Brad: I was accepted to the Marine Officer commissioning program following my first semester in college and had my heart on being a Harrier pilot, (the vertical take-off and landing jet that the Marines were operating). After graduating, commissioning, a first wedding, and my first 6-months of Basic Officer training, I switched my aviation dreams to wanting to be a Cobra pilot, helicopter gunship and the subject in an avatar I have recently used on BellaOnline.
That picture was taken during the time I was seeing my wife and she liked it so much we had it made into a wall poster.At flight school, my evaluations were high enough to permit me to get my first choice of airframe and coast assignment: Cobras at Camp Pendleton, California. I made two Western Pacific deployments as a "Snake Driver" and returned from the second cruise with the news that the Marine aviator community was downsizing. Due to my military service commitment, I was absorbed in the category of leaving active service but could continue in a reserve officer status. But wait, there's more!
John Lehman, as Secretary of the Navy, was building a 600-ship Navy and needed helicopter pilots to fly off the back of the "small-boys", Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers, in the Navy's newest anti-submarine helicopter, the Seahawk. Mommy didn't raise no dummy and I offered my experiences and skills to an interservice transfer (of which my first wife decided that deployments were not her way of life and filed for a divorce to return to Denver and reside).
I did well in the Navy, but my heart was still a Leatherneck -- Semper Fidelis, comes to mind. After advancing to the levels that meant an officer didn't get to do the "fun" things anymore and the ominous claims that I need to pursue a career path, I was offered positions with US Southern Command in Panama or UN Adviser in Somalia (just before the Blackhawk Down incident, I could have been there). Two and a half years in Panama wasn't enough to assure promotion due to the next downsizing of all military branches underway and the perceived notion that my Marine background didn't "pony" up to other naval officers.
I was going to be involuntarily separated after 16 years due to non-promotion, along with almost four dozen other former Marine helicopter aviators. But, that's not all -- Mommy's raising a non-dummy prevailed again. The early retirement program was underway and I was able to apply for this program that has me with all the benefits of a 20-year retiree except the pension would be at 42% vice 50%. The training I had in preparation for the Panama assignment led to my getting a job as contract support to the US Navy in fulfilling State Department/Congressional approved sales of shipboard, aviation, and weapon systems to foreign militaries -- yes, an arms dealer. I monitor programs for contractual adherence and provide recommendations toward attaining final resolution in the procurements.
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All images copyright © Brad Bailey 2011. All Rights Reserved.
Content copyright © 2011 by Phyllis Doyle Burns. All rights reserved.
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