In the military we have what we call use/lose leave. For the most part, when you get to be senior, you burn off leave on weekends, etc, but I ended up with about 95 days of leave on the books. That's about 3 years without taking any time off
So, I was the commander of the most award winning squadron in Air Combat command. The 45 RS Wildcats are an amazing bunch of Americans. In 2 years, a major award every 2 months while having to move anywhere around the world in under 24 hrs, out of country for as much or more time as they are home, and they and their families only ask to do more, never less.
Needless to say, to lead a bunch of guys like that you have to move quickly yourself, they set a very high standard, which I like to say I have
Well, after two years ALL squadron commanders get the boot, and so did I, my change of command was 27 Aug, and I reluctantly gave up my squadron of 186 aviators and moved to be the Deputy Group Commander, responsible for 17 squadrons and approx 3300 people
But not until I took my use/lose leave...per my boss
So, since 27 Aug I have ........
- Bought a new truck
- Painted my house
- Rewired my cable and alarm in the basement
- Replaced the weatherstripping on my F100
- Framed my 1000 sq ft basement (if I never see another soffit, I will be perfectly happy)
- Put mud guards on the new F250
- Rebuilt the back steps on my house
- Trimmed all the trees in the back yard
- Replaced the rear screen door
- Went to work 3 days out of uniform and on leave just to make sure I knew what was going on in the world
So, next week its back to work, and my guess is it will feel like a vacation!