Podcasts about Space force

Send us a textGatsby and Chelsea from Quest4 Productions join the Deep Dive Podcast on today's episode.  We discuss the new Space Force headquarters being moved to Huntsville, in Alabama, the 2022 revelation of Amy Eskridge before her questionable death, the possible disclosure of anti gravity vehicles and much more.  Thanks again for tuning in, enjoy!Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DeepDivewithDonFlamingo Email: flamingo.1.ag@gmail.com“X” account: @garza_aaron

Jobs numbers are out. They indicate a stalling labor market, with U.S. employers adding just 22,000 jobs in August and unemployment rising to 4.3 percent.After rumors about the president's supposedly failing health swirled online last weekend, Donald Trump appeared in public at a press conference this week announcing the relocation of the Space Force headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.Florida announced this week that it's set to become the first state in the U.S. to end vaccine mandates in schools, including for young children.The leaders of China, India, Russia met this week in a display of friendship meant to signal unity to the world. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping convened in China for a summit of powers not aligned with the West.Meanwhile, Putin told officials in Kyiv he was willing to try and negotiate the end the war in Ukraine should “common sense prevail.” However, he also threatened that he was prepared to continue should he not find terms agreeable.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We are back and talking about Rob‘s run in with blue-maga slayer Taylor Lorenz, the rumors surrounding Trump‘s health, Trump‘s crypto scam, the pointless decision to move Space Force from Colorado to Alabama, and RFK‘s disastrous run as secretary of Health and Human Services. All this, some JD Vance jokes, and a look at this week's episodes of Peacemaker and Alien: Earth. It's the beginning of September, coming in on the clothes of the year, and we're still going on about that. Recorded on September 5, 2025. Tip jar! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ysgoat   Get your YSGOAT tees, totes, mugs, and more in our store HERE.   Check out Rob's Etsy shop to buy his prints, stickers, original artwork, and more HERE.  

Space Force is officially moving its headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama, but is there more to this story than meets the eye? In this episode, we're joined by Ashton Forbes, the independent researcher known for his groundbreaking investigation into the mystery of Flight MH370, UFO orbs, and advanced zero-point energy technology. We dive deep into why Huntsville, known as Rocket City and the birthplace of NASA's space program was chosen, and what it could mean for the future of UFO disclosure, secret military technology, and space warfare. Could Space Force's relocation be tied to reverse-engineered UFO tech? Is MH370 the smoking gun in proving these technologies exist? This is one of our most revealing episodes yet, combining military moves, hidden agendas, and UFO mysteries you won't hear in the mainstream.Check out our latest merch drop!

Send us a textPeaches fires off on everything from the Pentagon shuffling Space Command to Alabama, Harlem Hellfighters finally getting the respect they deserve, and why the Air Force needed bargain-bin precision rockets to stay lethal. Sprinkle in a little DoD drama, Suicide Prevention Month at Keesler, and the Navy scuttling cocaine boats, and you've got the Ones Ready daily drop that actually says what everyone else won't. If you wanted sanitized military PR, you came to the wrong place.⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Attributes-based selection rant 01:20 – Nashville Operator Training Summit plug 02:05 – Space Command heads to Alabama 04:10 – Harlem Hellfighters get Gold Medal 05:00 – U.S. strike on drug boat 06:13 – Air Force drops new C2/Battle Management framework 06:42 – Suicide Prevention Month at Keesler 09:05 – Strike Eagle test fires cheap laser rockets 11:29 – Peaches nerds out on APKWS 12:50 – Space Force “integration” snoozefest 13:30 – Counter-cartel ops signal 13:55 – Air Force team wins Armed Forces Soccer

On this episode of the Red State Update podcast, Jackie and Dunlap discuss: Trump was alive the whole time AI bags thrown from White House window Giuliani in car wreck, gets Presidential Medal of Freedom Trump blows up a Venezuelan drug boat We learn the Spanish phrase "Tren de Aragua" Trump moves Space Force from Colorado (who voted against him) to Alabama (definitely voted for him) and gives Huntsville the nickname "Rocket City" which it already had Massie, Khanna, Greene, Boebert, Mace try to get the Epstein files released while Trump calls the files a hoax Florida ends school vaccine mandates RFK Jr. needs to go Courts rule against Trump regarding troops, tariffs, Harvard, Guatemalan minors Patreon us at http://patreon.com/redstateupdate

0:30 Today, we start by breaking down Senator Tim Kaine's statements where he equates American rights "endowed by the Creator" to Sharia Law. We cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know Before Tomorrow: President Trump and tariffs, Space Force's Command Center, and Newsmax's lawsuit against Fox News. 12:30 Ad Break 13:30 We take a look at employment rates and how the crackdown on illegal immigration may skew the numbers. We ask the American Mamas if they would rather be judged by their success in business or their success as parents. 23:00 We share our thoughts on the Taylor Swift's engagement. We Dig Deep into another case against Colorado. First, a baker was asked to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, and he refused. Then a transgender activist asked for a trans cake. The baker continues to stand by his first amendment right. 32:30 Ad Break 33:30 A Chuck E. Cheese mascot was arrested for stealing a credit card. Plus, Democrats and Republicans finally agree on something: no cell phones in schools. And that's a Bright Spot! 40:30 Trump suspends HUD funding for New Orleans amid corruption allegations against Mayor Latoya Cantrell. And we finish off with a soccer player who will make you say, "Whoa! "See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump hosted a news conference in which he made an important Space Force announcement but also provided the sick left, who were wishing his death, proof of life. Also: another trove of Epstein files are released. Bowser to provide indefinite coordination with federal law enforcement ⁠⁠https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/02/bowser-dc-federal-law-enforcement-trump-takeover/⁠⁠ As many as 100 Epstein victims will attend Washington rally Wednesday⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article311942734.html⁠⁠ Trump Says U.S. Attacked Boat Carrying Venezuelan Gang Members, Killing 11⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/us/politics/trump-venezuela-boat-drugs-attack.html⁠⁠ Sponsors: Beam Organics - ⁠⁠https://shopbeam.com/VINCESHOW⁠⁠ code: Vinceshow Bon Charge - ⁠⁠https://boncharge.com⁠⁠ and use code: Vince Blackout Coffee - ⁠⁠https://BlackoutCoffee.com/Vince⁠⁠ BrickHouse Nutrition - ⁠⁠https://brickhousenutrition.com⁠⁠ code: labor25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sincere question. At a minimum - who in government is actively trying to improve the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for Americans? It would be impossible to say Democrats. Whether they're fighting President Trump on deporting illegal alien criminals, developing more energy sources, reducing crime in our major cities, or challenging Big Food and Pharma to make Americans healthy again - Democrats simply can't abide Trump success. Meanwhile, the President assures everyone yesterday he's alive and well as he moves the Space Force, blows Venezuelan drug cartels out of the water (literally), and pledges to fight activist judges on his tariffs to save the country economically. We get into the law surrounding tariffs and other matters with Mark Weaver. John Hayward from Bretibart discusses the eyebrow raising meeting between Inda, China, and Russia. And meet a candidate and former judge taking on a Soros-backed DA in Philadelphia. -For more info visit the official website: https://chrisstigall.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisstigallshow/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisStigallFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.stigall/Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/StigallPodListen on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/StigallShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Putin's worst nightmare may be forming on his doorstep—a heavily armed Ukraine with new missiles and air defenses, determined never to be an easy target again. Inside Israel's military, commanders face a surprising challenge: 60,000 reservists are being called up, but many are refusing to show. Nearly two years of war have left exhaustion and doubt. The U.S. stages war games in the Caribbean, as Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro warns President Trump that any fight would “stain your hands with blood.” And in today's Back of the Brief—President Trump announces a new home for the U.S. Space Force. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com.Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybriefJacked Up Fitness: Get the all-new Shake Weight by Jacked Up Fitness at https://JackedUpShakeWeight.com Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump is NOT dead, just ramping up for three major plays: a strike on Venezuelan cartels, cleaning up Chicago, and Space Force moving day. We talk help desks for men, jam from monks, and illegal migrants desecrating tombs. Finally, what did Father James Martin and Pope Leo discuss? All this and more on the LOOPcast!All opinions expressed on LOOPcast by the participants are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CatholicVote.The professionals at Ave Maria Mutual Funds have a morally responsible investment philosophy that's aligned with Catholic teaching. Start your morally responsible investment journey today at https://avemariafunds.com/LoopcastProtect your equity with Home Title Lock's exclusive Million Dollar Triple Lock Protection, now for just $1 for 60 days when you use promocode LOOP60! Click here: https://www.hometitlelock.com/looper to learn more!TIMESTAMPS00:00 – Welcome back to the LOOPcast!03:19 – Ave Maria Mutual Funds05:34 – Venezuela Strike13:35 – Chicago Protests30:45 – Spaceforce moves to ‘bama37:19 – Home Title Lock39:11 – Good News51:39 – Father James Martin and the Pope58:30 – Twilight Zone1:21:12– Closing PrayerSchwartz Investment Counsel, Inc., a registered investment adviser established in 1980, serves as investment adviser for Ave Maria Mutual Funds. The Adviser invests in securities only if they meet the Funds' investment and religious requirements, and as such, the returns may be lower or higher than if the Adviser made decisions based solely on investment considerations. The Funds' method of security selection may or may not be successful and the Funds may underperform or outperform the stock market as a whole. All mutual funds are subject to market risk, including possible loss of principal. The Funds' investments in small and mid-capitalization companies could experience greater volatility than investments in large-capitalization companies. AVEWX invests in foreign securities and securities issued by U.S. entities with substantial foreign operations. Investments in these securities can involve additional risks relating to political, economic or regulatory conditions in foreign countries. These risks include less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of some foreign markets; fluctuations in foreign currencies; and withholding or other taxes. AVEFX invests primarily in fixed income securities and as a result the Fund is also subject to the followings risks: interest rate risk, credit risk, credit rating risk, prepayment and extension risk and liquidity risk. AVEAX and AVERX are classified as non-diversified and may therefore invest a greater percentage of their assets in the securities of a limited number of issuers than funds that are diversified. At times, the Funds may overweight a position in a particular issuer or emphasize investment in a limited number of issuers, industries or sectors, which may cause their share prices to be more susceptible to any economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence affecting an issuer than funds that are more widely diversified. The issuers that the Funds may emphasize will vary from time to time.  Request a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. The prospectus can be obtained by calling 1–866–283–6274 or it can be viewed at www.avemariafunds.com. Distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC.

