Favorite Quote

[Wargaming_nut]

Yanny, at least part of that line you attributed to Churchill was original to Will Rogers; to quote from him, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for every other.” Don’t know about the first part…

[Yanny]

I’m getting my information from the TV show The West Wing, so I can’t vouch for it independently.

[Guest]

@Yanny:

I’m getting my information from the TV show The West Wing

That was your first mistake :-P

[Staff Sgt. Barnes]

im sure the show is far from the truth, but it is amusing, but everytime i see that show i see apocolipse now, its weird.
which brings me to my next favorte qoute

“Saigon, sh*t, im still only in Saigon!”

[sherman28]

Major K- that’s from Apocalypse Now.

One of my favorites:

“If the General won’t lead the Army perhaps he would allow me to BORROW it…”

and:

“… I almost feel as if I could make myself dicatator if that would please me but it would not
-admirable self denial!!!”

[Guest]

“If you can;t get them to salute when they should salute, and wear the clothes you tell them to wear, how are you going to get them to die for their country?”  Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

“I don;t mind being called tough, since I find in this racket it’s the tough guys who lead the survivors”  Colonel Curtis LeMay

“Sir, my altitude is 7,250 feet above sea level– far, far above that of West Point or Annapolis”  USAFA Altimeter Check

[Janus1]

“Sir, my altitude is 7,250 feet above sea level– far, far above that of West Point or Annapolis”  USAFA Altimeter Check

F*ck the Air Force!  :mrgreen: bunch of sissies next to the Army or Marines.  :evil:

I got an appointment to the Air Force Academy, from my Congressman (Scott Garret: R, NJ). I told the SOB specifically, in EVERY form I filled out for the application, as well as in person to the review panel at the interview that I had NO interest in going to either the Air Force Academy, or Annapolis, that I was only interested in West Point, and he appoints me to the Air Force Academy!  :x
haha, luckily by that point, I had already decided against going to a military academy anyway. Stupid Scott Garret.

[AgentOrange]

I looove chocolate.  But I can’t eat it because then I’ll get fat.  But it’s SOoooooo good!

[Guest]

@Janus1:

“Sir, my altitude is 7,250 feet above sea level– far, far above that of West Point or Annapolis”  USAFA Altimeter Check

F*ck the Air Force!  :mrgreen: bunch of sissies next to the Army or Marines.  :evil:

I got an appointment to the Air Force Academy, from my Congressman (Scott Garret: R, NJ). I told the SOB specifically, in EVERY form I filled out for the application, as well as in person to the review panel at the interview that I had NO interest in going to either the Air Force Academy, or Annapolis, that I was only interested in West Point, and he appoints me to the Air Force Academy!  :x
haha, luckily by that point, I had already decided against going to a military academy anyway. Stupid Scott Garret.

Um you DO know that most Marine officers come from Annapolis, right? (or should I say “Canoe U”)  Executive Order 9877 (still in effect) has the Marines as a semi-autonomous branch of the Navy.  That is the reason why the highest rank possible in the Marines is 4-stars, and why we went more than 50 years before having a Marine Chief of Staff (another tradition Bush toasted).

[Raunchy The Pirate]

From my childhood hero, James Lovell. (Whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Saudi Arabia in 1979/1980).

Lovell said, “The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.”

Taken from……

The Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast

---

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts; Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon seen from Apollo 8. Lovell said, “The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.” They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis.

William Anders:

“For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you”.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Jim Lovell:

“And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

Frank Borman:

“And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

Borman then added, “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth.”

[AgentOrange]

(Not verbatim)

“Why so sad guys?  Whatsa matter, didn’t everybody get laid by a beautiful MP last night?”  :lol:

[Janus1]

Um you DO know that most Marine officers come from Annapolis, right? (or should I say “Canoe U”)  Executive Order 9877 (still in effect) has the Marines as a semi-autonomous branch of the Navy.  That is the reason why the highest rank possible in the Marines is 4-stars, and why we went more than 50 years before having a Marine Chief of Staff (another tradition Bush toasted).

haha, yes, im well aware of that. but i had no interest in going to annapolis. part of my interest was focused on West Point itself (which i suppose contributed to my turning away from that path eventually). but another reason is that while all military academies have a heavy focus on math and sciences (i believe you graduate with a B.S. no matter what you major in), annapolis and Air Force academy are even more focused on math and science then West Point (im not a math/science fan). besides, if i was going to be a marine, i would enlist.  :mrgreen:

