Putting the 'I' in UCI

It's been a while, but rest assurred, Morganobrien.com stands vigilant. After all the guff this guy gave me after my team owned our ORI in '06, I can't let this guy get his picture in the Hanscom paper reviewing an Inspection and allow it to go unchecked (I mean, I guess I could, but that wouldn't be very fun).

Plus, I'm sure he broke some sort of record by injecting himself and his experiences into the briefing--just look at the jacket he's rocking indoors; I know Mass. is chilly in Nov (I was up there this weekend), but spare us--so I'm compelled to recognize the effort:

UCI Outbrief
Brig. Gen. Voldemort, Electronic Systems Center vice commander, presents the results of the recent Unit Compliance Inspection and Targeted Readiness Inspection at the Hanscom Base Theater Nov. 10.

Morgan O'Brien's WiGO 10.22.08

Sam Bradford: He's no Sonny Sixkiller

Native American Athlete Update

Had the chance to read another great article on a Native American athlete starring on the national level, this time Oklahoma stud soph QB Sam Bradford is in the spotlight, and is proving to be a huge hit within the Cherokee community:

Sooners’ Bradford Is Accidental Cherokee Hero
By THAYER EVANS
Published: October 11, 2008
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, who is one-sixteenth Cherokee, is at the forefront of the Heisman Trophy conversation, but he finds his role as the tribe’s hero somewhat awkward.

It looks like Nassau may have to halt the Wall of Shame:

Nassau removes Wall of Shame, Suozzi vows to appeal
BY ANN GIVENS | ann.givens@newsday.com
9:49 PM EDT, October 21, 2008
Nassau County took down its online "Wall of Shame" Tuesday, and from now on will post only the names and photos of those who are convicted of drunken driving, said County Executive Thomas Suozzi.

That's probably fair, considering the whole innocent until proven guitly thing the nation's built upon. I had a feeling that this was coming because 'Wall of Shame' + the name of the lady taking up the case was gettin a ton of hits on morganobrien.com. I figure council was doing research to see how her name was being used in light of her posting on the Wall.


I Hate Your Guts, Jim Norton

I'm excited about Jimmy Norton's new book, I Hate Your Guts, due out Election Day, Nov. Jimmy is an incredible comedian and was very gracious when he met me and Officer O'Brien after we caught a set at the Comedy Cellar. If I can find it, I'll post the photo he took with us.


In closing, a couple of notes for the dogs:

'Walter Reed' for combat dogs opens at Texas base
By MICHELLE ROBERTS – 10 hours ago

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A new $15 million veterinary hospital for four-legged military personnel opened Tuesday at Lackland Air Force Base, offering a long overdue facility that gives advanced medical treatment for combat-wounded dogs.

And then there's this: further proof that when the chain of command fails, there's always the power of the press:

Sunday: Minnesota soldier's dog headed here from Iraq
Ratchet is finally headed to Spring Lake Park after three attempts to spring him from Iraq. Army Specialist Gwen Beberg found the mutt in a trash heap there in May.

We should give them Homer as a fair trade

And of course this, my favorite Web video of all time. Apparently, this is the welcome home received by a Tech. Sgt. who just spent the last fourteen months deployed:



As always,
With my greatest respect,
Morgan

Morgan O'Brien's WiGO 10.14.08

Nassau is going to keep the Wall of Shame!

Nassau to Keep Posting D.W.I. Suspects’ Photos
By DERRICK HENRY
Published: October 12, 2008
Critics say it may be better to use a Web page intended to identify drunken drivers upon conviction, not arrest, suggesting the way it’s done now strips suspects of the presumption of innocence.

I think that this is a great tool, and any move designed to deter this behavior is fine with me. Anyone that gets on the road under the influence puts me in danger and that's not cool. That said, I feel for anyone that was wrongly arrested, and see the value in waiting until a conviction gained before posting.

Great to see that Bengal fans are not of the fair-weather variety

CINCINNATI -- Disappointed fans of the winless Cincinnati Bengals are trying to unload thousands of tickets for remaining home games, many of them well below face value.

The online ticket agency StubHub.com has 3,000 tickets for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. At least 4,000 tickets are available for each of the remaining games.

Some sellers don't care about making a profit. There are $64 tickets priced as low as $24.

Bootsy!

Personnel Shortfall Slows State Department

As if morganobrien.com didn't admire and respect the work of Defense Secretary Bob Gates enough, he goes and gets quoted in an article saying stuff like this:

Perhaps contrary to conventional wisdom, this is not a turf war the current defense secretary wants to win. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates favors stronger State Department funding.

