Episode Title: The Late For Changeover Show 26 Feb 2025
Date: Feb 26, 2025
Oh, my friends, it is please outside the backyard room, or my time. Which is excuse number 57 for being late for changeover in your weekly space news and variety show. I’m Barney Smith, your host, and I’m joined by our puzzle princess, Anna Mondragon.
That was good. You have your own little following. I like it.
Yes. And our very own Mr. History Eric. Man, I was checking the newspaper today to make sure I still had a job as a federal employee.
You’re not a federal employee, you’re a retired son of a bitch is what you are. We’re here to bring you the latest headlines and updates pertinent to all guardians and to the other lesser branches as well. So take a seat, get informed, and have a laugh as we present.
Late for changeover. I like it. I even forgot the audience clap.
We should have used your audience clap. Good to see. I don’t know where our long lost Jake Wall is.
I hope he’s okay. Yeah, because he usually sends a text or something. Yeah, but nothing.
So maybe I got to go do a, what was it when you would call somebody to go check on somebody welfare check. Welfare check. That’s it.
You ever have to do that? Did you ever get a call for that? Really? Oh, oh yeah. Did you ever get like, were you reluctant to like, uh, like, Oh my God, I don’t know what I’m going to see in here or what, whatever happened with that? Ran into a suicide on a welfare check. On base or off base? In Korea.
Hung themselves from the stair banister. Oh my God. And then, oh, tied it off and then leaped over.
I don’t even think it was leaked. I think they actually just kneeled. Or maybe came off a chair or something.
I mean, the chair was there. There was not. There was just him on his knees.
Slap forward. Oh. Oh man.
Did, uh, did anybody like prep you and go, Hey, you never know what you’re going to see in here or something like that? Or was it just opened the door and. That’s part of training. You always always prepared.
They’re preparing you for the worst scenarios. You might be coming across a, you know, uh, an emergency heart attack, uh, whatever. So, you know, usually we go in first and then there would be some type of first responder medical just in case.
Oh, wow. Yeah. Well, geez.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to start to show that way, but they should rock Korea. We have a show.
We have a story about Korea. So maybe we could turn it around. I don’t know.
It’s good to see you both. Uh, I hope you guys having a good week, you know, the weather’s warming up a little bit. So I don’t know if that’s going to sucker us in for our Mark golf t-shirt golfing today.
You know, I went golfing. I went golfing. Plum Creek.
What’d you shoot? Well, we did a best ball. Me and my partners, we shot 79. Pretty good.
Six over. Yeah. How are you doing best? You’re just hitting from.
Well, we both, we both hit a ball and then we go to the best shot. Yeah. So we played further.
Well, we, it was my card against the other guys in the other card. So it was cool. I had a good time.
Oh, another guy. Okay. All right.
Well, shit. Sounds amazing. That’s a good time.
Yeah, absolutely. Got a little windy. Was it windy down the Springs? I don’t know.
I wasn’t outside all day. It was windy in Casserock. You know how to carry a conversation on.
Let me tell you. No, I was. I worked from home today.
So it’s just me. Oh, how many days a week do you work from home? Two. Two.
Well, it’s good life. All those banter is just too much to keep up with. Let’s get to the news.
Right on. Right on. As you know, I do know.
Right. President Trump fired the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. General Brown.
Charles Q. Brown Jr. Fired him. Got it. And he nominated.
I retired Lieutenant General Dan Kane, which is interesting, but not unprecedented. Well, it may be unprecedented in this situation. However, from task and purpose, our first story is let’s get to know Lieutenant General Dan Kane.
All right. So I thought it was pretty interesting. And one of the things that I think is is pretty neat.
I watch. I’m going to flip you guys because no, I’m not going to flip you guys. We on a last year, we talked to a National Guard general who was a helicopter pilot.
He came on a couple of times and he went all the way up. He worked at the Pentagon. He got a star and was like the deputy National Guard guy in the state, I think.
Or maybe it was a primary guy. I can’t remember. Anyway, so it’s interesting that this guy that Trump nominated Lieutenant General Dan Kane was himself an air National Guardsman.
So that is interesting. I’d go with a reserve guy. Well, a guard guy, right? Or does that make no difference to you? You put them both in the same bucket.
You, you are an active duty prick. No, then they have a different experience. They have two sports versus one.
That’s true. He doesn’t just have the military as the state, some sort of state. And okay.
So you can argue there’s three, whatever you did in his civilian life. Oh yeah. Right.
Lieutenant General John Daniel Kane is poised to become the first air National Guardsman elevated to the nation’s highest uniform role. Kane’s guard status, one of several ways he is, he is an unusual though not quite unprecedented pick for chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He is retired.
