Ops Brief 076: Daily Drop - 16 July 2025 ($300M Barracks, Broken Drones, and Busted Tankers)

Hope you packed your sense of humor and a fire extinguisher—because this episode scorches everything from overpriced moldy barracks in Guam to the Pentagon ghosting Aspen like it’s a bad Tinder date. Jared runs down the biggest WTFs across the Department of Defense with a tactical blend of sarcasm and salt. We’re talking billions for broken plumbing, drones that can’t hang in Alaska, the F-35 backlog (finally) clearing, and a KC-46 that decided midair was the perfect time for a wardrobe malfunction. Plus, the Air Force tries fashion policing again (no more eyelash extensions, folks), Space Force dreams of relevancy, and China continues its “quantity over quality” military glow-up. Also, Nashville OTS is coming—bring your snorkel and your ruck.

🔥 Key Takeaways:

Moldy, condemned-looking barracks at Andersen AFB getting a $300M taxpayer makeover
Commercial drones flopped in Alaska—apparently GPS jamming is still a thing
Lockheed's F-35s finally unclogged from the TR-3 software backlog
Pentagon says “nah” to Aspen because it smelled too much like globalism
The KC-46 had a mid-air boom shredding incident (but hey, it landed!)
House blocks Wedgetail cancellation—your AWACS 2.0 is safe
Air Force bans eyelash extensions (finally a real threat neutralized)
Space Force wants $30M for TACSRT and reveals its very serious international BFF plan
China is building jets faster than we can pay Lockheed to fix software
Nashville Operator Training Summit is locked and loaded for October
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Jared’s sarcastic intro & Nashville OTS plug
01:00 – Why A&S is about raw materials, not finished products
02:06 – $300M barracks reno for Guam’s mold palace
03:30 – Why military construction = legalized contractor robbery
04:00 – Transcom tries to unfuck cyber and info ops
04:45 – F-35 backlog cleared (sort of), TR-3 delays explained
05:40 – Drone failure in Alaska shows U.S. is behind
06:30 – DoD admits to 2 civilian deaths in 2024 ops
07:00 – National Guard withdraws from LA, Gavin Newsom throws shade
07:30 – Pentagon bails on Aspen, claims apolitical innocence
08:00 – Marines host Pacific symposium in Manila
08:34 – B-52s land in Guam and… that’s news?
09:00 – House blocks E-7 cancellation—big win for AEW nerds
09:30 – KC-46 boom shredded, emergency landing triggered
10:00 – Resolute Force Pacific launches with 300+ aircraft
10:45 – New AFI uniform update drops (bye lashes, hi boots)
11:20 – Space Force TACSRT and “fragile” U.S. space power
12:00 – New strategy to not suck at space diplomacy
12:45 – Resolute Space 2025 kicks off with 700 Guardians
13:00 – German court laughs off drone strike complaint
13:30 – Japan says China = biggest threat (no kidding)
14:30 – China’s J-20 production is scary—even if they're knock-offs
15:00 – Wrap-up, member update, and Jared’s send-off

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