I talked Friday with a native of Red River County. His daughter is a Air Force pilot of a C-5 and is in the Iraq area now. He is Dick Waldrep. I forget his daughters name. She is a graduate of the Air Force Academy. Dick is about 3 or 4 years younger than me. I remember Dick's father Trump Waldrep as an insurance agent in Clarksville and on the school board when I was a teen in the 50s. I just looked up the C-5 and pasted below some of what I found. (this maybe the first time I have copied and pasted anything with success. It sure does save on the typing and typos. Jim Giddens Paris, Tx 5:07 p.m. April 12, 2003_________________________________________________________ The C-5 Galaxy: A Question of Need? The C-5 Galaxy is the largest airplane in the free world. It can haul 250,000 lb of equipment; it is 246 ft long and has a wing span of 233 ft. The enormous tail reaches as high as a six story building and when the airplane lands the pilot is still three stories off the ground. The interior cargo compartment is as big as an eight lane bowling alley and longer than the Wright brothers first flight. To many people who equate size with greatness, the C-5 is a worthy triumph of American aerospace engineering. At the time of its creation, it was lauded by both Lockheed and the USAF as the best America could create. However, from its conception to the present day, the C-5 has provided examples of many of the worst problems with the weapons procurement system in this country. Today, the C-5 is an airplane with a greatly diminished and restricted mission, unable to fulfill the role for which it was designed. Despite the best intentions of all those involved in its design and product! ion, the C-5 will never play more than a token role in the defense of this nation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background The Need for the C-5: The idea for the C-5 originated in the early 1960s; a fleet of giant cargo aircraft would allow the United States to move large quantities of troops and equipment to any place in the world in a matter of days. No longer would large numbers of U. S. troops have to be garrisoned abroad in distant lands to maintain America's military presence. With several C-5 squadrons, America could project its military power anywhere, anytime, without the expense of maintaining permanent facilities overseas.