[Guest]

@Janus1:

haha, yes, im well aware of that. but i had no interest in going to annapolis. part of my interest was focused on West Point itself (which i suppose contributed to my turning away from that path eventually). but another reason is that while all military academies have a heavy focus on math and sciences (i believe you graduate with a B.S. no matter what you major in), annapolis and Air Force academy are even more focused on math and science then West Point (im not a math/science fan). besides, if i was going to be a marine, i would enlist.  :mrgreen:

Ah OK.  Yes, like 95% of USAFA grads end up with a BS in Engineering of one form or another.  I was one of those very rare admissions:  one of the 5% in a non-engineering field (admitted as a Social Sciences Major).  There were not that many of us, and after I trashed my knees in Jack’s Valley, there was one fewer.

I had the option of Annapolis or USAFA.  Navy wanted me to do a year of prep-school first since my HS was weak on hard science.  Also turned down the scholarship to Stanford when I accepted the USAFA appointment.  Always wonder what would have happened had I been somewhere else and not ripped up my knees on the Assault Course…

[Janus1]

yea. Ive heard from knowledgeable people (graduates of USMA) that I could have converted my AFA acceptance into a West Point acceptance rather easily, though Im not sure how. But it wouldnt have been possible anyway, because I hadnt opened an application with the Air Force academy (having 0 interest in going there) and i was notified of my appointment several days before the deadline. I couldnt have completed the application in that time, had i wanted to. But by that point, i had decided against a military academy. i wonder what would have happened if i had elected to pursue my appointment.

[Guest]

@Janus1:

yea. Ive heard from knowledgeable people (graduates of USMA) that I could have converted my AFA acceptance into a West Point acceptance rather easily, though Im not sure how. But it wouldnt have been possible anyway, because I hadnt opened an application with the Air Force academy (having 0 interest in going there) and i was notified of my appointment several days before the deadline. I couldnt have completed the application in that time, had i wanted to. But by that point, i had decided against a military academy. i wonder what would have happened if i had elected to pursue my appointment.

BNot to bust your bubble, just correcting terminology.  You had a Nomination to USAFA, which means you had the listing from a politician.  In order to get an appointment, you have to fill out the application, go through a lot of screening, especially medical.  Then if you pass the screening AND if you get a nomination, you move on to final review for an appointment.

It is possible to get an appointment without a Nomination, but it is very rare.  And to get an appointment after being nominated but without going through the Pre-Candidate and Candidate screening process is impossible.  You can get to USAFA prep-school that way And then get direct admission the following year) but without the med screenings, no way to get an actual appointment (though in your case, having pursued West Point, you may have been able to get in based on that physical, etc.).

Each politician (Congressman and Senator) has 5 “slots” for each Academy.  Each year, for each available “slot” they have, they can submit up to 10 Nominations.  The politician can set up one of these as a “primary” which means that if the primary nomination is qualified, he MUST be accepted and get an appointment, or it can be an open list and the Academy can take any of the 10.  In my case, Congressman Shuster had nominated the son of a campaign contributor as his primary, but the kid did not meet standards for admission, so I was selected by USAFA as Shuster’s Nominee from the remaining 9 names.

Just trying to correct the various terms :-)

[cystic crypt]

I was visiting one of my (palliative - i.e. about to die) patients today, and i asked if she had a moment (to chat about her pain control, etc.).  She said "sure . . .

Larry King doesn’t need to be on ALL the time"

[AgentOrange]

“I don’t like that guy.  If he was drowning and needed my help, I’d throw him a cinder-block.”  :evil:

[cystic crypt]

@AgentOrange:

"I don’t like that guy.  If he was drowning and needed my help, I’d throw him a cinder-block."  :evil:

“i wouldn’t pee on him if he was on fire”

[AgentOrange]

Ha!  That’s the spirit!  :lol:

[Janus1]

Not to bust your bubble, just correcting terminology.  You had a Nomination to USAFA, which means you had the listing from a politician.  In order to get an appointment, you have to fill out the application, go through a lot of screening, especially medical.  Then if you pass the screening AND if you get a nomination, you move on to final review for an appointment.

yea, used the wrong term. sorry. i had a nomination to USAFA, and i had passed DODMERB, I hadnt yet taken my physical test as part of my application, but i met all the minimum requirements.