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Gen. Petraeus p*sses off the AF

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DaveGriffin

Registered Self-Abuser
Joined
Nov 29, 2001
Posts
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Here's a whinning editorial from airforce-magazine.com/. It looks like Gen. Petraeus really twisted the panties of our brothers in blue.


Beyond Outrageous
CENTCOM boss takes mindless shot at USAF.


August 19, 2009—"Joking" comments of Army Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US Central Command, during his presentation at the Marine Corps Association Foundation dinner on July 30 belittled the contributions of the Air Force to the joint force.
In his prepared remarks, Petraeus said: "Then, of course, 25,000 feet above them [soldiers and marines], an Air Force pilot flips aside his ponytail and looks down at them through his cockpit as he flies over. 'Boy,' he radios his wingman, 'It must be tough down there.' "
We reviewed the video to get his actual remarks and found he embellished his "joke," changing the altitude to 30,000 feet and saying, "… an Air Force pilot flips aside his ponytail—I don't know how that got in there; I know they haven't had ponytails in a year or two—and looks down … ."
Petraeus, as leader of CENTCOM, the joint force charged with running operations in Southwest Asia, should have known better than to make such disparaging remarks, even in jest. Certainly, his handlers at CENTCOM finally realized the effect they would have—they excised that part of his remarks from the version on the CENTCOM Web site. (We found the original version—along with the video—still posted on Aug. 19 at the Marine Corps Association Web site.)
In all fairness, early in his actual remarks, Petraeus did offer this joint praise, saying, "The best examples of true importance have been found in our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have deployed in harm's way."
However, those words do not alleviate the offensiveness—and un-jointness—of his later comments. They are symptomatic of the long-held belief of many ground commanders that airpower is no longer, if it ever was, relevant. (Read Fraudulent Flak from the September 2000 Air Force Magazine.)

Here's the entire section from Petraeus' remarks with the "joke" as given at the dinner:

"Come to think of it, in fact another bedrock element of the Marine Corps is unquestionably having the best recruiting ads on television. [Laughter] But this concept is not just an advertisement. The marines' sense of toughness permeates the Corps' lore as well as its reality. To recall an illustrative story, a soldier is trudging through the muck in the midst of a downpour with a 60-pound rucksack on his back. This is tough, he thinks to himself. Just ahead of him trudges an Army ranger with an 80-pound pack on his back. This is really tough, he thinks. And ahead of him is a Marine with a 90-pound pack on, and he thinks to himself, I love how tough this is. [laughter, applause] Then, of course, 30,000 feet above them — [laughter] — 30,000 feet above them an Air Force pilot flips aside his ponytail. [laughter, applause] Now — I'm sorry. I don't know how that got in there — [laughter] — I know they haven't had ponytails in a year or two — [laughter] — and looks down at them through his cockpit as he flies over. Boy, he radios his wingman, it must be tough down there. [laughter] Well, TV commercials and all joking aside, we've all seen that marines truly and consistently live up to their reputation."
 
Funny, on the US CENTCOM webpage, this speech is there. However, for some funny reason, the part about the USAF and the pony tail doesn't appear?
 
Dave,
Seems that editorial is written by those who have no real affiliation with the USAF, or the military...

Kind of like you.
 
Dave,
Seems that editorial is written by those who have no real affiliation with the USAF, or the military...

Kind of like you.

Huggy,

WTF are you talking about? After 0100 is too late for you to post.

We all know you AF prima donnas ain't the sharpest knives in the drawer, but at least you can try to keep up with the easy stuff.

The editorial was written by the AF Times writers b*tchin' about how mean Gen. Petraeus is to make fun of the jet jocks ponytails.


C40_Pilot

"Funny, on the US CENTCOM webpage, this speech is there. However, for some funny reason, the part about the USAF and the pony tail doesn't appear?"

I know it's really hard, but read the editorial. It answers you questions in the 5th sentence.
 
Like I said, the AF Pravda Times is simply another jounalistic piece. While a couple of their staff had military backgrounds, don't let it fool you: they are journalists of the 21st century. Why research an issue when you can publish it emotionally?
 
Dave,

What is your problem? It seems that every post you start is AF bashing. Why don't you take that C-130 Combat Talon off your rating? Seems pretty funny to me that you have some obsession with calling out the AF but the only thing you can put on your profile is jumping out of an AF plane.
I don't remember Navy guys having any problems with AF guys when they were riding in the back of our airplanes.

I think your constant needling reflects poorly on you and you alone.
 
i say we start pulling out ac-130 missions so when army and marines call for help we wont be there. make fun of the air force then. and start pulling c-17 missions so you dont get your tanks. or start pulling out a-10 missions so those hodgies in front of you keep shooting at your ass....
 

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