Days 4 and 5 of AF Conference

Thursday was another interesting day of briefings. Some were more interesting than others, I assure you. The most interesting briefer, for me, was Maj Gen Paul Selva, the man in charge of thinking ahead for future AF needs, etc. If you know me at all, you know that I am really interested in thinking ahead to the future. What will we look like? What will we need then that we need to start working on now? Here are a few things from his briefing:
1. 30% of China's population lives in the cities. What will the energy demand be in the future if more of that 70% rural population moves into the city?
2. At the current rate, the new F-35 will take 50 years to buy.
3. The AF needs to think about replacing the F-22, the world's premier fighter, in 2018.
4. The last American Soldier killed by enemy aircraft was in Korea--1953 (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123052633).
5. Without air dominance, 1 of our servicemen dies to every 7 of theirs. With air dominance, 1 of ours dies for every 60-600 of theirs!

Very interesting stuff re: the importance of the AF and what we bring to the fight. Also interesting in that people wonder why the AF needs fighters unmatched by the rest of the world. You'll note three things--1) the rest of the world is not just twiddling their thumbs (SAMs, for instance, can lock on to aircraft that are 200 miles away--much farther than we can lock on!); 2) the buying process is so long that systems are in fact obsolete before we can procure them; 3) the R&D process and the procurement process are so long that we have to have systems far in advance of anything current so we can be current when we do get them!

I've been impressed by the deep thinking going on. It's great to know someone is thinking those thoughts!

Today, we went to the Pentagon and toured around (this was a personal tour). That was pretty neat as well. We go home tomorrow, and it's back to the grind. For now? It's time for supper! Ciao.

Day #3 of AF Conference

Just a quick note before I go to our Dining-In. If you don't know what that is, check this out (http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforce/a/afdiningin.htm). Anyway, went to the White House today (first time I've been), Arlington National Cemetery (toured around by the Honor Guard), the Air Force Memorial (more impressive than I expected), and then the Air and Space Museum, where I went into a flight simulator and had my picture taken by teens on a pictorial scavenger hunt (one of our group had her picture taken by a Chinese woman--spy? This is D C!!!). Anyway, I'm off to our Dining In. This is our cool, fancy uniform for such an affair.


Toodles! There will be more tomorrow, the last day of the conference, which is good, as I'm almost out of clothes!!!

Day #2 of AFCGOC PD Conference

Well, I ain't necessarily dumb, but today was definitely the AF nerd's day! We heard from the Vice-Commander of the AF's new Cyberspace Operations command. We also heard from the Commander of the National Reconnaissance Office (Did you know that everything in space that is 10+ cm is counted?!). Both were pretty much over my head! Good stuff, however, what I understood. You could hear the pocket protectors and slide rulers coming out!!!! We also heard from 5 Chief Master Sgts. The Chiefs are always good to hear from because they shoot straight. Best quote? "If you're going to be an officer, act like an officer!" Did you know the AF has a Special Operations command? I did, but not a lot of people do! The Vice-Commander spoke like a true SpecOps member--short and to the point. One of his tips for leadership is, "Stay in shape; pick up trash." Those two statement are not necessarily connected, just by the way. Perhaps the best speaker today, surprisingly, was the four star Marine General--James Cartwright. Very intelligent, articulate, and deep. He asked these questions--"How do you change the [military] culture to match the world? How do you remain relevant?" I couldn't help but wonder how the Church needs to answer those questions. We don't change church culture to match the world, by any means, but we might have to change it to remain relevant. As long as the Gospel remains the same, the rest is window dressing, and yet so many churches continue to stay the same. Lastly, we heard from Col (sel) Al King, the first mayor of Baghdad. He was very interesting. He actually has a website--www.2xarmed.com. Haven't checked it out yet, so can't tell you what's on there. He has much to say about how the Administration screwed up Iraq, but also has much to say about how we might still fix it. A few of his points--
* The problem came about when we labeled ourselves "occupiers," no longer "guests."
* "Iraq has never won a war, and never lost a negotiation."
* Al Qaeda is to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity.
* Cultural tips:
a. Don't shake hands unless it is offered to you first.
b. The senior person sits at the head of the table.
c. At the end of the tea at the end of the meal, LEAVE!
d. Don't use the left hand for anything.
Good stuff. I bought his book. I hope it will be helpful for when I go over there (if I do).

Lastly, our two star sponsor, Maj Gen Wurster, called a 1Lt up, and he and another two-star pinned on her new Captain's bars in front of everyone at the end of the day. It was pretty neat. Not many Lt's can say that has happened to them. Neat conference, thus far. I had supper with AJ Dobson and Andrew Ralon tonight, then came back and ran for 25 minutes. Tomorrow is tour day, and my bus will go to the White House, the Air and Space Museum, and Arlington. We'll be back tomorrow night in time to get dressed for our formal Dining-In.

