"Birds Away!"

I'm back - another 3 weeks at sea. This trip was the culination of several months of preparation for the USS George H W Bush's first missile shoot. Our weapons systems are defensive - as the moving airfield for 70+ combat aircraft we are a potential target - it's my job, and that of the Combat Direction Center, to protect the aircraft carrier against any potential airborne threats to our ship. So, we have two missile systems that we control that do just that - protect the ship. This past week we tested those systems against multiple ingresing drones shot from Virginia Beach. The weapons systems on the ship were perfectly tuned, my crews were flawless in the execution. The result: we're one step closer to taking this new aircraft carrier on deployment. I think the former President (George H W Bush) would approve...we'll see...


Here are a couple shots of the missiles being launched and my Combat Direction Center Officers that make it all happen - a fantastic group of professional warriors (that's the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System launcher behind us).

The Navy Website picked up the story:
www.navy.com

Happy Fathers Day Les

Happy DaDa day as Dylan would say. We miss you more than you can imagine and wish we were together especially today, but we know we will be back together as a family soon we love you.

Weekend

Dylan and I had a fun weekend and enjoyed the nice warm weather. We spent most of the weekend either at playgrounds, under water or doing a little backyard exploring.

Birthday party

Dylan got invited to his first Birthday party. Our neighbors boy Jack was turning 2, they had a party at Romp and Roll and Dylan certainly did do a lot of that. He had fun climbing on everything and bouncing in the bouncy castle, but the best thing about it was there was plenty of padded surfaces so he could go crazy.

Hanging Out at the Pool

The mercury hit 99 this weekend - so we spent a couple afternoons at the local pool. It's been a year since Dylan had his first swim lessons (time flies!) but he absolutely loved the water. I'm not sure who had a better time Dylan or Mummy.

Orion's Big Day

I guess Orion has been slightly eclipsed by his two big sisters. But Sunday was his day as we all gathered in a Minneapolis suburb for his baptism. He was amazingly calm throughout the ceremony - good job little dude! - I was happy to play a part in your big day! Afterwards we all enjoyed a great Midwestern Bar-B-Q and cake.

Golf Lessons

It's never too early to start working on the golf game - Dylan loves his set of clubs (2 clubs in a hard plastic wheelie thing). His grip needs a lot of work but he's actually striking the ball (kind of). It's all good fun - on Sunday we went out on the Colonial Williamsburg village green for some practice.

'Ferraris on the Vine'

What a great combination: an exhibition of Ferraris spanning 5 decades together with local wine and food pairings from some of the finest Williamsburg restaurants. The Williamsburg Winery is located a few minutes from Kingsmill. It was a great afternoon - the food was excellent, the wines - surprisingly good and the cars were amazing! I think Dylan would agree - I couldn't quite explain to him that the owners would prefer that he didn't pound his fists on the hoods (bonnets) of their cars...no harm done...and we discovered that the little man prefers the Ferrari 360 Modena (well, that's the one with the most of his finger prints on the hood and front bumper). My personal favorite was the little blue racer...

The New England Skiff "Wren"

Finally got back on the water in something other than an aircraft carrier. This Captain brought beer (never the case on that 'other' ship) - and we had a great afternoon on the James River with 15 knots gusting to approx 25. The boat was built by Josh's dad over the course of a few years - she's a beauty! Sails well too! It has a rather unique gunter rig (2 section mast) but it probably needs a couple cup holders - I did spill my beer during one of those gusts. Afterwards we met up Dylan and "showed him the ropes" as we say...I think he was interested...

Carrier Landing Practice ("CQ")

US Navy Photos

A big part of what we do when out to sea these days is support "CQ" Carrier Qualification or landing practice for the aircrew. We've just finished up with a couple of our tactical squadrons (F/A-18 Hornets) and as I write this the training command is qualifying some of the Navy's newest aviators in the T-45 Goshawk. I can't claim much first hand knowledge since I've only even been a passenger for a couple hundred of these landings but the Navy has studies that show that this evolution (especially in bad weather at night) is more stressful for our pilots than actual air-to-air combat. We practice this often and that makes us the best in the world (much better than those Air Force guys!).

Your Navy Today

US Navy Presentation

You may have noticed that I'm gone a lot! Here's a great snapshot of what the Navy is up to on any given day. The briefing slide is not classified and in fact is a bit old (no security compromise here) but it's a great representation of where we're currently deployed. A number of different missions, with very different requirements. Most of this will never make the news, but we're out there as we have always been out there: contributing to the 'War on Terror,' keeping the shipping lanes open (counter piracy), interdicting narcotics and generally "showing the flag" in support of our allies and as a deterent to any potential adversaries. What is not depicted is the recent Humanitarian effort in which more than 10,000 Sailors and Marines have been involved in the Haiti relief efforts: a total of approximately 17 ships, 48 helicopters and 12 fixed-wing aircraft have been engaged in delivering relief supplies for distribution to affected areas. It's a busy time for us and it takes a lot of training to prepare our ships and their crews for so many diverse missions. And that keeps me out to sea a lot these days.

High Noon at the Park

You've met your match little dude...
proceed with caution...

OBX

The family took a little weekend trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Michelle found a great rental house online, right on the ocean and although we had a day of rain it shaped up to be a great weekend. We toured the Wright Brothers memorial (site of the first powered airplane flights in 1903). Other than that...just a lot of kite flying, bike riding and general goofing off on the beach.

Happy Birthday

Dylan Turns one, I can not believe that he is already one, where has the time gone. We enjoyed a quite celebration together with some Birthday cupcakes and a celebratory drink of choice. We are looking forward to Les coming back so we can have a true family celebration.

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Today our little man turns one year old.  We couldn't be happier with how this past year has gone: he's as happy as the photos depict (most of the time) and each day is filled with new surprises as he continues to explore his surroundings.  While we're excited to see what he'll be like as an older child, teenager and young man we'd be just as willing to freeze time so he never changes - he's that cool.  But, of course, so much of that is beyond our control.  All we can do is our best as parents and enjoy the ride. 

To that end, a few words on the subject written in 1923 by a Lebanese-American poet:

On Children

by Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,
But seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.


Happy first Birthday cool little dude!
Dad da misses you!