Yesterday was my last day in Mountain Home, and my last flight was a kick. The Marines were fighting a low altitude war, and your humble was right there among and amidst. Started off in company with a two-ship of Singaporean F-15 Strike Eagles, flew through the merge as the smallest and only third generation aircraft among four fiercely maneuvering fourth generation strike fighters and eased my way out of the arena for to set up for their off-target run. Zorching around so low that our ground controller was unable to provide any, you know: Control. My aircraft being below his radar horizon. Somehow managed to blunder into a merge with a solo FA-18D off target, passed him head on and right-to-right close aboard, briefly considered the wisdom of a turn to engage at 500 feet (or so) from a neutral pass, wisely – I think – forewent that opportunity. Accepting a neutral start in the Kfir nothing but an opportunity to prolong an agony. There was a valid reason why Vietnam era fighters and attack jets were advised to check six off target, for that is where the savvy bandit prefers to attack from, if they hope to one day cash retirement checks.
Bugged out for Boise after, joining occasional reader Idaho Joe for dinner and an adult beverage (or two) at a restaurant he recommended. Met his lovely wife, had a charming conversation with the pair of them, dined gladly (thanks again, Joe!) and am today set to travel to Pensacola.
I haven’t seen Son Number One for months, the Hobbit for weeks, and doings around these parts may be rather more noticeable by their absence than otherwise.
You are invited and encouraged to talk amongst yourselves.
First.
And yes Caroll, I dislike you intensely for robbing me of your prose, arsehole.
Second…or third depending on how you count.
Safe travels, Captain and we look forward to your return.
Lex, you may want to see about getting some clothes for the winging a size or two larger than normal. For the fatherly pride that will swell up, and all that. Also beware of the very dusty atmosphere there; tends to get in one’s eyes and such. BZ to one and all.
OK, how many pizzas should I order, guys?
I’ll take a couple sausadge and pep for meself. Just get VX a gallon 5 Star and he’ll be comotose and happy afore ye know it.
UUummm, what happened to ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’? OK, I’ll grant you that theoretically, the F-18D eats you alive for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but considering that he (or she, DADT) isn’t really going to shoot a Sidewinder up your tailpipe, nor put a stream of 20mm through your wings, why not just try and see what happens? Their 4th gen a/c vs your greater experience. Give the kids some practice time, or who knows, maybe they make a mistake…
Have a safe trip, and please extend our congratulations to your son.
Semper Fi!
I’m happy for you, Lex. It’s quite a thing for all involved when a dad can say to his son, “Well done!”. I’m well acquainted with the feeling.
Heading to Pensacola sounds like the perfect reward after working in Idaho….Glad that Number One Son will have you in attendance. Make a trip to the Naval Air Museum…well worth the trip.
Mrs. SK1 and I attended boot Camp Graduation of our oldest and it was great to be at the ” Great Mistake by the Lake” to see him complete his Boot Camp and become a sailor.
At the end of the ceremonies, we got to see him in person and he came over and stopped as we (him & I) looked at each other for a minute. My wife said, ” Go give your Son a hug…” I replied, ” I think he has something to say first (sensing my son was trying to find the words)”
Our oldest came over and said, ” Mom,Dad – I want to say that I was wrong about everything and you guys were right. I’m sorry I ever doubted you (referring to his typical teenage outlook on life as an adolescent).”
I told the wife, ” Now he gets a hug.” – Our Son was like many youngsters, convinced he knew it all BUT his time in Boot Camp taught him that he had a lot to learn, and that Mom & Dad weren’t so hard on him afterall.
A friend commented that he was amazed as our Son was 17 at the time, and he said most parents don’t hear that from their kids until they are in their late 20s.
He’s a good kid, a Navy Vet and we are proud of him.
SK1, it’s nice to know they come to their senses eventually. I’m dealing with 2 all-knowing teenagers myself, and they can be serious pains in the arse much of the time.
Tuna, dude, you have my deepest sympathies. SNO did, however, apologize when he was 17 and has spoken about wanting even now, at the ripe old age of 22, of wanting to go back in a time machine so he slap his 18-year old self upside the head. SNT is, well, a 16-year old male. Dumbass.
