Senator Blocks 850 Promotions in the Air Force

The New York Times ^ | 06/09/03 | ERIC SCHMITT

[Amelia]

but if it turns out to be true, it's beyond disgraceful, it's absolutely reprehensable.

I agree completely.

[Pukin Dog]

We dont have to consider the source, this is done all the damn time.

The only difference is that the AF spilled the beans. Craig will have to give in. And that Idaho base now stands a better chance then before of being closed.

There was a gentleman's agreement not to discuss things like this in public, because no one wins in the end. Now that it is out, expect more of it, not less. Every Senator is someone who THINKS they should be President.

[DakotaGator]

If this is true, it's an outrage!

One of the things that makes the country strong is that our Armed Forces are not political. If Senator Craig is doing this he is politicizing the Armed Forces. And he should be recalled now!

[Pukin Dog]

"Armed Forces are not political"

Nor is the sky a bluish color, my friend.

How do you think we got people like Wesley Clark running Nato, or Shiseki running the Army? Two truely inept losers, except for the fact that they knew which asses to kiss.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

But Mr. Craig contends that the Air Force has reneged on a promise made seven years ago to station a squadron of eight C-130's at Gowen Field, an Air National Guard base in Boise, his spokesman said. There are now four C-130's and another training aircraft based there. "This is a problem created by the Air Force that can be easily solved by the Air Force," Will Hart, the spokesman, said.

Mr. Hart would say only that "Senator Craig's record of overwhelming support for the military speaks for itself" and blamed the Air Force leadership for disclosing his hold "as some sort of strategy to renege on promises made to Senator Craig."

Sounds like his spokesman has confirmed the hold to me...

[optik_b]

It is pathetic that these hick states like Idaho can hold sway and get money out of all the other states because of the institution of the Senate that rewards them with 2 senators despite the fact they have 1/100th the population of states like California and Texas.

[Trace21230]

Having just finished a six-plus year stint in the Air Force last May, pardon me if I don't feel too sorry for these officers.

My opinion, they are overpaid and over-recognized. Give the promotions to the enlisted personnel. They don't need Congressional approval for a promotion, and they do more work anyway.

Poor, poor officers.

Trace

[SCHROLL]

Tell Mr. Craig in no uncertain terms either he backs off or is in line for the Trafficant treatment. No more committee asignments, no more pork, and no more of his BS.

[CFC__VRWC]

And that Idaho base now stands a better chance then before of being closed.

I hope the Air Force DOES close it, just to make an example out of Sen. Craig. We have, as a country, spent so much time kowtowing to and bowing and scraping before the US Senate that these 100 men and women, Democrat AND Republican, have gotten egos and senses of self importance that have swelled WAY beyond what they should be. They may THINK they should be President, but that doesn't MAKE them President. They have been allowed to forget this lesson, and we really need to teach it again by issuing a major smackdown.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

Why on earth did you post that to me? I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other (as far as the officers are concerned. When it comes to a Senator using political blackmail to extort pork... that's a different story...).

[Trace21230]

Yours was the last post in the thread. chill out.

[AFCdt]

With that attitude and your obvious respect for authority, I'm sincerely happy that you have completed your time in the USAF.

[dogbyte12]

Think of those 850 officers, and their families. Many of them risking their lives in combat, and their reward is to be a blackmail threat from a Senator. I don't give a crap if he is a republican. We can't play that nonsense. This is wrong, wrong, wrong.

I hope the Idaho members here send some nasty calls and letters Craig's way.

Picture this... a pilot has just flown several dangerous runs, gets back, is due a promotion. Maybe he and the wife can take a little vacation, buy a house with the extra income that was well deserved. There are stories like that going on right now.

Craig obviously thinks that his pork is more important than these families. Honestly though, I would bet that 90 out of 100 senators feel the same way though. Most of the lot are bastards. They do not represent we the people anymore, if they ever did.

Think about that next time as you travel out of W. Virginia on the Robert Byrd Highway, or the Trent Lott shipbuilding boondoggle that you all are paying for by working longer hours, spending less time with your family in the process.

Hey Senator Craig, I know a good place to shove one of your planes. It's where the sun don't shine.

[El Gato]

He may have some reason for doing this that the NY Times isn't reporting

Of course he does, and it's very telling that the Times only hints at what it might be:

Mr. Craig contends that the Air Force has reneged on a promise made seven years ago to station a squadron of eight C-130's at Gowen Field, an Air National Guard base in Boise

They don't say what Senator Craig traded for those extra C-130s. A curious oversight.

[FreeReign]

Charles H.:Sounds like his spokesman has confirmed the hold to me...