On this Wednesday edition of Sid & Friends in the Morning, Sid delivers coverage of President Trump's Oval Office address, where he announced the Space Force headquarters would move to Alabama and defended his controversial deployment of National Guard troops to cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. He vowed to expand the effort to Chicago, citing spiraling violence, despite local leaders rejecting what they called “military occupation.” Trump also addressed rumors about his health and touted a naval strike against a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel, linking Nicolás Maduro directly to narco-terrorism. Sid shifts to the Justice Department's release of 30,000 pages of Jeffrey Epstein files, with lawmakers vowing to prioritize justice for survivors despite privacy barriers, before he pivots to media industry news: the upcoming Barrett Media Conference in New York, honoring John Catsimatidis and Curtis Sliwa, with Sid joining a “Titans of Talk” panel alongside major radio hosts later today. Curtis Sliwa, Rich Lowry, Brian Kilmeade, Alan Dershowitz, Scott LoBaido & Craig Carton join Sid on this hump day installment of Sid & Friends in the Morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's show we are talking about what happens when there is an announcement about jobs moving. It seems like a zero sum game in which there are winners and losers. Yesterday's announcement from the White House had those characteristics. If you've been following this show for a while, you know that my development firm Y Street Capital, together with a few partners owns a large parcel of land consisting of 1783 acres in Colorado Springs. The project is a large master planned community located on the eastern edge of Colorado Springs. The development of the city is constrained by the mountains on the west side. It has developed North and South. Denver is about an hour to the North. The city has also developed East which is where our property is located. Our immediate neighbour is Schreiver Space Force Base. There are numerous assets in Colorado Springs.Colorado Springs is a major hub for U.S. military space and defense operations, and as a result, many of the assets located there are part of the newly formed U.S. Space Force, which was created from elements of the U.S. Air Force.The move was widely anticipated. Our sources said that the announcement would happen before the end of August. (We were off by two days.) Our sources tell us the move is anticipated to affect about 750-1000 jobs. Schriever Space Force Base is not being moved, nor are the ground bases in Alaska or elsewhere around the world. While the move is negative for Colorado Springs, we anticipate that the Golden Dome announcement from earlier this year will require growth in both Colorado Springs and Huntsville in order to be realized. Much of the growth that was announced for Huntsville is linked to the Golden Dome program, and not the wholesale relocation of Space Force from Colorado to Huntsville. Therefore, we do not foresee a long term negative impact.-----------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

The guys talk about gyms, the start of the NFL season, and learn about the Space Force. They also power rank NFL analysts. Follow the show on X/Twitter: @passthegravypod, @AlexJMiddleton, @NotPatDionne, and @RobertBarbosa03

Major announcement from President Trump claiming Space Force will be headquartered in Huntsville Alabama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The guys talk about gyms, the start of the NFL season, and learn about the Space Force. They also power rank NFL analysts. Follow the show on X/Twitter: @passthegravypod, @AlexJMiddleton, @NotPatDionne, and @RobertBarbosa03

Crashes in Birmingham this morning...documentaries...Trump talks Alabama football and Space Force moving to Huntsville...taking out drug smugglers...Trump meets with Polish President.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textPeaches is back with your Labor Day hangover cure — the September 2nd Daily Drop. We're talking Special Warfare assessment, why everything in training actually ties back to the mission, and yes, why your hips are going to explode if you show up to Nashville's Operator Training Summit.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Special Warfare assessment & “attributes-based selection” explained 02:00 – Fitness shoutout: 18 Alpha Fitness & prep partners 03:00 – Pentagon forms Counter-Drone Task Force 04:10 – Hendersonville PD honored with Freedom Award 04:45 – Nashville OTS details & why your hips are doomed 05:30 – Guard helps D.C. with security & beautification 06:20 – EOD robots finally get depth perception 07:00 – GPS denial & alternative navigation testing 07:45 – Air Force tests Collaborative Combat Aircraft 08:15 – Gen. Fuge Epperson takes over Warfare Center 09:00 – Mass casualty exercise in Japan 09:30 – Northern Edge 2025 wraps up in Alaska 10:00 – Space Force first officer training class graduates 10:40 – SpaceWorks hyperspace challenge opens to innovators 11:20 – Pentagon halts China-based involvement in cloud 12:00 – Army heat stress research & summer “heat cats” dropping 12:45 – Wrap-up & shameless Ones Ready plug

On this episode of Right On Radio the host lays out a long-form investigation into the Q movement, recent social-media optics from Donald Trump, and an extended feature presentation made up of roughly 1 hour and 5 minutes of combined video. Expect clips and analysis that link a reposted Q+ meme to broader narratives about military planning, special operations and claims of a covert effort to “reawaken” America. The show opens with a two-minute Newsweek summary (aired via Yon News/World Is One) about a reported Pentagon program known as "Signature Reduction," described as a 60,000-strong force operating under false identities. That segment is used as a springboard to examine claims about U.S. clandestine capabilities, ties to the NSA and cyber operations, and why hosts believe those reports intersect with the Q storyline. The core of the episode is a feature documentary and curated clips that include comments attributed to figures such as Ezra Cohen-Watnick, archival footage referencing JFK and the Oval Office slogan "Where we go one, we go all," and repeated references to General Michael Flynn's Reawaken America movement. The host also revisits a recent conversation with Laura from Magical Mystery Church and addresses the role of media personalities like Alex Jones, arguing some are COINTELPRO or attempting to diffuse the narrative. Key themes covered: the alleged elevation and reorganization of special operations (and ties to Space Force), alleged military preparations and legal frameworks invoked by Trump-era executive actions, decoding the many timestamps and symbols Q adherents point to (call signs, tweets, and optics), and how "operational security" and information warfare shaped the movement's public breadcrumbs. The episode also grapples with spiritual and moral framing — the host repeatedly ties the movement to religious language (ascension, prayer, and references to Jesus) and warns listeners not to place unconditional trust in human leaders or social-media posts. There is a mixture of skeptical commentary and advocacy: skepticism toward mainstream media and certain public figures, plus encouragement for listeners to do their own research. Practical takeaways include a call to preparedness (the host mentions EMPShield and provides a promo code), reminders about personal and family readiness, and a closing exhortation to love God, family and neighbor. The episode blends archival footage, documentary excerpts, commentary, and advertised preparedness resources — so listeners should expect a mix of sourced clips, interpretive narration, and calls to action. Guests and sources featured or referenced in this episode: Laura from Magical Mystery Church (a prior guest and co-investigator), clips and quotations attributed to Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Newsweek reporting as presented by Yon News/World Is One, archival Q documentary footage, and commentary about public figures such as Donald Trump, General Flynn and Alex Jones. Thank you for Listening to Right on Radio. Prayerfully consider supporting Right on Radio. Click Here for all links, Right on Community ROC, Podcast web links, Freebies, Products (healing mushrooms, EMP Protection) Social media, courses and more... https://linktr.ee/RightonRadio Live Right in the Real World! We talk God and Politics, Faith Based Broadcast News, views, Opinions and Attitudes We are Your News Now. Keep the Faith

this episode of the DD 214 Network Podcast, the hosts dive into a variety of topics ranging from cannabis beverages and their effects to personal stories about life updates, celebrations, and gaming experiences. They explore the humorous side of college sports mascots, discuss the impact of streaming on gaming enjoyment, and share crazy stories from military life. The conversation is filled with laughter, insights, and a candid look at their lives, making it a relatable and entertaining listen. In this conversation, the speakers delve into various themes surrounding live events, the Space Force, the implications of historical symbols, and the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection. They express their frustrations with societal issues, the importance of mental health awareness, and the need for responsible discussions about current events. The conversation is marked by a blend of humor and serious reflection, highlighting the complexities of modern life and the challenges faced by individuals and communities.DD214 Network PodcastDirected & Produced by Jonathan ‘Clean' SanchezHosted by Joe Squillini & Jay CampbellEdited by Clean Sanchez Media, LLCMusic by Shrieks666 ("Shadow Surfing," "Voices Getting Louder") – Check them out on Bandcamp!Website: CleanSanchezMedia.comAffiliate LinksGovee - https://govee.sjv.io/CLEANStreamLabs - https://streamlabs.pxf.io/CleanHemper -https://www.hemper.co/DD214Disclaimer: This Podcast contains adult language. Adult Supervision is advised.Fair Use Disclaimer:The content provided on this podcast may include material subject to copyright protection. In accordance with the principles of "fair use" as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, the use of copyrighted material on this podcast is for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.The determination of whether the use of copyrighted material constitutes fair use is made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account various factors outlined in Section 107. The inclusion of such material is not an endorsement by the DD214 Network Podcast or Clean Sanchez Media, LLC, but is meant to enrich and contribute to discussions within the specified purposes of fair use. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.Shop official merch for DD214 Network: http://www.CleanSanchezMedia.com

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comIf the internet is a battlefield, does that mean the United States needs a new military force to dominate it?On this episode of Angry Planet, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Edward Charles Cardon and former House Armed Services Committee Democratic staffer Joshua Stiefel make the case for spinning off the Cyber Force into an independent branch. Both are part of a new commission at the Center for Strategic and International Studies — partnered with Jason's new bosses at Foundation for Defense of Democracies — with the goal of preparing for a new branch that both feel is inevitable.It's a wild and wandering conversation that touches on Neuromancer, AI, and fighting a cyber war against the Islamic State.“A Cyber Force is inevitable”How cyber works nowFrom Army Air Service to Air Force to Space ForceVolt Typhoon as warningIt's hard to recruit hackersThe Goldwater-Nichols Act mentioned, drinkBasic training for hackers?A retired Lt. General at DefconThe weird nebulous thinking of AI and cyberThe Army has soldiers, the Space Force has Guardians, what about Cyber Force?Neuromancers? Hackers?“The leaders of this domain have to understand the people they're talking to.”Change is only possible in the aftermath of something cataclysmic“AI is gonna put the offense on steroids”Glowing SymphonyIslamic State as the model conflictCSIS Launches Commission on Cyber Force Generation in Partnership With Cyber SolariumUnited States Cyber Force: A Defense ImperativeVolt TyphoonGoldwater-Nichols Act of 1986The Rise of ‘Vibe Hacking' Is the Next AI NightmareRussia Is Suspected to Be Behind Breach of Federal Court Filing SystemOperation Glowing SymphonySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Peter Garretson sits down with Ross Centers, CEO of Ethos Space explore his ambitious vision for creating large-scale space infrastructure. The conversation covers the Space Resources program at the Colorado School of Mines, the concept of a planetary sunshade, and Center's work with the Planetary Sunshade Foundation—including how this ethical 'north star' shapes Ethos Space's mission. They dive into critical infrastructure needs including landing pads (to avoid what Center's refers to as 'hypersonic blunderbusses'), refueling stations, and Lunar Data centers. The discussion explores the national security implications of the Moon and the importance of securing the “Strategic Flank” in the Golden Dome framework. The converstion also examines space property rights and the necessity of establishing “facts on the ground,” drawing parallels between Billy Mitchell's historical aviation vision and today's Cislunar space challenges. Finally, they close by discussing the coming transformation of the U.S. Space Force from a “brownwater” force to a deep-space, “bluewater” force.

