Captain Ed
Member
I have an old buddy, retired USAF F-86 jock, and TWA Captain "Jim", who is big on eccology, birds, etc..
He sent me the following:
In a message dated 2/13/04 11:07:17 AM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
The Pentagon, led by attorney William Haynes II, argued in a legal brief that conservationists actually benefit from the military's killing of birds because it helps make some species more rare -- and "bird watchers get more enjoyment spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one." [2] A federal judge ruled against the military in 2002, saying "there is absolutely no support in the law for the view... . The Court hopes that the federal government will refrain from making or adopting such frivolous arguments in the future."[3] President Bush has nominated Haynes to a seat on a federal appellate court and his nomination is pending in the Senate. On his Senate questionnaire, Haynes listed the bird-bombing case as the second most significant of his career.
My Reply:
http://www.monolake.org/birdcounts/birds20...sc/000000e2.htm
Jim, Back in 1955, Ltjg Ed Toner, became a bit lost, and dropped a 1,000# bomb on Paoha Island in Mono Lake. I wiped out about a zillion rare birds according the The Sierra Club, The Audubon Society, etc., etc..
This is when I learned to write letters!
We were in VF-152, deployed to NAAS Fallon NV for bombing and gunnery. We finished the Air to Air over Black Rock, then did loft bombing a Charlie range. Final assignment was to drop a 1,000 pounder from a high dive on a small island in a dry lake West of Fallon.
Briefing was a bit spotty as to just where this was. Rain had fallen, and everything looked different. I climbed to 30,000' as briefed, and went West looking for the target. I finally spotted what appeared to be it. I rolled my Banshee into a 70 degree dive, got a good picture, was happy with it, and pickled at 20,000'. Pulled up and looked back, and there was a humungous explosion on target.
I asked Range Control how they marked my hit. They replied that nothing dropped for the last half hour. Uh oh. I was in deep doo doo.
Flying over it many times enroute to SFO, I'd look down, and there was this distinct Half Moon crater on the Eastern shore of Paoha Is., my hit.
Those were the days, my friends, those were the days!!
http://moregleny.com/captainedcartoon.gif
He sent me the following:
In a message dated 2/13/04 11:07:17 AM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
The Pentagon, led by attorney William Haynes II, argued in a legal brief that conservationists actually benefit from the military's killing of birds because it helps make some species more rare -- and "bird watchers get more enjoyment spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one." [2] A federal judge ruled against the military in 2002, saying "there is absolutely no support in the law for the view... . The Court hopes that the federal government will refrain from making or adopting such frivolous arguments in the future."[3] President Bush has nominated Haynes to a seat on a federal appellate court and his nomination is pending in the Senate. On his Senate questionnaire, Haynes listed the bird-bombing case as the second most significant of his career.
My Reply:
http://www.monolake.org/birdcounts/birds20...sc/000000e2.htm
Jim, Back in 1955, Ltjg Ed Toner, became a bit lost, and dropped a 1,000# bomb on Paoha Island in Mono Lake. I wiped out about a zillion rare birds according the The Sierra Club, The Audubon Society, etc., etc..
This is when I learned to write letters!
We were in VF-152, deployed to NAAS Fallon NV for bombing and gunnery. We finished the Air to Air over Black Rock, then did loft bombing a Charlie range. Final assignment was to drop a 1,000 pounder from a high dive on a small island in a dry lake West of Fallon.
Briefing was a bit spotty as to just where this was. Rain had fallen, and everything looked different. I climbed to 30,000' as briefed, and went West looking for the target. I finally spotted what appeared to be it. I rolled my Banshee into a 70 degree dive, got a good picture, was happy with it, and pickled at 20,000'. Pulled up and looked back, and there was a humungous explosion on target.
I asked Range Control how they marked my hit. They replied that nothing dropped for the last half hour. Uh oh. I was in deep doo doo.
Flying over it many times enroute to SFO, I'd look down, and there was this distinct Half Moon crater on the Eastern shore of Paoha Is., my hit.
Those were the days, my friends, those were the days!!
http://moregleny.com/captainedcartoon.gif
