Serenity at the Controls

 

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, a group from my local MOAA chapter was given a guided tour of one of the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the Mississippi Air National Guard's 172nd Airlift Wing at Thompson Air National Guard Field adjacent to the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.  We got a close-up look at the first C-17 assigned to an Air National Guard unit, aircraft #0007, which joined the 172nd in 2003.  It is one of nine C-17s assigned to the 172nd.  Besides the officers of the chapter, two spouses and my granddaughter joined us to see this magnificent aircraft.

Serenity standing in the cavernous cargo bay only about 1/4 of the way down it.
[Faces deliberately obscured.]

And seated in the right-seat in the cockpit.

C-17 #0007 has been named "Spirit of America's Veterans" which was aptly chosen for our tour since we are all veterans.  We had a great visit and thank the 172nd for the experience.

Microarmor in North Africa

Well, this post has been a long time coming.  It has been 8 months since I last posted.  My painting and posting mojo has been at a nadir although I have been gaming with my local group, the Jackson Gamers.  But now I've been energized to renew my interest in gaming the actions in the Western Desert of North Africa in 1941 & 1942.

I originally got involved in these campaigns years ago with "Blitzkrieg Commander," playing several games.  But interest waned.  Now that I've been playing games using the "Memoir 44" rules, I've found my interest again.

I'm able to use the forces I've already painted and based, just adding infantry and 'special weapons assets' - antitank guns, mortars, and machine guns.'

Because I'm using 1:285 scale figures and vehicles I procured a 4" hex gridded desert mat from Cigar Box Battle.  After a brief exchange of messages my mat arrived posthaste.  For terrain, I using hexes cut from various colors of thin craft foam and the hills from 1/2" extruded foam insulation board.  The units are mounted on bases from Litko.

A Test of Units and Terrain Pieces

In the above image (please click for a larger version), the two dark brown pieces on the left are a wadi with a unit of DAK infantry at the mouth.  Next is another unit of DAK infantry behind a sandbag emplacement along with a unit of Pz-IV tanks.  The tan pieces are a desert track with another DAK infantry unit along with its AT gun special weapons asset.  And finally on the right is a small sand hill with a unit of heavy antitank guns (50mm PaK 38).

In Memoriam - Lori Brom

 

On the afternoon of Monday, January 23, 2023, my good friend and "sister from another mister," Lori Brom succumbed to a heart attack at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans.  Lori was a delightful person to know, funny, witty, and smart.  After her father Larry Brom died in 2015, she and her sister Christy carried on Sergeants3 and the publishing of Larry's many rules, especially "The Sword and the Flame."

Lori Brom, 14 Nov 2014, at Colonial Barracks

Lori was the sparkplug behind the unfortunately short-lived Colonial Barracks conventions in New Orleans in the early and mid 2010s.  There gathered the most enthusiastic devotees of Larry's rules to play games and visit with friends, both old and new.  Economics and Covid put an end to that convention, much to our loss.

 She and Christy welcomed my wife and me into their home many times.  Those visits were always full of laughter and stories.  We didn't get to see them in person these past several years but did correspond via telephone, e-mail, and letter.

A loss too soon of a wonderful lady.  May you rest in peace in the loving arms of your parents on the green shores of the never-dying lands in the west.

"And all will turn to silver glass; a light on the water; grey ships pass into the west."