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Offline formerlurker

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Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« on: January 18, 2009, 06:26:44 PM »
Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits

Jan. 17, 2009
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(CBS) Try to guess how many flights President Bush has flown on Air Force One since taking office.

It’s 1,675 - more than 200 flights in each of the last eight years.

And on nearly all of those flights, Col. Mark Tillman, 51, was at the controls of Air Force One.

But now, he’s got just one mission left for George W. Bush - to fly him home to Texas on Tuesday as the former president. The aircraft will be the familiar 747-400 that routinely serves as Air Force One, but that won’t be its radio call-sign on Tuesday afternoon, since Mr. Bush will be out of office. The flight home is a military courtesy to the former commander-in-chief.

“It’ll end the president’s term in office and it’ll also end my tenure at Air Force One,” said Tillman in a radio interview with CBS News.

After flying Mr. Bush to every state in the country but Vermont, and on 49 foreign trips to 75 countries, many of them more than once, Tillman will be ending his 30-year career in the Air Force.

Bush nominated him for promotion to brigadier general, but the Senate Armed Services Committee never took action on it.

So the modest and soft-spoken Tillman will be leaving the military for a pilot’s job in the private sector. He concedes that “nothing will compete” with the experience of piloting Air Force One.

“I’ll have tremendous memories of growing up as a lieutenant and working my way to be President Bush’s pilot,” he said.

Those memories include his most stressful day as the President’s pilot - Sept. 11, 2001.

“9/11 was a challenge for us because we didn’t know what was going on,” said Tillman.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/17/politics/printable4731488.shtml
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Offline thundley4

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2009, 06:31:11 PM »
Maybe Obama's new pilot will have some politically correct name like Abdul or Muhammad :whatever:.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2009, 06:33:10 PM »
That was a wonderful story.  Thank you for posting it.  :saluteaf:

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Offline Chris

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2009, 06:33:40 PM »
Quote
After flying Mr. Bush to every state in the country but Vermont, and on 49 foreign trips to 75 countries, many of them more than once, Tillman will be ending his 30-year career in the Air Force.

Hmmm. :devious:
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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2009, 06:36:01 PM »
Quote from: Chris on January 18, 2009, 06:33:40 PM
Hmmm. :devious:

Did GWB ever step foot in Vermont while president? 
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2009, 06:41:22 PM »
Quote from: formerlurker on January 18, 2009, 06:36:01 PM
Did GWB ever step foot in Vermont while president? 

No.....since he didn't have 2 left feet, they wouldn't allow him in.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2009, 06:42:44 PM »
Quote from: formerlurker on January 18, 2009, 06:36:01 PM
Did GWB ever step foot in Vermont while president? 

I don't know.  It would be one of those curious, useless bits of trivia.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2009, 06:45:04 PM »
Quote from: formerlurker on January 18, 2009, 06:26:44 PM
Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits

Jan. 17, 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(CBS) Try to guess how many flights President Bush has flown on Air Force One since taking office.

It’s 1,675 - more than 200 flights in each of the last eight years.

And on nearly all of those flights, Col. Mark Tillman, 51, was at the controls of Air Force One.

But now, he’s got just one mission left for George W. Bush - to fly him home to Texas on Tuesday as the former president. The aircraft will be the familiar 747-400 that routinely serves as Air Force One, but that won’t be its radio call-sign on Tuesday afternoon, since Mr. Bush will be out of office. The flight home is a military courtesy to the former commander-in-chief.

“It’ll end the president’s term in office and it’ll also end my tenure at Air Force One,” said Tillman in a radio interview with CBS News.

After flying Mr. Bush to every state in the country but Vermont, and on 49 foreign trips to 75 countries, many of them more than once, Tillman will be ending his 30-year career in the Air Force.

Bush nominated him for promotion to brigadier general, but the Senate Armed Services Committee never took action on it.

