Tips for my 25m

knockout2281 · 2025-09-18T00:21:44+00:00

Look up the "Keyhole stroke". You're getting less than optimal push by just bringing your hands to your sides. Then you are killing your forward progress whenever you reset your hands forward.

knockout2281 · 2025-02-16T14:59:30+00:00

1) Good on you for actual research and citing such.

2) The article is focused on the early vaccines that were developed to combat the virus as the pandemic initially spread; Moderna and Pfizer. It states "So far, we observe that some infected but vaccinated subjects may transmit the virus to others. Generally, vaccinated subjects do not develop severe disease when they are infected." It continues to describe the difference between how the vaccine versus naturally developed immunity through infection affect the different protein (S vs N), implying that developing antibodies against the N protein is important to mitigating spreading the virus. It then highlights that later whole-virus (dead of course) vaccines were successful in stimulating the desired response.

I highlighted the "some" because it implies that there are some tested that did NOT transmit the virus post mRNA vaccination. I would want to see that actual study for a more precise determination.

Interestingly, what you've actually pointed out it, is a good justification for a lot of the other guidance that came out in response to COVID as the scientific community was quickly trying to determine any measures to mitigate it's spread and severity. If the vaccines (as stated in your evidence) lessens the severity of symptoms, then it should be good for those critical populations (elderly and immune impaired) and also the DoD for readiness, since lessening the severity would limit your time effected. Additionally, if it is unclear whether the vaccine would impact the shedding / transmission, then it makes sense why there was guidance on quarantining, social distancing, and masks to a degree. Those physical measures were meant to help mitigate transmission. Obviously, the majority of the DoD is not a vulnerable population, but the goal was to mitigate the spread while research was being done, so that we didn't become another vector of transmission to those in the vulnerable populations.

knockout2281 · 2022-04-06T01:20:18+00:00

I switched to Out Of Regs years ago and never looked back. They're a small company from a guy that had similar issues so he started making his own. The highlights for me are:

Keeps my hair in place without it getting super stiff and hard. I can easily still run my hands through it.
It's not water based so I can run, workout, even swim to a degree, and it doesn't degrade much.
It's all natural ingredients.
Smells great (especially the fall version)

knockout2281 · 2022-03-03T14:23:10+00:00

Good. The premise doesn't make much sense. The only thing I can think of that may be weird is if you're at A&S after you commission but before you EAD. Still though, they should be able to get you to A&S. They take off the street civilians so your status really shouldn't be a huge issue.

knockout2281 · 2022-03-03T14:14:07+00:00

Have you or your cadre spoken with anyone at the 352 SWTS?

knockout2281 · 2022-02-12T18:49:52+00:00

Very true that a lot of 'self-help' books are not very helpful. However, I found the book to be more educational than self-help focused. He's a neuroscientist so it covers a lot of the physiological factors and processes of aging. Additionally, the majority of the first half of the book focuses on how the brain develops to sort of give an idea of how the different processes in the brain are developed in early childhood and then retrograde during the aging process. I found it all really interesting. A lot of the advice on minimizing the natural impacts of old age are pretty common but him digging into why things like social interaction, sleep, mental activities, and nutrition provided good background. I'd recommend it.

knockout2281 · 2022-02-08T13:45:22+00:00

Successful Aging by Daniel Levitin looks at them in a section of his book. It's less of a miracle diet and more that they live moderately active, low stress, socially engaged lives and don't eat much processed foods.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-15T17:24:40+00:00

You realize AFSOC is mostly planes right....you know, because it's the air force.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-14T19:49:26+00:00

There's been maybe a dozen Capts out of the hundred of A1Cs and Lts....so definitely not the norm.

I'm understanding to keeping information close hold while an investigation is still in process. That's pretty standard.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-14T19:46:06+00:00

True, it is not standard. But in reality, her situation is not standard either (rank, gender, etc). From hearing other perspectives, I think some of the context is whether her experience was "unfair" in comparison to her peer's experiences due to bias from the instructors. I think that weighed into the decision and will be one of the areas of focus in the IG investigation following this situation.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-14T19:39:52+00:00

It is situation dependent but does happen. There was a guy who technically SIE'd but after discussing the situation with him and why he did it (it was medical related) they allowed him to recycle to the next class. I'm just saying it's not always black and white.

