Thanks Kalitta Charters

[propsarebest]

The other day, a F20 showed up here at MMV, with a body of a local 20 yr old kid that was killed in Iraq. The crew was very respectful, and were top notch.

WAY TO GO! I know it's not the easiest job in the world, but you guys handle with respect.

 

[PUNISHER]

The very least I can do

I appreciate the nice comment. It's definitely a difficult job to do day in day out. Although it is nothing in comparison to the soldier's duty. I hope I can return to MMV someday on different circumstances, you can rest assured that if I have to bring another fallen soldier home they will be treated with the highest level of respect and integrity.

 

[cherry20's]

I keep hearing you guys are doing a good job at different FBO's. Keep up the good work fellas!

 

[Metro752]

Thanks for the service into Lewis LOT today 6/10.

 

[DrProc]

I witnessed the arrival of a fallen soldier into DTW the other day, and I have to agree that Kalitta did an outstanding job. I really have to commend the crews that have to watch the greiving families, its gotta be hard to do day in and day out.

 

[jaxpilot]

saw em in SRQ a few weeks ago, did a good job.

 

[tathepilot]

Seeing the family is the hardest part... Every fallen soldier has an escort on board, last week we had two brothers..

 

[airspeedsalive]

Wtf?!

 

[PUNISHER]

Crossed The Line

There will always be some clown who opposes the dignified transfer of our fellow country men, the vary men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom.
I always thought it would be some hippie liberal ****************************** bag from the media, but I guess I'm really not that surprised that some smart ass on FI has the nerve to call us "morbid scavengers". If you had any idea what we deal with day in and day out you would probably keep your big mouth shut.
We provide a service to our fallen soldiers and their families to ensure that they receive the utmost respect and honor that they deserve.

 

[PUNISHER]

Every company makes money to continue as a business, some fly passengers, some fly auto freight, some fly corporate big wigs around, it goes on and on. You can't fly jets around the country for free. Whether you like it or not for every person who pilots a jet there is a owner or group of owners that are trying to make money off of it. That's how a business works.
We (pilots) are merely the drivers. Every man or woman who does this job has the choice in how they conduct themselves while doing their job. Some of us take pride in what we do, some of us are able to look past the corporate entity that is making the real money in this big picture and some pilot groups work together to form a reputation of a "good group of guys". So when you call our company "morbid scavengers" I take offense to it. The service that we provide Is making sure that they receive the utmost respect and honor that they deserve. When we do these ceremonies it is the pilots who conduct them, we are the ones who often personally deal with families, We have the choice in how we conduct these ceremonies and how we interact with family.

Here is what we do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnp9idOEj4g

 

[DrProc]

I am assuming you are in your mid 20s and beautiful words stll get you high. I understand you and I appreciate your effort in doing your best. I hope you are just a pilot working for Doug and not one of the his office brown noses.
While Doug is counting the corpses and the money made from being the lowest bidder for this contract - I bet he doesn't know any of the fallen heroes name - you the pilots not only make money for him but you are working hard and for free to put a good name to his company and his way of doing business. He knows very well you will be doing an excellent job. It is only human and he knows that. He gets two birds with one stone. Money and a good name. For the money he makes even by being the lowest bidder 'cause now we have so many casulaties in this stupid war that the government is looking in saving money by rewarding the contract to scavengers ( Kalitta),that he should escort the fallens himself.
I know you pilots are doing a good job. That is the reason I said the pilot group is a good bunch. As you can see pilots save Kalitta's name and not only that they increase his credits. All that for very low pay, but an excellent flying experience. If you feel proud for bringing corpses home, DON'T. I did it and is something which will get you later. You should be flying home our alive and happy heroes. That should have been a goal. Not corpses.

It's a shame that this thread was about honoring our fallen warriors and supporting those who bring them home to their families and home towns, and you had to show up and open your mouth. As Americans, we have a creed of bringing everyone home, alive or deceased, and the Kalitta crews are helping facilitate this. If you have something derogatory to say about Kalitta, please start another thread, and don't tarnish our fallen heroes.

 

[Metro752]

You tarnish our fallen heroes. The thread's name is not OUR FALLEN HEROES but it is THANK YOU KALITTA CHARTERS.
So abviousely you gain credit and make money using the good name of our fallen heroes. They should be respected and not used to make money by money hungry greedy people such as your boss.

If you knew one of these fallen heroes, you'd probably stop posting trash here, just out of respect for them, and keep your ill tempered contempt for our government to yourself, or at least to a medium filled with like minded idiots as yourself.

