The Unauthorized Randy “Duke” Cunningham Page

From the North County Times:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/01/25/perspective/17_14_431_21_06.txt

Oh, Randy, you fool . . . .

Quote:

"Somebody who is abrasive or arrogant is likely to get some form of come-uppance," Cohn said.

Lucky for Duke he was a just a humble, public servant.

Dan, your last paragraph speaks volumes. The bribes that he took by check, for example, he simply deposited the checks into his bank account not very bright. No trail there!

The way that he handled the bribes tells me that he figured that he was entitled or something.

And, yes. he could have held off and made a ton of money legally as a lobbyist. Why he did not, I hope that we learn in his book that hopefully a ghostwriter will write.

I too believe that he will do just fine in the joint. Half of the people in there copped a plea and ratted out their crime partners, so why would they look at Dandy with distain?

His punishment will be that his days in prison will pass like weeks, and his weeks like months . . . I've read that in a couple of places. Dragging time has got to be just awful.

Of course the loss of status, control and freedom are very bad also . . .

And what ever he endures won't compare to what Everett Avarez, John McCain, Adm. Stockdale, et al endured.

They endured their imprisonment for actions just as heroic as shooting down 5 Migs. Duke will be doing time because he is eat up with the dumb @!#$!

The NVA were so stupid. They thought that McCain and Stockdale were the catches. Alvarez was the catch, and the NVA never knew it. He kept his mouth shut, dumbed up and they left him alone. After all, what could a Mexican-American know . . .

Not "down-to-earth" at all, he was my XO and CO for a time, and he's a pompous @!#$ that could care less about anyone with less rank than he had.

Ah, you knew him well . . .

Duke might get the skinny on what to expect in prison from his son. He is a legacy. Right?

eeeee heeee heeeee heeeee

Too bad he alienated Barney Frank.

It's so funny to think about the days I would see Duke walking around in his flightsuit, razzing the younger "gentlemen" in front of the "men", and the times I would read the "ding" book in the ready room with his hamfisted scrawl and horrible misuse of the English language, slamming some other pilot for not being "up to snuff", I'm just SO happy that he finally gets his in the end. Go get 'em, Tiger!

AZ –

I was a fighter pilot in other squadrons at Miramar, when Cunningham was a JO. I resigned as a LCDR and walked away from retirement benefits etc., just to get away.

Cunningham never received the proper training from the chiefs and lead POs and department heads when he was a JO due to his Ace status. Thus, his terrible conduct as the XO and CO of your squadron. That "ding" book was a perfect example. However, it took AirPac hearing about it before it was ordered removed.

We had a ding" book in one squadron that I was in as a JO. We were deployed and I finally took the damb thing and fed it thorugh the shredder in IOIC. They were a stupid thing.

I can assure you that the troops were not the only people that looked upon Cunningham with disgust. A lot of officers would have absolutely nothing to do with him. Many was the time that he walked into the O-Club at Miramar and people just got up and left or relocated far away from him. I will never forget “the Ace” sitting at the bar with no one around him . . . but it never sunk in.

The man is an idiot and a bore. That he could fly the airplane was his only quality. I am not too wired in the goings on of the Navy these days, but I understand that there now exists an unwritten rule . . . "no more Aces." When a guy pops 1 or 2 he is pulled from combat. It is called the "Cunningham Rule." If this is true it is a sad turn of events.

Cunningham is an example of a very poor naval officer that abused his "Ace" status to get away with so much in the Navy. Also his "Ace" status seduced the Navy into thinking that it could not discipline, toss out or court Marshal an "Ace" because of the perceived publicity issues.

You notice that the U.S. Attorney and FBI had no difficulty with how to handle this “Ace.” The Navy could take a lesson.

Hey Paul, really early in my Navy days, I was one of the unfortunate idiots who manned the hot fuel octogon. One of the duties was to pull the chutes from F-4s, give the "cut" sign and drag them off the tarmac. One pilot decided to cut it before I gave him the sign, and the turnbuckle whizzed past my head, whereupon I almost dumped a load myself. I did get up his ladder quickly to let him know I was kinda upset. He cowered and feigned innocence. I got his name from his flightsuit and made things even on my own time. Never mess with a disgruntled enlisted man who knows how to lurk...

thanks for the memories.

AZ2 CDV:
Not "down-to-earth" at all, he was my XO and CO for a time, and he's a pompous @!#$ that could care less about anyone with less rank than he had.

I believe you, and I've never met the guy, and you have (The Duke has generally made only "public" appearances unannounced or before closed-door audiences, even before the scandals).

I've found that many people turn into monsters when they have some of management power, but before and after they are no longer in management, they turn into reasonable people.

I think it's all about attitude. If he goes into prison humble, I think he'll do OK. Not great, but OK. It's his choice. The comment about the gang scum doesn't sound appealing, so I'm glad I'm not in his shoes!

When I first came across him, he was a "nugget" - a new guy - fresh from the RAG - replacement air group. He was simply stupid, but OK, just not the sharpest tool in the shed. But after he got those MiGs, he really went side car. After he was elected to congress, he forgot that his shi• stank just like everyone else’s.

As for what happened to you AZ2 that was terrible. I hated having anyone around the rear of the F-4 with engines turning because we could not see them. Also, you know despite what many enlisted people believed, officers were not perfect. I never did that fuc•-up, but I did one worse . . . I started to taxi my F-9 during carrier quals as a student pilot before the Yellow Shirt - the plane director directed me to move it. I moved that Cougar about 3 feet and then all hell broke lose. Well . . . I never did that again!

A better solution to what happened to you would have been to have brought what happened to the attention of the Line Chief, asking him to bring it to the attention of the Line Officer and to the Maintenance Officer. The young gentleman would have been corrected very quickly. I was the Line Officer in one fighter squadron that I was in. Screw-ups by pilots and ground crew that got to the Line Chief's attention that he felt I should hear about were dealt with appropriately, in some cases, dramatically.