A few days ago, I completed the Standardization and Evaluation Flight Examiner (SEFE) upgrade and am now qualified to give simulator and flight evaluation checkrides. God continues to bless in my work as I move along in my Air Force career! As an F-16 pilot, we're required to pass a simulator emergency procedures evaluation (EPE) and flight evaluation to ensure we're meeting Air Force standards. There are two areas I can now evaluate pilots on in the simulator and in the air; instrument flying and how they fly while executing an F-16 mission such as close air support (CAS), offensive counterair (OCA), defensive counterair, (DCA - keeping hostile countries from conduction OCA on friendlies), suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), etc. These flights are graded separately and occur every 18 months. So, assuming the instrument and mission checkrides are offset, they take place approximately every 9 months.
The EPEs involve a number of emergencies which the pilot has to analyze, maintain aircraft control and take the proper checklist actions to safely recover the aircraft or eject if needed. Some of these include an engine fire (of which the F-16 only has one, so this is pretty critical), hydraulic leaks, engine oil leaks, and a myriad of electronic failures / anomalies. Depending on where the aircraft is at the time, friendly or enemy territory, the course of action may change. An F-16 pilot must ask himself some questions, "If I move a certain switch now, how will this affect my ability to shoot missiles or drop bombs...now that I've lost a certain system, how does that affect my combat capability...should I proceed into enemy territory or return to base?"
The flight evaluations grade the pilots ability to execute either instrument procedures or mission specifics tasks and focuses on the pilot's highest level of qualification (i.e. wingman, flight lead or instructor)...the more qualified, the more is expected. With all of this comes more responsibility on my part to know the procedures and tactics so I can effectively evaluate another F-16 pilot. It's a position I gladly accept! Check six!
We're now here in Atlanta to car shop and rest before driving to Maxwell AFB, Alabama for Squadron Officer's School (SOS). Maxwell is in Montgomery and we'll be there until early February before taking some time off to see family...it was Christmas '09 the last time I saw both of our families. A new chapter in our Air Force journey is now underway and we thank God for guiding our path!
So, Lana and I are enjoying a warm cup of tea at home early on a Friday afternoon because I was told to go home due to all the snow we've gotten over the past 24 hours...and it's still dumping! I'm not sure how much we have, but it has to be over a foot by now. It definitely makes it feel a lot more like Christmas! Snow also makes older people feel like children, so we went outside and played around a bit...one of us is usually more childish if you can't tell by the picture below. I love my wife!
For those of you who didn't get a Christmas card from us, we're sorry we didn't get you one but here's a digital copy for you to enjoy. One week from today and we'll be celebrating Christ's human birth on Earth! Merry Christmas everyone!
Change of squadrons...a few weeks ago I posted we were going to be part of the 79th Fighter Squadron once at Shaw. Well, I received confirmation yesterday in an email from the 77th Fighter Squardon Commander that I'll be a part of the Gamblers. The new motto...Double Down! The time is quickly approaching when I will leave Korea and the Pantons and head back to the USA. It's already less than 3 weeks away! Having been in Europe / Korea for the past 4 years, I may have a bit of a culture shock to get over once I'm back. I know Lana will, but we're looking forward to a new location and adventure as we get settled in a new place...it's God's plan for us and we're excited about it!
Our days usually started with a trip to the base gym and then making a determination on what we thought the weather would do. Thankfully we only had to wait one day for the sun and we were able to enjoy the beaches on both bases. Some of the nicest beaches on the island are located on the bases since they see less tourists and are in great locations...a few times Lana and I were the only ones enjoying the scenery. The Navy Base has Gab Gab Beach and a great lagoon at the bottom of old Spanish Steps (from sometime in the 1700s), while Andersen's most picturesque is Targue Beach. The lagoon reminded us of our time in the Philippines, and the best part was we had the whole place to ourselves during our time there! Both Gab Gab and the lagoon had great snorkeling! When we arrived at Targue Beach we could hardly believe we were on an Air Force Base...might be requesting an assignment there in the future when it's time for me to sit behind a desk for a few years. We finished our days with a nice meal, to include our favorite, Indian, a couple times!
The middle of the week was filled with clouds and rain, so Lana and I visited a few of the WWII memorial sites from the Battle of Guam, specifically where the Marines landed at Agat and Agana Beaches. I didn't realize Guam, or for that fact, most of the Mariana Islands were locations of major US battles against the Japanese during WWII. Probably one of the better known islands is Tinian, where the bombers took off to drop the Atomic bombs on mainland Japan. Apart from the memorial sites, there are many reminders of past war. On both bases, there are many Japanese pillboxes (or bunkers) cut into the sides of cliffs where soldiers waited for the coming attack from the USA. There are even remains of a US Marine Corps F-4U Corsair crash out in the jungle on the the Navy Base.
The last couple of days cleared up again, so naturally we spent the time at the beach snorkeling and enjoying the sun. Early Friday morning we took a boat out just of the west coast of the island and were soon surrounded by many dolphins. Had I been quicker with the camera, I'd have a picture of a couple of them jumping out of the water. Sadly, our enjoyable trip came to an end and now we're back in Korea wrapping up our last few weeks. Perfect timing...today was Korea's first snow fall of the winter. Can you say a drastic change of climate?!
