Our New Seats at Yankee Stadium

We received word yesterday from the Yanks about our seat reassignment. Mind you, Morganobrien.com Jr. has had seats at the big ballpark in the Bronx since 1976, when I was not yet around. And after I arrived on the planet, sent to Earth from Krypton by my father Jor-El, I've only known the ballpark on the corner of River Ave and 161st St. as baseball's home office.


Our Seats in the Old Stadium: Section 220
Third base line, behind the plate

So here's the deal:

- In the old ballpark, we were on the 3rd base side of home, about 20 rows off the field
- In our reassigned seats, we're in right field, Section 103, Row 13, Seats 21-24:


We'd be four rows back, right next to the bullpen

- Our tickets in the old ballpark included access to the exclusive Pinstripe Pub and cost $85/per seat.
- The new ballpark does not have a Pinstripe Pub equivalent and the seats cost $100/pop.

(Ed. note- I'm not even going to go into the economy argument here, but the price increase--while mitigated by 5 less games--still stings).

- The old plan provided 46 dates, none on the weekend.
- The new plan provides 41 dates, alternating games. So we get Opening Day* and a bunch of weekends. Our best sellers on StubHub last season were Boston and the NY Mets. Under the new plan, we only get 4 Red Sox games, but 2 of the Mets games.

As a life-long Yankee diehard, it goes without saying that I'm conflicted about what we should do.

Last year was terrific. I was back home after 10 years and was able to give the old ballpark a last go 'round. I went to an All-Star game and saw Josh Hamilton DESTROY the Home Run Derby. While they failed to reach the postseason, by all accounts, 2008 was a fitting sendoff for the old place. And for obvious reasons, I don't feel the same affinity towards the new place.

And as for the new seats, call me a Paul O'Neill fan but I like looking my right fielder in the eye. Staring at the back of the player manning that hallowed ground just wouldn't feel right.

One final factor is that I figure to move to DC this summer, putting a cramp in the flexibility of my StubHub prowess and the Acela won't get me to the Bronx by gametime on weeknights.


Our location in the New Yankee Stadium, Right Field


I can only imagine the joy my old man would derive from conversating with Manny Delcarmen as he manned the seat right next to the visitor's bullpen

So tell me, friends and family what should we do? Should we renew? Your comments are appreciated (serious comments only, please).

*It should be noted that the Chicago Cubs will play the Yanks in an exhibition before Opening Day

Rest in Peace, Billy Powell

Play some Skynyrd, maaaaannnnnnn
I've had the honor of seeing Skynyrd live a couple times in my blessed life--once in Dayton's Nutter Center and once at Madison Square Garden, and both times, they freaking rocked.

Now mind you, it wasn't the original lineup. However, one of the holdovers was the inimitable Billy Powell, the keyboardist who tickled the ivories and gave the Southern rockers their soul. I'm thankful that I had this connection to such real American icons.

Rest in Peace, Billy. You know they're jamming Freebird in Heaven tonight.

The Commander in Chief with America's Best

I saw this picture on AFLink and thought it was pretty awesome, one of those shots that really capture a moment:


God Bless Our Troops

Thought-provoking ad from Catholicvote.org

I'm not going to turn this into a philosophical discussion or even invoke politics here, but this I caught this ad tonight and found it so thought-provoking and powerful I am compelled to post it here.

Think of it what you wish, but I believe that this is a topic that deserves a good measure of reflection whatever side of the debate you find yourself.



Link: www.catholicvote.org

As Spun on TV: Pedipaws

After seeing this hard-hitting review of the PediPaws, I think I need to buy this as a belated birthday gift for my man Homer:


I can't wait until they review the Snuggie

Incredible Bald Eagle Birdstrike, C-130

Gregg "Opie" Hughes posted these seemingly incredible photos via his twitter feed (follow Opie's tweets here).

I don't know if these are real, I can only find them on forums and blogs (and we all know how reliable blogs can be hehe). More important, I can't tell if this a patriotic or seditious. That second picture is freaky. Decide for yourself:

In the company of heroes

Live Free or Die

I'm biased in that I think everyone that's volunteered to wear the uniform of our nation's armed services has shown a measure of nobility. More than having worn the uniform myself, during my last assignment I looked across the podium at hundreds of young men and women that were looking to use their military military to give back and get ahead. I also had the opportunity to go to high school and college with a number of guys and gals who proudly wore the uniform and served in the aftermath of 9/11.

