Archive for May, 2006

Happy Memorial Day

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
    My thanks and prayers go out to those serving, especially the folks downrange, and to our families.  Special thanks to those who’ve gone before in service.  Thanks most of all to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to those who they left behind. 

BFM Complete

Thursday, May 25th, 2006
    Yesterday I flew my last BFM ride in the re-qual course.  It went fairly well.  The jet I flew was fairly heavy, and on a hot day with a Pratt & Whitney 220 engine, it wasn’t really as intense a workout as a normal high-aspect BFM flight in a Block 40 or 50 usually [...]

After the Mount Soledad Cross

Sunday, May 21st, 2006
   When I die, I want a cross marking my grave.  I want everyone to see the symbol of my Lord and know that there is little else I want people to remember about me than that I was a Christian.     If any atheists don’t like it and attempt to make future generations take down my cross, I hope some [...]

The Right Filters

Sunday, May 21st, 2006
    Some of my left-of-political-center friends are surprised when they find out I like to watch Fox News whenever I can, partly because it’s often not available in the countries in which I’ve lived.  I usually quip "It’s nice to run the right filters once in awhile instead of having to constantly run the left filters."       The most [...]

Basics

Saturday, May 20th, 2006
     I flew two basic fighter maneuver (BFM) hops this week, one offensive, one defensive.  I’ve managed to prove to myself I can turn high-G circles in the sky and shoot down a bad guy or keep a bad guy from shooting me.  My classmates and I all had a week full of academics and [...]

I-Check Complete

Saturday, May 13th, 2006
    Yesterday I finished my instrument checkride.  I’m once again technically qualified to fly an F-16C/D wherever I might need to go.  I won’t have another hurdle like that until my mission checkride, which ought to take place in late July or early August.      After flying yesterday, and in a strange twist of small-worldness, [...]

Food Critics ‘R’ Us

Thursday, May 11th, 2006
    Tonight I’m going to try my hand at explaining what I ate.  This ought to be interesting.  I’m the most utilitarian eater I know.  In general if it’s food, cooked, and isn’t made from something rather gross, I never complain.  I’ve noticed most of my friends can explain things about food that I never [...]

More Flying

Thursday, May 11th, 2006
    Yesterday was the first formation flight I’ve done in awhile.  Today was the first flight in a C-model since January 2004.  Both flights were pretty vanilla, but it’s always a good day to fly! 

A Short Tribute to My Last Assignment’s Last Hurrah

Sunday, May 7th, 2006
     My friend Mad Max back in my last assingment in Germany had the good fortune to meet a man named Giro, a ranger in the Bundeswehr (the German Army).  Giro introduced Mad Max and our squadron to the German Military Efficiency Badge (GMEB) program.  Despite the name, anyone in the military could enter the program.  [...]

Emergency!

Saturday, May 6th, 2006
     Today I knocked out the emergency procedures (EP) simulator.  That constitutes almost half of the instrument checkride.  I still have a pair of exams to take and a flight to make to finish the checkride.  After that’s all done, we can get on with the tactical portions of the course.