Virginia Beach & Massachusetts

This is a little late in coming, but I've been a little myspace phobic lately and busy with the holidays and new work schedule at the clinic. 

After I graduated from the Flight Surgeon course in Alabama, we (Malisa, Collin and I in one vehicle and Mom-mom, Chris, Tab and Lucas in their car) drove back up to Virginia Beach.  It was about a 14-15 hour drive and pretty boring as far as road trips go.  We did the usual routine of stopping at Cracker Barrel and renting the audio CD's to listen to enroute, so we got a couple of good "reads" in. 

We arrived at the Marriott in Virginia Beach and as we pulled into the parking garage, we could see the 2 grammies waiting for us in the lobby...who knows how long they were just sitting there waiting, haha.  Probably hours. 

I guess Pam and Debbie (my mom and Malisa's mom) went down to the beach before we arrived...here are a couple shots of them enjoying VA Beach after their own long drive down from Mass. 

We were pretty tired and just crashed out for the night after getting there.  Collin spent the night with his Mimi and Grammy Pammy whom he had missed so much.  The next morning we ate breakfast down in the lobby and then headed over to my brother's house. 
Here's Collin and I at breakfast in the lobby...

When we arrived at my brother's place, we could hear the LOUDEST music ever as we opened the car door.  I thought there was a concert going on..and it turns out there was...in my brothers backyard where he was playing the drums and accompanied by his IPod that was hooked up to a huge amp.  He sounded good though! 
Collin and Lucas were all too eager to pound out some percussion themselves....

 

They took a break and did some mini 4-wheeling around the yard.

Meanwhile, Christopher and I sang a little Green Day while Tabitha played the drums.

After hanging out with family all day, we headed to our favorite restaurant in Virginia Beach, Harpoon Larry's for some Oysters and Crab legs.
Mom and Mom Little at Harpoon Larry's...

 

Debbie likes Larry's so much that my mom bought her a shirt for her birthday which she proudly modeled!

3 photos demonstrating the silliness of seafood...

We had fun and mom and Collin danced their little hearts out, oblivious to all around (haha).  The next morning, Malisa and I got up early and went for a run on the boardwalk and then did some lunges while Collin hung out with the Grammies.

We headed back over to Mom-mom's where Dad really enjoyed spending time with his 2 grandsons.

 

Candy and dirt...a boy's dream...here's messy-faced Lucas

Funny picture of dad...

 

    We headed back to the hotel in the afternoon.  Collin got to go play on the beach and later some people came over and we rocked out to Guitar Hero!

Chris and Jess...Guitar gods..

The next day we left Virginia and headed up to Massachusetts to visit everybody else.  Here I am with Mom and Dad, saying goodbye...

It was good to visit with everybody when we got back to Mass.

Here's Todd and Collin (or CJ, as only Todd is allowed to call him)..

Collin demonstrating proper thumb-sucking to his cousin Josiah..

Malisa's birthday is November 13th and mine is Nov 14th, so we stayed at one of the cottages at the Hotel Northampton and went out for dinner and drinks in NoHo.  We were supposed to meet a friend but due to some miscommunication we didn't...maybe next time?  Anyway, we ended up having an amazing time, it's really beautiful there. 

I was spreading Guitar Hero addiction like crack.  Here I am at my sister's house getting James involved in the spirit of ROCK. 

One of the last things we did on our trip before heading back to Germany was play golf with Malisa's brothers Tim and Todd.

As we left the golf course, there was a styrofoam skull leftover from Halloween and the guy working there asked if I still wanted it for my son (we had gone golfing with Collin a few days before and he said Collin could have it but we forgot to take it).  So, I said sure...and took it home...wearing it on my head to try to spook Collin.  As you can see...it didn't bother him in the least. 

 

It was a good visit and we're back in Germany now, about to enjoy the new year!

Flight Surgeon Graduation and Alabama Visit

It's been a long time since I've posted a blog....I almost forgot how.

I graduated from the Flight Surgeon course on 09 November.  It was nice because my brother Chris, his wife Tabitha and their son Lucas as well as my Mom-mom came down for the graduation (a long 14 hour drive!) and Malisa and Collin flew over from Germany. 

Here's my squad, 3rd squad.  We had quite a mix..Coast Guard, Air Force, Army and civilians. 

And the class photo...we absolutely couldn't get organized...nobody really cared enough to have a nice class photo, so it was just a pile on right before lunch.

Fort Rucker, Alabama has the US Army Aviation Museum, so Collin was thrilled to be able to check out the different planes and helicopters that have evolved in Army aviation history.  Here's some pictures of him at the museum.

Here's a couple of pictures of Collin and Malisa checking out the Sikorsky, a cargo-lifting helicopter.

 Some photos of Collin and his cousin Lucas.  This was the first time they'd seen each other in almost a year and they had fun playing together.  Collin calls Lucas "Yucas". 

 

I had a few days of class left when everybody arrived, but on one of the mornings, we were doing some "water crash survival training" where you have to be flipped over in the water and learn how to unhook yourself from the seat and egress from the helicopter out the window.  I brought my brother Chris with me and he was able to participate in the training, so that was pretty fun to do some "army stuff" with my bro!  Here he is getting out of the pool after learning how to come up for air if the water surface is on fire from burning fuel.

