#it’s why so much was cut from debriefing unfortunately. mavericks the only one who ever sees ice honestly happy & can write about it

[compacflt]

no like i respect the fact that he’s so dedicated to his own unhappiness that he becomes the worlds most unreliable narrator, however, if per se i had him hooked up to a polygraph machine on an electric chair and asked him to recount every detail from venice he could possibly remember…….what do you think he’d say

Diary of RDML Tom Kazansky 1 February 2002:

VENICE, ITA: 0900: Scheduled phone call with Dept. of Commerce Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Deputy Director later today to discuss Foreign Military Sales program financing for the possible U.S.-Swiss F/A-18C sale.

0945: Spoke to Swiss US Export-Import Bank representative over the phone. All systems go.

1030: Reviewed Boeing-McDonnell F/A-18C fact sheet & identified points of Swiss Air Force strategic interest to push at tomorrow’s trilateral summit. Of particular note: high maneuverability at speed & long F-18 history of maintenance intercapabilities, suggesting future SWZ-US A/D industry partnership.

1215: Lunch with ITA Navy Adm. Lambretti & SWZ Asst. Deputy Minister of Defense Leipheimer. Discussed: coalition movements in Afghanistan, ongoing 9/11 relief & recovery efforts and ways allies can continue to help, SWZ tax credit for American investment.

1430: Spoke to US DOD Undersecretary for Policy (Acquisition) re: recent clarification of DOD acquisition policy. Received invitation to attend next year’s IARPA conference. Will consult with OJCS J4 leadership.

1500: Spoke with USN CDR Ron Kerner. Wished me a happy birthday.

1600: Preparatory staff meeting ahead of tomorrow’s summit.

1630: Spoke with Dept. of Commerce DSCA Deputy Director re: FMS financing. Inconclusive.

1900: Dinner with USN CDR Pete Mitchell who arrived in town today to speak at Thursday’s moderated discussion of the F/A-18C platform. He is staying till Saturday. Discussed future of Navy Fighter Weapons School & details of his presentation to be given Thurs. Stressed his adversary F-16 angle & asked him to consider putting together a future talk about F-18 evasive tactics and the concept of a joint multilateral US aerial combat training program (like NFWS) to bolster our allies’ expertise on US platforms. He did not like this idea. Scheduled follow-up dinners tomorrow (Wed 2 Feb) and Thurs (3 Feb) to continue our discussion. Will have lunch with him tomorrow as well. Due to an unfortunate scheduling error tonight’s dinner will be billed as dinner with SWZ Asst. Deputy Minister of Defense Leipheimer. DOD will likely compensate anyway.

(End)