This thread, I believe is directed at the crews who operate the aircraft, not to the management at Kalitta. Thanking these pilots, who fly this tough mission, for taking such good care of our friends and family who have been lost defending your right to be such a fool, whether you personally believe they did or not.

Just like one thanks a fireman, or police officer for doing his job. Yes, they're doing their job, but when it's personal, it means a lot to the individuals involved. We're human, you should try to be more so.

 

[tathepilot]

COUNTBAT it sounds like you are a little sore about something in your past... have you been touched the wrong way when you were a child.?? You say KC should do the contract for free, and than you said we got the contract by being the lowest bidder..?? what is the problem here??

Quote: I do not agree with the family way of doing business.
what is the issue here..??

Quote:While Doug is counting the corpses and the money made from being the lowest bidder for this contract, I bet he doesn't know any of the fallen heroes name
Actually you are very wrong!! Most of the pilots have names of every 'Fallen' they have escorted home, in-fact one of the pilots just told me that he has escorted his 80th 'Fallen' for a total of 108,000 miles to this date... (he has every name)

Quote: All that for very low pay, but an excellent flying experience.
Again, assumptions make you look stupid, you would probably feel pretty stupid if you knew what we are getting per week to fly this contract...

let me ask u this COUNTBAT, who in this wourld would do this contract for free??

i have more to say, but i have to fly now..

 

[tathepilot]

correction to my post

I stated one of our pilots has escorted 80 'Fallen', soldiers but the correct number is 49... Here is a post directly from his blog:

Monday, April 16, 2007
All gave some, some gave all...
Current mood: sad
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As the saying goes, "All gave some, some gave all." Well, it's been just over 3 months of flying as a Captain and every flight I have done so far has been for the Air Force. It's been a rough 3 months at that. I have flown 49 fallen soldiers to their final resting place. I have seen thousands of grieving family members, friends and total strangers to these guys. I have met a lot of really good people along the way as well. I have seen entire towns coming out to support these families with American flags in their hands as well as 100 motorcycles in motorcades along with firetrucks, police cars and even helicopters escorting the fallen and their families away from the airport. I have also seen the opposite when no one at all shows up for whatever reason, whether it is because of privacy or because there is no one else. I have been to 34 states and Puerto Rico twice and flown over [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]105,000 miles[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] so far. As much as I wish I had flown the last one home, I know we still have a job to do and I really hope it ends soon. The following list is a list of the heros I have taken back home on their final flights. May they all rest in peace and God bless their families and ease the pain. To many, this may just be a list of names. To me, it means a lot more. Every single one of these guys had their lives taken away, they were just like us. They all used to be children growing up, going to school and making memories, probably many with similar stories to your own life. They were someones friend, brother, cousin, father, uncle. Once you look at the list and realize how everyone attached to them has had their own lives changed forever, it goes way beyond 49 lives lost. A lot of these guys are younger than me and every one of them went well before their time. If you see a soldier or a vet, thank them. A Man is not dead until he is forgotten...never forget.[/FONT]


Sgt Thomas E. Vandling Jr. Pittsburgh, PA
Cpl Richard A. Smith Arlington, TX
Spc Luis Ayala Long Beach, CA
Sgt James M. Wosika St.Paul, MN
TSgt Timothy R. Weiner Centennial, CO
Spc Jason J. Corbett Casper, WY
Sgt Sean P. Fennerty Portland, OR
1Sgt William T. Warren Little Rock, AR
SFC John G. Brown Little Rock, AR
Maj Michael V. Taylor Little Rock, AR
SFC Russell P. Borea Tuscon, AZ
SSgt Jamie D. Wilson Raleigh-Durham, NC
PFC Darrell W. Shipp Harlingen, TX
Sgt Gary S. Johnston Wichita Falls, TX
SPC Brandon L. Stout Grand Rapids, MI
Cpl Nicholas P. Brown Dayton, OH
PFC Michael C. Balsey Porterville, CA
Sgt Alejandro Carrillo Long Beach, CA
Cpl Richard O. Quill Nashville, TN
PFC Kenneth T. Butler Pittsburgh, PA
SPC Alan E. McPeek Tuscon, AZ
Sgt Terry J. Elliott Jackson, TN
SSgt Terrance D. Dunn New Orleans, LA
Sgt Long L. Nguyen Portland, OR
Ma2 James P. LaQuita Jacksonville, FL
PFC Chad E. Marsh Wichita, KS
PFC Kristofer D. Thomas Sacremento, CA
PFC Kelly D. Youngblood Phoenix, AZ
PFC Travis W. Buford Natchitoches, TX
Pvt2 Reece D. MorenoPrescott, AZ
Sgt Richard A. Soukenka Oceanside, CA
SSgt Christopher R. Webb Lakeview, OR
PFC Cory C. Kosters Conroe, TX
SFC Douglas C. Stone Pellston, MI
SSgt DustinM. Gould San Diego, CA
Spc Brian L. Chevalier Zanesville, OH
LCpl Harry H. Timberman Minneapolis, MN
SSgt Terry W. Prater Knoxville, TN
Sgt Ed Santini San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cpl Jason Nunez San Juan, Puerto Rico
Spc Stephen Kowalczyk Denver, CO
SSgt Darrell R. Griffin Burbank, CA
Sgt Christopher M. Wilson Chicopee, MA
Sgt William G. Bowling Lexington, KY
1stLt Neale M. Shank Fort Wayne, IN
SSgt Jerry C. Burge Picayune, MS
Cpl Wilfred Flores Jr. Lawton, OK
Spc James J. Coon Walnut Creek, CA
Spc Rodney L. McCandless Houston, TX

