[fabsroman]

Rocky,

Thanks for the info. My buddy said that if he ever went from the Navy to the Air Force, the F-15 is what he would want to fly. He said that it is the only American plane that can accelerate vertically. Don't know if it is the only plane in the world that can do it, but in the US it is. Granted, I think the F-22 has the F-15 beat in that category too. My buddy loves the F-22 and I think he might have even flown it while he was here in Maryland as a test pilot over the last three years. I'll have to ask him about it the next time I talk to him.

As far as politics are concerned, I agree completely with you that a soldier/fighter pilot should never let politics get into the equation. Every time my buddy goes up, I truly hope he is only concentrating on the mission at hand and getting back home safely to his wife and two kids. The politics should be left up to the politicians and people like me with nothing better to do with my spare time. I read a little more about the Israel/Arab conflict, and it looks like the arabs are to blame for most of it, but that information was off a pro Israel board, one that I think was sponsored by Judaism because of the references in the text. So, I am going to look for something a little less bias over the next hour or so before I have to get some sleep. I'll post about it if I find anything significant.