Welcome Aboard!

Bounty Hunter Rhino

Talked to the Missus last Friday. She is once again "forward deployed" assisting the progeny with their ever occurring life-altering events. Three times this year, for over four months in total.

April: Off to assist the WSO as Big Time was deployed and the day care folks don't operate at night (VFA-106 does however. Little Bit is still rather young to be left on her own. She's only two!)

July-August: Another WSO assist. Big Time was still deployed and the WSO was again flying at night. Also the WSO had to prepare to make the jump from Oceana to Lemoore. Someone's gotta pack all that stuff! (As a military wife, the Missus is all too familiar with packing up a household while the uniformed one is off making the world "safe for democracy".)

October: A combination Naviguesser/WSO assist this time. The newest granddaughter is "in the house" out west, so the oldest and his spouse had the mother-in-law for two weeks and the Missus for two weeks. Then the Missus was off to Lemoore. (Someone had to help unpack all that stuff from Oceana, doncha know?)

So, the topic for last Friday (as usual) was along the lines of "how are the kids?" 'Twas then the Missus mentioned that the WSO and Big Time were at a "Hail and Farewell" on the base. Of course their participation was mandatory as they were being "hailed". Big Time as VFA-122's newest instructor pilot and the WSO as VFA-2's newest WSO.

Now with all of that background out of the way, here's the phone conversation Your Humble Scribe had with the WSO on the ensuing Saturday. Post-Hail and Farewell.

YHS: So how was the Hail and Farewell?

The WSO: Not bad, we had a good time. We drove there and walked back, it wasn't that far from where we're staying.

YHS: I can guess why you walked back.

The WSO: Don't go there Dad...

YHS: Alright, I won't. So how do the guys in VFA-2 seem? Good guys?

The WSO: Heh, bunch of drunks.

YHS: So you fit right in?

The WSO: Pretty much...

Like they say, "No slack in fighter-attack".