RICK PERRY CAMPAIGN)
Family photo of Rick Perry as a child, posing with a horse in Paint Creek, Texas.
Posted on 06/27/2011 6:53:43 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Rank: Retired as a captain
Hometown: Haskell
Crew job: C-130 aircraft commander
Served in the Air Force: 1972 to 1977
Dyess AFB tour: March 4, 1974, to Feb. 28, 1977
His story: Way back before he was governor of Texas, Rick Perry had two choices as a young member of the Air Force.
He could either follow his dream and work toward becoming an instructor pilot in the sleek T-38, or he could fly the hulking C-130, planes that affectionately were referred to as "trash haulers" by Perry and his cohorts.
"It was one of the great adventures of my life," Perry said. "I had a fairly pedestrian life until I was 23 years old."
Perry could count on one hand the number of trips he had taken out of his home state by the time he graduated from Texas A&M University, but everything changed when he joined the Air Force.
Flying C-130s, Perry lived in Germany and Saudi Arabia. He flew in Central and South America, North Africa and all over Europe.
"I saw all of these different types of governments and I made the connections to how the people acted and looked, and it became abundantly clear to me that, at that particular point in time, that America was this very unique place and that our form of democracy was very rare," Perry said. " ... That was the greatest gift I received from my years of being in the military, and they really shaped my outlook on the rest of my life."
Perry retired from the Air Force in 1977 — but not without one last adventure.....
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at reporternews.com ...
I like Perry and absent Sarah Palin entering the race, I will work for Perry if he chooses to run.
It is worth pointing out that having a military record - even an outstanding one - does not necessarily mean a politician will be a good elected official. John Murtha served in the Marines. And George McGovern flew B-24s in World War II.
At this point, of the contenders in the race, my dream ticket would be Perry-Bachman. I like Bachman’s politics better than Perry’s but she lacks executive experience, which would be a major negative considering how badly the last legislator elected President fouled things up. Perry has the executive experience, but lacks the brilliance of Bachman. Bachman is smart as a whip, and I could see the same type of partnership as Bush-Cheney, with the plus that Bachman could run for President when Perry steps down.
We really do have some good people, don’t we?
Frankly, it takes a lot of guts to take this on without the GOP establishment rolling out the red carpet for you.
RICK PERRY CAMPAIGN)
Family photo of Rick Perry as a child, posing with a horse in Paint Creek, Texas.
I think “retired” as a Captain is a mistake or typo unless he received a Medical disability retirement. He just put in his time and served his country which is fine with me.
Well, Bush was also from the United States, so I guess we're not ready to elect an American Citizen either.
geez...
Thank you for helping on that.
I didn’t know.
“But he didn’t fly in Vietnam. So who did he bribe?”
IIRC, he served 1972 to 1977. Vietnam was basically over by then. Very few pilots went to ‘Nam during the ‘72-’75 period.
I had a buddy from OCS, The Basic School, Pensacola Flight School, Mike Shea, who died flying a CH-46 helo during the Vietnam pull-out in 1975. He is the only one of our group who went to ‘Nam during that time frame.
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...."Romney and I attended the same private high school in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., though he was several years ahead of me. I remember only one encounter: We shared a car to a gubernatorial debate during his father’s reelection campaign for governor. The younger Romney argued vigorously the whole way that people were talking more about why the Michigan economy was good than why the Michigan economy was bad and that this proved that the elder Romney had been a success as governor. In a speech over the past weekend, as reported in the Times, Romney said “the president and his people spend more time talking about me and Massachusetts health care than ‘Entertainment Tonight’ spends talking about Charlie Sheen.” After a half-century of work, the joke is a tiny bit funnier, but the point is just as lame." - Michael Kinsley
A dog is an animal. Does that mean all animals are dogs?
VERY true!
We don’t want a dictator-in-chief!
That was my question: the only kind of retirement available after 5 years is a medical retirement, which would mean he was assessed at least 30% permanently disabled. Unless there’s more, this is a journalist’s mistake. Which is not to take anything away from Pery’s service.
Colonel, USAFR
It’s just a shame he went from being “C-130 Rick” to being “Trans-Texas Rick.”
I had a buddy from OCS, The Basic School, Pensacola Flight School, Mike Shea, who died flying a CH-46 helo during the Vietnam pull-out in 1975.Sad.
White House handout from Ft Hood Shooting memorial. Perry at right. This is a very odd picture of the Obamas.
I had a boss before I got out of the Marines who was on that nission, his name was Clayton, retired as a LtCol.
IMPACT....One big liquor store. I was inducted at the AFEES at Abilene and took 24 hours by bus to get to San Antonio. I was there in 1973.
Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: DYS, ICAO: KDYS, FAA LID: DYS) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Abilene, Texas.
The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing (7 BW) assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. The 7 BW is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.
Dyess AFB was established in 1942 as Abilene Army Air Base (AAB). It is named in honor of Texas native and Bataan Death March survivor Lieutenant Colonel William Dyess. The 7th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel David B. Béen. The Vice Commander is Colonel Brian P. Donahoo and the Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Douglas L. McIntyre...."
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