The Day We Said........."ENOUGH!"

This is a story that I have needed to tell, but waited until the proper time.............at Lakenheath.

Most of you know that I have very strong political views, but that wasn't always so.......prior to my return from Italy, everything was ok for the most part. The music, the guns, the old cars........then coming back to Mountain Home, working for Jerry Ash and playing music with Scrubby.

Aside from voting in November, I couldn't care less about politics at all. But that all changed with the coming of Jimmy Carter. He was elected in 1976.

By the time I got to Lakenheath, and he was coming up for re-election, he had given away the Panama Canal, granted amnesty for all the draft-dodgers to return from Canada, opened our shores to the Vietnamese "boat people", had a SALT II "treaty" going with the Russians and had cancelled the B-1 project. Democrats have tradionally cut into DEFENSE to free up more money for their social programs, (we're seeing proposed CUTS into our troop levels RIGHT NOW as I write this).

This is a prime reason the majority of miltary voters have always voted Republican. Not all, but most.

In 1979, the Shaw of Iran was exiled and the the nutjob Ayatollah Khomeini replaced him. They immediately seized the American Embassy and took the Americans hostage. An act that would last 444 days.

The timing was right. Carter was weak and the world knew it. And there are always those who will take advantage of it.

Around Britain itself, there was serious concern over a Soviet strike. Would the RAF have to handle it themselves, or could they count on us for help? Jimmy Carter was a "peace-nik", (he'd have made a good hippie), not that there's anything WRONG with that, but NOT as "Commander-in-Chief" in a world that this was becoming. My old buddy "Scrubby" himself once told me that "The world won't let you be a nice man." And he was right.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan decided to run for president. He was a well-known Hollywood actor, but also a former governor of California. I REMEMBERED the job he did THERE. The state economically ran in the "black" (and hasn't since). I remembered him putting people to work cleaning up parks and such, while they were drawing unemployment so the taxpayers might get SOMETHING for their money.

He'd probably be good for the economy, but how would he handle everything else? Nobody knew. But in America, it had come down to the "ABC" principle---------Anybody But Carter.

It was a landslide at 44 states to 6, but prior to the inaugeration he made a statement that had everybody's attention all over Europe and the mid-east. He made a public announcement to the Ayatollah that our hostages had "better be released" when he took the reins. He never said what would happen, he never even said "or else."

What did THAT mean?

In Tehran, one can only imagine what was going on in "conference" with the Ayatollah and his goons. The most Carter ever did was make a failed, feeble "rescue" attempt which got a bunch of our guys killed before they could ever impliment it. They had played with Carter like a yo-yo on a string. Every dictator on the planet thumbed his nose at "peacekeeper Jimmy." They knew by now, that he would do NOTHING.

NOBODY knew what Reagan was about, and I can tell you first hand from my old days on "Potrero Hill".........when you know NOTHING about your opponent, you'd better approach him with caution.......if at all.

What I am about to tell you, I witnessed first hand. I never read this in a book, or overheard it in some coffee shop. I was personally out there on the Blue Section ramp, and caught up in it. I KNOW that are retirees here in Mountain Home that were out there WITH me, and can verify what I am about to tell you.

On January 20th, 1981, we had a new president. Within the next 24 hours the ramp at Lakenheath was sealed off. You couldn't go home or even CALL home. MRE's were brought out to us, in case anybody got hungry. There was more Security Police than I'd ever seen in one place.

Weapons Load rolled out there under armed escort, and loaded two Aardvarks with..........(we'll called call them "silverfish"). Two particular tail numbers were picked because of bombing accuracy (excellent avionics), and each was configured into what we called a "3-banger" (one under each wing, and one in the belly).

Aircrews showed up, did their "walk-around", A staff car comes rolling up, an officer gets out of the back and hands the aircrews manila envelopes they had to sign for. The car leaves, a squadron "breadvan truck" picks up the pilots and leaves. Both aircraft are roped-off, security cops guarding each bird, and even the CREW CHIEFS weren't allowed near their own planes.

And we sat. All normal flying for the day had been cancelled. There was to be no maintenance of any kind on any other airplanes. We were all told to go back to the line shack and wait. Well, this was sort of a "screw-off" time for us, just kicking back, drinking coffee, etc.

The crew chiefs of the two selected aircraft stayed inside the Expedite Truck so they'd be at their planes immediately if called upon.

EVERYBODY was talking about what was going on, and what was in those envelopes the pilots had to sign for.

We were NEVER told, but it was pretty obvious, given the political climate at the time.

