In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Trump also outlined a White House renovation he hopes to carry out — which he said he will pay for himself.

    • bradinutah@thelemmy.club
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      4 days ago

      For the strongest military in the world, it’s degrading. This is pure government waste. Only a malignant narcissist could find value in this.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        True.

        But what’s also true is the fighter pilot flyovers, anthem, and pledge of allegiance. All of them are problematic and should have ended long ago.

        Like, I just get tired of people acting like trump came out of nowhere and shit was perfect.

        We can’t just keep watching the right destroy shit, then settle for a pause in the damage. We need to start fixing shit before there’s nothing left to be fixed.

        America replaced patriotism with nationalism decades ago, and refusing to address it will make another trump a question of “when” not “if”.

        • Mithre@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          I agree on the whole anthem/pledge thing, but flyovers do have at least some value in that they give pilots flight hours. Those planes would have to be in the air anyway for training, so they might as well use them for advertising via flyovers.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            Or…

            And this is a crazy thought…

            They could do the training?

            Like, you said you agree the anthem at sporting events is dumb, so when exactly will the flyovers happen?

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                4 days ago

                You think that’s adequate training for active fighter pilots?

                That would explain the downvotes, it’s not like flying commercial where you just need hours in the sky, it involves specific maneuvers and simulated dogfighting at highspeed.

                It’s like saying NBA players should practice by playing Cornhole, it makes sense if you don’t understand either activity and think throwing something thru a hole is close enough…

                • deranger@sh.itjust.works
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                  4 days ago

                  Yes, hours are hours and fighter pilots and all the support staff involved need them too. When I was in the military the helicopter pilots would fly down to Florida and get lunch. They needed the hours and were going to by flying anyways.

                  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                    4 days ago

                    And when I was in the military we kept having to go out to sea so they could fly helicopters on and off the ship…

                    Because you train as close to how you’ll fight as possible.

                    If you’re talking people doing routine patrol flights, sure it’s the same as fighting. But no one is going to an airshow to watch a helicopter casually fly by.

                    Like, do you have any frame of reference how much it costs to do that shit in a f16 let alone f35? It’s around 10k/hr just got an f16, and that’s not including the pilot or mechanics, just fuel and parts.

                    It’s not taking your Prius to the grocery store, it’s taking the Lambo on a 12 hour drive for the hell of it.

                    But like, you all know this isn’t a hypothetical we’re discussing, right?

                    It’s literally propaganda:

                    As recently as 2015, the Department of Defense was doling out millions to the NFL for such things as military flyovers, flag unfurlings, emotional color guard ceremonies, enlistment campaigns, and — interestingly enough — national anthem performances. Additionally, according to Vice, the NFL’s policy on players standing for the national anthem also changed in 2009, with athletes “encouraged” thereafter to participate. Prior to that, teams were not given any specific instructions on the matter; some chose to remain in the locker room until after opening ceremonies were completed. (It’s unclear whether the policy change was implemented as a direct result of any Defense Department contracts.)

                    In 2015, Arizona Sens. Jeff Flake ® and John McCain ® revealed in a joint oversight report that nearly $5.4 million in taxpayer dollars had been paid out to 14 NFL teams between 2011 and 2014 to honor service members and put on elaborate, “patriotic salutes” to the military. Overall, they reported, “these displays of paid patriotism [were] included within the $6.8 million that the Department of Defense (DOD) [had] spent on sports marketing contracts since fiscal year 2012.”

                    https://archive.thinkprogress.org/nfl-dod-national-anthem-6f682cebc7cd/

                    I guess it was a decade ago, some people might not remember I guess.

                • peoplebeproblems@midwest.social
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                  4 days ago

                  It’s not just the pilot. The take off crew, the landing, the comms, it’s still a mission.

                  I mean shit, based on the kind of training equipment Ive seen, the pilots being in the air is just a tiny part of the effort. Especially for naval aircraft. I would assume the same for air force, but they don’t typically land on boats.

                  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                    4 days ago

                    Especially for naval aircraft. I would assume the same for air force, but they don’t typically land on boats.

                    What air shows come with aircraft carriers?

                    Like, you know they can’t just roll up anywhere, that’s why LHDs are the biggest at fleet week, and NYC’s pier isn’t exactly low quality.

        • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          But what’s also true is the fighter pilot flyovers,

          Not positive on this one, but I think pilots need to regularly fly a certain number of hours in different types of aircraft to maintain their pilot rating or improve it. If they have to fly anyway, at least this way taxpayers get to see what they’re paying for instead of the same flight hours occurring over some desert or mountain range far away from people.

          • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.worldOP
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            4 days ago

            They do.

            However the flyovers and other military displays during sporting events were originally done as a recruitment tool.

            An advertisement for the military.

            It has nothing to do with deliberately planning flight hours for pilots, the hours are a secondary benefit.

      • Gordon Calhoun@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I’ve found Air Shows and AFB Open Houses to be WAY better at showcasing military assets and personnel to the public and driving recruitment. Military parades are pretty cringe.

    • PattyMcB@lemmy.world
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      Except to piss off your troops. I HATED being in parades to celebrate some general or another retiring. Then there’s the potential for heat injuries and troops just passing out from standing so long.

    • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 days ago

      For the people.

      It has immense propaganda value. Look at North Korea and Russia. They regularly parade their military to look powerful.

      For them, they literally carry a big stick in the hopes that no one will challenge them.

      Trump is doing it so that he can show the world how powerful he is. Not by military might but by forcing the government to do the parade.

      This value alone is worth 10 times the cost for Trump. Remember that it’s about his ego. And also remember that Trump isn’t paying a damn cent. We are. He’s thumbing his nose at us.

      That value is worth 100 times the cost.