He was never a four star general and he never held one of the major roles typically required for chairman, meaning Trump must grant him a waiver to take on the job. Still, it seems likely the Senate will approve his nomination and make him the 22nd chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. So this is Lieutenant General Dan Kane.
He looks familiar. Yeah. Doesn’t he look like someone that we served with in the past? I don’t know.
Like, uh, yeah, sure. I mean, he’s kind of, uh, you know, a kind of common looking face. I think really.
Yeah, maybe there’s, there’s nothing that sticks out. No. He does look like an enlisted guy or two that maybe somebody, all of us may have worked with at one time or another.
It’s like, it looks like everybody under the Goldwater Nichols act of 1986, which reorganized the senior military leadership of the U S the chairman must be a four star general or admiral selected from among the vice chairman, the service chiefs or the combatant commanders. That provision was included in part to ensure that a candidate had the necessary cross services, seasoning and diplomatic skills that come with speaking for the entire U S military, often with foreign leaders. However, the law also included a provision given the president latitude to choose someone who does not meet the criteria, uh, saying he or she can waive the requirements of the president, determine such action as is necessary in the national interest.
Similarly, while Kane 56 retired at the end of 2024, he would not be the first general recalled to service president George W. Bush recalled general Peter schoonmaker from retirement to service army chief of staff in 2003. I remember schoonmaker. Schoonmaker.
Yeah. I do too. The dogs did too, didn’t they? Whoa.
Oh, there’s my dog. Dan Kane was a F 16 pilot in 1990, along with his economics degree, uh, from Virginia military Institute, VMI. Kane earned a commission through the AFROTC and want to cover the spot and the Euro NATO undergraduate pilot training program before completing pilot training though.
Kane worried that he might become a quote unquote banked pilot. Have you ever heard that? I haven’t heard that banked pilot stuck in that, stuck in that role, I guess. Well, yeah, sort of.
Uh, he might become a banked pilot. One sent to a non-flying job is the air force downsize. Oh, let’s see.
And that, yeah, early nineties, that was starting that riff. That was starting Clinton’s rift there. He said last month, uh, on the afterburn podcast.
So he applied to 85 guard units and was picked up by the 174th fighter wing in Syracuse, New York. He later served with the DC air guard. He deployed several times in the Middle East flying with operations Southern watch enduring freedom and Iraqi freedom and help lead the scud hunt operation in Iraq of his 2,800 flying hours, more than 100.
Odd is good on the mute button tonight. She’s really good. Uh, but she held it cool until I was like, how did she shut the dogs up? Um, 2,800 flying hours, more than 100 were in combat.
Uh, Kane was one of the commanders of the operation to defend Washington, DC and the immediate aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the world trade center in New York. So God, he’s been, he’s been in some key areas at the right time. From 2005, what’s that? I’m curious.
Do you, do you believe or do you know if the secretary of defense, the new one had sex? Does he have a, does he have a say to the president? Hey, I don’t know. Here’s my, my, you know, selection. What do you think? Oh yeah.
That’s a good point. That’s what their involvement is. Uh, this guy is certainly older than heg set.
You would think you would have hoped that he would have a vote, right? He would, he would Trump would go. What do you think? Right? I’ve got to get along with this guy. Sure.
Sure. Uh, but I don’t know how joint chiefs and sec def really interact. And I have no idea how that works.
The only way I remember sort of a relationship was Powell and well, uh, well, yeah, he was a commander on the ground, but was Powell chairman? Was he chairman of the joint chiefs or was he national defense? I don’t remember. So I still don’t know how all those interact, right? Colin Powell. Why are you looking it up? Um, from 2005 to 2006, he served as a white house fellow with the department of agriculture, where much of his time was spent in the government response to hurricane Katrina.
He then moved to the position of policy director for counter terrorism on the white house homeland security council through 2008, describing the job as coordinating interagency efforts against terrorism. What do you got, Eric? I don’t have it yet. I’m looking.
Oh my goodness. Uh, he then served a stint as commander of a joint special operations task force in Iraq, but moved back and forth between special ops and the DC guard for a number of years. He also worked in a special operations command for a number of years, serving as assistant to the SOCOM vice commander and assisting assistant commanding general joint special operations command from 2018, 2019.
He was deputy commanding general of us central commands, special ops component and deputy commanding officer, a special operations joint task force in Iraq concurrently. So remember he’s doing all this special ops and he’s an air force guy. So that’s gotta tell you something, right? He must have a pretty, uh, a pretty great personality when you get around him and he must have a pretty good mind, I think.
