The lions startled us by moving ever closer to our position. We take a step back, and, in doing so, push a small rock over the edge of the cliff. For a brief moment, we follow with our eyes the path of the rock as it tumbles toward the bottom of the abyss. The rock hits the bottom, but, due to the distance, we did not actually hear it hit, but our mind replaced the brief gap of silence with its own crashing sound timed with the visual of the rock exploding into a million pieces. One step closer to the edge and we would have met the same fate as the rock! Time slows down, our senses intensify, and we feel like all the blood is starting to drain from our extremities. Just then, we can hear a growling that sounded as if it was produced by the devil himself. Unlike the cliff, the lions provide us with a very different and more immediate threat. We don’t turn to face them straight away; maybe in a hope that they might just go away and leave us alone, but, as the seconds pass, we realize that is clearly not going to be the case. We slowly turn to face the lions while trying not to make any sudden moves that may trigger an attack. Now, our attention has fully returned to the lions. We are so overcome with fear we cannot even count how many there are. We have fixed our eyes on the largest and closest feline. Even with his mouth closed we can see large teeth, but those are not what grab our attention. We fixate on the pupils of his eyes, they seem as big around as quarters, and, when we look deep into them, we realize we are the only thing that lion has on his mind; we are his prey, and he is hungrily sizing us up for the kill. Tears are now starting to well up, making everything a bit blurry, and we are too afraid to blink. Oh God, what do we do?

Launching ourselves off the cliff would be taking our own life; we may suffer less, but how would it affect our after-life? Most religions frown upon people taking their own life. Besides, if we jumped, our bodies would quickly reach terminal velocity, we would be gasping for air, as it would be like trying to breathe with your head poked out a car window at about 120 miles per hour. The sudden stop against the hard, uneven ground would break every bone in our body, and death would be instantaneous. On the other hand, the lions would each bite and rip into our flesh, tearing the organs from our body as we watch in horror. We may even stay conscious long enough to hear the popping sound our leg would make as it separates from our torso. Are we having fun yet?

The bodily pain from jumping of the cliff will be very short lived. With any luck, we may lose consciousness before we even hit the ground, but the pain which will hurt the most will be the mental anguish we will experience from the fact we will not be able to say goodbye to those left behind, and the pain brought on by the wondering of whether or not we made the right choice. Conversely, the pain we will experience at the claws and jaws of the lions will be mostly physical in nature. The trauma of having our flesh ripped open by the multiple predators will generate unbelievable amounts of physical pain that our only thoughts will be in its relief. Death is moving ever closer, and as the pain becomes more than we can bare, we will ultimately embrace the concept of our death and wish it to hurry along.

We are ultimately defined by what we do with the things we can control and how we react to the things we cannot. Even in our no win scenario involving the cliff and the lions, we had only two real choices to make; admittedly, each leading to a closed casket funeral, but provided tons of information to reflect upon. In life, we are confronted with various challenges, and a majority of those choices will not have to deal with life or death, but know that each decision we make is an example that others may use to help guide their future actions.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Launch or Dinner?

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Veterans Day 2009

See the rest of this cartoon on Jeff Bacon’s Broadside blog and don’t forget to donate to Valour-IT!!

Hey, I just realized – Today, 29 years ago, I started my first day of Navy bootcamp at RTC Orlando. Dang, time flies.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Broadside for Valour-IT!

As Neptunus Lex puts it, “Now, besides the warm glow of knowing that you’ve helped a wounded troop reconnect with his family, friends and the world, you can also receive a tangible reminder of your munificence…”

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

The Valour-IT Auction

Now, look over to the sidebar, and take a look at the thermometer widget for Valour-IT (Team Navy), click on it and give what you can. Veteran’s Day is just around the corner, your gift will go to veterans in need. If you require more motivation than it being a righteous cause, visit this Flightdeck Friday post, or go see CDR Salamander where he makes a great recommendation concerning Valour-IT, “Find some pocket change. Paper pocket change.” Or go see the world renowned Naval blogger, Boston Maggie (oh, for your safety (as correctly stated by CDR Salamander), “Don’t make her angry, you wouldn’t like her when she is angry.” Now, please click the widget!!!

If you would rather mail in a donation, send it to this address and mark your check with Team Navy!
Soldiers Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

Employment Cost Index

The fund started with $2215.62, and to date it is up to $3513.66 – so far we are up to $129.80! You can track the amount daily on the side bar. Don’t worry, bad days won’t effect the total, the amount will only go up!

Ready to pledge a like amount in the name of Team Navy? Click on the Valour-IT widget in the sidebar, what a great way to start your holiday season!

