My YouTube Channel

The raw on board footage + communications, without annoying background music, made your videos unique! :thumbup:

I really hope you change your mind and re-activate your channel (if possible). Don't let a few numnuts spoil this for everyone please

The raw on board footage + communications, without annoying background music, made your videos unique! :thumbup:

 

I really hope you change your mind and re-activate your channel (if possible). Don't let a few numnuts spoil this for everyone please

+1!

Sad to hear this. But if you are sure that nothing was violated, every video was approved. What are you afraid of? The rest of the community would support you.

It's not as simple as it may seem on the first glance. He simply does not want to take any chances of having problems because of the videos he posted - eventhough the videos have been pre-approved and shown no classified information.

In short: My guess is, he didn't think it was worth the hassle, and I completely understand his decision (though I will really miss his videos which were very insightful, especially to us, virtual Hornet drivers).

Mr. Brett,

Sorry for the inconvenience you had. Thank you for the videos you posted and hope to see you around these forums. :)

Don't mind the trolls. As you correctly noticed, they are the minority, albeit a loud one (unfortunately).

Sad to hear this. But if you are sure that nothing was violated, every video was approved. What are you afraid of? The rest of the community would support you.

If you know the videos are fine then why take your channel down? It’s a sad fact that if you do anything worthwhile on the internet you’ll attract a vocal minority of idiots who will say and threaten a whole bunch of nonsense. Most of them are 12 year old boys with nothing better to do with their time, the action is simple, block and move on.

 

Shame to hear you’ve given into them :/

Sad to hear this. But if you are sure that nothing was violated, every video was approved. What are you afraid of? The rest of the community would support you.

If you know the videos are fine then why take your channel down? It’s a sad fact that if you do anything worthwhile on the internet you’ll attract a vocal minority of idiots who will say and threaten a whole bunch of nonsense. Most of them are 12 year old boys with nothing better to do with their time, the action is simple, block and move on.

 

Shame to hear you’ve given into them :/

Thank you to everyone. To answer the quoted posts above, the reason I took it down even though I knew I did nothing wrong was because the prospect of an investigation into me was not worth it. The threats were not to simply notify YouTube, but to notify officials in the government. I considered the first few of these to be a nuisance, but as more and more occurred, I could not take the chance that one of these crusaders would actually follow through. Again, although I had nothing to hide, an investigation from the authorities would not only be bothersome, but a long drawn out and intrusive process (to put it lightly).

I hope that clarifies things.

Edit: apologize for the duplicate set of quotes.

I called this months ago to the guys in my Squadron when I first seen your videos, which I why I instantly downloaded a few of them for future reference.

Sadly we live in a world where this kind of stuff is too good to be true, I knew someone would come along and ruin this for us.

Thank you so much for giving us a glimpse into your world sir, myself and thousands of others watched your videos with open mouthed admiration and it was amazing to get to go along for the ride, you guys are our rock / sport stars!

Hopefully this won't be the last we see of you and we could possibly get some DCS content out of you in future.

Thank you for your service!

If you know the videos are fine then why take your channel down? It’s a sad fact that if you do anything worthwhile on the internet you’ll attract a vocal minority of idiots who will say and threaten a whole bunch of nonsense. Most of them are 12 year old boys with nothing better to do with their time, the action is simple, block and move on.

 

Shame to hear you’ve given into them :/

Several comments like this one...the problem is NOT that some people (and companies) “give in” to the trolls and the lawsuit-happy, but because one has to choose their battles.

The investigation panels and the courts are generally of the highest quality, seeking truth and fairness, BUT there are exceptions, especially when the lawyers, officers, and/or judges are out trying hard to pad their List of Conquests in order to get that next promotion (or election).

It’s all well and good to stand up to trolls and suits, but what are the risks one faces when doing so? Are those risks truly worth it, when “showing duly authorized fun videos” is on the one hand, and “losing my source of income for an extended time while I defend these fun videos” on the other?

This also runs the risk of losing one’s family, and if the chicanery of unethical lawyers, officers, and judges (yes, they do exist) succeed, then you might be facing jail time and/or fines.

Please don’t criticize the decision to abstain from the so-called “Good Fight”, because just like there are those who don’t know what is or is not classified, many don’t know just what is involved in a courtroom fight.

Like Wags said ..."that .01%" ruins it for everyone." Sorry to see your channel go, I really enjoyed your content.

Youtube (and other, unmoderated so called social media comments) are like the smear on the walls of public toilets that legitimate content providers have to run from. How sad.

