I just arrived to a new school. I was 13 years old and knew hardly anybody. That situation did not last too long as plenty of new faces made themselves my friends pretty quickly. There were the cool kids, the nerdy ones, the slackers and the class clowns.

Robert was a class clown.

Times when kids are first trying to figure out who they are and which group they belong to can be tumultuous. There are best friends expected to last forever, there are first kisses, there are best buds to play games with and parents that never let you do anything when your friends can always do things.

Robert was a friend.

As we grew older and into high school, some kids played sports, some ran for student council, some studied all the time, some just got by. Others made something of themselves, they worked for what they achieved and found themselves successful. There were kids to avoid and there were role models.

Robert was a role model.

After graduation, some stopped learning, some went to work, some waited for a while to figure things out, some went to community colleges, some went to small schools, others went to big name schools. Still others chose the military and the future leaders chose to go to school and chose the military.

Robert was a leader.

Of those who chose college, they continued to stay in school longer, they graduated with degrees, they found work, they made their parents proud. There were some who allowed college to pass by without accomplishing anything and there were some who accomplished more than imagined. A few became officers in the military and joined the thousands of others called our nation's heros.

Robert was a hero.

Robert Collins was among the first to welcome me into a new school and he always knew how to make people laugh. He would take you out of your comfort zone and make you a better person...

[ Continued ]

So I've never had a blog... ever... anywhere. I figured I'd start here. This will really just be for me to write when I feel the need or share things I'm passionate about. This first blog is more of the latter. Though not me, a bud of mine wrote this and I wanted to share.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is James, I currently live in Oklahoma, USA and I'm an officer in the US Air Force. Here's my first blog...


There I was at six thousand feet over central Iraq, two hundred eighty knots and we're dropping faster than Paris Hilton's panties. It's a typical September evening in the Persian Gulf; hotter than a rectal thermometer and I'm sweating like a priest at a Cub Scout meeting...

But that's neither here nor there. The night is moonless over Baghdad tonight, and blacker than a Steven King novel. But it's 2003, folks, and I'm sporting the latest in night-combat technology. Namely, hand-me-down night vision goggles (NVGs) thrown out by the fighter boys. Additionally, my 1962 Lockheed C-130E Hercules is equipped with an obsolete, yet, semi-effective missile warning system (MWS). The MWS conveniently makes a nice soothing tone in your headset just before the missile explodes into your airplane. Who says you can't polish a turd? At any rate, the NVGs are illuminating Baghdad International Airport like the Las Vegas Strip during a Mike Tyson fight. These NVGs are the cat's ass. But I've digressed.

The preferred method of approach tonight is the random shallow. This tactical maneuver allows the pilot to ingress the landing zone in an unpredictable manner, thus exploiting the supposedly secured perimeter of the airfield in an attempt to avoid enemy surface-to-air-missiles and small arms fire. Personally, I wouldn't bet my pink ass on that theory but the approach is fun as hell and that's the real reason we fly it.

We get a visual on the runway at three miles out, drop down to one thousand feet above the ground, still...

[ Continued ]