Sprocket change (possible oopsie)

[Warchild]

Quote

First of all where did the name warchild come from

That moniker assigned to me by the Executive Officer of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) during combat operations  against the Iranians in the Persian Gulf, WestPac 1988.

We in our third continuous day of combat ops, I lived on the Flight Deck the entire time. I started refusing to go below and get some rest as prescribed. The XO of the ship finally came down to tell me to get below, and I started arguing with him that I was fine (a junior officer arguing with the ship's 2nd-in-Command indicates you are definitely not fine). After 13 nano-seconds of that, the XO screamed at me, 'What is wrong with you, Lieutenant, are you some kind of WARCHILD?! Of course, all this happens right in front of all my squadron mates - instantly, the moniker was permanent. 

[betoney]

43 minutes ago, Warchild said:

That moniker assigned to me by the Executive Officer of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) during combat operations  against the Iranians in the Persian Gulf, WestPac 1988.

We in our third continuous day of combat ops, I lived on the Flight Deck the entire time.

Thank you for your service.  I also served on aircraft carriers working on the flight deck, combined 6 deployments on the USS Kitty Hawk and USS Nimitz.  I spent a good portion of my younger days in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

[2and3cylinders]

I was on CV forty one in San Diego harbor In early March.

I couldn't believe how big it was!

Dedication is a crazy thing and drives you beyond what you think your limits are and sometimes not.

It's almost cliché to say I thank you for your service. ( no slight Brian, I'd written that before I saw your reply)

I served too but in a different way as part of the military industrial establishment, missing out on being called up in the last US draft with a number of twelve by deferment. 

My concept of war is different than yours. I remember seeing the Vietnam war every night in color on TV.

It was not a righteous war and I'm not sure going into Iraq on the premise of eliminating a tyrant we were told at the time had weapons of mass destruction was either.  Again the American people were lied to.

There were plenty of other instances were we didn't dispose of tyrants or go to war. Why was Saddam different than Daniel Ortega, who was per the Monroe Doctrine, in our immediate sphere of influence.  Again the premise of WOMD versus communism.

I'm less heroic I guess.

I came around from being in the streets demonstrating against the Vietnam war to within three years having top secret clearance.

As far as military applications go, I worked on the Tomahawk cruise missile made in San Diego at Convair.

They fired a ton of them at Saddam Hussein.

I also worked on the Flying Falcon better known as the f sixteen. Fun stuff was Space Shuttle, the Phalanx CIDS and MX MIRV program, along with remanufacturing parts for Convair prop planes like the PBY and CV240 - 340 series, and jets like F-102 Delta Dagger.

War is hell but when you're flying a plane you can be back for lunch and take a shower.

Good luck with your fancy chain!

 

[TomTracer]

There is an excellent WW2 museum in Fredricksburg, TX, ADM Mimitz hometown. Well worth a stop.