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Opinion
Reunion memories
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The first hard freeze happened last night. Standing watching bright yellow leaves floating like huge snowflakes to the ground -- enchanting. I love this place!
Our recent "road" trip to San Antonio was interesting. As in any reunion, it is the people that attend that are the big story. We were not disappointed, for in the 40-plus years that have elapsed most of my squadron mates have done well.
For example when the outfit on Cape Cod disbanded, four officers, three navigators and one pilot, were assigned to SAC Headquarters to do computer programming. Remember, that was in the mid-60s era when computers were in their infancy, the era when all input was by punch card, one card for each instruction. Those gents were involved as the computer industry evolved, the World Wide Web was created and the Internet was born. Dave Callis, for one, was not impressed when I told him that Al Gore invented the Internet; Dave knew better, as it was his contemporaries at the Pentagon who birthed the idea and evolved it working with other visionaries in academics. Dave told me that they worked to program computers for use in military exercises (war games) crunching large amounts of data striving to determine how to best apply force in a conflict. What we see now grew from those early efforts, yet who would have dreamed it at the time?
The second pilot that I was assigned to crew with at Otis AFB showed in person. Mel was a Hebrew from New York and I always "knew" that after the squadron disbanded he left the Air Force to fly for the airlines. Not so; he quit flying altogether and made a career first in wholesale flowers and then into brokering grain to companies manufacturing breakfast cereal. Mel now sports the tonsorial image of Col. Sanders and has a new, comely, much younger wife. Somehow, his memory of aerial exploits by our crew included several things that never happened. Must have been my aging memory!
A compatriot who retired as a general called in a couple of favors and arranged a bus tour of Randolph AFB for the group. Randolph, the base, lays claim to being the birthplace of the Air Force. It is presently headquarters for Air Training Command (ATC). Built in a tasteful architectural style to reflect the Mexican heritage of the area, the base is wonderfully well-kept. It has wide boulevards lined with huge live oak trees and plenty of sculpted green grass. On-base housing is white stucco and even new construction conforms to the overall heritage theme. Any building alterations must first have permission of the U.S. Historical Trust. Just being there on base instills in me a sense of pride in our nation. I liken my visits to that historical place with same sense of reverence that a Muslim most likely feels when journeying to Mecca.
Our general also arranged for a formal ATC Command briefing. We received the same classy presentation given to visiting dignitaries, especially visiting members of Congress. Our presenters were a pair of majors, one a recent F-22 pilot and the other a sharp female with a public affairs background.
ATC has the job of recruiting from the manpower pool of youthful America and turning those young men and women into a superb officer and enlisted corps. The finished product is technically savvy, disciplined, and patriotic; truly the best Air Force the world has ever seen. But gee, I was never that young. Minimum qualification is a high school diploma and good moral turpitude. The end product makes America proud.
I spent several months at Randolph back in 1960 learning how to fly the KC-97. The 97s are long gone but Randolph is still a pilot training base. The current trainers are all modern and much different from the models I flew almost 50 years ago. Happily, though, the Air Force has preserved and placed on display examples of all the obsolete trainers, some dating back to World War II. Seeing and touching those fantastic machines once again is a journey back to fantastic remembrances for me. There I was, 21 years old and turned loose, by myself, in a single-engine jet that could climb to 40,000 feet and fly at almost the speed of sound. At the time it was a heady trip for a young Southwest Nebraska kid fresh from the farm! Again, I thank you the taxpayers who paid for my training and sincerely hope that my service to country has paid you back in full!
Unrelated to our trip to San Antonio are the results of a survey the Military Times Corp. conducted of past and present military personnel concerning the presidential race. The survey was conducted by asking (by e-mail) if each person would participate then a cross section of volunteers who responded were sent the anonymous survey forms. Darn I didn't get to volunteer. And please remember, that politics are off limits on any military base, nary a yard sign and never a rally or even a subtle suggestion that an individual vote one way or another.
When asked how they intended to vote, roughly 80 percent choose McCain and around 17 percent Obama. Results were then separated by gender, officers, enlisted, Army, Navy, Air Force, Hispanic and white with all those results running almost exactly identical to the overall average. Only one category was different and that of the blacks who indicated an 80 percent approval for Obama and less than 20 for McCain. Hmmm.
That is the way I see it.