Ever wonder as you’re sitting in that window seat and looking out at the engine hanging under the wing just exactly how does it work?  I’d be willing to bet your extra bag of peanuts you scored from the flight attendant that a lot of folks don’t know exactly how it works. (most don’t even […]

I’m sure that everyone’s heard this question, “When we are flying, can a small hole in the airplane cause it to burst?” I know I have from new crew members in training as well as civilian passengers when I’m flying commercially. Its actually a very astute question but its based on the assumption that an […]

“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” That quote from Adlai Stevenson is probably one of my favorites. Obviously September 11th affected all of us in our own unique way. One positive thing it did bring about (at least for a while) was a surge […]

The military loves acronyms abbreviations and special lingo unique to themselves. The aviation community loves to use them too. But everyone likes to be special and have their own. Have you ever heard someone talking about something obviously technical but using so many terms, acronyms and such that it almost sounded like a foreign language? […]

I’ve been asked a bunch of times about what do Aircrewmen in the Navy that is different from what airline flight attendants do? While there are some similarities in training, Navy Aircrew are subjected to a lot more in-depth training due mostly to the environment we spend a lot of time operating over (trans-oceanic flights). […]

Because of the great distances we cover over the ocean, all flight crew members (pilot, flight officer or enlisted crewman) must be trained in survival swimming and water egress as well as general aviation physiology. All Navy Aircrew go through Naval Air Crew Candidate School (NACCS) in Pensacola, FL and are required to go through […]

So I get a lot of questions about my job in the Navy Reserve, what the missions are like, etc. So I decided to cover the questions I get asked the most. So you’re in the military right? What do you do? I’m a Crew Chief on C-40A aircraft and fly people and cargo all […]

That is the most common question I get asked. The answer isn’t so simple. Since my background in the Navy is in aviation, the answer would be “not here in Kansas”. There is a local reserve center but it is comprised of reserve Surface Warfare, Intel and Naval Construction units. No aviation jobs (especially no […]

This is the beginning of a journey.  A journey that has several purposes. The first is to inform those who share similar experiences with me. Those that commute long distances in support of this great nation.  The second is to educate those who believe that a reservist’s job is one weekend a month and two […]