Signal Chat Leak Angers U.S. Military Pilots
81 comments
·March 28, 2025Loic
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JohnTHaller
Trump doesn't know the definition of the word humility. And he's brought in loyalists that work the same way. Their initial defense was 'are you going to believe a Demoncrat?!?'
ThisRealLife
[flagged]
rl3
It's great to see a retired Tomcat driver interviewed for this article. For those unaware, the F-14 was featured in Top Gun and is an absolutely iconic aircraft that's no longer flying [in the US military].
That pilot's quote sets the stage in a way that confers an almost timeless quality.
gukov
That quote can be applied to so many areas in life.
Also, a Tomcat “driver?” Is that a thing?
rl3
>That quote can be applied to so many areas in life.
Couldn't agree more.
>Also, a Tomcat “driver?” Is that a thing?
Yup:
https://www.quora.com/I-am-told-that-an-F-15-pilot-was-calle...
To qualify, my usage of the term was intended with nothing but respect.
It also sounds cool as hell (IMHO), in similar vein to "gunslinger".
red-iron-pine
> Also, a Tomcat “driver?” Is that a thing?
yes. F-14s were 2-seater cockpits and there was a radar/weapons officer and a pilot.
one person drove the bus and the other honked the horn.
alabastervlog
> Also, a Tomcat “driver?” Is that a thing?
Air Force nerd slang.
[edit] and I guess also naval aviator slang if they use it, too.
defrost
Oh, yeah .. humble brag from one side, dragging on show ponies from the other.
https://old.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/p2joju/whats_the_...
There is no military position immune to dragging.
RobRivera
Yes
dttze
Iran still flies F-14s.
rl3
Good point. Updated my original comment, thanks.
In fact, they made the news a couple weeks ago:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-spy-drone-retre...
It's admittedly bizarre to have our old aircraft operated by a foreign adversary that's supposedly intercepting our newer, unmanned aircraft.
cess11
Is it really bizarre, though? Between 1953 and 1979 Iran was a US vassal dictatorship, I think it would have been more bizarre for the revolutionaries to destroy the military equipment they came in possession of.
The "spy drone" is likely MQ-9, which is large, slow and somewhat clunky, and routinely shot down by the Yemeni Air Force.
JumpCrisscross
The wild thing to consider is how entirely fucked we are if we're actually attacked in our current state. It's clear the DoD is rudderless. So is our IC. Our military-industrial complex hasn't gotten the ketamine treatment yet, but that seems to be imminent.
watwut
I suspect they want that one to work while they do not want others to work. Military already got less qualified loyalists placed on leadership positions and experienced skilled people were let go.
But they won't do the mass firings designed to incapacitate it.
JumpCrisscross
> they won't do the mass firings designed to incapacitate it
Pilots are among our most highly-trained warfighters. They have ample opportunity in industry. And they're smart. If SecDef is guiding counterfire to your takeoffs (and then finding himself unable to apologise for it) you will reconsider whether what you're doing is the best use of your life.
The explicit aim of DOGE was demotivation. That's exactly what this debacle has done.
bradydjohnson
The ketamine treatment?
amingilani
Ketamine implies Musk which implies DOGE.
It’s a play on the rumours that Musk abuses his ketamine prescription. Note that I’m not advocating for the rumours. Merely explaining.
AlecSchueler
I think they mean vastly reduced in size and scope by DOGE, since Mr Musk is apparently doing all of his government work in a state of ketamine induced mania.
sitkack
There were some other guys that famously got a lot done on stimulants.
clort
The person driving the destruction of the government services in the USA is apparently self identified as a heavy ketamine user.
chneu
Musk takes so much ketamine that his mental abilities are clearly impaired, let alone his physical health(long term k use has a bunch of serious health issues).
Elon's ketamine abuse is well documented. He's also boasted about taking it.
Freedumbs
[dead]
rimeice
Dw, more guns than people, it will be fine.
travisgriggs
Enswampification.
I’d write a witty blog article about it if I had one.
rl3
In keeping with F-14 discussion, this submission just disappeared off the main page faster than the U.S.S. Nimitz going back in time to December 6th, 1941.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Countdown_(film)
I like to think this development will inadvertently alter the course of history such a way that it manages to make HN less censored.
nickpp
I wonder how the US military will react when they will be ordered to attack a previously friendly nation like Canada or Greenland, or to help and support a previous enemy like Russia in its wars against Europe.
JumpCrisscross
> wonder how the US military will react when they will be ordered to attack a previously friendly nation like Canada or Greenland
Same way the Department of Justice did [1][2]. The honourable ones step down. Eventually, someone obeys.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Massacre
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_U.S._Department_of_Justic...
justlikereddit
Same way as when they bombed water sanitation and other vital civilian infrastructure or weddings.
"Yeee-haw america fuck yeah"
Maybe it is finally dawning on the murricans themselves that they really are the assholes the rest of the world think of them as
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF
One of my favorite fictional characters is Sam Becker from Far Cry 3. He is the son of a US Navy SEAL who was stationed in Germany, which is circumstantially why he speaks German fluently and English with a very heavy German accent while still being a True American Patriot.
Playing through the story, the player will get a mission to burn a farm (for reasons I don't remember) with Sam's help. This culminates in a large explosion that sets most of the farm ablaze, with Sam Becker yelling in his thick, German accent, "Fuck yeah! America!" while the player character drives away from the scene. (This particular moment was hilarious to me, hence why I like the character.)
This administration really puts a spotlight on that character. But not in a funny way.
blooalien
> I wonder how the US military will react when they will be ordered to attack a previously friendly nation like Canada or Greenland, or to help and support a previous enemy like Russia in its wars against Europe.
I wonder how they'll react when ordered to attack American citizens on American soil just because they offended Trump's fragile ego or psychotic xenophobia. Judges, journalists, protestors, "gays", anyone with brown skin? Here's hoping they'll refuse, but who really knows for sure?
aceazzameen
We have a front row seat to see how it all played out in Germany a century ago. It gives us a better understanding of how people cowardly and pathetically turned on each other and their neighbors. Hopefully the end doesn't have the same conclusion (except for Germany losing of course). It's up to everyone here and now to make a difference in how this nonsense plays out.
PeterStuer
Ask Germany.
Jtsummers
kragen
That just says "We've updated our terms" for me and invites me to consent to a contract of adhesion.
jwilber
Link works fine for me, thanks op.
Hegseth’s consequence free, ego-first behavior is about what one would expect from a talking head turned secretary of defense. So much for merit.
Jtsummers
Strange. I haven't seen that notice with those links before.
ThisRealLife
Our only ally is Russia and we've got a whistle blower including journalists on classified group chats. I'd imagine any remaining Americans are angry.
kragen
More trustworthy link: https://archive.fo/cxvG2
Arnt
Going to kill someone… the messages said there was a spy there, someone who watched a target go into a building (and not leave). Is that spy still alive?
jmisavage
This reminds me of the old military phrase "different spanks for different ranks". The higher up in the chain of command the less consequences you have.
Any enlisted person or junior officer would lose their job and face federal charges.
For me, the best part of the article, this applies in so many places in life. And of course, I am guilty too.
“The whole point about aviation safety is that you have to have the humility to understand that you are imperfect, because everybody screws up. Everybody makes mistakes,” said Lt. John Gadzinski, a retired Navy F-14 pilot who flew combat missions from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. “But ultimately, if you can’t admit when you’re wrong, you’re going to kill somebody because your ego is too big.”