The New York Times did a nice piece on a guy from my neighborhood, Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, and a mural done in his honor beneath the 114 bridge in Sag Harbor (photos above, from the NYT, link here).

I've been thinking about Cpl. Haerter a bunch lately, especially after I read this piece on Tom Ricks' fantastic blog at FP:

Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly on two Marines who were killed stopping a truck bomb heading for the front gate of their outpost in Ramadi: "No time to talk it over; no time to call the lieutenant; no time to think about their own lives or even the American and Iraqi lives they were protecting," Kelly said to Tony Perry of the Los Angeles Times. "More than enough time, however, to do their duty. They never hesitated or tried to escape." He said the two, Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, 19, will receive the Navy Cross posthumously next year. (Link to the LA Times story)

Before every oath I issued (more than 800), I always told the new soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or coastguardsman standing across the podium that they were making the best decision of their life--regardless of the outcome, a life of service takes things to the next level and makes America better. While it breaks my heart that Cpl. Haerter will never get to eat at Conca's or swim in the Bay again, these facts make it all the more important that we remember his sacrifice and example.

I know I like to write about so many things, but one of the goals of this blog is to act as a check (or maybe a release valve) that maximizes the democracy of the Internet for the benefit or our junior officers and enlisted. In the information age, knowlege is currency and I strive to add at least a miniscule amount of worthwhile information to the general body of knowledge.

That's why Maj. Gen. Kelly's quote above speaks to me on a number of levels. That is an example of a warrior honoring his fallen comrades. We need to see that. Too often, our military's institutional arms come into conflict with the military's warfighting arm and senior leaders are out of touch with realities on the ground. And because of the institutional framework--the politicization of promotions boards for starters-- here is little hope for those that want to see these things change.

Again, I refer to Ricks' blog, where he touts the bravery of Army Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, who as an active duty officer has worn his emotions on his sleeve while speaking truth to power about the failures of our general officer corps. Yingling once wrote "A private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war." Wow.

Among the hits from a recent Yingling talk to Marines at Quantico:

Our system of officer development remains essentially unchanged since the Cold War -- the same system that produced the officers who for the last generation refused to prepare for irregular warfare. Our organizational structures remain essentially unchanged since 9/11

Combat forces operate under a simple, brutal incentive system -- adapt or die. Forces in combat are not by virtue of their location intellectually or morally superior to their counterparts in the institutional military. Rather, their priorities are clearer -- when the failure to adapt carries a death sentence, every other consideration -- service and branch loyalties, core competencies, organizational cultures -- pales in comparison.

Our current system suppresses innovation, punishes moral courage and is a strategic liability to our country.

We've lost thousands of lives and spent hundreds of billions of dollars in the last seven years in efforts to bring stability to two medium sized countries; we can't afford to adapt this slowly in the future.

I'm sorry to admit that as an officer I didn't have this courage while I was in uniform, but at the same time I don't know what I would have done differently. For starters, I was blind to the realities of the system until it was too late and I made the decision to separate. Further, it's hard to buck the system for long, and there are far too few folks willing to test the waters (ed note- mixed metaphors).

Thank God there are men like Lt. Col. Yingling that are willing to step up because heroes like Cpl. Haerter deserve senior leadership like him. Anything less is below standard, and too often we find ourselves failing in this area of utmost importance.


American Hero, Jordan Haerter

Morgan O'Brien's WiGO 01.22.08

May or may not have been getting his haircut Wednesday

I was searching for something to write about today, and was going to write about the obnoxious guy that showed up at the barber shop when I was getting my post-military wig lopped off. The guy's material wasn't that good--he looked like Uncle Teddy from Rescue Me and kept saying stuff like, "If sheep could cook, I would marry one," in his really loud, NY accent. I don't even know what that means.

Anyway, I have a cure for writer's block: thank God for the Air Force:

First is the case of Micah Henry, a former Kirtland Airman that just pleaded guilty to killing two folks:

Ex-Kirtland airman pleads guilty in DWI case
The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A former Kirtland Air Force Base airman accused of killing two people in what police say was a drunken driving crash has pleaded guilty to two charges of vehicular homicide.