NY Times:But Mr. Craig contends that the Air Force has reneged on a promise made seven years ago to station a squadron of eight C-130's at Gowen Field, an Air National Guard base in Boise, his spokesman said. There are now four C-130's and another training aircraft based there. "This is a problem created by the Air Force that can be easily solved by the Air Force," Will Hart, the spokesman, said.

No confirmation here. The "problem" in the above statement as defined by the context of the statement is the lacking number of C-130's and not any "hold" problem.

NYTimes:Mr. Hart would say only that "Senator Craig's record of overwhelming support for the military speaks for itself" and blamed the Air Force leadership for disclosing his hold "as some sort of strategy to renege on promises made to Senator Craig."

Not sure. The last quote in this sentence is badly butchered. If Hart is admitting to a "hold" then why the freep not quote the entire sentence on what Hart says?

I can not draw any conclusions from this article about Senator Craig and any potential "hold".

[DakotaGator]

How do you think we got people like Wesley Clark running Nato, or Shiseki running the Army? Two truely inept losers, except for the fact that they knew which asses to kiss.

No debate there. We've always had those who play political games. But the Armed Forces are not political. Three things were never discussed in the mess; work, women, and politics.

To hold an entire promotion list hostage to political pork risks dragging the entire Armed Forces into political activism.

The country cannot endure that prospect.

[Kay Soze]

Amen!

And re Craig he needs to be removed and replaced with a Repulican Senator

[El Gato]

Geez Louise, how many times are we going to have these base reductions? Where did this idea of having 5 or 6 companies(AOLTIMEWARNERSEARSSONYTARGETCOKE.com) or 5 or 6 bases is the best way to go? This base closing process has been going on for an awful long time.

I agree that the BRAC business has gone far enough. During the Vietnam drawdown, the Air Force reduced the number of Air Material Areas, big logistics bases, (Air Logistics Centers since about '74) to five. BRAC reduced that to three, larger ones. Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, is now so crowded that there is little space to put anything else, which if they closed still another ALC, they would need to do. (Warner-Robbins GA, Ogden UT, and OK city OK are the current three). Additionally they've assigned all the AWACS and the Navy E-6s there.

We've mothballed, or sent to museums, 1/3 of the B-1B, fleet, not because we don't need them, but in order to save enough money on flight hour costs to keep thd other sixty some flying. (UPDATE, I've just discovered Congress has overuled that plan, even though it was already underway, with B-1B. See Air Force Association We've only got about 20 B-2s, and less than 100 B-52Hs. The B-52 is undergoing an avionics "mid-life" upgrade. It needs new engines, the ones it has are as old as the airframes, the last of which came off the line in 1964, and have been rebuilt many, many times and they are tired. Boeing has done much of the design work required to replace the 8 relatively fuel hungry (although not as hungry as those on earlier models) with 4 newer and more fuel efficient engines of the sort used on 747s, 767s, etc. Even though it would save money in the long run, politicians don't care much about the long run.

How is it that, with about the same fraction of total GNP going to government, we can now afford only about 1/3 as much of the GNP going to the military than we did in 1962 ? See AFA Percentage of GDP table. The answer..DemoRat giveaway programs. Yes there is pork involved in the military budget, but at least we get planes, ships, or armor, and trained troops to operate them, out of the deal. What do we get for those other vote buying schemes? Incumbent protection is what they get, we get nada.

Defense has been sucking hind teat since the end of the Vietnam war, with only the Reagan years giving some real relief. Those B-1B mentioned above were Reagan era aquistions. Sinc then the only long range heavy bombers we've bough have been the 20 or so B-2s.

[El Gato]

Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, is now so crowded that there is little space to put anything else, which if they closed still another ALC, they would need to do.

In fact they are in the process of expanding the space available by condeming some housing and businesses accross the highway to the North.

[WOSG]

He response is appropriate.

The NYT supplied puff pieces on Blanche Lincoln yesterday, whw? to boost their bush-bashing agenda and line up with Democrat talking points for the week in introducing a modified tax cut proposal - Rush managed to expose the artful deception of them voting agains thte tax cut then proposing it to make it sound like GOP was against tax cuts after just passing a large tax cut bill that was whittled down boy moderate and Democrat objections .... the same day they had anonymous sourced articles that were poopooing WMD finds ... only on the innerpage 15th paragraph did they bother to mention that most analysts take the find seriously and dont agree with the 'skeptics' the NYT was trumpeting. The bais of the Times is dispicable. I could go on there were at least 6 (count 'em 6) articles from the NYT in our local paper on saturday alone *all* of which had a clear bias or "spin". they take any chance they can to make Republicans look as bad as possible, and advance Liberal agenda and ideas.

Here the article fits the template of 'divide and conquer the Republicans' by highlighting infighting.

So please, consider the source!