General Patton on Lieutenant Kerry

Ed Rasimus wrote:
Further, I really don't like Senator Kerry's comments regarding the
President and his qualifications to welcome home the troops he
commands by flying aboard a carrier. George W. Bush was both a
commissioned officer (like Kerry) and a fully qualified AF fighter
pilot (unlike Kerry.) No president we've ever had is more qualified to
don the Nomex and carry a helmet.


His father?



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN


http://www.mortimerschnerd.com

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote
Ed Rasimus wrote:
Further, I really don't like Senator Kerry's comments regarding the
President and his qualifications to welcome home the troops he
commands by flying aboard a carrier. George W. Bush was both a
commissioned officer (like Kerry) and a fully qualified AF fighter
pilot (unlike Kerry.) No president we've ever had is more qualified to
don the Nomex and carry a helmet.


His father?

Keep up man, keep up!

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 14:58:33 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote:
Further, I really don't like Senator Kerry's comments regarding the
President and his qualifications to welcome home the troops he
commands by flying aboard a carrier. George W. Bush was both a
commissioned officer (like Kerry) and a fully qualified AF fighter
pilot (unlike Kerry.) No president we've ever had is more qualified to
don the Nomex and carry a helmet.


His father?

Good point. Now I have to nit-pick and create a rationale for who is
"most qualified".

Bush 41 is most qualified for a leather helmet and cotton flying suit.
Bush 43 is most qualified to wear the Nomex and carry a Kevlar helmet.
He also carries G-suit qualification and high altitude aviation
physiology training.

Both, however, are military rated pilots. Which places them
considerably above two stripe enlisted journalist assistants with
curtailed combat tours and personal body-guards in terms of their
military service.


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

But it is even more important to tell the
truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."
Theodore Roosevelt
Kansas City "Star"
May 7, 1918

Easy for Teddy to say in 1918. I wonder what his opinion would have
been in, say, 1906?

Yeah, well, we all know how TR hated getting into fights.
But if he thought that disputing the executive branch harmed the military's
efforts or morale, he picked an odd time to speak out, considering that four of
his sons were at the front.

"S. Sampson" wrote in message
news:wb9Tb.15597$Q_4.8597@okepread03...

Keep up man, keep up!


I thought "His father?" was a valid response. George H. W. Bush was a
commissioned officer and USN torpedo bomber pilot. He's certainly no less
qualified than his son to don the Nomex and carry a helmet.

Ed Rasimus wrote:
Further, I really don't like Senator Kerry's comments regarding the
President and his qualifications to welcome home the troops he
commands by flying aboard a carrier. George W. Bush was both a
commissioned officer (like Kerry) and a fully qualified AF fighter
pilot (unlike Kerry.) No president we've ever had is more qualified to
don the Nomex and carry a helmet.


His father?

Been there, done that. He probably would have gone out on a helo, anyway, the
Lincoln being in sight of San Diego--a jet would have smacked of a "photo op".

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 04:38:17 -0500, Cub Driver
wrote:

It will be interesting to see how this plays out during the campaign.
I don't have the bona fides to take a stand either way.

It's easy to understand how the vets in Kerry's campaign flocked to
him. I watched his New Hampshire victory speech on television. I
couldn't figure out what the guy in the ball cap was doing, standing
behind him to Kerry's left. Then I spotted what looked like an
American Legion cap, and I realized that they must be pushing vets
onstage.

I was thrilled, actually. It's going on forty years since I went to
Vietnam (as a civilian), and nearly that long since anyone has found
it worthwhile to exploit a Vietnam veteran for political gain. And
there were all the lefties (well, not the ones who were backing
*General* Clark) cheering! What a turnaround!

all the best -- Dan Ford

Is is interesting, until the examination goes beneath the superficial.
Then you find that Kerry is appreciated by the left much more for his
anti-war activism and his left-of-Kennedy (patron saint of submerged
automobiles) Senate record. The military service is being exploited as
an additional benefit in the hopes of dragging some indiscriminate
vets into the fold.

