14 December, 2010
TO: Board Members, General Butcher, Admiral McLaughlin, Capt Di Matteo co chairmen and president 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation.
FROM: Dennis Petretti, former Navy Attack Pilot.
Subject: Nonsense on your Time Line Website
http://www.navalaviation100.orgHere’s what’s’ predominately on your Current Time Line to name a few:
• First Marine & Navy female pilots? Wow!
• Female astronaut? Who?
• Female CO of a VAQ 34 EA-6 squadron…seriously?
• Assault on Grenada. A Great Naval combat ops?
• First Black Blue Angel? NO mention of the first Black Blue Angel Team Leader?
• Blue Angel transition to F-18’s? Really Significant?
• Humanitarian effort to Indonesia? Sierra Hotel. Perhaps the Salvation Army and Navy should merge?
• Recovery of Apollo 11? Yawn?
• Mine laying mission Haiphong? So that was Vietnam?
From 1950-1972 basically nothing about Naval Air? Guess it didn’t exist. Naval Air must have secured for twenty years? The boys must have been on “leave” partying down in Rosa Rita Beach and Olongapo?
• I guess you never heard about the Korean War and the Navy’s first jet combat operations, as in The Bridges of Toko Ri?
• Development of the Sidewinder Missile at China Lake, one of the world’s premier air to air weapon still being used today?
• Ever read an article by Capt Robert Rubel’s “The US Navy’s Transition to Jets” detailing the courage and human sacrifice Navy pilots endured transiting from piston aircraft to jets, from straight decks to angle decks. Read it and put it out…if you dare!
• “1954 the Navy and Marines lost 776 aircraft and 535 men and never quit.” No hi five’s!
• Vietnam War, basically almost a decade of nonstop naval combat air warfare. First time the Navy operated three or more carriers engaged in continual day/night all weather cyclic combat operations against NVN, SVN and Laos 24/7! Operated Red, White and Blue carrier’s schedules 0600-1800, noon to Midnight, Midnight to noon. Take a look at the Navy & Marine aircraft loss rates, pilots killed or captured and yet these men quit, never walked away or cried. No hi five’s here, much less recognition?
• The Marines flying from Chu Lai, Da Nang and other fields in all kinds of weather, mountainous terrain with no fancy gear?
• “Ault Report” responsible for “Top Gun” (Navy Fighter Weapons School) changing Naval air–air warfare tactics forever and to this day, which by the way saved countless lives in naval air combat and turned around a horrible kill ratio among F-4’s. Too “macho” not enough “Pink Bows and Teddy Bears” for today’s navy?
• Creation of the Naval Air and Strike Warfare Center at Fallon?
As a former Navy A-4 attack pilot with two Vietnam Cruises, this whole current PC ‘Cheerleading” Time Line on your website is nothing more than a Disney World silly symbolism and girlie-man PR stunt…nothing more. Worse, it’s a basic slap in the face to the tens of thousands of Navy and Marine aviators whom took enormous risks, gave their lives, and demonstrated enormous courage under daunting conditions to build what Naval Air has become today. Not this crap! You should be ashamed of yourselves, if that’s possible. It might be hard to admit in today’s highly charged political climate, but the current state of Naval Air was not built by a few females or black pilots or some a future gay or transgender pilot. You and Admiral Mike Mullen probably can’t wait to fill those important squares? 100 years of Naval Air was built on the blood, sweat and toil of dedicated men. Looking at the numbers, nothing much has changed?
Snap Out of it Ladies!
Dennis
