General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Military helicopters overhead in the middle of LA. [View all]air_pirate
(1 post)For several years, I flew helicopters for the USMC.
1) Aircraft from Camp Pendleton and Miramar routinely fly over LA. On average, I flew a military helicopter over LA once a month. There are myriad reasons for this practice. The most obvious is that the military, particularly helicopter units, routinely operate in urban areas. Kandahar, Kabul, and Bagdad are all large cities with lots of vehicle traffic. LA simulates this environment well. Even if the US were not involved in combat operations abroad, it is still a necessary skill for aviators in peace and war. Urban navigation and orientation is a skill that requires practice. If you'd prefer that the military 'waste' more money spending extra flight hours to fly to far away cities more similar to Kandahar, Kabul, and Bagdad, please write your congressman and request the military get funding for this type of travel. Short of flying to some far off third world county, we preferred to keep current on this skill be flying to the nearest large city. Hopefully I've given you some purpose to this activity.
2) Formation flying is a common practice. However, 12 aircraft make an admittedly large formation. Even still, if a Squadron wants to gain flight lead currency while practicing urban navigation, it is again, saving you, the tax payer, money. That Squadron Commander just managed to get flight leadership training done while getting the other 24 pilots in that formation current on urban navigation.
3) Your paranoia about the military requires some self-reflection on your part. Of the 44 presidents, only 12 did not serve in the military in one capacity or another. All of the founding fathers besides John Adams and his son served. Your implication a president's connection with the military would be a bad thing represents a fundamental break that society has with the world they live in. Combat veterans are worldly, resolute, and have gained leadership skills. These skills aren't well replicated by community organizing, by filing frivolous lawsuits, or in a courtroom or classroom. Quite simply, they cope with adversity where lawyers often cannot. The last time we had consecutive lawyer presidents (Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt) who didn't serve as servicemen brought us to the great depression. The populace's reliance (in both parties) on lawyers as leaders has led the USA astray before, and it seems to be doing so again.
4) I wouldn't count on Mr. Obama caring about your vote. Democratic politicians don't care about the residents of Los Angeles. They know none of you are actually going to think about whom you are voting for. Reagan was the last Republican to win California. 30 years of complacent voting on the part of Californians just tell a president that he should spend his time in swing states. Mr. Obama knows that you'll either vote Democrat or not vote, so he doesn't care.