Class 05-04 is Next...Finally!

Well, I'll start by updating you on my trip out west to Seattle...it was great! I had a great week out there relaxing with family and just enjoying a much better place than Columbus, MS. The trip out was a little different than I had planned though. I got up around 0500 to make it on time to the airport, checked in, boarded the plane and the a few minutes later was disappointed to here, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking. We're having some difficulty with one of the airspeed indicators, so we're going to power down and then power up to see if that takes care of the problem." Well, that didn't do a whole lot and we had to deboard and wait for the next flight. I was originally going to connect in Dallas, TX but ended up going to Atlanta, GA instead. Anyway, to make a long story short I arrived in Seattle about 7 hours later than originally scheduled to.

My uncle's place is in Gig Harbor, which is south of Seattle. It's very nice and in an awesome location on one of the many bays out there close to the Tacoma Straights Bridge. The day after arriving I ran in the morning and then headed to McChord AFB to grab some things for the big Thanksgiving meal with my Uncle. If God takes me the T-1 track, I'm going to try for a C-17 to McChord...the base is pretty cool and in a great location. Later that night a cousin of mine flying takers at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, WA arrived. I hadn't seen him in a long time so it was good to catch up some. The next day, we were able to try out a Boeing 767-400 simulator, which was too real. I was even able to pull off some landings...they weren't the smoothest in the world, but hey give me a break. Of course Thanksgiving day was great too and I ate entirely way too much!! When it comes to food I have a hard time cutting myself off.

One of the coolest things about the west are mountains. When the weather's nice you can see Mt. Ranier from the house, and luckly there were a few nice days while I was out there. It totally makes a person wonder why they live in the midwest...other than family and things like that! I was also able to check out the yacht of one of my Uncle's friends.

The weekend before I headed out west, I made a trip with some friends down to New Orleans to check out the sites. We hit up some good restaurants, checked out the local aquarium, took a walk through The French Quarter and GOT TO SIT IN AN A-10!! If you couldn't tell, the best part of the trip was the A-10. Since we're military, we decided to stay at one of the Navy bases in the area down there. Well, this one in particular also shared the base with an F-15C ANG unit and an A-10 AFR unit. One of my friends knew a pilot who had gone through Columbus awhile back, so she called him up. He was able to hook us up and take us out on the flight line to look around. The A-10 Warthog is one bad plane! It's not the most pretty lookin' thing, but it would tear anything/anyone up on the ground it came into contact with. I wouldn't complain if I got one of these out of pilot training at all. Here are a few pics I took.


Well, Class 05-04 starts in approximately 3 weeks from now and I can't wait! A lot of our classmates have been arriving over the past couple weeks or so and it's been cool to meet some of them. I think we're going to try and grab some dinner together tonight. I'm as ready as I've ever been to get this pilot training thing started...I'll do the best I'm capable of and leave God the rest. Check back for pilot training info soon.

Studying and Relaxing

After my last post, I decided I'd take some more pics for the website. My days are pretty much the same as far as working out and studying the gouge goes. For those that don't know what I mean by gouge, it's the information I've been able to get my hands on ahead of time to help me prepare for class. There's a lot on the net, and a friend of mine burned me a CD with a bunch of stuff on it. Anyway, I was able to take a picture of the CFT's where I work on my checklist procedures. I also bought a poster for my room of the cockpit so I can chair fly (practice maneuvers and whatever else) during training.


Well, since I can't talk anyone into giving me an incentive ride around here I figured I'd try to get as close as I could to the action. Yes, it is legal for me to be here...there's a road that passes under final approach for the middle runway. I sat here for awhile taking in the nice scenery and imagining myself doing the same in the not too distant future! Sweet eh?!

The building where I've spent a lot of my time since I've been here is the 14th Operations Support Squadron building. It's where all the new pilot trainees inprocess, sign in every day and have weekly meetings. It's also where Phase I of training takes place, so I'll be spending much more of my time here very soon. The building I work in is right next to this one to the left.

I guess that's about it...the rest of the week is the normal routine. But, this weekend some of my friends and I are taking a trip down to New Orleans to check it out...should be a good time. I'll write more after Thanksgiving sometime, so check back then.

