NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA, 1800hrs
Animal was sitting in his office going over the post-hop evals when House and Mad Dog stopped by. "Eh, you still here?" Mad Dog asked as he poked his head in the doorway.
"Yep." Animal replied shortly as he looked over the file in his hand. "House, Mad Dog. I got some bad news for you."
"What?" House looked worried.
"Petrie doesn't make the cut – some of the Golden Warriors cones turned him inside out today. I'm sending him back to RAG for another go-'round." Animal said holding out Petrie's assessment folder to House who took it and looked at it, "Lack of SA (situational awareness) and his skills aren't up to par. I don't think we're going to be able to turn him into what we need by the time six months is done." Animal continued.
House and Mad Dog looked at each other – they weren't expecting a wholesale cleanout of the squadron. "You realize we have to keep some of the guys?" House asked.
"Well…I want the guys we retain to be razor sharp." Animal retorted acidly. "If BuPERS sees we're tossing back some of the fish that they tossed us, maybe they might do a better job of assigning aviators who can actually hack the program. Otherwise, they're just tossing us cannon-fodder and I don't want to waste a thirty-six million dollar aircraft because some camel jockey tosses up a missile at an aviator who can't cut the mustard."
"You got a point there." House nodded.
Mad Dog looked over at Animal. "You know, House, he's doing A-OK for a training officer. I didn't like how some of the cones started automatically wearing patches like they owned the damned squadron." He said as he shut the door behind him and sat down on a chair. He looked over at the box of Black Aces patches on the top of the shelf. "Did you confiscate those?"
Animal nodded slowly. "I think they should earn the right to wear them, not wear them automatically when they come into the squadron." He passed over another folder labeled DACT Introductory Training Missions which he handed to the squadron CO. "I arranged with VFA-87's CO that we do an introductory set of hops, about 6 in total that will give the cones a taste of Dissimilar Air Combat. First hop was today. First eval was today. And I'm cutting Petrie. I'll have the other first cuts tomorrow after the first evolution is finished. Second hop will give more of an idea of what bodies are taking up space and which aren't." he grinned, but something in his smile didn't reach his eyes. "By the time this DACT ITM evaluation is over, we'll have an idea of what we're dealing with and the bodies we retain will be the ones that we know can hack it. Then we start the evals all over again with the new crop of guys BuPERS tosses our way so that we can fill out our squadron."
"Like what you're doing…" House replied, giving Animal a nod of approval. "That ensures that we do have the ones who know what the hell they're doing behind a stick and throttle. Let me know how the throat-slitting is going tomorrow." He laughed uproariously as he and Mad Dog headed out the door.
Animal chuckled as he tossed at their backs. "Yep, just like innocent little calves. They won't know what the hell hit 'em." That caused Mad Dog and House to laugh even more as they walked down the hallway and out the door of the VF-41 squadron building.
"So…what are you evilly cackling about?" Maegyn peered around the corner; looking worriedly as to why Animal was snickering. "Is it safe to come in?"
"Yep…it's safe…" Animal grinned. "Come on in…" he motioned her in.
"I hear you're weeding out the cones." Maegyn said wryly. "Keeping the best of the best in?"
Animal nodded as he looked over the files. "I've got hops set up for all of them tomorrow. I did the first two and the first cut today. So what you doing here so late?" he asked.
"Well, bored and there's nothing to see in my apartment other than four walls and probably some movies I've seen more than fifty times. Was just wondering if you're ready to pack it in for the day and head out and grab a bite to eat?" Maegyn replied as she gave him a measuring look.
"I could be enticed." Animal smirked.
"Well, that's good." She stated. "How does Chinese sound?"
"Sounds good to me, but one request. No General Tso's chicken."
"OK…Jade Villa?" Maegyn grinned at him. "They've got the best Chinese in Virginia Beach."
"OK…you pick…" Animal replied as he put the files he was working on away and grabbed his khaki cover. "After you…Maegyn."
