Duckie Murder

Yes...
My dog likes Duckies.
He went and got the Duckie out of my suitcase.
We found the body this morning.
My Duckie is no longer with us.

Family

The military truly is one gigantic family.
I was at the gym this morning,
The same one my parents workout at,
And this lady comes up to me and gives me a Christmas present.
I’ve seen her maybe once before in my life.
(At the gym last Spring Break)
Apparently,
She has a son that joined the military the same day I did.
He’s in Iraq right now.
So,
Even though I’ve seen her only once before,
She still thought of bringing me something.
I thought that was really cool.

Princes & Frogs

I found this on my computer.
My sis put it there.
Good stuff.
Princes & Frogs

Merry Christmas Y'all

Hope y'all had as good a time as I did.
I got a blanket and pajamas.
And books.
Books are abad idea to get me,
Becasue I don't even read the ones I pay for.
I haven't got enough time.

And I finally found out what the dog was trying to get at.
It's a Rubber Duckie.
An AF Blue Rubber Ducky.

Rockin Around The Christmas Tree

Holiday Greetings

For My Democrat Friends:
"Please accept with no obligation,
Implied or implicit,
Our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible,
Low-stress,
Non-addictive,
Gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday,
Practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice,
Or secular practices of your choice,
With respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others,
Or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
We also wish youa fiscally successful,
Personally fulfilling,
And medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2007,
But not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures
Whose contributions to society have helped make America great.
Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country
Nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.
And without regard to the race,
Creed,
Color,
Age,
Physical ability,
Religious faith,
Or sexual preference of thewishes.
By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms.
This greetingis subject to clarification or withdrawal.
It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.
It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others,
And is void where prohibited by law
And is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected
Within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year
Or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting,
Whichever comes first,
And warranty is limited to replacement of this wish
Or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

For My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hiding Spot

Apparently…
The kids hid something for me in the cabinet.
They moved it because the dog kept trying to get it.
But the dog smells the residue of whatever it was.
So he destroyed the cabinet trying to get it.
I doubt it’s food because they It wasn’t in the fridge.
So needless to say.
If the dog likes it that much…
I’m more than a little concerned.

Academy Ball

Last night was the North Texas Uniformed Service Academy Ball.
Good times.
The food was good,
And the decorations were nice.
The speaker was good too.
They had a live band this time,
Which was nice.
Last year they just had a DJ.
And they had dancing contests too.
I won first place in the Swing contest with a girl I had just met that night.
The prize was two two-way tickets to anywhere in the continental US.
That was really cool.
I wonder if they’ll be doing that again next year.

The Weather, In CO

Well...
All that snow we were supposed to get?
Never happened.
Not a single flake.

So...
My flight left as scheduled,
At 0630 this morning.
I slept the whole way.
Didn’t wake up until the pilot put the brakes on.

This afternoon I was shopping,
And I saw on the news,
Every airport in CO is closed.
They got 2 feet of snow between when I left and about 2 this afternoon.

German

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 6

English

Shakspeare is dead.
But then again,
So are puppets.
They seem alive enough.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 5

Coffe Shop

I'm sitting in the Cadet Coffe Shop,
Cafinating my body for my next final this afternoon.
Trina, the lady that runs the shop,
Has a CD playing.
It has alot of older songs on it.
Alot of them are songs I swing to.
So I'll pipe up every now and then saying,
"That's a good song"
"I like that one"
All with in the first couple of notes.
I think she thinks it's weird that a cadet knows all these old songs.

Weather = Snow: Not Cool

So...
There is a massive snow storm headed towards this area.
It's gonna park here for about three days

This means there's a good chance of delays,
Or cancelations,
At the airport.

They had better not cancel my flight.
Cadets have a tendency to get violent when people mess with their breaks.

If it comes down to it,
I will shovel the entire runway,
Then fly the jet myself.

Math

Woo hoo.
That was fun.
After comparing this final to Physics,
I think something is backwards.
All of Physics was cruching numbers,
While all of math was solveing real world problems.
Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 4

The UnFunny Truth

Sent to me by a freind.
Link

The Earth CAN Be Moved

It appears I've finally found my arch-nemisis.
One who beleives that the earth cannot be moved,
and he has a website about it.

According to him...
"The Earth is not rotating...nor is it going around the sun."

Now...
THos of you who have read my "research" paper on physics,
KNOW that the Earth can indeed be moved.
I have no idea what is wrong with this guy...

Physics

That went ALOT better than I expected.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 3

Law

So...
I definitely just rewrote the Constitution and every other important document.
But I think they were pretty close to the original.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 2

Behavioral Science

It's that time again.
Time to put up the old finals scoreboard.
Yeah, I know I need to update the picture.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 1

Fabric and Courage

This was written by a classmate of mine

Joseph R. Tomczak, Class of 2009

United States Air Force Academy

If you like this Essay,

Pleasr vote for Essay 1 at

WantsCheck

A flag is usually made from tightly woven, high-quality cotton. Its corners are carefully double stitched to prevent fraying. It has brass rings on the corners and dark, bold colors stained into the fabric. It’s the kind of flag you put out in front of your house on Memorial Day. But not this flag. This flag is made of one-hundred percent nylon because it is easier to pack. This flag was probably stitched together somewhere in a warehouse in the middle of Tennessee by a sowing machine operator paid slightly higher than the minimum wage. Then it was packaged and shipped to a USO in Germany where flags were being given out to deploying Marines and that’s how it ended up in the back of a humvee on a street corner in southern Iraq.

So when a captain crawled into the back of the abandoned vehicle to retrieve medical supplies for his Marines he also grabbed the tightly folded flag as bullets ricocheted off the humvee’s armor. He ran back to his wounded comrades taking cover across the street while other Marines were repelling the ambush with the sound of hundreds of brass casings hitting the ground. Later the captain will recall that he didn’t even feel the bullet wound in his leg as he called in an air strike against the enemy sniper position just a few blocks away. All he remembered was the sound of the fighter pilot’s voice over the radio as she confirmed the target and put a laser guided bomb through the sniper’s window.

Having fought their way through the last remaining enemy holdout in the small port city, the Marines took down the old Iraqi flag which bore the words “God is great” inscribed from Saddam’s own handwriting. It was promptly replaced it with that nylon American flag atop one of the tallest buildings. The creases in the material were still visible as it flew in the breeze that day and the colors of the flag flew in stark contrast with the brown buildings and dust covered streets. Later, the media-conscience commanders would decide that the flag had to come down, and the Marines would take it down – but they would never forget the sacrifice and the courage it took to raise it.

It is clear why there is such opposition to the desecration of the American flag. Millions of Americans have worn the uniform of the United States and served under the flag. We have shed countless tears and beads of sweat under the flag; many have bled under it – thousands have died under it. For America’s uniformed men and women, and the veterans who came before us, the flag embodies more than just the ideals of freedom and human liberty that most citizens love and cherish… the flag is a part of who we have become. For us, the flag represents a higher cause and purpose than one’s self. For soldiers like us, the flag is the sum of all of our experiences – both the pride and the pain, both the service and the sacrifice, both the courage and the cost. As college professor Michael Geisler describes it, the flag is a “metaphor to die for.”1 More appropriately still, the flag is a metaphor worth dying for.

Furthermore, we as military members have pledged to defend the United States against “all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Some see those who would desecrate the flag as domestic enemies who threaten the rights of others when they propagate anti-American sentiment so publicly. It is true that when military members and their families see the flag disgraced by citizens of their own country, it has a weakening affect on the morale and sense of purpose that every soldier carries into combat. It is true when a citizen burns the flag, he or she is disgracing the sacrifice and contributions of millions of Americans to the cause of freedom around the world.