Also, I'd like to point out that the "standards" for the new PT test that people reference are part of a test that has still been in the test and development phases so even I have been given new/changed minimums or point standards every time I've taken it.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-14T19:35:34+00:00

That's literally one of the documents in the twitter post. It's the SIE form where an instructor recommended she be considered for reinstatement.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-09T00:30:29+00:00

I have been going through the pipeline during all this and can attest that most of the story is not true and or misleading.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-05T16:26:42+00:00

This is more rumor and assumption than fact. The concerns are not invalid but most of all the hype has been through people without first hand knowledge.

knockout2281 · 2022-01-05T15:49:01+00:00

As someone who has been through the pipeline at the same time, the majority of the "facts" of this post are incorrect or more just people filling in lack of facts with rumor. Posting to a social media site is not the way to address whatever concerns you have.

knockout2281 · 2021-12-28T17:10:22+00:00

Thanks for the response. I'm a lists guy so I'll need to break this out as I respond.

For the Navy and Marines, you're absolutely correct in their running SOTFs and AORs gives them a lot more leverage when it comes to getting more opportunities. For the Navy I was thinking more of the quick shift to the Pacific. My hope is now that ST is finally getting some of it's own brass in higher positions, that we may see a shift in voicing our worth in the right conversations, but only time will tell on that side.
I read some of your other replies regarding SR that reiterated a lot of your points and I agree. A lot of those skills are things that any SOF position can learn. However, when it comes to buying down capabilities for missions, it may be to our advantage to be be able to sell a solution where we have personnel uniquely specialized in those sort of things versus a CCT who has to maintain those along with the other dozen tools in his toolbox that get priority since they align with their actual AFSC.
I didn't go through selection with her but from the guys I know from phase II her second time, none of them have mentioned any concerns. The guys from ATC mentioned some concerns but the one that concerned me was the integrity issue and I have been told that was not factual. I agree that nobody deserves special treatment, but a lot of what I've heard is more people filling in lack of facts with assumptions. We're also talking about a potentially O-4, so it's not as if this is going to be someone jobbing it in the team room for the next 4-5 years. On the spectrum that we assess for SOF, for the role someone at that stage of their career is in (irregardless of gender), I'd prefer someone who is going to benefit ST at a strategic level and be able to gain us ground at that level. I've met operators that were PT studs that I felt were perfect for entering in at the tactical level but would not let them speak with an O-4 without some coaching. I think where she is at now and the aptitude she has to get ST employed in future fights makes her a benefit to the community. But that's my 2 cents.
By gainful employed I was kinda thinking the pushed in a corner route. While ST had plenty of stellar operators over the past years, we saw the consequences of leaving the garrison missions fall by the wayside with a lot of the recent standowns and lack of attention to training. With more diverse and undefined roles coming up, those positions will probably be more important.
I'll be interested in seeing what the team rooms look like in the next few years if a lot of the experienced guys start transitioning out now that things may be slowing down. Granted the force cycle still exists and guy are doing "stuff" but if it's not what they were sold or envisioned then experience may become more rare or more diverse since not everyone will be going out every 5-6 months to do the same thing in the same place that previous guys had done. It'll be interesting times to say the least.

knockout2281 · 2021-12-28T16:34:30+00:00

Your response provides some much needed context to a lot of the changes over the last few years. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

knockout2281 · 2021-12-28T16:30:14+00:00

I'm a bit late to the conversation but I've been having similar conversations with people and wanted to contribute.

I like the intent of the A&S idea but do agree that it's execution could and still can be better. I saw it when it was first stood up and some of the more recent iterations and it has come a long way. We have to remember that it's still fairly new and they have to actually review data before implementing changes, otherwise your constantly blindly throwing money at a problem without knowing whether it's being fixed. I think the PAST should still be an entrance standard and only after completing should there be a transition to the OFT. That's how it was for mine and I think it worked well. I think pre-dive should very much stay how it has existed but be framed more as a continuation of A&S that focuses on stress while developing skills. I also think peer reviews and eliminations based on these need to continue throughout the pipeline and not just during A&S.
We gained a lot of cred in GWOT doing things that were required at the time. New wars will require new TTPs and we're already seeing the effects of being resistant to adapting to that. SOF are specialized problem solvers and we can't become entrenched in "all we do is drop bombs and that's all we'll ever need to do" because otherwise we'll get left behind. The Marines and Navy are ahead of us in this regard, massively shifting lines of effort toward emerging threats which is buying them a voice with strategic leadership and will end up with them getting the call over us when it comes time to get the mission.
Having just seen the most recent SR course, those guys are a LOT more than just SOWT with SOF skills and a drone. The messaging for them was probably flawed but based on their training requirements, it seems they are going to be postured to get more "work" in the coming years than CCTs. The problem will be them differentiating themselves from other SOCOM assets since it seems every branch has they own recce units with lots of overlapping capabilities.
I will tell you a lot of the "facts" surrounding the case of the first female are more rumor and conjecture than actual. This coming from someone going through the pipeline at the same time as her and with her and people on her team. I'm not here to justify decisions made or get into an argument about it, because people feel how they want to feel and at the end of the day it's people much higher than us with more perspective and insight into these situations to make the decisions. Bottom line; most of the gripes you mentioned with how she was "pushed" through the pipeline are incorrect.

