tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post5591158668560981053..comments2024-03-28T05:31:08.024-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: Pardo's PushOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-86475406829687905362014-03-30T15:26:44.657-07:002014-03-30T15:26:44.657-07:00I did notice that. I assumed it was for the reason...I did notice that. I assumed it was for the reasons you state. The "pilot first" philosophy wins wars, the "officer first" philosophy...<br />Honestly, I'm unclear on the benefit of the latter.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-89749408061646776852014-03-30T15:25:10.014-07:002014-03-30T15:25:10.014-07:00That's pretty awesome Virgil. I'm guessing...That's pretty awesome Virgil. I'm guessing he was a pretty good stick.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-2700176048702033922014-03-30T14:07:18.365-07:002014-03-30T14:07:18.365-07:00PS: Notice that Pardo never made it past O-5 while...PS: Notice that Pardo never made it past O-5 while Wayne made O-6. Pardo was pure old-school: a fighter-pilot first and an officer second. The Air Force wants it the other way round (at least if one wants any hope of making O-6 and beyond): Officer first; pilot second. <br /><br />(BTW, one of the things that make the Canucks and Israelis such shit-hot effective pilots is they follow the "pilot first" philosophy. Give you a classic example. The old F-101 had such almost fatal stall & spin characteristics (the big kids thought) that the US had a stick-shaker installed to warn USAF types that they were nudging up against dangerous angles of attack and to immediately drop the nose, etc. to avoid spins at all cost. The CAF? they ignored all that and actively used spins & spin recovery in the old Voodoo as standard check-list procedures to get new pilots checked out in the aircraft. virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-37015244009549659852014-03-30T13:47:17.794-07:002014-03-30T13:47:17.794-07:00When I first arrived at the 81stTFW @ RAF Bentwate...When I first arrived at the 81stTFW @ RAF Bentwaters pipeline from my tour at DaNang I was briefly assigned to the 91st TFS (Bluestreaks) before being PCS's to the sister base RAF Woodbridge and the 78thTFS Bushmasters. While at the 91st as a young 1st Lt just prior to making 0-3 I flew in Bob Pardo's backseat.virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-50226675382756424022014-03-30T06:40:48.102-07:002014-03-30T06:40:48.102-07:00You are going to enjoy it Juvat.You are going to enjoy it Juvat.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-2031655783430349662014-03-30T06:40:29.294-07:002014-03-30T06:40:29.294-07:00:-):-)OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-78251050731924064712014-03-29T20:46:44.123-07:002014-03-29T20:46:44.123-07:00I have never read it, but am rectifying that start...I have never read it, but am rectifying that starting this evening (Sam is in Mexico on his first campaign)juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-56128004832801844732014-03-29T20:45:08.528-07:002014-03-29T20:45:08.528-07:00Sarge, now that statement was frickin' BRILLIA...Sarge, now that statement was frickin' BRILLIANT!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-54355321494345363202014-03-29T15:54:53.551-07:002014-03-29T15:54:53.551-07:00God created call signs so that fighter pilots migh...God created call signs so that fighter pilots might learn humility.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-29264443211395083352014-03-29T15:48:14.365-07:002014-03-29T15:48:14.365-07:00I had the great good fortune to fly with a lot of ...I had the great good fortune to fly with a lot of outstanding fighter pilots (some of whom were WSOs). Yes, Rubber Duck was one of them. Tactical Call Signs are a thing of beauty.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-39855228686681929732014-03-29T15:26:59.197-07:002014-03-29T15:26:59.197-07:00The Germans had lots of planes towards the end of ...The Germans had lots of planes towards the end of WWII. Just not many pilots who could adequately fly them.<br /><br />It's tougher to replace a good pilot. Ask the Japanese after Midway.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-1972028915576625752014-03-29T15:19:41.029-07:002014-03-29T15:19:41.029-07:00"Once An Eagle".
One of the best books ..."Once An Eagle".<br /><br />One of the best books ever written. My copy is pretty beat up I've read it so many times.<br /><br />Mr Myrer knew his stuff.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-40052845156812617832014-03-29T15:19:36.977-07:002014-03-29T15:19:36.977-07:00Are you allowed to ask how much you like that flig...Are you allowed to ask how much you like that flight leader? Just saying...<br /><br />On the story though, Pardo was another one of those real men who got the job done when lives were on the line. And planes may be expensive, but trained pilots ain't exactly cheap, either.Murphy's Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-27134005787144638142014-03-29T15:17:57.114-07:002014-03-29T15:17:57.114-07:00Colonel Pardo is the real deal. The way he took ca...Colonel Pardo is the real deal. The way he took care of his wingman during the war and after is a thing of beauty.<br /><br />Hhmm, Friday at the club at the end of the shift. I learned a lot at those sessions. Some of it even covered maintenance procedures!OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-31555206932517141122014-03-29T14:34:07.157-07:002014-03-29T14:34:07.157-07:00From what I know . . . it's life in the milita...From what I know . . . it's life in the military as usual.<br />It's best described, in detail, by Anton Myrer in his novel, "Once An Eagle."<br />It's a case of "Them what counts beans knowing what's best versus them what carries the spear guessing, 'cause they can't see the 'Big Picture.'"<br />(Doncha know?)snuffynyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12843569994073955970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-69890348302025534582014-03-29T14:27:20.756-07:002014-03-29T14:27:20.756-07:00The thing I liked about this story was Col Pardo N...The thing I liked about this story was Col Pardo NEVER abandoned his wingman. After retirement, when Capt Aman developed Lou Gehrig's disease, Col Pardo organized a fund raising campaign to get him a motorized wheel chair and a speech synthesizer so that he could at least get around and communicate. Continued supporting him until Capt Aman passed away.<br /><br />I went through F-4 school in 1978 and most of my instructors were Vietnam Veterans in the F-4. Discussing the "Push" was officially proscribed as unsafe and dangerous and OMG! However lot of my REAL flying ground instruction usually occurred at Friday Post Flying Hours hand flying demonstration episode fueled by fermented hops flavored beverages AKA Beer at Happy Hour. I distinctly remember my flight commander gathering his charges around a table and saying "OK, the situation is your flight lead has both engines flamed out at 20K in hostile territory 90 miles from the border. What do you do? The official answer is wait til he bails out, mark his spot and wait for SAR, But, here's another option and here's how to do it"juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-10814363885287800092014-03-29T14:01:29.424-07:002014-03-29T14:01:29.424-07:00Ya got that right Russ!
I should also mention, th...Ya got that right Russ!<br /><br />I should also mention, that the guy who gave me the idea for this post (Juvat) was a Phantom driver at Kunsan when I was there. He later became an Eagle driver at Kadena.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-29995785782395910002014-03-29T13:25:07.150-07:002014-03-29T13:25:07.150-07:00Bean counters never seem to understand that the pi...Bean counters never seem to understand that the pilots are worth far more than the planes regardless of what it cost to build the planes!!!rkinionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05432551832152096206noreply@blogger.com