Casual Status...The Wait Continues

I've had a lot of people ask me lately what I do now that I'm done with IFT...and well, that's not too much. Kind of sad, but true...thank you taxpayers! I've been assigned to the 14OGV office, which is a group of 4 majors who work standard evaluation stuff for each aircraft. So, there's a T-37, T-1 and T-38 chief who know a lot about their aircraft and can work problems that may come up with each plane. There's also one guy who's the head chief in the office and kind of works with the other three on different issues. They're all instructor pilots (IP's), so they're also flying quite a bit. Most of the time I'm in the office I'm studying T-37 info that I've been able to pick up here on base and off the net. I know the boldface emergency procedures and operating limits of the T-37 and have been reading the Dash-1 (the manual for the plane). Pretty much I'm trying to do the most beneficial things I can before class starts. There are also Cockpit Familiarization Trainers (CFT's) that we can use to work through the checklists. The CFT's are a mock cockpit with all the switches and instruments so you can practice things before getting in the actual aircraft. At this point I have a lot of the stuff memorized, so I hope that will put me a little ahead of the game when the time comes.

Other than the studying I hit the gym or run on a regular basis. They're coming out with new fitness standards for the AF, so we have mandatory conditioning three times a week...that's cool since I was already doing that. I guess some of the higher ups thought there were too many fat people in the AF, and I would have to agree. Just because we're not on the ground much during war doesn't mean we should be out of shape and fat! I'm also in an intramural soccer league with games once a week...that's a good time and helps keep me in shape too.

Not much is going to happen between now and when class starts. I'm flying to Seattle, WA for a week during Thanksgiving and then I'll fly home for Christmas for a couple weeks...figured I'd enjoy the last little bit of my free time while I had the chance!

IFT Complete...No Problem

As of yesterday, the 15th, I'm what they call IFT complete. In other words I fulfilled all my FAA requirements, took the final oral exam and checkride and received my private pilot's license. The checkride wasn't bad at all, and as long as you're confident in your own ability the FAA examiner will be a little more relaxed and make the time enjoyable. He even had me do some extra flight maneuvers to see how I'd do, and things went well. Getting my private license is a good thing because I've checked another AF box on my way to get those silver wings. Now I can take up whoever I want without my instructor in the plane. But, now that I can't fly on the AF's ticket I probably won't do much of that between now and my SUPT class start date in January. Some of my friends and I have talked about renting a plane together to take a short trip, so that may give me a chance to go up again...it's all good either way! IFT was a lot of fun, and I had a blast flying around and taking a couple trips down the the Gulf. Having some hours before I started IFT helped out because that meant I could burn hours just having fun taking cross-countries, flying like a bush pilot about 75-100 ft above the Tom Bigbee River (shhhh...) and getting better at flying in general. Not all students get the chance to fly down down to the Gulf, but I guess my instructor felt I was capable to do so without hurting myself.

Along with the flying stuff, I've also had a couple chances to make it down the Pensacola, FL to see my buddy Matt Chapman from OTS. He's in Navigator training at Pensacola NAS and has an awesome apartment about 10 minutes from the beach, so needless to say it's a little more interesting than here in Columbus, MS! The first time down there we hit the beach and also rented a couple jet skis to add a little extra fun...awesome! The second trip down my friend Rodney (from here at the base) and I drove over to Dentin Beach, FL to hang out for a day since it's a little nicer. The beaches down there are white sand and the water's really clean...just a great place to hang at the beach! We also stopped off at my old college roommate's house while in Dentin for dinner before heading back to Pensacola. Hopefully I'll get down there a couple more times before class starts to hit the beach.

Recently I've been fortunate to find some Christian people in the area to "fellowship" with. You don't really appreciate having friends and family around with similar goals and beliefs until you're in a place for awhile where that isn't the case. After 3 months here at Columbus I was ready to find that again, and thankfully God has allowed me to meet some pilots and individuals from a local church to help build me up and continue living outwardly what I believe to be true...ultimately that the Bible is truth, Jesus Christ is really who He said He is and eternity with Him and all that matters. Flying is going to be awesome and I can't wait to start, but in comparison it's just a drop in the bucket. I know He's in control, and that fact makes facing a very hard year ahead a little less intimidating! Well, I'm going to sign off for now...T-38's, here I come!

Glad To Be Here!