Send us a textPeaches is back in the team room with a ruthless daily drop that pulls no punches. From the Pentagon tossing $99 million at a Joint All-Domain buzzword with zero receipts, to Boeing's KC-46 boom skewering fighter jets like kebabs, the hits just keep coming. The Air Force is out here buying VR dogfights that'll give pilots bad habits, Space Force is running war games, and the DoD wants to overhaul Cobra Dane radar for a cool billion. Oh, and let's not forget—another stolen valor meltdown is brewing, with Green Berets lying through their teeth. Peaches teases his upcoming sit-down with Nate from Valhalla VFT to torch the frauds. If you want soft takes, go somewhere else—this is the blunt truth about Air Force Special Warfare, DoD clownery, and who's about to get exposed next.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – The Ones Ready drop kicks off 00:45 – Special Warfare assessment: attributes, not reps 02:00 – $99M JADC2 contract: money pit or miracle? 03:15 – Abbey Gate anniversary: a disaster that should never have happened 03:50 – Air Force buys AR dogfights—why Peaches isn't impressed 05:20 – Autonomous cargo planes: the beginning of unmanned logistics 06:15 – KC-46 boom keeps wrecking jets (Boeing strikes again) 07:30 – Space Force wraps Schriever War Game with partners 08:00 – Global push for space investment at SouthDeck 25 08:40 – NGAD F-47 teased: F-22 now called “legacy” 09:10 – Cobra Dane radar billion-dollar facelift 09:35 – AI: DoD's golden child for acquisitions 10:00 – Upcoming live w/ Nate (Valhalla VFT): Stolen valor, frauds, and who's next

The relationship between the commercial space industry and the Space Force has evolved in recent years. While the Space Force using commercial capabilities is not new, the “buy before build” philosophy has marked a change in acquisition strategy.  Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office (COMSO) was set up two years ago to better integrate commercial capabilities. This week's On Orbit podcast episode features Lt. Col. Tim Trimailo, director of the Commercial Space Office. Trimailo took the helm of COMSO in April.  Trimailo says that while COMSO has spent time seeding the landscape of commercial capabilities, the focus is shifting to delivering operational capabilities to the warfighter. He also shares the latest on the Commercial Space Augmentation Reserve, the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit, or PLEO IDIQ contract, and takeaways from a recent wargame around space domain awareness.  This interview was part of the GovMilSpace Digital Series, a virtual event that brought together U.S. and allied space, defense, and intelligence leaders to address the evolving threats and priorities shaping tomorrow's missions. The series is available on-demand, with a panel discussion and video interviews featuring the Space Development Agency, UK Ministry of Defense, German BSI, and more. Registration is now open for GovMilSpace 2026, where these critical conversations continue in person during SATELLITE Week.

This week's episode features the fantastic costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager. We dig into her start in the world of costumes on the epic film Waterworld, the love for our costume teams, using her grandmother as one of her inspirations for Jean Smart's Deborah Vance in Hacks, the unexpected logistical issues that come with cross-boarding, the joy of contemporary research, what we look for when we're hiring new staff members, and so much more!  --- *We had some cute puppy barks and gardening noises in the background, so don't be alarmed if you hear them a few times!  --- If you want to support me and this podcast, please subscribe to the Patreon - we have tiers starting at just $3 and you will get access to extended cuts of every episode with more even more stories.  --- Costume Designer Kathleen Felix-Hager Credits include: Dexter, Veep, Hacks, Space Force, Happiest Season, Downhill --- Kathleen Felix-Hager is a costume designer, currently working in both television and feature film. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she began her career on the film Waterworld, and fell in love with the art of storytelling through costumes. She has designed the costumes on several award-winning television shows, including Dexter, Veep and Hacks. She received an Emmy for Contemporary Costumes for her work on Hacks.   Photo by Chris Hager   --- Kathleen Felix-Hager IMDB: Kathleen Felix-Hager Instagram: @kfhager Website: Kathleen Felix-Hager --- TFACD Links: Patreon: Tales From A Costume Designer Instagram: @talesfromacostumedesigner Twitter: @talesfromaCD TikTok: @talesfromaCD --- Whitney Anne Adams Links: Website: whitneyadams.com IMDb: Whitney Anne Adams Instagram: @WAACostumeDesign Twitter: @WhitneyAAdams TikTok: @waacostumedesign --- Union Links: Costume Designers Guild IG: @cdglocal892 United Scenic Artists Local 829 IG: @unitedscenicartists IATSE IG: @iatse ---