+1
SK1 – nice, very nice. You knew it all along, it’s nice the kid figured it out this early. I think I may have been around 19 or 20 when I figured it out; of course being the perverse female of the species that I am, I didn’t tell my parents for quite some time.
Your son learned quicker than Mark Twain did. Twain once wrote that when he was a teen, he was dismayed at how little his Father knew, but was amazed at 25 as to how much his Dad had learned in the meantime.
Puts me in mind of a story Mark Twain once told, about how he had left home at 18 to become a river boat pilot, sure in his mind that his father, who was extremely opposed to his choice of occupations, was a complete and utter fool. Three years later he happens to stop by his home and spends some time on the front porch with his father. After a bit of time, he looks at his father and says, “It’s amazing how much you’ve learned in three years!”
I must concur that the Navy does right by their graduating newbs. I’m sure Capt. Lex will enjoy his sons graduation even more, since he’s “been there, done that.”
And as for the “thanks again” in the original post; the pleasure was all mine.
Joe, was that your first time meeting him? Everything you hoped for? But, really- the blog adds 10 lbs.
Lex – so very happy for you and the fam; such a proud moment you’ll have with SNO. More to come, we know that to be very true, if he’s fortunate enough to be anything like his dad. Safe travels.
Idaho Joe – hmph! I just can’t hide my jealousy. The closest to New England the Cap’n ever gets is Virginia. Someday…sigh
Kris – Lex went to Boston less than a year ago and visited my ship, The USS Constitution. The problem was he didn’t tell us Bostonians he would be available for a “meet & greet” as we (from this region) would have gladly made the trek in BAWSTON to host him proper like.
We’ll insist that he gives up a few days heads up next time. Maybe he’ll come for St. Patty’s Day 2012 – Now that is worth the trip from anywhere. No greater place to be than Boston on March 17th.
Having endured a snowstorm there in April, decades ago, I would have to say, Boston? March 17?
I’ll be home in Orlando, thank you very much.
I survived the Boston school of driving!!
Have a good time Lex
Brock,
Orlando is nice & all but you need to give Boston it’s due. Yes, winter here can challenge the soul BUT Spring, Summer & Fall prove this is a special place. Fenway Park on opening day, Cape Cod on the 4th of July, Foxboro Stadium & the Patriots in the fall……Boston has it all.
St. Patty’s Day may happen in March, but most if us enjoy the day as by then, the harshest part of Winter is waining.
You can have ” Mickey Mouse Land” and Hurricane Alley……BAWSTON is the place to be.
I grew up in Detroit. Got my fill there.
Used to live in Sandy Eggo too. Sooo jealous of Lex for his time there.
The theme to my career has been “keep moving south”, as the bones grow old.
Had to make a stop in Virginia Beach before we made it here.
All that AFTER my time in the Navy, spent mostly in Yoko-Sucka, although I did import my bride from there….
We rarely go to the south side where all the tourist traps are.
Don’t know how you guys can get car insurance…
cheers
SK1/
Dyed-in-the-wool Bostonian you are. Glad you have the courage of your convictions, Boston IS a great place, but just remember, the summers are only so special because they are in contrast to the misery of your winters.
)
(BTW, do they still park and/or drive on the side-walks in Boston?
VX – we only drive on the sidewalks in Boston when we see someone from out of town.
And in fact, it is the autumn in New England that makes up for the winters.
You know, I do remember that – after the fact! St. Patty’s in March – that would be a treat and thensome. New England in winter can indeed try the soul and yet – there is beauty to driving on ice and not hitting anything. Just sayin’.
Not just New England. “Back in the day”. I-94 was closed due to icing (in Detroit, nearly nothing closes due to icing), except for guys like me with a CJ5, doing donuts and spinouts at 55mph
Regarding driving on the sidewalks/out-of-towners:
On Cape Cod during the summer, we used to ask ourselves the age old question,
” If it is TOURIST SEASON, than why can’t we shoot ‘em??”
Never quite got the answer we residents needed…..
First face-to-face meeting, hopefully not the last. About 8 years ago I found our humble scribes internet abode while searching for information for my daughter, who at the time wanted to attend the Naval Academy and fly pointy nosed jets off Aircraft Carriers. A lot of good advice has come my way over the years, from Captain Lex and many of his readers. I stayed around because it feels like home. It feels even more that way, now that there’s a face behind the posts.
