Staff Reports
I got to fly jets with Draken International — the outfit that quietly operates the largest fleet of privately owned former military tactical aircraft in the world — and what I saw should make every American proud that private enterprise can still outpace bloated government programs. The precision, professionalism, and mission focus at a private company flying A-4s, MiGs and Mirages is a reminder that patriotism lives in the hangars and not just in Washington corridors.
Draken wasn’t some hobby club; it was founded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and built into a defense contractor that trains our pilots and simulates threats so our Air Force doesn’t have to waste precious flight hours. Private capital and innovation turned a simple idea into a national asset that taxpayers benefit from without surrendering control to a sclerotic bureaucracy.
On the ground and in the air you feel the difference: Draken won multimillion dollar contracts to provide adversary training to the Air Force and other services, a real cost-saving, mission-ready solution that defenders of big government refuse to emulate. The company’s work at bases from Nellis to Luke shows the smart way to keep America’s pilots sharp without sending more money into swampy procurement programs.
Isaacman didn’t stop at rebuilding a private air force — he led Inspiration4 and Polaris missions and even completed the first private spacewalk, proving private Americans can open new frontiers when government won’t or can’t move fast enough. If you want leaders who actually fly, sweat, invest, and put skin in the game, you don’t get them from central planners; you get them from entrepreneurs who bet everything on American ingenuity.
President Trump recognized that when he tapped Isaacman to head NASA, a choice that made sense to rank-and-file taxpayers who want results over red tape — and then, inexplicably, the nomination was withdrawn after political hand-wringing from the swamp. That backpedal cost the country a chance at private-sector leadership at the agency at a time when we should be accelerating moon and Mars ambitions, not playing personnel games.
Worse, the administration named an interim with little space experience and the agency is facing brutal cuts and upheaval, proving that the political class would rather play musical chairs than empower Americans who get things done. If we let career bureaucrats dictate terms, we’ll cede leadership in space to competitors and choke off the private partnerships that actually lower costs and speed innovation.
Hardworking patriots should demand better: nominate proven private leaders who understand aviation, logistics, and accountability, not insiders who worship process over results. We need more Jared Isaacmans — people who build, fly, and invest in American power — to lead our national projects so our sons and daughters inherit a country that dares to win in the skies and beyond.