State Department "programs are not well understood or appreciated by the wider American public, and do not have a ready-made political constituency that major weapons systems or public works projects enjoy," he said. "As a result, the slashing of the president's international affairs budget request has too often become an annual Washington ritual -- right up there with the blooming of the cherry blossoms and the Redskin's opening game."

Basically, he's saying that compared with the Pentagon, State is the Rodney Dangerfield in international matters -- it gets no, or certainly too little, respect.

The article goes on to hilight an impressive stat: "If just one war per generation is avoided because of effective diplomacy, think of the savings it brings to the nation."

It's a diplomatic victory -- and not a military victory that could only be gained by the spilling of much blood.

Yet, at the same time, the Department of Defense has played an ever-increasing role in diplomacy, much to the dismay of diplomats.

"The 'militarization of diplomacy' is noticeably expanding as DOD personnel assume public diplomacy and assistance responsibilities that the civilian agencies do not have the trained staff to fill," the report says.

Now, if only we could ensure that guys who never deployed never wore stars...

Cowboys now have two Roy Williamses

Now, all they need is Carolina's head baseketball coach to complete the set!

And here's a neat article about the two from their college days on the warring sides of the Red River Rivalry (link).

And finally, please tell me you dig Nike's new LT/Polamalu Ecstasy of Gold commercial:

As always,

With my Greatest Respect,
Morgan

Resisting the Temptation...

The picture, complete with half the rocket bearing "U.S. Air Force" markings, makes this story so much more enjoyable.

(Editor's note: I'm trying so hard not to make the obvious jokes here...I can only say that this reminded me of a certain commander that spoke of his certain "male" surgery in front of a wing officers call. I couldn't eat for the subsequent three days.)

Man's 'Viva Viagra' missile misfires in NYC court
NEW YORK (AP) — A court says a man's escapade in New York with a decommissioned missile emblazoned with "Viva Viagra" is a dud.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Arye Sachs' antics infringe on a trademark held by Pfizer Inc.

Sachs was ordered to stop displaying anything with Viagra logos.

He towed the 25-foot rocket last month to various spots in Manhattan, including Pfizer's headquarters.

His plan was to invoke Viagra while distributing politically themed condoms. The judge worried people would mistake the missile for a Pfizer-approved ad.

Sachs' phone rang unanswered Wednesday, and lawyers for Pfizer didn't return phone calls.

And here I am thinking Roger Clemens had the corner on being New York's Viagra Rocket.

Oh, and another great aspect of the story: the dude wears a flight suit:



Only in New York, kiddies. Only in New York.

Why the long face?

One would imagine that the life-altering promotion from colonel to brigadier general would inspire joy and cheer. According to these photos, that's apparently not the case.

I wonder why as a colonel, Voldemort was all smiles and contact lenses while as general, he's a more demure, bespectacled Voldemort. Either way, I hope he cheers up...it's not like he's ever had to leave his family for the desert en route to 'earning' those stars (in this wartime military). So he's got that going for him.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, United States Air Force. We've had a love-hate relationship over the last decade, but I can't help but always come to the conclusion that I'm a better person for having served. Even if you do stuff like this (link--biting my tongue).

PS- Happy birthday to the CIA and Joint Chiefs, as well. God Bless the National Security Act of 1947.

I think I just threw up in my mouth

I knew this day would come, I just never believed it:
Most Disappointing News EVER!!!

News Flash!

Oh, dear Lord

You gotta love the Air Force! I'm going to have nightmares about this happening...especially with you-know-who lurking. Interestingly, I didn't know Capt. Kibiloski, even within the small PA world. I'd love to know the whole story...

A welcome separation payment that wasn’t
A year later, DFAS tells captain to return $103K
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer

An Air Force mistake cost Sharon Kibiloski $103,000.

When Kibiloski left the active-duty Air Force as a captain in spring 2007, she walked out with a $103,000 voluntary separation payment approved by the Air Force Personnel Center.

More than a year later, the Defense Department demanded the money back, claiming Kibiloski did not qualify for VSP.