In this special presentation, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind '91, USAFA's 22nd superintendent, shares an inside look into cadet development and answers graduate questions. Hosted by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99, this episode dives into the Academy's mission and how it is preparing our nation's future warfighters.   FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest:  Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind '91  |  Host:  Lt. Col. (Ret.)Navire Walkewicz '99   Naviere Walkewicz This special edition of the Air Force Gradcast is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network, presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation. I'm your host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. We're honored to feature the superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, Class of '91. In this presentation, Gen. Bauernfeind will share important updates on current initiatives and developments at our Air Force Academy. Following his remarks, he and I will sit down for a conversation, during which he'll respond to questions submitted by graduates in our alumni community. So now, without further ado, Gen. Bauernfeind. Thank you for being here, sir.   Gen. Bauernfeind Well, Naviere, thank you so much for allowing us to come and share our story of our wonderful Air Force Academy. And thank you as well to the Association of Graduates and the Foundation for all of the incredible support that we receive to develop our future leaders into the warrior leaders that we need on Day 1 in our Air Force and Space Force.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, we are grateful you're here, and we can't wait to hear what you're able to share with us today, sir, so we can jump ahead if you're ready.   Gen. Bauernfeind Wonderful. So I would like to share with you an updated mission brief of where we are going at the United States Air Force Academy. And during this time, I'd like to share not only our leadership team that's taking on the transformation that has been mandated, but also to update our alumni on our mission, our vision, our priorities and our mission sets, as well as talk about how we are creating warfighters, leaders of character and quality, and critical thinkers, and provide an update of how we are transforming this amazing institution to develop those warrior leaders that we need to keep our adversaries at bay. So as always, I'd like to start all briefings with a little video that highlights what our cadets are doing and our incredible public affairs team and video team put together the following video that shows what our cadets have been doing over the last six months... ...So you can see that our cadets have been absolutely busy over the last few months, and I can attest that this summer is they brought the problems up even more and are bringing even more energy to their training, their education, their development. But let me first talk about the amazing team at the senior leadership levels at the United States Air Force Academy, because we cannot do what we're doing without this incredible team. So first, we're welcoming reader Gen. Nicholas Evans as our new vice superintendent, coming out as the 18th Wing commander at Kadena Air Base, bringing a wonderful operational experience to bear, as well as academic bona fides to be our vice superintendent. Our command chief remains Command Chief John Alsvig and our commandant remains to be Brig. Gen. Marks and Col. Steve Hasstedt is our acting dean as we work to bring a new dean into bear. Ms. Gail Colvin is our stalwart chief of staff, with her wisdom from the Class of '80 that keeps us moving forward. Ms. Jen Block is our executive athletic director. Mr. Nate Pine is our director of athletics, and our brand new wing commander, the 10th Air Base Wing, Col. Ahave Brown. And we all know that nothing happens at USAFA without the 10th Air Base wing providing the foundational support. But also Col. Taylor from the 306 Flying Training Wing, and Col. Silva is our space detachment commander, and it's important that we have all those leaders that are helping us transform USAFA. And to that transformation, we talk about our updated mission statement that was approved last fall. And that updated mission statement is that “USAFA's mission is to forge leaders of character motivated to a lifetime of service and developed to lead our Air Force and Space Force as we fight and win our nation's wars.” And for the alumni, as we went through this mission statement development, we realized that there are many activities we take on at the United States Air Force Academy. There's education, there's training, there's motivation, inspiration, development. And we realized that we are taking the most amazing women and men from all four corners of this United States, and we're bringing them here as raw materials, and we are taking them through high-stress military, academic and athletic programs to forge them into something stronger than what they were when they showed up. And those are the leaders of character. We also wanted to make sure that we highlighted that it's about delivering a lifetime of service to our nation. It doesn't mean that every graduate needs to do 34-plus years in active duty like I'm currently doing, but continue to give back, whether that's in active duty, the Guard the Reserve, to your community in the defense industry, as an elected official or as a key supporter in our alumni networks — keep serving our nation. And then finally, an acknowledgement that we, alongside our teammates at West Point and Annapolis, have a very special mandate that we are developing those warrior leaders that will fight and win our nation's wars. While we hope that we will achieve peace through strength and deter our adversaries, we must always be ready when the nation calls and we will go forward and deliver victory for our nation. So it's important in our mission, but a mission will only take us so far. And the next step is acknowledging that we must have a vision. What is our North Star? And our North Star is we will remain and continue to be the nation's premier service academy. That we're bringing in rigorous, adversary-focused military training, military training that achieves a standard, that achieves a requirement, and not just training for training sake. But also maintain our level as a nationally recognized academic program with highly competitive athletics, and acknowledging that for us to deliver on those four, we must continue to sustain a world-class installation. But more importantly, continue to bring in professional and dedicated permanent party into our faculty. Our coaches, our headquarters, our installation support requires our outstanding permanent party. And so our vision moves us forward. And from our mission and our vision, we have established three key priorities, and those priorities will guide our decision making. But let me take your attention to the bottom first. The bottom is our foundational aspect, that we build all of our aspects upon our service core values of our Air Force and our Space Force of integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do, courage, character, connection and commitment. And those we build upon further foundationally to acknowledge that we are in the military and all aspects of military operations activities require a strict adherence to standard. What is the task that we are executing? What are the conditions on which we will execute those tasks? And what standards do we expect, especially in high end warfare, where our standards are so tight. We also acknowledge that what is special about us is our Honor Code. It is foundational to our character, and we'll talk more about that as we build upon this. But realizing that the Class of '59 that established our Honor Code. It has been foundational to the development of our leaders of character and quality as a board, and then adding into the fact that leaders who built lethal warfighting teams — they do it from a position of respect and teamwork, that they take their team and they support them, they hold them accountable, but they push them to rise above what they could think they could personally achieve. And how do we build those future leaders that are going to take teammates from all four corners of this United States and make sure every single teammate is seen, heard and valued and can give everything possible to the mission at hand? And that leads us to our priorities. That our priorities are we are here to forge warfighters to win, to inspire leaders of character and quality, and finally, to motivate critical thinkers to adapt, because all three are important. And that takes us to our mission sets, because those three priorities span across everything we do in a cadet's journey at the United States Air Force Academy. And the first is acknowledging the military training aspect. That military training goes beyond just learning how to put a uniform on, just how to march correctly, but also understanding how to operate inside of Air Force and Space Force norms and take on those military training activities that our Air Force and Space Force are taking on right now with Ready Airmen Training and the ability to execute agile combat deployment. And that's activities like being able to shoot, move, communicate, medicate and automate, but also acknowledging that we also must have that world-class academic program that challenges our future leaders not what to think, but how to think, and to do that from a warfighting-focused curriculum that is very STEM focused, but also leans in hard to how we can leverage the incredible intellect that these cadets are bringing in today and unleash them on some of the hardest Air Force and Space Force problems through our research programs as we lean into it. And then finally, as we talk about our competitive athletics, that athletics is a key aspect of the cadet's journey, whether it be through our 30 incredible intercollegiate sports teams, our intramural programs, our physical education programs, or finally our physical fitness tests that demonstrate the warrior ethos that is being expected of a military service academy, and it's important that we look across those. But let me talk about a little further of our priorities from those three lenses. The first is the aspect of warfighters win, of how we're bringing in training such as shoot, move, communicate, medicate and automate. And I've heard some teammates are going, “Why are we doing this ground focused training?” And at the end of the day, it's not ground focused training, it's joint force training. This is where our Air Force is going. That we still need to be able to succeed in the air, space, cyber domains, but we must also deliver excellence in these domains. With shoot, I requested that all of our cadets now become qualified in their long gun, the M4, and their sidearm, the M18, every single year. So now they'll have the confidence of their weapons when they have to go forward into harm's way. The same with move and communicate. Can they understand the aspects of mission command, especially in future fights where we may not have the best connectivity with our highest headquarters? Will they understand commander's intent and still be able to generate the combat power we need to keep our adversaries on their heels? Finally, to medicate. Over the last few decades, we have benefited from the golden hour, where we had such dominance that when we had a teammate isolated or injured, we would have medical care a rescue capability to them inside the hour. Future battlefields will likely not give us that luxury. So we must teach our future leaders those advanced medical capabilities to take care of their injured teammates while they're continuing to generate combat power. And finally, as we have seen from the Iranian wars and the Ukrainian wars, automation is here and part of modern warfare. And so how are we going to bring automation capabilities to our future leaders so they can develop the new TTPs that we are working through. And again, thank you to the Association of Graduates and Foundation, because you all provided the seed funding for our first automation efforts this summer. So thank you so much. And let me dig in a little further on why warfighters win. And from our president and our secretary of defense, it has been very clear that they want us to establish peace through strength, that we must develop our ways in three areas: to restore the warrior ethos, to rebuild our military and to reestablish deterrence. And we have gotten that guidance very clear from our leadership, and we will prepare our future leaders in that mind. And we have added that over the last year by bringing in year round warfighting training. So not only during the summer periods, but also through the academic year, are we asking our future warrior leaders to take on the military mission, the academic mission and the athletic mission as we move forward. And as discussed, it is directly aligned to our Air Force with Ready Airman Training and our agile combat employment. And over the last year, we took our baby steps. We're not where we need to be, but I can tell you I'm proud of how far we've come, because we moved forward with energy and violence through the fall and spring culminating exercises. I'm proud of how far we've come, but now for this year, we're gonna enter into the walk phase, because we have more to go. And with that in mind, there's been conversations of recognition and promotion, and that is tied not only to our leadership development, but also to our warfighting training. And it's an acknowledgement that for every year you at the Air Force Academy, we are purposely developing you and increasing your capabilities. And so we are going to provide the expectations for your year, whether you're four-degree, three-degree, two-degree or first-degree — a firstie — and you must meet those training standards, and if you do not meet the training standards, then we are not going to recognize you for your past work, but if you meet our standards, then we are going to recognize you for the good work and promote you to the next grade. But the ultimate promotion being a Second Lieutenant in our Air Force and Space Force as it goes forward. Over the last year, there are teeth of this. We did have 153 cadets that were not recognized due to not meeting the standards, but we are now providing them the options over the summer and this fall to now meet the standards as we move forward. Also this year, focusing on warfighting, is acknowledging that we must arm the cadets to be the instructors. Last year, we did it very quickly. Now we're going to take advantage of our incredible cadets, just like our cadets do exceptional things — teaching each other how to fly, teaching other each other how to jump during our freefall program — but now we are working through the cadet warfighter instructor course, a beta course, where we will teach cadets to be those instructors inside of our squadrons in the academic year, to take on how to teach, how to shoot, to move, to communicate, automate and medicate. And we are one more week left in our inaugural cadet warfighter instructor course. I know we will learn much from this beta iteration, but I'm excited to see what we learned from this as we go into the academic year and unleash these cadets and train ourselves. We're also very appreciative from the Foundation for the establishment of the Institute for Future Conflict. And the Institute for Future Conflict has been around for a couple of years and has already forced us to focus and think differently. And I would offer to you the reason behind that is because they are focused on our adversaries. So I like to call them our adversary focused disruptors. They are going to bring ideas to bear that force us to change the way we develop our cadets for the future, because they're looking at what our adversaries are doing. And as such, we made the decision to elevate them into Headquarters USAFA, so they can have a wider impact, not only within the dean of faculty, but also within the Cadet Wing and the Athletic Department, so we can ensure that we are bringing those disruptive thoughts and putting them into in place so we prepare our leaders for a very uncertain world, to include bringing realism into the training that our cadets are taking on. We're also acknowledging academically, there's more that we have to do with our intellect. And over the last year, we have added three additional warfighting minors, one on quantum, one on aerospace materials, and we're in the final stages of establishing a warfighting minor on future conflict. Hopefully that we will be able to start providing that to our cadets over the next year, as we went into that so very excited to the growth in our academic options. And then finally, athletically, we're updating our PT standards, and we're adding additional PE courses for our future leaders. Our future leaders — we will increase water survival, especially when we look to the future and the regions where we expect to potentially have conflict, increased water survival is important — as well as increased combatives, and we're still in the final stages of planning of how we can bring a team focused final warfighting capstone physical education course that brings all of that physical education together for a team-focused event for our firsties, but still in the planning stages of that. And as discussed, updating our PT standards to align with our Air Force and our Space Force, with an acknowledgement that simply what we were doing is adding minimums to each of the caveats to ensure that you must pass each individual event while also meeting a score-based event as we move forward. Again, aligning with our Air Force and Space Force. Now, as we transform, it's not just about warfighters to win. It's also about leaders of character and quality. As I like to say, it's developing leaders who do the right thing the right way, even if it's unpopular, because we must have leaders that are willing to stand up and do the right thing for the formation. And we focused on that. We have focused on reinforcing standards and accountability. While initially it was permanent party coming in fairly strong to establish the standards and accountability, what we quickly saw from our amazing future generation was cadets going, “We've got this. We will establish it. We will uphold our standards. We will uphold our accountability.” And to me, that's very important to see that our next generation is taking ownership of that key leadership aspect, to even include honor. As many know, we had a pretty significant honor violation last year. The bad news is that occurred. The good news is it was the cadets themselves who came forward and said, “This happened, and this is our way forward.” As in all situations, though, anytime you point a finger at somebody, three fingers pointing back at yourself, we realized that institutionally, we had probably lowered the standards too far. We didn't expect enough, and we had parsed the Honor Code. And we made the decision to return to our roots and say, “No, the Honor Code is holistic. It will not be parsed.” But we do acknowledge that these amazing men and women that come from all four corners are coming to us in different stages of their character development, and so the sanctions that come from an honor violation for somebody with us for a few weeks or a couple months may be far different than the sanctions of somebody that are weeks or months out from commissioning and graduation. So ensuring that we have a tiered sanction system to deal with our honor violations. I'm very proud of the ownership that our cadets took with our honor system, and we are reinforcing their efforts as we move forward. We've also pivoted strongly to a four-class system. My observation was is through time at the Air Force Academy, we've ebbed and flowed from a four-class leadership development system to a fourth-class leadership development system. I would offer that we had gone to the point where the majority of training and focus was on the four-degrees, when we are blessed to have these our future leaders for 47 months, and we should be developing them the entire 47 months. And so we have developed the fourth-class leadership system, where for their four-degree year, we will focus them on being good teammates and followers. For the three-degree year, we will focus on them being good frontline engaged supervisors, two-degrees as team leaders and firsties as unit leaders, representing those roles in our Air Force from cadet squadron commander to DO, to executive officer, to A1 through A6 staff positions and flight commander and taking on those responsibilities. And again, just like we talked about work by training, there's assessment mechanisms for each of these that they must meet leadership assessments that will go into whether or not they are recognized and promoted to the next grade, as it moves forward. We executed the first year. Last year, I would offer that it was successful, but we've learned much from the process, and as we go into the second year, I think we're going to be able to go even further with our four-class leadership and development. We've also doubled down on discipline, that standards and accountability are important, and if you fail to meet our standards, then you must be held accountable, not only with punitive aspects, but also with rehabilitative aspects. It's a two-edged pincer movement as we went forward, and from my time at the Academy, I will offer to you, while I may not have enjoyed it at the time, I benefited greatly from both, because it forced me to reflect upon what got me in that situation and how I can take ownership of my own development as we move forward. So that is one of the aspects we return to. And then finally, for our National Character and Leadership Symposium: Let's focus on those character elements that we find through warfighting. And so last fall's was focused on, how are we going to develop warfighters to win? And then for next year, we're going to focus on the courage required to overcome adversity in a warfighting environment. And so I'm very excited as we get the speakers identified for both the fall, a shorter fall iteration, and the normal spring iteration, sharing those speakers with the wider alumni environment. And then finally, talking about those critical thinkers to adapt. I jokingly tell our cadets that, since I was in the '90s, we got to solve all the easy problems, and all that is left are all the wicked hard problems, but we need those critical thinkers to adapt, because they are going to bring the ingenuity, they're going to bring the innovation, and what I've challenged them is they also have to bring the courage to challenge the status quo. Too many times in our military, when we ask why we do something, if the answer is, “We've always done it that way,” then maybe we need to rethink and understand, are there better ways to do it? And I can tell you, our cadets bring that to bear. And so for this year, we're really focused on cadet empowerment and responsibility. Last year with the mandate, we moved very quickly, and we were more directive in nature. And what we heard loud and clear is that cadets hurdled over our expectations. What we heard loud and clear from them was, “We want to control the way forward.” And so how do we empower them more? And how do we make it clear that they are responsible not only for their mission, but their people? And adding to that of spending more time with them with these changes of why are we doing this change, and making sure that they understand the rest of the story. You may not always like the why, but if you have an appreciation of the why, its foundation will be able to execute mission command, because you now understand commander's intent, and you now can go, “I know the why. We can keep moving forward, because we can move forward with that.” We're also focusing on operationalizing all of the United States Air Force Academy, bringing that operational mindset to bear, from whether it would be establishing an A2 directorate in the headquarters and the cadet wing and in all cadet squadrons, and the DA2 director being our intelligence directorate, so that we can start to bring in classified intelligence briefings and give them not only to a permanent party, but to our future leaders. And we started that last January to great success, so that our future leaders can start to understand not only our and our allies capabilities, but our adversary capabilities and how we will conduct our joint warfighting aspects as we move forward. And it's important that we continue to bring in those operational matters so we prepare the cadets of today for the second lieutenants of tomorrow that can seamlessly nest in to how our Air Force and our Space Force operates. And that's a nicer way of saying is some of the USAFA unique things we've done— we probably need to think about how we're doing that in our Air Force and Space Force. We're also doubling down that cadet squadrons are the unit of action, just like it is in our Air Force, that the squadron is the unit of action. And it's tough at USAFA where you may prioritize your IC team, or your major, or your club, but at the end of the day, it's going to be the squadron that succeeds together as a team. And so we are focusing on making sure that we are reinforcing what the cadet squadrons are doing. They are going to go through their military training together. They're going to go through their culminating exercises together, same as recognition and promotion. And that's important as we focus on the four-class system of those teammates, followers, frontline engaged supervisors, team leaders, unit leaders, but also acknowledging that we must empower cadet leaders to own the responsibility of their units. And I recently sat down with cadet squadron commanders and their special staffs and said, “Congratulations, you're the cadet commanders. You are responsible for two things: your mission and your people. It's not just about marching at the front of a formation. It's about executing the mission you've been given, whether that mission be military, academics or athletics, and taking care of your people.” And as such, we have established special staffs inside of each cadet squadron, every wing in the Air Force, most groups and many squadrons have special staff to both support the unit, but more importantly, advise the commander, because the commander is the one who's ultimately responsible for their people. And so we are bringing cadet special staff — which they may not be the subject matter experts in equal opportunity, integrated prevention response, spiritual matters or medical matters. They are there to support the squadron, advise the commander and have that connectivity to our subject matter experts, whether it be our chaplaincy, whether that be our amazing medical group and cadet clinic, our amazing SAPR team and all the helping agencies across USAFA to make sure that we can support all of our cadets going through a high-demand developmental program at the United States Air Force Academy. And the twist on that is again, saying, “Commanders, you are the ones who are responsible.” And now let's give you the tools to be successful as the permanent party are there to advise and oversight, empower our cadets even more. And then the final one is a return to decorum training. We conducted a beta test last year to success, and now we're looking to see how we can bring forward that decorum training for the entirety of the Cadet Wing. I am not this is not a return to the days of wine pairings, you know, but it is an acknowledgement that as an officer in our Air Force and Space Force, when you go to events, you're not only representing yourself, you're representing your team, you're representing your unit. And what are those decorum skills you need to have at events so that you can develop networks with teammates that might be outside your normal operational circle, or how do you ensure how you engage with other teammates so you can learn more about the world you're in? And so it's important that we establish that decorum focus and looking forward to how we can squeeze that in into the complicated lives of all of our cadets as we move forward. And then, just to reinforce on the critical thinking, I've already talked about the three minors we added, but I'm proud to say that we're in close coordination right now with Gen. Tullos at Air University and about to sign the memorandum of understanding where we will start a beta test for offering master's degree classes at the United States Air Force Academy, with the long-term intent of offering master's degrees at United States Air Force Academy under the Air Force Institute of Technology certification. So we have much to learn, but the doorway is open, and I can tell you from looking at so many of our cadets that come in with 20, 30, 40 college credit hours already, I think we have cadets that are ready to take on that journey, and I look forward to giving an update on that after we get through some of our initial how does this work process. So just to summarize: Our mission, our vision, our priorities are delivering what we need. And it's those warrior leaders that are ready on Day 1 in our Air Force and Space Force. And thanks to our amazing team, whether it be in the senior leader team, but more importantly, those incredible permanent party that are working long hours, whether it's in Fairchild Hall, Sijan Hall, Vandenberg Hall, in the tunnels, in the heat plant, in the Child Development Center, down at Clune Arena, out in Jacks Valley — our permanent party are crushing it, and it's important because our nation deserves the best leaders that we can give the 330,000 airmen and guardians that are standing watch for our nation. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you for sharing the mission brief. I think many of us as graduates think we know what happens at the Academy, but you actually sharing what you accomplished in just a year is a bit mind blowing, sir.   Gen. Bauernfeind Thank you. And I, at times, am concerned at how fast we are moving, but I also know that we must move this fast. The adversaries are watching us, and they are choosing when is the right time to test our nation. And so in order to achieve peace through strength, we must display that deterrence, that warfighting ethos, that warfighting capability. So we keep our adversaries waking up every single morning going, “Today is not today to test the United States.”   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, that is right on point. Yes, sir. Well, I would like to thank you in advance for taking on additional questions from our alumni and our graduate community. So if we might start, general, with some of the information across various channels that cuts about to our academics and the Department of Faculty, what would you be willing to share about the civilian workforce reductions and any next to the Academy's academic faculty?   Gen. Bauernfeind First and foremost, the reduction of civilians is not just civilian faculty. It's through all civilians at the United States Air Force Academy, and as we're tracking, throughout the entire Department of Defense. What makes it a little more challenging at the United States Air Force Academy is we have so many different civilian teammates, from firefighters to childcare workers to coaches to headquarters staff, personnel and faculty. And as we lean into the aspect, the conversations about all of our civilian teammates. The first challenge that we faced is historically, the United States Air Force Academy has been over our civilian paid budget, and we've received great support from the Department of Air Force to address our over execution. This year is a little different, and so that has to be a baseline consideration as we understand that— that we have to hire and maintain civilian teammates within the budget that the American public has given us as a lean forward. And to that point, thank you to the Association of Graduates and the Foundation, as well as other Academy-focused foundations that have provided volunteer and funded volunteer support to give us that additional margin of excellence that helps us mitigate this matter. With respect to fiscal year '25, our Air Force is going through a reduction of civilian personnel to the tune of 5,000 billets. Of those 5,000 billets, the portion of the United States Air Force Academy was a part of was a 140 billets. And as we have moved through that reduction of 140 billets, we identified 104 billets as we went through our prioritization that were unencumbered or empty, but lower priority. Unfortunately, there are 36 billets that were encumbered, so someone inside of that billet as we move forward. And the goal with that is to continually work over the coming months of how we can move teammates laterally into open billets, either at the United States Air Force Academy or other locations. So we keep their expertise inside of the greater Air Force, Space Force enterprise, and our A1 team continues to work that aspect. But it's also making sure that we're being very clear with our teammates that when those billets become unfunded, at some point without funding, we're having to pay for that billet via other means. And so it's important for us to have frank conversations with our teammates, to say, “Update your resume. Start looking. At some point this will move forward.” With respect to our faculty members, 16 took advantage of the government's deferred resignation program, which was a well-funded early retirement program which allowed them to leave in the spring under and basically on admin leave and retain their pay to later in the fall/winter timeframe as that moves forward. We also had three that already had planned retirements, so they were moving forward. Unfortunately, we see a hiring freeze so no backfill. But also three whose terms are many of our senior faculty, our term employees, at the end of their term came. And so we have backfilled them with active-duty and Reserve military faculty to keep our academic progress going forward. And thanks to our dean and their team, they are, you know, quickly adjusting, but they are making the changes they need to ensure that we continue to offer the majors that we promised through the Class of '26 and continue to offer the courses as we move forward. For the fall semester, in addition to the three minors we've added, we've also added four additional classes, and there are 10 classes of the 753 in our course of instruction, there are 10 that we will not offer in the fall semester, but we will continue to still move forward.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, thank you for that. You talked about backfills. Can you talk about some of the most important competencies for those instructors, as they were backfilling these positions right?   Gen. Bauernfeind As I testified to the Senate earlier this spring, the two most important things to me inside of our classroom is: One is subject matter expertise, and we value the subject matter expertise brought to us by our professors, associate professors, our assistant professors, our permanent professors, our senior military faculty, and the depth they provide, initially with a master's degree, but more importantly, those Ph.D.s that were an extreme depth of that subject matter expertise. But also as a military service academy— that operationally relevant experience, how do they apply what they're learning in the classroom into their futures in the Air Force and Space Force, whether that be in labs on operational units and future battlefields, and how they can connect that to the future. And we have many of our civilian faculty are also veterans, who are able to bring that strong connection to bear as it moves forward.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, you mentioned you were adding a couple a few minors. Have there been any majors that have been removed from the program, and has this affected our accreditation in any way?   Gen. Bauernfeind No, ma'am, no majors have been impacted during this time. Every single year, we go through a curriculum review, and we have a curriculum review committee where we will adjust as we move forward based upon guidance we receive from the Air Force and Space Force, but also what demand signals we're seeing from our cadets. You know what they're signing up for. But that is just an annual aspect to make sure that we have the right instructor core to support the curriculum we need to develop and educate our future leaders what the Air Force and Space Force is expecting. But zero majors have been eliminated from the United States Air Force Academy.   Naviere Walkewicz Thank you, sir for clearing that up.   Gen. Bauernfeind Oh, and accreditation. We're in a good spot with accreditation. We maintain continual conversation with our accrediting bodies, whether it be the Higher Learning Commission or several of the engineering- or STEM-focused accrediting bodies such as ABET, we're still in a good spot. In fact, this year, we just approved our quality initiative, which is a key aspect to sustaining not only our accreditation, but showing that we're continuing to improve ourselves, and that quality initiative will focus strongly on data science, throughout all of our curriculum.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. I think that's wonderful. I know a lot of graduates were, you know, maybe didn't have all the information, so I think that's wonderful that you just shared that. Something interesting you talked about your brief was some master's, a beta testing for a master's program, working with AFIT. Can you expand a bit more about that? And then do you see the Academy becoming a five-year institution, or we will stay four years, 47 months?   Gen. Bauernfeind Right now, I believe that we will still stay a 47-month program because our academic program is 47 months; our athletic program is 47 months, and most importantly, our leadership development and military program is 47 months. For the AFIT program, the vision is — these amazing young Americans come in with so much academic credit. Many of them now are part of the Martinson Scholar Program. And thanks to Mr. Martinson's great support, we have a program that can focus on them going even further. What we can offer them now, the majority are taking multiple majors and multiple minors. What if, in the future, you didn't want to do multiple majors or minors, but you want to go and start on your master's degree, which many other institutes of higher learning are offering in a parallel aspect? And so in conversation with Gen. Tullos, how can we start allowing cadets as early as their junior year start taking master's programs and achieve what would be required? Initial assessment is we will have some that can probably achieve it in 47 months, but probably the greater group will need to stay the Academy for maybe six or 12 more months as a second lieutenant to finish up their AFIT courseware. So they would stop their 47-month USAFA program, but continue with their master's program in the classroom in Fairchild and finish out their master's here. Is the vision— and we're working through this. I want to be very clear that this is beta. We have a lot to learn in this. And from my perspective, as I work with the Air Force to get greater support for this, this is going to be a strong cost saver for the Air Force. When our Air Force officers go to get master's degree, as a general rule, they are out of their operational career field for two years as they go to execute their 18-month AFIT program, plus two associated PCSs. Now we show not only a time saving, but a cost savings. And now these second lieutenants are entering, a portion of them, are entering their air force or Space Force with a master's degree. And it is not uncommon for many of our second lieutenants right now to even start their initial training, depending on what training is available until the spring of the next year after they graduate. So I see a strong promise, but we've got a lot of work to do to make it a reality.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, that's creative and innovative thinking right there. I think that we're very excited to hear more about that, especially as the beta testing moves forward. Sir, maybe we can move into the warfighting realm. Graduates have been very interested in the renewed focus on warfighting that you've taken over the past year. What recent programs or military training taking place at USAFA right now are really supporting this development of the warfighter. Ready to lead on Day 1?   Gen. Bauernfeind So I believe we've always had a strong foundation of warfighting training, whether it be our airmanship programs, our powered flight programs, our jump programs, our special warfare programs and basic cadet training and cadet survival. But we're building upon that, and we're adding to those as great examples. As discussed earlier, if we can fight for the ammunition, we will have every single cadet qualify on both weapons every single year. The Class of '29 for the M18, the pistol, they qualified at a rate at about 65%. For the M4, the long gun, at a rate of 93%. I'm very proud of those numbers, because many of those young men and women— that was the first time they touched a weapon in their lives. And now, if they do it three more times before they graduate, those qualification rates are going to skyrocket, and they're going to have the confidence, when they deploy into harm's way, of their weapons. Additionally, thanks to the great work by the Cadet Wing, we have received 4,000 sets of chemical gear. And so not only in basic training, are they learning how to establish a forward operating base, defend it, but we're going past the days of where we walked into a tent, took our mask off and then dealt with the wonderful fluids that came out of our bodies. But now, going forward, to how are you going to conduct ATSO operations, or the ability to survive and operate in deployed locations with chemical gear on? And we're very proud to partake in some of that training with the basic cadets, and they are really taking to understanding what is required. And then the final aspect is, as discussed, the cadet warfighter instructor course, is acknowledging that to be really good at those items, we need some subject matter expertise. But the subject matter expertise required to lead, train and certify 4,000 cadets every year, we have to rely on cadet leaders, and as discussed, they're in the field as we speak in the inaugural cadet warfighter instructor course. And I look forward to seeing the feedback of how they will come back and do the squadrons. And tying that back to the cadets wanting more ownership of their training — the intent is 12 cadets inside of each cadet squadron that will now take on the responsibility through the academic year of that warfighter training that we will assess in the fall CULEX, and the ultimate assessment in the spring CULEX.   Naviere Walkewicz Sir, it really shows how you're building that expertise within the squadron to support the squadron commander so they really are taking care of their people. I think that's outstanding.   Gen. Bauernfeind And very excited about it.  And I just want to say thank you again, because it was due to the generosity of the Foundation that got us the seed to start the automation, with 29 Group 2, the smaller UAVs, as we see automation and all monitor warfighting, unleashing the cadets on how they're going to use those UAVs to defend their forward operating bases, to understand what's across the ridgeline as they move forward. And very excited to see where the cadets will take us in this, because I'm sure they're gonna be far more innovative than my generation.   Naviere Walkewicz Our generation, sir, yes, sir. Well, you talked about the four-class system and I think that was really relevant for our graduates to hear. How are cadets feeling motivated through this process? And have you seen them evolve over the past year since you started implementing that?   Gen. Bauernfeind I think the first aspect was— it took them time to truly understand what we were laying out as it went forward. And every year we do this, we will get a little more advanced at the end of the day. I think our four-degrees understood it. That was good. It was that they understood what it meant to be a teammate. What it meant to be a teammate, follower, and that was an easier aspect to develop them through. The team leaders at the senior NCO level for the two-degrees and the firsties as unit leaders, they started understanding that. The biggest challenge we saw was with the three-degrees. What does it mean to be a frontline, engaged supervisor? And we have to troop lead them through, “This is what it means to be a frontline, engaged supervisor.” That they are your subordinate. But to take best care of your people, you should know where they're from. You should know about their parents. You should know their dog's name. You should know where their birthday is. You should know when their next chemistry test is, when their next PT test is. And while you may not be able to tutor them on chemistry, you can gather and motivate them for, “Hey, if the PT test is three weeks out, let's go run together. Let's go get on the pull up bar together. Let's, you know, be engaged.” And the more you know your teammates, what I offer to you, whether it be in morning formation, noon meal formation, at the tables at Mitchell Hall, in the halls of your squadron, inside of 30 seconds you're gonna see your teammates, your subordinate, and you're gonna know if they're gonna have a good day or bad day, because you're close enough to know, just quickly, OK, they're gonna have a great day or something's going on. “Let's go take a walk. Let's figure out what's driving you down. And how can I, as a frontline engaged supervisor, start taking barriers out of your way?”   Naviere Walkewicz I mean, I can only imagine that giving them more pride, even now that they understand, “This is how I can be a frontline supervisor,” when you give us very specific examples. Well, if we might shift gears a little bit to admissions and graduation. Since we just had a class join us, and we had a class recently graduate, maybe you can tell us how the Class of '29 how they're faring so far.   Gen. Bauernfeind The Class of '29 are doing great. I am impressed by their professionalism. I'm impressed by their energy. And as you saw, as we just did the recent march back, they were loud and proud. That was really good as it went forward. And for the Class of '29, I'm proud to report that they are faring very well. Just so everybody knows, we had over 9,000 completed applications. We offered 1,411 offers of admission, and 1,112 took the oath on I-Day as it moved forward. We had cadets from every single state and territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 international cadets that joined us. Of those, 117 from Prep School came up the Hill. And then 76 are, you know, part of a prior Long Blue Line as it's coming forward as it goes. Of the Class of '29, 55% were in the top 10% of their class, and 96 were all invited on varsity sports. Right now we are, as coming out of basic training, of 1,095 and during that time, they're still going strong. We did have some teammates that didn't have a full appreciation of what military life was, or may not have been as impassioned about the Academy as their parents, and so we've parted ways with a few small numbers. But during basic training, I can proudly say— we talked about the qualifications on the weapons, but also say they took their very first PFT test, and looking back over the last five years, they, on average, scored 15 points higher than the last five years. And that's a testament to two teams, I would offer to you, well, not only the cadets themselves, who had to do it, but all of our admissions team that's out there saying, “Hey, congratulations, you've been admitted. Start preparing now.” But also our athletic director, athletic department team that was out there giving them good, focused training to prepare them for those physical fitness tests. And they just took PFT No. 2 a couple days ago, and we're accessing the data but all indications are it's trending up.   Naviere Walkewicz No, yes, sir. Those are outstanding numbers. As a country, we're seeing admission rates and the challenge of getting the best of the best into the door, the fact that we had such wonderful numbers coming in, and we're attriting very low, I think it's something we should be proud of.   Gen. Bauernfeind I'm very proud of it, but acknowledge it's a tough— it's a knife fight to get the best of the brightest, and so thanks to Air Education and Training Command and Accessions Command, we are going to try a new marketing contract this year to further make sure that the amazing young Americans throughout all four corners truly understand the opportunity in front of them with the Air Force Academy, and make sure they're aware of it. So I'm excited to see how that marketing campaign goes to even up our numbers, even a little bit more.   Naviere Walkewicz Awesome. Yes, sir. Well, sir, in the realm of athletics, last year, you shared an emphasis for cadet support and participation at more of our athletic events. What have you seen come from that? And what can you share about athletics, intramurals most currently?   Gen. Bauernfeind It's one of our three mission sets: athletics. And it's not just for our IC athletes. I jokingly tell some of the teammates to say, “Tell me about a cadets life.” It's like, well, they have three full time jobs, a military job, an academic job and an athletic job, and they really get a bachelor of science in time management. And that's as we go forward. But I've asked the athletic department, you know, during COVID, our intramural program atrophied, and now we have to see, how can we really enhance our intramurals as it goes forward. But I'm especially also proud of our intercollegiate athletes, 30 intercollegiate programs. When we talk about the blood, sweat, tears, the hard work that our IC athletes representing 25% of the Cadet Wing — they are really jumping in hard. And my expectations as the superintendent is all 30 of those programs earn home field advantage. And so we've recently published an operation order to the team as we look into the fall sports. And the basic synthesis of it is, protect this house. We will come strong to all home events, and we're working through that aspect. And so as a whole, not only will we figure out how to be strong at all of our home events, whether it be, you know, this fall with women's soccer, men's soccer, cross country, water polo, volleyball and, importantly, football. And proud to report here at our AOG that the entire Cadet Wing will be marching onto the football field and protecting this house and our amazing stadium at home games.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir, thank you for that. That's fantastic. Sir, you know, you can't come out of this Air Force Academy, this 18,000 acres of amazing Academy, without seeing some of the changes, whether it's facilities or capabilities. You know, of course, there are two questions we hear often about the chapel in the box. When will the chapel be done? And then also, you know, what about the visitor center? When can we actually get into it?   Gen. Bauernfeind No, those are two great questions, Naviere. First of all, I think that the box has become so routine there that we received a formal request from cadet. So how can we have a — no kidding — drive in movie theater screen? And the request came in at $300,000 so we thought the prudent action was, let's get the chapel done so we can take the box down instead of putting up a new theater. But right now, for our chapel, again, it is an amazing piece of architecture, and to maintain the historical relevance and the hard work that went behind it, it's going to take time. Right now, we're on schedule for 2028 and we are focused on making sure all the involved teams take every single day out and we can find out as soon as possible when we have any sort of deviation, so we can swarm it. And so as such, we hold monthly meetings with IMSC — the Installation Management Sustainment Command — Air Force Civil Engineering Command, the Corps of Engineers, to go through all of our military construction projects so that if something comes up, we are aware of it within days of the issue, and we swarm it together instead of letting issues boil for a long period of time. And so excited to get the chapel back open as such a spiritual icon of the United States Air Force Academy. And spirituality is so important to the holistic leader's readiness— not just physical, mental, social, family, but also spiritual. And I think it will be important for that development. And then to the visitor center. We're on track to open up in May of '26 before the graduation, and excited to finally open that visitor center and share with a much wider audience what all of our alumni and we know of the amazing story behind the Air Force Academy, all the amazing exemplars who have come from our Academy. And I will share with you, I'm excited to get a whole ton of young Americans inside the visitor center so they can start getting excited about being part of the Class of 2032, 2038 and beyond.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, they say things are worth the wait, good things are worth the wait, and I think the interactive displays that are gonna come with this are really gonna help people understand truly what our cadets go through.     Gen. Bauernfeind Absolutely. And thank you again to the AOG and Foundation. As money got tight, the Foundation came forward and we now have that beautiful glider, you know, in position that shows what all of our cadets are working through.   Naviere Walkewicz Yes, sir. Well, our sole existence is to support the Academy, serve our grads and prserve the heritage. Well, sir, I'm cognizant of your time. We're so grateful you're here today. Mind if I ask you one final question?   Gen. Bauernfeind Please do.   Naviere Walkewicz What's on your mind that you want to leave with our graduates to be thinking about when you think about our Academy and your vision and mission. What can you leave us with?   Gen. Bauernfeind I just want to thank the Long Blue Line. We are 55,000-plus strong. There have been so many of our alumni, every single one of us that have gone through this journey. And we're proud of this institution. And I just say, continue to support this amazing institution. Spread the good word of what our Air Force Academy is, because we want amazing young women, amazing young men that are in your communities, in your churches, at your work centers, to say, “Hey, have you heard about the Air Force Academy? That's the place for you, because our nation deserves the best.” And just a final thanks to the alumni, and as a superintendent, I'm proud to be in this position with my amazing teammates. And any alumni that wants to ask me, “What's the rest of the story?” I am always available. Please hit me up in the hallways, on the Terrazzo, on the field, and I look forward to your conversations.   Naviere Walkewicz This has been a special edition of the Air Force Gradcast. On behalf of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation, thank you for joining us. It's been a privilege to hear directly from Lt. Gen. Bauernfeind and to share updates and perspectives relevant to graduates across our Academy community. Thank you for your continued connection, commitment and support of our United States Air Force Academy. I'm Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. Until next time.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation  

