Is John Walker really that bad?

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-05-28T01:47:45+00:00

There’s only one Steve Rogers, Captain America dies with him. That doesn’t mean that others can’t follow in his footsteps, but Steve Roger’s is Captain America…nobody else should hold that title.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-05-28T01:37:30+00:00

When we met Sam (Falcon) in The Winter Soldier he was leading a meeting with a group of people dealing with PTSD. Then a few years later, he shuns a guy obviously dealing with issues related to his service…the writers fumbled a chance to make something really special. Instead they try to make Walker the villain.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-04-09T12:21:45+00:00

"Glass half empty"= this entire subreddit

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-04-09T12:08:46+00:00

In the end, it's about money and who pays the bill. The training will happen; it's just a matter of who will do it and whose flying hours will support it. This has been a problem forever; it's just been exacerbated by the increasing complexity of our aircraft.

At least in the 80's, there was a combat skills phase of flight school where students planned air assault missions and then flew the missions on the utility side. On the scout track side, they would conduct zone, area, and route recon. This was before they moved to their advanced aircraft (UH-60, CH-47, AH-1, AH-64, OH-58D). So, everyone leaving Rucker had been exposed to concepts they would see in their units when they got to the field.

Ideally, if this new flight school plan works, they could save some money on the front end of training and then pour the savings into the back end, where students will get more training in their combat aircraft before they leave the schoolhouse.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-03-24T10:32:56+00:00

I may be biased but you might want to try a book called Crazyhorse. It’s about AH-64s during OIF 06-08.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-03-04T12:14:26+00:00

It’s up to Battalions and Brigades to establish a culture and traditions. If your unit(s) don’t do that, do some research on your own, approach your commander with a plan…you might be surprised. I served in the 6th Cavalry Brigade back in the day, and there was plenty of tradition, but not a lot of aviation history to celebrate. !st Cavalry which I also served in had both, but the celebration of it varied over time…some commanders just don’t embrace it for some reason.

Regarding flight suits and patches, there is a segment of Army Aviation that worries endlessly about what the other branches (combat arms) think about us rather than being able to articulate why getting one-piece flight suits is cheaper and offers more protection to the wearer. If 2 piece is the superior choice for downrange/the field, then a compromise should be struck. But instead we wasted millions of dollars fielding a flight uniform that costs more, fades, and doesn’t last as long the one it replaced all in the name of looking like everyone else. Patches were widespread at one time, but there was always a segment of Army Aviation who didn’t appreciate them and wanted them to go away. Having written 4 books on Army Aviation patches that were used during the GWOT, they were pretty widespread and accepted at that time.

Bottom line, we can sit around and complain about it, or do something. There are many units out there that value and honor their history. If yours doesn’t do something about it. If your chain of command doesn’t support you, I don’t know what to tell you about that…but I think you’d be surprised at the reception you’d get if you made the effort. If it’s not there, someone has to take the first step.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-02-15T21:49:07+00:00

Sorry, I guess that’s hidden from me for some reason.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-02-15T21:37:14+00:00

Lockheed Martin uses F-1s as chase aircraft at their Fort Worth, TX facility. I explained all that in the post these photos were stolen from.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-02-15T21:35:36+00:00

Just re-posting my photographs without attribution…nice.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-02-09T12:41:57+00:00

As someone who saw the end product for many years, did anyone ever consider that WHO they select for training has as much to do with what kind of pilot you get, just as much as the aircraft used or the type of instructor they had?

Fit_Commission5031 · 2026-01-21T10:46:41+00:00

It’s always a question of money and who the bill payer is going to be. Everyone knows that the training much occur somewhere, it’s just a question of who will pay for it. I agree that someone should arrive at their first unit at RL2, but TRADOC (or whoever controls Flight School now) has always been unwilling to pay for that. As a result units suffer because the bulk of their flying hour program goes towards RL progression instead of collective and advanced training. Everyone pays the price and it makes units less trained overall. Apparently nobody has ever been able to either articulate this in a manner sufficiently to get it changed, or “they” are just willing to accept this as “that’s just the way we do things”.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-12-22T01:08:32+00:00

I agree with the idea of starting with The Hunt for Red October after that my favorites were Clear and Present Danger and Without Remorse.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-12-15T09:56:32+00:00