Well, and you believe that Trump has some advisory that said, Hey, you truly need to look at this guy based on experience. And I don’t think Trump would have just, Oh, let’s pick this guy. No, I, I, I want to believe that he does listen to some advice and that’s just like, yeah, I’m taking this guy.
He was good to me. You know, how like surrounding himself with the wicked smart. That’s how I hope so this time because the first time around, he was terrible at it.
Was he? Oh yeah. He had all the people he got. He replaced half of them, maybe more than half.
I don’t know. Powell was the chairman of joint chiefs. Oh, he was a chairman.
Okay. All right. Yeah.
So in 2018, when he was out in Afghanistan, there’s another picture of him and I can’t remember who’s that. He’s obviously a foreign commander. I can’t remember who though.
He used to put it apart on the death cards. Oh, sorry. No, that’s.
Uh, it was during his time, 2018, 2019 when he was over in Iraq, it was during that time that president Trump met Kane, uh, in 2018 during operation inherent resolve the campaign against Islamic state group. Trump said he came away from the encounter and press that Kane believed the conflict could be resolved quickly by observing less restraint in air attacks. Kane’s career then took him into highly secretive jobs where he worked as a director of special programs at Pentagon special access programs office.
And later as a Pentagon’s liaison to the CIA, which was his last government posting. Wow. Then he retired and in the private sector, uh, he was, uh, he co-founded a regional airline and other businesses.
After retirement, he joined shield capital a firm that works in cyber security. Air force personnel that served with it with an under Kane described him as thoughtful, pragmatic and occasionally a hard ask enforcing high standards among the troops. One pilot called Kane a political and said his non-traditional career will serve him well.
He will not come in with a bias regarding the services, uh, having developed strong appreciation for all service contribution during his special operations experiences. So what do you think about Trump choosing somebody? I don’t know. What do you think about them? Not.
Uh, what do you think about him? Not choosing like somebody who’s next in line. Maybe who’s put an existing four star that was already in place. A combat and commander.
You know, he checked all the blocks and then all of a sudden, Hey, this guy had a beer with him in 2018 and he remembered him and was bringing him back. Well, the one thing I know and what I’ve seen based on his new administration is there’s nothing traditional about it. That’s true.
I mean, all his selections, yeah, there were, there was a question mark and then they had to defend their record. They had to defend who they were. Um, so I think that it’s just a continuation with this guy.
Now, certainly listening to his bio from you, I think Kane has certainly got the needs and experience from what he’s done. Well, and you know, at least as far as like enlisted leaders, and it probably holds a little bit true for the officers. When you get up into those staff positions, you know, it’s kind of, you know, who likes you, who doesn’t like you? Are you hooked to the rising star? Because what are you doing at that point? You’re really not, you’re not leading anybody.
You’re not making any progress. So it’s, it’s at that point, it kind of becomes who’s the favorite. And maybe that leads to, maybe not the best guys that we have up in there.
I mean, it’s still, it still shocks me that we went through Afghanistan three years ago now. Right? Nobody got fired for that. Nobody got fired.
That is crazy. Well, Trump’s correcting that right now. Yeah, he’s firing everybody.
You know, my concern, my concern truly is the same thing I said with hexes. You have got to be in those positions, you’ve got to be much more of a strategic, big picture thinker, right? It just can’t be a tactical thing. It’s got to be big picture.
You got to understand the consequences of different forces, different countries. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean the whole nine yards. So as long as he’s got the ability to be that big picture thinker, I think we should be good. Yeah.
I mean, well, we, we had all the people who’ve been groomed. And foreign policy and look great, you know, our military hasn’t looked great. You had, I mean, think about the last few years you had Afghanistan.
Nobody lost anything for that. You had historically low recruiting numbers. Yep.
No, he didn’t anything about that. No, nothing happened to him. And he’s just like, what is going on? Why are we still doing status quo? No accountability, man.
Yeah. Walking in with some terrific credibility. Oh yeah.
Sure. Sure. But now, I mean, can you imagine that room? You imagine that eight coming from the other five services just sitting there just like son of a bitch.
Right. It was the same way. It was your march for me.
I’ve worked my entire career. And he’s, and he’s a guardsman. Look at that.
Look how mean Eric is to guard of reserves. You know what I’m just going to say that reflects really well on the guard though. Holy cow.
Come on back. And I told you how impressed I was with with. Hey.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Very good. So those guys have some extremely quality highly qualified guys. Well, and it makes, it makes you wonder too.
Cause even though he was guard, it didn’t sound like he ever had a break. So he maybe he was aging continuous or just one assignment after another with continuous orders. Um, cause that’s what petty was.
