Leaving on a jet plane

So one of the joys of living on one coast and deploying from another is having to fly to get there. So I get a chance to pile myself along with a hundred to two hundred other people into either a DC-9 or a 737 (as per typical government contracts these are small bodied early versions) and fly at what seems like hours from the West Coast to marry up with my aircraft carrier on the East Coast. Before I fly out the day before or hours before I have to support launching my aircraft over to the east coast. Before even that about a week ago, I boxed everything up that my work center owns and then stuff it all into an 18 wheeler which should arrive, hopefully, by the weekend. Which means I will be spending the weekend working to get all my gear loaded on the ship and stowed in the spaces on the ship. Why do I share all of this with you all, because instead of hanging out with friends, the romantic interest, and my family for the 4th of July; I get to spend it haze grey and underway for the last minute practice also known as a COMPTUEX/JTFEX or COMPosite Training Unit Exercise and Joint Task Force Exercise. Both of these are where the carrier strike group (of which I belong to via my squadron) and the Expeditionary Strike Group (what use to be known as a Amphibious Ready Group) work together as a team. The ESG carries the land strike element of the United States big stick. That is also known as Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, Jarheads, Leathernecks, or just Marines.
We all work together to work completely together as an air,land,sea team. Fun stuff this is the last wicket that needs to be hit before going on the big 6 (or more) month deployment.

Finally, since I will be working hard trying to keep my jets in the air and am not cool enough like some other mil-bloggers to have constant Internet access while they are on a ship or deployed someplace. After the 4th this little road side attraction will be on hiatus for a while at least till I get back in to town.