The C-5A that crashed in Dover, Delware on 3 April, 2006, just tears at me. To see a scene like this:

Just cries out to someone like me that loves all things US Air Force. I am so very glad that everyone was able to leave the aircraft alive, even if reports are true that three airmen are in serious or critical condition. To understand the gravity of this class of a crash, look at the size of the fireman near the wing, and the top of the C-5!

This aircraft is NOT on landing gear making the total hieght even higher.

My hat goes off to the crew for making this less tragic than it could have been. For those of you that have either piloted, or watched the C-5 in T-A-Gs, this bird is one tough customer! Even though her landing gear can match “crab” on approach, she still is bound by physics. She can be torn off course with ease, and with engine trouble - the reported cause of the return to Dover AFB - this is no simple feat to bring her home safe. Those who know also know that reverse thrust is a tricky situation. Top that with a healthy dose of weather and engine trouble … I shudder to think how this transpired and the feelings of the crew and passengers.

It is very sobering to realize that this is only the second C-5 to crash in 16 years! For all the flights/air miles she clocks, I am amazed. Next to the C-130 and the C-17, she moves more payload in the air than any bird around. Here is the snippet from AF.mil about the last crash:

“The last C-5 crash was on Aug. 28, 1990, during Operation Desert Shield. A C-5 crashed after takeoff from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, killing 13 of the 17 people on board.”

And, my deepest thanks go out to the ground crew and firemen that have to answer the call.

For those who have had to train on aircraft fire suppression techniques (most flightline personnel do), I respect this job! OK, we just have to put a pan of flaming JP-4 out with a standard fire bottle (the ones you see in flightline photos from AF.mil). When an aircraft goes down, it is mayhem of the highest degree, and flames so hot I cannot even begin to explain.

Thank God they are all safe. Please pray for all the airmen to be released safe, and say a prayer for their families too. And, say a special prayer for the men and women who fight those fires and rescue our flight crews. Firefighters should never go unthanked, and always deserve a special prayer.

For those that just don’t get it, this picture is a poignant look into what the Global War on Terror is all about:

Shall we remain complacent and suffer from a fear that will inevitably ensnare a nation?

It is true, it is hard to be apart from your family and living day to day committed in and for the mission. Your day begins knowing that everyone at home misses you. You miss everyone and make the best of it with those around you. The meals are OK, but you’d just love that [enter greatest meal ever here!]. You don’t tell everyone that your heart aches to be home. You definitely know there is more to this than meets the eye. Your country being safe means that your family, and everyone else’s family, is safe too - it’s worth it.

Optimism? You bet and nothing less will fall short of what the United States Military is all about!

Yes, it is terrible to be at home experiencing so many different things at once. You’re living day to day with those feelings of frustration and hurt that makes you question your resolve. Those chairs at the dinner table are always pushed in when they should be filled right now. Going on an errand the driver’s or passenger’s seat in the car just doesn’t seem the same today. The sounds of laughter when the dog falls of the coach go hallow. Those contagious giggles from the little one are left hanging in the moment. The hurt and frustration has to remain hidden because you know it really isn’t going to help - just so far away.

Is a positive commitment to something larger than all of us, bad? It’s what defines us and makes all families at home what the United States of America is all about!

Whenever you see the hugs, tears of joy, and huge smiles on such tiny faces, remember: it is what we are all about.

All these protests around illegal immigration have brought some interesting things to light. Most of all it makes me mad that our brave fighting men and women are in a foreign land, fighting to protect us, their greatest gift being away from home and family while keeping us safe. And here at home, the supposed elite and intelligentsia are subverting their efforts with election year vote getting and weak-kneed stances in protecting our country. It’s like someone has sent the entire defense of our country to another field of battle, and we’re left here hangin’ in the wind!

I bet if you asked our troops, “Would you rather be here at home guarding our borders?” you’d hear a resounding “YES!”