Desecration of the flag is a senseless act, born out of ignorance and perceived injustice. The action itself accomplishes very little, with much more attention placed on the act of desecration than on the political message an individual is attempting to convey to the public. When a citizen burns the flag, they also incinerate their legitimacy, their credibility, and their perceived moral high-ground.

I have never witnessed an American flag set on fire, and I hope I never will. But if I were to imagine for a moment what it would feel like, I imagine it would be like standing in New Jersey on the bank of the Hudson River on a warm late-summer morning. It would feel like standing on that bank and watching Lower Manhattan engulfed in smoke and flames, and waiting for tugboats to bring the first wave of casualties across the river… a feeling of violation, of vulnerability, of helplessness.

Yet despite all of this, we must protect a citizen’s right to burn the flag. The reason for this originates from the very fundamental principle the American military stands for, the protection of the freedom the United States provides. We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent with the concept of limiting the rights of others, regardless of how shameful and contemptible that right may be. Our task, and ultimately our calling, is to defend the Constitution of the United States, which protects the rights of all citizens as long as their actions do not infringe on the rights of others. As members of the military we must remember that we are fighting not only for those citizens who hold our same political views – we serve every citizen and protect their rights to express themselves however they wish, even if it means the degradation of the very symbol we hold dear.

So, an American flag is made from tightly woven fabric, double stitched seams, and the hopes and dreams of millions of free people across the globe. Despite the shame of flag burning, as citizens who wear the uniform we must be prepared to defend the right of expression and degradation of our symbol of freedom… We may not agree with everything that our citizens do, but we must be prepared to fight and even die to defend their right to do it.

We cannot allow for the limitation of the rights of the American people. We cannot join the ranks of those countries that jail or punish their citizens for speaking out against the government. Dissent, whether it is verbal, written, or demonstrated must be protected. It is fundamental to our society as a beacon and example for free expression and human liberty. It is the essential difference between America and her enemies who have no regard for such principles. It is what separates us… from them.

You're thoughts?

Little _______ Boy

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum
pum, rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,

Shall I study for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my books?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I studied my books for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I studied my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my books.

Guess What!!!

I just realized something,
10 days til I get to go back home for Christmas.

EMail Updates

I set up a Google Group to allow y'all to receive EMail updates.
Just incase checking the blog was just to much effort for any of you.
Now you can get an EMail of my new posts.
The subscribe box to the right will always be there,
Or you can use this one.

Subscribe EMail Updates

Email:

Peppermint Cheese Cake

I put out that peppermint cheese cake out at the CQ desk.
Someone just took the last piece.
That didn’t take very long.
I sent out an Email,
And instantly there were people running down the hall fighting over their spots in line.
Most came back for seconds.
I’ll have to keep this in mind for squadron parties.

OCF Christmas Party

Yesterday was the OCF Christmas Party.
We had it at one of the civilian girls, Sarah, house.
But her dad doesn’t like to pay a lot for decorations.
So,
While she was at work yesterday,
A group of us went to WalMart and bought some lights and such.

The girl that was organizing the whole thing, Erika, had never hung lights before,
So she decided that I should design the decorations.
I’m not too familiar with the house.
I’ve only been there twice before,
And it was dark,
So I had no idea what it looked like.
She drew me a rough
(very rough)
Sketch and that’s all I had to go on.
I made a few estimations and began picking out boxes of lights.

So we finally got back to the house and began applying the lights.
The neighbors were very appreciative of us.
They said it had been eight years since that house had lights on it.
The stringing was most eventful.
The Andrea, Erika, and Jessica, took on a supervisory role and told Doug, Rus, and myself exactly how they wanted the lights.
My estimates came out dead on.
To the inch.
The end of the lights reached the end of the roof exactly.
That worked out well.

While we were trying to find out which bulb was dead,
Sarah’s mom returned from shopping.
She invited us to stay for dinner.
Since there were three of us on the roof,
And only one working,
I decided to go down and help prepare dinner.
I ended up making cookies too.
That was fun.

After giving up on the lights,
Russ came in to see if he could help.
While wondering through the freezer,
He found a carton of A&W Root Beer Ice Cream.
Apparently intended for root beer floats,
Sarah’s family hated it.
So Russ took it upon himself to liberate the cubic foot of space it occupied,
And ate the remaining three quarters of a gallon that was left.
Needless to say,
He didn’t stay for dinner.

After dinner we went to OCF and then returned for the Christmas party.
I had brought two cheesecakes I had made,
One of my traditional Mochas,
As well as a new experimental peppermint.
I’ve never heard of or seen a recipe for peppermint cheese cake,
So I was somewhat concerned as to how it would come out.
Turns out,
Not many people ate much of anything.
A quarter of the Mocha was eaten and no one touched that peppermint.
Maybe it was because of the color.
I’ll have to work on that.

I got a chance to catch up with a friend I have unfortunately gotten the chance to talk with much in a long while.
In the middle of the conversation,
Someone started a limbo competition.
She said she was good at that and had to go do it.
I figured,
“Meh, It’s been forever,
But what do I have to loose?”
So I went to try.
After a decently long and difficult process,
The last round included her and myself,
And ended as a tie.
I should not have gotten that far,
Being a guy,
I am infinitely less flexible.
I still hurt from that.

Blood Drive

We had a Blood Drive today.
As usual,
They ran out of bags.
Cadets are always willing to give blood.
We’re patriotic down to the core.
(Actually, its because we’re not allowed to do training for 24 hours afterwards)

I feel sorry for whoever gets given this cadet blood.
Seeing as how it’s the week before finals,
Everyone has more caffeine in them than normal.
(normal amounts are around 600 mg in the blood stream
I think 800 mg is supposed to be lethal to most people.)
Whoever gets this blood is going to be wired for about a week.
And then their livers will fail.

I got there in time for the most intense blood race all day.
Two freshmen had gotten hooked up about the same time.
The one who got plugged in two minutes after the other,
Had only half his bag filled while the other cadet had his about three quarters full.
Everyone was rooting for the guy with half a bag.
We were coaching him on how to squeeze the ball,
And cheering,
And everything.
He filled his bag about ten seconds before the other cadet.

Yeah,
We’re weird.

We're Going To The Moon!!!

It's about time we went back.

CNN hasn't provided the greatest details here,
But from what I'm able to piece together,
We're actually gonna try to build a research base up there.
Apparently they're looking at using the lunar poles so they can use solar energy.
Should be fully operational by 2024.

It said we're going to try to use the natural resources to get a mars mission going.
I assume that means a mining operation.
I also assume this will use strip mining techniques.
I hope they try to localize it as best they can.

NASA is designing a new launch vehicle for this operation.
So far,
It looks a lot like the Apollo Command Module.
It’s supposed to be bigger though,
And not require someone to stay in orbit will the Lunar Lander goes down to the surface.
And apparently this thing is designed to return on land and not at sea.
Probably a good idea since it looks like we plan on doing this a lot.

CNN didn’t say this,
But I think it looks like they’re planning on two launch’s per mission.
One to get the equipment to the International Space Station,
And one to get the crew up there.
Then the crew get’s in the craft,
And goes to the moon.

Here are some computer generated images,
Courtesy of NASA.
(Do keep in mind,
These are likely to change,
Hence the lower quality of the graphics.)

EDIT:
It looks like I was right,
Judging by this image from NASA,
There are indeed two seperate launches.

Mountain Lions

Prayer Request

Hey y'all,
I'm in need of some prayer right now.
I can't exactly elaborate on this due to the varied audience,
For now I'll just say I have some emotional scaring that is in need of removal and healing.
If you really want more info,
You can EMail me.

Snow

It's snowing,
yet again.
I didn't realize how deep the snow had gotten
Until I dropped my soup in it,
And saw the hole it made.

AWANA MIT

I just watched the report we gave at headquarters fo the LA MIT trip.
I want to go cry now.
Unfortunatly,
That's not an option here.

