Grapevine Soccer -- Memories

 

November 28, 2024

Olivia was home for Thanksgiving. The week went by quickly. 

She is thriving at Stanford.

She will be back to Euless for Christmas vacation for three weeks.

Leaving On A Jet Plane -- To Stanford -- September 11, 2024

September 10, 2024: last evening at home with Sophia --

September 11, 2024: Olivia on her way to Stanford.

First week: hiking the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Next week: to Stanford.

USAF Organization

There are a gazillion exceptions to these generalizations, but this will get you started.

Military installations:

• USAF: air force base, such as Edwards Air Force Base
• USA (US Army): army post; often name preceded by "Fort" such as Ft Meade
• USN (US Navy): station, such as Charleston Naval Station
• US Marines: camps, such as Camp Pendleton

US Air Force Base: a military installation generally with one or two "missions" (such as flying, missile, intelligence)

• the US AFB is generally named after the city near where it is located, e.g. Grand Forks AFB
• the air force base itself is self contained -- operations (or the mission), support, logistics (supply), transportation, maintenance, medical, etc.
• each air force base generally has one wing -- the wing runs the base and is responsible for the mission of that base
• the wing: generally about 5,000 personnel, headed by a colonel or a brigadier (one-star) general
• the wing generally has four groups: operations (includes maintenance), support, logistics (supply), and medical
• groups: generally around 1,000 personnel, headed by a colonel
• each group has three or four squadrons, each squadron with a specific mission
• squadrons: about 250 personnel, headed by a major
• each squadron has three to four flights
• flights: about 100 personnel, headed by a captain

When you are assigned to your first operational base, your primary unit will be a squadron which is part of the group which in turn is part of the wing that runs the base.

So, if you are in the intelligence business, you will likely be assigned to an intelligence squadron, part of the operations group.

The USAF is all about flying, so often the operations commander is a pilot and the wing commander is also a pilot.

The wing commander is responsible for the entire air force base but there is also a "Base Commander." 

• The "base commander" is the commander of the Support Group and is responsible for the infrastructure of the base: the roads, the buildings, the electricity, etc. The base commander is almost never a pilot or even ever on flying status.
  

So, lots of jargon, but quickly:

A US air force base:

• the major unit on base: the wing
• the wing commander is responsible for the whole enchilada; main focus -- operations, carrying out the mission
• the base commander reports to the wing commander and is responsible for the infrastructure of the base
  
• the wing (or the base, as it were) has four major groups (medical, support, logistics)
• you will likely be assigned to an engineering squadron or intel squadron, part of operations if you end at up a "normal" Air Force base, but
• more likely you will end up at a very high functioning R&D base. More on this later. 
  

Rank and Grade

Rank: a word, like "captain"
Grade: an alphanumeric abbreviation, like O-3

Rank: military "level" of responsibility or leadership
Grade: military pay purposes; identical across all military services (USA, USN, USAF, USMC, USCG, USPH)

Officer rank in USAF:

• General officer, a general: one-star, two-star, three-star, four-star generals
• Colonel
• Lieutenant Colonel
• Major
• Captain
• First lieutenant
• Second lieutenant

Grade:

• O-7 -- O-10: General officer: a general; one-star, two-star, three-star, four-star generals
• O-6: Colonel
• O-5: Lieutenant Colone
  
• O-4: Major
  
• O-3: Captain (be really careful with this one, in the US Navy, a Captain is an O-6 and really, really, really important!)
  
• O-2: First lieutenant
  
• O-1: Second lieutenant
  

After graduating from college, you will be commissioned as a second lieutenant. You will progress relatively rapidly through O-1 and O-2 on your way to captain, maybe in four to six years. 

The minimum time-in-grade (TIG) requirements for promotion of officers on the active-duty list (ADL) are as follows: O-1: 18 months. O-2: 2 years. O-3 through O-5: 3 years. 

So, at the end of your four-year commitment, you should be looking at being a captain. With his navy background, your dad may have trouble calling you a "captain." LOL.

***********************
For An Engineering Major

Take a look at Hanscom AFB near Boston, Massachusetts and the divisions where engineers would be needed. Link here.

Some of the divisions:

Stanford University: The Campus Guide, An Architectural Guide, Richard Joncas, Daivd J. Neuman, and Paul V. Turner, foreword by Gerhard Casper.

Stanford University: The Campus Guide, An Architectural Guide, Richard Joncas, Dadid J. Neuman, and Paul V. Turner, foreword by Gerhard Casper, c. 1999. 

Foreword by the President, Stanford University, 1999.

The university as a place -- localized in time and space -- has found its most striking expression in the Anglo-Saxon world. Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Williams and Mary, Yale, Princeton, Virginia, and Stanford are all physical places, campuses to which students remove themselves for a number of years. They are also places students feel connected for the rest of their lives.

One of those present [recent reunion] was a Stanford alumna who was born and raised on the East Coast and who had graduated some thirty years ago. She described her reaction to the Stanford campus as she approached it coming up Palm Drive: "I was stunned. The Spanish architecture was outside my experience. The Main Quad and the foothills behind it were physically different from anything that I had thought of in relation to college. At first, I was not sure I liked it."

Her direct and vivid reaction was admirably refreshing. The complex that is made up of the Outer Quad, Memorial Court, and the Main Quad, and which is characterized by its Beaux Arts approach, Romanesque design, and the vast expanse of the California Mission style courtyard, with its arcades and Memorial Church, constitutes an ensemble whose effect is unique in American campus architecture. 

