Naval Retirement Ceremony

[Hammer]

Today I attended my friend and neighbors retirement ceremony. These are some of the pics I was able to grab. We might get a tour of another CVN in the next month or so.

Lt. Cdr. Alexy Diaz, 24 years service to our country. He started 2 years after arriving from Cuba on an inner tube raft as a seaman recruit and worked his way up.

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[Bones]

Wow, that's so cool.

I knew someone who started as an enlisted sailor, then became on officer, flew Tomcats and became a Tomcat instructor then the F-14 Demo Team, then flew Super Hornets, and eventually became CAG paddles and made it to O-5. Lost track of him after that though...I think he retired too.

v6,
boNes

[Grifter]

Great photos! Congrats to LT. CDR. Diaz! Prettt awesome that you can still rock your uniform. I can’t fit into suits I bought a few years ago!

[Hammer]

well at some point in time i did buy 2" larger slacks for the uniform, but now they are a bit too large. ;) i am allowed to wear the uniform authorized when I was last discharged or the current uniform. If you did not know the Army is currently changing to the older WW2 style uniform/colors and I really like it, but not sure it is worth purchasing new stuff for wearing once every few years.

[Trichome]

Thanks for sharing. Congrats to your friend and great pics.

[Bones]

DUDE!

It didn't occur to me that that was Hammer! Duh, I'm an idiot.

Lookin' great man. So you were Airborne? Where did you get your CIB?

My friend I was telling you about who got his jump wings at age 52, he has a CIB as well. I'll be seeing him tonight, I'm gonna ask him again how he was attached to the 101st as he was 11B then 11A most of the time. He started as an E-1 and ended as an O-5 as well. Just retired last year, then 2 weeks later they asked him to come back again, haha. He said no though. But yeah as you were aying, he is allowed to wear the uniform at time of discharge and he had to go to a military funeral so he did. I think he does also have the WWII style uniform. I'll have to ask him again.

v6,
boNes

[Hammer]

Yes that is me in the Army Class B's. I was airborne qualified but never assigned to an airborne unit (so a 5 jump chump as we used to say!). But I did also go to air assault school while assigned to the 101st. Later in my career I returned to Ft. Campbell to attend (and pass on first try - not a normal thing as most people went at least 2 times) Rappel Master School.

I do not have a CIB, I have an EIB. I was assigned in order in my career: 101st Airborne, 2nd ACR, 1st Armor Division, 194th Armor Brigade. My first tour I was an 11C. I got out for a year and decided to go back in, and made them guarantee me 11B. 11A is an Officer MOS (Infantry Officer) so he probably got that MOS after becoming an officer.

My uniform above was with 2/503rd insignia and unit award, where I was assigned in the 101st.

[Bones]

Ah, yes, I just realized there were no laurels around the badge, so EIB. Coolthat you can rappel too. Does that include fast rope?

My friend (whom I didn't get to see last night, he had to cancel) was a 5 jump chump too. He actually took a knee injury on the 5th jump. But he served in Iraqi Freedom where he participated in the Battle of Fallujah, and had multiple tours for Enduring Freedom (Bagram), . He was in Sierra Leone to train their forces there, and various places in Europe too.

v6,
boNes

[PanzerMeyer]

Very nice pics.

[PanzerMeyer]

I looked over the pics again and I noticed something new. Why does Alexey's navy uniform appear to be 2 sizes too big for him? lol

[Hammer]

They all look like that, every one wearing the dress whites looked like that.

[Jedi Master]

Billowy = cool?