So sorry to see this channel removed, and shame on the busy bodies that ruined it for the rest of us.......

How depressing.

Maybe load the videos up some where else?

Noooooo. I had one of your videos bookmarked to enjoy later. I should have known better. Sorry about that.

Like others, I had just recently come across your channel. Great stuff. Sorry to hear of this, but understand your reasoning. Thank you for your service!

Wow this is nuts, sorry you had to deal with that. As you can see the community stands behind you and against such silly trolling. I can understand your decision and respect it, any kind of investigation is a huge deal for anyone no matter in which country. "I have nothing to hide" is never the problem with that, as can anyone tell you that has ever had to deal with bureaucracy.

But as a civi (and not even american) might I ask if content like that might be released through other means that don't leave you exposed?

For example a veteran organisation, reputed aviation club or something like that. Sorry if this question is naive or ignorant, I really don't know about structures like that in the US. And I really hope I am not sounding pushy, please let me explain my reasoning.

Generally, this type of trolling could affect a lot of people, now and in the future. What is to stop the next guy to get into the same trouble? What if there is other forms of harassment?

For example somebody noted automated content systems, I can totally see people trying to abuse such systems to systematically shut channels/content down. But they could also pick out individuals/or groups and make trouble for them in varied (and sophisticated) ways.

Reasons could be like here from: "I am a armchair general and you are violating law!" via "My module was not made/bugfixed by my dev" to "You killed me last night on the server X"

Fact is in modern times people can screw with you more than ever and this is one of those prime examples. Even the threat of setting some kind of goverment giant on you is enough to make you take a breath(rightfully). But there is even a lot more that people could do, I don't want to give anyone ideas here, but let's just say it's more trouble than signing up someones email to spam or ordering lot's of unwanted pizza to your house.

Maybe a good thing about this whole thing is, that we all could think about scenarios where a small minority can negatively affect the community and how we can better deal with or even counteract it. One thing, that I can already see working great is solidarity and support with victims of such actions.

Sorry if I missed something (I went through this thread in overdrive!)

If I understand the drill correctly... you get approvals from "higher ups" before posting the vids. I'm sure that's the rule, isn't it? Once you have it your butt is covered.

Or... is it one of these social media "things" that are terrorizing free speech communities around the world... then again, you don't speak too much, you just fly! lol

I'm sure I'm missing something here... it's common for me:D

Sad to hear this... especially since I didn't manage to watch everything, actually I've just seen a few of those brilliant videos and was going to watch more which I can't now thanks to "that .01%" which "ruins it for everyone"

Would disabling the comments section be a reasonable solution? Of course I respect whatever you decide, but still sad to see the trolls win. Really enjoyed your content, buddy!

Was my first thought as well...

Thank you to everyone. To answer the quoted posts above, the reason I took it down even though I knew I did nothing wrong was because the prospect of an investigation into me was not worth it. The threats were not to simply notify YouTube, but to notify officials in the government. I considered the first few of these to be a nuisance, but as more and more occurred, I could not take the chance that one of these crusaders would actually follow through. Again, although I had nothing to hide, an investigation from the authorities would not only be bothersome, but a long drawn out and intrusive process (to put it lightly).

... but this sadly shows what "humanity" really is

I could throw another suggestion in though: Make those videos private and give us the links here. But just now I reckon that might just feed the trolls. Why hide the stuff when it's alright?

Such a bummer...

Everybody,

 

For those that are aware of my YouTube channel, you may have noticed that it no longer exists. I have come here to tell you why.

 

My videos contained POV footage of flight ops in the Hornet. Everything from preflight and startup to landing and shutdown were covered (both on land and on the ship). My channel was generally enjoyed by viewers, and once JAR had posted a video where he interviewed me, my channel went viral. I was gaining around 2000 subscribers per week. I was passionate about it. I was very excited to share my videos and answer questions in the comments. I was sad to take it down just prior to reaching 10,000 subscribers.

 

There were a handful of individuals who posted comments on various videos of mine that claimed my videos were security violations, opsec violations, and out right revealed classified material. That could not be further from the truth. Regardless, some of these individuals went as far as to say that they would be contacting the authorities. Needless to say, although I had nothing to hide this was not a battle I was interested in fighting.

 

GoPro videos such as the ones I posted are recorded with prior permission. Additionally, they are reviewed to ensure they did not capture anything they aren’t supposed to. I have no interest in going to jail nor do I have interest in giving up American secrets by revealing capabilities that I shouldn’t. Everybody needs to realize that people don’t go recklessly posting things that are classified. Those without a security clearance (or even those that do but aren’t in Naval Aviation) simply don’t know what is classified/sensitive and what isn’t. It may seem to you that aircraft carrier flight ops fall into that category, but they don’t. It is not for you to decide either.

