Unclassified Letter

Thanks to my Brother-in-law, Col. Frank Rudolph, USAF, Retired, for this letter:

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Caveats: NONE

This is outstanding.. -----

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must Have stung quite a bit.

The complaint: 'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr. USAF

REALLY?

"I am concerned about the message it sends to the kids... There are no shortcuts in life. When you take shortcuts, you may wind up tarnishing your entire career!"

Barack Obama's off-teleprompter answer when asked,during his first prime-time press conference, about his feelings on the A-Rod doping confession. Strong words from the Jr. Senator that stepped into the Presidency!

Just how much is $4.2 trillion?

As I was listening to The Glenn Beck Show tonight (best yet), and I heard, once again, the bailout and the deficit numbers tossed around like chump change (a trillion here and a trillion there), I decided to put it into a perspective that everyone (even those who voted for B. Hussein Obama) can understand:

I happen to know that a stack of crisp $1000 bills one foot high is equal to $171,420.00. That means that a stack of crisp, new $1000 bills totaling $1 million dollars would be equal to 70 inches or 5.83 feet in height.

Now, if you take the same denomination of bills and stack them up until you have $1 billion, the stack will be 70,000 inches or 5833 feet high! That is 1.10 miles high!

Now, hold on to your chair… If you stack the same denomination of bills until you reach a total of $1 trillion, the stack will be 1104.8 miles high! Last time I checked, the International Space Station orbits about 150 miles above the Earth!

They say our national deficit is $4.2 trillion (Some say it is as high as $15 trillion - though I doubt if anyone in Washington D.C. can even count that high, and it is obvious that nobody there can even comprehend a number that large)!

But for the sake of illustration, let's say it is $4.2 trillion-

You can stack $1000 bills, back to back, (not side by side or end to end but, on edge - back to back), from the Left Coast to the East Coast, and then back again, and you still will not have enough to cover the debt!

Let me put it in terms that us guys can understand:

If you are independently wealthy and you send your wife on a shopping spree allowing her to spend $1 million at $1000 per day, she will be back in just under three years (2.73 years) asking for more money.

If you send her out with $1 billion dollars, she will not be back asking for more for 2739 years!

Now, if you send her out with $1 trillion, she will not be back for 2,739,726 years!

HOLY CRAP! Wake up America! Out national deficit of $4.2 trillion is equal to $1000 a day for over 11.5 million years!

As I type these numbers, I am feeling physically ill thinking about what our government is doing to my great-great-great-great-great-great… great-grandchildren!

A message to the media: Stop throwing these figures around like they are nothing! You are doing us no service by doing so! People need to know just what it is we are talking about here!

WAKE UP AMERICA!