So the modest and soft-spoken Tillman will be leaving the military for a pilot’s job in the private sector. He concedes that “nothing will compete” with the experience of piloting Air Force One.

“I’ll have tremendous memories of growing up as a lieutenant and working my way to be President Bush’s pilot,” he said.

Those memories include his most stressful day as the President’s pilot - Sept. 11, 2001.

“9/11 was a challenge for us because we didn’t know what was going on,” said Tillman.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/17/politics/printable4731488.shtml


I'll bet this guy could write a great book.

Thanks for your service amigo and I don't blame you for not wanting to ferry some kenyan empty suit around.  That's what we have dry cleaners vans for.
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Offline rich_t

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2009, 08:40:08 PM »
Quote
Bush nominated him for promotion to brigadier general, but the Senate Armed Services Committee never took action on it.

As CinC, couldn't Bush just order the promotion?  Why does the Senate have anything to do with the issue?

They didn't teach us this stuff in PLDC or BNCOC.
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Offline docstew

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2009, 08:55:06 PM »
promotions to flag rank have to be approved by congress... even though it is usually a rubber stamp.  GEN Dunwoody was nominated for her fourth star months before it was awarded, waiting for congressional approval
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Offline rich_t

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2009, 09:07:18 PM »
Quote from: docstew on January 18, 2009, 08:55:06 PM
promotions to flag rank have to be approved by congress... even though it is usually a rubber stamp.  GEN Dunwoody was nominated for her fourth star months before it was awarded, waiting for congressional approval

I know doc; my question is why?  It's sure not mentioned in the COTUS.  At what point did it come to require congressional approval?  Or has it always been that way?

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Offline Chris_

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2009, 09:11:26 PM »
The article title should be changed to read:
"Air Force Col. Gives The One, The Bird".
 :-) :innocent:
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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2009, 07:02:07 AM »
He really doesn't have a choice but to retire.   He can do 30 years as Colonel, but has to get bumped up to one star to stay longer.   Because the Senate Armed Forces Committee wouldn't allow it to go to the floor for vote (they hold up promotions all the time), then he has to retire.   

They screwed him.   


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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2009, 07:10:17 AM »
Quote from: rich_t on January 18, 2009, 09:07:18 PM
I know doc; my question is why?  It's sure not mentioned in the COTUS.  At what point did it come to require congressional approval?  Or has it always been that way?



Always been that way. 
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Offline NHSparky

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #14 on: January 19, 2009, 07:11:57 AM »
Quote from: docstew on January 18, 2009, 08:55:06 PM
promotions to flag rank have to be approved by congress... even though it is usually a rubber stamp.  GEN Dunwoody was nominated for her fourth star months before it was awarded, waiting for congressional approval

Actually, not totally true.  The Senate has to approve all promotions to 3- and 4-star rank.  O-7 and O-8 promotions are still handled by their respective service selection boards.  Typically, if a flag officer fills a post which calls for a higher rank, they're typically promoted to that rank as a matter of protocol.  Happens at lower grades as well; aka "spot promotions".  I've had a couple of engineers who were O-3's when they reported but got spot promotions to O-4, and they then later became permanent.
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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #15 on: January 19, 2009, 07:17:02 AM »
Quote from: NHSparky on January 19, 2009, 07:11:57 AM
Actually, not totally true.  The Senate has to approve all promotions to 3- and 4-star rank.  O-7 and O-8 promotions are still handled by their respective service selection boards.  Typically, if a flag officer fills a post which calls for a higher rank, they're typically promoted to that rank as a matter of protocol.  Happens at lower grades as well; aka "spot promotions".  I've had a couple of engineers who were O-3's when they reported but got spot promotions to O-4, and they then later became permanent.

Sparky, Flag rank officers have to be approved by Congress.   