Grandma Sarah's Farm, Belleville, PA, 1830hrs
Sarah looked over at her grandson, the tall ex-aviator was talking quietly with his longtime friend and she noticed how closely the two were sitting together on the couch. It had been the same with her son and Trish. Turning to go back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner she gave a thankful look up at the sky in gratitude that her grandson was still around. They had almost lost him at one point in the surgery after the ramp strike but were able to resuscitate him. The sky had taken away her husband, Joseph Rabb and her son, Harmon, but had seen fit to leave Harmon Jr. alone. Hopefully he would be able to make a life for himself and seeing her with Diane brought a warm feeling to Sarah.
She turned to the chicken that was in the oven cooking and the meal that she was preparing for the three of them and thanked God that Harm was safe and home. And eventually he would be embarking on the next phase of his life as a law student. Sarah was torn between knowing that Harm Junior wouldn't be flying Navy jets any more like her son, lost over the skies of Viet Nam. The sadness Harm Jr. not knowing his father expressed in his eyes. She had once gone with Harm to his father's memorial just after he'd been released from the hospital…and she had pushed him in a wheel-chair up to his father's name, where he had slumped defeated in his chair because he couldn't reach his father's name to touch it. She had enticed him with a return trip when he'd gotten back on his feet and made certain that he'd had a goal to work towards.
"Penny for your thoughts, Grandma?" Harm's voice prodded her out of her reverie.
"Oh, nothing, just a little woolgathering by an old woman." Sarah teased him.
"Stop it, Grandma, you're not an old woman." Harm's arms wrapped around his grandma's shoulders as he enveloped her in a warm hug.
"What are you doing in my kitchen rather than spending time with a young pretty girl like Diane." She winked at him.
"Because I love you, Grandma." Harm said.
"Well…I love you too, Grandson…now git…I gotta finish making dinner." Harm skedaddled as she mockingly raised a wooden spoon in his direction. Retreating back to the living room where Diane was still reading a book, Harm looked over the introductory package to Georgetown University Law Center where he would be taking his post-graduate degree in Law. It seemed like a good enough place and would help him apply to the Judge Advocate General Corps when he was finished. For now, his military career was on hold as he had reserved his commission until such time as he would be able to go active again after he had graduated from Georgetown University with his Masters in Law.
"So when do you return to DC?" Diane asked softly as she looked over at Harm who casually flipped the page of the introductory info brochure. "When do you go for orientation?"
"I'm supposed to be back in DC by September, but I'm not going back to Washington until I can get the Stearman back in the air and test it out, I've got enough clearance to get this aircraft off the ground here but I'm going to have to check with the FAA and file a flight plan so that they won't have a conniption fit when I join the pattern for landing at Blacksburg." Harm casually flipped another page looking over at the information that would give him an idea of what Georgetown University Law Center's law program would be like.
Diane understood that Harm had to fly the Stearman to an airport to be able to use the aircraft regularly but still worried about him flying. That ramp-strike had ripped her heart to shreds. Every single hour at his bedside, the dreaded EKG meter measuring his vitals, the death-like stillness of his form as the Bethesda surgeons had placed him in a medically induced coma to help his body repair itself. Even now the memories of the oxygen mask hooked up to his face helping him breath made her shudder. She didn't want to lose him ever again. "Fly safely, Harm." She moved herself closer on the sofa to sit next to him wrapping her left arm around him.
"I will…" Harm said. "…after all, that airplane is the only airplane that I'll be flying from now on." He said, a note of bitterness in his voice. Once one had the taste of speed in his blood it was hard to get that out. Diane silently wondered if Harm would ever reconcile the loss of his wings.
Jade Villa; Virginia Beach, VA, 1940hrs
Polishing off the last of the chow mein, Animal grinned at Maegyn. "You're right, this place does good food."
"So…what happens tomorrow?" Maegyn asked as she skewered a piece of char siu (BBQ Pork) with the chopsticks and brought it to her mouth.
