Did these dumbasses forget that they work for a branch of the military instead of a Fortune 50 company?
And worse, even after they are told not to do it, they still keep on pushing? What about a half-dozen generals wasting valuable time bickering over the right color shade for the leather in their flying Lazy boy chairs? I flew across the god damn Atlantic Ocean in a C-141 in seats made with canvas or nylon strips. It's funny because this was also the flight where I had the most leg room anywhere, since we were sitting in the cargo bay, and our baggage was strapped down on the floor in the middle of the cargo hold. I had at least one yard from my feet to the closest object.
I flew in the opposite direction in a C-5 Galaxy, the biggest cargo plane that we have. I actually had an airliner-type seat, which faced backwards and was slightly tilted down. It was a miserable flight.
And it was free, since it was a space available flight.
Why are the US Air Force Generals burning taxpayer money in flight accommodations that are even more luxurious than one of our DoD owned small executive jets? And why not keep using the silver bullets?
The silver bullets are small trailers that fit inside most of our cargo jets. A VIP, say Jack Ryan, can sneak into a cargo plane with a silver bullet, where he can work for most of a transatlantic trip and still have a chance to take a quick nap and a shower. The end result is that the VIP gets to use most of that idle time for work purposes, and is mostly ready for action once he lands.
They could have probably bought a few more of those trailers and keep them low profile. The emphasis on this approach is comfort and convenience, not luxurious excess. I am sure the mattress probably sucks, but sleeping in one has to beat the hell out of sleeping upright in a god damn parachutist jumper seat.
If your VIP can remember the specific shade of the color of the leather seats, then he is the wrong guy for the job.
Another thing that is bothering me: why in the fuck are we ferrying around top USAF brass? What is it that they need to do that can't be done with a secure video link? We are not building new strategic Air bases out of the US, so it is not like they need to inspect these (what you need for that is a good civilian engineer). The Air Force is fighting their wars with strategic bombers dropping non-nuclear ordinance, and UAVs that can be piloted from across the world. So, why do they need to go outside of the US? Any why aren't the Army and Marine generals being treated with the same kind of concern about their comfort?
Do you remember the last time a Marine general complained that he did not like the shade of the leather in his Lazy boy chair?
And for the record, I would rather fly in the cargo hold of a C-141 than in a MATS charter jet that feels like it is about to disintegrate as soon as it takes off. The C-141 was louder, but it felt rock solid, while the charter jet felt like it was falling apart.
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