I had forgotten about alot of what happened on that trip.
(Mainly how young and ... I looked)
There was such a need there,
And we didn't even have to leave the country to find it like we thought we would.
And then we still got to go to Brazil like we planned.
I have to find my Brazil DVD when I go home for Christmas.

Pray

I need all of you to pray NOW for a freind of mine.
HARD.
I don't have any details,
(And when I get them they won't be posted with out permission)
But I get the feeling this is VERY ugent.

For those of you who've been here before.
You know I rarley use Italics.
That means I'm serious here.

Thanks,
Jason

UPDATE:
I talked to him.
He seems to be doing well,
But I feel he still need prayer.

Sunrise

The Sunrise was absolutely beautiful this morning.
The sun hadn’t yet come over the horizon,
But it’s light was being refracted through the atmosphere
So that the purest white light was falling on the mountain range.
Each individual snowflake was reflecting a single ray of light,
So that the mountain range began to glow a bright pure white.
Every detail was visible.
Every tree,
Every rock.
The entire mountain range stood there,
Redirecting the sunlight onto USAFA.

Global Warming

Remeber all those hurricanes in '05 that were caused by Global Warming?
And all the ones we had this year?
(Sarcasm)
Well now we have another problem.
A storm that stretches half way across the country.
Half of which is snow.
It must be Global Warming.

For Everything Else...

Definitions of "No":

Not in any degree or manner; not at all; "he is no better today"
A negative; "his no was loud and clear"
Quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of; "we have no bananas"; "no eggs left and no money to buy any"; "have you no decency?"; "did it with no help"; "I'll get you there in no time"
Used to express refusal or denial or disagreement etc or especially to emphasize a negative statement; "no, you are wrong"

Incase this wasn't explicitly clear,
Certain individuals may want to consider doing a word study on "No".

Commandant's Challenge

Yay for Commandant’s Challenge.
Bring it on!
The first day was ok.
Had MREs for lunch in the SAR.
Afterwards we went down to Field Training Exercise (FTX).

For FTX,
We ran around with our rubber duckies and stuff.
Various combat scenarios.
We had to use a map and compass to find our way to the different event.
And we had to travel in tactical formations.

The first event was Self Aid and Buddy Care.
We navigated to the event and found several “injured” troops from a “terrorist” attack.
So,
We secured the perimeter,
And treated the wounded.
My “victim” had been “shot” through the lung.
And he was laying next to an “IED”
So I got some one to help move him a safe distance away.
It turned out that the guy that helped me move the “victim” knew him too.
So I had him start talking to the “victim” while I treated the wound.
Then a third person came to help.
I had her treat for shock.
Over all…
The grader said we had done the best he had seen.

The next event was base set up.
We had to use sand bags to create fortifications.
And then we had to set up three tents.
While guarding the base we were making.
After we finished the tents,
We had to take a test,
As we were doing that,
The sun set behind the mountains.
There was a noticeable drop in temperature.
It went from warm out,
To so cold we could see our breath in five minutes.

The last event was Chem Warfare.
Three people from our element had to get into Chem Gear in a certain amount of time.
It was really funny.
The one girl couldn’t get her combat boot into the chem suit boot.
The other two tried to help.
They eventually got it on.
Afterwards,
We had to help put the gear away.
That meant getting the chem. Boot off of her combat boot.
That proved interesting.
We eventually had three guys pulling her arms,
While I pulled on the boot.
It looked like tug o war.
After about ten minutes,
We finally got it off.

After that,
We had to go tear down the base we had made.
And it was really cold out by now.
After we finished,
We went to the road to get on the buses to go back to the Cadet Area.
But they were gone.
We waited for them to come back.
But it took forever.
And it was below freezing.
And we were all dressed for the warmer weather that was out when we started.
So we did the only thing we could to keep some heat in.
We all huddled together.
That helped,
ALOT.
While we were there,
Someone pointed out a satellite flying over heard.
We looked,
And the some one commented,
“I’ll bet they’re looking at us thought the Infrared right now.”
We all laughed at the thought of a black screen with a giant red dot in the middle.
Only after zooming in would it be noticed that that dot was in fact 20+ people trying to stay warm.

The next day we had a SAMI.
Good times.
I got a 95.
After that was an PAI.
I got 100 on that one.
Then we had a flight drill evaluation.
We ended up taking 2nd in the Wing for that.
Afterwards was the “PT Challenge”.
Challenge whatever.
It was a piece of cake.

The last day started with the Falcon Fued.
Similar to the AWANA Bible Quiz.
Only with military knowledge.
The first round was brutal.
The other team got all the questions.
And only one of their team was answering.
We thought we were done for.
But we made a comeback during the next three rounds.
We ended up beating them by 5 points.
Just barely,
But just enough to brag about.

Then we had a parade.
I ended up being the Unit Colors bearer.
I found that out when I got there.
Oh well.
We did well.

Cars

I went with a freind for dinner and a movie last night.
We went to see Cars.
(They occasionally show movies here at Arnold Hall)
It was a good movie.
There were a lot of 4*'s watching it with us.
(Since they have absolutely nothing better to do)
But I will admit,
It was entertaining at times.
Particularly they’re reaction when Sgt Jeep was raising the flag and playing reveille.
There was much moaning and groaning.
And a few of them went into spasms.
(just kidding)
And then it happened a second time.
Now…
I’ve gotten over the whole reveille trauma thing,
(Mostly)
But they haven’t.
You could literally feel the tension rising during those to scenes.
That was interesting.

I also thought the “tractor tipping” part was funny.

Bionic Hornet

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is using nanotechnology to try to create a robot no bigger than a hornet that would be able to chase, photograph and kill its targets, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.
The flying robot, nicknamed the "bionic hornet", would be able to navigate its way down narrow alleyways to target otherwise unreachable enemies such as rocket launchers, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.
It is one of several weapons being developed by scientists to combat militants, it said. Others include super gloves that would give the user the strength of a "bionic man" and miniature sensors to detect suicide bombers.
The research integrates nanotechnology into Israel's security department and will find creative solutions to problems the army has been unable to address, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told Yedioth Ahronoth.
"The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry. It's illogical to send a plane worth $100 million against a suicidal terrorist. So we are building futuristic weapons," Peres said.
The 34-day war in Lebanon ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire in mid-August. The war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Prototypes for the new weapons are expected within three years, he said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
So...
When do these things hit WalMart?

Water Haze

Today was my first class of Water Survival.
Most affectionately referred to as “Water Haze”.

The whole class is done wearing BDUs (camos).
So there is a lot of drag and it’s hard to swim.
Because of this,
I went to the uniform replacement store to get some new smaller BDUs,
Since I normally wear Larges.
I found the smallest ones I could fit into in the Medium section,
And went and bought them.
Only to discover,
They weren’t mediums.
They were X-Smalls.
That’s right.
I stuffed my Large body into and X-Small.
And it was tight.

As is typical with most PE classes,
They offered us to chance to validate it.
Validation requires swimming 25 meter totally underwater in a single breath,
Jumping off the 5 meter and swimming under the first bulkhead,
To the next bulkhead,
And back in 1 min 15 sec,
And jumping of the 10 meter and swimming under the bulkhead without surfacing and spreading the water.

Keep in mind that 10m is more than 30 feet.
And there was some Physics major calculating the acceleration due to gravity to determine the speed we would hit the water.
Not cool.

This may not sound hard to those of you who are swimmers,
But try it in baggy pants and shirt.
With enormous pockets.

I did the 25m and nearly drowned.
Fortunately I know how to control my breathing.
I made the 5m scenario in 1 min 13 sec.
And I managed to complete the 10m scenario after having all the air forced out of my lungs when hitting the water.
I was swallowing water to keep from inhaling it.

