The Misty FACs

[Greyhawk]

"I never made a plan that relied on the courage of my own troops. You hope that -- and they generally will -- fight bravely. Your plan ought to be predicated on more realistic assumptions."
-- USAF Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak on the courage of American troops.

USAF Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak, 1994, models the uniform that didn't last beyond his tenure. Among other McPeakisms: people didn't have to wear any or all of their medals, if they didn't want to. (And he led by example.)

General McPeak in Vietnam - from his official bio:

9. December 1968 - January 1969, F-100D fighter pilot, 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phu Cat Air Base, Republic of Vietnam
10. January 1969 - August 1969, operations officer, later commander, Operation Commando Sabre (Misty Fast FACs), Phu Cat Air Base, Republic of Vietnam
11. August 1969 - December 1969, chief, standardization and evaluation division, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, Tuy Hoa Air Base, Republic of Vietnam

And from his wikipedia entry:

Upon completion of his tour with the Thunderbirds he was assigned as an F-100 pilot with the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing at Phu Cat Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam. In the early months of 1969, he was reassigned to the "Misty" squadron, a special group of high speed forward air controllers trying to stop traffic down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He ended up commanding this unit and moved with it when it was transferred to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa Air Base. Rotating out of his command, he served as chief of standardization and evaluation for 31st Wing. McPeak completed a total of 269 combat missions while in Vietnam, remaining in-country until 1970, after which he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Seems absolutely respectable to me. Lots of squares filled in little time (not uncommon among the designated fast burners), and completing that many combat sorties while assigned primarily to various staff positions demonstrates an aggressiveness and determination not uncommon (and highly desirable) among the fighter pilot breed.

And while McPeak may never have made a plan that relied on their courage, the Misty's were an impressive unit. Here's their web site. And here's a book (Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail) about the unit with a forward written by none other than (drumroll...) John McCain. (I wonder if those pages in McPeak's copy are intact...)

No Class Warfare Here

[Greyhawk]

Update: Bad links to Salamandar's place have been fixed (that's what I get for posting late at night. Sloppy on my part...) Hopefully now this post will make sense, at least the part about the pictures and THE FAIRNESS and all...

*****

Get ready - here comes National War College Class of 1973-74 Graduates for Truth. First revelation: McCain's butt looks kinda fat in those pants. The next shocker, over at Salamandar's

Gen. McPeak also said Mr. McCain received special favors when he returned to the U.S.

"McCain was always kind of an exception," Gen. McPeak said.

As I mentioned in my comment over there, I think that reveals more about McPeak than McCain.

But anyone who's ever been in any position of authority in the military and never dealt with a subordinate whining about the fairness doctrine regarding another troop please raise your hand.

Anybody?

Didn't think so. How about parents of more than one child?

While always listening for any underlying basis of truth (or personal grudge) in the complaint, I have a sliding scale of response based on age and experience level of the offender (and my mood). If he (or she) is under 20 I'm a bit more understanding. Thirtyish? Zero tolerance.

More: Lex has this one, too. Along with another Air Force-centric quote (suspiciously timed, if you're up on your Pentagon infighting) from the same column.

And these two (unrelated to this story) headlines (Lex and Slamandar, respectively) go in the "wish I'd thought of that one" file:

One in a row and Embedding a reporter.

And I'd link this, but Mrs Greyhawk would have a fit if she saw that picture, even though I explained it was actually about the story.

Also, that would mean one more link for Salamandar than for Lex, and I'd have to find another Lex post to link to keep it fair.

Still more: Fairness established - and once again, I link the post, not the picture. (Whatever you do, don't click the small one for the high-res version - it has no text.)

And still more: Regarding that (supposedly from a Taliban intercept) quote at Lex's I referenced: “Tanks and armor are not a big deal. The fighters are the killers. I can handle everything but the jet fighters.”

I just can't help myself - but it reminds me of a Merrill McPeak quote from 2003!

For all but the resolutely sightless, it is now obvious that air combat determines the outcome in modern war. In the early hours of March 20, the salvo aimed at [Saddam Hussein] himself was preceded by nearly a month of air attacks in and around Baghdad -- to say nothing of a decade or so of bombing in connection with enforcing the no-fly zones. <...> Because of this aerial preparation, Iraq's air defenses stayed mostly silent and our aircraft were able to begin reducing opposing ground forces immediately. Army and Marine Corps formations, judged by "experts" to be much too small for the job, captured Baghdad in just 22 days, and with comparatively light casualties. Not only did coalition air power systematically disorganize Iraq's ground forces, it did so at small cost.

When it come to Iraq quotes, McPeak is a goldmine.