Age of Transitions and Uncle 8-15-2025 Kevin KevinAoT#471What heights were reached at the Alaska meeting of The US and Russia? What depths have we reached in terms of digital life? Topics include: Patreon project, Looking For Truth In All the Wrong Places, enemy combatants, Trump and Putin Alaska summit, bad audio with interpreter, peace, podcast imagery, red carpet, runway, fish avatars, gaining audience, optics, fighter jets, decline of American Empire, F35, Air Force, MIC was aerospace industry, B2 Stealth Bomber, world wars, tech advances bring new warfare, aviation, emerging technologies, AI, Space Force, communications, digital connectivity, internet, Global Propaganda Matrix, influence ops, Russian influence on elections a taboo idea, marketing bad ideas, shift in American power elite, internal war within MIC, government contracts, technocracy, martial law in DC, the Constitution in Libertarian propaganda, creation of domestic enemies, Neo Feudalism, Elon Musk, Ukraine, business, information warfare, justice, don't have to pretend to not be racist anymore, fooled by lowest common denominatorUtp#378Kevin Kevin of the Bombay Beach Report TikTak is our guest on this episode. Learn a little of the history of the Salton Sea here, and be sure to follow Kevin for much more. Topics include: microphone correction, guest, Kevin Key, Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, RV down by the Lake, TikTak, banned from Facebook and IG, living off grid, desert, documentary social media video, being recognized from social media, Landers, abandoned buildings turned into art, videos about exploring abandoned places, Sears corporate building, gold mine, familiar faces, stealing guests from Uncle, unique aesthetic, the voice, comedy, desert people, heat, caller, San Diego, luxury resort on Salton Sea, salt and algae blooms, floods, International listeners, drinking water, honey wagon, solar panels, AC, RV life, peak season for visitors, more tourists in area now, see it to believe it, Niland, unincorporated places, Slab City, Salvation Mountain, drop the day to get to the desert, mud volcanos, Chocolate Mountains bombing range, lava, Imperial County poverty, agriculture, lithium mining, boating, salt water, water toxicity debate, hot decaf coffee, iced coffee is good but not hot coffee, lattes, energy drinks, BBAC, Flickr, New Year's RevolutionFRANZ MAIN HUB:https://theageoftransitions.com/PATREONhttps://www.patreon.com/aaronfranzUNCLEhttps://unclethepodcast.com/ORhttps://theageoftransitions.com/category/uncle-the-podcast/FRANZ and UNCLE Merchhttps://theageoftransitions.com/category/support-the-podcasts/---Email Chuckblindjfkresearcher@gmail.comBE THE EFFECTOchelli Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/chuckochelli---NOVEMBER IN DALLAS LANCER CONFERENCEDISCOUNT FOR YOU10 % OFF code = Ochelli10https://assassinationconference.com/BE THE EFFECTListen/Chat on the Sitehttps://ochelli.com/listen-live/TuneInhttp://tun.in/sfxkxAPPLEhttps://music.apple.com/us/station/ochelli-com/ra.1461174708Ochelli Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/chuckochelliAnything is a blessing if you have the meansWithout YOUR support we go silent.---NOVEMBER IN DALLAS LANCER CONFERENCEDISCOUNT FOR YOU10 % OFF code = Ochelli10https://assassinationconference.com/Coming SOON Room Discount Details The Fairmont Dallas hotel 1717 N Akard Street, Dallas, Texas 75201. easy access to Dealey Plaza

