New stomping grounds

annyǒng hashimnigga,

I've arrived in the land of rice and Kimchi. It's actually not that bad. My first night (about 2 weeks ago) was spent in Seoul. The city is HUGE. It was a really neat cultural experience to go out on the town. There is a section of town where many of the ex-patriots (foreigners) hang out called Itaewon. It was a neat area...but I definitely want to see some more of the "real city" next time. Two of my friends met me out for the first night and then I got to meet most of my co-workers the following day. I actually live a couple of hours south of Seoul on the Yellow Sea. Some call it "remote"...but it's not really too remote in my opinion. However, there's definitely not alot of infrastructure immediately next to the base. The nearest town is Gunsan...which is a decent sized city. It's only about 10-15 minutes away. I've ventured there once and was mildly impressed.
I'm getting settled into work now. I'm getting all my stuff done to be a current flight lead again. I'm staying in temporary dorms right now until one opens up where the rest of my bro's live. This is going to be an experience for sure.
Alot of the happenings at work I can't really talk about on the internet---and it would bore you all too much anyway. I look forward to getting a room with internet, etc....and until then I'll be using the community center or work.
Not sure what I'll be doing for Christmas. I'm sure all the festivities in the states will be fun and I'll miss them as usual. So, I hope you all have fun and enjoy the traditional Christmas fun. But skiing in Korea for Christmas? That might be a good story too.

ciao and annyǒnghi kyeseyo....
Ed

Tennessee

Well,
I'm leaving tomorrow for Korea. Despite having a severe cold, I had a great time on my visit to Tennessee. I got a chance to visit family and friends in Nashville, Memphis and Murfreesboro. Standard Thanksgiving stuff as well (although I hadn't been to one in years).
I was lucky enough to go to MTSU's final football game in Murfreesboro with some old college friends. I'm posting the pics here.

Tomorrow: a 15 plus hour flight (nonstop) to Seoul, Korea. Sounds fun, right?

Goodbye to the Buzzards

I just finished up my last week of flying here at Aviano. I had my "fini" flight on Thursday. The "fini" flight is an old tradition where the pilot, on his last flight, is welcomed by the squadron upon landing and is pulled out of the jet and sprayed with water, champagne, etc. It's always been fun to be the guy on the other end of the fire hose. However, it's a little different being the guy getting hosed with ice cold water.
This time, the Lt's in the squadron decided to hold me down and duct tape me to the jet's ladder. It was successful (even though I put up a decent fight). Everybody just gathered around and sprayed water, etc. I still had the ladder attached to my back in the group photo.
The next trick that is often played is to find the victim pilot's alternate flight suit that he brought to work that day for the occasion. In my case, I hid all my spare clothes in my car. That didn't stop the no-good Lt's from getting them and quickly soaking them in water and putting them in the freezer. What goes around comes around....and that's what you always have to remember (because everybody has a fini flight every three years or so...)
I really hate to be leaving all the bro's in the squadron. The camaraderie is truly the best part about being in a fighter squadron. You really make friends for life and you always know that you will run into them again (either in another squadron or in the air.)

Cross Country Europa

Ladies/Gents,
I hadn't been back from Malta very long before I was thrown into another cross-country trip this last Friday. It was really short notice and I was available--so I went.
We took off as a four ship and flew to Palma De Mallorca, Spain. We got fuel and headed on to Portugal. We couldn't fly over the weekend, so we spent all our time in Lisbon. This city was cool. Even cooler was the day trip to a city called "Sintra." It had a Moorish castle that reminded me of something out of Lord of the Rings. In Lisbon, we had some great meals..that were masked by what was dubbed "the worst meal ever made." I won't go into the details---but trust me...it was bad.
We took off again on Monday and flew into Palma De Mallorca for fuel. After that, we headed to Sicily. There's a U.S. Navy base near the east coast of the island and that's where we landed. The city of Catania was amazing. Sicily is truly different from the rest of Italy. At times, I felt like I was in a scene from the Godfather.
You might ask why we were able to do such a cool cross country. It all boils down to a budgeted "flying hour program." Each squadron has to fly a certain amount of hours each year...and since there was an Italian holiday on Monday our home base was closed. To keep the flying hours up, the leadership approved a cross country. It actually really sharpens our basic pilot skills and gives us great experience in flying to diverse/unfamiliar airports. Plus, we're able to practice some basic formations and radar work while enroute.
I'm in the painful process of packing for my move. I should be out of here sometime around the 15th...

Packing Up

All,
I'd like to post some pics of my sister's recent trip here to visit Italy, but I don't have time. My internet is so slow that it just takes too long...
Anyway, I'm just in the process of getting ready for the move to Korea. I've been working a lot this week and am even going to Portugal and Sicily for work Friday through Monday. When I return I have the movers coming to pack all my stuff for shipping. However, I'm flailing trying to get it ready and separated for the two separate shipments. One shipment will go direct to Korea (just the basic stuff I need for my dorm/apt. in Korea). The other shipment will be all my Household Goods (all the big crap that will have to stay in storage in Baltimore for one year.) When I move from Korea for my new assignment they will ship my stuff from storage to my new state/city (wherever that might be.)
This process is painful--But it's reality.