And I don’t know about the 10 lbs thing, but my wife snapped a quick picture (just so the kids wouldn’t believe I was making it up) and Lex made sure he was standing up hill. Not really sure why, he looked 10 feet tall in his flight suit to me.
…in his flight suit…
Now, you’re pouring salt. IJ, we want the evidence. Lex as pin-up.
Oh some of us have that but you must ask the Chaplain. Tamara was taking the pictures.
As a travelling man, I bet you’ve made a lot of stops, all over the world?
And in every port he’s owned the heart of at least one lovely girl.
Bam-bam-bam-bam.
My congrats to SNO. He’s done his Service, Family, and alma-mater! proud.
My congrats to SNO as well. I’m always happy to see a man get what he wants, even if I didn’t.
BZ!
Boun Giourno! I finally got WiFi in an Italian hotel and enough time off the tour to get my fix of Lex after a week of traveling. Funny how not being able to check in on the usual sites makes one twitchy. Congrats Lex and please extend the same to your son and wife. It’s good to know we have fine men like him watching over us.
Congratulations, Lex.
Dress warmly Lex… it’s a little chilly down here….
Congrats, Lex. I’m sure P-cola will bring back lots of memories.
Congrats to Lex & SNO1! My memories of P-Cola, such as they are, are from my college days in the early 60s before all the interstates were built and passing all the Navy helo practice landing fields w. windsocks standing out in the fields all by their lonesome on our way to Daytona Beach from Louisiana via Orlando where a couple of my frat. brothers lived , which one of them had a family beach house at New Smyrna, just down the road from Daytona off the A1A. Had 3 frat bros from P-Cola also, but no maj. college action there in those days, so never visited.
Open thread (change)- #20 fired:
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/10/navy-ballistic-missile-sub-skipper-sacked-kentucky-fired-firing-102011w/
The commanding officer of a Bangor, Wash.-based ballistic-missile submarine was fired Tuesday for inadequate leadership
SNO, congrats! A great day!
Please send occasional sitreps from whichever HS or HC you report to. The silver caterpiller wearing guy keeps heading off to some forsaken place to have fun on his own.
The Son&Heir may well be up to Idaho as a maintainer supporting his VFMA squadron this year.
There’s no slack in Fast Attack. Stacking BB’s for flight sched by day and working after hours painting. Clearing the “NK” off the tails, getting the birds back in full Marine colors and the Snake 3-2-3 diamond scheme back in proper place of full prominence. Compressed cruise turnaround schedule so I’m sure they’ll be putting another airwing’s letters up there soon enough.
SSgt cut him loose a bit early so we could get out to dinner and celebrate his #21 last night. There’s another milestone for him. Next up? Hoping to see a Corporal stripe this spring. Back in the saddle after WesPac with lots of post-cruise painting going on in C/C.
Another milestone for you and SNO. BZ to you both. Saturday afternoon, in honor of this singular ocassion, I will thrash AC Read into submission in a 27-hole extravaganza, aided by a few cold restoratives, supplied via the beverage cart, which are necessary to keep the swing in control and the ball on-line. If you’re about, I’ll gladly treat for a round (beer/golf)in a (un)fair exchange for the time you’ve spent on your blog and the time I’ve enjoyed reading both your mindless ramblings and the snappy comments.
As the Cap is on a well deserved respite, I thought I would share this for discussion….Seems as a few Sailors needed a swift kick in the Arse and the Navy was happy to oblige them….
Navy to Kick Out 64 Sailors for Drug Use From Fleet That Buried Bin Laden
Published October 20, 2011 | Associated Press
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U.S. Navy
March 15, 2005: The nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) plows through the Indian Ocean as aircraft on its flight deck are prepared for flight operations.
SAN DIEGO – Sixty-four sailors from the San Diego-based U.S. Third Fleet will be kicked out of the Navy for drug use, mostly involving a synthetic drug that mimics marijuana, military officials said Thursday.
Capt. Greg Hicks of the Third Fleet said the sailors worked aboard the USS San Francisco, the floating dry dock Arco, and the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier that buried Usama bin Laden at sea. He said the Navy is still investigating and does not know if the accused members of the Vinson crew were aboard or using drugs when it was on its mission in the Middle East at the time.
