The Flight Deck

On Friday, August 26th, I had the honor of attending a Navy Boot Camp, Pass-In-Review graduation ceremony in Great Lakes, Illinois.  If you’ve never been to one I highly recommend it.  The place just oozes  joy and patriotism.   Graduation Ceremony, Great Lakes  Bookmark to: Hide Sites

The week of Memorial Day over 500 WWII veterans gathered at Willow Run Airport to participate in a photo shoot for a new documentary, “Detroit: Our Greatest Generation.” My mother, who is 88 and served in the Pacific Theater, says it was a wonderful event. She was one of the few women WWII vets present, [...]

My blog perusing is fairly limited and began when I was referred to Lex’s place and I spent the better part of three weeks reading every thing on it. OK I’m obsessive that way. Well my one and only daughter, of whom I am very proud, has started her own blog and seems to be [...]

I wrote this a few weeks ago and posted it at my place.   Since it actually has something to do with the military, and Lex is in Sick Bay for the nonce, I thought I would post it here too. Deployments are a part of military life, and Navy life in particular. My father flew the [...]

Imagine you are a soldier wounded in action in Iraq or Afghanistan. Thanks to unprecedented efforts by the Army to save the lives of wounded soldiers, you stand an excellent chance of surviving just about any wounds. From self aid and buddy aid, Combat Lifesaver aid, Army medics, new technologies in shock/trauma care and rapid [...]

My daughter graduated from Navy Boot Camp on February 27th.  For those occsional Readers who’ve been around for a while, you may know that this is a journey that started way back in the days post 9-11, when a 12 year old asked the question, “Dad, could I go to the Naval Academy?”  The rest [...]

Flying at Christmas   The pavement outside my office window is damp with microscopic puddles showing the low spots in the concrete that makes up the cul de sac it sits on.  Despite the overcast that looks to be maybe 1500 AGL I take this as a good sign because the fact I am seeing [...]

I’m an Army guy. Through and through. Even if I’ve been out for ten years, I’m all Army, all the way. So why am I cluttering up The Flight Deck? Two reasons. One, I couldn’t decide what to put up on my blog. And second, I grew up on a Navy base. Naval Air Station [...]

I’ve never been too fond of the expression “when one door shuts another opens.”  Sometimes when one door shuts it slams in your face and takes some fingers and your self esteem with it. Having said that, I think the expression fits my dear daughter’s present situation.  “The Cat,” who is now 19, has wanted to [...]

Yeah, I know.  It’s been a while.   About 2 months ago, The Wife and I took it upon ourselves (with encouragement of our brother-in-law) to avail ourselves of a unique Annapolis opportunity.   We are sponsoring a Plebe at the Academy.  The Wife and I will act as a sort of host family for [...]