White House staffers demand removal of F-22 before speech

I came across this while reading another blog. The story was on foreignpolicy.com (sorry I can`t link or quote on my phone). President Obama recently gave a speech in Alaska, to Air Force service members. Prior to the speech members of one of the F-22 squadrons polished up one of their aircraft to use as a backdrop. When White House staff members found out they demanded that the aircraft be replaced by an older F-15 Eagle ( the aircraft used entered service when Obama was in high school). President Obama was out to kill the Raptor from the start and eventually did at 187. Air Force maintenance personnel felt that it was a slap in the face, as they have great pride in their aircraft.

I`m curious who the staffers were, and why they made the demand (staffers shouldn`t be involved other than a public affairs person). It`s common practice for a speech on a military base to put their best on display as the backdrop.

[edit on 12/2/2009 by Zaphod58]

reply to post by Zaphod58


Thanks for posting this. The order probably came from Obama himself or his staff just realised that he would want the USA to look equal to the rest of the world. God forbid, we act superior or show that we have superior tech to the rest of the world. They might feel inferior and get their feeling hurt. Participation prizes for everyone.

reply to post by Zaphod58


So the fool hires a bunch of other fools to surround him. I bet Obama truly is the smartest guy in the room these days

No, Obama wouldn't do that would he?

Well personally I can't stand what he is doing, but the silver lining in the clouds is that if he ever decided to get a wild dictatorial hair up his rear end there won't be anybody to do his bidding. Although Jan. 20th 2013 can't come fast enough.

I wonder if he will have a plaque on his podium that says "Former President of the United States of America"?

Anyway I can't believe him or his "staffers" did this. This is a huge slap in the face to all of us.

Is this really True?

I want some real links to prove this, so we can pin the tail on the donkey.

I don't want hearsay. Please confirm this, since it is important.

Thank you.

Wrong Thread... Sorry

2nd line
and a 3rd.

[edit on 2-12-2009 by Hastobemoretolife]

[edit on 2-12-2009 by Hastobemoretolife]

reply to post by PRS395

I can`t do a direct link from ny phone, but I first read it on www.flightglobal.com in their blog section and he linked to the blog, The Cable on www.foreignpolicy.com for the full story. There is an Air Force PAO quoted in the story, so it should be confirmable.

Here is the story

Exclusive: White House aides insisted F-22 be removed from Obama speech venue

Exclusive: White House aides insisted F-22 be removed from Obama speech venue
Wed, 12/02/2009 - 4:08pm

When President Obama spoke to troops at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base last month, the unit there parked a shiny new F-22 fighter plane in the hanger. But according to multiple sources, White House aides demanded the plane be changed to an older F-15 fighter because they didn't want Obama speaking in front of the F-22, a controversial program he fought hard to end.

"White House aides actually made them remove the F-22-said they would not allow POTUS to be pictured with the F-22 in any way, shape, or form," one source close to the unit relayed.

Stephen Lee, a public affairs officer at Elmendorf, confirmed to The Cable that the F-22 was parked in the hanger and then was replaced by an F-15 at the White House's behest.

Edited for Formatting.

[edit on 2-12-2009 by Hastobemoretolife]

I would take an Eagle over a Craptor any day. At least someone in Washington has some sense. I would rather have a proven air superiority fighter, the greatest one of all time that is, standing behind him then a trillion dollar program that isn't currently needed.

This is odd, both in the content of the article and the blustering attempts at outrage people put out. If you are genuinely offended that someone in the POTU's staff made an aesthetic decision on which military aircraft he had parked behind him, then watching the news must give you cardiac arrest. I'd put a dollar on the person who made the final decision doing it based on which one looked shinier, rather then some kind of cryptic message for dissenting opinions to decode.

I'll leave this open. How is it a slap in the face? What possible political, social or economic double meaning could he be putting up with this?

reply to post by Jackboot.Heel


Let's just demoralize the troops by not appreciating their hard-work of up-keep for the planes.

Also nice way to shove billions of dollars and decades of innovation by Americans in the back seat. It doesn't matter if the plane is being cut or two expensive to use in real combat. The point of the matter is it a symbol of technological superiority and a show of strength.

If you can't put it all together with what Obama is doing by this point then I really don't know what to tell you.

reply to post by Hastobemoretolife


It is a terrifying thought that we are a nation safeguarded by men and women who are trained to take human life, but will throw down their arms and surrender if the president does not pomp in front of a particular aircraft. The implications it holds for our future are grave indeed..

