E-Mail Exchange with C-130 Pilot

RUSH: Berea, Ohio, this is Al. I’m glad you waited, sir. Appreciate it. Hello.

CALLER: A pleasure to speak with you, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: When we’re talking about who supports the troops, I think it would show by the troops supporting them, and as I recall, you went over there and the troops took you on planes and took you everywhere and they ate with you, and the media reported when Hillary went over there, about a half dozen people had a meal with her. Now, how many is about a half dozen?

RUSH: You know, I had forgotten that, and my memory may be a little foggy on this. I think she was there just prior to my arrival. I’d have to check my reports from Afghanistan on my website, but I think she was there before my visit. I remember the first night we got into Kabul, I went into one of the bases over there, and had dinner with everybody — as many people that were free to have dinner — and I think one of them told me that Mrs. Clinton had just been there and only met with six or so people. It was a photo-op visit. In fact, it’s interesting that you call now, Al. Do you remember me talking about this?

CALLER: Oh, absolutely.

RUSH: Okay. I just got an e-mail from Jeffrey Mull, who is one of the C-130 pilots from, I think, the Texas National Guard that was flying me all over the place in Afghanistan. He says, ‘Rush, with regard to the real attacks from phony critics and everything else that is being said about phony soldiers, and your support for the troops, I have never been more honored to fly anyone in a C-130 as I was when we had the privilege of flying with you during your trip to Afghanistan in 2005. Your commitment and support of the troops is without reproach. Thanks again for your support for the troops and service to this country.’ He’s now with Lockheed Martin. But I think he was with the Texas Air Guard. They let me sit up front in the jump seat up there in the cockpit, in the C-130 — the Herc as they call it — and the rest of the party was back in the cargo hold, but I was like the VIP up in the front. I said, ‘This is the way it should be. The state department people should be in the cargo hold and I should be up here in the cockpit. Obviously, I’ve never been in a C-130 before,’ but I remember, Jeffrey, taking pictures, showing me family pictures of his, his wife and daughter, his children, and I made it a point, every one of these guys, I asked, ‘Why are you here?’ He was on like his second tour, I believe. I said, ‘Why are you here?’ He said, ‘This is what I’m doing to protect my family. This is what I want to do.’ He was in the Guard, the Texas Air National Guard. So the letter that he sends here makes my heart melt. I got notes from Vince Flynn today. I’m hearing from all kinds of military personnel that I’ve met over the course of the years. Snerdley said, ‘Why didn’t you read some more?’ It’s too self-serving.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Lastly, I mentioned how we had a call, in fact, talking about some things he’d remembered me saying about my visit to Afghanistan back in 2005. I had, before his call, just received an e-mail from Jeffrey Mull. It said, ‘Dear Rush, with regard to the real attacks from phony critics and everything else that is being said about phony soldiers, and your support for the troops, I have never been more honored to fly anyone in a C-130 as I was when we had the privilege of flying with you during your trip to Afghanistan in 2005. Your commitment and support of the troops is without reproach. Thanks again for your support for the troops and service to this country.’

So I read the note, told a little story from my memory about flying around with Jeffrey on the C-130. He’s with the Texas Air National Guard and wrote him back. ‘Jeffrey, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. Where do you live now and how are you?’ I got a note back instantly, right before the previous hour ended, ‘I’m great. I’m never better. I live in Granbury, Texas, which is south of Fort Worth. My day job is at Lockheed Martin aeronautics. I’m working on the F-35 JSF program. I’m still a C-130 pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. I will be returning with my unit to Afghanistan in December. I play a lot of golf. I try to spend as much time with my wife and two daughters, Reagan four, and Ryan one. Jeff.’ He’s going back. My memory is this is going to be his third tour.

But these are the people that I’ve met, and these are the people that know the truth — and, by the way, the Rush 24/7 e-mail box and the general e-mail box is being flooded with e-mail from military personnel and their families, who are outraged by all this. So, again, thanks, Jeff. I got to sit up in the cockpit of the C-130 Herc flying over Afghanistan. You don’t think it’s going to get off the ground. (interruption) You want me to read some of the letters? All right. All right. What are you frowning about in there, Dawn? (interruption) What? They’re trying to get me off Armed Forces Radio. All right, I’ll read some of them. I sent a couple of them up to the website for Koko to publish.