Where Have All the Pilots Gone?

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/Marines/ Army/Navy/CG . . . (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 bull-shitting me, right ! ! ! ? ? ? 

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 had 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 dildos 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 shit. 

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 shitty 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-shitter 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 ifs, ands, or  but's . . . .