I mean, that’s how petty did he just kept taking assignments and, uh, take them away from me. So maybe that might be a two or three years, two years. You know, just add it up to a whole career.
So. So back with man, but yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. So I think that’s kind of cool really, honestly.
Uh, I’m all for doing a different system. When the path doesn’t work, let’s do something different. Yeah.
Let’s try something new. We can always go back to the old way. Yep.
Yeah, so speaking of guard look how much guard we’ve done. We did guard stories last week We guard started off with the guard story second guard story, right? What you’re trying to tell me is we need a war for our active duty guys, right? Is that what you’re saying? Bringing up so many different articles. Why are they trying to bring attention to themselves? Who was the guard up to? Well, would you play that way? It’s kind of like we were talking about, you know Coast Guard National Guard when you’re doing stuff domestically sometimes you’re doing more stuff than you know, hell I had 10 years in the army I didn’t see one shot fired, you know, I mean And these guys are doing more stuff in the guard Than I ever got to do, you know, I build sandbags and shit.
So anyway, this next story is from task and purpose So last I think this might be two weeks ago now because I think it was the week before so But in a single day National Guard troops in Kentucky airlifted 296 people trapped by floods. Did you ever hear about any floods in Kentucky? I did I mean, I saw I saw the flooding he was pretty well you did Well, we’re gonna say honest serious water you ever hear of 296 people living in Kentucky That’s a West Virginia joke Who’s a Kentuckian, you know, you know, Kentucky and I Know the senator from Kentucky who’s getting ready to retire next year All from Kentucky too. Well, I was talking about the old guy that’s gonna retire soon No, he wasn’t either speaker for a while or leader.
Oh Mitch McConnell is he McConnell? Who are you talking about I don’t know I know no one That’s funny Well Rest assured even if you don’t know they’re getting saved by the National Guard so Airmen of soldiers with the state’s National Guard evacuated 296 people from a pair of housing complexes that have become mired by flooding in Martin County, Kentucky Now I tried to find out more about this story. I couldn’t there’s just this one story out there unfortunate because I would have liked to hear how they did this because The first floors of both apartment buildings were flooded forcing the occupants together on the second floor The airlift came after flooding across the state closed down more than 300 roads and claimed the lives of at least 14 people flying in Blackhawks from the Kentucky Army National Guard 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade airmen with the state Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron Airlifted the residents and transported them to Big Sandy Regional Airport in DuBourde So if the first floor flooded, how were they pick were they going to the roof? I assume no they had to be Yeah, I thought there was maybe there was a picture of them like, you know, Vietnam airlift, you know They’re on the roof loading into the heli helicopter after helicopter getting flown out of it I didn’t see any pictures of that but I saw the flooding and it was really frick Terrible Obviously fast too because it yes Yeah, yeah, it was high so it’s like grab your shit. We’re gonna go to the second floor.
I get out of your man At the same time members of Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd contingency response group Processed evacuate tee or vacuies at a passenger terminal they stood up on the spot This is the same unit that in just 18 days helped process 11,000 refugees From 88 aircraft when they arrived in the US after fleeing Afghanistan in 2021 during the Kabul airlift so With Afghanistan we were just talking about this same unit received all these refugees And so man, they got a couple of years worth the horrific brand events Overall the flood response mission has involved National Guard personnel from three states Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee as well as support from first responders This rescue mission added to the more than 1,000 Kentuckians who have been rescued by our guard members and with the assistance of Kentucky state people and other local state and federal partners We are so proud of you and so thankful these families are now safe said Kentucky governor Andy Bashir The Kentucky National Guard is roughly 170 soldiers and airmen involved in flood relief efforts, which began two weeks ago So good on them and they flew all those people out. That’s really cool Rescue 296 Yeah, yeah, very good. Well, not also 170 and a lot of them maintainers just waiting for those guys They’re playing spades until they come back and they’re like, okay But they get credit I’m sure they get credit so Just looking up there if you’re looking up something.
Yeah, I was trying to send you a picture of a car in the flood. Oh Yeah, yeah Then it was it from a river or was it crazy rainfall Winter storm that blew through here. Yeah Realize it caused all that flooding in Kentucky.
That’s crazy. I didn’t know that either until I read it I Inquiring minds want to know Raisy, okay. So Eric South Korea Thank you for correcting Eric had enough Where’d it go? Here’s prison too many buttons.