 

[DrProc]

tathepilot, thanks for posting that blog, it put this thread back on the right path.

 

[tathepilot]

tathepilot, thanks for posting that blog, it put this thread back on the right path.

I see that COUNTBAT's posts were removed by the mod, and rightfully so... It sounded like he had a personal issue with Doug Kalitta...

Captain PUNISHER is a good man, and he takes great pride in the job that he does, and I do too.. When I step out of the a/c on an escort mission, I make sure that I have my sunglasses on, because 'still' I'm always on the verge of letting loose tears..

 

[gutshotdraw]

I have now witnessed two Kalitta Falcon 20's deliver their precious and mournful cargo (LAX, SFO). In both cases, the crews and the receiving officials conducted themselves with outstanding dignity and respect. Nevertheless, I find it telling and sad that there is a specially designed and installed track and winch system for the loading and unloading of our country's fallen heroes. By that I mean there are too many caskets to deliver. I am hopeful that these aircraft and flight crews can be put to happier use soon.

 

[kfscapn]

I agree that there are way too many of these trips, but I don't think there will be an end to them anytime soon, in our planes or someone else's. I'm personally at almost 80 of these return flights, and it is still very difficult every time. You really have to feel for these families. I know I do.

 

[PCL_128]

Here is what we do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnp9idOEj4g

Wow. I never even realized that you guys were doing these flights. I always just assumed that the military took care of it. You guys have my utmost respect. I can't imagine how tough it must be to do even one of these flights, let alone doing them over and over again and having to see the grieving families. God bless you.

 

[Gearmonkey]

I am really glad I didn't see that post that was about us being "morbid scavengers". That is a a personal insult to me and my fellow KFS pilots that are out here doing our best at a very tough job. I take a lot of pride in what I do and when I started flying this contract, it took on a different meaning. I am going to be taking my 81st soldier home tomorrow to Travis. I keep track of every name and how many I have flown because it means a lot to me. Every single one of these missions is very sad but an honor to do. It is the most honorable thing I will ever do in my career and I am not even 30 yet. If you have a problem with it, fine, but show some respect clown, these guys are out there fighting for you to run your mouth off about stuff you don't even know about. Luckily there is a group of some pretty damn good guys out here to get the job done with dignity and respect.

 

[dispatchguy]

I hope all of you KFS guys get nothing but fair skies and tailwinds for doing a very difficult job. Just watching that crew, they showed extreme dignity and respect.

As an aside, it was about a year or so ago I heard that the TSA prohibited airlines from carrying the bodies of our fallen servicemembers, since in their clueless minds, their caskets were a security threat. The military brings them into the US, and then the civilian contractors take them the rest of the way. A friend of mine is a C17 aircraft commander, and he has brought way too many people home in that fashion.

May the rest come home safe, in one piece, and upright.

 

[propsarebest]

We bring them home from the sandbox too, usually 3-4 flights a week.

 

[Wrightflyboy]

Another job well-done by KFS at Wright-Patterson AFB on Saturday evening.
Thanks, guys!

 

[champ2kt]

Wow, I had no idea the Govt. had subbed the job out. Sounds like Kalitta is going the distance to see this job thru with respect. My hat is off to you guys and thanks.