So in the end…
I did validate the class.That’s an automatic A.
This is supposed to be the toughest PE class here.

One Week Left

Within seven days time,
I will once again stand on blessed Texan soil.

I can't wait.

This was sent to me by The Chief.

How Marines Say Farwell

The Weather

It's snowing again.

Got Robotics?

It's about for a new one, Palm Boy.

F-35 Lightning II Joint Stike Fighter

I was sitting CQ,
And I was too sleep deprived to do any real work,
And I had to do something to stay awake.
So I made this.
Enjoy.

Marines

As our Naval Exchange Cadet pointed out earlier today,
(He's actually scheduled to commision in the Marines instead of the Navy)
Today is the Marines' birthday.

So in honor of those who actually work for a living,
Here is the clip he sent me.

Rubber Duckie

Commn's Challenge is next weekend,
And just for the occasion,
They’ve issued us rubber M-16s.
Most affectionately referred to as Rubber Duckies.

When I got mine,
I noticed it was particularly dirty.
I decided I should clean it,
So it doesn’t get my uniform dirty.

I was thinking of how I could clean it.
I can’t use any of the sinks,
They’re too small.
Maybe I should just take it with me to the shower.

Then I thought of this.

Bondfire

Tonight was our annual Bonfire
It wasn’t as cool as last year’s.
They didn’t light it properly,
Much less build it right.
And the funny part was,
The Safety and Security guys were there with their little fire extinguishers.
(As if those would have done anything)
And when the grass caught fire and started spreading,
They were arguing over who had to go put it out.

Yeah…
I feel safe.

I guess them being incapable of putting out the fire
was negated by their inability to build one.

Military Pilots

Got this from my law instructor.
Thought y'all might find it interesting.
The following is a cut, copy, and paste of the EMail she forwarded me.

If you don't think our military pilots earn their pay ...
you need to take a look at this picture ...
and then look again and realize what you're seeing ..

This photo was taken by a soldier in Afghanistan of a helo rescue mission.
The pilot is a PA Guard guy who flies EMS choppers in civilian life.
Now how many people on the planet you reckon
could set the bottom end of a chopper down on the roof top of a shack
on a steep mountain cliff
and hold it there while soldiers load wounded men in the rear?
If this does not impress you ...
nothing ever will.
Gives me the chills and a serious case of the vertigo ...
I can't even imagine having the nerve ...
much less the talent and ability ...

Forgivness

Hussein says "I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands,"
Yeah...
A little late for that.
You might of considered that before the world decided you were no longer worthy of leading your country.

Sleep

I just got out of my psych class.
Apparently the instructor had worked on some sleep study in the DOD before coming here to teach.
It has long since been believed that because of their workload,
Submariners got the least sleep for the most extended periods of time in the entire military.
He says that is not the case.
It is in fact the Cadet Wing that gets the least amount of sleep for extended periods of time.
This is coming from several respected sleep researchers.

And this new schedule of calls isn't helping.
They told us that they were implementing the new schedule of calls to get us more sleep.

Yeah...
I can see how pushing taps back a half hour and making reveille a half our earlier equals more sleep.
(That was sarcasm)

SECDEF

Acording to CNN,
Rumsfeld should be replaced because,
"He's lost the support and respect of the military"

Guess what that really doesn't matter.
There are quite a few people in leadership positions here at the Academy that most everyone I've talked too don't "support and respect".
The military is not a democracy.
That's reserved for public governing bodies.
I don't get any say in who my commander is.
And it doesn't matter if I "support and respect" them as a person.
But I must support and respect his rank.

Even if the are generals who don't like him,
Be deal.
Get over it.
It's not your job to like him.
If you don't like your boss,
Then resign, retire, whatever,
And then you can complain all you want.

“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If
you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage - resign your
position, and when you are outside damn to your heart’s content;
but as long as you are part of the institution, do not condemn it.
If you do that you are loosening the tendrils that are holding you
to the institution, and at the first high wind that comes along,
you will be uprooted and blown away, and you probably never
know the reason why.” -Elbert Hubbard

Time Critical

*****Time Critical*****

Due to the Air Force victory over Army, fourth class cadets are at rest until ACQ on Sunday and breakfast is optional for all classes for all of next week.

*****End Messages*****

The Media

How about that...
Some positive media coverage.
I thought they didn't like us.

Flacons

Stay In School

Regardless of how they try to spin this...
Who the comment was towards and all that,
The issue still remains.
While he didn't come outright and say it...
(Probably cause he hasn't got the guts)
He implied that my brothers and sisters deployed in the desert are stupid.
He may have served in the military before,
But I'm not sure he realizes that the only reason he can say things like that are because they are over there doing what they do best.
Protecting his freedoms.

I've been wondering...
Why does Article 88 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice make it illegal for commissioned officers to use "contemptuous words" against certain civil officials.
Aka. Congress,
But there is absolutely nothing wrong with them insulting us?

(BTW: I’m not commissioned yet
So if OSI is reading this…
I should be ok)

Problems

I just had a nice discussion with a good friend of mine from OCF.
I have come to the following conclusions

1. I cannot solve all the world’s problems.
(duh)
2. The World’s problems are not mine to fix.
(Thank goodness)
3. I cannot solve all of my own problems.
(Te cause: My sinful nature)
4. Not all of my problems are min to fix.
(Which is why we have salvation)

All of this makes life a lot less stressful.

The Affects of Day Light Savings

I defiantly like the sun out earlier.
It's a lot nicer walking to breakfast with the sunrise
As opposed to the sky just starting to get light.

As I came out of breakfast,
I noticed that the sun couldn't be seen because of the fog that covered the plains,
But I could see the shadow of the horizon slowly creeping down the mountains as the sun began to rise.
The light hasn't hit the Cadet Area yet,
But you can see it coming.
It looks beautiful.

Swimming

My swimming class is going well.
We started testing today.
They graded three strokes and out ability to swim distance underwater.
The final event for the day was jumping off the 5 meter level of the tower and swim under to bulkheads to the other end of the pool.
So far...
I have a 44 out of 45 possible points.
The instrucotr said that my strokes were some of the best he's seen.
And I haven't been in the water in more than two years other than the 8 lessons we've had in the class.

Got Robotics?

Prayer Request

If y'all could pray for me,
I'd apreciate it.
I've not been feeling myself over the past few weeks.
I think it has something to do with Thnaksgiving Break comeing up.
It's either that I've not been away from home for this long before,
(Not counting last year,
cause most of that was Basic,
and I didn't have time to think about it then.)
Or its because I may have to deal with a situation I thought had been taken care of over the summer.
I'm not sure which,
It may be both.
So I don't know if I should be worried bout going home,
Or happy about it.
Either way,
I'd appreciate prayer.

Day Light Savings

Yeah for an extra hour of sleep!!!

Dead or Alive?

THe Autumn Ball was tonight,
And I didn't take a date.
So I just stole everyone else's.
The entire class of 2009 wants to kill me now.
Half becasue I stole their dates,
The other half because they're jealous of the swing I taught their dates.

BTW, This is all extremely exagerated.

Re: The Weather

So...
All yesterday,
My instructors were talking about this massive blizzard that was supposed to hit last night.
I looked at the radar and saw it.
It didn't look to big to me.
When walking back to my room last night,
It felt really nice.
There were a few clouds in the sky and the temp was about 50 ish.
Minor detail...
But the view of storm I got included the surrounding states too.
No wonder it didn’t look big.
That thing was massive.
I already knew that we had an optional breakfast,
And I was tired from the days workout,
So I decided to sleep in until 0630.
Then My roommate got up and check his E-Mail.
Classes were delayed two hours until 0900.
Alright!
I get to sleep to 0830.
Then he got up and check again.
School is canceled for the day.
HOOAH!!!
So I just now got out of bed.
It feels nice to actually give my body the sleep it needs.