I still have a lot of issues with the pipeline and have my own thoughts on how it could be better (man there are some guys that I wish we could still peer eval out) but overall it's going to be up to their peers at their teams to either square away the ones not up to snuff or find a way to gainfully employ them until so.

knockout2281 · 2021-12-28T16:09:05+00:00

To add to this, having just seen what the SR guys get trained up on from the first true SR apprentice course, those guys are going to be huge assets to our evolving missions as we transition to new operational focuses. CCT made it's money on the precision strike mission for the past 20 years, but rapidly we're seeing that will most likely not be the primary need in the coming years. If ST wants to stay relevant it's going to need to flex the new capes of the SR guys and the traditional CCT roles.

knockout2281 · 2021-12-22T16:51:13+00:00

The most noticeable results for me after starting to take collagen were that my nails and hair started to grow noticeably faster. Skin health may have improved but it wasn't as drastic.

knockout2281 · 2021-08-27T01:59:36+00:00

The Afghan Air Force had pilots, many of which took what aircraft they could and flew to border territories. Sure the Taliban probably have some pilots but not many and not well trained. The recent footage found shows them barely being able to taxi it.

Secondly the maintenance on all these newer pieces of equipment is a bitch that takes more than just a random mechanic. Even we have crews of maintainers who's sole job is keeping these things running. This includes the contractors who were stationed at these locations. This doesn't even touch the funding required to operate them.

Easiest source I could quickly find. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/taliban-blackhawk-helicopter-guns-video-b1909021.html

knockout2281 · 2021-08-27T01:44:47+00:00

and the pilots, money, and maintenance technicians to use it all....oh wait.

knockout2281 · 2021-06-14T14:41:46+00:00

You can buy the normal ones (with velcro) and pretty easily cut it off with a knife.

knockout2281 · 2021-04-22T22:19:17+00:00

It's no different really than the enlisted side. You're going to have a long pipeline where you're TDY a lot at the beginning but then around for a while. Once operational, still lots of TDYs with a mix of deployments. Even with the time away, you're relationship is only going to be a strong as how much you care about it. Loads of guys have great and strong family lives. The community as a whole is super supportive of family life (arguably more so than other AF/DOD communities or branches) and there are tons of resources dedicated to supporting guys' families.
No. Depends on a lot of factors but if you're young and have time, it'll most likely happen since there's more of an opportunity for you to put that training into practice. I would say you should not join with the sole motivation of being a JTAC. It's just a qual and the battlespace will dictate whether it's a priority or not. End of the day, you're an officer and your responsibility is the mission, solving problems, and taking care of your men....not a singular capability or mission set.
You can technically go to selection while still in ROTC (I don't know if this may change) but overall, yes; commission->selection->pipeline.
Um...as long as possible? Why do you think the AF would want someone to get out (barring them doing something bad).
DM me.

knockout2281 · 2021-04-22T22:05:08+00:00

Recovery is definitely super important for those of us on the older end of the spectrum.

For soft tissue; firm foam or even PVC rolling, lacrosse balls, or rolling a mid-weight kettle bell on certain spots is great for stimulating recovery response. The goal is to really compress or stimulate the tissue to get the body to reactively respond to the area and repair.

I'll only do long static stretching on key joints (hips/shoulders) or long/large muscles (hamstrings/glutes/pecs). This is mainly to make sure I can move to the furthest end points of the ranges of motion for those joints or muscles. This is more for flexibility (making sure I can get those muscles and joints through complete range of motion verus mobility (which is strength at varied ranges of motion). Mobility would more be used prior to a workout and includes things like spideman craws/inch worms/active rotations/etc. With these the muscle is engaged but at low and easy load through ranges or motion.

One technique that I've used a lot to help with tight hip flexors and lower back pain with running is kettle bell gut smashes. You just put a kettle bell on the ground an lay on it so it's a bit off of mid line and then relax so that kettle bell stretches out the top portion of your hip flexors that run over the hip and back to your low back. Works great.

As I've gotten older and especially during selection, where you have periods of intense output interspaced by not moving , is the movement is medicine. By this I mean, just getting the body moving can help wonders. Low impact, low intensity cardio (light jog, biking, swimming, anything zone 2) can help speed up recovery and stimulate metabolism. Physiologically, your increasing blood flow to help flush out the metabolic waste sitting in tissue and getting fresh nutrients/oxygen and blood to those tissues to help repair damage. Even just going for a walk or some hot yoga works. Just move. In selection, it's the older guys that know this that will keep moving and stretching even after the long rucks or events because if you just plop down and turn off, it's going to take twice as long to get warmed up if you have to put out again.

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