James Beauchamp:  

Would I do it all over again? Hard to say. Most of it - hell no. Some of it I could have lived without. High school was basically four years of wanting the paper so i could play with planes (work with me here - it was high school). The 1980s were a good time indeed. There was one tall, girl with long flowing hair, who had the softest voice..... like that was going to happen LOL!. Military is pretty much the core. Travel was a bit sparse as enlisted, kicked in after taking the commission in 1998. Dealt with extremes of both success and failure. Middle east has been the most common destination. Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and LOTS of Iraq time (all over that country). Had a few short trips around Europe like Portugal and Germany. Did one good recent trip to South Korea (SOJU!!!!). Enjoyed late nights exploring a few german towns and living in an old German Officer's barracks. Loved Portugal. Would retire there. Yeah, daddy liked island time... Ate things in the desert that would not be a good after dinner party conversation. Stood at the foot of Abraham's oasis. Watched the sun set behind sumarian burial mounds. Heard the haunting distant calls to evening prayers. Dust storms and Shamal's. DFAC's, Green Bean Chai latte's, Harvest Falcon (don't ask if you don't know), lots of sand. Combat landings in Kirkuk - a hurried scattering off the plane into the dark during a rocket attack. I remember the tense midnight helo ride from Al Asad to Baghdad flying low and fast. Every now and then something that looked like a tracer round would pierce the dark sky. Still wasn't sure we were the target...Expand for more