“Joking” comments of Army Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US Central Command, during his presentation at the Marine Corps Association Foundation dinner on July 30 belittled the contributions of the Air Force to the joint force. In his prepared remarks, Petraeus said: “Then, of course, 25,000 feet above them [soldiers and marines], an Air Force pilot flips aside his ponytail and looks down at them through his cockpit as he flies over. ‘Boy,’ he radios his wingman, ‘It must be tough down there.’ ” We reviewed the video to get his actual remarks and found he embellished his “joke,” changing the altitude to 30,000 feet and saying, “… an Air Force pilot flips aside his ponytail—I don’t know how that got in there; I know they haven’t had ponytails in a year or two—and looks down … .” Continue
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.