But that has nothing to do with reality. The fact that you admitted the F-22 was a white elephant and then demanded the president pose in front of one makes me wonder if your even being genuine.. Your saying you want our nation to show off an impractical, multi-billion dollar failure as our best defense?

reply to post by Jackboot.Heel


The plane isn't a failure or impractical it just cost to much and is too much of a risk for one to get shot down and the enemy to capture it and reverse engineer the technology. Plus we only have a little over a hundred of them. It also takes a specialized crew to be trained for upkeep of the plane. It isn't like it's some mechanics from the F-15 work on it. It is a whole different support team that know the in's and out's of the plane.

Without the F-22 we wouldn't have the F-35's that are going to be going into service. Also the F-22 is capable of way more than what humans can handle. The computer systems in the plane actually de-tune the plane so humans can actually fly it. It is also a new paradigm of air to air combat. It represents a whole new age in warfare.

It also makes a great platform to test other technologies against it. Like I said if you can't figure it out, I can't really help you.

What does Obama need F22's for???

If anyone tries to take over the US, he'll bow and say "Thank You".

IMO the illogical decision behind the decision to build is more reflective of the half measures that US defence policy has been taking over the years more then any decision taken by Obama . The F-22 is a case in point after all the cash was poured into its development only a hand full of aircraft will be the final product . As far as I know such a move was on the cards when Rumsfeld was around because the Iraq war was eating into the Pentagon budget . So rather then have the planners and the bureaucrats choose between a clear path of preparing for convental war or counter war decisions like the small number of F-22 being produced get made .

Do you have something against the Eagle? An aircraft that has proved it's worth in our military and has quite the distinguished service record. But Obama is supposed to have some rookie plane behind him when he could have a tried and true aircraft at his back?

BTW, Zap, isn't that an F-15 in your avatar?

[edit on 12/3/2009 by whatukno]

Originally posted by Hastobemoretolife
reply to post by Jackboot.Heel

 

It also makes a great platform to test other technologies against it. Like I said if you can't figure it out, I can't really help you.

What is there to figure out? Even on a site dedicated to conspiracy, the attempt to dig some kind of political meaning out of the President's choice of aircraft to pose in front of stands out.

I disagree with many, many things done by my gov't. But you know what? I'm pretty sure I haven't tried as hard as you to keep my hate engine chugging. This is someone genuinely trying to put blind hate in the hearts of people who don't like the President, which is as stupid and pointless as the blind love some of his supporters show.

reply to post by whatukno

I have nothing against the Eagle. What I have a problem with is that those guys busted their tails getting their plane ready (I know how hard that is with any plane), and wanted the chance to show their pride and joy off, and some staffer slapped them in the face. When the president makes a speech at a military base they usually put the newest and best behind him. No matter how good the Eagle is it`s getting long in the tooth (average age is almost 27). One thing this DID do is show just how old our Air Force really is, and hopefully draw attention to the upcoming fighter gap we`re facing.

I can understand the WH Staff making this request, which considering there are F-15s in Active Duty Service at Elmendorf Air Force Base, this seemed like a perfectly reasonable request given their explanation.

However, I do also understand how this would upset the fighting men and women of the 90th and 525th Fighter Squadron who were both present and praised during Obama's speech, considering both Fighter Squadrons fly the F-22 exclusively.

I don't think that the rest of us should be upset about common politics. To do such would be to make a mountain out of a mole-hill.

It's called a Photo Op boys and girls. Every politician does it. You carefully choose every little thing with purpose, especially the backdrop (lest you pull a Donald Rumsfeld faux-pas). It's comes out offensive to some, but it's SOP in American Politics from George Washington onward.

Besides, even though the F-22 represents the "Bleeding Edge" of American Superiority, nothing says "American" to the rest of the world than the F-15. It is the most widely recognized American Fighter Jet. If you stand in front of one you might as well be standing in front of Old Glory.

Originally posted by nastalgik
I would take an Eagle over a Craptor any day. At least someone in Washington has some sense. I would rather have a proven air superiority fighter, the greatest one of all time that is, standing behind him then a trillion dollar program that isn't currently needed.

Why do you say the F22 isn't proven? It's been around since 1990.

And why not needed? It has much technological and stealth advantage over the F-15.

Tell you what, when you get caught on radar and they are gunning for you, and I have to jink back to save your butt, you will buy me a beer and eat those words.

From Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org...
"Despite a protracted and costly development period, the United States Air Force considers the F-22 a critical component for the future of US tactical airpower, and claims that the aircraft is unmatched by any known or projected fighter,[3] while Lockheed Martin claims that the Raptor's combination of stealth, speed, agility, precision and situational awareness, combined with air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities, makes it the best overall fighter in the world today"

I think Obama and staff were really stupid to pick the older F-15 over the F22 Raptor.

[edit on 3-12-2009 by JohnPhoenix]