He was trying to send you that article. I Could be yeah, that could be Does this say and or send I think it’s send and Anywho Sand so It didn’t work Again Anna have you ever been to Korea? Not North Korea South Korea No, we all got it you didn’t get it Oh Well, and Eric was stationed over there what year was that you were over there Eric Oh 87 to 88 They were still taking potshots at each other across the DMZ at that time Yeah, well seven to 88 this next story from stripes calm You know and for the longest time right everybody knew Korea was a year Maybe a year plus you had to do something else, right? So it’s your one tour you trade in for Base of record when you come back or base of choice when you get back. Yes.
Well based on preference race of preference. Thank you The Pentagon and you know a couple years ago, they started allowing people to take families certainly Yeah, the petition for it But for those who have families the Pentagon is extending the tour link for troops bringing families to South Korea All right The Pentagon has tacked a year On to the length of a tour of duty for service members who bring their families with them to South Korea troops on a company tours those who bring their spouses or dependents with them to South Korea are now expected to serve 36 months in the country According to a February 11th memo from Tim bill assistant secretary of defense for manpower reserve affairs. So, you know what that’s from it’s like Look at all the moves.
Yes Yeah, and you stay for three years So I didn’t I didn’t realize they had extended that one-year thing that two years essentially I did now it’s 36 months three. So it’s a long tour So it’s a normal tour. Yes They’re gonna spend so much money to move you and your family over there, right? We’re gonna Yeah, yeah Service members on unaccompanied or on a company tours were previously previously expected to stay two years Not all service members are eligible for a company tours US forces Korea, which oversees approximately twenty eight thousand five hundred troops on the peninsula approves a company tours based on its needs and resources If approved families are housed in apartment complexes in or close to US military bases I’m gonna company troops serve a year in South Korea and typically live in barracks so it’s still a year tour for the single single or if you choose not to bring your family, yeah, well, you know the status of forces agreement the whatever the acronym is sofa has limits caps between how many can be that how many could be in country? Yeah, how many Americans or how many? How many service members? Yeah, there’s a cap you think they’d adjust that with all the Marines getting drunk Find it winding up on second floor balconies downtown So I guess you can’t really figure those into the the numbers How many drunk Marines are we gonna have this year? Oh, I know we did like three stories on that last year It was crazy.
Just actually was an Okinawa. It was mostly most of Okinawa Japan makes you crazy This policy adjustment aims to provide greater continuity within US FK while fostering stronger ties between service members or families at the local community The extended tour length is expected to enhance operational efficiency By reducing turnover and increasing mission effectiveness. So it’s like I can do that You know, oh you’re taking with me with you, honey, and it was like, okay now we got to stay three years Oh shit, you got I’m gonna listen to you complain About Korea for three years.
Yeah, but some of them just love the shopping you can walk down That’s true outside the gate of Osan and go crazy with On it, what’d you go over there for you go over there for an exercise I did Yeah, it was what was the exercise ulti focus. He resolve Oh ulti ulti Yeah, yeah, so whenever we knew somebody was going over you’d load them up You know, I’ll go get the fakie coach Whatever bring him back. Right? Yeah.
Yeah, it was quality stuff, man Those mean blankets those mean blankets him. Oh, man. I had one with this Big tiger with stripes on it.
My wife hated it. That thing was the warmest frickin thing. I had that on me a blanket.
Really? Do you have Yeah Very badly blanket, you know, sure a manly mink blanket Charlie’s angels or something Your only fans pictures that would be Good car History in me The army in August doubled that tour for unaccompanied troops and seven career field So even if you’re unaccompanied if you’re in these career fields, you get two years air traffic control You age 60 Black Hawk repairs military dog handlers intelligence agents signal intelligence analysts and C ID enlisted and warrant officers special agents. So criminal investigation division. Yep.
Yeah, they’re keeping those guys over there for two years Camp Humphreys about 40 miles south of Seoul in Pyeongtak City Has built new housing in anticipation of more residents now. Listen, uh, how much they how much they spent how much it produced in June the base the largest overseas US military installation opened two new barracks with room for more than 600 single soldiers. Okay the pair of eight-story 67 million dollar towers are next to Humphreys Riverbend golf course and include 151 suites that each accommodate two tenants.
Do you ever play that course? No, no, I played a softball tournament at Humphreys, of course you did The base also opened three 141 million dollar housing towers for families in They opened up in last September combined 141 million combined. They contain 144 three-bedroom 54 four-bedroom and 18 five-bedroom units and an underground parking garage That’s a it doesn’t seem like that much for a hundred and forty one million or be honest with you Seems like there’d be more but So what was the total number? Did it say what the number let’s see It just gave you the number of apartments. So 144 three-bedroom apartments 54 four-bedroom and 18 five-bedroom Yikes.
Well, I wonder who? Who’s hauling their kids off? Yeah, I need a playroom Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, I guess so so So interesting that they’re gonna throw that out there you know, I Korea always made sense to me. I always thought that during that 20 years.
