NoaIzumiLieutenant Colonel Victor J. Fehrenbach
May 21st 2009 02:57
F-15E Strike Eagle, over Iraq and loaded for bear.
I’m something of a military aviation buff, so it was with some interest that I heard this man’s story. He is a fighter pilot of the US Air Force who is going to be discharged because it was recently discovered by the military that he is gay. I first heard of this on the Rachel Maddow Show last night, and found a piece on Huffingtonpost this morning, with a link to the Maddow interview.
Really Long Link
The Sarvis article covers the important points: the eighteen year career, the medals, the deployments, the record-breaking mission over Afghanistan, the medal-winning mission over Iraq. So, I have little to add.
Except to say that Lt. Col. Fehrenbach is a very rare individual, an F-15E weapons systems officer (WSO, or “back-seater”). The F-15E is one of the most capable fighter-bombers in the world today, and is one of the reasons American forces were so successful over Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq again (at least at first). It’s also very sophisticated, and the tactics the pilots have to learn and the training they have to undergo are equally so. When it’s claimed that the Air Force has invested $25 million in this man, that’s totally believable. Those guys train virtually all the time. And the fact is, not everybody can do that job. A good WSO needs tech-savvy, good reflexes, situational awareness, etc. Not to mention the gobs of combat experience the man has by now, that he was passing into others, knowledge that could very well save his student’s lives one day.
This is the cost of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Lt. Col. Fehrenbach has incalculable value to this country, is almost literally irreplaceable, and the rules say, “Get rid of him.”
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