Send us a textWelcome to the Ones Ready Daily Drop, where Peaches rants his way through the Pentagon's latest circus act. From Riga flyovers to AI “investments” that wouldn't even buy a used Ford Ranger, this week's Ops Brief is a buffet of absurdity. We've got ten tankers launching in Guam (because why not), Sharon peacing out of DISA IT, and the Air Force throwing pocket change at human-AI collab while China sharpens their Skynet. Oh—and apparently basketball is religion in Latvia, civilians are either heroes or roadblocks, and yes, Peaches argues for vigilantes (send complaints to his inbox, not ours). It's snark, it's savage, it's Ones Ready.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Special Warfare assessment model explained (crawl, walk, run… or quit) 02:06 – Nashville OTS update: still need a ranch, got a pool 03:00 – Riga flyover: B-1 + NATO flexing 04:29 – White House ponders air support for Ukraine 05:40 – 10-ship tanker sortie out of Guam (Peaches vs. Smashburger) 06:58 – Pentagon IT shakeup: Sharon exits stage left 07:30 – $490M UAS and counter-UAS contract 08:20 – The Air Force's $1.25M AI “couch cushion” project 09:13 – National Signing Day for Air & Space recruits 10:25 – Space Force news: X-37B launch, satcom contracts, new waveform tech 12:52 – Budget plan = new weapons, fewer civilians (Peaches rants) 15:10 – General Dynamics' tracking layer contract 16:00 – Ex-Space Force analyst sentenced for vigilante shooting 17:31 – Peaches defends vigilantes (uh oh) 18:15 – Supply chain & internet behavior threats 19:00 – AI platform ADVANA gutted by budget cuts 20:00 – Top Gun trivia: meet the real “Charlie”

