Military
Politics and the Birth of the F-111 Aircraft
“Hey Dave, did I ever tell you the story about how they chose the contractor for the F-111?” asked Gus my co-worker at the Flight Dynamics Laboratory Wright-Patterson, Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. I was working at the lab during the summer of 1986 between my junior and senior year at Ohio State. The […]
The First Gulf War … it’s been 25 Years!
Twenty five years ago were were just days away from the start of the First Gulf War. I was stationed in a remote Australian outback town called Woomera where the US Air Force operated a satellite tracking station. We were in the missile detection business. Our satellites could “see” the Iraq and Kuwait areas so when […]
Do you remember the Doolittle Raid?
I don’t remember the Doolittle raid. It happened long before I was born; April 1942. The raid involved launching a bunch of Army bomber planes off an aircraft carrier and attacking the Japanese mainland. Pretty bold stunt considering the Japanese Navy controlled virtually all the Pacific Ocean at that time. The leader of the team, […]
Want to see my Grandpa’s War Medals?
Back in 1999 or so I was having a conversation with a few co-workers; the topic – World War II. Then from across the room we hear, “Hey my grandfather was in the war. He was a pilot. I’ve got all his medals. Wanna see em?” It was Walt. Normally a rather quiet guy, he […]
An American Folk Tale – Custer at the Little Bighorn
Southeastern Montana in June is beautiful. The rolling prairie with its lazy covering of tall grass carries on for as far as the eye can see. The blue sky stretches from horizon to horizon in all directions; big sky country. Occasionally, a river valley appears, along with a multitude of trees and other vegetation huddling […]