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Will, Olivia, Sophia, Arianna -- At Texas Rangers Baseball Game --May 19, 2024

 

Olivia's Graduation Week Schedule -- May, 2024

Monday, May 20, 2024: preparation. No one arriving this date.

Tuesday, May 21, 2024: California contingent arrives

• Nothing on the Nevin calendar as far as I know
• It's all on May Garcia's calendar
• Cindy and Flavio arrive: 1:00 p.m. LUV airport
• Southwest Airlines, flight 4330
• May and Bruce pick up
  
• will be at Grammy's house about 3:00 p.m. for chicken marsala dinner
  
• anyone is welcome to come be; we don't expect anyone
• 4:45 p.m.: Sophia to Jinho; Papa will take and bring back to apartment complex
  
• evening free; no plans for Flavio and Cindy
  

Wednesday, May 22, 2024: Kentucky contingent arrives

• Papa Bob, Amber and Charlotte
• Josh has this arrival
• Grammy and Papa free all day for any pop-ups
• Grammy and Papa prefer to stay home; will catch up with Papa Bob, Amber, Charlotte later in evening
• more pending details of plans for Kentucky contingent
  

Thursday, May 23, 2024: graduation ceremony -- busy, busy day

• half-day school for Sophia; early release -- noonish; Papa able to pick up unless Josh and his family want to pick up Sophia -- don't know about bus schedule
  
• graduation ceremony: 3:30 p.m. -- details to be updated
• depart around 2:00-ish 
• Grammy and Papa plan to be at front door at event site at 2:45 with Flavio and Cindy
  
• UT Arlington, College Park Center
  
• sit-down dinner -- Josh / Olivia planning: 
• Grammy prefers to stay home; 
• Papa will catch up with Papa Bob, Amber, Charlotte later in evening
• more pending details of plans for Kentucky contingent
• Olivia at Senior lock-in: to bus at 10:30 p.m. 
  

Friday, May 24, 2024: Papa's poolside lalapalootza (yeah, that's a word)

• we have community room, poolside, Phase 2 side, small pool side reserved for the entire day, from 0900 - 2300
  
• hosting:
• Papa
• Sophia, Arianna, Grammy -- if they want; not required;
• Sophia: will be released from senior overnight early in a.m.
  
• community room 
• all day long: folks and come and go as they want; we have no expectations of anyone being there unless they want;
• brunch: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  Stop by any time.
• afternoon social, including ice cream sundaes: 1400 - 1600 (2:00 p.m. to 4: p.m.)
• dinner: 1900 - 2100 (7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.). Again, stop by any time. Sit down but not formal.
• Papa plans to  be there all day; whether anyone else stops by is their choice; no pressure on anyone -- please feel free to take your out-of-town guests to tour the local area
  
• no school for anyone; Kiri probably working from home; Josh will be in town

Saturday, May 25, 2024: California contingent (Flavio and Cindy) departs

• BIG PARTY -- Olivia and Melody host -- 1:00 to 4:00 at Melody's house
• Jinho's Father's Day gift -- one hour -- 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. -- only fathers (males)
• surprise guest (I'm thinking Taylor Swift's boyfriend?) LOL
  
• at Jinho
• Kentucky contingent departs -- 2:00 p.m. -- needs to be fact-checked; happened to hear this
  
• Cindy and Flavio depart, Love airport
• Southwest: 3782; departs at 5:20 p.m

Sunday, May 26, 2024:

• Graduation Party: Jaidyn and Lindsey, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

March 26, 2024 -- Olivia Posts Her Last High School Soccer Note -- Won't Be Going To State

March 26, 2024

Hi, Olivia,

Your soccer note tonight hit me like a ton of bricks. I was overwhelmed with sadness; I re-lived a decade of memories in the blink of an eye.

Your grandmother and I were with you from your first days with Kiki in Belmont / Boston. And then the transition from Massachusetts to Texas. Year after year after year of driving you to soccer practice and going to so many games in all kinds of weather and to see the pinnacle of success last year when, as a junior, you were named (a) captain of the team and took your team to state.

With public school soccer, club soccer, and ODP soccer, we drove you to so many practice fields and soccer stadiums. So many of my most wonderful memories are of our longer trips to practice fields, like Rockwell (ODP) about 45 minutes east of here. I got to learn the geography of Texas by taking you to soccer events and Arianna to water-polo practice and tournaments. I remember so many little things about all those trips, I think you would be surprised.

I did not know you had a game tonight. I was upset that we were not there, but grammy said it was an “away-game” and instead we went to watch Sophia play her game in Oak Grove Park. I remarked to Sophia on the way through Grapevine that the trip out to Oak Grove brought back so many memories of driving you to the same soccer field for practice and for games. Little did I know that while remembering those trips, you were playing what would be your last game.

And, then watching Sophia play. Oh, my goodness, she looked just like you and played just like you when you were her age. Sophia has said many times she learned so much from watching you; she was always so appreciative of the time you spent with her teaching her soccer. And, wow, she looked just like you tonight.

You mentioned you were the only one to score a PK point tonight in your last game. Ironically, Sophia also scored the only point for her team, in a game, her team also lost. Sophia was so thrilled with scoring that only point, winning/losing that game did not matter.

You brought us years — a decade —of wonderful memories through soccer. It’s going to take me a long time to get over my sadness.


Papa