 

I have spent my career flying Hornets, Super Hornets, and the F-35C. I understand security and classification. YouTube commenters do not. I should also add that other Hornet drivers that post GoPro videos to their channel abide by the same restrictions I did. We simply do not post anything sensitive.

 

This is not meant to be an attack on all of you. Virtually everybody here has been a GREAT supporter and I enjoyed answering your questions on my channel. However, there may be a few of you that think you know more about this topic than the actual pilots. I’m here to tell that tiny minority that you don’t. I’d also ask that if you see somebody posting something like that, that you don’t reinforce their comments.

 

Bottom line: real pilots are not uploading things they aren’t supposed to. To that very tiny minority, please don’t raise the suspicion flag on them if you think otherwise. You simply don’t know.

 

Thank you.

Gregory,

Thanks for letting us know the deal, I just want to let you know that I really appreciated your videos and am sad to see them gone. They were a great look into the life of a fight pilot and provided very useful information. My son, who wants to be a fighter pilot, really enjoyed them as well.

I hope to see more videos in the future. It's unfortunate that social media becomes a haven for those that are misinformed and only provide nastiness.

Thanks,

John

Bummer, Greg!! Sorry that happened. Thanks for sharing when and what you did.

Oh man, this stinks! Well, thank you for your service and sharing what videos you could. I appreciated and enjoyed them greatly as they were a realistic and professional look at the life of a fighter pilot. I fully understand your reasoning for getting rid of your channel and I am saddened that you have to deal with this.

Maybe you can find another way to display your videos such as on these forums...Never give up, never surrender!

Sorry if I missed something (I went through this thread in overdrive!)

 

If I understand the drill correctly... you get approvals from "higher ups" before posting the vids. I'm sure that's the rule, isn't it? Once you have it your butt is covered.

Or... is it one of these social media "things" that are terrorizing free speech communities around the world... then again, you don't speak too much, you just fly! lol

I'm sure I'm missing something here... it's common for me:D

Yeah, I'm not sure if I understand what the need is, he's run these up the flagpole and been anointed with official approval. Unless something has changed since I was active these kinds of videos were not just tolerated but encouraged because they make everyone look good and making everyone look good never goes out of style. The OP has been doing that if he's been doing anything.

I watched every one of these vids in sequence and it taught me a great deal. I thought they were very professional and I also accepted the fact that these must have been approved by superiors.

For the minority that forced this closure of a great and informative series of vids - shame on you!

So sorry Greg, really feel for you and your endeavor to help this community.

Sorry if I missed something (I went through this thread in overdrive!)

 

If I understand the drill correctly... you get approvals from "higher ups" before posting the vids. I'm sure that's the rule, isn't it? Once you have it your butt is covered.

Or... is it one of these social media "things" that are terrorizing free speech communities around the world... then again, you don't speak too much, you just fly! lol

I'm sure I'm missing something here... it's common for me:D

He explained the reasons.

I don't think anyone, of any rank or any service, would like to have ANY investigation on them. This is not a civilian enterprise! The outcomes can be disasterous to one's own career, the rankers around you, your superiors and possibly higher up should some arm of the gov't or military wish to make an issue for various reasons. Even if you are in the right.

Like Greg said - "It's not worth it."

Ya you gotta pick your battles. I get it. Sorry to hear this happened.

Enjoyed your videos. Thanks.

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest the nether regions of those that opposed your fine work.

Sorry if I missed something (I went through this thread in overdrive!)

 

If I understand the drill correctly... you get approvals from "higher ups" before posting the vids. I'm sure that's the rule, isn't it? Once you have it your butt is covered.

Or... is it one of these social media "things" that are terrorizing free speech communities around the world... then again, you don't speak too much, you just fly! lol

I'm sure I'm missing something here... it's common for me:D

The video's are all OK possibly.

You just don't want or need enough people thinking they need to flag them and maybe getting too much attention and looked at.

TheDevildogGamer ran into trouble just using the marines emblem in the startup and has to slowly go through and remove them all, in a set amount of time iirc. Real mess....

It's just more attention that you really need from the authorities and if contacted enough, they will go over them with a microscope potentially.

One of those who enjoyed your videos. It is a shame your channel had to go down but does that mean we would not be seeing other less intrusive videos or comments from you again? I hope not.