The Secret's Out

FPS,

The secret is, I'm still alive! Cary reminded me that this Blog was out here, so I decided instead of just e-mailing him back, I'd share my story with all of you. I do apologize for being so out of touch, but I'm really superstitious about getting my wings. I still don't have them yet, but I will hopefully get them soon.

Since I've seen any of you last December, I've been doing a lot of fun flying in jets. I got selected to be a Weapons Systems Officer in the Marine F/A-18D strike fighter (my first choice). It's the same plane the Blue Angels fly. It's a two seat, twin engine, supersonic, fighter-bomber. Since I've seen you all, I've flown at 500 feet off the ground at around 300 knots navigating visually off towers and roads, navigated using a radar pointed at the ground, and learned how to intercept other airplanes using my radar. Honestly, I didn't think I'd like the air-to-air syllabus, but I've found it to be terribly fun. There's nothing quite like rolling up 1.5 miles behind someone and taking a quick sidewinder shot off at them. All that flying was done in the T-39 Sabreliner. I basically looks like a leer jet. We put an old F-16 radar in the nose.

After the T-39 I moved on to the T-2. The T-2 is much more like the Hornet. It looks like a mini-fighter jet. I did some low levels in the T-2, doing visual navigation like the T-39, then I was about to start BFMs (dogfighting) when something bad happened. I had gotten airsick in a good number of my T-39 flights and I got sick a little again in the T-2. Because I'm going hornets, a very dynamic jet, the flight doctor thought it was best if I be sent to SPAD (Self-Paced Airsickness Desensitization). So in August I was taken out of the flight program and I had to spend my days spinning around in a motorized chair twice a day.

This past Friday was my last day of SPAD. I finally finished it! I will start flying again either this week or the next. When I'm done with my warm up events, I will be doing my BFMs. I have 5 warm up events then 5 more graded events to go to get my wings, provided nothing else goes wrong. After I get my wings I will head out to San Diego for my next school. I will finally be leaving the South and living back in Cali again!

To answer Cary's question: the earliest I could possibly go to war is at the end of my next school, so that will be sometime around the end of next year.

Ivan hit here pretty hard. I was in Jacksonville when it happened. My apartment got too much mold in it, so they kicked everyone out. I'm living on base now until I leave and all my stuff is safe and in a friend's garage.

As for my reaction to the election, I think Southpark had the best commentary. We had to choose between a douche bag and a terd sandwich. Bush isn't faking it, but he's isn't faking being an idiot. Kerry was full of shit and said things to appear less liberal, but he's not an idiot. I only hope that the democratic party realizes they have to choose a candidate that is true to him/herself and honest instead of just trying to nominate the opposite of a NE liberal senator in four years. I know that if John McCain is nominated, my party be damned I love that man!

Anyways, I'm sorry I've been so out of touch. I wanted to wait until I got my wings to let you all know how I'm doing, but I guess now is as a good a time as any to let you all know.

I've been watching documentaries lately. What do you all think of The Hunting of the President, Control Room, and Supersize Me?

Mikey