Hi Randy, thanks for your response (as asked for) and as I suspected you'd have a useful comment to add - appreciate it.
Randy Haskin wrote:
There is a case study that we did in my officer training (that I wish I could remember the details of) which emphasizes this. It essentially put us in the position of an O-6 Group Commander level during the Vietnam war ...
... it's also your duty to salute smartly and execute them if you're again told to do it -- because you probably don't have "the big picture".
Great example Randy, and an interesting comparason. There's no argument that continued applied pressure to the Japanese forces across the board was providing that backup for more obviously critical operations.
As has been touched on, there may have been an element of fighter pilots not wanting to do ground attack, as it's not the job they 'like' (which can be seen in either positive or negative lights, I think.)
My only disappointment, Randy is the lack of PowerPoint slides in your presentation.
Thanks. Any more?