^ Ha ha - thanks, Jim (at least I'm not completely hidden like my Chief buddy Joe, third from the right!) - I look pretty good from the shoulders up, I think

No worries, I'm not going anywhere - but I'm going to get dirty more while I'm out here, that's a given. That MTB was just too damned fun for it to end up being a one-time thing.

I think I'll be missing the military in about one year, too. In fact, I'm sure of it; granted, there will be a few things I'll not miss (like money issues holding back mission readiness...), but overall I'll miss the good people I've worked with. A lot have retired and moved on to other things, but I'll be leaving not a few super friends behind to carry on where I leave off.

Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to run into some of them down the road a piece...

DD