Oh nothing really just wanted to share

My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We have an H.R. On this flight." (H.R. Stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.

'Yes', she said.

'Is there an escort?' I asked.

'Yes, I've already assigned him a seat'.

'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I said..

A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us.

'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ,' he said. He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words.

I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to find his seat.

We completed our pre-flight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying, is on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia .

The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane. I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do. 'I'm on it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a
Secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I
Saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text:

'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft.
The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans.. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks.'
I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.'

Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told
That all traffic was being held for us.

'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the co-pilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to
make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'

I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His Name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'

We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.

When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was
clapping. Words of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane.

They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.

If you can read this through blurry eyes, I received earlier today and well,

 

Oh I gotta share this: I'm sneaking back to Illinois and voting for her next election. They'll never notice anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rPOKm20wP4s

 

Sorry but I don't agree with ya Poppy. This guy knew who Duckworth is and as for the 'baiting' of the pain in her foot; they're called Phantom Pains. Duckworth has taken heat for supposedly using her injury, "injuries let's make that plural", for political gain & as far as I'm concerned she has a hell of lot more right than most. This was a guy that gamed the system and got called out on it.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/06/27/duckworth-slams-man-over-prep-school-disability.html

Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs when the Army helicopter she was piloting in Iraq was shot down by insurgents in 2005, called shame on a Virginia business man granted a Department of Veterans Affairs disability for a prep-school football injury that he claimed was earned defending the country.
Braulio Castillo, president of Strong Castle -- an information technology company based in Leesburg, Va. -- testified on Wednesday after a congressional investigation found his service-disabled veteran status stemmed from a 1984 ankle injury suffered while playing football at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School.
Castillo, who applied for his disability in 2012 shortly after buying the company, told Duckworth he believed he deserves his VA disability.
Duckworth didn't agree. She took particular exception to Castillo implying in a letter to the Small Business Administration that his disability was the result of active-duty military service as she chastised him for using his service-disabled veteran status to gain an advantage when competing for federal contracts.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say Love ya but I'll admit you're somewhat tolerable. Most of the time

I met Major Duckworth at the welcome Home ceremony of the HHC 1-106th and I'm more than a little protective of my Brothers & Sisters of the Battalion. They made the wife and I Honorary Members and if there is one thing on the wall in our house I'm most proud of it is the National Guard Team Medal.

 

Now;
Chance
Snow
High: 8 °F


Tonight;
Blowing
Snow
Low: -27 °F



Thursday
Cold
High: -4 °F



Thursday Night
Mostly Cloudy
Low: -23 °F



Friday
Slight Chc
Snow
High: 4 °F



Friday Night
Partly
Cloudy
Low: -22 °F



Saturday
Cold
High: -4 °F



Saturday Night
Partly
Cloudy
Low: -21 °F



Sunday
Cold
High: 4 °F


CAN ANYONE TELL ME THE BEST & FASTEST WAY TO INCREASE MY CARBON FOOTPRINT ?

 

Thanks for the advice. Now if someone will help me find the grill. It's under here somewhere;

• Tonight Scattered snow showers before 8pm, then a slight chance of snow showers between 8pm and 9pm, then areas of blowing snow after 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around -29. Wind chill values between -40 and -50. Northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Thursday Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -4. Wind chill values between -40 and -50. West wind around 5 mph.

I'm getting too old for this S&#t

 

And give up that bea-u-tiful sunset in the background? Okay it wasn't all that great but we do see this quite often:



this was Sunrise so you can be sure I Didn't Take It!

If ya look real close at the other picture you can almost make out the top of a Tiki torch in the center of the pic'.

Suppose to be in the 'teens' by the weekend. Maybe. Going riding next week. Back-country snowmobiling at it's finest!

 

Ah, it's all good. At least my box of chocolates don't melt up here.

Poppy ........... :hug2:

 

poppy, We'll keep the snow thank you very much, but keep that Canadian Chinook winds (or whatever ya call it) and the double digit minus temps up there.

bobby, (that's poppy upside down. welllllll........? look at it. it is.)
Can't wait until the middle of May when ya'all start receiving our hard water. About the time I'll be catchin' tons of fish and finding those ol' Morels !

 

Something serious:

Everyone it seems is starting to do all or a lot of their bill paying sort of stuff "on-line" and a situation has come up that points out that it does have drawbacks.
If you have gone 'paperless' be sure to let someone know how to access your accounts in case of an emergency. Think of what would happen if you were admitted to a hospital and could not communicate, leaving all your affairs in limbo'. Rent, credit cards, utilities and all the rest would go untended.
You usually don't think of these things until they happen but especially if you are single, keep all your passwords and a list of creditors in a safe place that someone you trust can a get to.

Or do like I do and refuse to use the internet for anything other than post smileys and read other peoples thoughts.