Peace!

Conference Day #1

Interesting day today, with lots of good speakers, so I've enjoyed it thus far. Most of our speakers today were two and three-stars, and yet very down-to-earth. So, just a few key ideas, thoughts, and quotes for you to ponder:
a) Prince George's County, MD, has a higher murder rate than NYC;
b) On Jan 11, 2007, the Chinese successfully destroyed a defunct missile (thanks, Wikipedia) using an ASAT (anti-satellite)weapon, thereby causing a few people to go, "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm";
c) At least two speakers emphasized (footstomped) the necessity of bringing the family along. One said, "If you reach the top of the [promotion] pyramid, and your family is not with you, you have failed." I have long been impressed by the AF's commitment to the family;
d) "Communication is the hardest thing we [as humans] do";
e) The amount of trade in the Pacific region of the world in 2005 was $1.1 trillion;
f) India is the world's largest democracy and the third largest Muslim country;
g) "People get kicked out for doing something stupid--it's either with the Government Travel Card or with the zipper."

I'm also always impressed with the admonitions of our top leaders to be humble, to work hard, to live core values, to care for your people, to remember that service, by definition, involves inconvenience. Not that the AF, by any means, is perfect, but I sometimes wonder if the military (and civilian corporations as well) do a better job of touting spiritual ideals and holding people accountable for those than other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . institutions do.

On another note, I played the Wii at the Kendig's house Sunday. It is really a neat system. One of the games was boxing (at which I beat the former reigning Kendig champion--Ashley), and I am surprised (and even chagrined) at how sore I am the next day--as if I'd had a major weightlifting session!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's been an interesting weekend. I have an Air Force Company Grade Officers Professional Development Conference in D.C., starting tomorrow, so Jen and I flew in on Friday and drove down to SOMD for the weekend. The traffic is worse than I remember (!), and the East Coast is lusher and greener than I remembered! What a contrast to Wyoming!!! After the High Plains, Maryland feels positively "jungle-y"! We stayed with friends for the weekend, and we were very well treated. Thanks to the Dardens, who graciously opened their home up to us and anyone who wanted to visit. Bill hosted an Axis and Allies game Friday night (which I actually won!!!), as well as tons of people. Saturday morning, Bill and Barb managed to keep the boys from banging on drums like they wanted to, and Jen and I slept in a little while. Tina came over, and we talked, and then went to see the boys' soccer games. Afterwards, about 8 gazillion people came over to the Dardens, and the last one left around 10:30 p.m. We ate 5 Guys Burgers and Fries for supper (fiveguys.com), which we had both had a craving for, and just visited all night long. It was really nice. We had not realized how much we missed our circle of friends in Maryland, many of whom have children close to the same age as ours! It was really an amazing day of reconnecting with some great people (including several of "my" teens).

On Sunday, we attended Leonardtown Baptist Church and heard a really good sermon. The service itself was phenomenal (http://leonardtownbaptist.org/). It was strange, to say the least, to see so many of our good friends there instead of Lexington Park Baptist. It's quite saddening to see how LPB has gone down, especially for a church which had so much potential.

All in all, it was a really nice weekend. Great hospitality, neat people, beautiful countryside, warm church--very refreshing. Now, what did we do with the girls? Well, they went down to Aunt Mel's in Colorado Springs, where they mucked stables, rode horses, saw a new foal, played with 4-wheelers--in short, they had a very "rough" time. Mel brought them back to the house tonight, where Jen will meet them.

So, you're caught up now. Have a great week!

April's Thrills Bring May's Bills!

Wow! April has been a BUSY, BUSY month. We started the month by going to San Diego (Carlsbad, actually), where we enjoyed Legoland, the Wild Animal Park, Sea World, the beach, seafood, and family! We came back for a week, and then drove across NE and into Kansas City, MO, where I attended an SBC Chaplain's Development Conference on Islam at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, while the girls (all three of them) enjoyed (grand)parents and Jen's sister and niece. We got to see old friends as well, which was really neat. Then there was the interminable drive back across KS. I had forgotten the "joys" of smelling a cattleyard at night when I hadn't had time to prepare beforehand with a visual sighting! What olfactory bliss.

We did get to see the Old Ft. Bent Trading Post in Colorado on the way back (the next day, that is). That was really neat!

