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Letters to Air Force Times

Religion critic wrong

Regarding Robert F. Dorr’s “Keep the faith (to oneself)” [Back Talk, Aug. 2]:

I have myriad problems with Dorr’s comments. First, “What hasn’t changed is the tension in the Air Force between some who practice Christianity and most who don’t.” According to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, 76.5 percent of the U.S. is Christian and 14 percent do not adhere to a religion. Other religions comprise almost 4 percent of the U.S. population. Seems to me the majority of Air Force personnel would self-identify as Christian.

Second, what’s Dorr’s point with the quote by the Jewish officer, “I often feel left out”? He may indeed feel the way you indicate, but so what? Lots of folks feel lots of ways about lots of things; that doesn’t mean their feelings conform whatsoever to the facts. How do I have any idea at all that his feeling (that his commander won’t give him face time because he didn’t see him in church on Sunday) is based in any kind of reality?

Third, “Of course, not all Christians wield influence in improper ways.” “Not all Christians?” Did Dorr mean to imply that most Christians in the Air Force misbehave? Does he have any substantiation at all for this?

Fourth, “But many with extreme views hold high places in the Air Force and in other service branches.” Where to even begin with this one: What are these extreme views Dorr alludes to? So what if he considers certain views to be extreme? What’s his point — that no one with strong religious faith should be allowed to hold high office?

Fifth, “Officers must not try to convert others to their religious views.” I think Dorr means in the workplace. Certainly, he doesn’t think that an officer, by virtue of his office, should be prohibited from the free and full practice of his religion, which for evangelical Christians includes proselytizing?

I could be wrong, but it seems that Robert F. Dorr thinks no one in any position of authority should allow their religious faith to inform their perspective, or to influence the way they comport themselves in their daily lives, including military duty. What would he have — that all persons in positions of power be agnostic/atheist, so that religion not taint public life at all? The folly here is that agnostics and atheists have a worldview, too, as do Christians, Muslims and Jews, and that worldview, and faith or nonfaith bias, does inform each and every one of us, to varying degrees, whether or not we realize it.

Maj. David M. Hughes

Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Taxes worth the cost

In response to retired Lt. Col. Ray Asik [“Tax-happy Kerry,” Letters, Aug. 6]:

Lt. Col. Asik should consider that if we cut all taxes, he would not be better off. He would lose his retirement pay, his health care, the highways we drive on, all the Veterans Affairs hospitals and a few more bridges like the one in my home city of Minneapolis.

We could borrow more money from China to pay for this never-ending war in Iraq. And don’t forget the Social Security trust fund, from which we are borrowing to help pay for your president’s war. As far as Sen. Kerry is concerned, he is right on.

Senior Master Sgt. Earl F. Rasmussen (ret.)

Minneapolis

The ‘signature wound’

Thank you for printing so many articles about traumatic brain injuries [“War’s ‘signature’ wound,” Lifelines, Aug. 13]. As this is the product of the Iraqi insurgents’ weapon of choice, we are going to see more and more of these types of injuries. I have learned so much about my injuries from reading all of your articles and just wanted to say thank you.

I was in the vicinity of two improvised explosive device blasts that caused some serious damage. Since my return from individual augmentee duty in Iraq, I have been grounded from my normal flying duties and placed on limited duty status while awaiting a medical review board. I have to say that if I had to do it all over, I would gladly go to Iraq again knowing the risks involved. Because we are seeing more and more of these injuries, I believe we must push for proper briefing of all military personnel, before an IA tour, on the signs of a traumatic brain injury. After a deployment, we must screen our troops carefully and make sure that, if they were in the vicinity of an IED blast, they’re given full MRI and CT scans to ensure there were no lasting effects or serious damage that might have been overlooked or missed.

When I left Iraq, I was having headaches and nightmares but just thought that was normal. After I returned to my squadron and tried to start flying again, I noticed some very different things, like dizziness, vertigo and short-term memory loss. I have to say my treatment has been excellent and Marine Corps Kaneohe Clinic and Tripler Army Hospital have really helped out in all of this. Please keep your brain injury articles coming and educate all of our troops about these terrible effects so we can watch out for our fellow service members.

