My first Change of Command

Can you believe Thursday was my first Change of Command?! At least, I can't believe it was. I don't remember when/if there was one in Virginia. I wasn't a regular inhabitant of Florida (thank goodness), so there was never attending a Change while in primary flight school. So this is it. Our first real squadron, and my first Change of Command.

Thankfully I was able to grab a seat near the few wives that were able to attend (I won't say kids weren't allowed, it was just expressed that unless your kid can keep his pie hole shut...find a sitter). The speeches were humorous and light-hearted which was nice to break up the monotony and seriousness that it was. The (now ex-) Skipper even scanned the audience to chat with everyone...from the podium. "Oh, I see the wives have made it...(squadron wife), Mrs. Wookie, (other fellow squadron wife), great to see you." Hahaha....actually not.

Now I can understand why no one likes to attend these functions. They get to stand at attention at the back of the ceremony while I get to sit down. But everyone did look fantastic in their Whites. And Running Buddy's husband was even honored with an award because he's awesome! Woohoo!

But then it was all said and done, and before the cake got ravaged, we moseyed around the hangar...until I realized the planes were outside. And I had a camera. "Omg, Mr. Wookie, look!" Then he reminds me he sees them every day...it's not that big of a deal. So I remind him when he brings the short bus (aka ME!) to events like these, you need to be prepared. I get excited over this shit. How can you not?

The E-2 Hawkeye. Mr. Wookie's beloved structure of an aircraft. I'll be honest, I'm very partial to this plane. I adore it. Maybe it's because it's kinda "ugly" with the dome on top, but when you see it actually flying...hovering...with the hum of its propellers...it's gorgeous. And the E-2 community of pilots, NFOs, and families is so small we're bound to know everyone throughout his career, which is a nice way to not be so foreign no matter where we move.

And just to place importance of this Change of Command, we had aircraft show up from all over the country. These hovering scraps of metal (aka helos) were up from San Diego, there were a few jets that arrived (jets!), and a few others [I didn't know what they were].

 One of these is not like the other. ToTheNth, no helping. ;)

Am I the luckiest girl in the world? Eh...I hate sayings like that. I'm one happy girl though. I've had more fun in the years I've been attached to Mr. Wookie than I ever would have thought. Who knew we'd live bi-coastally before taking up small roots on the Southern California beach? And who knew this we-heard-very-bad-reports-about-this-squadron would turn into a great squadron (false reports!) as we settle into real military life with work-ups and a deployment in our future? The Navy...they know how to throw you off the scent!

And because I'm a proud Navy attache, I was beyond ecstatic to see Mr. Wookie's name on the side of the plane. Eeeeeek! It looks so good! Congrats to Mr. Wookie!


Mr. Wookie's family...if you want a picture of his name, unmasked, just email me and I'll get them to you! I know the importance of the Wall of Fame in a house!