[hiredhand]

I just can't help but wonder how long they would continue with this crap if we shot down one or two.

...probably not long. :-)

[ArmyTeach]

In the 1980s, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent changes in the Soviet Union, Russian fighter planes regularly penetrated US air space over Alaska to test our defense. Our fighters from Eielson Air Force Base immediately responded, took to the air and ‘escorted’ the Russian planes out.
Recently there was a move out of Washington to close Eielson. The Fairbanks community closed ranks and when hearings were held here on the issue. There was standing room only as citizen after citizen testified to the air base’s strategic importance, including the chancellor of our university (who happens to be a retired Army general). Eielson is still here, in fact it is expanded. They’ll be on the watch for ‘uninvited guests.’