For you pilots...

[GH85Carrera]

My dad was an Air Force Pilot. One of his "jobs" was he was an Air Force ROTC instructor when we lived in San Marcos, TX for several years. I found this letter in his stuff from a drawer of paperwork I am getting rid of. It has been in my closet long enough, time to purge his tax records from 20+ years ago. I will keep this letter.




I am sure he enjoyed the letter. And of course it is very accurate.

[unclebilly]

Nice. Do you know the author?

[MRM]

It looks to be a series of quotes he collected from prospective students. Was it part of a longer report? I would guess that recruitment was part of his job.

For extra added bonus points, San Marcos was where Lyndon Johnson went to college. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_University Next to Harry Truman who withdrew without a degree from something called Spaulding’s Commercial College and Reagan going to Dixon College, it’s one of the few examples of a president graduating from a college that was not a first tier school (at the time, San Marcos is first tier since at least the 60s) let alone an Ivy.

[GH85Carrera]

I actually shook hands with president Johnson when he attended a homecoming. Dad was part of the entourage to welcome him, but we were out in the crowd. He shook hands with people in a line. My big brush with politics.

[Fast Freddy 944]

Thats pretty cool!

[Seahawk]

Love it!

I posted this a decade ago

[Hard-Deck]

Very cool Glen. When I was a Captain, I taught Army ROTC at San Diego State. Having been a USMC pilot, the Army Cadets who wanted to be pilots came to me for advice and mentorship. I instilled in them that pilots had one job, to support the warriors on the ground; that they are in a supporting role to them. Each one of them graduated from flight school and decided to fly Kiowa scout aircraft. Good bunch of dudes.

The comment in the letter discussing how pilots make more money than they can spend, touched my funny-bone. In the mid-90’s, I was working as the Air planning officer for 1st Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. I was an aviator Captain, and the C.O. was an infantry Lieutenant Colonel. As a good, caring leader, who looked after his troops, one thing he did monthly was audit 10% of the unit’s LES (pay slip). (As a primer: as an aviator, I was drawing special flight pays). One month, the C.O. called me into his office and said, “Snapper, do you know that you make more damned money than I do!?” I replied, “Yes sir, and I get to wear this cool leather jacket as well”. His response was the USMC fitting, “Get the FCKU out of my office!”.

[Hard-Deck]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Love it!

I posted this a decade ago

How very true Paul. And when a Naval Aviator shows any of these feelings for their troops, they get fired. Ref the American Hero: Capt Brett Crozier.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by MRM

For extra added bonus points, San Marcos was where Lyndon Johnson went to college.

FWIW, daughter graduated from Texas State.

Love "They make more money than they can spend". You know that's a line the kid's Mom or Dad dropped regularly.

[GH85Carrera]

My dad was typical US military, and loved to kid with the other branches. One of the rules in his classroom was the other branches were never to be said out-loud, they had to be spelled, like a bad four letter word when kids are around. So it was the A R M Y or N A V Y.

Years later one of his students was giving a presentation to the local brass at the Air War College at Maxwell AFB and was in middle of the presentation and said something like "in the Army they do this... And he turned to my dad, and said, sorry sir, and continued.

One of his flight in a C-47 he had a plane load of mattresses loaded in the Phillipines and he ended up landing on remote island to deliver the mattresses to the local Navy and Marines stationed there. The C-47 was so loaded they had to crawl on their bellies to get to the cockpit.

The troops had been sleeping on the ground or on cots and were really happy to have something better to sleep on. At the officers club they said even though you are in the chair force we are buying your drinks tonight since we can finally sleep on a more comfortable surface tonight.

[Ryan_Cunningham]

Originally Posted by Snapper33

Very cool Glen. When I was a Captain, I taught Army ROTC at San Diego State. Having been a USMC pilot, the Army Cadets who wanted to be pilots came to me for advice and mentorship. I instilled in them that pilots had one job, to support the warriors on the ground; that they are in a supporting role to them. Each one of them graduated from flight school and decided to fly Kiowa scout aircraft. Good bunch of dudes.

The comment in the letter discussing how pilots make more money than they can spend, touched my funny-bone. In the mid-90’s, I was working as the Air planning officer for 1st Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. I was an aviator Captain, and the C.O. was an infantry Lieutenant Colonel. As a good, caring leader, who looked after his troops, one thing he did monthly was audit 10% of the unit’s LES (pay slip). (As a primer: as an aviator, I was drawing special flight pays). One month, the C.O. called me into his office and said, “Snapper, do you know that you make more damned money than I do!?” I replied, “Yes sir, and I get to wear this cool leather jacket as well”. His response was the USMC fitting, “Get the FCKU out of my office!”.

Was that an inter-service program where Marines/Navy could teach at an Army ROTC program?

Regardless, what did you fly? Here's to another Flying Leatherneck in the San Diego area!

[Manda Racing]

I hope you don’t t mind me sharing this.

[Hard-Deck]

Originally Posted by Ryan_Cunningham

Was that an inter-service program where Marines/Navy could teach at an Army ROTC program?

Regardless, what did you fly? Here's to another Flying Leatherneck in the San Diego area!

Ryan, no, I was recruited from USMC to Army for a program, did an inter-service transfer, and while waiting for training, they stashed me away to teach ROTC until I starting new training w/ the Army. I flew F/A18 in the USMC, did other things in the Army. PM sent.