Morgan O'Brien's WiGO 09.04.08

Military Blogging article from The Nation
Yet another reason to love Gen. Petraeus (and All-American fave, Bill Caldwell):

Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, who commanded the 82nd Airborne in Iraq, is calling for more soldier blogging. He argues that instead of blaming the media for negative war coverage, the military should "empower" soldiers to blog and interact directly with the public and the press--even if it leads to some critical stories. In a recent blog entry for Small Wars Journal, Caldwell noted that the military takes many risks on the battlefield but becomes risk averse in "the informational domain." Meanwhile, one of the most prominent military leaders, Gen. David Petraeus, has plunged into the blogosphere from Baghdad to the Beltway. Last year, he e-mailed the popular conservative blog Blackfive to publicly thank "milbloggers" for "accurate" reporting on "the situation on the ground" in Iraq, while crediting them for following "legitimate operational security guidelines."

I'm a huge proponent of the power of information. As I look to learn more about the Foreign Service, I've often searched blogs written by junior FSOs looking for information on the exam process and A-100. I think that the military would do well to promote this type of information exchange among troops looking to enlist and those preparing to deploy. Likewise, as I wrote a few months ago, part of this blog's mission is to hold our military leadership accountable during this period of tremendous importance.

It seems like those self-assurred leaders with the least to fear--heroes like Caldwell and Petraeus-- are the biggest proponents of this openness. Meanwhile, those that earned their rank through less-than-heroic circumstances hit this site, well, we'll continue to keep an eye on you.

This headline needs a play on X-Files or something hacky like that
Thoughts and prayers are going out to Fox Mulder himself, David Duchovny, as he battles addiction. I thought this fantastic Newsweek article explained the fascinating concept and realities of sex addiction rather well.

New 2008 NFL Rules
As the NFL season kicks off tonight, I am using this as a shameless opportunity to nab some hits. New rules for the 2008 NFL season include:

A communication device is now allowed in the helmet of one defensive player.

Teams that win the coin toss can now defer until the second half.

Unless literally carried out by a defensive player, receivers must land with two feet inbounds for a completion.

The five-yard face mask penalty for incidental contact with the facemask was eliminated. Any twisting, grabbing or illegal use of a facemask will result in a 15-yard penalty.

and finally...

Jack Link's Beef Jerky has some funny f'ing commercials





With my greatest respect,
Morgan

A couple black eyes for the sport

I've already wrote about my feelings on the Great Swedish Bronze Rejection, which I can justify. Unfortunately, when my sport is supposed to be in its quadrennial spotlight, we've had some tough stories break this week:

Some sick stuff up in Connecticut

I hate bullies--hence my problem with Col. Voldemort--and this is a classic case of a DB asserting his power over a person in a weaker position...although I do think that Col. V was probably on the receiving end of this type of stuff in high school.

(And by the way, Officer O'B--is there a statute of limitations on this crime? Can a cop be the arresting officer of a perp that committed a crime against them--is that unethical?)

Some bad choices in Nebraska

These guys were plain stupid. Whatever they did is normally their own business. However, being student athletes, there is no excuse--they should have known better than to receive money for this, thus putting their scholarships on the line and screwing their teammates.

Morgan O'Brien's WiGO

I think it's important to highlight the glaring flaws of the Air Force, but at the same time I think I'd sacrifice credibility if I didn't point out some successes. For instance, the Air Force is leading the way in finding renewable and alternative energy to power the mission, and should be commended.

Government Exec did a nice piece on this. On the flip side, it's important to note that the man spearheading much of this effort, former Air Force Logistics Chief Bill Anderson, retired in the wake of the Moseley and Wynne resignations/firings.

I also thought that Air Force internal public affairs functions could learn from an awesome interview conducted with Brig. Gen. Cecil Richardson, the Air Force chief of chaplains.

The whole "prostheletyzing" thing has hung over the service for a few years, and I can understand the uncomfortability that non-Christians [to include Catholics :)] might feel because of the religious undertones that pervade the service. At the same time, the chaplains I worked with were incredibly valuable and important to the mission, and the service would be at a humungous loss without them.

That said, there's certainly some concern, and no shortage of outspoken critics. I think the interview conducted by Richardson (who's a helluva talker) with Air Force Times really knocked the issue out of the park. If there was a way to empower NCOs/jr. enlisted/jr. officers to ask these direct questions in a public affairs setting, maybe AF Link would be worth reading. Maybe the key is to outsource this function to out-of-chain civilians who wouldn't feel stifled or outranked in this situation, a la Stars and Stripes.


And for the fun stuff:


Air Force Botched Officer Separations: This feels like going to a casino where you always lose, hitting it big at a slot machine, finding out that the slot machine was broken and ultimately getting to keep the money because there's nothing the casino can do about it.


