A Pilot's Journey

It has been too long.

JClark — 2010-01-01T21:57:04Z

Wow, it has been a really long time since I updated this. Sorry to all of those people who may have been waiting. Life has been very busy for me lately. After OCS I started standing duty and learning my job as a Marine Inspector. My son was born Sept 8 and that has kept be busy. No flying since I joined the Coast Guard, but I am hoping to remedy that in a short time. I am not sure if I will be pursuing a career as a Coast Guard Aviator, I am doing fine, just not sure if a Coast Guard career is for me. With all of the opportunities the GI bill opens up to me it is a difficult decision. For about $3000 I could get my CFI and build flight time that way. So many options. At any rate, I will try to do better at posting now. I will post a pic of my son later. Till next time, fly safe... Oh and Happy New Year too!!

It is Official

JClark — 2009-05-08T19:33:49Z

Well, I am officially an Ensign in the US Coast Guard. I Graduated on Wednesday and am now at my parents house in Kentucky enjoying some time off before I have to report to my unit in Port Arthur Texas. I will be reporting on May 21 then receiving 10 days off for house hunting purposes. The last couple of weeks at OCS were not to bad as my wife was able to come into town and we received gangway liberty meaning we could stay off base over night during the week then be back in the morning for the days obligations. I am looking forward to getting to my unit and learning my job. I might put in for flight school after I have received a couple of evaluations and if my command will give me an endorsement. At any rate I am hoping to continue flying once I get to Texas. There are a couple of airports in the area where I could get checked out in an airplane and I may look into flying with the Coast Guard auxiliary where I could get some flight time for free. Till next time, fly safe...

Billet Night

JClark — 2009-04-05T14:11:35Z

Well, I had billet night about a week ago now so I know where I am going. I will start off with the bad news first. I did not get flight school. I knew that was a possibility when I came here, but it never really crossed my mind that I would not get it. I had excellent scores on my Aviation Selection Test Battery, I was high on the list for conduct status here at OCS and was in the top 25 for Academics. I know my PT test was lacking, but I have come a long way since that first test and have improved a lot. I am not sure why I did not get flight school, but I will not let that put a damper on things. I still have a couple of years to apply so I will go out into the field and do marine inspections for a while, then re-apply for flight school. At the same time, this is probably the best thing for me and my wife right now. I found out the night before billet night that we are going to have a baby. My wife is between 15 and 18 weeks pregnant. She waited to tell me because we had discussed it before I left that if she were to find out she was pregnant I did not want to know because it would just distract me. Turns out she found out the week after I left and kept it from me until just before billet night. This was definitely a good thing as I would probably not be here now if she had told me then. Even waiting that long I still wanted to leave as soon as I found out. I spoke with some of the officers here and decided that I would stick it out, plus I know that the benefits of staying are well worth the next 4 weeks of being apart. It is almost over and I will get to be with her again.
Some of you may wonder what I will do as far as flying goes since I did not get flight school, I will probably try to get my single commercial add on finished up, then start on all of my instructor certificates (or at least the CFI). I am also planning on getting involved with the Coast Guard Auxiliary to do some flying and keep current. Till next time, keep safe...

Flight Board

JClark — 2009-02-24T21:35:04Z

Well, I had my flight board interview today. I can't say much about it, but I will say that it went fairly well. I will know in about 5 weeks if it was good enough as that is billet night. I sure hope it went as well as I feel it did. All of the other stuff for flight is done, my physical is just waiting on my PRK waiver, and my ASTB (Aviation Selection Test Battery) score is one of the higher ones that I have heard of. Now it is just wait and see what comes of it. I just have to work hard on my end and finish up OCS strong. I need to make sure my physical fitness continues to improve. I am looking forward to finishing this up and seeing my lovely wife again. That has definitely been the most difficult part of this endeavor. Till next time, here’s wishing clear skies and smooth sailing...

Losing Game

JClark — 2009-02-13T02:24:12Z

No, it is not what you think. Things are still going well here at OCS. I had a class yesterday called Wellness IV where I did a physical fitness test. This test included
weighing in and getting a body fat percentage. This is where I was a bit concerned and did not want to see the results. However I was pleasantly surprised. My weight was 186, I was shocked. I knew I had been losing weight because my ODU pants were getting big. Just to let you know how much I have lost, when I got here and weighed in on the first day I was at 204. I have lost 18 lbs since arriving and I am still losing more. My body fat percentage was only 13% which is right between the 10-18 percent for the healthy range. Needless to say I was pretty stoked. Any how that is about all I have time for right now. I will try to write some more later. Till then, GO COAST GUARD BLUE!!

Internet Access

JClark — 2009-02-07T15:10:46Z

Wow, it has been 4 weeks now since I last wrote. OCS is going as well as I could expect. It is definately challenging to meet all the standards that are set and they keep us extremely busy. Fortunately we were granted Internet Access at the end of week 4 so I should be able to update every so often. I am not going to go into much detail on what is going on here as I do not know what is ok to make public information. If you have any questions I will try to answer them if I can, but don't get too upset if I cannot. Well, I have to get ready for a class now. Till next time, GO COAST GUARD BLUE!!

Is This Really Happening?

JClark — 2009-01-08T10:44:17Z

Well, It is 0530 in the morning and I am getting around to head to the Coast Guard Academy to report in for OCS. I am still in a state of disbelief. I can't believe I am here. I am sure that the first morning that I am awoken by instructors and being yelled at it will all sink in. After 0730 today I will lose all my personal stuff, that includes cell phone and internet. I will slowly get everything back, but it will take a while. To all my family and friends, I love you all and I appreciate your prayers and letters while I am here. To my lovely wife I love you most and look forward to talking to you soon and being back with you. Enjoy your time off with family and it will be all over before we know it. To all my readers; My wife will be updating the blog at times for me to try and keep everyone informed of what I am up to so keep watching for updates. They may be few and far between, but I will try to keep everyone posted. Till next time, fly safe...