Little Penny as a Road Trip Gangsta

LITTLE PENNY GOES SOUTH OF THE BORDER

So Little Penny, Lauren and I took a little road trip to Florida for the long weekend.  Yes kids... Radar had the honor and privilege of meeting Lauren's parents.

Welcome to South of The Border

 It's quite the tourist trap in the form of a little "mexican" village.   the drive took us well over 12 hours each way stopping every now and then for the random snack or physiological break.  As we crossed into North Carolina, we began to see the numerous entertaining billboard advertisements for the Highway Oasis that is known as South of the Border.  I've had my share of journey's passing this location over the years.  I stress the word PASSING...  I recall at least a half dozen road drips down South to visit Grandma in Florida or Grandma in South Carolina as a kid.  The larger than life and well marketed billboards became quite a tease  as we were never allowed to stop there growing up.  Until this time.  Little Penny, Lauren and I actually got to stop at South of the Border.  Now I know why we weren't allowed to stop there all these years. 

Anyhow, the website for the location is http://www.thesouthoftheborder.com/ if you wanted to check it out. 

There were entire buildings dedicated souvenirs, a fun park, motel and places to eat random statue animals everywhere.  

If you are driving down I-95 and have a little time to kill, feel free to drop in and say hi to Pedro.  I'm happy I finally got to see what this 50 year old tradition is all about however, I would probably not swing by again. Welcome to South Carolina!

Little Penny and Pedro at South of The Border

Little Penny Relaxing at South of The Border

Pedro at South of the Border

Wed: LITTLE PENNY IN HAWAII

Little Penny on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii

Tues: WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL PHOTO

World War II Memorial at Night

Mon: SMALL ARMS EXPERT MARKSMANSHIP RIBBON

Headquarters... Radar here again.

In an effort to keep this post on track, here is the next round in the Awards and Decorations series I'm doing. Today it's the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.  What can I say about this one?  It's received for shooting a high enough score while qualifying on the M-16 rifle or M-9 pistol.  I earned this ribbon over 10 years ago.  The part I don't quite understand is there is no requirement to maintain your "Expertship." That is, if a decade ago you qualified as an expert and you've never shot expert or even attempted to shoot the weapon nothing changes.  You keep the ribbon the rest of your career.  Additionally, if you qualify multiple times on the same weapon you don't get additional credit.  Like mentioned above, I have one... It adds a little to the fruit salad of my ribbon rack but in all honesty, I haven't been in an assignment that needed me to qualify since 2003.  Maybe one day I'll have the opportunity to fire the M-9 pistol and put Service Star device on.  

Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon

Background
This ribbon was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force on Aug. 28, 1962. It is awarded to all Air Force service members who, after Jan. 1, 1963, qualify as "expert" in small-arms marksmanship with either the M-16 rifle or issue handgun.

Criteria
Qualify as expert in small-arms marksmanship with either the M-16 rifle or issue handgun. These rules will apply to the Air Force standard service small arms weapon selected. Qualifications as expert in both weapons after June 22, 1972, shall be denoted by a bronze service star worn on the ribbon.

Ribbon Description
The ribbon has a very wide center stripe of laurel green, flanked on either side by a thin yellow stripe, with a wide light blue stripe at the edges.

Authorized Device
Service Star

Weighted Airman Promoted System Point Value: 0


Source: http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7828

V/R
//SIGNED//
RADAR O'REILLY

SURVIVAL SCHOOL

AIR FORCE TRAINING RIBBON....

STORY BACKGROUND

Another direction I'll be taking this link is to talk about some of the military awards and decorations that I've earned over the years and why they are important and what they mean to me.  My Great-Uncle was a 1-Star General.  I dont' recall ever knowing him as he passed away.  I do remember visiting my Great-Aunt's house on the fourth of July when I was younger for an annual celebratory BBQ in honor of my Great-Grandmother.  This one particular Independence Day, I was about 8 or 9 and my great-aunt invited me inside.  She went into her closet where my Great-Uncle's military things were kept and chose me out of all of my cousins to share his military medal collection.  My Great-Uncle moved up the ranks through several wars and had built himself quite a ribbon rack.  At my young age, I was quite impressed with all of the flashy colors and pictured him proudly dispalying it on his uniform.  I believe that was the earliest time of my recollection that planted the seed of my furture in the Armed Forces.

I should add that since then I have learned that my military family history goes way back to the Revolutionary war.  I'll add a post on that one day but for now, I've spent the last 14 years working dilligently to tell my military story through my ribbon rack.  I've done this in hopes that one day a future relative of mine may find it after I'm long gone and that it too would plant the seed to continue the military tradition.  After all, I'm the only person in my generation to have served.  It would be a shame to end such a time-honored tradition.