At the same time, Slates Fred Kaplan shares with us, how the Air Force also Botched Officer Promotions. I bet you-know-who is happy he's in the Air Force and not the Army. Sounds like careerist ass-kissers that haven't rolled around in the sandbox aren't having an easy time in our sister service.

More on this topic--one that deserves further analysis-- later.

For now, and as always....With my Greatest Respect,

Morgan

That's Twisted, Sister

I'll check tomorrow, but I think I spoke to these very nuns as part of my current position:

3 nuns detained during Peterson protest
The Associated PressPosted :
Monday Aug 11, 2008 10:25:01 EDT
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Air Force detained three women suspected of trespassing onto Peterson Air Force Base during a war protest.

Military personnel on Friday stopped Sister Barbara Huber of Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Sister Mary Ann Cunningham of the Sisters of Loretto in Denver, and Esther Kisamore of Colorado Springs as the women tried to deliver a letter to an Air Force general.

The three were later released.

They were detained during the seventh annual Sisters Witness

Against War event at the north gate of the base. About 45 people participated.

When I first started speaking to the nuns, I was expecting meek, pious souls. Boy, was I misguided! Social justice nuns are informed and passionate and a testament to the keeping the faith.

Anyone that keeps the Air Force on their toes is good in my book. I think they should expand their outreach to protest Colonels that allow their non-Catholic spouses to receive the sacraments!

With my greatest respect,
Morgan

Finally Jealous of Kirtland

Shortly after I escaped Kirtland Air Force Base and the clutches of the evil Col. Voldemort (almost two years ago, if you can believe it) to work at the Albuquerque Military Entrance and Processing Station, Gen. Peter Pace, then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the troops at KAFB. I couldn't bring myself to go back to the base for the event (see photo above), yet was ticked off that I missed it.

Thankfully, my prestigious status as a distinguished Chaminade alumnus rectified that 11 months later:

Suck on that, 377th ABW!!!

I got mines, and was thrilled that the old place didn't have anything to hold over my head. That all changed when I read this; dang it, I think there's actually something about the old place that has me at least a little bit envious:

Rankin, however, did confirm that “Terminator Salvation” was shooting at Hangar 333 on Friday. It’s near the Albuquerque Sunport runway, but it’s on Kirtland’s flight line. The hangar is part of the 58th Special Operations wing, which flies the high-tech V-22 Osprey helicopters.

Bale has been in Albuquerque for months working on “Terminator Salvation,” the fourth film in the Terminator franchise. He plays John Connor. The film is being shot mostly at Albuquerque Studios at Mesa del Sol.

I was tipped to this from an US Magazine piece.  Man, that would have scored some points with the old lady.  Getting to comment (and possibly work with) the Patrick Bateman while making the new Terminator flick at my old stomping grounds? That's freaking ridiculous. I would kill (no pun intended) to hang out with that guy.

Hey, you can't win 'em all, maybe he'll visit the UN or something some time. One can always hope...

With my greatest respect,

Morgan

Top photo: Tech Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.

In Praise of...the 39THIRTY

During the past decade, my distinct lack of hair (especially during three of the past four years, which were also marked by a distinct lack of humidity), I never really had much need for a cap.

Going to work in the morning, I'd wear my standard uniform cover. Working out, specifically in Albuquerque, sweat would evaporate before it became a nuisance. But that all changed when I came home to Long Island.

Upon commencing my return engagement with the Empire State, I've grown my hair out and returned to the annoying stickieness tied to living on a land mass surrounded by water. The equation is quite simple:

Hair + Humidity = Sweat + Annoyed Morgan

Hair gettin' in my face, sticking to my forehead, sweat getting in my eyes; this is a recipe for disaster. And seeing as I will not cut my hair out of a sense of pride (and the fact that it's yet another thing I can do the Col. Voldemort cannot, add that to actually running the run portion of the PT test...freaking cheater), I'm left to find out how to fix this.

Do I go sweatband? Man-dana? I mean, there's a time and place for both of those things. However, I'm an American first and foremost. I love apple pie and Midwestern girls. And above all else, I love the game of baseball.

As the official hat of  Major League Baseball, New Era's 59FIFTY is an institution. It's like a Chevy or a Nathan's hot dog.   In fact, New Era recently sent shockwaves through the hearts of purists when they reengineered the lids to better perform in game situations. Upgrades included a conversion from wool to an all polyester design, a black sweatband to hide stains and a black undervisor to reduce glare.  