My favorite plane picture, ’cause it’s got our flag on an F-117! Oooh …

We all know that the fight is there, off our shores, to keep the pressure on and keep the hate machine from destroying us. Yet, within our own borders we are being overrun. Our leaders (sic) no longer realize that they are still lacking the smallest amount of courage when it comes to facing our enemies, staring him down, and putting him in his place. So, with that in mind, here’s my open letter to our lost boys in Washington:

TO: US Senators and Congressmen
FROM: Those who protect you every day
RE: Your Own Pursuit of PERSONAL GAIN!
CC: Everyone that REALLY supports us

Dear Sirs and Madames,

Please refrain from using us as pawns in your selfish pursuit of power, money, and vacuous praise from those in the media. When the President says, “Go!”, we go, no questions asked. Whether you like it or not, he’s in power - you wanna command us, GET THE TOP SEAT! All this shrill rhetoric and back-stabbing use of the media should be done on your own time, and without involving us in any way. You wanna smack your next door neighbor around from the great state of [ENTER STATE HERE], call ‘em on the carpet and do it. But, we are not the stone you throw in this fight to be top dawg.

Take it outside or get a room. It’s shameful!

Oh, and stop whining, quit the lies, and be honest and admit you all are just gathering votes in this election year. Sheesh, we’re not STUCK ON STUPID! Illegal immigration is, and has always been, against the law! Your great body of myopic pinheads have already set down the requirements and rules from which immigrants are allowed into this country. Open arms does not mean open pocket books. Stop giving away my hard earned money to keep you in office. Oh, uh-huh, right, you’re tough on terrorism, you’re a “hawk”, please! Find some BRASS ONES, Sheesh! If we waffled like you people do, hills get lost, morale falls fast, and good people second guess themselves - that is when people die!

Oh, right, you wanted to continue to get elected, get paid $140k a year, and treat us all as inferior dolts incapable of finding you out. Oh wait, all us uninformed doofuses have blogs - time to change your tune again before everyone else finds out. It’s a mess, and you all are at the root of it. Let’s be honest here, you really DO want illegal aliens in this country. You Democrats know that they benefit from your “MotorVoter Act” by using fake IDs and drivers licenses to vote for you Democrats! And, you shameless Republicans are giving away our right to enjoy our hard earned pay and benefits so you can get reelected and not have to make a stand.

And, McCain and Kennedy? What the HELL is going on?! Have the planets aligned in such a way that we are soon to be crashing into Uranus?! (pun intended) If you hate us so, just slap a “Kick Me” sign on my back!

That’s right, votes, power, poll numbers, new voters from other countries, fickle friends in the media, kisses from the Europeans … spare me.

You’ve got two hands and two feet, use them to do one of these two honorable things:

1) Stand up, wave Buh-Bye, and walk out
2) Pick up a shovel, dig some fence posts, come on out and truly support us

Your mouth? Keep it in park, we’ve heard enough!

Sincerely,

THE TROOPS AND PROUD AMERICANS FOR A SAFER COUNTRY

Wish they could hear us. If you haven’t already, please go here and vote. And then, use their contact for found here and give ‘em another ear full.

These pinheads.

See Ya!

CJ over at A Soldiers’ Perspective is trying to organize a letter writing campaign. If you are a regular reader over there, or have seen others posting about the situation I am about to describe, then you’re on “the list” and you know what ya gotta do - I’m just backin’ up CJ with extra motivation if you haven’t done your duty yet! .:. Hint .:. Hint .:.

If you are new to this issue, here we go.

CJ’s first post gave us all the background to the story regarding the treatment of Sgt. Rickey Jones’ family. Sgt. Jones, 21 and from Kokomo, Indiana, died while serving in Iraq. Here’s his photo:

When police have to be posted at someone’s home 24×7, the story is already getting ugly. Why would anyone need that level of security? I mean, Sgt. Jones died in Iraq, fighting for our country, our safety, and everyone’s freedom of speech.

He did not, however, die for some stupid groups freedom to destroy personal property, defame the family, and harass them at all hours via the phone line. The phone harassment should get the FBI involved, at the very least, since the phone is governed/regulated by the FCC - equaling Federal Jurisdiction. I know that if I do something stupid while using my 2M Handheld or HF Radio (I’m a HAMM), the FCC would come down hard and get other offices/authorities involved depending on the offense.

Where is the FBI now? I don’t know, but I’d add one small thread to this letter writing campaign and expand it to getting the FBI involved. Long shot? Sure, but hey, defame a soldier, go to jail!

IMHO

Now, defame is light when you take the words spoken in one of these phone calls:

“I’m glad your son is dead.”

What? Who are these callers anyway? Some strange sect/group of athiests that don’t believe in God, or the sanctity of life and death? Do these protestors range from the nail-IN-the-tree, lab burning, window-trashing types that make a big story everytime there is a G-7 meeting? No, these people are from, wait for it:

Westboro Baptist Church

Wow, I never would have guessed. You?