We should just plop a base down in You know Afghanistan or Iraq Iraq would have made more sense just put a base there and do a year to it Yeah, sure. Yeah, I’ve been perfect and we wouldn’t have to have a constant war you get you just got a rotation over I rack. Yeah, you know, we didn’t we did in Germany.
We did it in Korea But they didn’t want it to feel like an occupying force, I mean, that’s what it would have been well I guess it wouldn’t have been an agreement. Yeah. Yeah, I wonder how much more the community would be affected if We were to put a base in Iraq or in South Korea, you know what I mean? Like Cuz Korea was like, okay, we were friendly with the South Koreans, you know, they wanted us there Germany We just did it They got day and had to suck it up.
Right? Yeah, it’s in the World War two and we just stayed all right. We just stayed We’re not gonna yeah, you’re right. I rack might be a little bit different.
They were like we don’t know here We’re not friendly. So yeah, I was staying Make room Love that swarm. I Mean that the I guess the the base that we did have that we’ve abandoned.
I mean that was there for damn near ten years Yeah, yeah, so I mean to a certain extent that’s exactly what it was just a rotational frickin assignment. Right, right What did they do with that base? I wonder thinking about it. Well, it’s taking over I think it was There’s something I heard about that base.
What was it? What was? Bagram Bagram Bagram. I Don’t know there was something I don’t want to say it because when I heard it I was like, oh my god It’s something something with the Chinese and something with its location And it was like, are you kidding me? We gave it was a quick territory Facilities, yeah weapons vehicles stop so amazing Okay At last last story good news for Boeing They’re terrible From air and space forces magazine Urked by boat. Oh shoot here.
Hold on a second. I didn’t mean to do the ticker. I like it’s growing though You want me to scroll it? All right All right from Air and Space Forces magazine Comes this story Urked by Boeing Trump eyes alternatives for new Air Force one I love that irked by Boeing irked because that’s about right President Donald Trump raised the possibility of major changes to the Air Force one replacement program in the face of persistent and growing delays now this is kind of amazing article when you hear the stats and why Trump saying what he is speaking with reporters Trump confirmed he is frustrated with the plan VC 25 Bravo replacement program and with prime contractor Boeing Trump said I’m not happy with Boeing.
I wish I could do a voice. Would that be great? I’m Said all I wish I was I’m not happy with Boeing. It takes them a long time to do Air Force one We gave that contract out a long time ago as a fixed price contract and I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taking so long And we may do something else.
We may go and buy a plane or get a plane or something right So you’re like why is Trump why is Trump all down on Boeing? Well Boeing has been working on a replacement for the current DC 25 Alpha Air Force one jets since 2015 during Trump’s first term Unbelievable, yeah, he took an interest in the program first Expressing displeasure with the price then announcing a new deal worth 3.9 billion for two aircraft in 2018 he cut that dealers first term in 2018 and Revealing plans for a new paint scheme in 2019 the program continues to suffer delays However, so he gave that that’s what’s crazy He gave that contract out during his first term. Well, he gets impeached place He gets shot at he goes he gets unelected goes four years gets back reelected You know the Boeing guys are like no plane shit. He’s gonna ask us about Air Force No place So think about that.
I saw the interview with Hannity when he was talking and he said during World War two We could turn out a bomber an actual b-17 or whichever one he was talking about Yeah in a two-month period and you can’t turn out an Air Force one and ten years Well hell right, right come on and it’s you know, it’s it’s Man Boeing is really had a bad few years, right bad, and they just can’t do anything, right? No, no ability pisses me off. Yeah fired when they’re that No fines or I don’t know But maybe that’s why Trump is finding like I’m calling them out, you know Vote that contract from them. So the program continues to suffer delays The Air Force settled on two Boeing 747-8 airframes and hired Boeing to be the systems integrator for the many extensive modifications needed to transform a basis commercial commercial jetliner into a quote mobile West Wing The goal was to field new aircraft by 20 24 But cost has grown and the schedule has slipped Boeing says it has absorbed more than two billion dollars in costs and now suggests delivery could take as much as four more years I guess we got to go knock on Elon Musk’s door and take you to build me a plane.
He probably do it Disclosure statements that Elon Musk has had to sign Even keep it straight in his head Oh if we could do Trump’s voice cuz this is this quote is so Trump eat, right? He said Now supposedly Boeing’s losing a lot of money and they’d like to see if they could up the price But I like fixed price contracts Airbus is the only other manufacturer that makes such large aircraft. I didn’t realize I didn’t realize it was like Boeing And Airbus are the only two in the world But Trump dismissed the idea of turning to Boeing’s European rival saying he would not consider Airbus It’s a European based. Yeah.
