Luke AFB

[Gas Man]

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by
civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its
planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain
lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back.
Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the
local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her
day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must
have stung quite a bit..

The complaint:
'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely
9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over
Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500
feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need
this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at
Mervyns early bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely
9:12 a.m . , a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd
Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt.
Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was
previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on
May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland
Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and
friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because
of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the
playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques
as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United
States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand
the sacrifices they have endured.
A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those
who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators
and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer
witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning airshow? The
56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to
the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it
was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of
their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ
and the American Soldier.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.

USAF


More info and confirmation snopes.com: Luke Air Force Base Fly-By

[Trip]

Read the snopes page fully, this gives a misrepresentation of the original complaint. The guy was a navy soldier and vietnam veteran. He was unaware the meaning and apologized.

[Gas Man]

I did read it... that's why I put it in there.

[Rider]

[Sixxxxer]

Thats Great....Fuck Ignorant People

[the chi]

Ya know what most disturbs me about this?

Living for so many years in a military area, surrounded on both sides by military bases, I cant for one second imagine complaining about the noise from the jets, the bombers, the helicopters, etc. It simply is. When they do late night flights, and shake my windows and rattle my walls, it is. You adjust and often times dont even notice. I choose to live here and if I dont like it I can leave. The nerve of this guy, ESPECIALLY in light of his prior service, regardless of his apology irritates me beyond all belief.

Sadly, he'd fit in with the local idiots who are suing Eglin AFB and all parties privy to try and stop the 35's from coming in, because the noise will disturb a town that was built many years AFTER the establishment of one of the oldest and largest military bases in the states.

[Trip]

Originally Posted by The Chi

Ya know what most disturbs me about this?

Living for so many years in a military area, surrounded on both sides by military bases, I cant for one second imagine complaining about the noise from the jets, the bombers, the helicopters, etc. It simply is. When they do late night flights, and shake my windows and rattle my walls, it is. You adjust and often times dont even notice. I choose to live here and if I dont like it I can leave. The nerve of this guy, ESPECIALLY in light of his prior service, regardless of his apology irritates me beyond all belief.

Sadly, he'd fit in with the local idiots who are suing Eglin AFB and all parties privy to try and stop the 35's from coming in, because the noise will disturb a town that was built many years AFTER the establishment of one of the oldest and largest military bases in the states.

I can, I hate sleeping at my grandma's because the navy jets taking off at the buttcrack of dawn always wake my ass up. My sleep > navy pilot training.

However, I can see your point of view. TVA just recently had an accident that caused a lot of it's neighbors to be very pissed with TVA and start wanting to sue it for ridiculous amounts of money. Since I collect a nice fat check from TVA every two weeks, I tend to not want to see my government agency drug through the mud either. The beautiful land that we messed up was also protected by us as well. Before we controlled the river, the flood plain wouldn't of allowed for these yuppies from the north to build these nice houses next to the river without having them flooded regularly.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by Trip

I can, I hate sleeping at my grandma's because the navy jets taking off at the buttcrack of dawn always wake my ass up. My sleep > navy pilot training.

However, I can see your point of view. TVA just recently had an accident that caused a lot of it's neighbors to be very pissed with TVA and start wanting to sue it for ridiculous amounts of money. Since I collect a nice fat check from TVA every two weeks, I tend to not want to see my government agency drug through the mud either. The beautiful land that we messed up was also protected by us as well. Before we controlled the river, the flood plain wouldn't of allowed for these yuppies from the north to build these nice houses next to the river without having them flooded regularly.

If you cant sleep at grandmas, go home!! Or stay in a sound proof motel! Sounds like you understand tho, far and away the majority is all for keeping the local base and economy going with the influx of new planes, but a few idiots really think they shouldnt have to be around the noise and traffic of the air force base, when their little blip of a community was built for, by and is mainly comprised of military people. We're talking the community right out the front gate! Im sure they are getting more "fan" mail then Mr. Macrae!

[Trip]

Originally Posted by The Chi

If you cant sleep at grandmas, go home!! Or stay in a sound proof motel! Sounds like you understand tho, far and away the majority is all for keeping the local base and economy going with the influx of new planes, but a few idiots really think they shouldnt have to be around the noise and traffic of the air force base, when their little blip of a community was built for, by and is mainly comprised of military people. We're talking the community right out the front gate! Im sure they are getting more "fan" mail then Mr. Macrae!

Sound proof motels aren't very common in a tiny bayou town.

My hometown community existed long before the military base and it is still a blip on the radar and thats the way we like it. Hell, it was there before Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip (really old decom historical mississippi delta forts) because it is the delta of the Mississippi River so it was a good place to settle for shipping reasons. Also, the military base could go away and we would still be fine without it. The little community I am from main source of economy is oil from the gulf, shipping, and gulf seafood; not military base jobs. The military actually wouldn't impact the community much leaving. We survived much worse than a military base closing and have rebuilt.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by Trip

Sound proof motels aren't very common in a tiny bayou town.

My hometown community existed long before the military base and it is still a blip on the radar and thats the way we like it. Hell, it was there before Fort Jackson and Fort St Philip (really old decom historical mississippi delta forts) because it is the delta of the Mississippi River so it was a good place to settle for shipping reasons. Also, the military base could go away and we would still be fine without it. The little community I am from main source of economy is oil from the gulf, shipping, and gulf seafood; not military base jobs. The military actually wouldn't impact the community much leaving. We survived much worse than a military base closing and have rebuilt.

Ah but thats the difference. 30 years ago, there was nothing here but the base. No town to speak of, literally just a tiny fishing village and all the growth in the area has occurred primarily due to the military. Eglin AFB owns ALL the land for umpteen miles in any direction. Almost all the beaches are owned by the base, much of the commercially developed areas are, and all the rural areas are part of the base installation. We're talking HUGE tracts of land owned by the base who graciously sold or leased areas so people could create communities and towns.

My old house I could walk out the front door and within 5 minutes be on the military owned forested land, and I was in the middle of town, centrally located to everything, including both bases. The area has exploded growthwise, but still probably 6-7 out of every 10 are military or military attached people. Other than the military and tourism, there really is no industry or anything to keep this area going of the military population and base left.