Head Cover Performance in Action

Alas, I sweat like a Yeti, and even with the new specs, the 59FIFTY doesn't cut it when I'm working out.  Thankfully, a few years ago, New Era, in a shining example of capitalism, introduced a cap designed for batting practice, the 39THIRTY. According to New Era, like me, the 39THIRTY is built for performance. This is a match made in heaven.

From the New Era Web site:

The 39THIRTY is the true fan cap.  With its stretch-comfort fit, the 39THIRTY comes in either a performance mesh fabric or wool-stretch material for anyone or any lifestyle.

The 39THIRTY, while fitted, has an elastic band that allows for some flexibility. So while Air Force Morgan rocked a 7 3/8; Freebird Morgan has to go 7 1/2. The 39THIRTY gives me both, as I fit in the Medium-Large, and it's snug and comfortable.  

In my capacity as the consummate performer, I enjoy the performance mesh fabric, which is perfect for sopping up my sweat during intense training sessions like my interval workouts. Did I mention that in the morning if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches.  I can do 1,000 now.

I have to admit, I bought the Yankees 39THIRTY, but I had to hold my nose when picking it up at the Lids store in Times Square the other day because its very existence rips my sentimental heart out.  The interlocking NY should only appear on the famed navy blue caps of the NY Yankees.  Save the alternate uniform gimmicks for expansion teams like the Mets.  

I've also betrayed my Yankee pride and allowed myself to enjoy the caps of non-Yankee clubs.  My personal favorites include the Yankee-themed AL All-Star cap (modeled by yours truly above and shown below), as well as the TB Rays 2008 version (shown above)  There still remain some teams (Boston, Los Angeles Angels of Orange County-Anaheim-Sherman Oaks, Los Mets) that I'll never rock.

And so it goes, mo' hair, mo' problems.  But thanks to the folks at New Era, I have a reasonable solution to keep tabs on my loathsome locks.

To buy the 39THIRTY, visit:

New Era's online shop

MLB's online shop

And Rome Continues to Burn

And the week begins with a bang:

An apparent general officer suicide

A top civilian loudly resigns

Another top civilian resigns (a little more quiet)

Four Hill Airmen allegedly tied to attempted homicide

For those of you interested in the sugar-coated half truths: http://www.blogger.com/www.af.mil(Do yourself a favor and read the AF-sanctioned version of those stories, the differences are borderline insulting).

This is a sinking ship--we're a wartime Air Force and the leaders that stick around can't bail water fast enough. Gen. Schwartz and Sec. Donley certainly have their work cut out for them. On the bright side, there's only one way for this to go, so they have that going for them.

Is it Tuesday yet?

Air Force Continues to Steal Headlines

Thursday afternoon, the official Web site of the Air Force trumpeted the arrival of "offices in the air," placing this story as the lead on the 7-million-visitors-per-week page.

Air Force officials buy 'offices in the air'

WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Air Force officials recently approved the purchase of pallets that will provide work and rest areas for senior leaders traveling aboard mobility aircraft. The service is purchasing two types of removable mobile command workspaces for use by military and senior civilian leaders who are required to use military aircraft for travel. One is the Senior Leaders In-transit Conference Capsule, or SLICC, and the other is the SLIP, or Senior Leaders In-transit Pallet.

"Typical Air Force," I thought to myself. Only my service would celebrate this airborne luxury while our fighting men and women (to include numerous brave Airmen, both enlisted and junior officer) are in the sh!t, fighting.

Thankfully, the Washington Post thought the same thing, and covered the story on A01:

Terrorism Funds May Let Brass Fly in Style
The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend
counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents.

In a true, Profiles in Courage moment, the Air Force ripped down the story from http://www.af.mil/. Go ahead, I dare you to find it on the site or via the site search function. Fortunately, this is the same service that kept pictures of everyone's favorite colonel up well into his headline-stealing court martial. And don't worry, I saved a copy of the page.

This is incredible. Let's put this in perspective: someone in SAF/PA actually thought that this was noteworthy enough to lead the official Air Force Web page, and spawned an A01 Post story that causes the AF to pull the piece. That's a HUGE swing and miss. The last thing the AF needs is this kind of press.

More from today's Post:

A military officer familiar with the program, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about it, likewise said that its extravagance has provoked widespread contempt among lower-ranking Air Force personnel. "This whole program is an embarrassment," the officer said, particularly because transport seating for troops en route to the battlefield is in his view generally shoddy.

