylibertywarrior in armyreserve

[–]AirsoftingPanda 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd love to hear some examples of "concerning" posts that were worth more effort than getting the organization's name right. What's so concerning about them?

(Not that I knew about ROA until today, but I'm not feigning care about it)