On 12 Mar 2004 22:40:52 GMT, (BUFDRVR) wrote:

You are an anomaly...deviation from the common rule
...something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified.

I suppose.... but out of my UPT class, I'm the only one who has ever applied
his trade in combat...I guess its just a case of why you wanted to be an Air
Force pilot. The two guys in my class who took F-15Cs have probably had a lot
of fun flying around the local MOA and out at RED FLAG, but that's not what I
wanted to do.

I suppose your BUFF comrades look at you with a YGBSM expression when
you announce..."Yeah, BUFFs were my first choice..."

A few of them do, but most also realize that, at least since 1995, B-52s have
made a tremendous impact on the National Security of the U.S. and its the
platform to be in if that's your goal. Flying around the flag pole at Mach 2
may be pretty cool, but it pales in comparison to dropping a JDAM on a Taliban
mortor team in regards to defending the country.


BUFDRVR

While I understand your pride in accomplishment as well as your
rationale of going to a combat system, I've got to say that my reading
of the papers (as well as encounters with a lot of Ego and Viper
types) would seem to indicate that both Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom
(as well as the Afghan and Bosnia excursions) have had more than
enough opportunity for the tactical types to get a whiff of gunpowder.

Might we be a bit parochial here?


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8