Ever Free

To start out this story, why not a news article? Everypony loves news.

Canterlot-  With the change of seasons from winter to spring the start of re-qualification for the 129th long range weather wing after being grounded due to the risk caused by flying into severe icing conditions, where any other time of the year there would be rain.

         Yearly re-qualification is both a good time for commanding officers of the 129th to maintain effectiveness, as well as for various journalists to see what the LRWW do.

          “It’s a great opportunity for many of the flight officers to have their yearly proficiency test, as well as for many to get a feel for what we do.” the commander of the 129th, Air Cdre. Jumper said about the simulated operations taking place both at the southern canterlot guard base as well as the northern training grounds within the everfree mountains, of which the long range weather patrol is tasked with maintaining during the spring to fall.

         The proficiency test is largely comprised of tasks that any pegasi who has graduated from weather courses in cloudsdale would be familiar with, with added difficulty in the addition of long transit flights to location, and additional environmental threats, including heavy ridge lift , and down-bursts.

    “The entire course takes the weather wings through all their various jobs, it’s a great time for everypony to break out of their winter duties around base and get some airtime in before their deployed to their spring to fall sectors.” Wg Cdr Loehle of the 353rd pathfinder wing, which is in charge of weather  Reconnaissance as well as providing support to various other units of the Royal Pagasus Guard.  The 353rd is stationed year round at the south canterlot base.  The 353rd is commonly deployed with the 129th during attempts at intercepts of large squall lines and category five storms to allow for accurate control and intercept procedures.

          “ Although they are incredibly alike, they both have two differing skill sets, which often end up being used along each other for safe and effective operation, therefore proficiency testing is done with both units together to gain confidence that they still are effective together. ” Air Marshall Red, commander of the south canterlot base, stated after being asked about the joint training operation. “Each unit’s command structure changes over the winter months typically, as well as the strategies, techniques, and equipment. It’s important that we make sure that their improvements are improvements not just for themselves, but for the units that they may be embedded with.”

          Of these changes that have gone on over the winter months the most major is the addition of corpsponies with three pathfinder units.

          “Due to the trend of the past years growing more severe in weather patterns in the controlled sectors of the everfree airways there was a request by commanders of many units for a larger medical ability to be provided with the pathfinders to allow not only for recon, but then to provide for any medical situation that may arise during operations.”  Wg Cdr Loehle explained to the group of reporters and journalists who were present during the emergency medical training that was part of the proficiency test for the ten new corpsponies of the 353rd.

          “It’s really a great time as well as a great honor to be a part of this test of the effect that our training can provide to these important ponies.” Honeywagon, one of the embedded corpsponies from the 204th guard, which many canterlot inhabitants know of due to their part in defending against the changeling invasion prior to the marriage of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.

          The proficency and qualification testing for the pathfinders and LRWW will continue on until tomorrow at 11:00PM, which will give a stunning view of their identifier lights against a scheduled overcast sky starting at 10:00PM.

This week was the big airshow stop in Canterlot, and with it’s arrival my wing was switched over from keeping air routes clear from KCLT to KMHN (Canterlot to Manehatten) and was dropped into maintaining security and providing aid to any of the spectators for the week.

    Lucky for me I only had to work today, as the rest were inside doing paperwork to qualify as an instructor for my unit. ,because it beats getting hit by golf ball sized hail in flight.

     On the day’s schedule were the Redtails; a team from Trottingham, Vanilla sky; which is an act devoted to cloud manipulation (a newer performance, rather interesting), as well as the various units from around Equestria and, as always, the Wonderbolts.

     The airshow also brought along with it vendors for any aviating need, even the non-Pegasus machine aviators. I was lucky enough to pick up some Wonderbolt gear for my nephew, who is absolutely obsessed with the team. I hope he wants a wonderbolts flight suit for his birthday, along with a signed poster from the entire team.

     Also notable was meeting up with Red, the Marshall of the entire pegasi weather ops. Being a relatively high ranking officer I was of enough importance to her to get thirty seconds of conversation about current equipment and ideas on how to better it. The most I had to say about the equipment was that we needed better communications equipment because some of the units are barely understandable. I’ll try to get a sample of the audio from one of them tomorrow so whoever is reading this can hear it for themselves.

     She also asked about family, because weather units are some of the few who actually get deployed away from their family in the Equestrian guard, which can lead to trouble on the home front. My response was that I’m not currently married, nor do I have kids, but that my parents and siblings’ families do ask for me to visit more often, and that I do miss the occasional birthday part for my sister’s kids, and in fact the closest one was my nephew’s which was in three days, but what can you do?

     She asked about what my nephew’s interests were. After she found out that my nephew loved the Wonderbolts she got that look that anypony knows as her ‘I have an idea’ face. She advised me that I should drop by the HQ for the airshow staff and to ask if anypony left a package for me.

     And that’s where I got a package containing the before mentioned Wonderbolts presents as well as a note from Red, which reads;

     I hope you have a good time during the party. I dropped by your unit’s command to let them know of your leave, so you shouldn’t have too much work to do after your R&R. which should make it that much more relaxing.

And please don’t try to pay me back for the gift, think of it as a reward for being grounded during such a beautiful day.

-Mshl Red

     Four days R&R, presents for the birthday colt, and a surprise visit back home, all this for doing my job and being friendly. I should try that more often.

-Loehle