21 October 2004

Photos They Never Show on the News







Sometimes in our everyday lives we tend to forget what's going on elsewhere in the world and that the brave men and women of the service are just like you and I. They have family and friends back home who love them very much and are praying for their safe return. Please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops (land, air, and sea) in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, and around the world. Of all the gifts you could give the US Military, Prayer is the very best one.....

13 October 2004

What to do?

First off, apologies to everyone for my neglect in blogging and blog rolling. I've been too busy getting hammered to really have enough time to post a decent post.

I've never been one for politics. Well, I pay attention to stuff...sometimes. The reason I'm talking about this is that I'm starting to doubt my own beliefs. One of my good friends and I got into a discussion about the first set of debates. It seemed that I didn't have any good arguing points to vote for Bush. I based all of my points on the fact that Bush has given us pay-raises every year(hence he takes care of the military) , and his terrorism policies, which I think are pretty much right on. His "Leave No Child Behind" policy looks good on paper, but so did communism. That I'm still thinking about. It leaves too much room for children to slip through cracks in the system, and bases everything on the fact that the child has to care about their education in the first place, something rarely found in inner cities. Also, It penalizes kids in special circumstances. I had the whole "unconditional" 6 absences and fail that class rule in Jr. High and High School. The question still stands that If a child has a serious medical issue and "unintentionally" misses 6 classes because of appointments or because of illness related to that condition, does it still apply?

On the home front, Bush's domestic policies aren't as strong as they should be. What has he done for the economy, except raise interest rates. Is "Big Buisness" the way to go? I'm not so sure anymore. Only if the answers were so easy to see.

In other news, no news. Not necessarily good news though.
Gotta jet,
Peace and Axle Grease
(PS... To Tragic...Axle grease is just that. It's grease that lubes the axle on your car allowing it to spin without metal rubbing metal.)

08 October 2004

New Corpsman Group Blog

Hey all you slimy suckers and corpsman lovers!!!

Head on over to Musings of a Few Corpsman, a new group blog that Sean has started where a few corpsman get together and share their sea stories and tall tales!!

In other news, still no word on the XOI thing....I'm really getting sick and tired of this fucking run-around that I'm getting handed down. I talked at length with my HM1 this afternon before I left about what he thinks is going to happen to me. He basically said that its up in the air, because of the fact that the new XO is a mystery to everyone. I expressed to him my fears of not being a corpsman anymore, he replied with encouragement that no one was harmed and that everything was rectified in the end. The intentions never were there to harm anyone. He also reaffirmed that everyone was behind me and the fact that I was a good worker before and have continued to be a good worker since, that I am a "Salvageable" sailor. He said the fact that I've approached all this with a good attitude and done the menial tasks that have been assigned with no complaint weighs on my side. I'm crossing my fingers on this one, but not thinking too much about it right now.

I was supposed to go to the bar at College Park with some friends tonight, but no dice. He called me about half-an-hour before we were supposed to leave and said that he had no room in his car for me. Oh well. I'll just sit and rot my ass off. Up yours!!!

Well gotta fly....
Peace and Axle Grease!!

04 October 2004

"Now this is what I call a target rich enviornment"

Well, I went out and bought the Top Gun DVD a couple of days ago and I've decided to dedicate this post to the finest fighter in the Navy's arsenal. Sadly, this year has begun it's decommissioning process. This jet is the Cadillac of fighters and I've decided to go through it's history, the immortilization of this fighter in american pop-culture, and some of my favorite moments from the movie and some more stuff too. So sit back, grab a beer and prepare to enter the 'Danger Zone.'



The History of the F-14 Tomcat

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a United States Navy supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-seat strike fighter. The Tomcat's primary missions are air superiority, fleet air defense and precision strike against ground targets.

The F-14 has visual and all-weather attack capability to deliver Phoenix and Sparrow missiles as well as the M-61 gun and Sidewinder missiles for close in air-to-air combat. The F-14 also has the LANTIRN targeting system that allows delivery of various laser-guided bombs for precision strikes in air-to-ground combat missions. The F-14, equipped with Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) is the Navy's only manned tactical reconnaissance platform.

The F-14 entered the fleet in 1973, replacing the F-4 Phantom II. The F-14B, introduced in November 1987, incorporated new General Electric F-110 engines. In 1995, an upgrade program was initiated to incorporate new digital avionics and weapon system improvements to strengthen its multi-mission competitive edge. The F-14D, delivered in 1990, was a major upgrade with F-110 engines, new APG-71 radar system, Airborne Self-Protection Jammer (ASPJ), Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) and Infrared Search and Track (IRST). Additionally, all F-14 variants were given precision strike capability using the LANTIRN targeting system, night vision compatibility, new defensive countermeasures systems and a new digital flight control system. The F-14 is currently scheduled to be retired from the U.S. Navy arsenal in the year 2005. It is to be replaced by the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Super Hornet.

The F-14 is reputedly named for late Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly, whose testimony before the Senate was critical in the cancellation of the deeply flawed TFX project. Ironically, much of the F-14's equipment was re-used from the TFX, including the radar, Phoenix missile, and the Pratt & Whitney TF30 engines.

Statistics of the Tomcat

Description

Role: Fleet Defense Interceptor
Crew: 2, Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer
First Flight: 1970
Entered Service: 1973
Manufacturer: Grumman

Dimensions
Length: 62 ft 8 in
Wingspan: 64 ft 1 in (extended) 38 ft 2 in (swept)
Height: 16 ft 0 in
Wing area: 565 ft²
Weights: Empty: 39,762 lb
Loaded: 68,649 lb
Maximum takeoff: 74,438 lb

Powerplant
Engines: 2 × General Electric F110-400 Turbofans
Thrust: 20,900 lbf each

Performance
Maximum speed: 1,544 mph (Mach 2.34)
Combat range: 576 mi
Ferry range: 2,000 mi
Service ceiling: > 56,000 ft

Armament
Guns: M61A1 20-mm Vulcan multibarrel cannon
Missiles:
6 AIM-54s(Phoenix) + 2 AIM-9s(Sidewinder)
6 AIM-7s(Sparrow) + 2 AIM-9s
2 AIM-54s + 3 AIM-7s + 2 AIM-9s
4 AIM-54s + 2 AIM-7s + 2 AIM-9s
(work in progress....check back for updates)

01 October 2004

Still compiling

It might still be a couple days before my big F-14 post is ready. I drank about 3/4 of a bottle of Capt. Morgan last night. I still had to work today, but got off early to go to Quantico. That 3 1/2 cups of water I drank before passing out helped I think. Anyways, tonight im going to a party again to get sloshed and shitfaced all over again. It might be tomorrow or sunday. So stay tuned...