oldtar's profile

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I was born at 18 years of age at a Navy boot camp. After four years and one Sputnik launch leter, I was sent to the University of Washington for an electrical engineering degree and a commission as an Navy ensign. While there, our two boys were born at the local Army hospital.

After three years of driving ships out of Japan, but mostly around Vietnam, I went back for three more years of engineering learning and then on to more support of Vietnam from Guam. I then moved on to Navy headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

I "retired" from the Navy in 1975 and spent the next seventeen years managing contracts with just about every government agency, but mostly with the DOD. In the early 1990s my expertise was in missile defense, anti-satellite systems and nuclear planning. The Berlin Wall was torn down, peace broke out and I wasn't needed anymore. So I retired early.

My wife and I returned to out beloved Virginia seven years ago to be a little nearer to our two sons' familiies in northern Virginia.

Favorite Charities

Disabled Veterans, Fisher House Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Change Congress

Favorite Music

Progressive (cool) jazz; Big Band; 40s, 50s, 60s

Favorite TV Shows

The Unit, Cold Case' Boston Legal (but sadly gone)' CSI NY

Favorite Books

Cannery Row (Steinbeck), Nick Adams Stories (Hemingway), Vintage Bradbury

Favorite Quotes

"The decision to go to war defined a nation, not just to the world but to the nation itself, " Bob Woodward, State of Denial

Favorite People

My Wife, John Warner, US Senator, retired, Dianne Rehm, Gen. David Petraeus

Activities

Wood shop (design and build furniture for pleasure only); Video games (XBox 360)(WWII, Halo, Fallout 3); Painting (watercolor, pastel, acrylic, pen and ink); Computers (inactive ex-blogger, photos, video creation); Some wood carving. Frequent hiking in Blue Ridge on hold till after back operation.

Favorite Places

Blue Ridge Mountains & Parkway

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