Edit 1239 26-OCT-2006
Texas Jones and the Trek to Mitchell Hall
(Insert Indiana Jones Theme Music here)
So I got all bundled up to go to lunch.
I had to wear three layers with my Camo.
No Texan should ever have to do that.

I walked out on the Terrazo,
And nearly got run over by the snow plow driver.
Those guy move fast too.
He didn’t honk or anything.I don’t know if he didn’t see me,
Or didn’t care.
The only reason I knew he was coming was cause another cadet warned me.
So I dived into the massive mound he had plowed earlier and struggle to get out to avoid his buddy in the other plow.

I started walking the well beaten and plowed path the Mitchell Hall,
When I noticed some other cadets sledding on Spirit Hill.
I decided that since I was already outside,
I might as well go sled too.
So I got of the well beaten and plowed path the Mitchell Hall and started trekking to Spirit Hill.
The snow was a lot deeper than I thought.
It went up to my knees!

After that I waded thought the rest of the snow drifts and battled the 40+ mph wind to get to Mitch’s,
Only to find it was more perilous inside Mitchell Hall than out side.
The floor was all wet for cadets going in and out all day,
And all that 40+ mph wind was getting accelerated through the couple of doors that were open.
Needless to say,
That was exciting.

After partaking of my meal of hamsters and salad,
I endeavored to procure a box of apple cider and hot chocolate to take back to my squadron.
On the way out,
I met a few of my friends from Swing Club.
We discussed the probability of meeting tonight since it is indeed Thursday.
I laid to rest their fears,
Assuring them that even if Gus didn’t come with music I would bring my collection.
(All 8 songs)

This time,
The wind was in my face,
So the trip back was a little longer.

All in all,
I made it back in one piece,
Having made it back with the rare artifact of an entire box of hot chocolate and apple cider.
The End

THe Weather

The weather is absolutly gorgeous today.
I was walking back from class,
and looked up at the sky,
There isn't a single cloud up there.
And the sky is that really deep blue that reminds me just how high up I am.
On top of all that,
we've finally gotten above 40.
It's beautiful outside.

Ok...

So...
I was just out in the hall way,
And this guy walks by with two, twelve pack Mountain Dew boxes on as shoes.
I looked at him for a minute,
and ask "Why?"
His response...
"Why not?"
And he kept walking.

I convinced...
THis place does things to you.

Fun with Subs.

We had a substitute tinstructor for math today.
That was fun.
He brought music to play while we cruched problems.
Then we showed him something different that we do.
We use the Bat Man symbol for a lot of our variables.
That was funny.
Even better was watching him try to draw it.

Got Robotics?

Back In The Swing Of Things

Swing Club is back.
We got a call from the Vice Dean authorizing us meet again at our normal times.
And the Swing Kids came out in full force.
Tonight was the most people we've had in a long time.

Snow

So...
I left from lunch to go to Swim Class.
It was slightly chilly out.
After class I helped a classmate who wasn't too comfortable in the water.
ran on the treadmill cause I knew it was cold out.
Then I did more workout.
When I left the gym aroung 6,
There was 3+inches of snow on the ground.
And it was still snowing.

Found this on a Grad Site

Fun at Formation

OCF Fall Retreat

That was fun.
Got to kick back and do next to nothing for the weekend.
I also got to play on the swings and build fires.
Fun stuff.
The food was good too.

We learned about resolving conflict.
A very interesting topic.
I see how this will be helpful on an interpersonal level,
And even in small groups,
But it’d be interesting to see how applying this stuff on an international level would affect world politics.

It seems that most of swing club is in OCF.
And most of OCF is in Swing Club.
So we spent Sunday Evening Swinging.
That was interesting.
Especially when we got the officers out there.
There was one girl curled up in a chair reading and watching.
She wouldn’t come out and dance,
So I grabbed another guy,
And we grabbed her chair,
And danced with her in the chair.
That was really funny.

North Korea

Well…
They did it.
Apparently that hissy fit they threw earlier this summer didn’t get them the attention they wanted.

I’ve been wondering if they’d try something else to get attention.
Looks like their stepping it up a bit.
Good thing their Taepo Dong II Missiles have lousy range, guidance, and reliability.
I doubt we’ll have to worry about them here in the CONUS (Continental United States),
And Kim Jong Il isn’t stupid enough to use them on our bases that are in range.
That wouldn’t accomplish anything.
The only thing I’m worried about is that his nukes might have a price tag.
In which case,
We all know who the prime customers would be.
I’m still trying to figure out why the UN didn’t do anything when NK kicked them out of the Nuclear power plants in the northern Korean peninsula.

I always wondered why nuclear testing was such a big deal back during the Cold War.
I think I know now.

Edit:
I just found out that it was an extremely small explosion for a nuke.
It may have just been a few hundred pounds of explosives.
We don't know yet.
Nontheless,
This still puts us in an interesting political situation.

Standing In The Way

Story

I hope I have this within me.
I hope that I never get tested,
But I hope I would do it if I was in that situation.

Noon Meal Formation

We had a fly over today.
Sweet stuff.
A four ship formation of F-16s.
Didn’t seem like anything to terribly special,
But still very cool.
We saw them coming,
They seemed a little lower than normal.
I think they kicked in their afterburners just before they went over us,
Cause they weren’t going very fast,
But they were really loud.
REALLY Loud.
They flew lower than I’ve ever seen before.
And after they passed,
It still kept getting louder.
To the point were the ground was shaking.
That was sweet.

So North Korea wants Nukes...

Story
Video

So North Korea wants nukes...
I say we go ahead and give them one.

Recognition Last Year

I found this buried on the network.
This was in my squdron last year.
Good times.



Yeah, It was worth it.

Navy Week

We play Navy this week.
Should be fun.
Needless to say,
My 4*’s have already begun by taking all of our Squiddie’s clothes.
They’ve been wearing his uniforms to class.
He’s been stuck in running shorts and his Marine T-Shirt.
I saw another in Civies.
Another was wearing the issued pajamas.
(Wearing pajamas to class at a military school?)

It could have been worse though.
On the way to mandatory breakfast,
I saw one squidie duct taped to a lamp post.
There was a sign that said,
“I don’t want to go back to Navy,
So I taped my self to this pole.”
I heard he had been out there all night too.

Wear a Skirt Tuesday

The girls here have decided that since we already have High Five Friday.
We will also have Wear a Skirt Tuesday.
This gives them an opportunity to actually wear the optional skirt instead of the pants.
They chose Tuesday because it’s the only day we don’t march to lunch.

When I was going to class from lunch,
One of them asked me,
“So where’s yours?”
I didn’t miss a beat.
“Mine didn’t fit this morning, I put on a few pounds over the summer.”
“It happens to all of us. I’ll keep an I out for one for you.”
"Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

Yeah…
Awkward.

Falcon Football

Slide show

Got Robotics?

Football

Today was the Air Force first homage of the season.
We played the New Mexico “Lobo’s”.
These guys already hate us because we were the reason they didn’t get to go to a bowl game last season.
We won.
And not by a little either.
It was 24/7.
We wooped ‘em good.

We’re actually doing well this season.

OCF

I got to bake tonight.
I showed up early and asked if I could help.
So Mrs. Wade took me to the kitchen and got me a recipe to make.
I made Cinnamon Rolls.
They came out really good too.

Zemke

Tonight was or exemplar dinner.
Each class chooses a historical figure that they look up to.
Previous class exemplars have included Gen Patton, Gen Carl Spaatz, and General Billy Mitchell.
The Class of 2009 choose Col Hubert “Hub” Zemke.

Zemke was really cool.
He led a fighter squadron during WWII.
They escorted bombers to their target.
Zemke used a different strategy to escorting.
Instead of chasing after injured enemy fighters that were fleeing the battle to score more kills,
They stayed with the bombers.
Because of this,
None of the squadron became Aces while in that squadron,
But they never lost a bomber to enemy fighters.