Micah Henry, 24, entered his pleas Wednesday.

He will be sentenced in March. He faces up to 12 years in prison for the 2008 New Year’s crash. (link)

Only 12 years? All I can say is that it's a shame Henry didn't end up in Nassau County. Maybe we should ship Kathleen Rice to Albuquerque...


Send Her to Albuquerque!

An excerpt from an interview "60 Minutes" reporter Bob Simon conducted with Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice:

SIMON: Why did Heidgen fit as a murder case?

RICE: The statute under which he was charged required us to prove that, through his actions, he had a completely depraved indifference to human life. ... His actions made the deaths of Katie Flynn and Stanley Rabinowitz inevitable. It was as inevitable as taking a gun and firing it at an individual who's standing 5 feet away from you.

SIMON: You really believe that?

RICE: I do believe that. I do.

Source: "60 Minutes" transcript

And then there's this terrifying news:

Retirees, reservists to be tapped for empty jobs
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer

The Air Force is turning to retirees and reservists to fill 1,600 empty flying and staff positions — a strategy that could eventually have 58-year-old lieutenant colonels flying alongside officers half their age.

If you are a retired rated officer or a rated officer on traditional reserve status, the Air Force wants you back on active-duty status to fly or serve in staff positions for up to four years.

For retired officers, the program is open to aviators who retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel or below and will not be older than 60 when their service starts.

(link)

As it looks, I'm safe for now but I'll continue to keep my antenna up. If they start looking for stud PAO's that are only a couple years removed from service, well then the race is on, Gen. Schwartz.

As always, With my greatest respect,
xOxO
Morgan

Nailing the Oath

My old lady getting me used to following orders

What a great day to be an American! As a former oath pro, one of my personal highlights from today came at the moment Senator Obama became our 44th President--as he was administering it to President Obama today, Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the oath of office.

Here's the oath:

I (name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.*

Now, here's how it went:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As a former oath officer at the Albuquerque Military Entrance Processing Station, I have a unique insight into giving an oath or two (or more than 800!). Granted, my audiences usually consisted of crying family members (I would always begin with a tearjerker that brought 9 of 10 moms to tears), and not nearly 2 million people.

That said, no matter how well I knew the oath, every time I went up there, I made sure that the oath was was in front of me, just in case (there was also an enlarged Oath of Enlistment beside me on the wall--my charges often couldn't handle the hear and repeat portion of the exercise). Justice Roberts is relatively young (he turns 54 next week); and this most likely won't be his last oath**. I bet that in the future he'll have a copy of the oath handy because he will always remember that under the heat of the spotlight, even the pros can drop a line.


Glory Daze

*"So help me God," is optional, and Obama opted to include it today
** The current record holder, Chief Justice John Marshall, issued nine inaugural oaths.

For more on the Presidential Oath of Office, here's the link to the Wikipedia article.

The Hero of Flight 1549

Sully! Real American Hero

As if I wasn't pumped that everyone survived today's harrowing adventures on the Hudson, now I really have a reason to brag on my Air Force roots, thanks of course, to the handy stick and rudder action displayed by America's latest hero, Sully Sullenberger III (no relation).

The Hero Of Flight 1549

Veteran pilot, 57, safely landed US Airways jet in Hudson River

JANUARY 15--Meet Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III, the US Airways pilot who today amazingly crash-landed a US Airways jet in New York's Hudson River without any apparent fatalities. The heroic Sullenberger, 57, has worked for US Airways since 1980, and before that spent more than six years as a U.S. Air Force F-4 fighter pilot.

(Link)

Check out my man Sully's resume here.

Thank God for dudes like this. Because for the amount of tools that have worn the AF Blue in our service's 60+ years, there are some pretty incredible folks that help balance things out.

The other white meat

It's What's for Dinner

I hunt raccoons from my second-story perch for sport, but it appears that our brethren in the Ozarks have a different agenda:

Raccoon: It's what's for dinner
By LEE HILL KAVANAUGH
The Kansas City Star

A raccoon carcass went into a big pot last week at the Blue Springs home of Billy Washington. “It’s a long-hidden secret that they’re so good,” he said.

