A Minor Moan and Some Military Stuff

Up in the middle of the night… and it’s ALL PBS’ fault. It’s Pledge Week on PBS, that semi-annual BegFest wherein PBS suspends most of its usual programming… with the notable exceptions of The News Hour and Charlie Rose (thank God!)… and substitutes “special programming,” interspersed with way too damned many Talking Heads going on waaay too often about the wonders of Public Broadcasting, all while asking you to send in money. So… given as how my normal viewing habits have been seriously disrupted, I read for a bit and retired quite early this evening… like just after 2000 hrs. And my eyes popped open around 0200 hrs and refused to shut again. So, it’s up in the dead of night, it is. Damn you, PBS!

Apropos of nothing, but on the same subject… You know you’ve achieved Geezerhood when said PBS Special Programming consists mainly of YOUR music… and by that I mean specials featuring Doo-Wop Bands, Roy Orbison, The Police, and other such acts. Pledge Week used to be all Lawrence Welk, Stagedoor Canteen, Benny Goodman, Perry Como, and the odd country act here and there… and now it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll for Geezers. This is NOT a Good Thing.

(I’m obviously ignoring the recent additions of “Celtic Woman” specials, “Three Tenors” performances, and various and sundry classical music oddities… coz they don’t fit my narrative, ya know. Those and the “Grow Your 401(k) with Pop Bottle Deposits” and the “Be Your Own Best Friend” crap… which I kinda-sorta just made up. But you know what I mean.)

I hate Pledge Week.

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Interesting… Back at the end of January I published a lil story about seeing an MC-12W Project Liberty aircraft out at Cannon Airplane Patch on one of my forays out to the base. Most of the material for that post came from short articles linked in the Air Force Association’s Daily Report newsletter. Much to my surprise, that little article has become the highest rated search term here at EIP, right after “Exile in Portales.” I’ve had about a hundred googlers come visit over the course of the last month or so (illustration above) after searching for “MC-12W,” “Project Liberty,” or other variations on that theme. I certainly didn’t expect that sort of response to what I considered relatively obscure subject matter. It just goes to show… ya never know what will float the reader’s boat.

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Speaking of the AFA’s Daily Report… I’ve been watching a NIMBY episode unfold down in the Florida Panhandle with a certain interest and no small amount of amusement. First there was this (02/09/2009):

The Eglin ROD Goes Halfway: The Air Force announced Friday that it will bed down 59 F-35s at Eglin AFB, Fla., and allow associated construction to establish the Joint Strike Fighter Initial Joint Training Site there per BRAC 2005 guidance. This allows USAF to move the joint/international schoolhouse forward—partly. The service has deferred the decision on whether or not to beddown additional aircraft—reaching a total of 107—until it completes a supplemental environmental impact statement by September 2010. Kathleen Ferguson, USAF’s deputy assistant secretary for installations, signed the record of decision Feb. 5. The first F-35 is scheduled to touch down at Eglin in March 2010, and aircraft will continue arriving through 2014, Air Force officials said during a teleconference with reporters Feb. 6. The 59 aircraft will constitute one Air Force, one Marine Corps, and one Navy training squadron with 24, 20, and 15 assets, respectively. The ROD also imposes temporary operational restrictions on the aircraft to avoid and mitigate noise. Concerns expressed last year by some residents of Valparaiso, Fla., over the F-35’s noise levels held up USAF’s final decision. As the service progresses through the SEIS, Ferguson said, “We will ensure affected communities are involved through public scoping meetings, know what to expect, and understand timelines for development.”

Followed by (03/02/2009)…

No Clear Resolution to Eglin's F-35 Problem: It is too soon to tell if the city of Valparaiso's attempts to halt F-35 basing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida will affect training plans for the Joint Strike Fighter, Gen. Stephen Lorenz said Feb. 27. Under BRAC 2005, Eglin would host a joint and international F-35 training center. But noise concerns meant plans to deploy 113 training aircraft to Eglin were scaled back to just 59 initially until the Air Force could complete a satisfactory supplemental environmental assessment. However, last week the Valparaiso city council voted to sue the Air Force to halt the initial deployment. Lorenz, head of Air Education and Training Command, said in an interview that this is a "very fluid and dynamic situation," with so many variables that it would be foolish to speculate on how it might affect AETC's training plans.

Then… (03/03/2009)

Eglin F-35 Saga Continues: On Feb. 18, less than two weeks after the Air Force issued a record of decision to base 59 F-35s at Eglin AFB, Fla., initially and perhaps more later, after the service conducts a supplemental environmental impact analysis (see below), the Valparaiso city commission voted to proceed with a lawsuit against the Air Force. The Northwest Florida Daily News reported that Valparaiso Mayor Bruce Arnold, one of the commissioners, said there wasn't any alternative as more than 93 percent of Valparaiso residents would be affected by the higher noise levels of the F-35s. "The city would collapse," he said. The commission's vote was 3-0, but two more commissioners who have been opposed to litigation were not present. The lawsuit could delay military construction efforts at Eglin for the beddown. More than $160 million in initial MILCON work was announced last month after the ROD, according to a release from Rep. Jeff Miller (R), in whose district Eglin falls. Miller called that work "a tremendous spark" for the local economy. He told the NFDN that the Valparaiso decision "borders on municipal blackmail."

And today there’s this:

For All to See: Chris Hughes, a resident of Okaloosa County, Fla., which includes Eglin Air Force Base, wants to get the pro F-35 message out in a big way, literally. The Destin Log reported March 4 that Hughes has purchased a 10'6" x 22'8" billboard near the east gate of Eglin in the city of Valparaiso on which he intends to post the signatures of local residents who support the Air Force's recent decision to base F-35s there as part of the initial training schoolhouse for the stealth fighter. He is scheduled to bring the billboard on a truck to a local event today to allow residents to sign it and have their voices heard—and seen. "It is time to for you and me, the taxpayers of Okaloosa County, to let the world know that the F-35's home needs to be right here at Eglin Air Force Base," he said. The basing decision has not been without controversy as the Valparaiso city leadership, citing concerns over the noise levels of the new fighter, voted last month to sue the Air Force in federal court. That lawsuit must be filed by April 5. This has prompted some residents to come forward at the grass roots level to show their support for the F-35 mission and stop the lawsuit.

All this would be funny if it weren’t so danged tragic. Whatever happened to “The Sound of Freedom?”

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In other service news… Indulge me a moment of fatherly pride if you will, Gentle Reader.

I got a call from SN1 last evening with some good news, to wit: Buck has a line number for Major. He’ll be pinning on his oak leaves some time later this year, which will almost bring him up to grade parity with his younger brother, who is currently a Lieutenant Commander in The Squid Service. I say “almost” because SN2 is on his way to his first command billet… whereupon he will become the commanding officer of Navy Recruiting District Pittsburgh at some point in the very near future, after completing a couple of preparatory service schools/courses in Pensacola, Florida and Newport, Rhode Island. Enter the “almost.” SN2’s new job is an O-5 billet, which means he’ll be pinning on the silver oak leaves of a Commander very soon, and more than likely before SN1 puts the gold ones on. And the sibling rivalry continues.

But… all that esoteric military stuff aside… I’m VERY proud of both boys. They’ve achieved SO much more than their Ol’ Man ever did during his military career. Sam will soon equal his grandfather in rank, what with my Ol’ Man retiring as a USAF Lieutenant Colonel. I’m the non-performing entity in this military family… (insert big ol’ grin here)

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Today’s Pic: Sam, YrHmblScrb, Buck, and Grandson Sean on the occasion of Buck’s commissioning. Offutt AFB... May, 2000.