Yeah, he said I won’t buy but then he said well Maybe we can buy a used one. It doesn’t make any sense comments, right? Boeing declined to comment on the Air Force spokesperson asked whether the White House has directed the Air Force to look at alternatives Said only that Boeing is expected to deliver an updated integrated master schedule to the Air Force in the spring of 2025 It doesn’t mean that they’re gonna get the plane anytime soon. No, we’ll give you we’ll give you a schedule How about that? Could you imagine if you’re the guy that’s responsible for a piece of schedule? The only contract you can start on and actually retire from at the same time Sounds like you’re never gonna get the fucking right.
You’re never gonna get there. Yeah, you’re never gonna get there. So In its latest budget request the Air Force projected initial operational capability for the first aircraft in mid 2028 and some media outlets have reported that date might slip further to 2029 DAB will put the program five years behind its original time land and drag out to 14 years the time from program start to delivery of just two jets Okay, so here’s a question for both of you Let’s think about this for a minute.
So Trump’s been talking about the education level of the United States Yeah for a number of years how poorly we’re educated Correct. Would you believe that this could reflect upon our abilities to manufacture a bit an airplane? Yeah, could be we not have We’re much more intelligent and therefore we overthink the things that we could do You’re gonna go the other way eight of one could be right or it’s just a fleecing program Yeah, I mean it’s I mean we always laugh at Oh NASA pays a thousand dollars for a hammer But it’s really the government procurement. Right? Sure, but Boeing has been I mean look they mismanaged starliner I mean They now these jets.
It’s like wow. What are they doing? Problem I think Think that as well. Yeah, you’re the people you’re getting because again, we used to be you know 50s and 60s a Manufacturing company we could build or build and produce right now It seems to be a struggle for anything we try to produce manufacturing Well, and that there’s I think there’s a lot of factors to that There’s regulations for one right depending on what state you’re gonna be in but weren’t those there in the 50 and 60s I don’t know.
I don’t think Technology to trying to well, there’s that yeah sure sure there’s that there’s outsourcing there’s cheaper parts, you know I mean look at Look at the like, California For example trying to rebuild all the regulations they got to go through to even get their lot clear They’re not even allowing them to clear their lots right now. So now that’s California. I think Boeing’s in California Now I don’t know if it’s home.
I know there’s a facility there, right? I don’t know if regulations play anything on that But I’m sure the interruption in the supply chain during kovat Screwed Boeing probably on a lot of stuff screwed many companies But I’m beginning to think I’m with on and there’s got to be a systemic reason Boeing has even said they were getting out of space because they were spread too much. They were spread too thin, right? Yeah, and their quality was dropping because of that. Yeah combination of all of it Education not building engineers and scientists not being able to hire as many engineers and scientists of quality Not able to like produce the different parts that are needed for that aircraft Yada, yada.
Yada. Sure. I call that systemic.
That’s that’s that’s not a bad idea. That’s not a bad analogy. So Boeing and Air Force officials blame delays and cost overruns for the new Air Force one jets on higher than expected manufacturing costs protracted negotiations with suppliers other supply chain issues engineering changes and shortages of skilled workers with security clearances Yeah, there’s There’s so many like free thinking Adolescents that make mistakes and not Consider the consequences in there for the criminal criminal background and then can’t get hired.
Right? Yeah, right It’s you know The last part of this is in other reports the GAO the government accountability officers noted other problems plaguing the new aircraft wiring design issues Cabin noise from the environmental control system delays and finalizing a testing plan and stress Corrosion cracks necessitating repairs Same with their spaceship. Same with their spaceship put a piece of duct tape on that one It almost seems like Boeing has just become too big Yeah, and there’s no quality assurance and they’re just like churn out the contracts. Just churn them out, baby We’ll get them.
Yeah And maybe it’s catching up to them. I don’t know. I seem so yeah.
Yeah, they certainly have some bigger issues. That’s for sure All right, Eric honest yawning. That means for history Now that’s a transition there that’s Like that one.
All right boys and girls. So the year is 1861 So, what do we think we’re talking about here if I could have some effects it would be just like 1861 the nation was in turmoil as the Civil War ravaged the country There was a Union blockade at the important port city of Hampton Roads. You guys recall the Battle of Hampton Roads No, okay.