He rolls into the parking lot of Leon’s Thriftway in an old, maroon Impala with a trunk full of frozen meat.

Raccoon — the other dark meat.

In five minutes, Montrose, Mo., trapper Larry Brownsberger is sold out in the lot at 39th Street and Kensington Avenue. Word has gotten around about how clean his frozen raccoon carcasses are. How nicely they’re tucked up in their brown butcher paper. How they almost look like a trussed turkey … or something.

His loyal customers beam as they leave, thinking about the meal they’ll soon be eating.

That is, as soon as the meat is thawed. Then brined. Soaked overnight. Parboiled for two hours. Slow-roasted or smoked or barbecued to perfection.(Link).

EEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, you gotta eat and times are tough but that's a bitter pill to swallow.

In related news, I knew this one girl at Carolina (not pictured below) that kept a 'coon as a pet and had pictures of it on her binder that she used to show me. That creeped me out. Still does.

God Bless the New York Post

Sometimes, I can't believe what I read in the papers. Not that what's there isn't true--simply, I can't believe that some details actually make it to print. Like Rome under Nero...

Yesterday, two articles covering high-profile cases jumped out at me from the pages of the New York Post.

First was the piece on the now-notorious Long Island doctor that donated a kidney to his allegedly adulterous wife, and now he wants either the kidney back or $1.5 million. Great story, makes for great copy, but the Post loves to take things to the next level:

KIDNEY WOMAN DENIES AFFAIR
By SELIM ALGAR

Adultery, paranoia and ladies undergarments were all hot topics inside a Long Island courtroom today where a surgeon who gave his wife a kidney is asking her to give him $1.5 million in compensation since they're getting divorced.

The lawyer for Dawnell Batista, 44, asked Judge Jeffrey Grob to place a gag order on the case after her estranged husband, Richard Batista, held a news conference last week accusing her of adultery.

Though Grob denied the motion, lawyer Douglas Rothkopf also argued that his client was the victim of a "hyper-suspicious" husband and that no adultery had ever taken place.

"He would rummage through her underwear drawer sniffing her underwear (emphasis mine)[to see if she had cheated]," Rothkopf said inside a Mineola courtroom.(link)

I mean, you're a doctor. For starters, isn't there a more clinical (less barbaric) way to tell if your wife's been unfaithful? Couldn't you hire a PI?

The second story regards Knicks center Eddie Curry, who's found himself on the business end of a gay sexual harassment suit. Now I don't know if Eddie's guilty, and the details of his personal life really aren't anybodies business, especially if this is true:

KNICK SLAPPED WITH SEX-HARASS SUIT

By MELISSA JANE KRONFELD and BRUCE GOLDING

Knicks center Eddy Curry was slapped with a shocking sex-harassment suit Monday by his former driver, who claims the 6-foot-11 hoopster tried to solicit gay sex from him.

The stunning court papers claim Curry, a married father of three, repeatedly approached chauffeur David Kuchinsky "in the nude," allegedly telling him, "Look at me, Dave, look" and "Come and touch it, Dave."

Curry also made Kuchinsky perform "humiliating tasks outside the scope of his employment, such as cleaning up and removing dirty towels [Curry had ejaculated into] (again, emphasis mine) so that his wife would not see them," the Manhattan federal court suit says.

(Link)

Towels? Come on, Eddie. I get the whole "greening" trend (towels leave a lesser carbon footprint than, say tissues), but there's gotta be a more discrete way of handling one's business. And why does that factoid have to end up in the story?

Needless to say, you didn't get these types of stories in the Albuquerque Journal...Only in New York, only in New York.

Shots of the New Yankee Stadium

Via diamondhoggers come a bunch of new photos of the New Yankee Stadium (including a few that I cherry picked below). I'm going to miss the old place, but these pictures indicate that the new park will be first class.

Now they just need to send us our seat locations!











Hat tip: Diamondhoggers

Lebron's new campaign: Brace Yourself

This weekend, Nike began teasing the latest campaign surrounding Lebron:



I'm looking forward to the big reveal next weekend 01.18.09. The internet is buzzing about Lebron possibly performing with Lil' Wayne--who's set to perform in the Buckeye state next weekend. However, countdown2lebron.com poses a more likely theme:

Far more likely is that 1.18.09 is the date of the conference championship games in the NFL. LeBron has already filmed footage and its been speculated that he is going to make an announcement about his desire to play football.

