[Alas Babylon!]

Oh come on, Man! National Guard duty IS military duty. Brother, I spent 22 years active duty, but while I joked about Weekend Warriors like everybody else active, they showed up when asked and did their jobs. Flying a fighter jet is exectionally hazardous duty, even in peace time, and requires courage and brains.

No body with any integrity will mock the committment to country that flying a jet fighter, Guard, Reserves, or Active, requires.

[USMCVet]

Don't mean to knock my National Guard bretheren: it is military duty and something to be proud of...

But during the Vietnam War it was largely used as a dodge to avoid the unseemly shooting stuff. Service flying planes in Texas does not equate to service flying Thud Ridge, or downtown Hanoi, plain and simple.

We knew it then and we remember it now.

[southland]

RE post # 4 I agree that flying a fighter jet is exceptionallly hazardious duty. We lost 5% of my flight school class (56H) in first 18 months out of flight school. From what I learned this is not unusual.

[DAPFE8900]

That is exactly what the leftist dont get. Every time they call our president dumb people need to point out what it takes to fly a fighter jet...Come on he may not be the most eloquent guy but hes got brains in matters that count...