Anyway, we finally made it home to warm weather and green prairie (kind of nice, I must admit). I've been told that Wyoming summers more than make up for Wyoming winters. I hope so! Today was a great day, as was yesterday, and this whole week promises to be quite nice. We are all really looking forward to that.

I have a PDF of some GREAT pics from our trips, but I'm unable to get it to load!!! If you would like to see it, let me know, and I'll e-mail it to you!!!

Coolest job ever!

I love my job as a Chaplain. It's only Monday, and I've helped someone threatening suicide get the help he needs and I got to visit the wife of an Airman who just had (one month early) a 5# baby girl that they didn't even know was coming! I even got to hold the baby! She was perfect, and if you know me very well, you know I could go on and on and on--I won't. Last week, I visited an Airman in jail, and was able to see God doing some work in his life, now that he's hit rock bottom and all has been taken away from him.

Quite honestly, it's satisfying to be used of God in the lives of people. A few months ago, someone told me this--"Life is hard; stupidity makes it even harder." If it just stopped there, with "life is hard," what a waste this life would be! Thanks be to God for taking our stupidity and making it into something glorious! That's an awesome kind of job satisfaction.

Views and Sierra-isms

This is the view from our house. You can see the Rockies in the background during this beautiful sunset.

Sierra, as usual, keeps us laughing. Here are just a few "Sierra-isms" for your entertainment.
1. (After neighing loudly) "I'm kind of like a horse."
2. (After commenting on her roaring like a tiger)
Me--"You're not a tiger!"
She-"I'm just talented!"
3. While putting her to bed one night, she comments, "Dad, you're getting a uni-brow!"
4. Tonight, while she is doing her homework, she asks, "How do you spell 'nerd'?"
Me--"You spell 'nerd' like 'S-i-e-r-r-a'."
She-"Dad, how do you spell 'nerd'?"
Me--"K-a-y-l-a"
Kayla--"Oh, Dad! That was mean!!!"
She-"'Nerd!' Dad, how do you spell 'nerd'?"
Jen--"Sierra, you spell 'nerd' as 'n-e-r-d'."
She-"You know, like 'Leonard'!!"
5. 5. I called Sierra the other day and asked her to do something for me. She said, "I love you," and I said, "You're cute." Sierra responds with "Ah, you never tell me I'm cute." WHAT KIND OF FATHER AM I?

Life is just a barrel of laughs with children!!! Check back often--we'll try to keep these up-to-date.

APB (especially for the Dardens!)

Learned something new today. My sister-in-law turned around long enough for her 3-year old to grab the Super Glue and pour it out on his feet! Picture this little boy with great, big globs of greasy, grimey Super Glue all over his feet! Angela immediately scooped him up off of the floor (before he was stuck there to eternity and beyond!), and attempted the tried-and-true method of . . . . . . . acetone! She continued this treatment, despite Evan's cries of "It hurts, Mommy"! until she realized, with a fright, that she was running low on acetone and Evan's toes were still stuck together!!!! My wonderful mother-in-law recommended the Poison Control Center. So, here's what the "experts" recommend in such a situation:
1. DON'T use acetone. It burns (thus the aforementioned cries!).
2. DO soak in vegetable oil for 5 minutes (the super glue covered appendage, not you personally).
3. DO wash with warm, soapy water.
4. Chisel off super glue (please do NOT use a real chisel).

Bill and Barb--please mark this blog for future reference. You KNOW Owen's gonna need this advice!!!

New Smith Activities!

Hi! This is Kayla and I am starting gymnastics THIS Wednesday! I'm really excited! My teacher, Mrs. Gadlin, also entered my non - fiction book, NEPAL, in a young authors contest. I think it's going to be some real competition! As everyone - I think - knows, I'm going into 7th grade next year. I want my electives to be computers/electronics, a Speech/Drama class, and, as a back-up, Chorus. I think these will be fun but a little challenging. I'm not taking any advanced classes because I want to get used to junior high first. I'm a little nervous about junior high.
Dad is making me read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and there are some REALLY BIG WORDS in there. He's going over with me what they mean. Dad also ordered the next Harry Potter book for me, and it's supposed to be here July 21!
Sierra is taking piano lessons, so Mom and Dad are renting a new, digital piano. It's awesome! She is really excited. She is also getting yet another tooth! Sierra's teacher is supposed to be having her baby SOON! Sierra is excited that she gets to see Mrs. Hume's baby after it's born. I'm really jealous that I don't get to see her baby.
Milo has been very excited to see Dad again. Every time he sees Dad, he jumps on him! It's kind of funny, until he does it to me. :(
Kraig here--it's been a busy week for all of us. As you can tell, it's only going to get busier. Have a great week, and we look forward to hearing from you!