Watching the Montgomery TV stations cover the departure of 200 members of the 187th Fighter Wing to Iraq made me flash back to my own flight to a war zone...Vietnam in late 1969. What made the connection surreal was watching the uniformed personnel board the giant chartered civilian jet from Omni Air International. That's how I traveled from Fr. Lewis, Washington, to DaNang, and back to the US a year later: on a chartered civilian plane. I don't remember the airline...maybe Eastern? There were stewardesses and the same amenities of any flight of the time...but I had the same thought tonight as a I had back then. With all of the thousands of aircraft the Pentagon owns, can't we do it cheaper ourselves rather than farming it out? Whatever. God speed to them all.
1 comments:
Love the title of this entry!
It ROCKS!
It's story or book worthy!
Sending combatants on civilian airlines is a tactical strategy to prevent loss.
Fly the "friendly skies," on civilian airlines, and avoid being shot down.
It's probably not as much a cost factor as it is a loss-prevention strategy.
For a time, I was considering re-upping in a med unit in Nashville in the TANG. As I've understood it, they're now history - thanks to Bush II and BRAC.
Their mission included regular C-130 Critical Care MedEvac flights to Ramstein AFB in the GDR & Incirlik AFB in Turkey to bring wounded American GI's & select Iraqis back to U.S. soil for additional treatment & rehabilitation.
I would still re-up... only thing, they're now in TX. Wanna' fly to TX once a month just to drill?
Don't get me started on the military emasculation of America! It makes my blood boil!
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