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Letters

IT’S WRONG TO CUT F-22

I disagree with the Air Force Times editorial [“Senate did right thing,” Aug. 3] and a letter to the editor [“Say goodbye to F-22”].

Russian subs are again operating off our eastern seaboard. Russian bombers are still flying missions off the coast of Alaska. That’s not fear mongering, that’s fact.

I’m tired of people whining about money that “would otherwise be used for bonuses, family support programs, training and replacing worn out gear.”

How much of our gear is really worn out anyway? Despite the words “combat” and “warrior” that are being thrown around rather loosely these days, the fact remains we are still the Air Force. We are not the ones kicking down doors and pulling triggers. If anyone has the right to gripe about worn out gear, the Army and Marine Corps do.

If we want to save money, we need to do away with the philosophy of spending all our money each year to make sure we get the same amount the following year. Heaven forbid we return unused funds to pay for things we really need, like the F-22.

Another way to save money would be to eliminate the “with dependent” Basic Allowance for Housing rates across the board. An E-6 is an E-6, and if someone chooses to marry and have children, that act should not be fiscally rewarded. Perhaps that would also make airmen better examine their finances and spending priorities before making life-altering decisions.

There are other ways to save money besides dropping a weapon system guaranteed to at least keep the Air Force on a par with other nations in the future. We cannot afford to focus solely on weapons deemed to have a useful role in wars fought today.

Tech. Sgt. Antonio Portela

Great Falls, Mont.

The Aug. 3 Air Force Times carried letters and an editorial praising the Senate decision to cut $1.75 billion from the F-22 program, an amount equal to seven of the high-technology air-superiority fighters.

If that F-22 funding were spread among the 307 million people living in America, the savings would amount to $5.61 per person — enough to buy one cheeseburger combo meal.

The U.S. has lost more than 5,000 military members in Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. For those who know about the F-22, seven additional F-22s in the right place would make an enormous difference in preventing losses in the future.

Col. Clifton L. Bray Jr. (ret.)

Tampa, Fla.

REMEMBER TANKER DEBACLE

The article on the next aerial refueling tanker (“House leaves tanker choice to DoD,” Aug. 17) was well-written and informative. However, it omitted an important point, which is the process by which Boeing’s tanker was rejected by the Air Force procurement officers who all but ensured Northop Grumman and EADS would win the contract.

The Government Accountability Office found that the procurement office had failed to follow its own guidelines and had unfairly tilted the bidding process to Northrop and EADS. The GAO report concluded: “The errors included not assessing the relative merits of the proposals in accordance with the evaluation rules and criteria identified in the solicitation, not having documentation to support certain aspects of the evaluation, conducting unequal and misleading discussions with Boeing, and having errors or unsupported conclusions in the cost evaluation.”

The Pentagon procurement office’s discrimination against Boeing was so egregious that the decision should not be left to the same closed-door process that showed such bias the last time around.

Capt. Ed McCormick (ret.)

West Sonoma, Calif.

BUTT OUT

It is apparent that medical experts have no knowledge of combat and the stress-relieving effects of tobacco. I served in combat in the Korean and Vietnam wars and remember well the calming effect of a cigarette after an air combat mission.

After I retired, I quit smoking for several years. I gained 50 pounds and was nervous all the time. I decided to go back to smoking, lost the 50 pounds and was ready for another adventure.

The medics need to do some research. Published reports have said the two oldest people in the world died at age 122 and were smokers. The most recent world’s oldest man died July 18 at the age of 113 and was the last living World War I British Royal Air Force veteran. He attributed his longevity to “cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women.”

As a former first sergeant, I say smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Master Sgt. James J. Ringo (ret.)

Jensen Beach, Fla.