But we knew it was serious...........because of the weapons. The only time you EVER saw this particular ordinance, was when you pulled Victor Alert Duty, once or twice a year. This duty required that you LIVE out in a remote complex for a week, with "specially-loaded" aircraft in hardened shelters. I'm not going to go any further into it, except to say that you never, EVER, saw these weapons anywhere out in the "open." Never.

Something was going down.

Hours went by. Seemed longer than that. The Weapons Load folks came back out, ropes dropped, the "silverfish" were downloaded and escorted back from whence they came. We were told to come back out on the ramp and resume maintenance, (or whatever else we were doing).

We were also given official word from Wing Headquarters that the hostages in Iran had just been released and flown to one of our bases in Germany.

So THAT was it! Many of us had thought it was tied-in somewhere. Now we knew for sure. But it was like a delayed wave-reaction that actually overtook everyone an hour or so later, after all of us had had some time to ponder it.

We had just ALMOST witnessed a "microwave" strike (shall we say....). And an order like that would HAVE to come from the TOP! This "new guy" Reagan wasn't bluffing the Ayatollah..............the "Old Man" was ACTUALLY ready to "pull the trigger!"

There was no "press" around, either...........they wouldn't even let US go home, or call home. When I finally DID get home, my wife never asked me why I was so late. I was, after all, a crew chief, and it was normal for me to put in 14-15 hours or more. Especially over THERE.

I said nothing, and went to bed.

I don't know all the details, but I DO know, that the Iranians will NEVER know how close they came to "not being around anymore!" In my three years at Lakenheath, it was the first and last time I ever saw a "silverfish" out in the open...............SIX of 'em!

The Iranians later released to the press that they held the hostages to the last day of Carter's presidency, just to "rub the nose of the Great Satan (US) in the dirt."

Personally I think it was the "fear of the unknown", but, for WHATEVER reason, it's a good thing for THEM that they turned our people loose! On the darkside of it though, our HOSTAGES would have been "sizzled" right along with everyone else, but it had a really positive effect on morale at Lakenheath and a lot of other places. We finally had some "SPINE" in the White House, and as the rest of the world would learn in the next few years, our flag would no longer be used for a doormat by ANYBODY.

Yes, troop morale at Lakenheath had gone through the roof! We were proud to be Americans again. The British felt good about us being their allies now as well, and Reagan worked very closely with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was probably THEIR strongest leader since Churchill. The Reagan/Thatcher alliance was certainly not something the RUSSIANS had hoped for, I can tell you THAT!

Ronald Reagan was by no means perfect. He didn't try to be "everything to everybody." If you were a welfare leech, and/or expected the Government to hand you your lifestyle on a silver platter---------he was NOT going to be "your candidate."

He loved this country. Besides Hollywood, Reagan had been both a union leader as well as a governor, who would NOT be pushed around, and didn't like how America was being pushed around either-----------which is why he ran for the office.

He made it clear to the world that we would no longer take any crap from anybody. Well............there's "always that ONE".........but after we bombed Khaddafi in Libya, without so much as a "beg your pardon" to the "U.N.", even the wacko Colonel was a good boy for the next decade or so.

The Russians didn't intimidate hiim either, and "Mr Gorbechev" DID in fact, "TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!"

But character alone, didn't make him the great leader he was. I've always believed that AGE had a certain amount to do with it. Ronald Reagan was nearly 70 when he was first elected.

Old people. Think about your own grandfather perhaps.......they reach an age where they couldn't care LESS whether they they hurt your feelings or not. Your GRAND-DAD always told you WHAT HE THOUGHT, whether it was "politically correct" or not, and if you didn't like it.......well, that's just TOUGH AIN'T IT!......and he'd take you out behind the shed if necessary.

Reagan, like your grandfather, put HIS family before anyone else's.....and WE were now his "family!" He didn't care what the Russians or anybody ELSE wanted. WE CAME FIRST!

I CAN'T REMEMBER the last time any president "catered" to the AMERICAN people............we're too busy trying to "woo and influence" everybody ELSE!

If 9/11 had happened on "Uncle Ronnie's" watch. we would NOT still be engaged in "Vietnam II", ten years later. I can tell you that with CERTAINTY, from what I saw.......what so MANY of us saw from Lakenheath when the "silverfish" were being loaded.

You didn't screw with THAT President! And for MY money, we haven't had one since, nor are we likely to.

But I will always remember that cold, damp, clammy day on a flightline in England, when somewhere back home, the ol' "Gipper" stood up and said..........I DO!"

It was the day we said............."ENOUGH!"