From friend of mine here who is commercial airline pilot, from  friend of his.  More fuel to the fire.  Being ole AF pilots  yourselves, I think you need to see this. Sending this to ole friend back in Tupelo , Steve Hester, who I  hope he’ll forward to his cousin Paul Hester, AF Retire Major Gen.  Bill       I would say    every US fighter pilot, retired or on active duty, knows that Panetta and    Dempsey both are full of crap when they said there was no time to send help to    Benghazi . They claim it was a problem of "time/space." All my friends and I    said, "Bullshit." We know they could have gotten F-16s there from Aviano.    "Hands" Handley is a well-respected USAF fighter pilot. Here is his short    resume and what he just wrote about Benghazi below that. If anything, Handley    is pessimistic in his timeline of when F-16s could have reached Benghazi . I    think they could have been airborne even sooner and turned quicker at Sig.     The decision to not try was not based on capability. We had the    operational capability in every way.  I hope Handley's taxes are in    order. His IRS audit is forthcoming.  Dave Eagle    Biography Colonel Phil “Hands” Handley Colonel Phil “Hands” Handley    is credited with the highest speed air-to-air gun kill in the history of    aerial combat. He flew operationally for all but 11 months of a 26-year    career, in aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-15 Eagle, and the C-130A    Hercules. Additionally, he flew 275 combat missions during two tours in    Southeast Asia in the F-4D and F-4E. His awards include 21 Air Medals, 3    Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Silver Star. >    Betrayal in Benghazi >  > Phil “Hands” Handley >  >    Colonel, USAF (Ret.) >  >   >  > The combat code    of the US Military is that we don’t abandon our dead or wounded on the    battlefield. In US Air Force lingo, fighter pilots don’t run off and leave    their wingmen. If one of our own is shot down, still alive and not yet in    enemy captivity, we will either come to get him or die trying.  Among    America ’s fighting forces, the calm, sure knowledge that such an irrevocable    bond exists is priceless. Along with individual faith and personal grit, it is    a sacred trust that has often sustained hope in the face of terribly long    odds. >  > The disgraceful abandonment of our Ambassador and those    brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths to save others in that compound is    nothing short of sdereliction-of-duty.  Additionally, the patently absurd    cover-up scenario that was fabricated in the aftermath was an outright lie in    attempt to shield the President and the Secretary of State from    responsibility. >  > It has been over eight months since the    attack on our compound in Benghazi .  The White House strategy, with the    aid of a “lap dog press” has been to run out the clock before the truth is    forthcoming.  The recent testimonies of the three “whistle blowers” have    reopened the subject and hopefully will lead to exposure and disgrace of those    responsible for this embarrassing debacle.  >  > It would appear    that the most recent firewall which the Administration is counting on is the    contention that there were simply no military assets that could be brought to    bear in time to make a difference… mainly due to the unavailability of tanker    support for fighter aircraft.  This is simply BS, regardless how many    supposed “experts” the Administration trot out to make such an assertion. The    bottom line is that even if the closest asset capable of response was half-way    around the world, you don’t just sit on your penguin !!! and do nothing. The    fact is that the closest asset was not half-way around the world, but as near    as Aviano Air Base , Italy where two squadrons of F-16Cs are    based.   Consider the following scenario (all times Benghazi    local): >  > When Hicks in Tripoli receives a call at 9:40 PM from    Ambassador Stevens informing him “Greg, we are under attack!” (his last    words), he immediately notifies all agencies and prepares for the immediate    initiation of an existing “Emergency Response Plan.”  At AFRICON, General    Carter Ham attempts to mount a rescue effort, but is told to “stand    down.”  By 10:30 PM an unarmed drone is overhead the compound and    streaming live feed to various Command and Control Agencies… and everyone    watching that feed knew  what was going on. At 11:30 PM Woods,    Doherty and five others leave Tripoli, arriving in Benghazi at 1:30 AM on    Wednesday morning, where they hold off the attacking mob from the roof of the    compound until they are killed by a mortar direct hit at 4:00 AM.      >  > So nothing could have been done, eh?  Nonsense.     If one assumes that tanker support really was not available… what about    this: >  > ·         When    at 10:00 PM AFRICON alerts the 31st TFW Command Post in Aviano Air Base, Italy    of the attack, the Wing Commander orders preparation for the launch of two    F-16s and advises the Command Post at NAS Sigonella to prepare for hot pit    refueling and quick turn of the jets. >  >    ·         By 11:30 PM, two F-16Cs with    drop tanks and each armed with five hundred 20 MM rounds are airborne. Flying    at 0.92 mach they will cover the 522 nautical miles directly to NAS Sigonella    in 1.08 hours.      >  >    ·         While in-route, the flight    lead is informed of the tactical situation, rules of engagement, and radio    frequencies to use.  >  >    ·         The jets depart Sigonella at    1:10 AM with full fuel load and cover the 377 nautical miles directly to    Benghazi in 0.8 hours, arriving at 1:50 AM… which would be 20 minutes after    the arrival of Woods, Doherty and their team. >  >    ·         Providing that  the two    F-16s initial pass over the mob, in full afterburner at 200 feet and 550 knots    did not stop the attack in its tracks, only a few well placed strafing runs on    targets of opportunity would assuredly do the trick.  >  >    ·         Were the F-16s fuel state    insufficient to recover at Sigonelli after jettisoning their external drop    tanks, they could easily do so at Tripoli International Airport , only    one-half hour away.  >  >    ·         As for those hand-wringing    naysayers who would worry about IFR clearances, border crossing authority,    collateral damage, landing rights, political correctness and dozens of other    reasons not to act… screw them.  It is high time that our “leadership”    get their priorities straight and put America ’s interests first.      >  > The end result would be that Woods and Doherty would be    alive.  Dozens in the attacking rabble would be rendezvousing with “72    virgins”… and a clear message would have been sent to the next worthless POS    terrorist contemplating an attack on Americans that it is not really a good    idea to “tug on Superman’s cape.”  >  > Of course all this would    depend upon a Commander In Chief that was more concerned with saving the lives    of those he put in harm’s way than getting his crew rest for a campaign fund    raising event in Las Vegas the next day.  As well as a Secretary of State    that actually understood “What difference did it make?”, or a Secretary of    Defense whose immediate response was not to the effect that “One of the    military tenants is that you don’t commit assets until you fully understand    the tactical situation.”  Was he not watching a live feed from the    unarmed drone… and he didn’t understand the tactical situation?     YGBSM!   >  > Ultimately it comes down to the question of who    give that order to “stand down?”  Whoever that coward turns out to be    should be exposed, removed from office, and face criminal charges for    dereliction of duty.  The combat forces of the Untied States of America    deserve leadership that really does “have their back” when the chips are    down.   >     ____________________________________________________________ BlackBerry® 10 Find out    more about the new BlackBerry 10 smartphone. BlackBerry.com   No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version:[masked] / Virus Database: 3184/6354 - Release Date: 05/24/13