Barnstorming

Curtis JN-4, Barnstorming Jenny (Burns, Oregon, 1920)

We are the angry mob
We read the papers everyday day
We like who like
We hate who we hate
But we're also easily swayed

--The Angry Mob, Kaiser Chiefs

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Ranger question of the Day:
Could this be a fabricated incident, performed with
hand-held signaling flares from the ground?
_______

Fairy tales begin with "Once upon a time;" war stories start with "This is no bullshit." This sounds like b.s.

Sen. Mel Martinez tells a tale of pilots bobbing and weaving, banking back and forth and shooting defensive flares (Martinez's Plane Evades Ground Fire).

Ranger wonders about this incident, realizing this is a flirtation with the world of conspiracy theory, but the tale as told doesn't hold water. This could not be considered a war story as war stories usually contain a grain of truth.

"A military cargo plane carrying Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, two other senators and a House member was forced to take evasive maneuvers and dispatch flares to avoid ground fire after taking off from Baghdad.

"The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire Thursday night from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan."

"After the first burst, the pilots maneuvered aggressively and set off flares used for drawing incoming fire away from aircraft.

"Once the flares lit up the sky, lawmakers said, two more RPGs were fired as the pilots continued maneuvering."

Here are the facts as Ranger sees them:

[1] RPG's have a maximum effective range of +/- 350 meters

[2] All 130's in Iraq are further than 350 meters from hostile fire

[3] Flares are not a counter-measure for RPG's, which are direct-fire weapons.
Flares are for heat-seeking type surface-to-air missiles (AGM's)

[4] If this is the closest that warmonger Martinez comes to hostile fire, he is a lucky dude

[5] This does not authorize hostile fire pay for Martinez. But it does for the air crew.

[6] Martinez must be desperate to appear as having been in harm's way

Rep. Bud Cramer (D-AL) estimates the plane's altitude to have been 6,000 ft. If so, then an RPG is absolutely implausible. The attack was not confirmed by CENTCOM, which said they were unaware of the incident.

On the flipside: If this was a legitimate attack, then it shows our U.S. flights are not secure even when they are ferrying VIPs, and we do not use the term "fairy" lightly. What does this say about the surge?

On the last Republican VIP tour, McCain said downtown Baghdad was like a walk in the park; Martinez portrays a shooting gallery. Maybe they should get on the same page before 2008.

At least McCain would have been able to spot legitimate ground fire, whereas Martinez wouldn't recognize it even if he saw it in a Rambo movie.

A bright point, however, is that the return flight will take these Senators through several airport concourses, which will feature manifold airport toilet opportunities.

A phony attack, for a phony Senator, in a phony war.