It' s no secret what I think about certain Air Force leadership, so this is only par for the course. You grow to expect this after a while.

As one of my former fellow Airmen recently wrote,

"I have to admit, when I heard about those to jack-asses getting the boot,
I had to chuckle a little. They f-d everything up when they started
cutting good people to buy a couple more jets. Now we're knee deep in a
war that requires leaders, not planes, and they are undermanned."

I also think that this is the tip of the iceberg. While I was on active duty, rumor had it that while at Scott AFB, Gen. McNabb gutted his C-21 (executive transport/military Lear Jet) and retrofitted it with various outlandish upgrades (leather interior, there was word of an in-flight bar). If true, there's much more here. Hopefully, the Post has only scratched the surface and continues to pursue reporting on unnecessary excesses.

Don't Drink the Water!!!

Sometimes, the headline and the lead paragraph don't jive:

Kirtland water deemed safe despite fuel leak

By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Jul 16, 2008 11:01:31 EDT

Between six to 18 inches of jet fuel floats on top of the water table beneath Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M, and has spread to nearby Albuquerque due to leakage from a corroded underground fuel pipe (continued).

Now I am a gambling man, and that's one sentence that's going to make me walk past the water fountain and become a Poland Spring man, especially when I read this:

If ingested, a blend of water and jet fuel would be toxic and even trace amounts could cause cancer, said Michael Jess, a professor at the University of Nebraska’s Water Center.

Admittedly Dr. Jess is from Nebraska. You know what the 'N' on their helmet stands for? 'Nowledge. LOL, give me those ribs...

I must give credit to Col. Robert "Junior" Suminsby, who actually did a heck of a job communicating the facts. He's got some strong crisis communications chops:

“We knew the first question was going to be: What are you going to do about it?” Suminsby said. “Until we secured the funding for the additional wells and the remediation effort we didn’t have an answer for that question.”

That's the 100 percent correct answer, which was much better said than the initial base message:

"We decided it was better not to scare people right away."

Not to give him a free pass, Junior did provide one cringeworthy line:

“There’s an old saying out here that whiskey's for drinking and water is for fighting so we expected a certain amount of controversy on this,” Suminsby said.

As an expert on being an Air Force wiseass, take it from me, Junior, there's a time and a place for humor: and a potentially tainted water supply is not the time to break out the cowboy diplomacy.

In conclusion, I bet you can guess who I would love blame this all on...if I could only make the facts fit the case. Rest assured, I'll remain vigilant as I pursue the smoking gun...DEVELOPING...

Good Things DO Happen!

You know how some times in life the worst people always seem to get over? (Sec. Gates, you're doing so well, why this???)  You know what I'm talking about?  For some reason, the Air Force really hammered this possibility home.  Multiple times.  Over and over again.  To the point it was almost insulting (Not as insulting as how fabricated that story is, UGH-Ed.)

Thankfully, my faith in humanity is restored as the first female Thunderbird pilot, Maj. Nicole "FiFi" Malachowski (Hell of a story behind that call sign), earned a White House fellowship!

As an aside, the White House Fellowship is as big as it gets.  My Air Force idol, Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, was a fellow after he was a Rhodes Scholar.  My State Department idol, Colin Powell, was also a Fellow.  The program is truly a murder's row of leaders.

I had the pleasure of taking Nicole and her fellow Thunderbirds to an Albuquerque Isotopes ball game when they came out to Kirtland for the 2006 Air Show.  She was first class, a beauty outside and in, as she gracefully answered all my questions asinine ("Would you get fired if you flew your F-16 through the Gateway Arch?")  



She had a touching story about an old friend from Long Island that passed away too young, and was incredibly down to Earth for such a groundbreaking woman and officer.

Way to go, FiFi!  You keep making your nation proud.

Captain Morgan Was Real, Damnit

I read on AOL today that "Captain Morgan was real"

Tell me something I didn't know. In addition to this:
-----
Captain Morgan
The real Captain Morgan never made a drop of rum--the brand was launched in the U.S. in 1983--but he did drink himself to death after a depraved life of piracy. Captain Henry Morgan razed cities, tortured locals into giving up their gold, and sexually assaulted women during the 1671 sacking of Panama City. Today, the rum named in his honor is the world's third-best seller, behind Bacardi and Tanduay.
------
There's also Captain Morgan 2.0:

Now if you told me that there was a pirate named "Colonel Dickhead," then I'd be impressed...