It always amazes how nincompoops consistently drag out the Geneva Conventions whenever it seems handy and then totally misquote and actually lie about same!, i.e. applying those rules meant for State sponsored armies to rag-tag murdering criminals like the Taliban and other such defilers of the human race!

Lets give the high ranking Army Brass and Congress men rides into a Dustoff situation and see if it sheds any light on the subject for them. The American public is finally beginning to understand why this Government fails to act on issues. We had problems back in the 50's 60's and 70's but never like this. It's down right criminal and someone should be swinging for poor judgement.

Michael, you have it right. It was not the crosses but the fact the units were destroyed by the conversions to CAB control. I saw it happen and it was a big reason to get out.

Back in the 80's I was a CH-47 Chinook Air Crewman and the unit I was assigned to originally was a Medevac unit. Now I see that they, the Army are using UH-60's for the job, why have they gone away from the tried and true Chinooks? It can surpass the Blackhawk (I was a crewman in those in the late 90's in the ANG) in altitude and load capacity. When the 47's were in use as a Medevac we armed them to the teeth and never had a single mark that said we were an easy target, when did this unarmed flying target policy start? For the last 4 years that I was enlisted I was an Army Scout and we had "embedded" medics who initially would not take up an M16 or other "offensive" weapon to save their own life. When they joined us we would make sure that in a pinch they would grab even an entrenching tool if necessary to fight with us as we fought with them. I learned that somewhere along the line the Medics were told they couldn't use "offensive" weapons and were relegated to pistols as a last ditch defense. This was absurd! And so is sending in unarmed Helos! I had heard in 'Nam the "Guns A Go Go" had a cross on them but were anything but a mercy lift so where does it say that we have to live and die by these chivalrous rules when they really don't exist?!? Is it the pilots who won’t go into these areas? I know it isn’t the air crewman because every one of them I have ever known would fly into hell to retrieve one of our own or any wounded for that matter. Where is the disconnect? Why can we not just put an M2 .50 cal gunner on both sides and on the ramp of a Chinook and use them for medevac rather than Blackhawks?