Survivability in Combat

Stephen Harding wrote:
"George Z. Bush" wrote:

Dan, he's said that he's flown fighters, and that the Fellowship is a real
organization......the only thing notable by its absence is his identification
with any of the military branches, foreign or domestic. But, since he
doesn't want to talk about it any more, my personal guess is that he was a
test pilot for Chance-Vought or Republic or some such and is a little
embarrassed by his failure to wear the uniform. Google has found a lot of
stuff with his name on it, but absent in every one of them is any reference
to military service.

Given my "collision" with him earlier this year and a little "lecture" on
"only military people can understand", he'd damn well *better* have a
military background!

I'd presumed he was military (F-102?) with non-combat experience.

My conclusion, therefore, is that he didn't have any and, by so pointedly
trying to avoid mention of the subject, only succeeded in having us become
aware of what he'd rather we not know about him.

In any case, he's quite obviously quite knowledgable about flying fighter
aircraft and, phony or not, has much to offer his fellow members of RAM on
those subjects, and it would undoubtedly not be in our best interests to run
him off for that minor lack. After all, we can't all be heroes like us
Troop Carrier pilots, can we? (^-^)))

And my Dad! (22nd TCS in Japan by retirement; I'd always read those MATS guys
could fly circles around the SAC boys!!)

This is a military aviation NG so anything about the subject is valid.
Personalities, planes, policies and experiences.

Dudley has a lot of good stuff to say about this subject, and until someone
exposes him as a phony, he'll have high credibility for me in this subject.

You don't have to like the guy or think much of his personality to like what
he writes.

That said, shall we move on?

Geez George, we agree for once!!

Yup. BTW, in an earlier life, I was in a tenant outfit at Tachikawa flying
C-46s (344th TCS) up until we transitioned Japanese pilots into the birds and
transferred them to the Japan Air Self Defense Force towards the end of '58.
Seems to me that the 374 TCG had three flying squadrons then.....one flying
C-54s and the other two (the 21st and 22nd TCS) flying Big Shaky (C-124s).

Your comment about us MATS (actually, 315th ADiv) guys flying circles around
those guys with our eyes closed was well taken. We often did that quite
literally! Not too hard to do when you have another guy up front with you.
(^-^)))

George Z.


SMH