Since this post is about the beginnings of a miltiary career, I've decided to start with the 1st ribbon every Airman receives.  The Air Force training ribbon.  It's received merely for graduating an accesions training.  While some may think that it's pointless, I believe there is some use to it.  The Air Force ribbon rack tells a story of your career.  Having an Air Force Training Ribbon says you came into the Air Force first (Officer or Enlisted). If you have earned two of these then you have gone through a second accesions program and made the transition from Enlisted to Officer.  The simple absence of this ribbon is a tell tale sign as well.  It states that you have served in another branch of service and "Crossed into the Blue" as an Air Force slogan once read.

That's my take on the Air Force Training Ribbon.  It's very simple..almost a gimme, but it's an important step in the story of an Airman's military career. For the record.... I have one.

Air Force Training Ribbon

Background

This ribbon was authorized by the Air Force chief of staff on Oct. 12, 1980.

Criteria
It is awarded to U.S. Air Force service members on completion of initial accession training after Aug. 14, 1974. In December 1986, the criteria expanded and authorized the ribbon to anyone who was on active duty regardless of when they completed initial accession training.

The ribbon may not be awarded for completing technical training, career development courses and other services' basic training. Completing later accession training (Basic Military Training, then commissioning through a program, and so forth) will entitle a member to a subsequent award denoted by an oak leaf cluster.

Ribbon Description
The ribbon was designed by the Institute of Heraldry. The ribbon has a wide center stripe of red, flanked on either side by a wide stripe of dark blue and a narrow yellow stripe edged by a narrow dark blue stripe.

Authorized device: Oak leaf cluster

Weighted Airman Promoted System Point Value: 0

Source: http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7829

V/R

//SIGNED//

RADAR O'REILLY

INTRODUCING LITTLE PENNY

WHO IS LITTLE PENNY?

Little Penny is my travel companion. He's a little stuffed penguin that has been around the World. I hope to get him to all seven continents. By my recollection, he's only one continent short.  Stay tuned to find out which one. 

WHY?

He's named after Master Sergeant Peinado, a Military Training Leader (MTL) I had when I was a lowly photography student.  Of course we never called him "Little Penny." It was more like "Sir" or "Sergeant" at the time. I do however, recall a jocular moment between MTLs where the true nicknames came out. Staff Sergeant  Michelle Gaines, interacted with us on a daily basis and coined the nickname "Che Che."  She was a little "Ghetto" being from the inner city in New York.  Some how I appreciated that being a Long Island boy and all.   Anyhow, nicknames were flying and somehow Sergeant Peinado, a mid-thirties Hispanic gentleman, was coined with the name "Little Penny."  I don't know... and I'm not asking. I just know that almost 14 years later, that name has still stuck.

FIRST STOP... DUE SOUTH

Little Penny in Antarctica

The concept of Little Penny came about in the spirit of a Flat Stanley project even thought it wasn't for a school project or youngster.  Yet anyhow. During  late 2008 and early 2009, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to visit Antarctica for a month and a half. I even got paid to go. More details later about  my Antarctica times as it's all about Little Penny right now.   Of course a little penguin made the most sense to bring with me to the "Ice" to document his adventures.  Upon returning from the Antarctic Summer, Little Penny decided to travel the World some more.  I've documented his journeys as his trusted agent until such time a future Little Radar may hear the stories of his travels and continue the tradition.  

So welcome Little Penny to the family.  You will see him throughout some of his travels.  I suppose this Radar has a stuffed penguin instead of a teddy bear.

V/R

//SIGNED//

RADAR O'REILLY

HEADQUARTERS.... CORPORAL RADAR O'REILLY SIGNING ON.

PREFACE

I've actually had this idea of writing about the different experiences I've had from the unique perspective of me for many years. It's been a long time coming. I'd like to thank Lauren for being the inspiration to actually get this started. This may one day be the raw data to start an autobiography of sorts. I've even thought about hiring a ghostwriter to compile my life story one day.  The problem is I have over three decades worth of stories in my head and have to get them out somewhere.  Why not here?  So  I've started this blog to document my various comings and goings while exploring some philosophies that make me who I am today.  

WHY RADAR AND THE M*A*S*H THEMED BLOG?

 Radar O'Reilly

It's quite simple. I grew up watching the TV Show M*A*S*H and somehow picked up a connection with the character that is Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly. I currently have over 14 years of military service under my belt and owe quite a bit of my success to the Radar persona. I'm neither actively sleeping with a Teddy Bear nor can I hear choppers en-route before they arrive.  I do however, have a knack for being there for my military leaders and  providing information before they ask for it. My curious nature and addiction to information may be the true reason why.  I find I can be pretty resourceful in getting things done and typically find myself working for senior officers. As this blog is going public, I decided to keep things behind the guise of Corporal O'Reilly as to keep myself and others out of trouble.


WHAT'S TO COME?


In the next few days, I'll be brainstorming some of the things to talk about at this venue.  A few topics off the top of my head.

1. Volunteer firefighter 
2. Military experiences
3. Antarctica
4. Club Med
5. World Travel
6. Culinary Tidbits
7. My experiences during 9/11
8. My unique educational path
9. Sharing my Photography
10. Work Hijinx

I hope this will be of interest to some.  Until next time.

V/R

//SIGNED//
RADAR O'REILLY