A Conundrum
CBS News reports on an airbase in Arizona where we are training Iraqi pilots to fly their recently purchased new F-16s. The pilots are now fully trained and ready to join the fight at home. The conundrum: As their airbases are not secure from ISIS, it is not safe enough to go home to fight. So best to stay here and wait for safer conditions at home.
About the Author: Cam
I am an observer of our interesting world , sharing my passions and my outrages, and thinking of Incredible Ben, his amazing blending of a social and civic life with superb common sense.Subscribe
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This reminds me of the situation faced at the air bases in San Antonio where Iranian pilots were trained in the 1970s. The foreign language department at the high school where I taught went to Langley AFB to see how the pilots learned not only a foreign language, English, but also how to read airplane manuals in English. After the Shah was overthrown, I wondered about the fate of those pilots.
Yes, it seems history does repeat itself. Ben is credited with the “what goes around comes around” statement although others like Einstein are also credited. I think I remember reading that most of these young pilots are from the most elite families -which, of course, bodes poorly for the young pilots you taught. Wasn’t the Shah’s son one of them? It would be interesting to know where they are now. And, thanks for reading LivingBen…I’m new at this and appreciate every viewer.