Where have all the fighter pilots gone?

[RED]

From a former marine fighter pilot.

We used to teach each other close order drill on the dance floor at MCRD Sdiego until we could not stand up any longer. Then our wives would take us home...

Subject: Where Have All The Fighter Pilots Gone?

A lot of truth in this article...

We used to go to the Officers Club or NCO Club Stag Bar on Friday afternoons to drink, smoke and swap lies with our comrades. Think about this when you read the rest of the letter below.

What happened to our Air Force............. (or Military)?

Drinking then became frowned on. Smoking caused cancer and could"harm you." Stag bars became seen as 'sexist'. Gradually, our men quit patronizing their clubs because what happened in the club became fodder for a performance report. It was the same thing at the Airman's Club and the NCO and/or Top 3 clubs. Now we don't have separate clubs for the ranks.

Instead we have something called All Ranks Clubs or community clubs. They're open to men and women of all ranks....from airman basic to general officer. Still, no one is there. Gee, I wonder why. The latest brilliant thought out of Washington is that the operators ("pilots?") flying remote aircraft in combat areas from their plush desk at duty stations in Nevada or Arizona should draw the same combat pay as those real world pilots actually on board a plane in a hostile environment. More politically correct logic?

They say that remote vehicle operators are subject to the same stress levels as the combat pilot actually flying in combat. ----- REALLY...you're crazy!!!???

Now that I've primed you a little, read on.

There are many who will agree with these sentiments, but they apply to more than just fighter pilots. Unfortunately, the ones with the guts to speak up or push for what they believe in are beaten down by the "system."

Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in the following text - supposedly, Secretary Gates has a force beating the bushes to learn who wrote this....

Where have all the fighter pilots gone? Good Question!

Here is a rant from a retired fighter pilot that is worth reading:

It is rumored that our current Secretary of Defense recently asked the question, "Where are all the dynamic leaders of the past?" I can only assume, if that is true, that he was referring to Robin Olds, Jimmy Doolittle, Patton, Ike, Boyington, Nimitz, etc.?

Well, I've got the answer:

They were fired before they made Major! Our nation doesn't want those kinds of leaders anymore. Squadron commanders don't run squadrons and wing commanders don't run wings. They are managed by higher ranking morons with other esoteric goals in mind.

Can you imagine someone today looking for a LEADER to execute that Doolittle Raid and suggesting that it be given to a dare-devil boozer. His only attributes: he had the respect of his men, an awesome ability to fly, and the organizational skills to put it all together? If someone told me there was a chance in hell of selecting that man today, I would tell them they were either a liar or dumber than dirt.

I find it ironic that the Air Force put Brigadier General Robin Olds on the cover of the company rag last month.

While it made me extremely proud to see his face, he wouldn't make it across any base in America (or overseas) without ten enlisted folks telling him to zip up his flight suit, get rid of the cigarette, and shave his mustache off.

I have a feeling that his response would be predictable and for that crime he would probably get a trip home and an Article 15. We have lost the war on rugged individualism and that, unfortunately, is what fighter pilots want to follow; not because they have to but because they respect leaders of that ilk. We've all run across that leader that made us proud to follow him because you wanted to be like him and make a difference. The individual who you would drag your testicles through glass for rather than disappoint him.

We better wake the hell up! We're asking our young men and women to go to really terrible places; some with unbearable climates, never have a drink, have little or no contact with the opposite sex, not look at magazines of a suggestive nature of any type, and adhere to ridiculous regs that require you to tuck your shirt into your PT uniform on the way to the porta-potty at night, in a blinding dust storm, because it's a uniform.

These people we're sending to combat are some of the brightest I've met but they are looking for a little sanity, which they will only find on the outside if we don't get a friggin' clue. You can't continue asking people to live for months or years at a time acting like nuns and priests.

Hell, even they get to have a beer!

Who are we afraid of offending? The guys that already hate us enough to strap C-4 to their own bodies and walk into a crowd of us? Think about it.

I'm extremely proud of our young men and women who continue to serve. I'm also very in tune with what they are considering for the future and I've got news for whoever sits in the White House, Congress, and our so-called military leaders. Much talent has and will continue to hemorrhage from our services, because wanna-be warriors are tired of fighting on two fronts - - one with our enemies, another against our lack of common sense. Take it or leave it.... that's just the way it is, no If's and's or butt's...................

[tford (OFC)]

Simple Red, "Tail Hook 92," that was a very good start on ruining the military, and they have progressed from there!

[John Sukey]

And the woman pilot who complained knew damm well what goes on at Tailhook but she chose to attend.

[Guamsst]

We had a sensor operator in my class at the NCO Academy. He got real upset and pointed out it was "NOT A VIDEO GAME" I asked him if he had ever had to barrel roll his control room to avoid AA fire....LOL Then when he gave the speech on his job at the end of the course I asked who had the high score.

Yes, they do have to kill people and there is stress but I don't think you deserve wings if you sit in a chair on the ground and I don't think you deserve full flight pay unless you take full flight risks.

As to the club on base. Around 1996 I was kicked out of the club on base at Aviano Italy. I was sober enough to still have my bearings and I asked the manager why? Did I break something? Did I pick a fight? Did I offend a woman with something I did? Did I puke on the bar? ....Her answer "no, you didn't do anything like that, but you are drunk" My response "This is a bar isn't it?"

