I've moved to deep in the heart of Appalachia.  It was either AFJROTC or Walmart greeter.  

Well, at least the nuclear weapons won't blow up in your face at the slightest provocation.   I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine if I'm talking about the flags or the students.  

Congratulations LimaXray, thank you for your service and keeping  the country and myself/my family safe.

What parts of OH are you in these days?  I'd be honored to buy you a beer.

Enjoy the retirement, new position and keep on posting your great insight, stories and recipes!

Thank you for your Service .

Congratulations to a real MAD man.  

Congratulations. My father also went from Airman to Lt. Col (Ret). We lived all over the world, mostly under SAC.

Decided I needed something to celebrate with.




I've got a Macanudo to go with it.

Gotta go easy, though, it's a school night.  

That is my plan when I retire

Absolutely!
and
Thank You.

Congrats!  26 years is a long time!

Congratulations on your retirement, Sir!

Veritasium just released a video made in a Titan II Silo.

They go through the launch sequence. sobering.

You earned it, congrats!

That was neat. Its amazing to think about how fast that could be done.



 

Congrats LX. Always have enjoyed your posts over the years, you are an asset to the site.

I must live in weird times. I was just talking to an Lt. Co this evening that is planning on retiring less than 6 months from now.  The whole time I was thinking NO, it cant be this OP. Then I checked and OP has wrong state.

Congrats SIR, and thank you so much for your service....

In all seriousness, that is a great career and congratulations to you sir.

i don't have much to say, except hats off.

enjoy your free time!

Congrats

THANK YOU SIR

Congratulations and thank you LimaXray for your years of safeguarding our nation.  Salute!

... Congratulations, I've always enjoyed reading your posts regarding your old job

Thank you for your service sir!

And please feel free to post stories, id love to hear them!

Congrats, in for the cow in the lagoon story.

Posting from base housing on Eglin.

Congrats!  You're gonna love retirement!!!

congratz and thank you for your service!!

enjoy retirement

Congrats and thanks for your service!  

Congrats sir

Thanks for your service. Welcome to the retired ranks...


Aviator

Congratulations on your fine career and very well earned retirement.

Cool

Well this ARFCOM, so I will go with both for the win!


Monk

A well earned retirement.  Come to Toledo and I'll buy you a well deserved lunch.


18Z50......

Enjoy retirement. You earned it!

Congrats sir!

Congratulations! Thank you for your service.

Congrats! I medically retired at 21y/6m/11d...So welcome to the club.!
You mentioned WalMart greeter, but the real money is at the Commissary bagging groceries.

Are you staying here in Ohio?

Yes I am, SE of Columbus.

Okay, cow in the lagoon story.

Background.  The missile sites are out in the middle of nowhere.  As such, they are pretty self-sufficient--they are all on wells, they have their own generators, and their own sewage systems, including a sewage lagoon.

In this case the site, like most sites, is surrounded by farmland (cattle ranch, actually).  One winter night, the cows pushed through the fence around the poo pond looking for water.  One of them walked out on the ice, broke through, and drowned. The facility manager noticed brown fur sticking up out of the ice the next morning.  

I'm on base and get what is arguably the strangest phone call of my career.

"Sir, there's a dead cow in the sewage lagoon."  

"Say that again?"

That EXACT conversation was repeated about four more times as I took it up the chain of command.  Not necessarily because the colonels needed to be involved in the process, but mainly so we could see the looks on their faces....

A Crisis Action Group was formed to evaluate courses of action.  Many options were considered, including a proposal by security  forces to both eliminate the evidence—er, problem AND demonstrate the proficiency of their grenadiers.  (Freakin' cops.....    ) This was disapproved, because the paperwork for expended ordnance, and the fact that the farmer wanted the cow back.  

After much discussion, the CAG determined that the sewage lagoon was a Civil Engineering Squadron responsibility, and therefore the situation was CE’s problem to solve.  We reached this imminently logical conclusion because the CE squadron commander wasn't in the room when, in the METT-TC discussion, someone (I believe it was an O-6) highlighted the fact that the best way to describe the first T (terrain) was "the inside of a poo pond."

Fortunately the temps were in the single digits, and we didn’t anticipate any changes in the cow’s condition, because it took about two days to arrange everything.

The TO&E was identified and missing E was acquired through the interagency process.  A discussion on required manpower was conducted by senior leaders, and it was determined that while this problem had significant positive strategic airpower messaging and Enlisted Performance Report implications, the fact that sewage was involved pointed towards an LRA personnel solution as optimal.  (LRA = Lowest Ranking Airman.)

Two highly qualified individuals were identified and, using just-in-time CBT training, certified as Bovine Retrieval Specialists and checked out on the Bovine Retrieval System. Specialized, dedicated transport delivered the recovery team and equipment to the site within 48 hours of receipt of the WARNORD.  At approximately 1130L, a Watercraft (Personal/Fishing Use, Unpowered, Tethered, 1 Each) acquired from the Outdoor Recreation office with Retrieval Specialists on board deployed into hostile territory to begin the recovery process.

After making contact with the asset and establishing positive control  (broke the ice, hooked a hoof with a crowbar and threw a chain on it), the Retrieval Specialists called for extraction.  Based on the same principles as the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system (Skyhook), the extraction team used a customized set of cabling and motorized equipment (long-assed chain attached to a front-end loader) to produce the mechanical advantage needed to quickly withdraw the asset from the captive environment, with little additional injury to the asset.

After extraction, the BRT executed an orderly withdrawal to the BRT External Systems Support and Interagency Enclave (BESSIE), where the team began the tradition of a post-operation celebratory photo.  



All members of the team were honored for their bravery, service, dedication and aggressiveness by permitting the composition of a bullet for their Airman of the Quarter nomination package.  Souvenirs from  the mission (expended equipment, chains, keepsakes from the accident site, etc) were offered but not accepted.  A meal of steak and potatoes was offered by the owning farmer, but also declined.  

This operation was a shining example of interagency cooperation, the flexibility of the average Airman, the adaptability of airpower, and the courage and selflessness of the American fighting man to leave no steak behind.  The distinctive accomplishments of the Bovine Recovery Team led to a successful reclamation of the asset after a difficult day of recovery and extraction operations and reflect great credit upon themselves, the intercontinental ballistic missile community, and the United States Air Force.

Classic!

 

Congratulations!  Enjoy the terminal vacation, you've earned it!

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Congratulations, sir.

I lol'd a bit.