Swallowing another mouthful of what remained of the chow mein, Animal replied. "Sending up another group of cones to see if they have what it takes. Process of elimination, then we get the survivors to go up against a group of more experienced guys in the squadron and see what they've got."
"Sounds like you've got an intense weed-out process planned." Maegyn looked impressed.
"Have to; if we don't…we don't have a deployment ready squadron. All of us are going to have to be able to do what it takes to be combat-ready and I don't intend to take a non-combat-ready squadron and stick 'em in Sandbox where we have to fly combat missions with the camel-jockeys tossing god-knows-what up at us." Animal looked at Maegyn, a stern expression on his face. "We can't assume that our guys know exactly what to do when Ali Baba and his forty-thousand thieves decide to lob up a SAM. We gotta know that they can do it." He continued. "And unless I put them through the meat-grinder here, we're not going to know if they can hack it. It's too late when haji turns a thirty-six million dollar aircraft into aluminum confetti n' doggie meat-treats" he paused a moment, grinned at Maegyn and said. "House and Mad Dog agree. You rotate out when?" he asked Maegyn.
"I'll probably still be here in November. I'm supposed to report in December to Norfolk. " Maegyn's face brightened as she thought of an idea. "Hey, it's just a quick trip along I-264 and up I-64. Maybe you can come visit before you guys leave for deployment? You guys leave in March of '93 right?"
"So I hear." Animal said as he knocked back his soda. "I'm figuring about the middle of March, but there's going to be a lot to do before then."
"No doubt there…" Maegyn replied. "Glad you're doing it and not me."
"Gee, why thanks…"
NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA, 1635hrs, Next Day
"Lieutenant JG Kaczynski, in my office please!" Animal growled as he strode past a flight-geared cone standing by the water cooler.
"Yes sir!" the barked reply echoed across the room as LT JG Kaczynski braced and followed the operations officer to his office.
"Sit down." Animal ordered as he closed the door behind the Lieutenant JG. "I've got your file here." He paused ominously as LT Kaczynski fidgeted knowing that this day was a day of reckoning. "Lieutenant, when you went up against the Golden Warriors…" he paused, "the assessment of your performance…" Lieutenant Kaczynski flinched visibly – this was painful. "…was not up to standard. You will report to the VF-101 Grim Reapers tomorrow morning for another refresher course. Do you understand? When you are finished that refresher you will contact BuPERS for another assignment."
"Yes sir." The dejection of the officer in question was palpable and Animal didn't give the officer any more time to dwell over the situation.
"Send Lieutenant JG Malcolm in."
"Aye Aye, sir."
NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA, 1655hrs
House poked his head in. "How's the throat slitting going?"
"Had to give five of them the boot. It's going swell." Animal said sarcastically. "Looks like BuPERS is going to have a stinking shit-fit when I'm done here. Well, they sent us this goat-fuck in the first place." House laughed uproariously in response to Animal's reply.
"Good, that'll keep them on their toes." House came in and sat down. "So, what's happening tomorrow."
"Well, we send the ones up who survived up one v two. Then we toss the losers… and so on. 1v3 is the real test. Then we'll know who's got the mustard to stick with the squadron. But then again BuPERS is going to rant and rave that I'm kicking out rated aviators. They're echelons above reality if they don't send us guys who got what it takes to fly combat." Animal shrugged. "We got a few DIRCOM dipshits in rank'n file…and we'll see what they've got – if they've got any natural talent or whether they're just taking up space." Animal muttered. "AOCS…Ninety day wonders."
"You went through Rotsee?" House asked. "Just like me?"
"Yeah. The four year program with the butterbars at the end of it." Animal replied.
"Hopefully by the end of this training period we'll have restocked our cabinet with aviators who can hack the program." House commented as he looked over at the files of the aviators who got removed from the Black Aces. "Just try and do it diplomatically." He advised.
"I hear and obey…" Animal smirked.
House shook his head, rolled his eyes and got up out of his chair. "Just try not to give me any more grey hairs, Animal. I've got enough of them."