One day,
On the way back from a mission,
The weather got really bad.
The wings were ripped off his plane and he crash landed in German territory.
Needless to say he got captured.

When he got to the POW camp,
He found himself the senior officer among 9,000 POWs.
The camp was in miserable condition.
By the time the war was over,
He had taken over the camp,
Convinced the Germans to surrender,
And had more weapons than the guards did.

Yeah,
This guy was awesome.
And another cool little piece of trivia,
He flew P-51s,
And we’re the 51st class.
How sweet is that.

Running

So I was out running...
I was on a straight road,
Headed north,
Away from the Academy.

And then...
I here this roar.
I knew the sound instantly.
I looked up and saw I was right.

A four ship formation of F-16s flew over head.
And then disapeared over the ridge in front of me.

For Chris

For me

Vote Bird

Yes it is that time of year again...
The campaing season has started.
Who am I kidding...
The elections have already started.
And this year,
The Air Force has entered the political areana.
Thats' right,
The Bird is going up against the other college mascots,
(If you can call this place a college)
In the Capital One Bowl Mascot Challenge.
Right now,
The Bird is tied for second.
He needs your help.
So do your patriotic duty and Vote Bird.
You are allowed to vote once a day,
And it only takes two minutes.
So get out there and rock the vote.

VOTE BIRD!

F-35 Simulator

This is the same one I flew in an earlier post.

Why my F-35 is better than the F-22

Spirit Cheese

The Weather

It's Snowing!!!

And you know what that means...
(Or maybe you don't)
Noon Meal Formation is canceled!

Rugby

Rugby was fun.
We played Squadron 8.
And it just so happens,
That the Wing Commander is in Squadron 8.
And he’s on their Rugby team.
The 4*’s enjoyed that.
They all were going to see who could get the most tackles on him.
But he’s a big guy,
So they didn’t get much opportunity to take him down.

I did get a take down on him though.
Yeah…
I got to tackle the Wing Commander.

JSF F-35 Lightning II Simulator

They brought the JSF Simulator here last week.
That was a lot of fun.
I spent the better part of an hour playing in it.

I got the hang of it so quickly,
The guys running it left me to do what I wanted with it.
One time,
I was coming in for a landing in the A model.
I landed like a normal plane,
And then I decided I wanted to take off vertically.
So I looked around and found the simulator control panel.
I flipped a switch and was instantly in the B model.
I pushed the only button in the cockpit,
And the plane converted to VTOL mode.
So I took off vertically,
Climbed a few hundred feet,
And converted back to normal flight.
I had hit Mach 1.1 in less than a minute.
Definitely a sweet plane.

After a while,
General Borne, the Dean of Faculty, came down to check out the simulator.
That would have been a good time to disappear,
But my bag was on the other side of the room.
Best to become invisible.
It didn’t work.
The folks running the simulator asked her if she would like to fly.
She looked at me,
And said, “ Cadet TheEarthCanBeMoved, would you like to fly it?”
Thinks: “Stealth has been compromised! Begin evasive actions!”
“No thank you maam, I just finished flying.”
Backpack status: Still out of range.
So she climbs in the cockpit and they show her how to fly it.
I figure now her attention is diverted,
So I can stay and watch.
Wrong!
Yeah…
Her assistant starts asking me questions,
And I wound up helping show her how the plane works.

Yarr!!!

So I was at breakfast,
When one of my 4*’s says,
(With a pirate accent)
“Yarr! Cadet TheEarthCanBeMoved,
Sir, may I make a statement.”
(This is what they have to do when they want to say something,
Except with out the “Yarr”)
I’m a little confused,
So I say,
“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”
“Yarr Sir, It here be International Talk Like A Pirate Day”
“Uh huh…”
“Aye Sir! It is”
“Alrighy then… You have fun with that”

My 4*’s can be rather entertaining at times.

Edit:
And it gets better.
We’re standing at the tables for lunch.
Then,
Over the speakers…
(With a pirate accent)
“Yarr, Wing Tench hut.
Yarr, Wing at ease ya scallywags.
Wing take seats.”

Parents Weekend

Labor day weekend was fun.
My family came up and we went camping.
Met with Chris and his dad and his sponsor family.
We met them out in the middle of National Forest.
There was almost no one else out there.
Had fun.

According to Chris,
I should have either died,
Or been seriously injured several times that day.

We took the 4-Wheeler out to a jump he had been to before.
He showed me how to do it,
And then I tried.
The first thing that went through my mind while flying through the air was,
“This feels a lot higher than it looked like he went.”
And it was.
He said my wheels were seven feet off the ground.
His were like three.
He said the highest he’d seen was four or five.

It gets better.
While leading the group down a trail through a field,
I noticed two jeeps coming the opposite direction,
So I tried to pull my bike off the road and drive just to the right of it.
Except I got stuck in a rut.
So the bike dumped me.
I hit the ground and did a combat roll,
Jumped up,
And got back on the bike.
According to Chris,
I was doing close to 50 mph.
All I got was a scratch.

And the scariest part about the whole thing,
Is that it didn’t scare me.
I know that means I’ll keep on going until it does scare me.
And I know that’ll be as I’m flying off a cliff.
Then it’ll be to late.
That’s the part that scares me.

So we went out on the trails.
My dad, mom, Sis, Chris, and I.
I took lead that time while Chris followed.
I usually look back to make sure that the group is still behind me.
But this time we were going down a particularly rough trail.
So before I got a chance to look over it had been a while.When I did,
There was no one behind me.
So I pulled over and waited.

After a while Chris comes and tells me what’s up,
He told me my sister had fallen off her bike.
I asked her if she was ok.
His answer,
"I don't know"
So I took off back up the trail I had just come down.
I know I was going a lot faster than I should have.But as far as I could tell,
I didn't have much a choice.
My sis had fallen off her bike and I didn't know her condition.

When I got there,
She was fine.
She was already back on her bike ready to go.
We decided that the sun was getting low,
And it was time to head back to camp.
We were planning to go see a movie and we had to be moving if we were going to make it.

When we got back to camp,
I let Chris know what I was thinking.
If your going to tell me my sister fell,
And I ask if she's ok,
I don't want to hear "I don't know."
That is the wrong answer.

We went into town to see the movie.
We saw Step Up.
I liked it.
I thought it was a good movie.
It was clean,
And had a good story line.
(Even if it was predictable)

And I got to go clothes shopping.
I finally got some decent civilian clothes.
Mainly swing stuff,
But it looks nice.

And that was my Labor Day weekend.

Got Robotics?

Lunch

So I was at lunch,
When my sergeant walks up to me and says,
"So how long did it take the firstie to clean up his room?"
Is stood there for a minute trying to figure out what he was talking about.
Then I realized he had found my video on google.
Yeah...
He thought it was funny.

How It Should Have Ended

How It Should Have Ended

Element Board

So...
The Four Degrees are supposed to make an element board.
This is just a poster of with the pictures of the seven of us on it.
I didn’t know they were doing this.
So when I got an Email from one of them asking for a picture of me,
I sent them the first good one I found.
And then a week later,
I saw it printed out blown up on a wall.

Yeah…
My sergeant got a kick out of that…

Watch closely

Watch very closely.
There are to groups of people.
One group is wearing white shirts,
And one group wearing black shirts.
Focus on the group wearing white shirts.
How many times do the people in white shirts pass the basketball to each other?

Video

Edit: Watch the video before viewing the comments.

Huh?...

Today we had a rather large number of Chinese Air Force and Army Cadets over for lunch.
I guess thats a good thing.
It means our leadership trusts them.

Hate

I'm ashamed to admit this,
But I am consumed with Hate.

