The beginning...

Glenn left yesterday for Iwoto/Iwo Jima. They are getting ready for their carrier qualification which means (cue evil daunting music) deployment is just around the corner. Didn't we just go through a deployment? Yes. That is the beauty of a forward-deployed airwing. Glenn's squadron and the rest of the airwing deploys annually. Most airwings in the states only go on deployment once or twice every 3 years give or take. Of course lately, it's been a little more give than take.

Last summer, I didn't think deployment would be so bad- and it wasn't. I had several of my best friends in Japan and had made a couple new close friends. Now Laura's gone. And Annie. And Gizelle is leaving in July. It's the way of the Navy I suppose. You say goodbye to one friend and make another, but it doesn't make the goodbye's any easier. I guess I've gotten used to having Glenn home and it has been wonderful. I'm not ready for the summer to start and now it's May already! It's already here.

I suppose the summer will be what I make of it and hopefully there will be lots of traveling whether it is to visit Glenn or not (since the port calls keep changing every day)!

Glenn's address over the summer will be his "boat" address. You can send care packages and letter to:

LT Glenn J. Smith

VAW-115 Unit 25428

FPO AP 96601-6403

He always appreciates hearing from everyone, otherwise he just hears my side/version of every story!

Iwo Jima

Glenn spent 3 days in Iwo Jima last week getting ready for Deployment 2009 Part II (boo!) and I think I'm finally getting through to him because he took a bunch of pictures. I'll let him narrate the photos though. Stay tuned for Glenn's first blog post!

Our first day this trip we had plenty of daylight for exploring, so Dr. Lipschitz and I (and Johnny 5 Nuts before his tire blew) set out on bikes to explore. This first monument is actually has nothing to do with the battle in '45. It was built in memorial to the aircrew who died in the crash of a P-2 Neptune during an experimental flight.
This cave is called Tenzan (meaning Heavenly Mountain) which was the headquarters for the Japanese Northern Naval Base in '45. The hill is the location of a natural sauna, and is regularly 118-120 degrees F.
Iwo Jima has a wealth of wild/feral cats that descend from domestic cats that were left by the Japanese civilians who were forced to leave the island at the beginning of WWII. This one was all alone and rather hungry looking. He even tried to eat my leg when he realized I had no food for him.
This post stands on top of Mt Suribachi in from of the USMC Landing Memorial. The monument was erected to remember the famous flag raising after the battle. It is a tradition for service members to hang their dog tags the first time they climb Suribachi.
Less historical (though ancient), here is the mighty Liberty 603 on the return flight to the mainland.

Iwo To

Glenn left this morning for Iwo To (formerly Iwo Jima) for a few days of FCLPs. I had no idea where he was going so I just had to google it. So it looks like he's mostly south of here.

We weren't sure what the communication situation would be like so Glenn asked a few guys at work this morning before they left and they just laughed at him. So I'm guessing that means I won't be talking to him for a few days. Once I googled the island, I now see why. It looks like an island with only a runway. I guess that's all they need for FCLPs though. Glenn says the runway has arresting gear on it too which really makes sense, cause if there's a problem on the runway, there's nowhere else to go, you gotta land. Who thought of this idea?!

Iwo To/Jima has a lot of history though so hopefully Glenn will have a chance to check things out and see a few of the caves before he comes home. Miss you already, baby!

Some history:

Iwo To, formerly known as Iwo Jima, island of Japan, largest of the three Volcano Islands, in the western Pacific Ocean. About 9 km (6 mi) long and 4 km (2 mi) wide, the island is mountainous and volcanic in origin. Mount Suribachi (161 m/ 528 ft), an extinct volcano, is the island's highest elevation. The Volcano Islands, south of the Bonin Islands, were annexed by Japan in 1891.

During World War II (1939-1945), Iwo To was the site of a Japanese air base. The island’s civilian population was evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces battled Japan in the War of the Pacific. Japanese naval officers mistakenly referred to the island as Iwo Jima, and that is how it became known when the United States Marine Corps invaded the island in 1945 (see Iwo Jima, Battle of). Under the peace treaty signed between the Allies and Japan in 1951, the Volcano Islands were placed under the provisional administration of the U.S. Navy. They were returned to Japan in 1968 and are under the jurisdiction of Tokyo's prefectural government.

In 2007 the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute announced that it was renaming Iwo Jima as Iwo To, the name given to the island by its original Japanese inhabitants. Translated into English, Iwo To and Iwo Jima both mean Sulfur Island, a reference to the island’s sulfur mines.