My re-enlistment and airshow

Ok, so I am getting caught up, I am typing this while sitting in the kitchen of my good friends the Pelino’s, came out to visit friends and run some errands. Point of reference, the Pelino’s kitchen is about 3 times the size of my little temporary place in Tucson!

So my class III flight physical was approved so I can re-enlisted in the Air Force Reserve as a Staff Sergeant, the same rank I left 15 years ago when I moved out to LA back in 1992. The timing of it all was such that it was a week before the air show at Davis-Monthan AFB, where my unit is based. As I mentioned in a previous post I had applied for commissioning with the Navy this time last year, during that process I was introduced to Lt Dan McShane, who is a Naval Flight Officer and the nephew of my friend and mentor, Mike Atkinson. Dan answered question after question about the Navy and being a Naval Officer while I was going thru the Naval OCS application process. Well, with the Blue Angels due to fly in the air show and the air show only a week away, I gave Dan a call and asked if he would be able, during his time here for the air show, to administer my oath of enlistment and he said he would be honored to do so. See the pictures below of my enlistment ceremony. I can’t think of a cooler way to take the oath than in front of a Blue Angels jet!

So it was a pretty cool weekend, with the ceremony in the morning and the airshow in the afternoon. Along with some other goodies, Dan gave me some VIP passes for the Blue Angels seating area at the air show so with my brother in town for the weekend, he, I and his sister-in-law were able to enjoy the air show from some of the best seats in the house, right up front and at show center. We also had a chance to meet and talk with some of the families of the Blue Angels pilots and ground crew members. At the end of the Saturday show we had the opportunity to meet the pilots and have our picture taken with all the 8 of the Blue Angels, including Lt McShane, who is Blue Angels #8. We had the greatest time, but the best part was getting to share it with my brother Harry!

Dan during the flight demostration

My brother Harry and me

After the demostration flight