Keeping the skies friendly for the Pres

The tarmac was abuzz yesterday as legions of Secret Service, Air Force, staffers and a multitude of other functionaries kept the wheels of preparation rolling for what amounted to the President’s change of transport from Air Force One to Marine One and back again.

Among those scurrying about were a group of Marines whose familiar “cranials” and jumpsuits swept me back two years to the morning I spent with HMM 166’s SeaElks.

The Marines who make the helicopters fly.

As the other photographers corralled onto the back of a flatbed trailer on the windy tarmac chatted or scanned the skies for the President, I watched as these Marines shimmied up the sleek sides of their aircraft, and checked things—and checked them again; never seeming to stop in one place for a moment.

The Marines of Presidential Marine One; they keep our government moving.

Semper Fi.

--Tiffany

A Marine looks out of the doorway of his helicopter during preparations for the Presidential visit at the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport.--photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

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From Palmetto's Bob Marble, serving with the Red Cross in Baghdad, read the previous post about how to contact your deployed servicemember in the event of an emergency:

We went over to the Al Faw palace this weekend and grabbed someone passing by to snap a picture of us with the throne that Yassar Arafat gave to Saddam Hussein years ago. It's a favorite prop for troops to use for photos to send home. The palace belonged to Saddam and is now the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq.

The second photo was taken of me back in late August or early September. We told ourselves that when the temperature hit 120 degrees, we would take pictures of ourselves holding the thermometer, which we did. Then, a short time later, it reached 130, so we couldn't resist the opportunity to get one more picture. I actually enjoyed it when we had the hot days, but then I wasn't working outside all day long and didn't have to wear my body armor.

Thanks, Bob!

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Around the military:

A CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter lands on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious transport dock USS Denver in the Pacific Ocean, Oct. 19, 2009. The Denver is the lead ship of the Denver Amphibious Task Group, which is conducting a fall patrol in the Western Pacific Ocean with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. U.S. Navy photo by Casey H. Kyhl

A U.S. Army paratrooper walks with two chemical lights as his unit acts as quick reaction force for Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Oct. 26, 2009. The paratrooper is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. The unit serves as an advise-and-assist brigade, which is one of the Army’s newest tools to aid Iraqi security forces and civil institutions to become self sufficient. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod

The U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon perform during a ceremony honoring World War II veterans from North Carolina on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Oct. 20, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Charles M. Groff