RickAir,

You are correct and I agree with you. I was hard on politicians in general in my last post. I want my President, the Commander-in-Chief to be safe at all times with a total means of escape. What I don't understand is the overkill of all of the support staff. I agree that there needs to be secret service with the man, but when he came to Iowa, why did he need 5 helicopters? He is ONE man. I think he should have the 2 helicopters that he uses any day in Washington D.C. One is his and the other is a decoy. Make the press people and all the traveling phonies take a bus. It just seemed like overkill especially when the world is so obsessed with being green right now.

I also agree that a back-up AF1 is a good idea for overseas missions. I should have made that more clear, but one thing he could have done in Iowa and other domestic places is utilize the local resources. DSM has an ANG base and just north of Des Moines about 40 miles is a base with Black Hawks. Why didn't he use the local military to haul him around instead of having to load down a fully fueled C-17 with 5 helicopters?

I just don't get it. But forgive my ignorance, for I am not in the military.