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Edited on Thu Feb-12-04 05:48 PM by trof
So I get this e-mail from a friend who's a repug.
'Bush and I were lieutenants'
"George Bush and I were lieutenants and pilots in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), Texas Air National Guard (ANG) from 1970 to 1971. We had the same flight and squadron commanders (Maj. William Harris and Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, both now deceased). While we were not part of the same social circle outside the base, we were in the same fraternity of fighter pilots, and proudly wore the same squadron patch.
It is quite frustrating to hear the daily cacophony from the left and Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, et al., about Lt. Bush escaping his military responsibilities by hiding in the Texas ANG. In the Air Guard during the Vietnam War, you were always subject to call-up, as many Air National Guardsmen are finding out today. If the 111th FIS and Lt. Bush did not go to Vietnam, blame President Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, not lowly Lt. Bush. They deliberately avoided use of the Guard and Reserves for domestic political calculations, knowing that a draftee only stirred up the concerns of one family, while a call-up got a whole community's attention."
blah blah blah
You've probably seen it. Another "explanation".
And then a minute later I get the same email, with a comment, from a guy I never heard of. A minute later, yet another, from some other guy I don't know. Aha! The dummies hit "reply all" instead of "reply". There are about 2 dozen addresses in the "To" block.
This is too good to pass up.
I hit "reply all" and write:
Who is Mike Munson, and why is he sending me e-mail?
Tip for newbies: See, there's a "reply" thingy where you just reply to the guy you got the e-mail from? And then there's the dreaded "REPLY ALL" thingy where you can hang it out there for ALL to see. Make sure you click on the proper one.
Ah well...one must always be ready to grasp an opportunity when it presents itself.
Boy, if I had only known they would excuse me from duty. Guess I and the rest of the guys in
the squadron were just too dumb to ask. I actually remember that we enjoyed what we were doing
and couldn't believe we were getting paid to do it.
I do remember one hapless fellow who washed out of pilot training. Wasn't his fault.
He just couldn't hack it.
During his ANG exit interview, our irate wing commander, General George Reid Doster, told him
"I'll have your worthless ass in a green uniform by five o'clock this afternoon."
Poor guy drove straight to the Navy recruiter's office. Smart move.
From the horse's mouth:
If I remember correctly, my Air National Guard paychecks came from the U.S. Treasury Department. We were paid quarterly. On the first month of a new quarter, we were paid for the previous quarter.
The Guard doesn't pay you if you aren't there to answer "present".
It should be a simple matter to see how much income Bush received from the Department of Treasury each year of his Guard obligation from his income tax records:
Total annual income from Air national Guard (Treasury), divided by daily pay rate for a 1st Lt. on flying status (base pay + flight pay), equals number of days served.
May have to be adjusted for time spent on non-flying status (which should NOT have happened, see 2 below).
You can do the math on how much he SHOULD have received, had he been present each time he should have been.
12 monthly drill week-ends a year
(1 day's pay for each 4 hour period) = 48 days pay
12 REQUIRED Flying Training Periods
(FTPs) per quarter X 4 quarters = 48 days pay
2 weeks Annual Summer Encampment = 14 days pay
110 days pay annually
Anything less for the six year obligation following completion of pilot training indicates no-show.
Three more points:
1. It's highly unusual that Bush was mustered out as a 1st Lt. If you kept
your nose relatively clean, you made 1st Lt. 3 years after your commission
as a 2nd Lt. Two years later, you made Captain. As long as you just put
your time in, it was automatic. That he didn't make Captain prior to his
discharge is very telling. Reason: He wasn't there long enough, not enough time-in-grade.
2.a. Failure to pass your annual flight physical is one thing.
Failure to show up for it is another thing entirely. It results in automatic grounding
and is a violation of Air Force and ANG regs. Refusal is subject to disciplinary action,
including court martial.
2.b. ONLY a certified Air Force Flight Surgeon may administer a pilot's flight
physical. Not your "personal physician back in Houston", and not even the Mayo Clinic.
Not anybody who isn't a certified flight surgeon. They were available in Birmingham,
Huntsville, Montgomery, Selma, and Mobile.
3. An Honorable Discharge is NOT "evidence" that he served his time. This
is just the butt-covering "talking point" used by him and his supporters.
It IS evidence that his commanding officers violated ANG rules and
regulations. It's called "covering one's derriere". Had they NOT given him
an honorable discharge it would have called attention to the fact that they
gave him a pass on his absences and pointed up a serious, punishable
dereliction of duty on their part.
NOW...you may think I've got some kind of burr under my saddle about
this AWOL thing. You'd be right.
Massey Lambard
Foley, Alabama
former Captain/pilot, 1963-1971
RF-84/F
106th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
"Alone, unarmed, and unafraid"
117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
"We killum with fillum."
Alabama Air National Guard
Reply from Guy 1, and my response:
Big screw up!! I hit Reply All. Massey, PLEASE, take me off your address list!!!!!!!!!
Will you quit sending me these ridiculous e-mails?
I didn't start this.
Reply from Guy 2 , and my response:
am aware of "Reply All" and am comfortable of my understanding of how the system operates. I appreciate your time in helping me to further understand this communications development.
Do me a favor -take my name off your address list and I will do the same for yours.
I, too, wonder why a real world, honest-to-God combat aviator like Mike would bother to send you anything.
Glad to be of assistance.
Really got your knickers in a twist, hunh?
See, I don't go out looking for these right-wing-nut e-mails.
Honest, I don't.
But I sure as hell deal with them when they hit my inbox.
"I, too, wonder why a real world, honest-to-God combat aviator like Mike would bother to send you anything."
Well, you too, sir, and the horse you rode in on.
;-)
Then I sent this "reply all":
Please rest assured.
If you don't know me from Adam's off ox, you aren't on my e-mail list.
Nor will you ever be unfortunate enough to be included.
<collective sigh of relief>
There are only a couple of folks in this address block that I count as friends.
I won't embarrass them by naming them.
In the future, you might send these things bcc (blind copy).
If you don't know how, send me an e-mail and I'll explain.
Then liberal subversives like me can't access the whole list.
Talk about your Pandora's boxes.
So long y'all, and have a nice day.
;-)
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