01-01-2012, 06:51 PM
My sincere thanks for all the kind thoughts and words.
It still hasn't quite hit me yet that I won't be putting on a flight suit and getting into a Herc anymore. When I got off active duty, I really missed the flying and missions. After 9/11, the call was too strong and I had to go back in. There I was, almost 40 and going back into military service like some kid, knowing I'd be sent to Iraq as soon as I finished C-130 training. I spent Christmas that year in Iraq (still referred to as "the year we didn't have Christmas" by my kids). And I was one of only five airplanes allowed to fly on the first Iraqi elections day. (Scared the you know what out of me too...but that's another story.) That was the day the Brit C-130 was shot down. (I still feel bad for those guys even now.)
A few years later, I'm flying in Afghanistan, in a more serious "shootin' war." (Hey - look at that RPG go by the left wing...cool!) You can see bullets flying by really well on night vision goggles. After that deployment, the family all said, "that's it...time to retire."
So here we are. Day one of retirement and I'm not sure it's really sunk in yet. I'm still flying in my civilian job...but the military uniform will soon be placed in a box in the attic.
It still hasn't quite hit me yet that I won't be putting on a flight suit and getting into a Herc anymore. When I got off active duty, I really missed the flying and missions. After 9/11, the call was too strong and I had to go back in. There I was, almost 40 and going back into military service like some kid, knowing I'd be sent to Iraq as soon as I finished C-130 training. I spent Christmas that year in Iraq (still referred to as "the year we didn't have Christmas" by my kids). And I was one of only five airplanes allowed to fly on the first Iraqi elections day. (Scared the you know what out of me too...but that's another story.) That was the day the Brit C-130 was shot down. (I still feel bad for those guys even now.)
A few years later, I'm flying in Afghanistan, in a more serious "shootin' war." (Hey - look at that RPG go by the left wing...cool!) You can see bullets flying by really well on night vision goggles. After that deployment, the family all said, "that's it...time to retire."
So here we are. Day one of retirement and I'm not sure it's really sunk in yet. I'm still flying in my civilian job...but the military uniform will soon be placed in a box in the attic.
Mark
Citation Latitude Captain
--and--
Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)
Citation Latitude Captain
--and--
Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)