2009-2010: Seth Larimore

Wright-Patterson AFB Visit

Hello,

This week was awesome, the Air Force detachment took about 30 cadets to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.  WPAFB is home to the Air Force Materiel Command, the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), the National Air Force Museum, as well as other active duty units.  We flew there on Wednesday evening and relaxed in the hotel next to the base, then on Thursday we got to go to the Air Force Museum.  The main area is made up of three connected buildings that house real planes from a replica of the first Wright Flier to WWI and WWII aircraft as well as Korean War, Vietnam War, and Cold War planes and missiles, and modern aircraft.  In the afternoon we got to go see a separate part of the museum that is farther into the base that houses former Presidential Aircraft and experimental aircraft.  That evening we got to hang out and go to the mall near the base.  Friday we got a briefing from an officer that works with determining the use of enemy tactics and weapons against US aircraft and then determines how to combat their use.  We also got to tour the new indoor range, and finally go to the hospital to see how they train the medical personnel for working in the field  using simulation dummies that can replicate bleeding, seizures, pulses, breathing, and many other things.  That evening we got to go bowling on base and go to a movie.  Saturday when we flew home, we were on a KC-10 refueling jet and we got to sit in the boom operator's position at the back of the plane and watch as our plane refueled another KC-10 and then we got to go into the cockpit and watch as that KC-10 refueled our plane.  It was a pretty cool trip, and I would like to go back to the museum because there is just so much that we didn't have time to stop and see it all.  If you haven't been there, I would recommend it.

Well, there are 6 weeks of regular classes left.  In 4 weeks, the juniors will get their class rings during the Junior Ring Ceremony.  The class rings at Norwich have a long tradition.  One side is the same for every class, and the other is the same for everyone in the class.  The side that is the same for every class has different symbols of the school showing our military and engineering heritage and the Vermont mountains.  The other side has different symbols that are unique to that class.  Norwich class rings are famous for being the largest class rings of any military school, and most people get two, one, usually gold or silver that is larger, called a garrison ring that they wear for nice events, and then the other is called a field ring that is made of another metal and is smaller and worn for everyday.  You can see the class ring site with this year's seniors' ring at http://www.norwich.edu/cadets/classring.html.

This week should be pretty normal, it is starting to warm up and show signs of spring(finally!), I'm ready for it to be warm again.  I have a couple more projects and papers left before the end of the semester.  Well, it's almost time to march down for dinner.

Here are some pictures from the visit:

Bockscar, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan.

Air Force Remote Piloted Global Hawk.

A modified C-54C with and elevator for President F.D. Roosevelt.

The KC-10 we flew back to Vermont from WPAFB.

The view from the boom-operators position as the boom is about to connect the another KC-10 over Northern-Maine.  The boom connects to the hole in the top of the aircraft the is above the cockpit windows, the black lines before the connection point help the boom-operator judge distance.

The connected planes.

Thanks for reading,

Seth

Spring Break

Well, after my Odyssey of a trip home for spring break, I had a great time home with my family and friends.  I call my trip home an Odyssey because I was supposed to leave Friday evening and get home later that evening and my flight was canceled, then I was supposed to leave Saturday morning and get home at noon, and that flight got canceled and then I finally got on a flight at noon and got home Saturday evening.  Thankfully I didn't have to spend all that time at Burlington International, I stayed with a rook buddy that lives in Vermont.  I did find out that I was not the only one however, that had been canceled, an odd weather pattern was moving through the central part of the the east coast, canceling flights from Burlington all the way down to Florida.

Over break, I got to go down to Butler University in Indy to stay with my friend Kevin.  I got hang out with him and and his girlfriend and friends and our friend Hope from high school was able to go too.  We ate at a cool restaurant called Buca di Beppo in Castleton, its Italian food, but served family style, so everyone shares a couple large bowls of food.  I also tried fried calamari, which I found to be similar to popcorn shrimp, but more chewy.  We also had cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory at Keystone, it was great.  The rest of break was spent hanging out, mainly with my friend Hope, but I also got to go golfing with my Dad on Friday, and see a lot of my family on Saturday.  This year I was just happy going home and spending time with my parents and dog.

This week will be fast, I will have regular classes Monday through Wednesday and then Wednesday afternoon I am going on a base visit with the Air Force detachment to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio until Saturday.  Its hard to believe that there are only 7 weeks until finals.  I have a couple more papers and projects to do and then it will be summer.  Well, I'm going to go get a final Starbucks for the flight and then I'll be on my way to Vermont.  Until then, I get to watch the Chicago snow melt.

Thanks for reading,

Seth

Spring

So this weekend was great, the weather is getting a lot warmer, into the mid forties today.  I'm very excited about that, I like it when its warm out because its nice to go running and just be outside, and I don't like the winter very much.  I guess I came to the wrong school as far as weather, but I can live with it.

Anyway, this weekend, I was able to go up with a pilot from the Burlington Civil Air Patrol through my AFROTC unit.  It was a lot of fun, and I even got to fly the plane for a while.  It was a small Cessna, and we got to fly over the ski slopes of Smuggler's Notch, Stowe, and Sugarbush.  We also got to fly over Norwich, which looks very different from up above.

This week is the last week before Spring Break, so things are a little crazy.  I got 4 A's an 2 B's on my midterms, so I was happy with that.  All I really have left to do before leaving is to finish up a couple of projects for math, engineering, and programing.  The most interesting is the project for engineering, which is a program that can play a guitar tab that we put into code.  I am very excited to get home and see my friends and family, we have been talking last week and this week, making plans.  It will be nice to relax and recharge before the last 7 weeks of the semester, and it will be warmer at home than it will be here.

Well, I am going to get to work for a while.

Thanks for reading,

Seth

Summer PDT

Hello,

This past week I found out I am going to Offutt AFB in Nebraska for two weeks to job shadow different people to see what the operations of a base are like.  PDT stands for Professional Development Training.  Air Force ROTC offers many summer PDT options, they are all listed on www.afrotc.com and click on Summer Programs under College Life.

This week is mid-terms, I had one today in Aerospace Studies, and I will have one in my computer programming class, the others just use work we have done this semester to generate our mid-term grades.  Everyone is getting ready for spring break, people are going to Florida and other warm places.  I am going home, so I have been making plans with my friends.

The end of this week is the Colby Symposium, it is an event put on by the school where many important speakers and authors come in and speak on different topics affecting the world today.  I haven't been before, but I think I am going to try to go down.

For those of you that are interested in coming to Norwich, the admissions office set up a fan site on FaceBook and myself and other Norwich students will be on to answer questions you have.

Thanks for reading,

Seth