Saw a "reunion" photo two days ago of JFKerry shaking hands with old
Swift boatmates. Both were decked out in fur collared leather Navy
flight jackets. What are the odds of both of these former enlisted
guys having the same jackets? Staged event? Probably.

As for Clark, wait for more high ranking officers to come forward and
join former CJCS Hugh Shelton with their comments on Clark's careerism
and "integrity." There's no real problem with the lefties accepting
him, he's the designated hitter for the former President and his
aspiring wife.

This is going to get really rough before its over.

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

On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 08:41:45 -0600, "S. Sampson"
wrote:

"Tom Cervo" wrote
Whether his medals or someone else's, the issue is not the ownership,
but the oath--to protect and defend. To obey the lawful orders.
Enemies foreign and DOMESTIC. These are phrases of meaning and relate
to a commissioned officer, who never unless stripped of the rank is
anything less, has an obligation to the President he serves and the
warriors still in the fray. To undermine the support for half a
million fighting men still in harm's way by leading protests against
the duly elected government of his country--that's the sin.

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public
servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is
warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in
rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.
..snip..
Theodore Roosevelt
Kansas City "Star"
May 7, 1918

Wonderful quote Tom. I don't think Lt. Kerry was protesting the President
though. He was protesting the government, and our forces in battle. Having
done his time, he then banded with a bunch of long-haired scum, who did more
to our flag then any Arab or Persian setting it on fire abroad. He broke faith, and
now he wants to be known as a warrior again. Theodore would have shot him
on sight, and the public would have applauded "Bully!"


I agree. While Teddy's quote is excellent and very true, it should be
noted that it applies to the citizenry, not the commissioned officer
corps. The idea that the military is free to "support or oppose" as
they judge appropriate is the foundation of anarchy.

Kerry established a position. He did so in the strongest and most
visible of terms. He now should maintain that posture, for better or
for worse without attempting to have it both ways.


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

Ed Rasimus wrote:

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 14:58:33 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote:
Further, I really don't like Senator Kerry's comments regarding the
President and his qualifications to welcome home the troops he
commands by flying aboard a carrier. George W. Bush was both a
commissioned officer (like Kerry) and a fully qualified AF fighter
pilot (unlike Kerry.) No president we've ever had is more qualified to
don the Nomex and carry a helmet.


His father?

Good point. Now I have to nit-pick and create a rationale for who is
"most qualified".

Bush 41 is most qualified for a leather helmet and cotton flying suit.
Bush 43 is most qualified to wear the Nomex and carry a Kevlar helmet.
He also carries G-suit qualification and high altitude aviation
physiology training.

Both, however, are military rated pilots. Which places them
considerably above two stripe enlisted journalist assistants with
curtailed combat tours and personal body-guards in terms of their
military service.

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

Where in that hierarchy would graduate students fall?

Bob McKellar

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 11:52:44 -0500, Bob McKellar
wrote:



Ed Rasimus wrote:

Bush 41 is most qualified for a leather helmet and cotton flying suit.
Bush 43 is most qualified to wear the Nomex and carry a Kevlar helmet.
He also carries G-suit qualification and high altitude aviation
physiology training.

Both, however, are military rated pilots. Which places them
considerably above two stripe enlisted journalist assistants with
curtailed combat tours and personal body-guards in terms of their
military service.

Ed Rasimus

Where in that hierarchy would graduate students fall?

Bob McKellar

Of course we can't be certain about exact position on the hierarchy,
but given the composition of the group, we can probably assume they
are well below military aviators. The real conflict will come if we
start trying to create a super-hierarchy in which the exalted get
ranked.

Lemmee see, AF, USN, USMC, RAF, RAAF, Luftwaffe, airline, commercial,
private, fixed and rotary, etc. etc. All vying for the top spot. I'm
not going to propose a ranking and the sequence above does not
indicate any preference or promotion of any particular agenda.


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