It was the iron clads boys and girls I Do I do it’s frickin amazing that in 1861 we could come up with something so There was a guy President Lincoln coffer in the aboard proposed construction of an iron clad that could meet the south USS Merrimack So they got a hold of her max. Yeah monitor, right? Yeah, so this was a Swedish American inventor He introduced the plan that caught the board’s attention The USS Monitor would be complete with a rotating gun turret a low draft seat profile sleep profile and Erickson’s claim as an impregnable battery not so impregnable, however It was a good idea. Yeah, so in 1861 on March no, that wasn’t that’s when it arrived.
It was commissioned. I want to give you a date. It’s this date in 1861 February 25th, it was commissioned To come on board.
So okay. Yeah on March 8th in 1862 the monitor arrived in Hampton Roads towards the end of dusk Hampton Roads the Elizabeth and Naismun rivers meet the James Rivers just before the interchester be anyway The monitor and the Merrimack started exchanging It Goes on for a number of hours They bounced frickin iron balls off each other. Yeah, and they both claimed victory The only reason the monitor claimed victory was because it said that it prevented the Merrimack from destroying any other vehicles So, okay, right the demise of the monitor.
What do you think happened to the monitor? Good answer I like that So The monitor left-hand roads to head the new battles and it was towed by a side wheeler frigates called the USS Rhode Island all was well into you until New Year’s Eve of 1862 when they were off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina The storm struck the waves grew the wind howled The monitor pitch and rolled and she went down with 16 members of her crew. Oh damn Yeah It’s 16 16 So she was unable so she didn’t get destroyed in a battle, but she was very very Forward thinking in the production of new vehicle new new vessels new but not as buoyant as you would want No, well in the in the flat seat profile wasn’t designed to be an open ocean. It was supposed to be in the river Like the James so the seas weren’t crashing over.
Yes. What are we going through the frickin turret? so You would almost think the Merrimack had a better opportunity because it was shaped like a triangle, you know and had Okay batteries batteries on both sides So I would have loved a bit of fly on the wall and watch the battle boy Yeah Boy balls bouncing off. You didn’t hurt us That’s too funny Merrimack you should have you should have I know I’m scratching Deeper than sorry, but I was wondering what happened to the Merrimack.
I’ll send that to you later I don’t know what that happened to Merrimack, but it’s funny how they both claims big alligators alligators In North Carolina, I will tell you now that Rivers the monitor lays off the cap camp patterns North Carolina and 200 feet of water and is a Water where they come it’s like a state park or preserve Because the vessel still being on the bottom. Yeah They found it in 1973 and were able to identify it as the monitor in 1973 Early in 1965 Merrimack was reassigned to the East Gulf Locating squadron. She got underway for the Gulf early in February, but it counted in extremely bad weather, which forced her to stop it Beaufort North Carolina On the on the 12th is it Beaufort Beaufort? Maybe underway for Key West the next day Merrimack ran into still worse weather Which she fought until turning north on the 14th to seek the first port on the afternoon of 15 February 1865 acting master William Earl ordered the crew to abandon ship after its tiller had broken two boilers given out and the pumps failed to slow the rising Water that night when the crew had been rescued by male steamer Morningstar Merrimack was setting rapidly as she disappeared from sight However, according to the Department of the Navy Navy Historical Center, the ship sank on 15th January 1865 how ironic is that that they both succumb to They didn’t shoot each other out of the water couldn’t hurt each other.
We’re just Too much metal Too much water. They couldn’t figure out how to disperse that metal man Amazing that they came up with a metal ship, you know back Yeah, especially when you’re talking about nothing but wooden halls and now you just throwing big heavy metal sheets of metal on it Yeah, come on crazy up armor Tommy Maybe Boeing’s problem is they don’t have enough welders Smart people trying to do it, but they don’t actually have the they got smart people telling But nobody’s telling the welders and the guys what do you want me to weld and they’re like we haven’t figured that out yet Yeah, it’s just well Good one But it’s okay the fact that it was convinced commissioned on this day and it was solely built to meet the Merrimack Lincoln was really really worried about the Merrimack being able to run ramp it upon his It’s like the Merrimack’s just skulking. You’re just chasing other Yeah, so I guess so the monitor had to step up and say guys We’ll bounce we’ll bounce some steel balls off of don’t worry Crazy oh This way I love Tuesday nights because you guys make me laugh friends But But And I’m worried about we might have to go do a health and welfare check on Jake check on Jake.
It’s weird But should we call it in depth unless you get anything? Let’s call it in depth On behalf of Eric I’d like to thank you for listening today, please like share subscribe and let us know how we did in the comments and Make sure next week that you are not light for changeover I like that. That’s all Was that a window I just saw fall off of it. Yeah.
Yeah I’m Eric. Thanks for the week That’s awesome. Thanks for watching and listening.
We’ll see you next week. Peace out You