A pass on...

[SEATJERKER]

...

Subject: Fw: So What About Those Senators


THIS RETIRED NAVY COMMANDER'S LETTER IS TOO GOOD NOT TO BE SHARED. HE TELLS IT
LIKE IT IS....




Senator Byrd,
As a retired Naval Officer, with two Gulf carrier deployments under my
belt, I find your criticism of President Bush's visit to the Lincoln
offensive in the extreme! This is the first time that the
Commander-in-Chief took time out of his busy wartime schedule to pay a
visit to thank those who served in the line of fire, in way that was
both dramatic and meaningful to those on the carrier. Perhaps if LBJ
got off his fat ass to do something similar, our troops' morale in
Vietnam might not have been so low.
As a Naval officer, I am extremely sensitive to styles of leadership.
That is, after all, our stock in trade. And it was not lost on me that
the President spent about thirty seconds shaking hands with the Admiral,
CO, and CAG (If you don't know these abbreviations just look them up
in your Funk & Wagnalls!). He then spent the next forty-five
minutes putting himself at the disposal of the people who make that
ship work, the yellow shirts, the green shirts, the purple shirts, the
chiefs, the sailors. If you don't know the significance of those
colored shirts, look it up in your Blue Jacket's Manual. Not dressed
out in formal uniform (I understand at Bush's request), but in their
greasy, smelly, sweaty working uniforms... working a flight deck is hot,
hard work. And yet he, in his flight suit, put himself at their
disposal, this was their moment for 19 or 20 something year old kids a
few years out of high school, to get a picture of themselves with the
President of the United States, his arm draped around their shoulder.

That is a moment that those kids never dreamed would ever happen to
them, maybe not even when they knew he was coming aboard. Surely, he
would see the brass, not the troops. But it was the troops to whom he
gave his time... and it was the most natural moment in the world. You
might have thought it was a family reunion, and in a way, it was... Bush
is one of them, the common man, and while he is still the most powerful
man on the planet right now, he hasn't lost his touch for them.
Was it a political moment? What moment of a president's life is NOT a
political moment? Was it grand standing, to come in to an OK pass to
a 4 wire, a bit high in close, correcting, left of centerline? Well,
hell, he didn't fly the approach anyway, though I understand from the
pilots who flew him that he did a pretty good job at formation flying,
tucked in close for a lead change. You can always tell a fighter

pilot, you just can't tell him very much. And apparently after thirty
years, it all comes back, with a little coaching, I am sure. Frankly, I
would have liked to see him come aboard in an FA-18, but the Secret
Service vetoed that, and Bush accepted their judgment... again, a mark
of a good leader.
If you had spent some time in the service, instead of the Klan, you
might understand the significance of that moment to all the men and
women aboard the Lincoln, and indeed to all the men and women in the
service who shared that moment vicariously. But you chose the
bedsheet instead of the uniform, and so you don't.
I am half-tempted to move to West Virginia just so I could vote against
you in your next election.

Lewis F. McIntyre
CDR, USN (Ret)
14095 Burnt Store Rd
Hughesville, MD 20637
301-274-0975

[Seascamp]

Good article Seats, thanks. No doubt the visit to the Abe Lincoln was a photo op and all that but what a great one. In my thoughts, the litmus test was seeing those Sailors all involved and pleased with the visit. Ya can?t fake that and it was just plain good stuff all around. I about spit up my coffee when they lined up those flight deck Sailors to do the Sideboy welcome ceremony deal. On purpose or whatever they certainly were not practiced at the drill and maybe that was the beauty of it all I reckon. In usual circumstances there would have been Detachment Marines in Sunday best doing the clickity-clackity-smack arms drill and Boatswain?s Mates in dress uniform rendering honors. But flight deck personnel in rainbow mufti and helmets are a far cry from the usual, a good sight and a clever move for sure. Pres Bush seemed to get a kick out of the sight but that was just a bit of icing on the cake as far as I?m concerned. During my Navy days, I swear, even the Maytag man got a full honors Marine/Sideboy ceremony and the crew turned out in starched and pressed tropical whites.

The only not so positive in the entire deal was the absence of a Carrier Battle Group Cruiser coming along side to give a salute or something. Maybe even bring the Pres. over on a high-line Boatswain?s chair. Now that would have been something for sure and caused the naysayers and whiners to be howling and screeching into the next century and beyond for absolute certain. But what I saw a ton more than I expected so I?m happy with it all.

Scamp

[Andy]

One of the things Bobby Byrd complained about was the cost of the President's "stunt". That comment, coming from the man who for decades has tryed to move Washington to W.V. (brick by brick) actually caused me to laugh out loud. As an example, the J.E. Hoover building is still in D.C. However the FBI's computer HQ and a lot of their records are now in Bobby's state. Does that make any sense at all? As we all know computers are the way of the future and if Byrd has his way, and lives long enough, all the important components of the agency will be in his state. (Just one of Many examples.) Oh and why the move? Because Byrd can grandstand on the senate floor and he has the juice to get that sort of thing done.
OK, I'll admit this, I wish he were my senator. Don't think the Kennedy boys ever really grasped the idea of "pork barrel".

Stay healthy,
Andy

[reconeil]

Always glad to hear ANYONE that basically says: "Damn the torpedoes (politicos, self/clique-serving deceivers and other fools also) and full speed ahead" and/or quite differently than phoney politicos, just sez-it-like-it-is.

Neil

[Jerry D]

Thanks...SEATJERKER. I agree the looks on the faces of the sailors on the Lincoln were the genuine article. Many a time Clinton and Gore had traveled to or thru Seattle and all we ever saw at McChord AFB was the limo taking them somewhere or the empty Airplane landing at the base for security reason while Clinton got off at SeaTac so he wouldn't have to be on the Base . The last time I remember Gore going thru McChord the Secret Service made us close all the Hanger doors and encouraged everyone to stay inside so as not to be a security risk to Gore LOL. Our current Commander and Chief has raised the morale level for many service members to Include a group who were misused by the Clintons' The Marine Corp Whitehouse Honor Guard. Hillary and Bill were so Uncomfortable being around the smartly dressed Marines they ordered them to wear busboy uniforms and to fetch and carry for the President and his aides like common house hold help I have heard it got so bad this highly prized detail wasn't filled on a Volunteer basis during the eight years of the Clinton Administration .But, when G.W.Bush got sworn in one of the first changes was the appearance of Marines in full dress uniforms in the Whitehouse again and a President who Salutes with respect for the person rendering the Honor.

[reconeil]

Thanks for the input on lowlifes. I wasn't aware about The Bus Boy bit and that what once were Volunteers had to be forced to serve such despicable masters.

Hell,...now I truly understand the advice often given when Serving of: "Never volunteer FOR ANYTHING",...which at the time was actually quite some joke. After all, We Scouts never really ever got a chance to volunteer FOR ANYTHING,...since always automatically volunteered by The 1st Pltn Leader FOR ANYTHING.

Still, and in fairness, We all did get to volunteer at least once when entering The Service (100% RA's), plus were the best at our jobs and/or what was needed doing anyway.

Neil

[Jerry D]

You are welcome