A Carroll “Lex” LeFon Primer

Who was Carroll LeFon?

The best description of Lex that I’ve heard is “Imagine Hemingway flew fighters…and liked people.”

Lex as a TOPGUN Instructor

Here in his own words.

How his callsign became Lex.

He was one of the top Naval Aviators. Served in the Middle East. Loved his family. Became one of the first mil-bloggers in 2003. Loved the works of Shakespeare and Yeats, and as Neptunus Lex passionately regaled us for 9 years with tales of Naval Aviation, discussions of current events, his family, and his post aviation jobs.

On March 6, 2012 he died doing what he wanted – teaching the best Naval Aviators how to be even better at TOPGUN.

He had thousands of readers. From his neighbor in San Diego, who never knew the true identity of Neptunus Lex (like Clark Kent!) to people around the world.

Shortly after he left us his website with his life’s memories went down.

Reposting them has been both our way of honoring him and giving something back for all of the enjoyment he gave us.

Lex at NAS Fallon

How should Lex be remembered?

He left us thousands of stories of Naval Aviation, life and leadership. Things that he learned in his life to share with you.

He had a genuinely inquisitive intellect and welcomed those of different opinions to join in the discussion.

In fact, I believe he would have been very bored had he surrounded himself with simply those who agreed with him. He wanted different, well presented and civil opinions.

But for the occasional troll? Not welcomed.

A Sample of Welcoming People with Various Viewpoints:

Does Morality Come from Man or God?

A Genuine Curiosity about the World and the Physical Nature of the Universe.

On Raising Children

My Favorite Lex Post 

Of all the posts here, ironically this is the very first one of his that I read. Of the over 4,000 archived here, several hundred are cataloged into 2 indices. They cover stories of naval aviation, humor, leadership, life, and discussions of current events during these 9 years. So I have many “favorites”. But this one post covers humility, accomplishment and humor, all rolled into one.

The Funniest Lex Post I Have Ever Read.

Think landing on a carrier at night is easy?

The Perils of Missing the Boat

Some beliefs…

Are you hooked yet?

He left us the story of his rich life. You can learn from some, laugh with him on some, share a few of his regrets,  and view the world as he did with wonder and awe.

…Just as I would learn to be a better pilot in time, so too would I learn to be a better officer. I would learn to better keep my temper, deflect familiarities with subtlety, honor those who served as best they could. It was not that I never got angry at a subordinate, never chastised anyone, never raised my voice – I did. But in the future, my ire would be official rather than personal. I owed them that.

Here’s a few more suggestions organized by category, from Leadership to Humor.

Ready for more?

Lex with his jet at NAS Fallon

Curious about life on a U.S. Navy Carrier?

Rhythms was his novella about life on a Navy carrier over 24 hours that is “on the line”.

I have long suspected that many of his “fictional” characters were actually based on his own career at various times.

It’s a “page turner”.

Want to learn about life as a Naval Aviator?

This is the place.

We have 2 large indices sorted by chronological order, plus another 3,500 or so not indexed.

Main Index       Secondary Index.

On behalf of Lex, welcome aboard.