Attendance was up!  Expecting about 65, we had 87 attending the sitdown dinner Saturday night... a great crowd.  (By the way, the banquet room seats 85?)  I'll be forwarding a list of all attendees in one of the next few Opreps.

Destin is marvelous!!  I, for one, could be convinced to make Destin our permanent reunion site as long as Bud & Dorie live there!

Makes perfect sense to me.  Everyone enjoyed the beach, the restaurants, the shopping, and all the miltary stuff.  (Plus, the F-22s are 45 miles east in Panama City/Tyndall.)  Besides, it's easy to get to...  the aeropuerta is just fine, with over forty flights in and out each day.

After spending Wednesday getting checked-in and visiting, we kicked off with an Eglin Tour on Thursday, followed by the dinner cruise that evening.  But, back at Eglin:

He's a sierra-hotel kinda guy and had us all ready to lead the first 4-ship to downtown Baghdad.  Then we repaired to a nice VIP viewing area along the active runway, where a lone F-16 was beating up the airfield.  From our vantage point at the far end of the active we watched as the Lawn Dart racked it around admirably in a series of spirited closed patterns... then the first Raptors appeared... and turned at least 2/3 inside the '16 !

Effortlessly.  Truly remarkable.

First a flight of two beat the field up for about 15 minutes, while everyone watched in awe, before taking it straight up to 22,000 feet!  (In min burner, I found out later!!)

Then, two more Raptors entered the pattern 90-degrees to the active... and made an nonchalant snap turn onto the initial... without breaking a sweat.

At that point it occurred to me, we had 57% of the world's operational fleet of F-22s... that exist... in the pattern... showing off for Misty!!

An Eglin guy asked me, "Sir, who ARE you guys?  We tried to get ONE F-22 for a static display and were turned down?"  Now that made me feel pretty special.

The Raptor has to be seen to fully appreciate this magnificent machine.  It is an incredible airplane.

When the last F-22 departed the airfield we bussed to a static display of the best air-to-air fighter in history...  the F-15 Eagle.  Capt "Tilt" Monroe from the 58th FS and 1Lt "Trap" Leestma from the 60th FS briefed us on the Eagle... which at 128 vs 0 is THE most successful fighter in Air Force history!  Still a pretty aeroplane...  and with AAMRAM, a very, very formidable air-to-air machine.

By the way, after the guys told us about the Eagle's mission, I shook hands with one of the crew chiefs, a great guy named TSgt. Heriberto Padilla... a 16 year vet from NYC and I hafta tell ya, our Air Force is in great hands!  What a nice young man.  He just reeked confidence in the F-15...  could be my crewchief anyday!

Next we trekked to the Armament Museum where everyone wanted to have their photo taken next to the Hun with Bud's name on it.  The museum is actually well done and was interesting to us relics, as much of our SEA stuff was on display.  (I think it was particularly fascinating to Susan, who had no real idea of her Dad's combat time.)

After the museum we made our way back to the hotel since the Eglin O'Club was unable to serve us a simple sandwich & salad type lunch.  (A long, sorry story!)

Most everyone spent the afternoon in the beautiful hospitality suite; swapping the same old war stories, then fanning out to the fantastic seafood restaurants up and down the elegant Emerald Beaches...  except for the 30 or so on the...

Dinner Cruise...  about 31 Misties and guests sailed on the beautiful Sunquest Cruise from Sandestin Golf & Resort's dock.  They departed on the 3-hour trip at 1900 and from all reports, had a great time!  Sailing the inland bay meant the water was calm... a great idea given the Gulf these days?  (The peppercorn beef was to die for according to one sailor.)  Mick Greene and I visited the boat Tuesday and it's certainly a beautiful vessel.

The golfers thundered out early Sat AM for a gorgeous day on the Indian Bayou GCC.   The course was beautiful and a fine time was had by all, according to the players staggering back into the hospitality suite later that afternoon!   As I recall from the banquet awards: PJ's team won and Susan Viele apparently hit a drive slightly over 315 yards to edge "Bull" in the long ball contest?  :-)

The fishing folks reported a great day of angling, with everyone catching a pile of fish.

The ladies went shopping with Dorie... and... well... you know how that goes... $$$$

Business Meeting...

After PK covered our finances [we're rich!] and the book income, he discussed the Misty Foundation and the need for requests.  If anyone needs or wants a grant, E-mail PK.

We also decided to let Charlie Neel plan the next reunion..and ultimately, select the site.  There was more, but that's the gist of it.

I didn't think of it at the time, but as long as Bud & Dorie live in Destin, I'd vote for that as a permanent reunion site (!?!)   It certainly has everything.  We really only scratched the surface, entertainment-wise.   As a tribute to Bud I like the Destin idea.   Perhaps we should all e-mail Charlie with our choice?

Bill Douglass introduced Charlie Neel, who lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of "God Bless America."   (LTC Stapelton told me later that was one of the most emotional moments of his life.)

The meal was perfect, at least for my tastes.  We ordered the steaks medium-rare, thinking the medium and well-done folks could simply fire those beauties back to the kitchen for more grilling... which worked just great at our table!  Mine was perfectly cooked and delicious.  (Poor "Freak"... with everyone at the table grilling him about the Raptor he had a very difficult time getting a bite in between queries!)

After dinner "Bam Bam" gave as spirited and riveting a speech as I've heard in a long, long time.  The F-22 is an essential airplane to our long-range defense and he certainly sold me!  The airplane, by the way, is absolutely amazing!  Just amazing!!  The audience sat, mesmerized, throughout.

Following this spirited presentation, Charlie Summers filled us in on the latest adventures of that famous NVN truck driver, "Wun Hung Low!"  Hilarious.

Back in the hospitality suite we learned USC had pummeled the Fighting Irish (Hooray!) and got back to our drinking & socializing.

A fine time was had by all.

I was watching the booze and wondering how well Mick Greene was gonna do with his last booze estimate and I hafta give him an A+ on that score, as there was a 1/4 full bottle of Tequila left Sunday morning... everything else was winchester... zip... great planning, Mick!

I stayed over until Monday to take my buddy, Dr. Gary, to the aeropuerta and with a relieved, but semi-sad heart, bid a fond adieu to lovely Destin!

A great time... hope 2007 is even more fun for all.

Cheers & chek6 to all...  seeya in '07!