[CedarDave]

President Bush's service from 1968 through April 1972 (when he stopped flying) was equivalent to regular military duty. Flying F-102 fighter jets is nothing to sneeze at.

[Afro_conservative]

Lets be honest here, be up front with what we have. Flying a jet is dangerous but being in the jungles of Vietnam trumps that 1000x over. That is why I say stay away from this topic. Mainstream America knows that over 40,000 people died in Vietnam, they don't know how many pilots die in the national guard!!!

Stick to the war on terror and Iraq. Quit trying to find something that isn't there. There weren't that many hostile people shooting SAMS in and around Alabama and most people know that so stay away from Vietnam and promote the present and the future. War on Terror and Iraq...say it with me now War on Terror and Iraq...Again....Again.

[capitan_refugio]

The primary mission of the Convair F-102 "Delta Dagger" was as a short-range, supersonic interceptor. They were designed in the mid-1950's to dispatch any Soviet or Eastern-block nuclear bombers that might penetrate friendly airspace, particularly over the arctic. By the late 1960's, these planes, while no longer among the fastest in service (top speed 825 mph), were becoming obsolete. The 102 had been replaced in frontline service by the Convair/General Dynamics F-106 Delta Dart. Thin-winged and in many respects, "over-powered," these planes were considered hot rides and "widow-makers."