Hicks said all 64 will be separated from the Navy but he did not know when that would happen.
Most of the sailors were caught using the designer drug known as Spice, and 49 were found to be selling it, the Navy said. Six sailors admitted to also using cocaine and one was found to be using methamphetamines, the Navy said.
“The Navy’s policy on drug abuse is simple and clear — zero tolerance,” said Vice Admiral Gerald R. Beaman, commander of the Third Fleet. “Drug abuse puts lives and missions at risk and undercuts unit readiness and morale.”
Forty-nine sailors from the USS Carl Vinson were involved in an alleged ring that included two distributors, one middle man and 46 users of Spice, the Navy said. Of those, eight have been administratively separated for prior drug use detected by urine tests and three have been separated for other reasons.
The Navy said it continues to investigate the distributors and middle man for possible legal action.
The Navy has banned the use of fake pot.
Spice has also been the target of lawmakers and law enforcement around the country. At least 15 states have moved to regulate or ban one or more of the chemicals used to make it, as have some European countries.
Always glad to see that “Zero tolerance” means zero tolerance (unless, of course, you are a varsity football player at a certain school in Annapolis)
Perspective and I leave it there.
When I had to write my draft’s orders to the PG I did have to call around the waterfront to find somebody who could tell me how to draft my deployment orders. We were down to 18 and the YN and PN had both been sent over in the previous draft. Good times. 9 of us were going that month leaving just 9 sailors to man the ship. Can you actually imagine a USN warship manned by just 9 sailors? So I read about scores of sailors kicked out and wonder. Where were the bastards when we needed them? Sheesh, the drugs are not even illegal. I know a JAG who could eat the government for lunch. Except she doesn’t do defense counsel so much. She’s a shark.
And we have Number 20 to add to the sorry list of CO’s suffering from exploding command pins……
Ballistic-missile sub skipper sacked
By Sam Fellman – Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 20, 2011 14:13:31 EDT
The commanding officer of a Bangor, Wash.-based ballistic-missile submarine was fired Wednesday for inadequate leadership, a Navy spokesman said Thursday.
Cmdr. Joseph Nosse, CO of the ballistic-missile submarine Kentucky, was relieved by Capt. Paul Skarpness, head of Submarine Squadron 17, “due to a loss of confidence in Nosse’s ability to command,” said Lt. Ed Early, spokesman for Submarine Group 9.
Nosse is the 20th CO to be fired this year, the second highest toll for the service going back to 2000.
“Cmdr. Nosse exhibited inadequate leadership and oversight of the crew in the areas of operations and administration,” Early said. “The determination came after a series of external assessments and observations.”
Early did not have details immediately available on the specific shortfalls, who had first observed them or when and whether Nosse’s relief was the result of an investigation.
Cmdr. Gerhard Somlai, deputy commander of SUBRON 17, has assumed command of Kentucky until a permanent replacement is named. Somlai has commanded the submarine Nebraska’s Blue Crew. Nosse has been reassigned to SUBGRU 9.
Nosse took command of the Bangor, Wash.-based sub’s Gold Crew in February 2010 and took over the combined crew in August. Kentucky is preparing to enter the yards next year for a mid-life refueling.
Sailors have long known there is more beneath the sea than you or I could ever know. From the lore of ghost ships and mermaids to albatros and the Kraken, we’ve long figured those long, lonely days at sea made one just a little addled and superstitious.
Turns out they were right. About the kraken, that is.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-giant-kraken-lair.html
All I can say is, “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”
Cthulu for President! Don’t vote for the lesser evil!
well you would.
. . . awesome news, congrats to you and your son !!!
And check this out; it looks like the USCG isn’t taking any prisoners. Anyone have any details? http://blog.usni.org/2011/10/21/survivor-of-downed-cg-6017-to-be-charged-with-negligent-homicide/comment-page-1/#comment-288005
Lex, since you were fighting them, how would you rate the Marine aviators you went up against?
They were real pros. Well-trained, well-led, well-supported by their maintenance and ops folks. Happy warriors, for the most part. Courteous to a fault, on the ground. Lethal in the air, and when they weren’t they were properly introspective.
I envied them, a bit.