Another low for airport screeners

[skiddriver]

AWACoff,

No time to volunteer at the VA right now , I'm locking on my retirement stuff after 22 years in the Marine Corps. No CMOH, but a DFC & Air Medal to show for my troubles on your behalf. I think I will swing by when I retire in a couple of weeks though. Picked up a few dings along the way that are going to need some attention sometime down the road.

Am I a patriot?....you bet. Moreover, I don't forget the sacrifices other folks have made on my behalf, whether it was General Foss, my parents, or any of the other thousands of folks in and out of the military whose shoulders we are all collectively standing on today, and who are all personal heroes of mine.

And maybe it's my Asian side, but I actually believe in all that "respect your elders" stuff as well.

You may want to go back a reread your first post. You (maybe unintentionally) maligned a great man. Your subsequent lack of remorse however, tells everyone all they need to know about you, as does your obvious disdain of those who believe in this country.

Fly safe (if you really do fly), and enjoy your time in America. It isn't perfect, but it could be if we all worked at it a little harder.

Oh, and you can bag the personal assaults. You aren't tough enough to get under my skin.

 

[Andy Neill]

PRE-SEHHHNT --- ARMS

orDAHHH --- ARMS.

 

[d328pilot]

You know I keep pretty quiet on most stuff. I am not in the military however if I saw someone harassing someone with the CMOH, in their possession no less, i think i would say WTF are you doing.....do i get arrested, so what. there has to be a line and that totally crosses it

 

[d328pilot]

and if that didnt make any sense...its because stuff like that pisses me off so much...

 

[d328pilot]

and one more thing...thank you skiddriver for 20+ years of service you have given to this country. I for one appreciate it greatly. And that goes to anyone else who has served!

 

[Dude Groovy]

Skiddriver,

Lighten up Comrade. Joe Foss fought and others died so we can (among other freedoms) speak our minds freely. This is still the United States of America not the United State of the Marine Corps.
Like Joe Foss, I am upset with the current security process. I have myself experienced similar indignities at the hands of screeners and would change things big time if I were king. But in the current setup how was a screener to know it was a war hero he was screening? And if it were known that he was a war hero,
would he be entitled to preferential treatment? Let me tell you if Joe Foss and I were in a hypothetical chow hall line I might let him go ahead of me if it was meat loaf night, but if it were steak night, Joe's goin down!
That's my two cents. Bring it on!

 

[skiddriver]

Well, you asked for it...

Dude,

Okay, you guys are taking up too much of my study time, but here goes.

1) First - Andy, thanks for the salute [that's what that was, right?], and d28pilot thanks for the kind words. Andy, if you get a chance to look at General Foss’s CMOH citation, you’ll see he got it while leading a mixed flight of Jarheads and Army dudes. Jointness at it’s best.

2) This is the United States of America. There is freedom of speech. Some folks think that means they can say what they want and no one else can call them on it. For starters, AWACoff doesn't know who Joe Foss is [which is okay, I only know because I'm a Marine and they make you learn that stuff], but then he insinuates that General Foss is a drooling mess and gee, wouldn't any 86 year old guy with the CMOH deserve a triple rogering coming through security? Anyway, this is the United States of America. That's why I could call AWACoff an unpatriotic mouth breather whenever I want, though I won't because I don't know that for certain. I love this place...

3) Then AWACoff decides that because a few of us object to his youthful characterization of General Foss as a mindless bed wetter, we must be racist John Birchers and he has the audacity to question my patriotism. Once again, his right. However, it's my right to point out that he doesn't have a clue as to what he's talking about, and while he's been out putting around the pattern with his private students, I was rolling down the chute dodging AAA with “United States” painted on the side of my aircraft.

