Flew out on Continental 172 on Monday, October 10 via Majuro to Honolulu, getting in at around 3:00 am local time (they sure know how to pad them flight times, don't they? ETA was 3:30 Honolulu time. Had the opportunity of using the Global Entry kiosk at immigration and processing was quick and painless (completed processing back in March). Scan passport, place hand on biometric reader, answer a few questions and you're pre-cleared. Just show the ticket from the kiosk at immigration and customs and you're done.
Got out at the curb in front of arrivals around 4:00 am and waited to meet a friend of mine from CAP Hawaii Wing so we could chow down on some early-morning grindz at Byron's (a diner not far from the airport that's open 24 hours). Back to the airport to check in for the flight to the mainland; after a five-hour flight to Los Angeles and a quick connection, I finally got into Las Vegas at around 5:15 pm local time. I was jetlagged, exhausted and in pain suffering from a boil in my backside. Got it taken care of a day later at the local hospital (I had begun to see the docs on Kwaj for treatment and they were considering sending me to Honolulu for treatment but I was able to convince them to get the work done while in Vegas.)
Early on the morning of the 15th, I flew from Vegas to Montgomery, Alabama via Atlanta to attend CAP National Staff College at Maxwell AFB. It was a busy week, with little free time, but an in-depth course on how CAP works at the national level. It's said that the future crop of wing and region commanders are selected from NSC graduates. Not that I'm holding my breath... The banquet and graduation ceremony was held at the historic Maxwell AFB Officers' Club; for many (including myself) it was an opportunity to sport our recently-purchased mess dress uniforms. The uniform is optional but it is an unwritten rule in CAP for field-grade officers (major and above) to own one if they meet CAP weight and grooming standards. Below is a picture of yours truly sporting mess dress:
Back home to Vegas on Saturday, October 22, arriving late in the afternoon. A few more days in Vegas and then my mom and I board a flight to Honolulu for the last four days of my vacation. On the day I return to Kwaj, Mom returns to Vegas.
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