“Project Valour IT”, of Soldier’s Angels, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Soldiers Angel’s has been designated a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity by the IRS, so direct donations to Soldiers’ Angels are deductible to the extent allowed by law.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

2009 Project Valour-IT

Grades You Receive
VA can’t pay benefits for courses that don’t count toward your graduation requirements. If your school reports that you received a grade that doesn’t count toward your graduation, you may have to repay all benefits VA paid for the course. Here are some examples:

• An “I” grade for an incomplete which is not made up during the time period required by your school or within 1 year from receipt, whichever is earlier.
• A “W” or other grade for withdrawing
• An “AU” or other grade for auditing

Generally you do not have to repay benefits for a failing grade.

If You Withdraw
If you withdraw from one or more courses after the end of your school’s drop period and receive grades that don’t count toward your graduation requirements, you may have to repay all benefits VA paid for the course from the beginning of the term.

You may not have to repay the benefits if you show the change was due to reasons beyond your control. The reasons must be unavoidable and unexpected events that directly interfered with your enrollment.

Examples of reasons that may be excepted:
• Extended illness
• Severe illness or death in your immediate family
• Unscheduled changes in your employment
• Lack of child care

Be prepared to send evidence to support your reason.

Examples of reasons that may NOT be excepted:
• Withdraw to avoid a failing grade
• Dislike of the instructor
• Too many courses attempted

Not that I plan on ever failing a class, but I was under the impression that if you did fail one you better break out your check book, or maybe that is just Tuition Assistance… Whatever, I shall do my best and I hope you do also! Now back to studying for my accounting test.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

911GIBill What Ifs

At about noon, the ship stopped all engines and went dead in the water; the “Steel Beach Picnic” was now underway. The picnic was an event that would make any outdoor party fanatic proud. It was our first day off in a month. We were blessed with a perfect, cloudless day with a light breeze that made the mid-summer heat bearable. Eight grills were laid out end to end, covering about 25 yards of the flight deck. Each one loaded with hot coals at the ready, and seemingly begging for the juices that would be produced from the searing cuts of beef. The coals appeared to be just as hungry as those they were giving their all for. The steaks hit the grated cooking surface with a sizzle and sent the smell of freshly grill steak in my direction. A freshly grilled steak smell has many medicinal properties I won’t get into for now, but I can assure you that it cured any amount of depression I may have felt up to that point. Oh, and what is a party without good music? There were six different bands consisting of talented crewmen, playing various genres of music, and strategically placed around the remaining 90,000 square feet of the ship’s runway. I ate until I could hardly move while soaking up the festivities; this day was shaping up to be a truly memorable day.

As the clean up from the day’s festivities came to a conclusion, you could see the other ships in our battle group start to position themselves closer to us. Each ship maintained a couple of miles separation from the others, and maneuvered themselves until the entire group formed a large circle. Then, as if on cue, the sun appeared to extinguish itself in the sea. If you haven’t seen a sunset while in the middle of the ocean, I suggest you put that on your “bucket list.” It is an amazing sight. Once the sun had completed its journey beyond the horizon, a loud cheer from the ships crew numbering about 5000 seemed to summon the stars to our celebration. I promise you, they showed up to provide a most excellent backdrop for what was going to happen next.

Strategically placed along the perimeter of our ship were mounted .50 caliber machine guns, four along the starboard side, to be used for protection during our planned transit of the Suez Canal, but this night they would serve another purpose. With military precision and timing, each of the four machine guns began to fire producing flame from their barrels accompanied by an obstreperous din. Every fifth round from the guns was a tracer round that produced a red stream into the night air. It was then the other ships joined in the action. The other ships, frigates, destroyers, and cruisers were equipped with 5-inch deck guns and other weaponry they used to fire star-burst rounds that would make it appear as if the sun had returned. America and its power were on full display that night, and I had a front row seat.

On that glorious day, we celebrated our nations birthday nearly half way around the world from home. Remembering those who came before me, I stood consumed with national pride, a since of purpose, and deep emotion. Every concussion from the various explosions sending chills down my spine. It was the first Independence Day in my life I felt I understood what it meant to be an American. Every July Fourth since that day I look up into the night sky and become so overcome with pride that tears fall down my cheeks. Not the kind of tears you might try and hide when you watched Ol’ Yeller meet his demise, I am talking pride tears and they are cool.

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

My Favorite Holiday

Happy Birthday United States Navy!

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

234 Years Old

Follow this breast cancer information link, and start to get yourself educated on a disease that is projected to kill about 41,000 Americans in the next year.

Remember, awareness and education is just the first step towards a cure. Support, in any way you can, the American Cancer Society!

2009 Military Pay Chart
2010 Military Pay Chart

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month