Posted on 01/27/2013 4:53:00 PM PST by NKP_Vet
WALLACE: And hello, again, from Fox News in Washington.
Colonel Martha McSally was our nation's first female combat pilot, logging 325 hours in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan and she joins us from Tucson.
Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin was one of the original members of the Army's Delta Force and former head of the U.S. Special Forces Command.
Colonel, General, welcome to "Fox News Sunday." I have to say, I have been looking forward to this discussion.
RET. LIEUTENANT GENERAL JERRY BOYKIN: Thank you very much, Chris.
RET. COLONEL MARTHA MCSALLY: So have I. Thanks for having us on.
WALLACE: Right. Here's how Defense Secretary Panetta explained his decision this week. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Not everyone is going to be able to be a combat soldier. But, everyone is entitled to a chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: General Boykin, you dismissed this as another case of the Pentagon using the military for a social experiment. I'd like you to tell Colonel McSally directly, knowing her background, look into the camera and tell her why she is unfit to serve in combat.
BOYKIN: Well, Chris, you need to frame it correctly. It's not an issue of women in combat. Women are in combat already and have been since 9/11, in fact, prior to that. And Colonel McSally is a great example of how women can be used effectively in combat. General Boykin has said. be considered for what they bring to the fight.
WALLACE: Well, let me just --
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
How many of those hours were spent actually delivering ordance on target? NONE
During those 325 hours how many USAF aircraft were lost to direct enemy action? NONE
If you read her history it says she first flew into combat during Desert Storm. What combat? The Iraqi Air Force NEVER engaged us in combat. What few planes they had flew straight out of Iraqi airspace. Desert Sheild/Storm was a turkey shoot. And, when she deployed to Afganistan, what kind of aircraft did she encounter? What kind of SAMs, other than ragheads throwing rocks at her? The Air Force has basically had no mission in Enduring Freedom, except medivac and cargo.
McSally commded, and flew in an
A-10 Warthog squadron.
One of the more interesting aspects I have personal knowledge of is the reluctance of some women to join these warfare specialities. I had a three star tell me one of the disappointing problems they were having was getting women to take pilot slots. Even when offered a pilot slot many of them chose a flight officer slot instead. Neither of us could fathom wanting to be in a plane and not be at the controls. When I went through Annapolis the available ship driver billets for women went unfilled as many of them chose shore jobs.
Well that proves my point. How many tanks and armored vehicles did the Iraqis have or Afganis have for a warthog to shoot at?
that is what we always said in the Army, the air force was the “chair force” and if you stood around with your hands in your pockets that was “air force gloves”
Martha didn’t fly in Desert Storm. She deployed to Kuwait in 1995, after the war, and flew less than 100 hours patrolling the peaceful skies of Iraq. To put it in perspective, I was also flying then, in 111s, and once flew 90 hours in 17 days. That should give an idea of how little she did in her “first combat tour”. It wasn’t until a few years later that the Iraqis started shooting at us on patrol.
So the rest of her “combat time” was flying over Afghanistan in 2004, unopposed. She never faced organized AAA, never faced a SAM, and never faced an enemy air force. She lived and worked out of a base with 10,000 Americans. She could eat pizza every night if she wished, or Baskin-Robbins ice cream. She had private quarters.
You have the best argument.
You have the best argument.
You have the best argument.
You have the best argument.
You have the best argument.
Sorry! Don’t know what happened!
” the air force was the “chair force””
Yeah thats what I always say about those Forward Air Controllers. You know the guys who went into Afghanistan before the marines or army. Attached to the Afghan army they called in strike after strike all while basically being the only Americans for a few hundred miles.
Oh well, I was in when the world was safe for democracy and we were of course, spoiled and dumb. Sorry, didn’t mean to offend. Yes, I am aware that the pilots are always the ones who get shot down behind enemy lines and imprisoned. Had no clue about air traffic controllers—that is interesting to know.
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