Thursday, March 21, 2013
Getting Out There!
I just posted a video on YouTube to help get the word out. Let's turn the publishing world on its head! Check it out below:
Thanks!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
What is a Plankowner?
I've had several questions asking what is a "plankowner." A plankowner is an individual who is a member of the crew of a Navy ship when that ship is placed in commission. Historically, the term applied only to crew members that were present at the ship's first commissioning. Today, however, plankowner is often applied to members of newly commissioned units, new military bases and recommissioning crews as well.
Become a Plankowner of "The Last Top Gun" and obtain a personal inscription at no additonal charge when you purchase the book. It's easy and free...click here.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Combat Medal for Drone Pilots...YGTBSM!
Thankfully, last month's designation by outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta of the Distinguished Warfare Medal for drone operators is being reviewed by current SECDEF. See Huffington Post article here.
Much of the flak, deservedly so, comes from the fact the new medal is ranked above the medals awarded service members who fought under fire on the front lines, such as the Bronze Star with combat V and the Purple Heart.
From MSNBC:
Defense officials said that the ranking of the new medal recognized the changing nature of warfare. A Defense Department press release said that in addition to drone operators, a possible recipient could be "a soldier at Fort Meade, Md., who detects and thwarts a cyber attack on a DOD computer system."Personally, not sure why service members need yet another medal when the Pentagon already awards a couple dozen campaign, combat and warfare related medals. Then again, I was in the Navy and not Air Force.
"I've seen firsthand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought," Panetta said in announcing the medal. "And they've given our men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle, even from afar."
But the thought of placing a medal for drone pilots — operating their aircraft from secure sites far from the battlefield — above medals for members of the military actually under fire drew a barrage of criticism from veterans and their families.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Whidbey Island EA-6B Crashes in Wasington State
All three crew members on a Navy jet based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island were killed this morning when their aircraft crashed in Eastern Washington’s Lincoln County, Navy officials have confirmed.
The crew’s names will not be released until 24 hours after their families have been informed, said Lt. Aaron Kakiel in San Diego. The crew was flying an EA-6B Prowler jet assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-129. It crashed about 8:45 a.m. into a field in an unpopulated area near the town of Harrington, about 50 miles west of Spokane.
The Navy said the wingman of the crashed plane reported that no parachutes were deployed. The Prowler was “engaged in a low-level navigation training mission,” the Navy said. Whidbey Island officials said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
A spokesman for the Whidbey base confirmed that the crashed jet was based there. Whidbey is home to EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and EP-3E Aries reconnaissance aircraft are also based there.
NAS Whidbey Island is home to the U.S. Navy’s tactical electronic warfare squadrons. Crews from the base, located on Puget Sound, regularly fly across Eastern Washington for training exercises.
“The thoughts and prayers of northwest Washington are with the families of the aircrew who lost their lives today,” said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., who represents the Whidbey Island area. “This tragic crash is a painful reminder of the dangerous work that members of the armed services perform every day in service to our nation.”
NAS Whidbey Island serves as the backdrop for The Last Top Gun, where CDR Erik "Troll" Green meets EF-18 Growler aircrew LT Steve "Rolls" Royce and LTJG Grace "Ariel" Miller.
RIP for the three aviators who were killed today serving their country so you and I can enjoy our freedom.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Yoga and Breast Feeding...Pleease!
Having grown up with so many brothers, Ariel is very uncomfortable
around women, especially the sorority-like wives of her fellow squadronmates. Making
friends with other women has never been easy for her and she is much more
comfortable with straight talking men that show so much less emotion. All her
friends are male and she has never had a close female friend. She doesn't see
herself as better than them (well she doesn't think she does), it's more that
she imagines herself doing something so much more important than pushing a baby
stroller.
LTJG Grace "Ariel" Miller champions helping women stand out as equals to men so that she and her peers are seen and treated with equal respect and yes, she secretly enjoys the intimidation factor. But...at the end of the day, when she takes off her uniform and strips down to her Jockey underwear and climbs into bed, she wonders if she'll ever get married. She wonders what kind of guy would put up with her way of life or live up to the man that she is? He would have to be very strong minded or incredibly weak and neither sounds like a good option. She wonders if the fight to get a foothold in the male-dominated world she lives in is worth it, but at the same time, what else would she do? Yoga and breast feeding? Pleease!
LTJG Grace "Ariel" Miller champions helping women stand out as equals to men so that she and her peers are seen and treated with equal respect and yes, she secretly enjoys the intimidation factor. But...at the end of the day, when she takes off her uniform and strips down to her Jockey underwear and climbs into bed, she wonders if she'll ever get married. She wonders what kind of guy would put up with her way of life or live up to the man that she is? He would have to be very strong minded or incredibly weak and neither sounds like a good option. She wonders if the fight to get a foothold in the male-dominated world she lives in is worth it, but at the same time, what else would she do? Yoga and breast feeding? Pleease!
Friday, March 1, 2013
Pentagon Handles Sequestration Somewhat in Stride
Though the Department of Defense appears to have planned reasonably well for the 9% across-the-board cuts that go into effect midnight tonight under sequestration, there are some troubling consequences: suspended Navy deployments, cancelled air shows, and even shortages of toilet paper. For a group that routinely adopts ConOps (Contingency Operations), it is far from surprising to hear the Pentagon has been planning for sequestration -- not to mention dealing with shortfalls brought on by Congress’s failure to pass a federal budget -- for months. As one defense department official reported to Stars and Stripes, the threat of sequestration is closer to a spreading “fiscal cancer” than sudden cardiac arrest.
Cost-cutting measures are under way: travel budgets have been cut, temp workers dismissed, managers across the DoD have been told to conserve funds. Service members have reported difficulty freeing up funds to buy items as seemingly necessary as toilet paper. Really, toilet paper? It almost makes us long for the $3,000 P-3 Orion toilet seats made famous under Beltway largess of the 80s.
Though the Pentagon appears to be a good soldier and taking sequestration in stride, I'm disappointed to see that Congress is sacrificing defense of our nation in favor of bipartisan politics. Sailors and soldiers are resourceful and can find alternatives for TP shortages, but cancelling the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN aircraft carrier's deployment to the Middle East, that's big news.
Come on Congress and POTUS, roll up your sleeves and work through this budgetary morass!
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