By Way of Introduction

That's the bird I used to work on, the F-4D (also worked on the F-4C, but the Weapons Control Systems are very similar). As a matter of face, in looking at the tail number, I actually did work on this particular jet. When I knew her she had five red stars painted on the left vari-ramp. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I was born and raised in the Green Mountain State, a long time ago. Had a variety of jobs, none of which I wanted to do for 30+ years, so in 1975 I enlisted in the United States Air Force. Spent 24 years there and look back at the experience with a great deal of fondness.

Along the way I obtained a family. And they are:

• CINCHOUSE - My incredible wife of 34 years.
• The Naviguesser - My oldest son, who did a 5-year stint in the Navy as a SWO and is literally a computer genius
• The Nuke - My oldest daughter, currently on active duty in Naval Nuclear Propulsion. She is not your typical female officer. Her first department head wondered where she picked up her, shall we say colorful, vocabulary. When she explained that her Dad was a retired Master Sergeant, he then understood. (And yes, that gives CINCHOUSE fits!)
• The WSO - My youngest daughter, also on active duty in the USN. Backseater in the Super Hornet, something else which keeps CINCHOUSE awake at nights. Especially after a day cruise on the Ike in which an F/A-18F did a low-level supersonic pass very close aboard. Dad was thrilled, Mom, not so much.
• DIL- My daughter-in-law, wife of the Naviguesser and mother of my first grandchild.
• Big Time - Son-in-Law #1. He's an honest-to-God Naval Aviator. Flies the F/A-18E. Husband of the WSO and father of my first granddaughter.
• TRex - Son-in-law #2, husband of the Nuke and also a Nuke and a graduate of the Boat School. I thought about using RingKnocker as his handle, but TRex is a better story. Which I will elaborate on some time down the road.
• Big O - My grandson, son of the Naviguesser and the DIL.
• Little Bit - My granddaughter, daughter of Big Time and the WSO.
• And, as they are glaring at me, wondering why they were not mentioned earlier. Our two cats Anya and Sasha. They are sisters and look very similar. Anya has a lady's sweet, shy demeanor, whereas Sasha thinks she's a Siberian tiger. She would scare the Devil himself when she's in one of her "moods".

After my stint in the, ahem, Chair Force, a term which bugs the hell out of me. (More will be revealed in due time about that but I have to save something for future posts, don't I?) Now where was I? Oh yeah, after my stint in the USAF I went to work for the proverbial "major defense contractor" and still toil there, living not-so-large in cubicle-land. But as my passion is for all things military, the job ties in with my life-long interests. And the pay is way better than it was while on active duty.

So, enough about me. Besides CINCHOUSE is glaring at me because we need to go to the hardware store and Sasha is glaring at me because she wants my computer chair. Her favorite place to sleep. Darn, I'm not in the chain-of-command anymore. To paraphrase Mongo (the blogger and the movie character) "I'm just a pawn in the game of life". Old AF Sarge is RTB at this time...