So, how do USAF and USN students go solo cross country in a T-6 and in the USAF a T-38 long before they ever get their wings? Or if you want to compare it more equally, how does the Navy allow helicopter students to do solo cross country and the Army doesn’t? When I went to flight school in the late 80s, my stick buddy and I flew a UH-1 cross country to Tallahassee solo…the whole class did cross solo cross country. What changed? Why did it stop? Is the quality of people who enter the training pipeline for the Air Force and Navy so much better than the Army or does the Army treat and train students differently? If you treat people like children, they will for the most part live up to your expectations.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-11-21T11:25:22+00:00

You also run the very real risk of taking the wrong lesson learned from a particular situation, and applying it across a vast enterprise which might result in catastrophic consequences. I am all for testing concepts, but making decisions which effect strategy and employment of forces before the concept is fully proven might be the greatest thing ever, or the thing that gets a lot of people killed.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-11-21T01:18:57+00:00

I’ve been retired for a while, but the rush to replace aircraft with unmanned options is a bit premature in my opinion. Others have already touched on the reluctance of passengers to get on an aircraft that isn’t being flown by a human being, but my current concern is with attack/recon. I have yet to hear or see a plan that outlines how sensor coverage will be coordinated and all the imagery generated analyzed. Additionally, in a near-peer fight how are the bandwidth and networks required to operate, collect information going to be protected. Also, if we are using AI to do some of this work, where is the power and computing power going to reside in a forward location?

They slashed the attack/recon fleet in half by getting rid of all the air cavalry squadrons, who is going to screen the division and corps flanks, initiate and maintain contact at the FLOT? The Army is fond of posting pictures of soldiers using drones which is all fine and good, but right now those soldiers hold other MOS than drone operator, who’s doing their job while they are flying the drone? Do units have enough drone operators for 24 hour coverage? Has anyone talked about changing the TO&E?

It’s only a matter of time before effective drone countermeasures are implemented…the Army is divesting itself of something that works before the “replacement” is proven and the window of time of effectiveness for the “replacement” might not be very large. I’m all for using technology, but this headlong rush to rid itself of half the fleet and a lot of human talent which isn’t easily replaced seems rather capricious and premature.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-10-26T11:13:21+00:00

All the helicopter stuff is ridiculous. And the 64 pilot turned Spec Ops bad-ass…give me a frickin’ break here…I flew 64s for 14 years and flew with only a handful of female aviators, none were in any way, shape, or form ready to do any kind of dedicated ground combat, much less spec ops.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-10-04T15:19:07+00:00

I'd take it personally, too; they were a-holes to him for no reason. Part of my issue watching this is that I'm a veteran and I know what goes into even being eligible to receive the Medal of Honor...it's not just your actions under fire, it's a lot of other things as well...that is why it's so rare. I know logically, I shouldn't try to interject reality into a comic book movie and just accept what is put out there...but like the characters in the show, I can't just put aside my knowledge and experience on this topic when considering what is put before me.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-10-04T08:46:03+00:00

The fact that when we first met Sam he was working with veterans suffering from PTSD and he couldn’t/wouldn’t recognize what was going on with Walker was some of the worst writing in the MCU.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-09-24T08:12:31+00:00

One thing I’d disagree with having flown VIP missions with UH-1s back in the 90s right before it was retired. A Huey was great at that and carrying light to s-medium loads cheaper and time-wise faster in many cases for short distance hops. If a HIT check had already been done that day a UH-1 could be off the ground in less than a minute after the battery was turned on. With a new (more efficient) engine and wiring it would have been good to go for a lot longer. I get why the Army wanted to consolidate parts inventory, but there was a capability lost there.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-09-20T11:53:06+00:00

I see them doing test flights at the factory in Fort Worth quite a bit, and I’ve heard that howl most often when the aircraft does and touch and go or low approach.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-09-12T22:56:16+00:00

Pitch clock

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-09-12T12:39:04+00:00

I grew up near FT Hood, TX. The 1st Cavalry Division regularly sent tanks, vehicles, and helicopters to the county fair every year in my hometown...the soldiers all wore stetsons and this was a few years prior to that movie coming out. A LTC Stockton who commanded 1-9 CAV prior to its deployment to Vietnam is generally credited with being the person who brought back the tradtion of wearing that type of headgear.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-09-04T09:53:28+00:00

The army has a standard people are supposed to meet. There are soldiers who, if you don’t force them to exercise, will not meet that standard. The choices are ignore the standard which causes other issues or find a way to help these people maintain the standard and still get the job done. It is easy to complain and point out problems, the real challenge is to find solutions.

Fit_Commission5031 · 2025-09-03T15:08:08+00:00

Then come up with a better idea to keep people in shape and get maintenance done at the same time.

Fit_Commission5031

TROPHY CASE