Luckily, I'll be spending a couple of weeks in TN prior to heading to the Pacific. I've got a ton of great phots from recent trips and I hope to load them up shortly....

Malta

Malta International Airshow was a great experience. The trip down from Italy was easy and we landed Friday afternoon to a reception of dozens of professional and amateur photographers. Luckily, our hotel was in a popular area on Malta called St. Julian's. It was situated right in the busy restaurant/bar district as well as next to a small harbor and beach.
Malta was beautiful from the air on approach to landing....and this was the majority of our exposure to the island life because we were busy both Saturday and Sunday at the airshow. However, we did get a chance to explore some restaurants and nightlife in the "Paceville" area of town.
There was no language barrier in Malta. Although they have a native tongue called "Maltese," most people spoke English (with a British accent.) Tons of young people flock to the island for tourism and to study English. Malta is one of Europe's premier places to study English in private language schools (this is because visas are easy and the location is so nice).
We had many opportunities to talk to other aircrew and learn about their Air Forces, etc. Also, we were interviewed by many local and national TV stations about our flying experiences and our participation in the airshow. It was really the first time I've ever felt like a celebrity. Who would think that I'd actually get tired of signing autographs and posing for photos with people??
I've included some pictures: A photo taken of me on departure from Malta (by a pro photographer), a picture of a small harbor near our hotel, a photo of a British pilot taking a rest on his jet and a picture of our jets with a Malta church in the background.

Not an ordinary weekend

Acts 28
Ashore on Malta
1Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

As usual, it has been a long time since my last post. I just haven't had much willpower lately to type anything. But I had to let you in on my trip this weekend. I'm leading a formation of 2 F-16's to participate in the Malta International Airshow. www.maltairshow.com It should be a good time. I've been planning this trip for a while and am ready to get the trip underway. Most people have heard of Malta...but don't really know where it is. It's an island country just south of Sicily. It's quite famous as a destination for vacationers and island bums. It's also famous for things biblical as well (see Paul's shipwreck passage from Acts above).
I'll definitely be taking some pics...so look forward to those.
More posts on my return Monday evening...
Ciao

Back at the Casa

Hi everybody,
I know it's been an eternity since I've posted anything. The email/internet access when I was stateside was almost non-existent. I really didn't have time anyway since we were flying so much.
Our deployment to the states went well. As usual, it was super busy. I got a lot of experience flying in these new locations--and being put under pressure always makes you better (although it really sucks when you're doing it.) Hill AFB (in Utah) was my favorite part of the trip. We took a weekend trip to Park City, Utah...which was a really cool scene. I'd never really been to a U.S. ski/mountain town.
Las Vegas was as expected. Lots of flying and little time to relax. I'm pretty much sick of Vegas by now. The casino life really isn't for me.

I just got back on Thursday...and since then I've been doing all the little crap that needs to get done to sustain normal life (the stuff I hate: laundry, unpacking and paying bills). However, I did take a little hike up in the mountains near Piancavallo (a mountain about 20 minutes from my house). Two pictures: one is a cow (I know, boring). Actually, it was really cool to see a small herd of cattle grazing so high in the mountains. The other pic is just of a little mountain hut (I'm guessing for storing farm supplies, etc...but who knows how long this thing has been there?)

Ciao,
Ed

Stuck!

Yes,
Part of our squadron (including me) is currently stuck on one of the island chains in the middle Atlantic called the "Azores" (a Portuguese piece of land). Our tanker (an air-refueling aircraft) had some problems so we're here for a while to wait on repairs.
In the meantime, we're enjoying the GREAT weather...the beaches and snorkeling, etc....
There are also bull-fights, good food (I love Portuguese food anyway) and we just happened to show up on the biggest weekend in the Azores for a huge festival.

Not bad, huh?

Next report: The U.S.

italian heat

It is hot here. No AC in my house. Sort of uncomfortable. Anyway, at night it cools down near the mountains and it's tolerable.
I'm excited......I leave for the states in a little over a week and a half. We'll be going straight to the Salt Lake City, Utah area first. After that, it's on to Vegas. I'm flying an F-16 the whole way to Utah. It will be one of those flights where you're locked in the cockpit for about 10 hours (the Azores to Utah leg of the flight). Can we say painful?
I've been staying busy here. We just got finished flying a week of nights. I've been getting home around 4am. I like flying on NVG's sometimes, but it takes a while to get used to again.
Last weekend, four of us went to Zell-Am-See, Austria. (Pronounced ZellumSay). It was sweet.....huge lake below the glacier. What did that mean? Snowboarding in July. You can actually still ski the top of the Kaprun Glacier...so we did just that. The snow wasn't great, but it was worth it.
Well, I'm off to work.....
ciao

italy wins

World Cup Craziness:
Italy won and the streets went wild. I watched the game but had to wake up EARLY for work.....but the Italians drove through the streets until late honking horns and yelling. I was rooting for them, so I didn't mind too much.
Americans really can't relate to how much Europeans love "football." It's really a unique phenomenon.

