An overdue introduction

As many would note, I am far from "New," here. I never did create an introduction - but figure one is in order.

I'll just go through my personal history - I'm not entirely concerned about someone stalking me or trying to use this to swipe my identity.

My screen name is, obviously, "Aim-64C" - it has been with me since I was about 14, and is therefor an 8-year old screen name. The name came from one late night when registering for my first forum, ever, and I was thinking of the Aim-54 Phoenix missile.... fatigue led me to believe the designation was a 64 as opposed to a 54. The name stuck, and my internet personality has been "Aim" ever since.

My internet personality is quite similar to my actual personality - though often more extreme and less diplomatic/empathetic than my 'real' personality. In a sense - I'm more honest on the internet, more inclined to assert my feelings of superiority or voice my personal dislike for something/someone.

I was born in June of 1988, two months premature, and perpetually late ever since. My father worked in aluminum and zinc diecasting for well over 30 years (including time after I was born). My mother was stay "at home" (did a lot of stuff with us kids all over the place) and, before she was diagnosed with cancer, sewed for a company out of St. Louis, Missouri.

I grew up in Sullivan, Missouri - a small, but busy little community built around truck stops along I-44. I made headlines when, at an age too young for me to recall my actual age, I nearly fell into an old subterranean run-off duct that had created a sink-hole (I was like two or four... just remember the ground trying to eat me). I've avoided media coverage ever since.

It wasn't long in school before I was tested for my IQ, and found to be "gifted" and placed in the 'gifted education program.' That's a nice way of saying you get taken out of class for a few hours because you are smart, and most of the teachers will expect you to love and enjoy doing more homework - and the rest of your classmates don't understand a darn thing.

Didn't take me long to develop a general distaste for people, in general. When I wasn't being picked and poked at, I was frustrated with how long it took people to learn or understand ideas/concepts that were almost a given for me. I preferred to wage war in the house with Micro Machines; turning the couch into an aircraft carrier or cliff-base, or spend my time in the school/public library checking out military-themed books.

Time went on, and my father eventually got a job with a company in Sedalia, Missouri - a substantially larger community built around the old cattle trade and sitting on the intersection of I-65 and I-50. Up and away the family goes. I adapted in my own awkward manner to life in a new school system. Life pretty much plugged along until my sophomore year, when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. That threw everyone for a spin.

During my Junior year, I attended a dual-credit course on the local college campus focusing on AC/DC and digital electronics. I enjoyed the class, as we had to breadboard our lab circuits - a training experience I am proud to have. I usually would finish my lab and start building circuits that over-stressed components (or shocked my friends.... I hooked a bunch of inductors up one day and was using them to drive a neon flash bulb - my friend sees me drawing centimeter-long arcs off of it, and then proceeds to touch it).

My senior year of high-school was spent at the local college in dual-enrollment classes. I was glad to be away from the highschool drama. I took courses in computer repair and maintenance, which later included networking.

I enlisted in May of my second semester in the Navy as an Avionics technician.

Graduation came and went - summer did, as well, and I found myself on a bus destined for the airport on August 24, 2006. I could tell a million Bootcamp stories - but suffice to say, we were "old school" - the last division to go through the 'old ships.' We had to march to breakfast and training, unlike these pampered kids get to, now. I still remember the nights of attempting to iron uniforms next to an open window (when it's like 0 degrees outside) in the dark. I also remember writing letters in the dark and falling asleep while writing them.

Good times (seriously - I smile as I write this).

I transferred to NATTC Pensacola on October 25th (if I remember correctly). There, I spent what felt like an eternity, waiting to 'class up' for I-strand. It turned into a re-hash of my electronics training from back in high school, for the most part. It did cover, towards the end, synchros, gyros, radar, and microprocessors that were not covered in my dual-credit course. I finally made E-2 two days before graduating from AT(I-strand) and subsequently being advanced to E-3 (for graduating in the top 10%).

On June 20th, 2007, I left Pensacola - my mother passed away from breast cancer that same day. I returned home and reported in to NOSC Kansas City the following day. Thus began my career in the reserves. I was assigned to Commander Fleet Activities Chinhae Detachment 6 for drills and later billeted to VR-54 out of New Orleans. I advanced to E-4 in December of 2008 and was informed that I have been selected for advancement to E-5, and will advance December 12 of this year (next drill weekend for me).

I have spent three active-training periods in Chinhae, South Korea in support of Operations Foal Eagle and Ulchi Freedom Guardian (I believe Foal Eagle is a hang-around from the former name of the joint exercises, but I've seen it one way for one exercise, and another for the next). My previous two exercises were spent with NAVCOMDET.

My father passed away in May of this year from unknown, but natural, causes.

I've still yet to figure out how I made AT2... though I suppose I shouldn't get too excited, the rate has been fairly locked up - but especially at the first class level.

Anyway - I've always been a huge military/aviation buff. I'm also into electronics.

I'll be happy to answer any questions, discussion, etc. Looking at my posts on other sections of the forums will give you a pretty good indication of where I sit politically - we can keep those raging wars contained to those locations.

reply to post by Aim64C


Welcome to ATS,

I must say that's one of the most interesting introduction threads I've ever read and it was also well written, I'm also extremely interested/connected to electronics/IT/telecoms.

Hope you enjoy yourself here and I'll look forward to seeing you in the threads.

reply to post by Death_Kron


As my Mancunian brother has already expressed, welcome to ATS, I enjoyed reading your introduction.

Hello! Nice to meet you!