I hope they get Osama before I start flying,
Because I don't want to drop the bomb.
I know I'll be doing it for the wrong reasons.

From a Classmate

It’s been one year since I joined the military and this morning I took a bus into London. Wearing jeans, a t-shirt and an iPod, and leaving my camera at home, I was stopped by summer tourists with maps and accents I’d never heard before as I made my way through the city on the tube. But maybe they mistook me for a Londoner because I knew exactly where I was going.

Tavistock Square is a quiet, one block park carved out of the middle of office buildings and apartments, where trees and benches and paths and picnickers defy busy city streets. And one year ago here on the 7th of July a terrorist boarded a bus and detonated a bomb, shearing the red double-decker in half and sending the top deck into the air amidst a sea of fire and metal and flesh. That day, three other blasts in different locations would send London into pandemonium and turn the city into the newest battlefield of global conflict.

I had been to places like this before, in Lower Manhattan and downtown Amman. Tavistock Square was the most recent stop in an intensely personal journey that began one year ago when I entered U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs. But my journey is just one of many thousands in my generation who have committed to serving and training to become military officers under the ominous and urgent shadow of this global war. During this year we’ve been pushed to our absolute limits – physically, mentally, and emotionally. In just one year, the transformation my classmates and I have undergone has made us virtually unrecognizable from our former selves – and we’re just beginning to write the history of how our generation will meet the challenges of the Long War.

One year ago, a friend I know spent his summer refueling and repairing Cessnas on the tarmac of his small hometown airport in Omaha. This year, he’ll be observing from the flight deck of a special operations cargo plane with night vision goggles hanging from his helmet as he watches the European countryside race past two hundred feet below. One day he’ll be the aircraft commander who leads his crew to air drop badly needed humanitarian aid into a war-torn African village… and when the parachutes rapidly unfurl over the crates of food and water and medicine above the village, the sound will resonate louder than any speech ever given at the United Nations.

One year ago, a guy I know spent the night partying on the beach with his friends. They had been through a tough year of military preparatory school and they spent the night launching fireworks out over the Gulf of Mexico and saying goodbye to their girlfriends… at least for awhile. This year, he’ll get the chance to hang his feet off the back of a combat helicopter buzzing over the English coastline and toss target flares into the North Sea. He’ll feel the rush and horrible power of firing a heavy machine gun from that helicopter. He’ll be humbled and shaken by the experience, but one day he’ll be the pilot of a helicopter that will evacuate Americans from an embassy in a war zone.

One year ago, a girl I know spent her summers wakeboarding with her friends on Tampa Bay. This year, she’ll strap into a fighter jet and witness close air support maneuvers from the back seat. She’ll be scared to death and sick to her stomach, but one day she’ll be the pilot who is urgently re-tasked in mid-flight to attack an emerging target of opportunity. With poise and confidence she’ll punch the fighter jet’s afterburners and arm her laser-guided bombs, and she’ll make certain the insurgent safe house is anything but.

One year ago, a guy I know ran a high school cross country race for his personal best time. Drenched in sweat and out of breath, he cheered on his teammates as they each crossed the finish line. This year, he’ll find himself running across another field, this time with an assault rifle. This year, laden with body armor, he’ll find himself leading his team not to a finish line, but into an enemy encampment. Drenched with sweat and out of breath, he’ll yell out commands and give orders to his teammates, orchestrating order out of chaos while projectiles fly and percussions echo at close quarters. He’ll be in training and the bullets will be filled with paint and not lead, but soon he may need to use the same poise and leadership in the towns and streets of central Iraq.

And one year ago, a guy I know was having trouble working up the courage to ask his high school’s prom queen out on a date. This year, he’ll be working up the courage to let go of an airplane for the first time one mile above the earth’s surface and freefall before pulling his parachute and maneuvering to a drop zone the size of a postage stamp. He’ll visit his hometown months later with jump wings on his chest and ask if the former prom queen is still available – she will be.

I continued in London until the battery drained on my iPod. At the end of the day, while the long summer sun still burned late and low in the sky, I took the train north back to East Anglia and back to the Royal Air Force base where I spent my summer in England. Walking back to my dorm I passed a small memorial made of rock and marble next to a round-about. Two tall, green hedges in the shape of towers stood in the center of a concrete courtyard with five sides forming a pentagon. Then I saw two small children playing around a bench on the memorial, laughing and comparing their long shadows against those of the towers. Then one pointed to the engraved marble at the foot of the towers and their mother bent down to them, held their hands then said something quietly. She found words, but I could not.

What the American people need to know is that there still exist hundreds of thousands of young men and women in America who have made the decision to contribute to this fight. We’re contributing in public service, the military, and on college campuses across the country. Many in our generation – most in our generation, will not join us in this choice. Yet we think it’s worth it. We joined not because we want war, but because war is the most repulsive and despicable thing we know, and we’re certain that without a struggle for democracy, stability, and human liberty in the Middle East there can be no peace. And just maybe one day – many, many summers away from this one – we’ll be the generation that finishes this fight.

Weekend

This weekend was fun.
Didn’t start so fun though.
I sat CQ for 8 hours.
So I didn’t get to bed until 2:30 in the morning.
And then I got up at 5 to help out a local bike and run event.
Had fun doing that.
Sliced several thousand bagels,
Mixed a ton of Gatorade,
But it was fun nonetheless.

Afterwards I went for a hike with my OCF group.
We went up over the mountains and back into the woods.
It was about 7 miles long.
Fun stuff.
When we got there,
I was tasked with preparing food and building a fire.
So I started up the charcoal for the hotdogs
And then did what I usually did back in scouts.
I sent all the guys out into the woods to find dead trees for me to burn.
Then I did what I did what I did back in scouts again.
I burned every bit of it.
The group didn’t have any axes or saws,
So we had to improvise.
They were trying to spilt the logs by…
Jumping on them,
Throwing rocks on them,
Throwing the logs on the bigger rocks,
And banging them against the telephone pole.

Needless to say,
It was most entertaining.

One of the girls said they were gonna start calling me “sparky”.
That’s what some of the guys back in scouts used to call me.
This whole trip was a lot like scouts.

Classes

I took my parents to some of my classes today.
They went with me to German and Physics.
We had a sub for both classes.

German class was funny.
My dad was feeding answers to the cadets behind the teachers back.
That was entertaining.

Physics was ok.
Had some demos and a review for a test coming up.

A Sikorsky MH-53 PaveLow III had come in from NM during my German class.
(That’s a really big helicopter)
So we got to take a quick tour and watch them take off.
The pilot was showing off,
So it looked really cool.

They cancelled the parade because of storms.
There was much rejoicing.
Much to the amusement of my parents.

1000's Night

That was fun.
I met my family at Arnold Hall for dinner.
We talked for a while until it was time for Swing Club.
They insisted that they just wanted to watch.
So I let them.
And I did show off a bit more than normal.
Just to see the reaction on their face.

I finally got my mom and dad out on the floor.
I taught them Swing and Tango.
But my dad still needs a little work on the steps.

Even my sister danced with me.
I consider this an accomplishment since she thinks I'm stuck in the 20's because I like this stuff.
She did really well too.
I was impressed.

Air Force Officer Breaks Army Grunt In Pushups

The Story.

