Piper Olivia in her Halloween Costume!

My little red haired cutie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Among The Joshua Trees

The youngest grand daughter all done up for Trick or Treat!

Ain’t she a cutie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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King Air down at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport

Sad news from Wichita, Kansas.
I was notified by my daughter this morning as she and her coworkers watched the plane go in.

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Got the first news on this from my daughter in Wichita. She works for the AOPA about a quarter of a mile from the Flight Safety International building on the airport.

Sources vary on the number of casualties.

The local stations are following the situation, so I will only provide links to them.

http://www.kwch.com/news/national/report-plane-hits-building-at-kansas-airport/29430118

http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Mid-Continent-plane-crash-280929562.html

http://interactives.ksn.com/photomojo/gallery/14945/277871/plane-crashes-at-wichita-airport/seen-from-the-air/

This one is close to home as it were.

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The Shooter —- read it and weep

This is how we treat our finest….

 

http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313

“The core problem in our society is political correctness.”

 

 

Saw this blogged at one of my regular stops, chicagoboyz. 

Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal with Elon Musk, is on to something, I think. 

And, it permeates every aspect of our society.

Including the military.  Thiel’s reasons aren’t political.

It’s worth a read, at First Things.

Absent Friends…

While it’s not exactly the design we settled on some months ago, that didn’t make the cut. Seems it was desired that all the bricks have a certain format, which makes perfect sense.

My daughter, The WSO, returned last week from Key West, survived the Hornet Ball Saturday night and finally had a chance to get out to the memorial today.

All in all, I think we honored our dear friend very nicely. I wish I could have been there for the dedication.

Next time I get out to Lemoore, I hope there is some grass growing near the memorial. I plan to bring a nickel or three…

To remember all of those fine men and women who went in harm’s way…

And didn’t make it home.

SLUF……………………is gone………………………..

Another part of my life………………….gone…………………………..no more than memories now.

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Sniff……………………Damn Desert Dust anyway…………………………

Seems that a somewhat favorite air frame of yours truly stood down today. The Hellenic Air Force officially retired the last LTV A-7E Corsair II.

I am proud to say that I did serve a tour in The Argonauts of Attack Squadron One Four Seven who in those days past, did fly and fight with the Corsair II. She was a tough little jet and could carry a lot of ordnance and did not need a lot of tanker help to do the job.

SLUF is gone……………but she will never be forgotten……………………..So Long Old Friend. Fair Winds and Following Seas.

The last A-7. She served in the 336 MIRA of the Hellenic Air Force. Fly Low. Hit Hard.

Yours Truly, Front Row Center in The Spring of 1986 while serving in Attack Squadron One Four Seven, Carrier Air Wing Nine. Commander James H. Oliver Commanding(Back Row…

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The Man Who Saved Western Civilization — And How He Did It

There are a few men (and women) in the world that I have really admired. Virtually all politicians bend with the political winds.

RAF Bentwaters – now home of the Bentwaters Cold War Museum

Pics from my short visit to the former home of the United States Air Force, known as RAF Bentwaters near Woodbridge, Suffolk last Sunday. Now an industrial estate, contained therein is the old command post now called “Bentwaters Cold War Museum”. The first thing that greets you is this: “The Empty Chair” – I thought to myself, `I’m going to like this place`.

Decontamination station

Switch room. British Telecom interfaced with US military comms here.

Frontline heroes of the Cold War

The drinking Olympics scoreboard. The times against the names are connected to the Yard of Ale just out of shot – disgraceful behaviour (it would never normally happen on an RAF base 😉

An intelligent pun.

Local legend

Special Teams

So young and so brave.

The icing on the cake for me, was as I approached the Ops room, I could hear an American voice delivering a flawless, no frills account of life at the base. As I walked into the Ops gallery there was Master Sergeant Bob Hale, USAF ret’d. of the 81st TFW. An A.10 man to the core (but clearly a devotee of the Harrier Jump Jet as he sang its praises almost as high as his beloved Warthogs). Bob told us how he was called into base and sat in that room and with the command team, wrote the first squadron deployment plan for the 1st Gulf War `on the back of a cornflake packet!` as the call came in for 32 A10’s for the sandpit, asap. He served in Iraq, brought home an injury which he still carries (along with his walking stick), served his remaining time at Bentwaters, retired and stayed. His children did too, in part, as his dual US/Brit passport holding son flies AWACs out of Ca. and his daughter teaches kids in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He is a volunteer at the museum and a bloody good bloke!

Luxury transport was provided for all personnel.

RAF Regiment Rapier `hittile` battery. A very good piece of kit.

The airfield is still here if you ever fancy opening it up again?

Museum section

Tunstall village and “The Green Man” – did a certain Virgil Xenophon drink here perchance?

And finally, this picture of honor* (*note US speling) goes to the section devoted to the mighty “Bushmasters” amongst whose ranks was The Lexicans very own Virgil Xenophon – God Bless you Sir and thank you for serving our great Nations as a `Cold War Warrior`. Salute.

A Visit To The 300SL Museum

Yesterday our car club had a wonderful drive to a museum dedicated to the 300SL. Actually it isn’t really a static museum, filled with poor cars that will never be driven.

Even the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart will on occasion send their historic and near priceless cars around the world to be driven at events.

This museum  – in Napa, actually houses SLs for their own owners to drive.

Update: 04-07-18 – I received word that the museum has closed. 

Air Show at MCAS Miramar 4 October 2014

A Splendid Day Indeed!

Among The Joshua Trees

Pictures.

It was Hot!

Really Damn Hot!

Enjoy, Readers and Followers. Enjoy.

The Hooters Girls were on the Warm side as well………………………………

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