Asheville – On this past Veterans Day, a certain Air Force Major General Rick Deveraux embarrassed himself, probably yet again, with his Veterans Day remarks in neighboring Weaverville, North Carolina. A great friend of mine in Asheville was enraged by the woke American general’s comments. He sent me the details of the meeting, as I had lived in Asheville for a number of years. This friend, you see, served in the Air Force during and flew sorties over South Vietnam during the “conflict” as our government and the media attempted to portray it. Let me tell you that the “conflict” was a flat-out war.
I served during the Vietnam “conflict” as well flying 137 combat sorties over North and South Vietnam, and the Gulf of Tonkin abreast of Haiphong Harbor and Nam Dinh, both port cities in North Vietnam and in near proximity to Hanoi as the crow or a Mig-21 flies. But most of my flying was focused over Laos where the Ho Chi Minh trail gushed out of North Vietnam thru the mountain passes of Mu Gia and Ban Karai, my stomping grounds, and constantly overflying the Plain of Jars. Laos was the “Secret War” cooked up by the Democrat clowns President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. We were told not to communicate in any fashion that we were operating in and over Laos. Later both Johnson and McNamara became Democrat Party deities, sadly. But I today think of Obama, Biden and Pelosi and their unfortunate ilk and their focused abuse of our patriotic military. What’s new? Today we have Major General Rick Deveraux and his bosses, the sad little folks General Milley and Secretary of Defense Austin. Both unbelievably woke, clay ankled leaders of America’s unforgettable failure in Afghanistan. When you add poor Ole Joe Biden and “missing in action” Secretary of State Tony Blinken we have the many-faceted ways to Kill America. How about the very recent mask mandate dictate that Biden tried to sneak through on all of us by using an OSHA regulatory trick? That will fail in part due to President Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klein’s texting blunder.
But back on point, I was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation plus more. I loved my time in our military. But after my second tour in the second of my two fighter wing assignments, I decided that the Air Force wasn’t for me. The reason was “Politics.” Plain and simple. I didn’t want to commit to building a career that one mean-spirited reporting official could derail so easily, so I chose an Honorable Discharge. I remember being summoned to meet with the Air Force General who was at that time in command of the Ninth Air Force. So I had to find my Air Force “Blues” and change from my daily business wear, my Nomex Flight Suit! I had by that time created a top flight career with top officer reviews and combat records I formally met with the General, and he quickly asked me why? I am certain that he didn’t like my answer. I was polite, but direct, and what followed was a predesigned answer offering me various absolutely attractive assignments both aircraft and locations. But I was done due to Politics. My entrepreneurial bent pushed me elsewhere.
I have looked at General Deveraux’s record. The Air Force Academy and a mirage of pre-destined assignments and the staccato of charm schools and carefully planned experiences all combined to move him through the ranks. He has an excellent flying record in numerous aircraft.
My issue with all of that is that moving up in the American military clearly becomes political the higher one moves. An aspiring senior officer inevitably has to “Play Ball” and play up. The result, of course, is General Deveraux remarking about America’s threat of civilian insurrection with no mention of the Chinese or the Russians. He worked hard at declaring that the Jan 6 event was a large-scale insurrection against the Constitution and even tries to do so by disconnecting it from the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. What actually was going on was simply that those folks represented some 75 million Americans who knew they had been hoodwinked and that the courts had gone completely dormant. They, too, are worthy of defending under the Constitution. Any thinking American would quickly ascertain that it was no large-scale insurrection.
Another remark is egregious when he says that vets are supposed to defend ‘good’ citizens like the ones who wear masks and get vaccinated. What about the citizens who didn’t? What about those who disagreed with the bureaucrats who imposed such harsh mandates? Are they ‘no good’? From where does such thinking evolve?
We as Americans do have major threats such as an open southern border with only God knowing who is coming into America, and not all coming here with good intentions. And not to mention the steady flow of illegal and killer drugs.
There are many ways that our America is being killed, especially from the inside. So next year at the time of Veteran’s Day, if a community in Western North Caroling is looking for a Veterans Day speaker, give me a call.
Publisher’s Note: John McNabb earned All-American football honors in both high school and at Duke University. He served two tours of duty flying 137 combat missions in Southeast Asia. He served as CEO of a Fortune 1000 international energy firm which worked in 60 countries. He serves as co-chair of the Council for a Secure America with a strong focus on energy independence. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He currently serves on the boards of Continental Resources and Cypress Environmental Resources. He recently published his autobiography called A Nice Ride, Stories of America, available on Amazon.