A footnote to naval history (02/27/06)

To the editor:

A footnote to Naval Aviation has occurred. This past Thursday the U.S. Navy announced the final mission for the once ubiquitous F-14 “Tomcat.” The final mission was launched from the Aircraft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, and as was fitting for this great old bird, was indeed an actual combat mission. The F-14 was given the chance to retire in an official combat status, by being sent to deliver ordinance in a remote area in Iraq.

As a young man, I departed home here in Jay County and went overseas aboard an aircraft carrier, and served as a carrier air traffic controller. I was always awed by the performance characteristics of the Tomcat, and it was pretty heady stuff for a rural Indiana boy to get to know this bird up close and personal. We were privy to all of the classified performance statistics of all shipboard aircraft, and the Tomcat was impressive indeed.

The Tomcat was one of the best Naval Aviation Fighter Aircraft Platforms ever implemented by the US Navy. Her articulated swept wing design, which was precedent setting in her time, allowed her to be both lightning fast and slow and stable during recovery. I have personally controlled this aircraft in good and bad weather, and could always count on the Tomcat to be able to bring her crew back safely.

During the 1980s the Hollywood summer blockbuster movie Top-Gun touted stars Cruise, McGillis, Edwards, Kilmer and Skeritt, among others. The real star of this movie was the F-14 Tomcat, and even the stars and technical advisors of the film concur with this. Many of the at sea sequences and Carrier Air Traffic Control and Combat Information Center scenes were shot aboard our ship.

At a time when it was not considered “cool” to be in the US Military, this movie came out. Almost instantly those of us associated with Naval Aviation stationed in Southern California at the time were elevated to a different level in the eyes of the general public. As I said earlier, all pretty heady stuff for a boy from rural Indiana. I was proud to have been a part of it, and am equally sad to see the Tomcat Fighter retired, now relegated to the scrap heap of Naval Aviation history.

Sincerely and Respectfully submitted,

James D. Fulks III,

Redkey, former

carrier air traffic controller,

U.S. Navy



Selling out

To the editor:

Like most Hoosiers, I do not think I want our legislators to sell (to me, a 75-year lease means to sell) the Indiana Toll Road. The major reason: I don’t trust these clowns with $3.85 billion. To me that would be like giving nine-year-old Johnny a thousand dollar bill and pointing him in the direction of the chocolate shop.

I do not see it as sound fiscal policy to sell off assets to maintain or build basic state infrastructure. Whenever I see an individual selling off his or her assets to maintain a lifestyle, I view that as the ultimate fiscal irresponsibility. The extreme example of this is of course a drug addict that is not thinking clearly and fails to recognize his or her own problem and selling off not only his or her own assets but family member assets as well. Hmmm ...

What I also resent is the immediacy that is being attached to this. The legislators and the governor tell us this is too good to be true. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we have to act now or it will be gone. And when we hear this what do most reasonable people think? “If it seems too good to be true it probably is.”

Quite frankly, I have not seen this level of hucksterism since 1965 when some fellow came to my parent’s house trying to sell them a vacuum cleaner! What is the hurry? If it is worth $3.85 billion dollars today, why would it not be worth $3.85 billion next year?

Selling the Toll Road is, in my view, nothing short of the legislators shirking their responsibility to maintain (or raise revenue) for basic infrastructure. They plan to remedy this with one big sale where they will take a little flack for a little while but the bank will be full for a few years and they will thus be allowed to continue to shirk their responsibility for another few years and a few more elections.

The utter lack of response to the desires of the vast majority of their constituency is maddening and apparently many legislators simply do not care what the people who placed them in office want them to do. They see a chance to continue to shirk their financial/ revenue raising obligations and plan on the electorate also getting fat off this “cash cow” and all will be forgotten. Let us hope this is not the case.

Through environment, heredity or a hybrid of both, as Hoosiers we tend to be conservative. In other words, we believe in paying the bills and paying them on time. We do not believe in “get rich quick” schemes that involve selling off major state assets. Regardless, it appears the majority of our legislators don’t care what you think and care less about your fiscal philosophy. They see a chance to sell off a major state asset and cover up all the years of their incompetence and inability to deal with state spending and revenue demands.

I am not naive enough to think for one second that my writing this letter will have any outcome on the sale of the Indiana Toll Road. Indeed, I feel the sale of the Indiana Toll Road was a foregone conclusion months ago.

It is my hope however, when election time rolls around in November, people will remember the legislators that forced legislation down their throats. Legislation the majority of Hoosiers clearly did not want. I would encourage people to look beyond the quick cash fix for the state of Indiana and instead look at the overall philosophy of a governing body that resorts to these methods to raise revenue. That is the issue!

Philip Gift

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