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Rexia t1_itu14jn wrote

What's preparing for war with Russia like? 30 minutes of activity and then the rest of the day off?

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Deevilknievel t1_itu1wnl wrote

"It is a real change," said Lieutenant Cordan Mackenzie, 27, one of the F18 pilots on board. Her call sign is 'Big Poppa'.

"Most of the time what we are doing, it feels like training, it feels like a game but you come out here and have intel [intelligence] briefings and you fly missions with NATO allies and it really solidifies how real the things that we do in the world are and how important our mission set is: having a presence here in the Adriatic and having the US work with our NATO allies to make sure the world knows we are still a power to be reckoned with."

She, and her fellow aviators, face the possibility of one day being ordered to fight in air-to-air combat against the Russians should tensions escalate significantly.

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taggospreme t1_itu4vun wrote

I wonder if she loves it when people call her 'Big Poppa'

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Bareen t1_itw2jo6 wrote

I bet she has entered a room more than once and someone starts playing Biggie Smalls.

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[deleted] t1_itx0tkf wrote

[deleted]

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haimez t1_itxuyj0 wrote

That’s not really relevant when talking about military aircraft deployments. Quantity and quality, both for the aircraft themselves and in terms of air defense- Russia hasn’t been able to even go toe to toe with Ukraine.

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