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| Screw White Castle, Kumar's Going to the White House! 
Harold and Kumar is one of my favorite movies... in fact, I can see a copy of it underneath my TV as I write this. Something about these two goofballs kicking around with NPH in search of greasy little burgers is hilarious... and now, Kal Penn (Kumar) is headed to the White House Office of Public Liaison, where he will be dealing with issues affecting the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
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| The United States Air Force MuseumTaking advantage of my two weeks in Dayton, I decided to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force. In summary, one word can describe the place - impressive. As a kid, you grow up admiring planes, tanks, and all things mighty related to the military. Maybe it was a by product of watching G.I. Joe as a wee boy in the 1980s, or perhaps it was the constant talk of the Cold War and Soviet Union that I remember from movies that immortalized the conflict like Red Dawn, Rambo, and the Hunt for Red October. Nonetheless, airplane fan or not, this museum is worth a visit.
Dayton and the surrounding areas were home to the Wright Brothers, who as you all should know started off as bicycle manufacturers. The museum begins with the early years of flight, including an emphasis on the Wright Flyer, and has major exhibitis related to WWII, the Cold War, other conflicts, and the space race. Of particular noteworthiness in the museum are the SR-71, B-52, and B-29... and not just any B-29, but Bockscar, the plane responsible for dropping the 2nd atomic bomb on Japan and effectively ending the Second World War (the first bomb was dropped by the more famous plane, Enola Gay). Although the signs said not to touch any of the aircraft, I couldn't resist connecting with a piece of history (and hence, touched the B-29). And I have pictures to prove it!
The Bockscar...
...and me touching it.
At one point in my life, I had a strong desire to become an aerospace engineer. I'm glad the path laid out for me did not take me there however, because more likely than not, I would have been working for the defense industry. You might say, "But Chris, you're in the military, what's the diff?" - the difference, is principle. As an acquisition professional trained in contracting for the United States Government, one of the things that upsets me more than anything else is unfair contracts to the military industrial complex and unneeded spending. I'm talking Future Combat Systems (Army), F-22 Raptor (Air Force), DDX/CGX (Navy), and the like. They were all conceived during the Cold War to fight an enemy that no longer exists, and the government continues to push onward with these programs because of Congress and members who owe favors to their largest constituents, i.e. donors (defense contractors).
They mask the need for these programs in terms of "jobs" and growing the "economy", but when a plane like the F-35 at a cost of $83M each is proposed to replace the A-10 (which costs a mere $12M) for close air support, you've just got to ask why. The F-35 performs no where near as well as the A-10 in this role and will be a major loss if downed. On another note, fhe F-22 costs over $300M per plane when lifetime operation and maintenance costs are included. The Air Force justification for procuring this craft is that the F-15 is on its last leg, but to this day the F-15 is still the most capable aircraft in the world for air-to-air combat. All the major weapons systems are over budget and over schedule, there is no real competition left because of mergers and corporate favoritism, and our government's leverage with these contractors has been effectively reduced to zero. Enough I say, enough!
They built the B-24 Liberator at the same plant co-located on my base that now produces the F-35.
Pilots in WWII began their training on one of these bad boys.
And for target practice they shot at someone flying this (with plastic bullets)... I would not want to be the one flying this.
Lastly, a touch of home. | | |
| Anyone still use this thing?
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| My glorious three day weekend has gone by far too fast, so tomorrow I'm driving to Austin to chill with Mike. At least, that's the plan. I contemplated working instead, as today wasn't very productive - my weekend duty days never are. It's always this thing or that to contend with... and today, it happened to be a broken water main to one of the dorms. Luckily, the solution we implemented worked, and the 90 residents affected were without heat and water for only six hours. I suppose I should have been thankful... at least this time around, we weren't welcoming an Iraqi Air Force general... such things always occur when I'm on duty and lay the best intended plans of productivity to rest.
For the remainder of the day, I did some thinking... a lot of stewing about the state of our nation and how people are so foolish to vote for Hillary. She and Bill had been doing an outright smear campaign in the week leading up to Nevada, and apparently it worked for them. On the flip side, I've lost nearly all respect for that former president. The MLK parade tomorrow would have been a good way to lift my spirits following Saturday's caucus, but I figured it was just too close to the Naval Air Station to be marching with the Obama group in public. Next weekend I'm driving to Little Rock, Arkansas to get out the vote - door to door baby! I'm going with the local supporters and am very excited to be contributing, albeit not nearly as much as I would be if my actions weren't governed by DoD regulations.
Such thoughts led me to wonder about my plans for life and where I intend to make my mark. Do I stick with the Navy, which has a sure path laid before me to the rank of Commander, Captain, or higher (complete with all the governing regulations and orders), or do I throw caution to the wind and take a chance with something different? I feel that a profession you're not passionate about is a profession not worth doing at all, and I think of my work with the Navy and wonder if it's really where I should be focusing my energy. Sure, the thought of retiring in 15 years is appealing. After that point, I could pursue a completely different career without fear of making a certain wage or job security. For the rest of my life, that military retirement check would come in every two weeks, on the dot :) But, I only see myself being content with what the Navy has to offer for another 8 years or so. After that point, the positions become far more mundane and less inspiring, and I'll be pushing my mid thirties. I should be stepping into my element then - not growing tired of it. Of course, these are all hypothetical projections of how I may feel about things ten years down the road.
As it stands, I could be 18 months from getting out. Of all my options, I currently view that as the least likely I'll pursue. I've flirted with the idea of a lateral transfer to NOAA for the last 6 months, but the thought of two year duty rotations for the next 15 years doesn't really sit well with me. There's always the option of industry, but it has never appealed to me either. More likely is the career of high school science teacher. I've always thought that would be a rewarding career to pursue following 20 years with the Navy, but perhaps sooner? Perhaps a Navy Reserve stint while doing teaching if I were to do it sooner instead of later? I would love to have the opportunity to be a positive force in people's lives, but in my first year of teaching, I'd be taking a 50% pay cut from what I'm making now! I'm not in it for the money, but I just don't know if I could live off that. And alas, I could stay with the Civil Engineer Corps. The Navy status quo still trumps all other options, but with the United States' current policies in Iraq and elsewhere, I have a certain moral disdain for what I'd be doing, however patriotic it may be.
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| Not a way to start the day... for democracy or the world. My heart goes out to the people of Pakistan.
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