Here I am in the "SWET" chair, which is what they flip you over in to train you for the DUNKER chair which is an actual simulated helicopter that flips over into the water.

Me and my brother Chris!  A couple of handsome bastards.

My Mom-mom....I love her so much!

Collin and Lucas hanging out and playing in Alabama.

When I graduated, I was handed my Flight Surgeon wings that are worn on the uniform.  I asked Mom-mom to pin them on me, and part of the tradition is that when they are pinned on, they have to be "punched" onto your chest hard enough to draw blood, aka "blood wings" so that you don't forget that you got them.  She thought that idea was pretty funny, as you can see here.  I had a hard time convincing her to punch me, I'm sure there are plenty of volunteers out there that would have jumped at that chance......

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...keeping this one short and sweet. 

U.S. Army Flight Surgeon Course - Week 2

WARNO: This blog probably has more pictures than any other blog I've ever posted.  It was a very busy week and people were taking lots of photos.  If you have dial up...you might want to go get a coffee....at a store....and come back later.

Week 2 began on a Tuesday morning at 0545 when we all formed up to run up and down stairs for an hour...I was sore for days afterward but it was fun (looking back...not so much during).  Then we had our first exam to start off the morning.  I got an A, but that's not saying much, it was one of the easier tests that I've taken.  If you managed to stay awake during the slow powerpoint death, then you would have gotten an A too. 
 
We started to learn a little bit about altitude physiology and did some pretty cool stuff this week.  It was only a 4 day week, but in that time I spent an afternoon flying on a CH-47 Chinook, one afternoon in the altitude chamber getting hypoxic at 25,000 feet and another afternoon flying the Blackhawk simulator, it was a very busy and very fun week.  I even squeezed in some golf over the weekend. 

As always...the pictures:

We started the week out by learning about spacial disorientation and how errors are made in the cockpit and what happens if you try to correct them without going on.  One particularly dangerous vestibular illusion is "The Coriolis Effect" in which you make an abrupt head movement after a prolonged constant-rate turn that has ceased.  It creates the illusion of rotation or movement in an entirely different axis.  To demonstrate it, the instructors put me into this rotating chair and asked me to put my arms up as if the Patriots scored a touchdown.  Then they spun me around for a bit and then asked me to do that again....as you can see....I was way off center.  (Unlike the Patriots, who are now 6-0 baby!)  If this happened in an aircraft, you would probably go into a spin and crash.

 

 

So after demonstrating the Coriolis effect and realizing my days may be numbered....I decided to model a Samuel Adams Oktoberfest, one of my favorite beers!

 

I forget what night it was, Tuesday maybe...about 10-12 of us went out to this little Italian restaurant called "Italian Food", haha.  It was actually a gem in the rough and was very good.  The next night we went to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant which was very good also.  I've definitely been doing my share of eating while I've been here.  This was at the Italian place...vodka martini or chianti?  Hmm...why choose?

The next day my squad went out for our CH-47 Chinook helicopter flight.  That's the big helicopter with the 2 rotors.  It looks like a big bus, but it's actually the fastest helicopter in the Army because the 2nd rotor provides counter-torque, therefore it generates 100% lift.  It's also the only helicopter capable of carrying itself (for example, it can sling load another Chinook).  Just some interesting little facts that I've learned in school, haha. 
Here's the slow motion movie shot of some of us walking out to the flight line.

 

3rd Squad!

It was a nice flight and I was able to see Alabama from the air.  The great thing about flying on such a perfect day was that both the crew windows were off and the back ramp was down a bit so we had a great breeze coming through and could hang out the window and get a good look around.  Here's some pics from the flight.

After a while we came across a good sized river so we dropped down and flew along it a little below the tree level, it was fun.  The pilot was a student CW2 that was changing aircraft, he used to fly Apaches.

We all took turns riding in the jump seat to observe the pilots and plug into the ICS (internal communication system) with our helmets.

We stopped in a field that had different weighted blocks for the pilot to practice sling-loading.  We got out so we could take pictures of it from the outside (and take a leak!)

I wasn't a huge fan of the new motto "Army Strong", but here's my impession...

Here's the Chinook student practicing his sling load...

The next day, we went into the altitude chamber where we had to go up to 25,000 feet and then take our oxygen masks off to experience hypoxia and identify how many symptoms we had.  They gave us a quiz to take once we took our masks off and they were very basic questions, including addition and subtraction, but it got very difficult very quickly.  Your mind slows down rapidly when you have decreased oxygen pressure, it's pretty weird.

After the altitude chamber, I went to fly the Blackhawk simulator with the instructor pilot.  It was probably one of the coolest things that I've ever done.  There are different video screens projecting onto each window, so you can see in front and to the sides, just as if you were really flying.  It also moves like a real helicopter, giving you some sense of G forces. 

Finally, we ended the week with some golf.  Here's one of the medical students, Ryan Knight, with his beer coozy that he carries everywhere...

Me, victorious after a long putt!

The four of us at one of the last holes we played.  We took forever and didn't get all 18 in before we had to return the carts.  It was relaxing though and we had a lot of fun. 

 

Thanks for reading!