Navy Chief Aviation Warfare Systems Operator Robert L. Walker

Ewa Beach, Hawaii

Movie review misguided

Robert F. Dorr is a friend of mine, but his recent review of the movie “Rescue Dawn” [“Its inaccuracies make ‘Rescue Dawn’ a military movie to miss,” Back Talk, Aug. 13] nauseated me. Yes, there were a lot of “inaccuracies” in the film, but so what? The movie was shot on location in Thailand with the Royal Thai Air Force providing aircraft. It would have been cost prohibitive to have used actual aircraft types for the movie.

One particular inaccuracy involves the scene in which Dieter Dengler sets fires to signal friendly aircraft. In the movie, his fires are spotted by helicopters, which proceed to strafe him. In real life, his fires were spotted by a U.S. C-130A Hercules FAC/Flare airplane with a crew from the 35th Troop Carrier Squadron at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, but diverted to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base on the Blind Bat FAC/Flare mission. The aircraft commander, Capt. Robert Bartunek, spotted a fire, and after the navigator, Lt. Dick Herman, determined that it was in an abandoned village, directed a flight of Navy A-4 Skyhawks in for an airstrike. When two other fires appeared in a pattern, he realized that they might be an SOS and called off the fighters. Early the next morning, the crew was debriefed by excited intelligence officers who told them not to discuss the incident. A few days later, Dengler was spotted by an Air Force A-1 pilot and ultimately rescued. Bartunek’s crew consisted of Herman; Capt. Steve Taylor as co-pilot; Staff Sgt. William Rambin as flight engineer; Airmen 1st Class Mike Cavanaugh, Sam McCracken and Willy Donovan as flare kickers; and Airman 1st Class Samuel E. McGowan as aircrew loadmaster. That, sirs, is me.

I saw the movie, and although some things in it are hokey, I thought that overall it was a very good movie that accurately depicted what it would have been like to be a prisoner of the Pathet Lao and escape through the jungle. A lot of scenes in the movie made a connection with me. I was disappointed that the movie has Dengler’s fires spotted by helicopters instead of the C-130 crew — us — but it didn’t take away from the fact that “Rescue Dawn” is an excellent movie. Granted, there is controversy over how Gene DeBruin is depicted, but it is a fact that Dengler and director/producer Werner Herzog were friends — Herzog produced a documentary about Dengler. “Rescue Dawn” does not pretend to be a documentary — a notice in the opening credits announces that it is “based on” the real life experiences of Dieter Dengler.

While I recognize that DeBruin’s family may be unhappy their brother is portrayed as being slightly deranged, their points have been overblown by people like my friend Dorr. All that is really known about DeBruin is that he served in the Air Force, became a smoke jumper and had been in Southeast Asia flying as a kicker on Air America C-46s for a few weeks before he was shot down.

I wish Bob Dorr would stick to writing airplane books. I highly recommend this well-directed and -acted movie.

Tech Sgt. Sam McGowan (ret.)

Missouri City, Texas

Chiefs bond with planes

I am a 20-year Air Force retiree. In January 1942, I became a crew chief, and by 1950 I was a line chief. I felt I should relate to you the experience.

I feel that it is a shame that squadron personnel are not a part of the flying mission because they have no contact with the pilots and crew. When the crew chief has a sense of owning the airframe, he will inherently perform to the best of his ability and have a direct link to the flight crews, and especially the mission.

In my time, we had the component specialists in the squadron: engine, electric, instrument, hydraulic and electronic.

The crew chief system creates an individual bond to the flight crews and the specialists.

Master Sgt. Horace C. Goodman (ret.)

Encinitas, Calif.

Help reserves stay fit

As a physician and commander, I endorse and support the inclusion of fitness test performance into the annual enlisted and officer evaluation programs. As a reservist, I am still looking for the day when the benefits of a health and wellness center and/or fitness center complete with trainers and fitness program managers are extended to Guard and Reserve members. The vast majority of us do not have access to these resources, and few of us get paid time away from work to improve our cardiovascular fitness. In the tight civilian economy in which most traditional reservists work, there is little time for fitness counseling or specialized workouts. Many of our employers are already griping about our absences for military duty. They do not respond well to requests for an hour here or there for crunches and push-ups.

Our active-duty colleagues are paid to be fit. The Guard and Reserve are on our own to figure out how to be fit to get paid.

Col. Arthur B. Eisenbrey

Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.