Thank you everyone, again, for all of your support, encouragement, and kind words. The really mean alot.
THANKS so very much for your service, Sean! But did you need to remind us it's been 17 years!?!
Dennis
Yes...if I have to sit and think "wow, has it really been that long?!", so do you!
Sean flew a variety of unmanned aircraft in his career all over weight limit for the FCC hobby license....grin
And no registration!
Sean, you are going to be hard pressed to find something that can heal better then Control Line Stunt. Trust me on this, your talking to a guy who has been doing overhead eights since the age of seven, (true). There is something about building Control Line Stunt ships that has an almost unbelievable ability to make you feel better. The key here, is to stick to kits or scratch building, and stay away from ARF's while your trying to mend. Building these stunt ships has an almost unbelievable therapeutic benefit that actually not only helps you heal but, seems to make you emotionally,(and mentally) stronger. Stunt Flyers are TOUGH COOKIES!!
Sounds like you've never flown free flight! I've come home from FF contests pretty tired and beat up from running into yucca plants while chasing models. Building and flying any model is therapeutic. I've got a Skylark and a Cal Smith "Frisky Pete" Old timer in bones that I need to finish up when I get all settled in. Got a nifty idea for a serious stunt model as well.
Sean,
This country owes a special debt of gratitude to those who wear a combat patch (and in some cases have to choose which combat patch to wear). You certainly have my gratitude and admiration for your service and many deployments.
Our older son (Missouri Air National Guard) was deployed to Afghanistan a few years ago. They were taken under the wing of the 4th Infantry Division. As a retired Army Chaplain I told him before he deployed to expect to hear the soldiers say when given a task or mission, "Too easy, First Sergeant, too easy." The task or mission wasn't always easy, but that attitude, that outlook on life is one of the great gifts that I received from the Army, is greatly admired by my Air National Guard son (who is fighting to get to wear the 4th Infantry patch on his Air National Guard uniform), and it is clear it rubbed off on you as well.
May God bless you with healing in body, soul, and mind.
Show those wet-behind-the-ears students in college how to appreciate life, grasp it by the horns, and never give up as you study to prepare for your next life of service.
Chaplain (MAJ) Joe Ed Pederson (Retired)
US Army
Steadfast and Loyal! Except for about 4 years in 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, just about my whole career was spent in the 4th Infantry Division. All of my days flying Shadow were in 1st Brigade Combat Team, and I'm currently in 4th Combat Aviation Brigade. I can sing the 4th ID song in my sleep
I think my proudest "Too easy" feat was on one of my last flights in Afghanistan on this last deployment. I was out at our smoke pit, reviewing logbooks for an upcoming takeoff when our MBO came running out. There were a bunch of Daesh fighters spotted in a nearby village with RPGs, Dishk heavy machine guns and recoilless rifles, and I'm assuming no other air asset in the area to go after them. Normally it takes 3-4 hour from the start of the preflight to being on target, depending on how far away the target area is from the airfield. Got really creative with the checklist, and bent a FEW departure rules in place for unmanned aircraft, but time from putting my cigarette out to getting a Hellfire off the rail was about an hour and a half.
Allow me to add my congratulations on your upcoming retirement. Although I retired after 21 years with the USAF, I still think you Army guys serve a purpose .... one of these days someone will figure out just what it is!! CONGRATULATIONS!!
Jim
For those who don't know, "Air Force" is an acronym for:
Aint
It
Rough
Flying
Over
Real
Combat
Everyday
Thanks Jim!
Sean,
There's little I can add to What's been offered so far, except that I join and support it. You do well all that you are involved in. Keep that going!
I'm proud to have known you here and have followed your experiences over the years. The future looks promising, and your ordeal will make you much more capable in helping those who need it. You've walked that road, unlike someone who may mean well but is only academically prepared.
As much as we can, all of us are pulling for you.
I haven't see any other Cholla Choppers comment, yet, so I'll try to get word to them. (At this distance and in the circumstances, I haven't been to a Club meeting since early last year when the restrictions began.)
\LOU
Lou lives pretty close to the Ft Huachuca gate in Sierra Vista, AZ. When I went through the RQ-7 Shadow course in 2005, I was still a lowly private who, by virtue of both my rank and time in service, couldnt be trusted to go off post. So Lou would come on post with some models, and we would fly in a parking lot by the barracks. I remember several flights where I would look over and see a Drill Sergeant or two, parked outside the lot, with the classic Drill Sergeant stance of arms folded and brown hat just covering their eyes, but they never ran us off. Lou also abducted me from post a few times to go to contests and club events up in Tucson. Got to meet Bob Palmer at a Christmas gathering, which was super cool. He also helped me thrash together an ARF Nobler for VSC that year.
My branch manager was talking to me about being sent back down to Ft Huachuca as an instructor, but this MEB thing fired up and that was the end of that.
Lou thank you so much for all of your help and kindness! You made my AIT experience much more bearable
Crud, you're not going to get to enjoy those brown shoes!!
Thank you for 17 years of service to this nation!
Oh, I'm gonna wear em! Thats going to be my daily uniform through the end.
About 10 years ago, the Army wanted to change it's service uniform (because the Army likes to change uniforms these days)from the green Class As. In spite of many people--including myself--petitioning for the WWII "Pinks and Greens" uniform, the Army went with a dark blue uniform that was reminiscent of the post-civil war cavalry uniform. Well, that uniform was eventually deemed "too formal", and really wasn't made to be worn regularly, as evident by the wearing out of 3 pairs of pants and a jacket over a 9 year period. So Army did some more surveying and testing, and just last year, rolled out the Army Green Service Uniform. Despite being rally tired of going out and buying new uniforms over the past 17 year, I was super excited to get these. So many pilot heroes--and plain heroes in general--of mine wore that uniform. It looks really nice, and my sets are currently getting altered and all of my patches, rank insignias and stripes are being sewn on. Side note: Besides airborne units, noone in the Army has had to shine any kind of footwear for about 15 years. Boots are suede tan leather that just need to be cleaned periodically, and the black dress uniform shoes are pantend leather. The AGSU shoes, however, are regular leather, and will require shining. I was chatting with my 1SG the other day, and we were talking about the upcoming sh*t show at all of the Basic Training units, with privates being taught how to shine shoes by Drill Sergeants who have never shined shoes/boots themselves!