Not much has changed since I last posted on the site. I've slowed down quite a bit with the flying because I recently got word all but one class is full between now and my original start date. So, it's looking like I'm slated for 8 Jan. I have another month and a half before I have to be done with the private license, so I'll just take my time. Starting in January is fine because it's going to give me a lot of time to get familiar with the T-37. I'll just try to be as far ahead of the game as possible with the time comes to buckle down!

Anyway, I was thinking the other morning when I was on a run how awesome it is that I'm here waiting to start pilot training. It totally pumps up a wanabee AF pilot to see the 37's, 38's and T-1's flying around all over the place...the pattern around here is SO crazy. It's full all the time! At least that's one way I'll be able to keep the motivation around while I wait it out on casual status...I'll just take a run out by the flight line. Speaking of running, I need to get off my lazy butt and go for one.

Enjoying Flying

Next up is my FAA written test. I finished up my solo cross-country work last week, and have just been studying for the upcoming tests and getting ready for my checkride. As it stands right now, I've used a little less than 30 of my 50 AF funded hours of private flying time so I'll be taking some more cross-countries to burn up some time. All of those 30 hours haven't been used for instruction or cross-country work...I've taken the plane up a few times just to fly around on a nice day. Since I have about 20 hours left, I'll hopefully head down to Pensacola to see my buddy Matt Chapman and possibly to Dolphin Island southwest of Mobile, AL.

One of those days of flying just for fun was today. A friend of mine here at the base needed to take a solo cross-country, so I figured I'd tag along in my own plane. We went to two other airports besides the one we took off from (I left from the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR) in the pic above, and he left from an airport about 15 miles east of me), and planned to stop at the second one for lunch. He flew over to GTR about 9:30 this morning and we were off. It was pretty uneventful on the first leg, but we had some fun along the way. We each arranged before takeoff to tune into 123.45 (no one uses that frequency around here) on the radios so we could talk back and forth and keep updated where the other guy was.

Once we reached the second airport on our route, it was time for lunch. They have a courtesy car at the airport for people coming into town to use for up to 2 hours. We called ahead to make sure they had a car, so we were thinking like a typical rental type car...but no. We got the Oldsmobile hoopy from the hanger. We hit a place called Jake & Rip's for some good eatin'!


Well, it was a good time...but all good things have to come to an end. The both of us will be finished with the private pilot training soon, and they've been saying that those who have SUPT class dates months down the road (like us...Jan 8th) will most likely get bumped ahead. So, that means we'll probably get moved into the November class. I'm cool with that, and it'll still give me some time to work on some T-37 stuff before I get started. That's it for now.

Cross-Country Flights

Since my last update, I've been doing lots of flying...not much else. It's nice because it gives me a chance to get used to the place without much going on before SUPT starts. It also gives me time to hit the pool, gym, and the golf course too...you know, the important stuff! The reason those of us on casual status don't have much to do is because there are a lot of us around. With the AF Academy, ROTC and OTS grads coming in over the summer there are a bunch of new 2nd Lt.'s around. Anyway, it makes for getting IFT out of the way pretty quick. I've gone on one cross-country, and will be headed on my second tonight. A night x-country will be cool. After that I don't have much left besides some instrument time, my solo x-country work and night flying. I haven't thought much about where I'm going to head on the solo x-country, but it'll be cool wherever I go. I've been trying to talk my instructor into letting me head down to Pensacola, FL! How cool would that be?! Anyway, I'll keep everyone up to date on that one.

IFT Going Well

As it stands right now I've been up two times for about 2.4 hours of flying in the Cessna 172, and I should be soloing after my next flight. I just needed to get up to speed on everything since it had been over a year since I flew. It's been a ton of fun and has felt TOO good to get back in the air. I've talked with my instructor and I'm hoping to take a couple cross-country flights down to the beach on the Gulf...how cool is that?! I also have some friends from OTS that I'd like to meet up with for lunch or something like that. More later...

IFT Next Week

As it looks right now, I should be able to start Introductory Flight Training (IFT) at the regional airport close by early next week...it's called the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. The cool thing is I'll be able to take my lessons in a Cessna 172 over the 152 because of my height and weight. For those that don't know, the 172 is a little bigger and seats 4 people instead of just 2 like the 152. It should be a good time of flying without the stress of SUPT, and I'm going to take my time and learn as much as I can. Since my SUPT class date isn't until 8 Jan 03, so I will most likely get that date moved ahead and start later this year. So far it's been kind of nice to chill out here at the base. They've had us do some things here and there, but usually a day consists of getting some things done in the morning followed by an afternoon at the pool or golfing...not bad eh?!

I'm staying in the Unaccompanied Officer's Quarters (UOQ) here on base, and it has turned out to be pretty decent. It had all the furniture I needed, with a small kitchen and bathroom. The buildings look like college dorms, but there really close to the training squadron's and a lot of other things on base.

I also took some time to take a few pics of the cool stuff here on base...like I said before, trainers are flying around here all the time. The downwind leg of the inner T-37 pattern goes right over my place, so I wake up basically every morning to the sound of jets flying over at 1000 ft. AGL (above ground level). That's it for now...time to hit the pool!

Columbus Air Force Base - CAFB

The trip down to Columbus AFB went pretty well and took me around 10 hours...that was coming from Dayton, OH. It was good to see family and friends and relax for a few days as well, although with all the driving there wasn't too much to chill. I took a couple days the first week to fully outprocess Wright Patterson AFB, and meet some of the guys on base there for lunch. I also hit the gym a couple times and ran as well. At the end of the first week, I then flew down the Brooks AFB, TX for the the Medical Flight Screening (MFS) all pilot candidates go through to check your eyes and heart a little more in depth. Along with that there are some computer based tests that don't factor into keeping/losing your slot...they just get a feel for the IQ and personality of the pilots that are coming in. Anyway, once the computer testing was done, I passed the eye exam and was on to have a Echocardiogram (I think) done...it looked like what a mother would have done to see her child, but this was of the heart. About a minute or so into the process, the lady gives a little "huh" and leaves the room. Instantly I'm thinking, "What was the 'huh' for?" She comes back in the room in a few, this time with the flight surgeon on staff and the first words out of his mouth are, "Yup, that's what it is." He went on to explain exactly what they had found and in layman's terms I have extra tissue in one of my ventricles, and that meant more testing at Lackland AFB's hospital. The process involved putting me out slightly, inserting a tube down my throat and doing the same test as before from the inside...there wasn't much to it besides a sore throat afterwards. Anyway, the results ended up showing that no blood flow was constricted and that I was clear for SUPT. That was a load off! By this time, what usually takes a few days lasted until Friday, which is when I flew back home. I was only home for a day or so, packed up, said goodbye to my family and made the trip down here. I had a hitch put on my Grand AM GT (didn't want to), so I was able to haul all of my belongings down here since I didn't have any furniture. The AF calls that a do it yourself (DITY) move.It's been a week since I pulled on to the base here (13 Jul 03), and so far it's been good. I've inprocessed and done all the necessary paperwork...especially getting the travel voucher and DITY paperwork submitted so I can get paid. I've also picked a local airport where I'm going to take my private flying lessons for IFT; that'll be at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. I plan to take my camera around base here and take some pics soon...but nothing could do justice to the sound of T-37's, T-1's and T-38's flying around many hours of the day. It's a great sight to see!

OTS Graduation

Graduation day finally came, and thank the Lord with nice weather. It started with our flight commissioning ceremony at 7:00...that was cool because it made everything a little more personal for our families and all of that. Anyway, it was cool how we marched in and up on the stage and went about things through the whole thing. It was very "sharp" looking as my mom said. As each flight member's name was called, they made their way down off of the stage to be commissioned by either our FTO or a guess officer (active duty or retired). It was commissioned by our FTO and then had my gold bars pinned on by my best friend, parents and youngest brother. That was a cool time because we had been through 3 hard months to earn that. It was still hard to believe I would be headed off to pilot training soon...

Next on the schedule was our parade at 10:00. This is basically a time for us to show our families and friends some of the marching stuff we've learned and how a military parade looks. It was very hot, but it felt good to be out there anyway. During the parade the Honor Squadron and Honor Flight are both recognized and the squadron guidon carrier marches up and gets some stuff put on the guidon showing that. Well, our squadron kicked butt as I think I mentioned before, and we ended up getting both of the honor awards.

After the awards were given out, we then marched down the "bomb run" or in front of the crowd for the parade review. My buddy Chapman and I are marching out in front leading the best squadron in the class! At the end of the parade as we threw our hats in the air, we had a C-5 flyover...I know it's not a fighter jet, but it was still pretty cool.

Well, I think that about wraps up this page. I'll be starting on the Casual Status page next, so bare with me until I get some pics of the base and have a chance to get back over here to the library and work on it some more. Hope this OTS stuff have been helpful!

The Dining Out...Family Arrives

I lied, I'll have a couple more posts before this OTS page is done because I wanted to talk a little about what they call in the military a Dining Out. The Dining Out,which has both military members and civilian guests in attendance, is an event built on many years of tradition. All the military members wear their mess dress, and the guests dress up nice as well. For us, it was a good time to celebrate a big step in all of our lives by earning our commission as 2nd Lt.'s in the USAF. It was also cool to have my best friend down for the event.

The whole ceremony started with everyone standing to welcome the official party...for us it was a two star general, two colonels and a lieutenant colonel. Once they were in place, some other formalities took place and then we took our seats for the meal. One of the formalities after sitting down was no one can eat until the highest ranking officer starts to eat...in this case it was the general. After he taunted us a bit to see if anyone to start before him, he dug in and so did we. After our first course, they moderator for the night asked for those providing the entertainment to take their places. I was part of one of the skits, so I headed backstage to get ready. Overall, the skits turned our well...everyone was laughing pretty hard, even the head table.

Another formality to the Grog Bowl. The Grog Bowl in a white porcelain toilet, centered at the middle of the dinning room for everyone to see. It's filled with a bunch of different alcoholic "beverages" so it tastes rather bad. There was also a non-alcoholic bowl. The bowl is kind of like "punishment" for those who screw up while eating during the whole meal. See, there are a list of rules all those in attendance must follow or else they're going to the Bowl...the guests must follow them as well, or their military friend will be sent. I was one of the first privileged ones to try the contents of the Bowl...yeah, that was just great! The rule I broke was that I was clapping with my hands instead of using my spoon and hitting it on the table. Here's how the procedures go for making a trip to the Grog Bowl.

Step 1 - Walk up in front of the Grog Bowl table and face the head table (where the DV's sit).
Step 2 - Salute the "king" of the mess.
Step 3 - Do an about face, and fill your cup.
Step 4 - Do an about face, raise your cup and say, "to the mess." The crowd then replies, "What a mess!"
Step 5 - Drink the contents of the cup in one gulp and then hold the cup over your head to prove you did.
Step 6 - Do an about face, and set the cup back on the table.
Step 7 - Do an about face, and the salute the "king" of the mess before taking your seat.

After most of us had finished our meals, the commander of OTS Lt. Col. Davis got up and started explaining he had been watching out for rules infractions during the dinner. He began to call of names and to my surprise I was the second on his list...CRAP!! What the heck did I do this time?! He ended up call about 10 people to stand in front of the Grog Bowl table and perform the little "ceremony." He went of for a bit talking about how bad we had screwed up the rules, when he ended his little speech with,"Class 03-06, I present to you your Distinguished Graduates." These words immediately came to mind, "No freakin' way!" I could not believe that out of the 120 or so classmates in class 03-06 that I was in the top 10%...it completely blind sided me! All I can say was that it's further proof that God has brought me into the military, and He has me right where I need to be. Only a short time ago I was trying my best to get into the program, and then here I am graduating towards the top...it was an awesome feeling. Two others from my flight made DG as well! How awesome is that? It goes to show that those of you looking to come to OTS want to be in the best squadron here...the Cobra Squadron!

Later this afternoon, some of my family will be arriving...it'll be good to see them. We'll have a chance to show them around OTS so they can see where we've been and learn a little about what we've been up to over the past few months. It'll be a good time, and then tomorrow is the commissioning and our graduation parade. The weather's supposed to be nice, so it looks like the C-5 flyover is on! I know it's not a fighter jet, but it's a huge plane and needless to say it'll get the crowds attention. Well, I'll sign off for now and post again after graduation...

One Week Left

The time has flown by and soon Class 03-06 will be graduating! It's kind of hard to believe the time has come, but when you're so busy all the time you don't realize it. It's been a great time and a good experience, but I'm ready to move on to Columbus AFB. I plan to arrive at the base around the 12th of July after spending some time with friends and family. I'm actually doing to be at a wedding in Michigan the day after graduation, but the drive won't be too bad since my best friend Kendall will be heading back with me. Most people (even the bride to be) doesn't know I'll be there, so it'll be a good time.

Last week at MOE was a good time as well. We finally had the chance to get out and "rough" it for awhile in tents without showers for a few days...unless you count using baby wipes to clean off. During our time our there we have different leadership activities throughout the day where we are further evaluated on our leadership skills. As an example, when I had my chance to lead I was given a scenario where I had to organize a rescue team to bring back a downed air crew. We formed up with our fake M-16's, headed out to the "crash site" and brought them back. Overall most of them were pretty fun...at least we all enjoyed the change of being off the OTS campus for awhile.

The most memorable part of our time at MOE was the C-130 ride we were able to take. We were all pretty pumped when we got the word because our upper class wasn't able to take one. Since the MOE site is located pretty close to of the taxiways and runways, it was pretty easy for us to jump in the back and strap in for the ride. Being close to the runway was also cool because we were right there to watch the C-130's here at the base practice some touch-n-go's along with the T-37's and T-38's that did the same thing while we were out there. Pretty cool stuff. Anyway, the ride lasted about 20-30 minutes during which time the pilot took us through some pretty simple banks and turns. We were also allowed to get up and walk around for a part of it, and check out the cockpit as well. Once the load master on board had us take our seats for landing, the pilot brought us in low and fast over the airfield and banked hard to the right about 45 degrees...I would guess about 2-4 g's. It was a good time, especially for those of us heading to pilot training soon!

The last day of MOE we had the chance to do an obstacle/confidence course as a flight...the kind of stuff I had been waiting for. It's called the Vigilant Warrior Course and was made up of 15 different obstacles. They all varied in difficulty, and for the most part everyone was able to make it through. It was also one of the better times during that week, and was a good thing to end on.

Well, the OTS section of my website will be ending pretty soon and I'll be on to Introductory Flight Training at my next duty station (Columbus AFB, MS in case you forgot). I hope those of you who've been able to read my site have enjoyed it and have gotten something out of it...especially those who are looking into OTS alone, or OTS and SUPT. I'll have one more post on this specific page with info from graduation and that will be it for OTS. The journey's just beginning and I'm having a good time so far...I'm excited to see where God's going to take me over the next 10-20 years!

ENJJPT Selection

We got the drop from the ENJJPT board today, and I didn't get selected. I was really hoping to get picked up, but it's still all good. I have NO room at all to complain since I've been totally blessed to get a pilot slot in the first place! Before I talked to my FTO I told the guys I was sitting with that if God wants me in ENJJPT then I'll be there, and if not I won't...end of discussion. So, it's obvious where He wants me to be. The cups always half full in my life because it makes things a whole lot better!

I'm looking at it this way...since I'm gunning for the fighter/bomber track, I'll be flying the upgraded T-38C at Columbus which is the only base at this point that has them. It's got the new "glass" (LCD's and the whole 9 yards) cockpit along with some upgrades to the intakes and engines. I'm not complaining at all. I still have a slight chance the I may get into Moody AFB to fly the new T-6 for pilot training since the guy who was the ENJJPT select had orders there...we'll see what happens. Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know the latest from down here. I'm down a bit just because I like to kick butt and do my best, but everything is in His hands...right where it should be.

Oh, I wanted to mention that I saw a couple guys down here that I went to college with. One is here in the OTS Commissioned Officer Training (COT) School, which is for the medical and lawyer types, and the other I saw at the Cadet pool yesterday afternoon. He works at Wright Patterson AFB where I came from, and is down here for Aerospace Basic Course (ABC). And yes, I said the pool. They have a really nice pool here on base that we can use on the weekends...it helps get ride of the nice farmer's tan most of us have going on these days. It was good to see a couple guys from home to catch up on what I had been missing while away.

WE'RE ALMOST DONE!

Finally, we're done with all the stuff that we have to pass in order to graduate...what a load off! I passed my final PFT with a 447 (90 push-ups, 90 sit-ups, and 9:16 1.5 mile run), a satisfactory on my final briefing and a 96% on the CWT. Overall, not a bad week. To celebrate, a bunch of us are going off base to Smokey Bones Grillhouse to relax and enjoy some time together without the academic stress of this place on our shoulders...yeah baby!

I forgot to mention one thing we had this week that makes for one of the better times here at OTS. It's called Leadership Reaction Course. It's basically a bunch of different obstacles that we as a flight have to make it through in 20 minutes with someone in the group as the designated leader. In each obstacle there are a limited amount of supplies (ropes, boards, etc.) and there are also certain areas of the obstacles you can't touch...these are designated by being painted red. Anyway, it's a good time to be outside and it usually takes three days for everyone to get the chance to lead once. We kicked butt on most of them, and I was able to get my team through when leading. I came out of it with a high satisfactory grade, so I'm good to go. To clarify the grading system...it goes unsat, low sat, sat, high sat, outstanding.

This coming week we're going to have an awesome time at our Mobility Operations Exercise (MOE). It's a simulation of what it takes to get ready for deployment and then what it's kind of like during deployment. We'll end up packing our ruck sacks full of stuff for 3-4 days and then hike however far it is out to the Blue Thunder site...a mock tent city much like you'd see out in the desert or somewhere like that. While there we'll be participating in more leadership stuff and different exercises. Finally we'll be getting dirty for a few days...what I've been wanting to do the whole time I've been here. The classroom gets old after awhile. The first evening of the exercise we get to take a C-130 ride (HOOAH!!), which is going to rock. Then towards the end we get to do a confidence course (ropes/obstacle course) before heading back here to campus. It should be a good time to relax, let our "hair" down a bit and meet some other classmates we don't really know yet.

It's very hard to believe that our graduation is only a few weeks away because it seems like yesterday that I was pulling in all nervous about OTS. Now we're almost out of here and on to bigger and better things...for some of us that's FLYING!! My FTO told me yesterday that the ENJJPT board met this past Tuesday and I should know before I head out to MOE...man, I'm anxiously awaiting. I'll be so blessed if God allows me to get into that program. I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as I find out what the deal is. Keep it real, and I'll be back soon...

OTS Air Show

We had an awesome surprise today here on base. This week the officer's at the Air War College here on base graduated. To liven up the atmosphere a little with all this going on, they arranged to have a small air show with some awesome aircraft. They had a B-1, C-130, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, T-6, T-37, T-38, AWACS (if you have no idea what those are, check out my post from 15 Oct 2002) and some others sitting out on the flight line. Thankfully they let us out of class a little early to check them out and take some pictures. To top that off, about 1745 there was a B-2 flyover followed by a T-6 and F-15C demonstration...talk about being pumped up for pilot training!! It definitely made my OTS experience that much better.


On another note, next week is another big week here at OTS. We have CWT and PFT #3 along with our last briefing/presentation. After that, all our graded measures will be done and we'll only have a couple weeks left until graduation! Tonight I'll be getting a good start on the briefing, which is given on Monday, so I can take some time to head off base again. We're all planning to go out Saturday night for dinner. Overall, things have bee going very well for me here at OTS. It's where God wants me, and that's an awesome feeling and it gives me confidence to press on and give it everything I have.

Next Assignment: Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi

I finally got my orders today...I'll be headed to Columbus AFB, MS for pilot training at the 14th Flying Training Wing if I don't get into ENJJPT, which I won't find that out for another few weeks. Columbus is one of many bases in Air Education & Training Command (AETC), with the patch above. It wasn't my first choice (Moody AFB, GA was), but it's better than Oklahoma or Texas in my opinion. No matter where I'm training I'm pumped to have a pilot slot! I'll be flying the good old T-37 Tweet and then hopefully the T-38C Talon. HOOAH!! While I'm on casual status at Columbus, not in UPT yet, I'll be working on getting my private pilot's license (IFT). That will be a good time to relax some before hitting it hard. It won't be long before I'm out of here and on my way. Bring it on!

After graduation I have to report to Brooks AFB in San Antonio, TX for another pilot physical...my report date is July 6th. This is the last big medical screening pilots go through before they head to their pilot training base. After leaving Brooks AFB on the 8th, I have until the 15th to get to Columbus AFB...fun times. I'll be driving around like a crazy man for a couple weeks, but it's all good. More later...

Lower Class Arrives

Man, talk about a hectic and tiring week!! If feel like I've been living two lives with making sure my new lower class flight (Flight 4-10) is where they need to be as well as looking after my own schedule. Overall, they're doing very well and have been picking up their procedures quickly; something their FTO will be expecting of them come next week. It's game on from here on out! We have 5 navigators in my flight...most of who will be trying to get into nav training at Pensacola Naval Base in FL in order to fly in the F-15E or the B-1.

I'm definitely glad we have a long weekend...Monday is Memorial Day, which is sweet because this is the first weekend we get to drive off base and hang out!! Finally, I can leave the OTS environment and relax for a few hours. I'm not sure what we're going to do, but it'll be fun regardless. Today we have our second briefing, and this is the first one that's graded. I'm not too nervous since I was able to get some good practice in this morning while 4-10 was in class. I'm giving my briefing on General Muir S. Fairchild...he's largely responsible for starting Air University right here Maxwell AFB. But, I'm sure you could care less so I won't bore you. It's kind of interesting, but history isn't really my bag.

After today we only have two more weeks of graded measures!! HOOAH!! After that we'll have our mobility exercise in "tent city" here on base to simulate a deployment. We also have the Vigilant Warrior Course, which is an obstacle course we'll all have to get through as a flight. So, there are some good times ahead. Soon after that I'll be looking forward to seeing my family and my best friend Kendall down here for my graduation! Time is flying by...Well, that's all for now. I should be a good OT and go practise my brief a few more times before I head out for drill competition practice. I'll be carrying our squadron's guidon (the pole with our squadron's pennant at the top) our in front of the formation for our parade, so I need to be on the ball for that.

Upper Class Graduation

Well, in a few short hours our upper class will be out of here at 2d Lts. It's been a pretty awesome day so far to see then get commission...something I'm looking forward to VERY much. I can't wait to get to pilot training and serve the great USA! This morning I was asked to sing the National Anthem in two commissioning ceremonies, and both went well. I was a little nervous, but since I've sang quite a bit growing up it wasn't bad at all. I'm also glad week #6 is over with! It's by far been the most hectic week so far. Here's a brief list of what I had to do (and I'll probably forget some things since my brain is a little fried right now).

- PFD #2 on Monday morning (I scored a 442 this time...HOOAH!)
- ENJJPT memo due to FTO on Tuesday (that takes longer than it may sound so it sounds good)
- News brief on Wednesday
- CWT#2 on Thursday (I dropped a bit to a 90%...kind of sucks!)
- Family Night stuff for the upper class from about 1100 to 2130 on Thursday
- Singing the National Anthem in 2 ceremonies this morning...one at 0700 and the other at 0815
- This was in addition to all the regular classes, memos, and other things that happen regularly.

But, now it's OVER. After I'm done here, I'll be heading out the other parade grounds for the graduation parade and that should be a good time. Gives me chills just thinking about how awesome our graduation is going to be...if you think that's retarded well think again. You need to be more patriotic!!Alright, that's it for now...keep pressing forward and don't give up! God's in control.

Enjoying The Ride

Squadron Mascot: The Cobra

Wow, three times in one week. Don't get used to this because the past few days have been kind of easy. We have a lot of FTO time (FTO = Flight Training Officer...he's a commissioned Captain who teaches and leads our flight of 13 through our time here) where we can do homework and try to get ahead for the next test and other assignments. I've answered all the CWT #2 questions, so I can stand to take a small break.

This morning we had a squadron run around base...I think it ended up being about 2.5 miles or so, not far at all. We got up at 0430 (yeah, that sucked as do all early mornings by the way...at least until you're awake =) and marched over in front of the academic building here on campus to get ready. I forgot to mention before that I'm in the COBRA Squadron (yes, the best squadron here), so both the upper and lower class Cobras formed up together. As we ran we had the squadron leader yelling jodies (chants to the heal beat) to whole way. It was a good time, and we stopped by a major general's (2 star) house, did our squadron chants, and then sang the AF song. Our Cobra Squadron chant goes like this, "Strike first, strike hard, not mercy Sir! We fight, we kill, so don't you test our will we are the Cobras...YAAAHHHH!!" Might sound cheezy, but it doesn't sound too bad when we're all yelling it at the top of our lungs. A lot of you may not be able to relate to this (which is sad), but the patriotic feeling inside this morning was awesome...this is what God made me for!! It's a great thing to be doing something you love to do! Until next time...