4) Dude, as for your points (the following is my opinion only):

a) Anyone who earned the CMOH deserves every possible consideration - yes, even more than the average citizen. They are special to this country in the way that former Presidents are, even the ones who are well known enough not to get screwed with by security even if they were despicable draft dodgers. Does that mean preferential treatment? In my mind, heck yeah!

b) The screeners knew that General Foss had the CMOH, because they tried to take it away from him and he told them what it was. Anyone who has a CMOH is by definition a war hero. At that point, they needed to call a supervisor, not further harass the poor man.

c) I bet you that the VP and Public Relations manager at America West have Joe Foss's face and bio indelibly etched in their minds right now, and I would bet you that chow hall steak that they wish they'd had a greeter whisk General Foss straight from check-in to his seat in first class. At the time of this incident, the screeners were America West employees (though I’m sure they worked for a subcontractor). America West doesn’t think that this incident was just business as usual.

d) Finally, while I was not fortunate enough to meet him when he and his wife were here in New Orleans, a good friend of mine was his escort, and he said that the General was a stand-up guy and one of the nicest people you could hope to meet (as was his wife, though of course, she wasn't a guy). So you wouldn't have to take General Foss down to get to that steak first, he'd offer you cuts. ;-)

So here’s my last on this string (I need to get back to my FAR/AIM)….

Shame, shame, shame on America West and your employees for the way you abused Joe Foss. I hope you feel it in your bottom line as this story gets bounced around through AARP and the service and veteran’s organizations. Make amends as soon as possible or feel the wrath of a pre-baby-boomer boycott!

AWACoff – you are probably a pretty nice guy when you aren’t running down America’s heroes. Spend a little time finding out who they are.

Everyone else – freedom of speech means that people can actually point out when you say something stupid. They can even call you stupid for saying it. That’s one of the reasons why I think…….

IT”S GREAT TO BE AN AMERICAN!!

 

[Dude Groovy]

Skiddriver,

Dude, chill out already. I reread AWACoff's post again to make sure I hadn't missed something. Nowhere in it does he say that Joe Foss is a bed wetter. or puts his pants on backwards, or really any of the stuff that you accuse him of saying. His point was simply that how were they to know he was a war hero. Answer; they could'nt!
The point of this thread is that security sucks. Yes it does. And most every airline pilot has experienced first hand the lack of logic inherent in it as currently practiced. And frankly, while I too am thankful to all the people who sacrificed in WWII and other wars, I personally don't like the idea of some folk's being "more equal" than others.
I will now paraphrase the rest of your post: Blah Blah...DFC..Blah Blah....Flag waving....I'm in the military..Blah Blah... Rollin in hot....ect.
Lots of people served in the military(myself included)...get over it.
By the way, I highly recommend Joe Foss's book.

Peace

 

[Eagleflip]

Starship Trooper

OK, I've got to weigh in with another "IMHO diatribe."

This debate isn't about mindless patriotic drivel. You either believe in something or you don't. I strongly believe in this country and this way of life. I believe that military folks give a lot to serve their country. Do I think they are better than others? Well, the politically correct side of me says no, but I don't really believe that. I have seen way too many kids working Christmas in Korea, standing guard in the sands of Saudi, and sitting on a ship for six months at a whack not to feel that these are strong citizens. But this issue is beside the point.

The post was about Joe Foss' experience with security--so what if they screeners didn't know who he was? He, like any other American, was still due a measure of respect from the security clones. A larger issue with some on this board seems to be the importance of believing that people from his generation sacrificed quite a lot to ensure that the world would remain safe for future generations. I suggest that Joe Foss' generation gave of themselves more than any generation since, including the Vietnam era. What's so hard to believe about that? Why is it so difficult to honor those who have gone before? When did patriotism become a profanity, a concept to be shunned?

A good read is Robert Heinlein's book Starship Troopers. Don't watch the movie (a complete waste of film except the co-ed shower scene), get the actual book. Then tell me if Heinlein's concept of "citizen" is wrong or off base. Facist it is not--insightful to the likes of Joe Foss and his bretheren it is.

 

[Jetstone]

!st class rebutal

Skiddriver,

Kudos to you sir for great response to these total idiots that gather here. It is people like you and Gen Foss that make me proud to be an American. As for the rest, well, they are the dregs that society must endure. Thankyou for serving your and my country.