According to some photos floating around (see below), this seems the far more plausible explanation:



Hat Tip: Countdown2Lebron.com

Notorious

The Morgan O'Brien story, coming to the big screen 01.16.09:


It was all a dream...

Francesa and Parcells do Moonachie

This is just incredible acting and execution:


Chicken Franchaaaayzze

Air Force Welcomes Blogging PAs

I was thrilled to see that regarding emerging technologies and Web 2.0, the Air Force is getting it right, and have some of its young PAs to thank for leading the way. (And as an amateur/aspiring military blogger, one day, I'd love to be quoted in a story like this):

Air Force makes about-face to embrace Web 2.0
Service keeps careful eye on shaping public perception
By Sam LaGrone - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 9, 2009 16:36:25 EST

The Air Force’s new front in shaping its public reputation and fighting enemy propaganda is YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. The move is an about-face from the service’s long reluctance to engage Web 2.0.

The Air Force Public Affairs Agency stood up its emerging technology office in October in part to counter online enemies increasingly savvy in information warfare. (link)

I'm incredibly proud of my military service, and have only a few peccadilloes outstanding from my time in uniform. For instance, towards the end, there were a number of occasions I felt the service stifled creativity--a tactic that admittedly does serve a purpose. Since I left, I found one of my former Wing/CCs responding to blog posts, which is great, because it's showing initiative in blazing the path towards the type of thinking currently promoted by these latest efforts.

Among all the positive experiences I've taken with me to my post-military life one aspect of my service I continue to appreciate is the common-sense problem solving that years of trial and error bestowed upon the branches of the military. For example, this decision matrix:



This matrix dumbs things down, but empowers the end user to make decisions. Granted, the UCMJ and good order and discipline mandates might make one a little squemish about what they're willing to tag their name/online handle to, but in the "real world," a decision matrix like this is incredibly handy in providing guidelines from which you can improvise and build upon--like a good jazz musician. And things don't get much more creative than Miles Davis, my friend.

As an aside, I'll never forget the confidence and sense of accomplishment I felt after jumping out of airplanes on my own. It took a few years to dawn on me that the parachute training program had less to do with learning about jumping out of planes and more to do with instilling a trust in the Air Force's training methods, and inspiring self-confidence in applying this learned behavior.

And that's my essence of the military. Their are those dedicated (whether patriotically or selfishly) to making a career of things. Then there are those of us who gave a lot and were given even more. As a veteran's advocate, I strive to impress upon those I work with or encounter professionally a level of competence that then carries over to the next veteran they have a chance to work with or hire. With the skills and experiences I gained from the Air Force, this is my opportunity to pay things forward.

Nice work by Capt. Faggard (whom I've never met, but share mutual acquaintances) in pushing the envelope here. I hope he keeps up the good work, guys like him are the future of the Air Force, and as our generation rises in the ranks, we need to continue to maintain the cutting edge in technology, strategy and communicaitons.

Cahoochies Update!

Here's the CNN piece on the Michael Dick (haha) story, first reported here last week:

Empire State Games on the ropes: Say it ain't so

This summer, I fulfilled a high school goal a a decade after the fact by trying out for and eventually making* the Men's Open Long Island Greco Roman team for the Empire State Games. This year's event, held in lovely Vestal, NY at the State University of New York-Binghamton, gave me an unexpectedly pleasurable opportunity to grapple with a Belorussian menace who gave me the ass kicking of a lifetime (see photo).



Getting ready to tangle with my opponent

In spite of my foray into on-the-mat diplomacy, I had a blast, and really felt like I accomplished something on my bucket list. That's why I was disheartened when I read this on the message boards:

Empire State Games may be downsized
Each participant could be charged $300
By Niki Cervantes

Some sports could be eliminated and others sharply cut for the Empire State Games if organizers have to deal with a “worst case” plan that involves the possibility of no state spending on the annual summer competition.

