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The Bone Yard (Davis-Monthan AFB) -

It's sad, but necessary. These were just a couple of the many C-130's sitting out in the desert. This tour was an awesome thing to see. I knew that DM's bone yard was big, but I had no idea just how massive it really was. It's difficult to even comprehend the amount of military assets that make their way through there. What was interesting, though, was everything in there can be brought back to life in a matter of days. That's why we didn't see any WW2 aircraft. They're useless to today's mission, even though they hold a special place in all of our hearts. Click on the pic for more...

5 Jul '08-
Wow, I guess it's about time that I write on my site again! It's only been about six months or so. The truth is, since I got to my unit after two and a half years of training, I started actually doing some work instead of having all that free time that pilot training allowed. So I kind of put this blog page off to the side as a lower priority. But to tell you the truth, it's a good thing that I did. I've been doing very well here. I've been recognized on multiple occasions for great work, and will be heading overseas on a pretty awesome TDY this month. So I believe that the hard work is paying off. I am going to try to post more on here now that I'm settled in, but for the last six months or so, I apologize.
Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to pick up another awesome TDY to Davis Monthan, AZ where we worked with the Nellis Helo's and did some other training sorties. The coolest thing for me by far abou that trip was the visit that we had to the Bone Yard. (Click above for pics). Since I've been in aviation, it's one of the most impressive things that I've seen, as well as one of the sadest.
There were close to a hundred C-130's out there just sitting with no missions to accomplish. There were hundreds of T-37 Tweets that were used at all the pilot trianing bases all over the US. There were a couple of TC-12's from Corpus that I recognised the tail numbers from. There were B-52's that were broken into multiple parts because of the cold war treaties. And there was a C-141 that was sitting on it's belly with no landing gear that I had flown on when I was a cadet in 1999. I think it was my first military fligh ever. Although it was an awesome site to see all of those aircraft, it was a little heart breaking as well.
In other news, Em just got a job today on base doing the same thing she was doing for years at Nellis. Looks like we've come full circle. It wasn't easy at all to get, but she stuck to her guns and made it happen. I know that Grandpa was praying for her and lighting his candle, and it worked out very well. Thank's Grandpa!
Well, Em's heading to bed now, so I'm going to follow suit. I'm glad I finally got back on here to write to you. I hope all is well with whoever reads this. Take care.

29 Nov '07
My friends, it has been way too long since I have written on my webpage. After we went over to Abeline, TX and took the above picture, I thought it would be nice to share it with all of you.
It has been a very interesting time for us here in Albuquerque, NM. We've been here for a bit over two months and as far as classes go, it's either feast or famine. Currently, I'm about four weeks behind according to the original schedule that they gave us when we first got here. We were supposed to hit the flight line on 18 Nov, but now it looks as though we may not go till after the Christmas holidays. Lately they have been trying to catch us up by flying us in sims every day, but it's kinda too little too late. We had a few weeks there where we had six, five and four day weekends and we were doing nothing. It was nice for Em and I, but we would like to just get done here and head over to Valdosta where we will stay put for the next four years. That'll be nice after moving every six months for the past two and a half years!
As far as classes go, it's been pretty fun. It's truely a big-boy program here. There is no hazing like there has been elsewhere, and on top of that, they actually make sure you have all the tools you need to learn the aircraft and all of its systems. I'd like to say the other four places we've been training were on top of that stuff, but I'd be kidding myself.
We started out in academics here, which only lasted about two weeks or so. Then we went right into flying the sims. The sim is alright here, but there is only one of them for all the different crews to share (which is why we are behind). The nice thing is that they are building a brand new, top of the line sim for the HC-130's so when I come back here for refresher training, it will be top knotch! We basically started with flying patterns to get us back up to speed on the Herk. Then we went into the tactical phase, which is extremely fun. We fly low levels at 300 feet, then go into doing some hellicopter refueling, which is also extremely fun, then we ususlly do a drop (throw stuff out the back) somewhere where a team needs supplies or what not. After that, we fly at about 500 feet to do an approach to an airfield based off of the equipment that we have in the plane. If you're interested in knowing more, just ask the next time we see eachother because there are some awesome stories associated with it. Now we are going into the rescue phase of things. Flying over the water to find a vessel that has overturned or a plane/hellicopter that has gone down. I think all in all, this is why I wanted the job. It feels awesome when you find someone in the water who is relying on you to save their life! I can't even describe the feeling you get when you find them. It's awesome!
So that's basically what we've been doing here. Em has been doing great with everything she puts her mind to. She has been working now for a few weeks and loves her job. She even has applied for some jobs in Valdosta and has an interview soon. She's very persistenet and it pays off.
So I hope everyone is doing as well as we are. We miss you all and can't wait to see you soon. Take care.

7 Sep 07-
Grandpa, this is for you... CLICK HERE

13 Aug 07-
Well, you probably won't hear from me for a while because there's not much to say. I'll be hanging out here in Corpus Christi until I can score a class date over in New Mexico. So all I'll be doing is fishing and working out. If anyone's around, please give me a call and we'll hang out.