Subject: Change the rules for the National Guard.?
From: Stephen Harding
Date: 2/21/04 7:14 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

Kevin Brooks wrote:

Understandable. But I doubt you'd be so crass as to make the statement that
Art did. Art likes to play up the "look at the noble sacrifices we (I)
made,

Art was right on the money as to how the Guard one time was as
far as I can tell.

My father always said if he had gone into the Mass Air Guard
after retirement from the USAF, he'd have left it a General.
This would have been mid 60's through early 70's. Vietnam War
period. He regarded it merely as a "boys club" where most
effort made was sharpening your drinking skills. Correct or
not, that was his view at that time.

I deserve special accolades and reverence" crap; OTOH, he chooses to cast
slurs upon the dedication of those who are serving, and indeed those who
have actually shed more blood than he did. Even worse, he does this despite
repeated corrections from a number of people, you included. I know, it's

Everyone here plays this game to varying degree. There's a NG
hierarchy. At the bottom, are the types with no personal
military experience beyond bratdom. At the top are the combat
flyers, of which Art is one.

One group can always shut down the group below him by demanding
"what's your experience?" For Art trashing you, it might be
"How many bullets have whizzed by your head?" For you to trash
the level below you, mere ask "Tell us exactly what your military
experience might be?"

just another case of Art being the asshole he really is--but that does not
mean he gets to take free potshots at those who are demonstrating every bit
as much dedication to duty that he did, if not more (some of these guys
have
been serving a lot longer years, with less appreciation demonstrated, than
Art ever experienced). Sorry if my "calling a spade a spade" in the case of
Art upsets you, Ed, but IMO he is reaping what he sows.

Well I think it does give him the right. And of course, you
have the right to correct or update him. If he doesn't take
to the correction, it's just a loss of some keystrokes.

Yeah he's a crotchety, cantankerous type. No use getting bent
out of shape over it. You're not the defender of the Guard,
called to do battle over its honor when maligned.

Quite frankly, I admire Art's no nonsense, no compromise
attitudes. Could probably exercise it in a less argumentative
way, but that's just a matter of style. As I've said before,
Art's a "time capsule" of a period of American history now
seemingly gone, where a nation was united as never before, and
accepted no mitigation of its fury toward an enemy. Todays
more mild or PC or outright revisionism doesn't go over well.

Doesn't mean he's correct in what he says all time, or even
most of the time. Keep him in context and keep your Me 109
well away from his B-26, even in todays skies!


SMH


Thanks for understanding.. I don't get much around here. But at my age I don't
give a damn. I'll say what I like whenever I like.When I was a kid I
volunteered for the Army Air Corps. Me and a million other guys. I was called
up the day I was 18 and rushed ino training as the war raged. My greatest fear
was that the war would end before I got there and I would miss the entire
thing. I had nothing to worry about. It seemed as though 15 minutes after I was
called up I was 10,000 feet over Germany, which is exaclty where I wanted to
be. I didn't join the guard. I didn't join the reserves. I wanted to go to war
so I joined the Army Air Corp. Back then the reserve and the guard were
pathetic jokes and laughing stocks for all of us. As I have said before, if you
want to go to war, then go to war and don't hand us this reserve or National
Guard stuff. Tell a member of the 101st fighting for his life at Bastogne what
a great job the reserve is doing to defend our country sitting in the USA
nice and safe while he may not live to see the end of this day.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer