Liam Is 7.7 Months Old

The 7.7 months goes well with the 77th Fighter Squadron...

It's hard to believe that our son Liam is almost 8 months old already! The time is flying by, just like everyone told us it would, and we're really enjoying being parents. Liam continues to be a very happy boy, making our parenting experience that much more enjoyable. Lana is a great mother, and has be speaking as much German as she can with him so he'll be bilingual when older. About one week ago, he popped his third and fourth tooth after a few nights of pain. In the past couple of days, he's really gotten a grip (no pun intended) on picking up snack food and putting it in his mouth...he's learning more every day and occasionally will give a small wave.

The three of us had a great Christmas holiday back home in Michigan / Ohio with my family (read more here). Time with family, especially as more and more young ones enter the picture, is always enjoyable. Liam is one of three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way. In the not too distant future, we hope to add another to the mix...the future being at least 15-16 months from now!

Instructor Pilot of the Quarter / Year

Over this past year, God has continued His blessings in my work. For the 3rd quarter of 2010 I received the 77 FS 'Instructor Pilot of the Quarter' Award and for 2010 I received the 77 FS 'Instructor Pilot of the Year' Award. All the guys I work with are driven and smart, so it's humbling to say the least. I am continuously learning more about the jet and the systems on board, seeking to get better at what I do. At the same time, I am seeking to keep a good balance in my life between work, the family and spiritual things. Sadly, work many times seems to take the front seat as there is so much to do with so little time to do them.
Looking ahead to this next year, there is one big opportunity that Lana and I are praying about, and that is the USAF Fighter Weapons School. This is a six month instructor training program at Nellis AFB, NV that I have applied for. It will be very tough six months of intense training in the F-16 if I get selected. Graduates of Weapons School are known as the squadron "patch" because in order wear the patch shown above (always worn on the left shoulder of a flight suit), a pilot must prove himself worthy enough to wear it through well honed briefing and flying skills. As I mentioned before, keeping a balance is a goal of mine, so Lana and I have been praying a lot about it and sought to put Weapons School is God's hands. We are content with whatever direction He takes us.

Well, I have a rare day off work for snow here in SC, so it's time to play with Liam!

Virtual Flag

Virtual Flag takes place four times a year and is modeled after Red Flag. The main difference, as you might have guessed, is that it's virtual. I was the project officer (PROJO) for Shaw's participation in Virtual Flag this past week, and was responsible for the planning and coordination with the Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC) at Kirtland AFB, NM. The DMOC is the central hub for these virtual wars, linking simulators from all across the world.

As the simulators from the different locations represent the "blue" air forces (good guys), the DMOC has simulators of their own to represent the "red" air forces (bad guys) as seen above. Red forces can also be flown from a computer with a joystick. Simulation does not always represent the real environment well, but it does a good job and is getting better...it's also much cheaper. Each day of Virtual Flag involved mass briefs and debriefs using video teleconference (VTC), linking all participants into one big meeting. After the briefing, we'd all "fly" our missions in a virtual world and then debrief the results. It was my first experience in something like this, and one I'm sure I'll see more of in the future as technology gets better and better.

77 Fighter Squadron Spouse Taxi Day

Two weeks ago, the squadron put on a spouse appreciation day to give them insight into a typical day in a fighter squadron. The day started with the mass brief where topics like the weather, flying airspace, flight mission, takeoff and land times are all reviewed before going into the individual flight briefs. The individual flight briefs cover more specific details of the day's flight. After the mass brief, they were given a squadron tour before suiting up in a flight suit and getting their helmets in preparation for their taxi ride in the F-16.

Lana had been wanting to get an F-16 flight since we were married during our time at Aviano, so I'm glad she had this opportunity to at least get a taxi ride. I was not allowed to give taxi her, but I did help her get all strapped into the cockpit and put her helmet on. I also gave her a quick demonstration on how to key the mic and talk on the radio, since she would be making most of them. A few minutes after engine start, Lana keyed the mic and said, "Gambler ops, Poker 01 taxi one, words?" The response, "Poker 01, negative words, press, double down!" They then taxied to the end of the runway and were given clearance for high speed taxi. A high speed taxi is when the pilot selects afterburner and accelerates quickly to 77 knots before pulling the throttle to idle while the jet rolls to the end of the runway.

I'm glad Lana had the chance to taxi in the F-16 and see a little more of what my days are like. Sadly, it's not always flying, but I'm very blessed to have the job I do. Thanks Lana for all your support!

Thanksgiving 2010

Lana, Liam and I spent this past Thanksgiving in the Blue Ridge Mountains northwest of Greenville, SC. Previously on our short trips, we had driven east to coast towns like Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston and Savannah so we decided the opposite direction would be nice for a change.

On Thanksgiving day, we made our way to Highlands, North Carolina for a couple nights. It was a nice small town in the mountains; a good location to relax as a family. We enjoyed a really good meal at one of the nearby restaurants early that afternoon and a nice walk through town. The next morning I went for a run (a little harder to breath at 4,000'), and then enjoyed another walk through town. Lana did a little 'black' Friday shopping while Liam and I followed. Later that evening we made our way to a really nice restaurant for dinner, which was owned by a German.

The following day we drove to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate and Grove Park Inn. The Biltmore is a very impressive place, and for awhile Lana and I felt as though we were in Europe somewhere. Grove Park Inn is a also nice, and we enjoyed our lunch there.

Soon, Liam's first Christmas will be here and we're looking forward to getting together with my family in Michigan to celebrate Christ's coming to Earth!