Well, it was a fun trip...

[najaboy]

All things considered, it was a fun TDY. For the first three days, I managed to get lost on base at leat twice per day. For those who've never seen it, Wright-Patterson AFB is in many measures the largest and most complex Air Force Base. The base itself is divided into three geographically separated areas totaling over 8,500 acres (about 13.25 square miles). The BX/PX & Commissary alone total four acres under one roof.

Anyways, for anyone even remotely interested in aviation, a visit to the museum is a must. Several aircraft are on display, from early biplanes to an F-22 Raptor. Other aircraft on display include an SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, XB-70 Valkyrie, Predator, and Tacit Blue. Several presidential aircraft are also on display, from the plane that FDR used to make the first ever Presidential flight, to SAM 26000- the first plane which was ever designed to function as Air Force One. 26000 has the dubious honor of being the aircraft that carried JFK's body back to Washington. She was only recently retirred from the Presidential fleet, and is now on public display.

Finally, this past weekend, we were privledged enough to see a free advanced screening of The Scorpion King. All in all, it was a pretty good movie. Naturally, there were a few emperor scorpions in the movie, as well as some snakes. The snakes used in the movie were supposed to be four "cobras". Surprisingly enough, they actually used a few monocles. I was kinda disappointed though, to see that one of the "cobras" was a mangrove snake. Oh well, three out of four ain't bad. The other thing that is quite npticable is that the cobras hooding and striking was a cgi animation. I had to kep reminding myself to not be critical of how wide the cobras' hoods were.

[addsig]

[eddie]

Dang Najaboy!
Not only did ya have a good trip, but you came back with a movie review!

I give you, Two Thumbs up!

Now as for you getting lost so much, hehe, I guess the Airforce isn't quite like the navy in that respect. Sure, some bases were big, but if there was any confusion, we had base maps in most of the public buildings, like the rec center, exchange, laundromat etc.
( I guess that means us sailors were stupid, huh?)
[addsig]

[najaboy]

LOL...We had maps too, they were just flawed. One thing that they failed to show, was that officer housing, which was in the middle of Area A, was closed to through traffic. On the map, it looked like I had a relatively straight shot from billeting to work, but that wasn't the case. The first few mornings, I found myself getting to work late because I had somehow wound up taking a wrong turn and going out one of the many gates. That first day, it took me forty minutes to find my way back to my room from the hangar.

One of my first mistakes was getting directions from one of the gate guards. That guy had to have gotten in on an ASVAB waiver. The directions that he gave me were "....follow this road 'til you can't go any further, then take a right. Problem is, that road doesn't end...it goes to a gate on the other side of the base, nowhere near the flightline. A right turn at the very first intersection would have put me right where I needed to be, and saved me several miles of driving and backtracking.

Also, this is the first base I've seen where building numbers have no corelation whatsoever to location. Once you come into the main gate, you encounter buildings no. 1 & 2, but all bets are off after that.

On the bright side, I managed to get a new id card while I was there. I don't know if you've seen the new military id, but they are pretty darn neat. Vital information, such as military medical records, fingerprint, and signature, is stored on the card.


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[eddie]

Hmmm, a lot nicer than the ID when I was there, but can ya say Big Brothah?
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[natas]

That is a neat card.....just be happy they didn't embed a chip in your wrist [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]


Yah the card is big brother'ish...but heck its the military...and in my opinion if you join the military...you pretty much should expect stuff like this [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I don't mind the card or the idea...but like I said the day the start embedding chips on us is where I am really gunna get freaked out
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[eddie]

Natas, there is a chip hidden in EVERY Prince Albert stud made and installed in this country!







j/k
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[natas]

Oh crap!
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[telefrag]

HAHA!
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[Ritchie]

I still have the old one.....
I reenlisted a month or so too soon.........
They started issuing those after I got mine....go figure.
[addsig]

ROFLMFAO Eddie! Your cruel haha

Naja..Ya prolly shoulda found a woman to get your directions from...lol

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[XzyluM]

A girl probably could have lead him around and gave him directions, but only if he stayed away from the blondes. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]
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