Young athletes also may soon be required to pay $300 to take part in the Games, a Western New York organizer warned Monday. (link)

I have a hard time arguing, considering current economic pressures, against charging at least some fee to participate. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoyed the opportunity to get my butt kicked for free, but reality is reality and if charging folks to participate will keep the games going, then I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

That said, I was shocked when I read this:

Meanwhile, the cut list is long for the Games in the Poughkeepsie area this July. Included is basketball for adults, boxing and sailing for all ages, soccer for adult men and women and softball for adults.

Adult volleyball and wrestling for adults also could be eliminated.

That would be a crying shame. Here's hoping that wrestling stays on the program and that we kick this economic crisis in the ass sooner rather than later.

-----

*I was like sixth on the ladder, and thanks to various injuries and prior commitments, I got the call two days before the event. I still maintain that I made the team.

My old lady could so do this...

Congrats to newest Yankee wife, Leigh Teixeira, who found $180 million reasons to coax her husband into playing first base for the Yanks. I'm also proud to say that Mrs. Morganobrien.com so could have done this interview, although I have to admit, I'm still a sucker for a Southern accent.

Steve Jobs is Sick...

...and (Gasp) from the looks of it if things keep up, this might be devolving worse then we first imagined!



Click image for enlightenment

Ohio State Loses

My college football season can now end in gleeful bliss after Ohio State suffered another heartbreaking loss in a meaningful January game (they're really getting into it on the Ozone Forum) to a superior team from a real conference...that is to say NOT the "little 11".

Personally, I think Utah deserves the title...honestly. They're undefeated. They beat Oregon State (beat USC) and Alabama (beat Ole Miss, which beat Fla.).

Since Utah won't garner enough support and Texas didn't wipe the mat with tOSU, I'm rooting for the Gators. In spite of Urban Cryer, I freaking love Tim Tebow, and it will be hard to root against a guy like this on Thursday night:


A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. And you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. And you will never see the team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God Bless

Morgan O'Brien's WiGO 1.05.09

On AFLink today, the Air Force got it right. Kudos to Tech. Sgt. Michale Voss, who knocked it out of the park in reporting what I consider to be the perfect internal communications piece.

What follows is a truly awesome story from the junior enlisted personnel that went above and beyond in an attempt to become a better Airman, family man and human being. The story couldn't have better timing (we're in the middle of resolution season); couldn't be more inspiring (you'll see); shows that our subordinates can often provide some of the greatest examples of leadership; and best of all, there are some great pictures to highlight the accomplishment (see below).

Rather than ruin the story through my muddled retelling, I'll hand it over to Sgt. Voss:

Deployed servicemember returns home half the Airman he used to be

By Tech. Sgt. Michael Voss
376th Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

1/2/2009 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyz Republic (AFPN) -- "I knew I was unhealthy and had to make some changes, especially when I thought about my five-year-old looking up at me," said Senior Airman Jarvis Johnson. "Without changes, I wouldn't be around to see him and my daughters grow up."

When you ask someone what they can accomplish in six months -- just 24 short weeks -- they may say something like, "I plan to finish a couple college courses," or maybe, "I'm going to read a couple books," or "Tour a little."...

(Instead, Johnson) has lost 125 pounds, is down to 165 pounds and has taking 14 inches off his waist.(link)

Kudos to Airman Johnson--here's the big reveal:


Before


After

I have to admit, this story blindsided me. In all honesty, I intended to highlight this "no-duh" story by my man Michael Hoffman today (which I still take great pleasure in posting):

PT program needs fixing, audit finds
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 2, 2009 18:12:05 EST
An Air Force-wide audit found the service’s fitness program is failing to keep airmen fit year-round.

The fitness program “did not effectively promote a healthy lifestyle,” and unit commanders did not give airmen enough time to work out while not cracking down on airmen who failed PT tests, according to a December report released by the Air Force Audit Agency. (link)

Rather than expecting a PT program to be a magic cure all (which I suspect the powers that be intended), the Air Force might look at the program more as a catalyst. If you want to be healthy, great--go for it, here are the tools. In fact, look at guys like Airman Johnson as examples.

If you don't care about how you look, how you feel or how you perform in the field have fun at the back of the pack where you belong. Just know that you made the conscious choice to position yourself there.

Robbie Madison Goes Big

Robbie Madison says 'Go Big'

Pretty cool footage of Robbie Madison's New Year's Eve jump.