In SSPI's Accelerate Change podcast series, sponsored by SES, we explore how creative collaboration is transforming the pace of innovation across the space and satellite industry. SES is championing a new era - one where partnerships, agile technologies, and bold ideas are breaking old cycles and building a more connected future. Through conversations with leaders in cloud, telecommunications, sustainability, and space infrastructure, we dive into the stories shaping the next frontier of global connectivity. In the second episode, we hear from three major players at Amazon Web Services: Shayn Hawthorne, General Manager of Space Services, Akanksha Alok, Solutions Architect - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and Jonathon Fraker, Senior Account Executive, USSF. Shayn Hawthorne has worked for over 30 years in the space field, first as an Active Duty and Reserve US Air Force astronautical engineer and space operations officer, building and launching research and development satellites for the Intelligence Community (IC) and conducting both space surveillance and counterspace operations. Shayn also served 20 years at the MITRE Corporation as Technical Director on IC sensors, Missile Defense Agency sensors and engagement systems, and Space Control Operations. Shayn then joined Amazon Web Services where he founded AWS Ground Station, Amazon's 1st space service, helped start AWS's Aerospace & Satellite Solutions Division, and developed on-orbit space edge runtimes. Shayn is now AWS's Principal Advisor for National Security sensors and satellites. In this role Shayn works with customers and builders across AWS to build new enterprises that utilize AWS services and features to disrupt how space operations are conducted. Akanksha Alok is an Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning professional with a background in computer science from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Johns Hopkins. With over five years at Amazon Web Services, she has held impactful roles-first as a Data Scientist, where she built end-to-end machine learning pipelines, and currently as a Solutions Architect, helping organizations design and scale "intelligent" systems both on the ground and in space. Her expertise spans natural language processing, computer vision, and generative Al, with deep focus areas including agentic workflows, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), context engineering, and large-scale model training and inference. Akanksha is passionate about translating cutting-edge research into practical solutions that drive real-world value. Jonathon Fraker is a Space Technology and National Security professional specializing in cloud-enabled space operations. At Amazon Web Services, he partners with the U.S. Space Force to implement mission-critical cloud solutions that enhance space operations capabilities. He has also developed new AWS space-edge services, delivering innovative solutions for both government and commercial missions. His expertise spans space mission management, ground systems architecture, and cloud technology integration for space and defense applications. During his tenure at Raytheon Technologies, he led FVEY space programs that pioneered cloud-based Mission Management systems. Jonathon focuses on advancing national space capabilities through commercial innovation, dedicating his career to empowering space and national security partners with transformative technologies.

From Gen. Burt's farewell reflections on the Space Force's future to an Airman celebrating his separation with a surf session in dress blues, this week's military headlines don't disappoint. We cover an Air Force veteran's bizarre felony sandwich assault case, the demotion of a 2-star general, and Congress pushing for more service dogs to support disabled veterans. Plus, Air Force Football reveals a sharp new F-16 alternate uniform, Fort Hood soldiers test out a new ID-based dining program, and we revisit the historic HMS Guerriere battle of 1812. https://lateforchangeover.com/

Send us a textWelcome back to the Team Room for another unapologetically savage drop of truth. Peaches tears into the Pentagon's new “Pete & Bobby Fitness Challenge,” part of the grand Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign—where SecDef Hegseth and RFK Jr. prove that apparently half the DoD still can't do a proper push-up. We hit the big headlines—warships flexing off Venezuela, the Air Force quietly firing its Chief of Staff, and Space Force building radars that can probably track the screw you lost in your garage.Expect rants on admin stupidity (keyboard warriors unite), the circus of leadership turnover, and why “fitness initiatives” look more like Instagram highlight reels than actual standards. If you wanted sanitized press releases, you wouldn't be here. This is the raw, unfiltered Ops Brief—served hot with a side of sarcasm.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Why your “training” doesn't count if it's sloppy 02:00 – MAHA Madness: Pete & Bobby Challenge, pull-ups, and push-up disasters 04:15 – Warships head to Venezuela: countering cartels or playing battleship? 05:30 – DoD's bright idea: “simplify” reserve duty (spoiler: they won't) 06:45 – Admin hell in SOF: Green Berets as the new keyboard warriors 08:00 – CSAF David Alvin told to retire—Pentagon musical chairs continues 09:05 – Bamboo Eagle certification: Peaches vs. acronyms 10:20 – Air Force C2 software rollout: shiny new stacks, same old problems 11:25 – Another Wyoming airman charged in a fatal shooting—weapon safety rant 12:45 – Space Force news: Delta 85 stands up, deep space radar flexes 13:50 – Shrever Wargame: sci-fi concepts sneak closer to reality 14:30 – Air Guard gets a Space Force transfer option—who's biting? 15:15 – DHA buyouts and Pentagon workforce trims 16:10 – AI office “demoted” to R&D—why this isn't the insult you think 17:00 – Pentagon batteries: drones, ships, and the logistics game 18:00 – Wrap-up: merch, memberships, and making sure you're actually ready

Send us a textThe Ones Ready crew is back in the team room with another unapologetic ops brief. Peaches kicks things off by dragging coneheads who fail day one fitness tests and then launches into the week's wild ride of military news. Marines get their obligatory “media hero” spotlight, the Army unveils another tilt-rotor science project (because clearly we learned nothing from the V-22), and Peaches calls for the resurrection of the mighty MH-53.From record female enlistments to the Space Force playing with quantum sensors (while the rest of us can't even get quantum computers), this episode goes from shade-throwing to straight-up “WTF are we doing?” moments. Add in an orbital aircraft carrier concept ripped straight from an Avengers script, PCS moves frozen by broke budgets, and a National Guard soldier stopping a mall assault—yeah, this one's got it all.If you want watered-down headlines, go watch the news. If you want sarcasm, blunt truth, and a reminder that sometimes the Pentagon makes decisions with a Magic 8-Ball—welcome to Ones Ready.⏱️ Timestamps:00:00 – Welcome to Ones Ready (and Peaches' selection rant) 01:15 – Sponsor shoutout: creatine gummies > failing day-one tests 02:05 – Marines deploy (cue dramatic news voice) 03:12 – Record female enlistments and why it matters 03:45 – 85 years of airborne—still jumping, still relevant 04:20 – National Guard soldier breaks up a mall assault 04:50 – Army rolls out tilt-rotor 2.0 (what could go wrong?) 06:15 – Bring back the MH-53, dammit 06:35 – Carrier Strike Group returns to San Diego 07:05 – Northern Edge 2025 flexing in Alaska 07:45 – $635M Army munitions buy—still not enough 08:40 – Air Force freezes PCS moves (again) 09:40 – F-16s get AR training goggles 10:15 – Indo-Pacific logistics exercise: “can we even move?” 10:45 – Hill AFB tests wartime readiness 11:15 – Space Force preps X-37 Bravo mission with quantum sensors 12:00 – Guardians get a new grooming standard (yes, seriously) 12:45 – Space Systems Delta activation 13:20 – Deep Space Radar keeps eyes on orbit 13:50 – GPS jamming and spoofing 101 15:15 – USAFA leadership drama and Lomer's visit 16:00 – Trump's NATO talksSupport the showJoin this channel to get access to perks: HEREBuzzsprout Subscription page: HERECollabs:Ones Ready - OnesReady.com 18A Fitness - Promo Code: ONESREADY ATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code): ATACLeteCardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADYDanger Close Apparel - Promo Code: ONESREADYDFND Apparel - Promo Code: ONESREADYHoist - Promo Code: ONESREADYKill Cliff - Pr...