I did do two things long before they kicked me out. 1 I was very tired from jet lag so I layed my head on the counter in the bathroom for a minute. Someone said I had "passed out". But I rinsed my face and left before they came in to get the guy who "passed out"

Second, These @#$! IDIOTS had rolling swivel chairs at the bar. that's a sobriety test in itself. Anyways, as I went to sit down my buddy pulled the chair out from under me and I only caught the edge so it went sailing across the bar spinning all the way.

Between the time these things happened and the time I was kicked out, I had sat relatively quietly with my friends for a good half hour, told the bartender not to serve me anymore alcohol and asked if they had any coffee because I was soo tired. All of which the bartender explained to the manager. Which tell me that even in 1996 getting drunk at a bar was horribly offensive to the sensitive little @#$! creampuffs in charge that want to play military these days.

The good news was they decided I was too drunk to walk home safely so they called Security Forces who gave us all a free ride to the hotel.

I do not go to the club at all now and despite the push for participation I don't recommend any of my troops go either. It is generally only a place to get in trouble for having a good time.

[Guamsst]

For years I have been plagued by the idea of our new sensitive military. No smoking, No more than 3 drinks in a night, No smokeless tobacco, No cussing, Don't offend anyone no matter how weak and delicate they are. I have heard commanders talk about how there is no joy in HAVING to kill our enemies. WELL $@#% you Colonel Prissy Panties, it is a JOY and A PRIVILAGE to kill our enemies. That is how we keep them from taking over our country, cutting off our heads and raping our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.

We now engage in "shows of force" with our bombers. NO!!! Shows of force are an oppurtunity for our enemies to escape and regroup. Only the USE OF FORCE can defeat them. We are no longer fighting nations and militaries. WE are fighting criminals, psycopaths and zealots. Now our soldiers are told to release non uniformed combatants captured on the battlefield and then they are tried for killing those people instead of releasing them so they can attack us again. Thank you for that brilliant maneuvre "NAPOLEAN"

ARRRGH I need to go smash something This hippy PC crap has me too wound up.

[Weasel]

The military has turned into a social experment for the liberal left to play with. I recently read some were that there isn’t a carrier air wing in the navy that can pass an operational readiness inspection now. Tail hook did more damage than the Japanese could ever have done. No one will ever convince me that those women who were there in 92 didn’t know what they were getting into. One day we will pay the price for all of this and it will come much faster than we expect. There will be no second chance like in WW2, it will be over in a matter of several days not years.

[Marine A5 Sniper]

You guys think the problem applies only to the air wing? I spent a few days on base at Camp LeJeune with our elite Marine snipers. I came away dismayed and disgusted. No saluting officers. No marching in formation. No one in the barracks except me and the other two guests and a guy traveling through. No access to weapons except to clean them once a month. No weekly practice with your TO weapon. Officers were kind and gently, and I watched one (a Major) help us police the range one afternoon. No weekly issue of free practice ammo. No cursing recruits. Worst of all, the guys running the school, and for their sakes I won't mention their names, all stated they will not re-up. Why? Because they spend a disproportionate amount of time before disciplinary bodies answering complaints filed by students. Got a student who sleeps in class? Better wake him gently, or you get filed on for physical abuse.

Some of these guys have more combat time than my father, who fought in WWII. They ask for nothing but the right to be a Marine as history has portrayed a Marine. They are denied and harassed at every turn. One Gunny told me he only feels comfortable in a combat zone, but in many cases he must ask permission to discharge his weapon to engage the enemy.

I don't know what happened to my Marine Corps, but it wasn't Tailhook 92. I left Stoney Point with a sick feeling that we are in dire trouble if we ever engage an enemy like Russia in a prolonged war. We have lost our Iron Man Lee personalities in the Corps. Even in my day, I knew my Staff NCO's wouldn't hesitate one second to engage me in a brisk round of fisticuffs if I didn't do as told. I also knew no one would report such engagement. They were men who I didn't hesitate to follow into the gates of hell (and we did at times), and when they told me to do something, I did it because I knew they had been in my shoes and didn't hesitate.

Men follow men in combat because they don't want to be shamed. No man in his right mind wants to walk down a jungle trail ahead of all his companions knowing those in front of him are armed and waiting to kill him. You do it because you don't want those men behind you to know how fricking terrified you are. You put on your war face and go in the company of real men. And we are losing those men. When you lose the wild assed men willing to die for pride and honor, you have lost the Marine Corps and all it ever stood for.

jt

[wayne]

You are so f---king correct. I spent 4+yrs active duty and got out 'cause of the bull $hit. Stayed out 14 yrs and joined the reserves and spent 6yrs wondering why.
I miss the old Corps, but not the new.

[RED]

I don't know what happened to my Marine Corps, but it wasn't Tailhook 92

It is very easy to blame Tailhook for what has happened to the Navy in general and Navy Air in particular. But folks, What is happening to the Army and the Air Force (and to a large degree the USMC) had nothing to do with Tailhook! It is the same virus that is infecting our entire society and I believe it started in our schools and in the unions.

It is also very easy for for the rank and file to overlook the corruption and left wing political aspiration of the union bosses as long as they get that big pay check at the end of the week. Here is what teachers unions have done to our schools:

http://teachersunionexposed.com/protecting.cfm

[Guamsst]

Don't forget the GI bill. That has ruined so much of our military. Look at how many little whiny @#%&^ sticks join up to go to college. Then you have the officers who come from liberal lala land colleges.

Plus we are getting back to WW1 leadership where it is two seperate classes and the upper classes "officers and politicians" are not on the field but are comfortable telling the guys and girls getting shot at EXACTLY how to do their job down to the most miniscule detail.