On a spot promotion you still get paid as an O-3 until it is approved.    The Navy may do that, but does it happen in other branches anymore?   
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Offline NHSparky

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #16 on: January 19, 2009, 07:18:01 AM »
You're sure it's ALL flag ranks?  Last time I checked it was just O-9 and -10.
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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #17 on: January 19, 2009, 07:18:56 AM »
Quote
You can get more "political" than promotions to general officer (also known as "Flag Officer"). General Officers (Flag Officers) are those in the paygrades of O-7 through O-10. Fewer than one percent of career officers will ever be promoted to Flag Rank.

O-7 - One Star. Brigadier General. Rear Admiral (Lower Half) in the Navy/Coast Guard
O-8 - Two Stars. Major General. Rear Admiral (Upper Half) in the Navy/Coast Guard
O-9 - Three Stars. Lieutenant General. Vice Admiral in the Navy/Coast Guard
O-10 - Four Stars. General. Admiral in the Navy/Coast Guard
General officers are nominated for promotion by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the Senate. You can't get more "political" than that. The services hold in-service promotion boards to recommend officers for general officer promotion to the President. When vacancies occur (a general officer gets promoted or retires), the President nominates officers to be promoted from these lists (with advice from the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the applicable service, and the Service Chief of Staff/Commandant).


http://usmilitary.about.com/od/promotions/l/blofficerprom.htm
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Offline formerlurker

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #18 on: January 19, 2009, 07:20:58 AM »
Quote from: NHSparky on January 19, 2009, 07:18:01 AM
You're sure it's ALL flag ranks?  Last time I checked it was just O-9 and -10.

I just asked my husband and he thought it was Colonels and up whose promotion lists have to be approved by Congress, but it looks like it is 0-7 and up.   

It's all nonsense politics. 



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Offline Eupher

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #19 on: January 19, 2009, 09:54:36 AM »
Politics has been a part of military reality for some time now.

History is rife with examples of fine military men who have flipped the bird at the system or who have remained loyal to the "wrong" officer, to be punished by non-promotion.

For any officer to reach general/flag rank, there are an awful lot of people pulling for that guy/gal. Mavericks often don't succeed in getting there.
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Offline TheSarge

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #20 on: January 19, 2009, 08:38:06 PM »
Quote from: rich_t on January 18, 2009, 08:40:08 PM
As CinC, couldn't Bush just order the promotion?  Why does the Senate have anything to do with the issue?

They didn't teach us this stuff in PLDC or BNCOC.

Once you reach the flag officer level it all has to be approved by Congress.

Kinda like when we get to the SFC/E-7 level it goes from local promotion boards to a centralized one.


IMHO not promoting him to BG was one last middle finger to the POTUS not to mention the military courtesy of the Democrat controlled House and Senate.
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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #21 on: January 19, 2009, 08:40:14 PM »
Quote from: thundley4 on January 18, 2009, 06:31:11 PM
Maybe Obama's new pilot will have some politically correct name like Abdul or Muhammad :whatever:.
Better keep that @#$%er away from tall buildings...or else Biden will be the next prez.

 :bawl:
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Offline RightCoast

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #22 on: January 19, 2009, 08:54:56 PM »
Quote from: freedumb2003 on January 18, 2009, 06:45:04 PM
I'll bet this guy could write a great book.

Thanks for your service amigo and I don't blame you for not wanting to ferry some kenyan empty suit around.  That's what we have dry cleaners vans for.

I'm not 100% sure but I beleive it is customary for the new POTUS to get a new pilot.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #23 on: January 19, 2009, 09:56:35 PM »
The History Channel is showing a program on Air Force One.  Col. Tillman gets plenty of camera time. :-)
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Offline dutch508

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Re: Air Force One Pilot Calls It Quits
« Reply #24 on: January 19, 2009, 10:38:11 PM »
Quote from: formerlurker on January 19, 2009, 07:17:02 AM
Sparky, Flag rank officers have to be approved by Congress.   

On a spot promotion you still get paid as an O-3 until it is approved.    The Navy may do that, but does it happen in other branches anymore?   

In the Army it's called Frocked. It is not allowed anymore.
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