By a Classmate

Twas the night before Thursday, and everyone was tired
The new schedule of calls had everyone caffeinated and wired
Classes were starting to get hard, 09 was getting the blame
For 10 sucking it up at the k-test game
Form-10’s and confinements were already old
For a “more military academy” the wing’s happiness had been sold
On this night however, a feeling began to grow
From all of the 09ers who had been feeling quite low
They looked over their calendars, no, it couldn’t be right
Could it really be that tonight was the night
Tomorrow, they would sing out 1000 days left to go
And everyone would get a free burrito
Tomorrow they would forget all that had made them mad
And they would try their hardest without alcohol to be glad
For in 1000 days they would hear those amazing words
“you are dismissed” and flip USAFA the bird
But tonight however, there was still work left to do
Dear God how am I going to survive 1000 more days in the zoo
The same way I guess, I’ve made it this far
I’ll hope for a D. in Engr Mech cause I’m an academic superstar

Rugby

Today was out first game of Rugby.
We palyed Squadron 2.
That was fun.
I got to inflict some pain.
Just like the Knowlege Bowl,
The other team had already practiced.
So they knew what they were doing.
We didn't have a clue.
We had a few injuries.
One of my freshmen knocked heads real good with another.
Lots of blood.
He's ok though.
No stiches required.
He took it well.

1000's Night

For those of you that remember 100's Night,
Thursday night is 1000's Night for the class of 2009.
Since this is also a Swing Club night,
This should correspond nicly.
It's not as important as 100's Night,
But it's still cool.

Parent's Weekend

This weekend is Labor Day Weekend.
That means it’s also Parent’s Weekend.
Most of my family will be coming up to visit.
Two of them are staying home to ensure that Sonlight puts up a strong fight in Robotics this year.

The plan is for them to get here a little early and Show up at Swing Club on Thursday.
Then they’ll come sit through a few classes on Friday.
And we’ll have a parade and a squadron BBQ.
And then we’ll spend the weekend in the woods camping.
And boating and dirt biking.
Should be fun.

Knowlege Bowl

We had our first knowledge bowl this evening.
It was our Four Degrees vs Raging Bull Six.
Six had already gotten a chance to practice,
But our 4*’s didn’t have a clue what was going on.
We still won though,
150/105

Euro Fighter

Never underestimate your enemy,
And never overestimate an ally



This is the new Euro Fighter,
Also called the Typhoon.
It’s got almost the same capabilities as our F-22 Raptor,
But at one third the cost.
The reason…
It’s only got most of the capabilities.
Our Raptor has stealth.
I’d say that’s worth the extra couple of million dollars.

Typhoon isn’t as sleek as our planes though.
My Lightning II is much better looking

The Candy Bomber

His Story

Bomb Technician Practical Jokes

New Uniforms

Looks like we've finally found someone who like the new uniforms.

The Parable of the Chaco Tacos

Matthew 25 (New Academy Version)

Again it will be like a firstie leaving the lunch table to go to the staff tower,
Who called his four degrees to attention and entrusted the dessert tray to them.
To the hot pilot he gave five choco tacos,
To the cold pilot two choco tacos,
And to the loadmaster one choco taco,
Each according to his ability.

Then he went to make his staff tower announcement.
The hot pilot who had received the five choco tacos went at once to another table to report in and gained five more.

So also, the cold pilot with the two choco tacos gained two more from Willie,
The nice Mitchell Hall guy.

But the loadmaster who had received the one choco taco went off to the East doors of Mitchell Hall,
Found his backpack, and hid his table commandant’s choco taco.

After being tapped off the staff tower,
The table commandant of those four degrees returned and settled accounts with them.

The hot pilot who had received the five choco tacos brought the other five.
“Cadet Major John A Doe, sir, Cadet Fourth Class Smith reports as ordered,
Sir may I make a statement”
He said, “you entrusted me with five choco tacos.
See, I have gained five more.”
His table commandant replied, “Well done, good and faithful doolie!
You have been faithful with a Mitchell Hall dessert;
I will put you in charge of the squadron tailgate party.
Come and get your SSS signed to go on the ski club trip this weekend!”

The cold pilot with the two choco tacos also came to attention. “Cadet Doe,” he said, “you entrusted me with two choco tacos;
See, I have gained two more.”
His table commandant replied, “Well done, good and faithful four dig!
You have been faithful with a few hundred calories;
I will put you in charge of next week’s gallon challenge.
Come and get comforter privileges!”

Then the loadmaster who had received the one choco taco came to attention.
“Sir,” he said, “I knew that you are a stract man,
Wearing shirt garters when you are not in blues
And pulling your chin strap down when there is no wind.
So I was afraid and went and hid your choco taco in my backpack.
See, here is what belongs to you.”

His table commandant replied, “You weak and lazy frosh!
So you knew that I wear shirt garters when I am not in blues
And I pull my chin strap down when there is no wind?
Well then, you should have put my choco taco in the ice bucket
So that when I returned I would have received it back chilled.
Take the choco taco from him and give it to the one who has ten choco tacos.
For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

And throw that worthless SMACK outside,
Onto the strips,
Where there will be greeting and pulling of chins.”

Swing

The 4*'s have a mandatory dance tonight.
So Swing Club is goin to make an appearence to help teach them.
This should be interesting,
Since only the core of the club is coming out.
So it'll be about 20 of us,
Teaching 700+ of them.
This should be entertaining.

Got Robotics?

Pluto

There are no longer nine planets that orbit our sun.
We are now back down to eight.

In other news,
Our Solar System has been attacked by the Galactic Empire,
The Death Star has begun the systematic annihilation of this system.
Citizens are advised to panic and run wild in the streets.

Just Kidding,
But we are down to eight planets.
Scientists have come up with a new set of standards that a celestial body must meet before being granted Planet status.
And Pluto didn't make it.

The funny part about this whole thing,
Is the way I found out about this,

I was sitting in German Class,
Doing the Language Lab.
I had finished my work 20 minutes early,
So I jumped on the web and watched a recording of the 5’oclock news from Germany.
I was piecing together what they were saying,
When it hit me

Yeah,
I found this out in German.

Skipping Stones

"She told me she loved me again and again ,
Like a stone skipping over water,
And when I believed here,
It sank"

Our English teacher read this this morning.
It made for an interesting conversation.
We talked about what the poet meant by this.
One cadet brought up the point that
"The skipping is the fun part,
After it's over,
You just pick up another stone."
Every one else thought that was funny.

I didn't like the message behind it,
Or the fact that everyone else thought it was humorous.
The world is under the impression that relationships have little or no meaning,
They think they can keep going until they find what they want.

Now…
Pardon my old fashioned thinking,
But here is my opinion.

Relationships are to be more than that.
They are to have a deeper meaning.
God did not create man and woman just to entertain each other,
But to help each other through life.
That means that such a relationship is designed to be long term,
Not the “while I enjoy it” outlook that the rest of the world has taken on.

Other than my immediate family,
I have only one true (human) friend.
His name is Chris.
(He was my roommate over the summer)We didn’t get to be such good friends from just hanging out when it suited us,
We stuck it out and supported each other when the other would have a problem.
I’d listen to him and he would listen to me.
The fact that we have so much in common helps there too.
We’re both Eagle Scouts and we’re both in the class of 2009 up here at USAFA.
We worked together a lot in scouts and we both want to be fighter pilots.
(Even if we can’t agree which plane is better)
We support each other.

I believe that any serious relationship between two people of the opposite gender should be the same.
It should be a long term relationship no matter what trouble comes their way.
This is why the marriage vows include sickness and all that stuff.
It was not designed to be until one tired of the other,
But as long as they both shall live

It’s not like shoe shopping.
You can’t try on five (or 25 for some of you) shoes
And decide which one feels better.

My pastor makes a good analogy when it comes to this.
He says that when you think your ready for a significant other,
Get involved in a ministry that God has called you too,
And run the race,
Then,
Look to your left and right to see who is running besides you.
Then take that person's hand,
And run together

Sonlight Robotics

Rules of Flight

1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.

2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.

3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.

4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.

5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

6. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.

7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.

8. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again.

9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

10. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.

11. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice versa.

12. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.

13. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.

14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made.

15. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.

16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

17. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them.

18. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.

19. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.

20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.

21. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.

22. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.

23. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.

24. The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, and a tenth of a second ago.