What heights were reached at the Alaska meeting of The US and Russia? What depths have we reached in terms of digital life?  Topics include: Patreon project, Looking For Truth In All the Wrong Places, enemy combatants, Trump and Putin Alaska summit, bad audio with interpreter, peace, podcast imagery, red carpet, runway, fish avatars, gaining audience, optics, fighter jets, decline of American Empire, F35, Air Force, MIC was aerospace industry, B2 Stealth Bomber, world wars, tech advances bring new warfare, aviation, emerging technologies, AI, Space Force, communications, digital connectivity, internet, Global Propaganda Matrix, influence ops, Russian influence on elections a taboo idea, marketing bad ideas, shift in American power elite, internal war within MIC, government contracts, technocracy, martial law in DC, the Constitution in Libertarian propaganda, creation of domestic enemies, Neo Feudalism, Elon Musk, Ukraine, business, information warfare, justice, don't have to pretend to not be racist anymore, fooled by lowest common denominator

What does the Golden Dome and the plus-up in money for the Space Force and other defense-related space systems tell us about the Trump Administration's national defense strategy? And is it sustainable? Laura Winter speaks with Peter Garretson, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, and co-author of the book “The Next Space Race: A Blueprint for American Primacy”; and Sam Wilson, Director, Strategy and Program Support, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, at The Aerospace Corporation. Wilson's report, “FY 2026 Defense Space Budget: Emergence of Golden Dome”, can be found here: https://csps.aerospace.org/papers/fy-2026-defense-space-budget-emergence-golden-dome

Send us a textPeaches tears through the August 14th Daily Drop with zero fluff and plenty of side-eye. From the U.S. military flexing in the Caribbean and 800 Guard troops rolling into D.C., to the Space Force launching a GPS upgrade that's only five decades overdue, it's a buffet of defense news with extra sarcasm. We cover Pentagon IT projects that cost millions just to die on the vine, Nigeria's suspiciously expensive weapons buy, and why Instagram's new location tracker is basically a free gift to stalkers. Oh, and if you're gearing up for the Nashville Operator Training Summit, Peaches has your gear hookup—plus a warning about Coasties who don't like having their fun stolen.

Fox News star Maria Bartiromo rolled out yesterday another pathbreaking special on the Chinese Communist Party's unrestricted warfare against America.  This one features the Commander of U.S. Space Force, a developer of cutting-edge military technology and other experts assessing the PRC's ominous determination to beat us to the moon – and to use a base there to control access to it and the “cis-lunar” space in between and project power even here on earth.  A key contributor to the show is our colleague, Roger Robinson, who described in a powerful interview with Maria yesterday that – as with myriad other Chinese military programs – the CCP's weaponization of space is being enabled, in part, by unwitting U.S. investors. Mr. Robinson will be unveiling today a report detailing the extent, and dire implications, of this aspect of our insane underwriting of the enemy.  That must stop. This is Frank Gaffney.

Send us a textPeaches unloads on a wild week in defense news—DARPA drops the mic with the world's biggest real-time electronic warfare range, the U.S. throws pocket change at Panama's border, and NATO still cries poor while leaning on U.S. muscle. From AI-driven target tracking and new Air Force dorm “suites” that'll make Marines jealous, to Space Force finally cutting ties with Russian rocket engines, this episode swings between jaw-dropping tech and head-shaking policy moves. Oh, and we're apparently giving China our AI chips—because what could possibly go wrong? Strap in for sharp takes, a few laughs, and the kind of blunt commentary you won't hear from the Pentagon press office.

Send us a textPeaches kicks off this drop swinging at everything from the chaos in D.C. to the ridiculous idea that military academies ever needed race-based admissions. National Guard troops are back in the capital because apparently it's become Mad Max with monuments. Cyber interns get a salute for their terrifyingly cool hacking skills, a World War I badass gets long-overdue recognition, and Space Force is about to light off the Vulcan rocket like it's the Fourth of July. There's also some sharp-shooting at West Point, desert fun with the Marines, and a not-so-subtle reminder that your enemy doesn't give a damn about your DEI training—they just want you dead. Strap in.

In this episode of The Experimental Leader podcast, hosts Melanie Parrish and Mel Rutherford speak with Col. Bree Fram, one of the highest-ranking out transgender officers in the U.S. Space Force. Together, they explore the complexities of leading with authenticity, the unique strengths queer leaders bring to their work, and the emotional toll of being visible in challenging political times.From the superpowers of queer leadership to navigating misgendering in professional spaces, this conversation offers an unfiltered look at identity, advocacy, and the courage it takes to keep leading when the stakes are high.

Send us a textPeaches is back with your August 11 Ops Brief — and as always, the military circus doesn't disappoint. From the DoD's 76th birthday party (cake not included) to the Navy handing CENTCOM over like a hot potato, it's been a week. We hit the SkillsBridge hustle, Red Flag roaring over Nellis, Space Force flexing with upgraded sensors and a part-time gig option, and yes — a Guard Special Tactics Squadron in Tampa is on the way. Also, we cover why the X-37B space plane might be cooler than your favorite sci-fi movie. Buckle up — this is your unapologetic, caffeine-fueled sitrep.

Update on our week:    Daniel: 

Send us a textWelcome back to the Ones Ready team room, where Peaches kicks down the door with another unapologetic ops brief. We're starting off hot with Fort Bliss turning into a glorified detention center because, shocker, we're drowning in illegal immigration. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard just wrecked someone's narco empire by snatching up $88 million in drugs—casually dropped in San Diego like it's trash day.But the real jaw-dropper? Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 9/11's mastermind, pled guilty… to avoid the death penalty. Let that sink in. Mr. "I'll send people to blow themselves up for paradise" is too scared to face his own end. Punk move of the century. Peaches doesn't hold back, comparing him—and other cowardly leaders—to the same political class here at home. It's savage, and it's spot on.On the Air Force side, we've got nuclear microreactors going online in Alaska (because why not test clean energy near Russia), the PT test still killing people who dry-scoop pre-workout, and a whole lot of effort to look like we're “resilient” with energy security buzzwords. Also, surprise—transitioning service members just got denied early retirement pay. That's gonna stir the pot.Then there's Space Force. Yep, they're doing “Guardian Arena,” a Roman-gladiator-meets-tech-bro competition to prove they can actually sweat. Physical strength, mental agility, teamwork, and probably a whole lot of cosplay armor. Peaches is skeptical—but weirdly intrigued.It's all unfiltered, rapid-fire, and zero apologies. Let's go.

Ryan and Suzanne bring you the latest UFO and space-related news including:- Ross Coulthart's update on Lockheed Martin Tic Tac claims.- Lockheed Martin boasts a "magical" new aircraft.- Secretive U.S. Space Force mission announced.- Dr. Avi Loeb's controversial claims of NEW interstellar object alien threat.- Dr. Beatriz Villarroel's discovery of THOUSANDS of transient objects near Earth pre-date man-made satellites and could be a monitoring system.- Chuck Schumer's UAPDA still alive and the problems with it.- UFO "Whistleblower" warns others not to testify before Congress.- The future of the Somewhere in the Skies podcast.UAP Disclosure Fund's response to Mike Hererra: https://uapdisclosurefund.org/policy/classified-disclosuresPlease take a moment to rate and review us on Spotify and Apple.Book Ryan on CAMEO at: https://bit.ly/3kwz3DOPatreon: http://www.patreon.com/somewhereskiesByMeACoffee: http://www.buymeacoffee.com/UFxzyzHOaQPayPal: Sprague51@hotmail.comDiscord: https://discord.gg/NTkmuwyB4FBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ryansprague.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/SomewhereSkiesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/somewhereskiespod/Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryansprague51Order Ryan's new book: https://a.co/d/4KNQnM4Order Ryan's older book: https://amzn.to/3PmydYCStore: http://tee.pub/lic/ULZAy7IY12URead Ryan's articles at: https://medium.com/@ryan-sprague51Opening Theme Song by SeptembryoCopyright © 2025 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're breaking down Traveling Salesmen, the first episode in a two episode arch directed by Greg Daniels (Upload, Space Force). Greg sends in some amazing memories from this episode, the ladies give a little TV production crash course, and discuss those really fun character pairings. Then we get a hilarious laundry call back from The Coup (or should we say laundry and betrayal?), and the ladies share their memories of those Pam and Angela scenes in the coffee shop. Finally, we get a Dwangela Heartbreak In The Break Room moment with a song submitted by Michelle Ferguson.   Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion  Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod Follow Us on YouTube Follow Us on TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send us a textPeaches is back with your August 1st daily drop—after fighting his microphone and allergies like a true professional. He breaks down the latest military absurdities: an M18 that might go bang on its own, $800 million more to Ukraine (because why not), and bomber nostalgia getting its moment in the spotlight. From Air Force weapon inspections to Space Force getting ghosted on funding (again), this episode covers all the headlines that matter—plus a rant or two. Also, the Operator Training Summit in Nashville is coming up, so quit dragging your feet and get on board.

Send us a textPeaches dives headfirst into the DoD's latest chaos buffet—$5.4 billion budget reshuffles, fighter jet production whiplash, and the Air Force playing safety dad with the M18 pistol. Meanwhile, cartel operatives are heading to Ukraine for drone training (because why the hell not), and a Swedish ISIS fanatic gets clocked for war crimes. Toss in some missileer cancer cleanup, a grounded Skyraider II PA scandal, and a missing sailor off the USS George Washington… and you've got yourself a full-blown geopolitical migraine. Don't worry—we made it snarky, so you don't have to cry.

Send us a textIn today's daily drop, Peaches blasts through the latest ops headlines like a Hellfire through a Toyota Hilux. From exposing our hilariously thin missile reserves to roasting tech bros whose drones crumble outside PowerPoint presentations, this one's a full-body workout in situational awareness. AFRICOM's been busy lighting up Somalia, the National Guard's turning Northern Michigan into a drone graveyard, and Space Force is slinging lasers and quantum gadgets into orbit like it's Star Wars cosplay. Meanwhile, Air Force Global Strike Command promises a “seamless” transition—LOL—and another Humvee goes full NASCAR in Wyoming. Also, Tricare might finally stop fleecing military families for having adult kids. That's not just news, that's a miracle. Buckle up, team. This episode's got more truth than a cleared EPR.

Send us a textStrap in, because this “daily drop” is a full-throttle rollercoaster of Pentagon absurdity and global WTFs. From promoting a former Space Force whistleblower to Under Secretary of the Air Force, to blowing $200M on a border wall while ignoring busted pistols and flood victims—this episode doesn't pull punches. Peaches goes off on political aircraft pork, war with China (spoiler: lots of body bags), and the Space Force's asteroid defense ambitions. Oh, and yes, Pizza Cat is alive and well. You're welcome, internet.