Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Mom of local Navy aviator supports National Guard Close Air Support training

[the following letter to the editor of the Oshkosh Northwestern was also submitted to us by its author and we are pleased to publish it here...]

18 February 2008

To The Editor:

Another opinion on the Air National Guard, F-16 maneuvers…seemingly a controversy that smacks of contradiction:

Oshkosh is the host city to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) convention. It not only commemorates war history and its flights, but it is a convention that hosts thousands of sport aviation pilots and other enthusiasts. A convention that also crowds the airspace of northeast Wisconsin and especially the Oshkosh heavens including one year’s crash into a south-side, residential neighborhood.

America’s military aviators are the best trained and most highly skilled pilots in the world. Their “wings of gold” are on pilots who have successfully completed years of a post-baccalaureate syllabus: a curriculum to prepare for inestimable stress. Flight that is an integral piece of our national defense.

Like any profession, military aviation requires the continuous honing of one’s knowledge and experience(s). Those aviators deserve the unanimous support of our community, just as deployed personnel.

Many communities are home to various levels of military installations 365/year actively training for artillery, infantry and prestigious military academies shaping young minds to a future of military protocol and armament. What would they say about our “not in my neighborhood” attitude?

Ask yourself who brazenly guarded the east coast airspace, post 9-11. It is a demanding expertise that cannot be maintained by ware-housing flight equipment.

In strictly my opinion, the most dangerous piece of the United States military is its inept commander-in-chief who has duped us into a heinous war. The cloistered world of Bush has ruptured our international presence and taken the lives of thousands of dedicated military personnel and civilians. Far more than flight-training maneuvers.

I remain, the proud mom of a Naval aviator and officer, United States Marine Corps.

Candice Marsh Luebke
Via: E-Mail

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