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The Air Force Purge
Weekly Standard ^ | June 6, 2008 12:32 PM | John Noonan

Posted on 06/06/2008 12:30:46 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

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To: ops33
“Yeah, and he also changed to uniform to something that looks like absolute crap.”

Back in 1996 I took the Director (two stars) of the DoD agency I was stationed at to Belgium for some meetings regarding nuclear stuff.

When we were done we were at Brussels airport and he was wearing his new uniform while I was in my old style uniform.

An older lady walked up to him and started asking about her flight times (United Air Lines) and which gate she should be at.

She had mistaken him for a civilian airline pilot!

Thank God my Director had a sense of humor as he started cracking jokes to me about the incident.

By the way, he was an old B-52 pilot not some single seat jock.

21 posted on 06/06/2008 1:48:28 PM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: Fundamentally Fair
I hope SAC will be back but the new cyber warfare command has taken the SAC patch and is getting ready to use it as theirs!

Sacrilege!

22 posted on 06/06/2008 1:52:56 PM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Please pardon the vanity, I can’t help myself. McPeak was my next door neighbor on Richenbacher at Nellis. His career-path was similar to my old man’s, and they knew each other pretty well.

McPeak’s rise was surprising to many, many people. However, that can be said about the success of a lot of folks in all walks of life. The man had a fine reputation as a pilot, demonstrated some political savvy, but was not regarded as a stud leader.

I ran into an intelligence officer who briefed the inner-sanctum types in the 80s and 90s. McPeak was described as brittle and aloof. A coffee pot was behind him as he was seated at his desk, the IO goes for a cup and McPeak loses his cool - can’t be as informal as to walk behind the man.

OTOH, same IO briefs Gen. Robert Russ - boss walks in, sits down, puts his feet up on the desk, lights up a cigar and says, “Whatcha got?”.

Who would you want to work for?


23 posted on 06/06/2008 1:56:24 PM PDT by jblair (Air Force Brat)
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To: JRios1968

I served in the Air Force as a pilot during McPeak’s time and agree completely and wholeheartedly with that assesment. We went through “quality Air Force”, the uniform stupidity and the reorganization of the traditional wing structure to something that was unwieldy and unworkable. He was a complete failure as a leader.


24 posted on 06/06/2008 2:01:06 PM PDT by saganite
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To: jblair

I’ll take Gen Russ...


25 posted on 06/06/2008 2:25:18 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Secretary Robert Gates is an old SAC hat--he was an intelligence officer assigned to a strategic missile wing

For all of a year, in the middle of a war. Even I served longer than that, and had quite a bit of voluntary time in the reserves, some of that supporting a SAC Wing's intell shop.

An intell officer at the wing level, or below, is pretty much a briefer. He has nothing to do with the weapons, their maintenance, or getting them on target. In a Bomber Wing, he might have helped with operational matters, such as laying out EWO missions for the flight crews, although those were planned at SAC Hq at Offutt.

26 posted on 06/06/2008 2:35:45 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: JRios1968

Mc Peak was Vermin when I was in and still is


27 posted on 06/06/2008 2:39:10 PM PDT by 5Madman2 (There is no such thing as an experienced suicide bomber)
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To: JRios1968
The infamous "bike test" for physical fitness, which had no basis on real fitness at all, but was perfect for him

I wouldn't say that. It's as good a measure of aerobic fitness as a mile and half run. Just easier on the knees.

28 posted on 06/06/2008 2:45:32 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: JRios1968

I was a Staff Sergeant crew chief during the McPeak years. Granted, the favorite sport of crew chiefs, pointy heads, spark chasers, metal peckers and other flight line creatures is “speed b*tch*ng” but even down at our level we knew something was grossly wrong.

For long time Air Force members, Obama’s descision to have McPeak serve on his campgain is even more troubling than any “whitey” video tape or race baiting preachers. Has Obama ever actaully assocated with any decent person?


29 posted on 06/06/2008 2:54:15 PM PDT by Red Dog #1 (Up is down and down is up...)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Hmm. Tried reloading page several times and each time the second pic did not load. Weird. I mean, I know that Internet Explorer never has any problems.


30 posted on 06/06/2008 4:02:26 PM PDT by PackerBoy (Just my opinion ....)
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To: OldMissileer

It’ll get straightened out, there’s still a lot of good officers and NCO’s in uniform. There will be a lot of senior officers replaced at the Pentagon, people will get the word, and they will snap-to.


31 posted on 06/06/2008 4:25:09 PM PDT by ops33 (Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Retired))
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To: JRios1968

Must be bucking for Sec-Def.


32 posted on 06/06/2008 4:34:04 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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To: Red Dog #1

I was a butter bar El-Tee during the end of the McPeak years, in the maintenance field. It was bad enough being a wet-behind-the-ears El-Tee...even worse having to defend as a gold bar the McPeak changes to “MY Air Force” to all my ammo troops, crew chiefs, etc...


33 posted on 06/06/2008 7:53:22 PM PDT by JRios1968 ("If you go over a cliff with all flags flying, you are still going over a cliff"--Ronald Reagan)
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To: PackerBoy
Probably a firewall giving you a problem, or who knows what, Got tried of stuff like this so went to FoxFire but even FoxFire gives me problems so now half my web sites I browse with FoxFire and the other half with IE
34 posted on 06/07/2008 3:29:37 AM PDT by ReformedBeckite
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To: JRios1968
Re your post #9: "A new uniform that no one had asked for, and that made the Air Force a laughingstock"

Was that the uniform designed and purchased from McPeak's wife? $$$$$ for McPeak on that contract?

35 posted on 06/07/2008 6:41:21 PM PDT by EverOnward
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To: EverOnward
Was that the uniform designed and purchased from McPeak's wife? $$$$$ for McPeak on that contract?

Wish I knew one way or the other.

36 posted on 06/07/2008 8:25:48 PM PDT by JRios1968 ("If you go over a cliff with all flags flying, you are still going over a cliff"--Ronald Reagan)
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To: OldMissileer
I hope SAC will be back but the new cyber warfare command has taken the SAC patch and is getting ready to use it as theirs!

That was the first thing I noticed when I reviewed the Cyber Command PPLAN a few months ago. Couldn't non-concur just for that though!

37 posted on 06/07/2008 8:35:37 PM PDT by Fundamentally Fair (3/5 > 1/2)
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To: Fundamentally Fair; OldMissileer; All
Barksdale,AFB. Image and video hosting by TinyPic Soon...;0) Image and video hosting by TinyPic Hackers...;0)
38 posted on 06/07/2008 9:29:17 PM PDT by 1COUNTER-MORTER-68 (THROWING ANOTHER BULLET-RIDDLED TV IN THE PILE OUT BACK~~~~~)
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To: JRios1968

Tony “The Putz” McPeak ruined the Air Force.


39 posted on 06/08/2008 2:53:21 PM PDT by starlifter
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