back and happy

I just got back from Turkey on Friday. It was a relief to get back home. There are definitely many cool things about that country for sure---but I feel the cons outweigh the pros. For example, Turkey lacks a good infrastructure of roads and general planning of the cities. The people are nice--but many lack the knowledge about or desire to apply deodorant. This may not be true for all, but it's definitely a problem in my opinion.
The food is tasty but it got on my nerves. I just felt gross after several meals. In fact, almost 3/4 of our group got the "turkish trots." (aka, the runs). I guess it's the water or the vegetables.
I did get to visit some cool cities (Ankara and Antalya). The resort town of Antalya is gorgeous. I also bought a couple of oriental/persian rugs to add to my collection. I don't think I'll be using them in Korea, but maybe somewhere down the road.
The flying was ok. The airspace was great and the fights were intense at times...but the integration with the Turk pilots was lacking.
Needless to say, it's nice to be back at my house.
Next up: The states. I'll be there for the month of August.

turkey halfway

Well, I'm sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Turkey. Luckily, we have wireless internet here in the lobby--so my laptop is coming in handy. Unfortunately, we've had little time to hang out since we've been flying so much.
Good news for me: my sister had a baby recently---a girl...so I'm very happy for her.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get back and see her soon. I'm halfway through my trip here and should leave in a little over a week.

More news: I just found out my follow-on assignment after Italy. I'll be going to South Korea for a one year tour flying the F-16 at Kunsan Air Base. I volunteered for this assignment...so it was kind of expected. I will leave as early as October or November. Luckily, I'll be flying the jet for another guaranteed year and I'll also be getting this "remote" tour out of the way early on in my career. Now, I've just got to get back to the states after that and put myself in a position to not remain a bachelor for the remainder of my life.

Turkey is good. The flying is good. The food is ok and I've only had one severe battle with the "turkish trots."

More to follow....

pic from a weekend trip to Ankara (the capital city of Turkey)

rock star parking

cantina aperte parking after our trip to slovenia

wine pour

cantina aperte wine taste

campsite

post-crash relax

recovering from my wipe-out. my friends ahead crossing the bridge.

Slovenia Outdoor Experience

I really needed a weekend like this. As usual, my friends and I waited to the absolute last second to decide where we were going to go for a 4 day weekend in Europe. We talked about Poland, Sicily and Croatia. Finally, we threw down on a "extreme" weekend of camping in Slovenia (the Bovec wilderness/national park area). Three of us headed out with mountain bikes, climbing gear, kayak and every other piece of outdoor equipment we could muster. My Xterra was loaded down as we left our local area. On the way we were stopped by the Tour D'Italia road bicycle race--which was cool to see...but was slowing us down in our effort to hit the mountains.
"Bovec" Slovenia is an absolute paradise for outdoor junkies and nature lovers. The Soca river is a crystal clear/aquamarine-colored river that rages through the mountains in and near Bovec. There are tons of river guide companies, etc near the river...but the tiny towns still maintain a quiet and simple tone. We found a campsite along the river and set up our stuff. The first day we kayaked a portion of the river with class I, II and III rapids. It was great. The second day we went rock climbing in the morning and hit the water in the afternoon for more kayaking. This time we were on a portion that was a little more "lethal." I got out and rode in a van back to my car prior to going through the class IV section with numerous "siphons" which have killed a bunch of people in previous years. My friends, "Kilo" and "Trigger" pressed on and survived (although both are very experienced kayakers).
The next morning we got up and mountain biked a long series of trails along the river. It was great---but I had one minor problem: I fell off a cliff. I really did. I was riding along on a narrow singletrack trail that was along a sheer drop next to the river. I shifted gears in the most narrow part and my chain locked up somehow. I flipped over the handlebars and next thing I know was that I was falling. I landed with my bike in a tree that jutted out from the side of the cliff. It kept me suspended there. Kilo shouted, "Dude, DO NOT MOVE." At hearing this, I knew I was in a fix. I couldn't look down because I was pinned and couldn't see that I was suspended above nothing but the canyon floor. I kept trying to work myself free from my bike while Kilo climbed down to my spot. Once I got free from my backpack and bike I was able to climb out with just some bruises and scratches. We were laughing hysterically at how funny/shocking it must have been to see me flipping off the trail into the abyss. I'm thankful for that little tree..because without it I would have at least had several broken bones.
We left Slovenia and rolled into Italy to meet some friends for "Cantina Aperte." It's an annual tradition in Italy where most wineries open their doors to the public and you can go around and see their estates, etc. and taste the wine if you want. We ended up going to an amazing winery near Cormons, Italy that was in an old castle. It was so cool. After, we cruised to a little winery that doubled as a hotel. We ate a pizza and drove home after that. It still have today off...so it's back to the thing I hate most: Laundry.
Next adventure: Turkey for 2 weeks.....we leave next week sometime.

view from our hotel in Tel Aviv

Wailing Wall