That said, I think that putting together a few letters to help this family through is the least we can do. In fact, my family and I are working on ours tonight.

The details on how, who, and when are on CJ’s site. The title is Letter Writing Request. I’ll repost a paragraph or two here to help ya out:

“I am trying to help organize a letter writing campaign to the family of SGT Rickey Jones’ family. As you may have read earlier, their home was vandalized by idiots who wouldn’t understand patriotism if it flew a plane through their bedroom window.”

“If you own a blog, please post this effort on your respective blogs and ask your readers to post it on their blogs. If you are as disgusted as I am and would like to write a letter to have delivered to this family, please email Lauren (mailto:MyWay716@aol.com) for more information. The good people over at Operation Military Pride are helping facilitate the delivery of these letters.”

Now, my being ex-USAF, I personnaly like CJ’s “idiots who wouldn’t understand patriotism if it flew a plane through their bedroom window”! Ha! If that just don’t give ya the right imagery?!

Oh, one more great paragraph:

“If you feel the same way I do, please email her and write this family a letter of support and love. Let them know that we appreciate their son’s service and mourn their loss. Let’s show them what America is really made of. This isn’t about whether or not you support the war. This is about common decency for a family that has suffered the ultimate sacrifice … having to bury a child. Thank you in advance. When this is over, I want the post office to have to hire new postmen just to handle the volume. Yes, it’s a challenge, as LinkedinUSAF would say.”

I caught this post over at LinkedInUSAF too … lot more calm over there …

[UPDATE: 5 March, 2006 at 14:21]
[CORRECTION - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION]
Buck over at Exile in Portales dug deeper into the story and alerted me that I missed a big piece of information: where to send your letters/snail-mail! I had not seen Heidi’s posting over at Euphoric Reality, which is where they included the mailing address for the local High School.

After writing to Lauren, CJ’s major helper, she would like you to contact her directly through the above e-mail address. She wants to ensure that we do not end up with another Joshua Sparling situation - and I agree! I have pulled down the address for the High School, and ask that you e-mail Lauren directly. Thanks.

I’d also like to add the folks that I know of who are trying to help, and have posted pleas for help in CJ’s letter writing campaign:

Euphoric Reality
Exile in Portales
You Betcha I’m a Proud Army Mom
Soldiers’ Angels - New York
Big Dog’s Weblog
Cao’s Blog
And THAT is MY Opinion
A Lady’s Ruminations
Gribbit’s Word
Conservative Insurgent
Ms. Underestimated
Iraq War Today
Landrys Life
Yikes!
A Rose By Any Other Name
Sparks From the Anvil
Blackfive
Right Truth
Conservative Cogitation
WhenEvilProspers
No End But Victory
In Training
Milblogging.com
Knowledge is Power

I’ll continue to update this list as more come online. Thanks to everyone I contacted in a separate e-mail for helping out and posting!     

When you write what you feel, and what you feel says so much to others, that’s when I enjoy my fellow Milbloggers. And, as she often does, Days Gone By puts it right out there for us all in her latest post:

She wakes up in the middle of the night
Wishing he were there to squeeze her tight.
But he’s been gone for what seems like years
And no one understands all her fears.
She waits by the phone every day
She looks up high and starts to pray
Another day and still no call
She closes her eyes and tears start to fall
He’s over in another land
Without her there to hold his hand
And she counts the days till he comes home
When she will no longer have to be alone.
She’s loved this man for so many years
And watched him go and then shed tears
But this is the life you choose to lead
When you fall in love with a United States Marine

Semper Fi!
dyzgoneby

Keep your chin up and remember that everyone else is out there praying for you both!

When I see these scenes I can feel the strength of conviction. I can see on their faces the limits of mortality that hit home in such a brief moment. I can see the friend that will forever miss his best friend - in this world only. And I can see the steely resolve that is an American.

[US Army Photo by Sgt. 1st Class David P. Benamati]

I know that I said this is a US Air Force blog. But, when push comes to shove I am pro-Military and that is all that matters. As I see it, we all fight for the same country. And, folks, we all die for the same country!

I noticed on a friends site that there are some comments out there about “Old Glory”. Do you think that any of these men would see our flag being burned?

I think not.